Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 19th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 15th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 13th, 2003
The In-Laws was one of those films that just never fit neatly into any safe category. Recently I’ve been ask to describe it to others who had not seen it before. If your only point of reference is the recent remake with Michael Douglas, run to your nearest rental store and look up this gem of an original. Peter Falk is best known, of course, for the rumpled-raincoat detective, Columbo. While many of his Columbo mannerisms are in evidence in this film (that outstretched hand to the head and his gravelly low mumbles) the character is really quite removed from Columbo. Alan Arkin provides a perfect straight man to Falk’s erratic and seemingly dangerous CIA operative.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 12th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 11th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 2nd, 2003
Film
To film fans, the clause “Directed by Alfred Hitchcock” has almost become an adjective in and of itself. It has come to mean suspense created by using the viewer’s imagination and mind as a part of the film, first and foremost. These films didn’t have the freedom of CG, and consequently had to invent ways to achieve visual effects (Watch the documentary on Birds or Rear Window for example). Besides the lack of freedom of creation that digital filmmaking now provides, the filmmak...rs had to tip toe around the Hays code, not only restrictive on sex and sexual undertones, but also on content (as we learn in the featurettes here) and gore. The phrase, and the adjective that bears the director’s name, has grown to include a certain quality of characters and meticulous film crafting in every phase of the production. Rebecca, therefore, can rightfully be called “classic Hitchcock.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 2nd, 2003
Film
Jack, a pimp, ends up in prison when a competing pimp frames him for child prostitution. Zack, a down-on-his luck deejay, is there because an associate paid him a thousand dollars to drive a car across town, unaware of the contents of the trunk. In the same cell, they bemoan their situation: each man innocent of their crimes, but vaguely guilty of something, we’re never sure what. When a third man shows up, an Italian tourist named “Bob,” he seems to brighten the dour men as much as can ...e expected.. He’s also very up front with them: he isn’t innocent. He’s there because in a barroom fight, he killed a man with a pool ball. He accepts responsibility for his crime, and seems determined not to live in total misery. Even though he’s the only one who is admittedly guilty, Bob seems the most ‘essentially’ innocent of the three.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 30th, 2003
After the death of his estranged wife, Cary Grant swoops back into his children’s lives,determined to be a proper father. He’s a bit rusty, and his kids aren’t exactly ecstatic about living with him. In over his head, he searches for a maid, and into their lives comes Sophia Loren, who is actually the daughter of a famous Italian conductor. They wind up living on a rickety houseboat, and romantic heat is gradually generated between Grant and Loren while Loren brings father and kids closer together. So basically, the plot is The Sound of Music with a sex bomb in the Julie Andrews role. The problem with this film, apart from its sluggish pace (we don’t reach the houseboat until 45 minutes in), is that it is missing the most vital ingredient for a successful romantic comedy: likable characters. This is a group of self-centred, selfish, oblivious whiners,and their company is well nigh insupportable. Grant does his best to make his inane dialogue sound urbane, but the script is beyond even his skills to salvage.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 27th, 2003
In the dying days of World War II, a German submarine torpedoes a British ship off the coast of Venezuela, and machine-guns all the crew. Sole survivor is Murphy (Peter O’Toole), who istaken in by coastal villagers. Driven by thoughts of revenge that have less and less to do with the wider war, Murphy sets as his one goal in life the destruction of the German sub, by whatever improvised means possible (including repairing a reconnaissance plane and learning to fly it himself). The action sequences are quite impressive, though the flying scenes are rather overlong.The characters of Murphy and those played by Philippe Noiret and Sian Phillips are potentially interesting, but never given a chance to develop beyond that potential. Still, there’s enough quirky yet bang-up action (U-boat VS barge??!!) to make this pretty solid entertainment, if not much more.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 26th, 2003
Synopsis
