Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 15th, 2005
Written by Clayton Self
The Polar Express is a milestone in digital film making. Making use of “performance capture” (little attachments connected to the body to mimic human movement) and green screens, Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) has created a stunning visual world that is sure to find its way into homes of millions to be enjoyed during the Holiday season. Labeled by some as creepy because of the not quite real, yet not quite fake digital characters, The Polar Express is nothing more than an epic Christmas a...venture to be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2005
Jean Hamilton, after having a bad relationship, decides to move to New York City with her two daughters. We quickly learn that this particular mother feels the need to move after EVERY bad relationship. The whiny eldest daughter gets sick of it, so she decides to set up her mom with an imaginary guy so she can get her mother on the possible right path.
The Perfect Man is the type of film that you watch once and literally cry through. No, it's not the type of film that you cry because it is really s...d. It's the type of film that you cry through because it's so pathetically bad. The film contains so many countless scenes where the characters do such ridculous things to each other that are, apparently, suppose to be funny. How can harming each other be considered funny? Apparently this film was made for all those teenage people who A. Love Hilary Duff for some reason, B. Love silly romantic comedies, and C. Need a stupid, mundane, boring film to make themselves feel better about their own lives.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 13th, 2005
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...
It was really 1977 and as close as your neighborhood theatre. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Darth Vader, and Princess Leia captured our imaginations and have never let go. Star Wars has become nothing less than a modern mythology. No one can deny that George Lucas changed how we see films forever. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Star Wars fan or even watch science fiction as a whole. Movie making changed in 1977. Lucas continues to shape the industry with the f/x empire he built on Star Wars.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 20th, 2005
Synopsis
A group of young folk on their way to the “biggest college football game of the year” (you would do an overnight trip for THAT?) take an unfortunate detour. In groups of two, they are lured into a town run by two madmen, where the only other inhabitants are the was-coated effigies of their victims. What follows is the expected gory slaughter, and some of the deaths are gruesomely imaginative. There is, however, no terror. What does it say when practically the most likeable character in a fil... is played by Paris Hilton? It says that you can’t wait for these people to die. Even the more amiable heroine behaves in ways that are colossally stupid even by slasher movie standards. And the twist at the end is so trivial and meaningless, so utterly irrelevant to the plot, that it is the narrative equivalent of bicycles for fish.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 19th, 2005
Synopsis
Robert Redford is a small-time con man who swindles a runner working for big-time gangster Robert Shaw. When Redford’s partner is killed in retribution, Redford swears revenge, and hooks up with Paul Newman, a veteran at the con game who has fallen on hard times. They put together a veritable army of operators, determined to bring Shaw to his knees in the ultimate con.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 21st, 2005
Pocahontas is Disney’s animated version of the Pocahontas myth. This movie is not history, but a Disney-fied version of it. European settlers came to North America and disrupted the Native American way of life. John Smith (voiced by Mel Gibson) and his British plunderers attempt to rob the “New World” of its riches. Chief Powhatan, and his daughter Pocahontas (voiced by Irene Bedard), might have something to say about this. In the end, in typical Disney fashion, a moral emerges: both cultures have a lot...to learn from eachother.
Pocahontas hits all the right Disney animated film notes, but not as strongly as other films. The villain, the scheming leader of the expedition Ratcliffe (voiced by David Ogden Stiers), is no one to be scared of, really. He comes off more like a goofball. Ratcliffe is not in the tradition of the great Disney villains we’re used to. The cute cuddly comic relief characters (a raccoon, a hummingbird, and a dog) are not as funny or endearing in comparison to, say, Poombaa or Scuttle (from Little Mermaid). And the romance between Pocahontas and John Smith isn’t as charged as Belle and the Beast, for example. It seems a little forced here. So without a great villain, funny comic relief characters, or a believable romance, what does Pocahontas have? It has scope. The “New World” is a wonder to behold. The animators have done an amazing job. And the “Colors of the Wind” song (an Oscar winner) is quite lovely.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 14th, 2005
In Good Company is a "feel good" movie about the ruthless corporate world. Now, is such a thing possible? Writer/Director Paul Weitz almost pulls it off. The movie stars Dennis Quaid as Dan Foreman, the head of advertising sales for a sports magazine. All goes down the toilet for Dan when the sports magazine is swallowed up my a major media conglomerate. Enter Carter Duryea, played by Topher Grace. Carter is brought in as the new "boss", but he's young and in way over his head. Carter decides to keep Dan...around. There's also a romance too, as Carter hooks up with Dan's daughter Alex (played by the lovely Scarlett Johansson). That's the basic gist.
The performances are all excellent here. Topher Grace seems perfectly cast. Johansson, as always, is a complete delight. But Dennis Quaid really seems to be coming into his own lately in these "older man" roles. Quaid has definite screen presence. David Paymer's performance is also worth noting, as the sad sack long time employee of the magazine.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 7th, 2005
Racing Stripes is a “family film” about a zebra (with the original name “Stripes”) who’s only dream is to race with the other horses. Stripes, you see, was abandoned and then rescued by horse farmer Nolan Walsh (played by Bruce Greenwood). Nolan’s younger daughter, Channing (played by Hayden Panettiere), takes the young zebra under her wing, and she helps Stripes realize his dream: to race with the horses. Stripes’ litany of zany friends include a pelican, a lazy bloodhound, flies, roosters, a wise goat, an... some Shetland ponies. That’s the story in a nutshell.
But is the movie any good? Well…the human actors are solid. And the list of voice actors is like a roll call of the star studded. There’s Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Foxworthy, David Spade, Snoop Dogg, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mandy Moore, and Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle himself) as Stripes. What a cast! But what’s the problem? Other than having a live animal’s mouth move in a computer generated manner? That looks a little weird. But, as they say, it all starts with the script.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2005
What kid growing up in the 60’s and 70’s wasn’t totally and completely captivated by the moon landings? We were equally on the edge of our seats when, for a brief moment in time, it appeared we were going to lose our first men in space. Seldom can a film be successful when the audience has most of the story’s details burned into the core of their memory. After all, we know how this one comes out. Still, the film manages to create the intense tension and anticipation as if we were experiencing it all for the first time. The cast is quite crucial for such a monstrous task. Tom Hanks has arguably never been better. The understated style of Gary Sinise is exactly what the film requires when the suspense mounts. It’s particularly gratifying to have Ed Harris along for the ride, quite possibly an homage to his unforgettable John Glenn in The Right Stuff. Ron Howard should be congratulated on producing a piece of cinematic magic that will likely stand the test of time.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 15th, 2005
Synopsis
