Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2007
Previous to receiving this copy of Happy Feet for review, I have wanted to check it out but never got the chance; the animation appears to look spectacular and the cast of voice actors seems really impressive. The list includes one of my favorite actors Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Robin Williams, Hugo Weaving, Nicole Kidman, and more. So on paper Happy Feet sounds like a winner, how does it turn out?
Happy Feet revolves around the lives of a colony of emperor penguins on...Antarctica, and as I’m sure some of you know compliments of Planet Earth or March of the Penguins that in order to find a mate emperor penguins sing to each other - in Happy Feet they call this a “Heartsong.” Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman) sings to Memphis (Hugh Jackman) who in turn sings to her and the two identify each other as soul mates. They mate and Norma Jean along with the rest of the females take off to get food while Memphis and the males stay and guards the eggs, but Memphis drops his and normally the harsh winter isn’t so forgiving of a dropped egg in the sub zero temperatures, but the baby penguin survives and out hatches Mumble (Elijah Wood). As time goes on it becomes realized that unlike every other penguin Mumble’s can’t sing, therefore has no “Heartsong.” Instead he is blessed with an outstanding ability to tap dance, which ultimately gets him branded as a freak amongst the emperor penguins. As Mumbles grows older he fails to garner a singing voice, and it unable to attract the penguin of his dreams, Gloria (Brittany Murphy). Then through a series of unfortunate events Mumble is swept into the sea and lands up within a new colony of fun loving penguins who actually adore his tap dancing abilities. Through the adventures with his new penguin buddies, Mumble discovers humans who he refers to as aliens, caught up in the hype he sets out for home to tell the colony of his findings, where he must prove himself to not only his family, but also the colony and his crush Gloria.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2007
Yet another Samuel L. Jackson movie containing the word snake in it, but unlike Snakes on a Plane, Black Snake Moan is a dramatic picture delving into dark issues like abuse. I’ll come out by saying that I though this movie was going to be a good laugh, seeing the trailer I though it would be a bearded Sam Jackson shouting out profanities at an unwilling captive in his home. Although this does happen it is a small portion of the movie, and not as comedic as I had supposed.
Black Snake Moan.../i> takes place in a rural part of the American south east, playing out in a small town and its surrounding area, but because the town is small doesn’t mean the problems are. Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction) is a former blues guitarist turned full time farmer with deep religious beliefs. In the beginning of the picture his wife leaves him for his brother, where a nearly violent rage ensues. Having a hard time dealing with his problems, Lazarus begins singing the blues once again, which at one time apparently had the whole town hopping. Meanwhile Rae (Christina Ricci, Sleepy Hollow) has to say goodbye to her Marine boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) who’s about to be shipped over seas. As soon as he leaves she sleeps with a local crack dealer Tehronne (David Banner), attends a party where she sleeps with another patron, later Ronnie’s friend Gill finds her passed out in a field half naked and offers her a ride home. Along the way Gill nearly rapes Rae but instead beats her severely and throws her on the side of the road. The following morning Lazarus discovers her and takes her in, nursing her back to health. But when he learns of her past indiscretions he believes that God has put her on his path and offers her redemption. In other words he chains her to his radiator and offers her counsel on her history of abuse and sexual addiction but instead the two develop a bond and mutually help one and other with their problems.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2007
Snow Cake is a slow, quiet film that creeps up on you. You don’t realize it’s working for you until the end rolls around, and you’re left reflecting on its impact.
It’s about a lonely, middle-aged man whose life is changed by a car crash. Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman, Love Actually) is on a road trip across Canada. He reluctantly picks up a hitchhiker, a spunky teenage girl. Just as they’re developing a bit of a connection, they’re blindsided by a semi. This results in Alex making an unplanned st...p in her hometown of Wawa, Ontario, to visit the girl’s mother, Linda (Sigourney Weaver, Alien), a high-functioning autistic woman.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 22nd, 2007
Although Trading Places is nearly twenty five years old it still manages to offer some pretty good laughs, being one of the better comedies out of the 80’s. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Eddie Murphy, and Dan Aykroyd the trio appeared to have some great chemistry together, as they were all at or near the peaks of their careers.
Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd, The Blues Brothers) is a well respected member of high society, manages a commodities brokerage firm for the Duke Brothers and is recentl... engaged to the superficial Penelope. Everything is going well for Louis until Mortimer and Randolph Duke have a bet on the nature versus nurture debate. Mortimer believes that any well breed member of high society can get back on his feet even if everything was taken away from him, and a street urchin would simply fail even if the right opportunity for a bright future came along. Randolph of course believes the opposite and the two decide to wager “the usual amount” on the bet, and before you know it Louis is framed as a drug dealer and a thief. With frozen bank accounts and no house he has only a hooker with a heart of gold, Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis, True Lies) to count on. Meanwhile Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy, The Nutty Professor) is invited into the posh arms of high society, living in Louis’s house and even taking his old job. It appears that money is already changing Billy Ray, and the street has broken the once confident and in control Louis. Eventually the two see society for what it really is which actually leads to a pretty interesting climax.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 21st, 2007
Flags of Our Fathers is based on the book of the same name by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima and the famous raising the flag on Iwo Jima picture. It’s the second recently released movie about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the other being Letters from Iwo Jima.
Both films were directed by Clint Eastwood. Although both focus on the same event, they are quite different. Letters from Iwo Jima is from the Japanese perspective and Flags of Our Fathers from the Ame...ican. Also, Flags is more focused on the group of Marines that raised the flag, their efforts in selling war bonds back in America and their coping with the war. Having recently watched and enjoyed Letters from Iwo Jima, I eagerly anticipated this film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 21st, 2007
Four years ago when The O.C. came out it was a pretty big deal. I was finishing out high school back then, and like Beverly Hills 90210 did to the previous generation, The O.C. captivated the minds of the teenagers and young adults. I, like most people my age, watched the first season regularly. Back then I loved it and although some of its novelty has worn off, I can still really enjoy it. But as with most shows, as the years go on, the episodes become less entertaining - I watched much of the s...cond season, parts of the third season, and none of the fourth. Recently I had a fit of what could best be referred to as nostalgia, I rented the first three seasons of The O.C. and got back into what I loved so much back in 2003. As it stands I still really like the first season, the second season seemed lazy and predictable as with the third. Since I already know the fourth season was its last, I hope it somehow returned to its roots, regardless I am eagerly anticipating how things are going to wrap up.
If for some reason you’re reading this and have not yet seen the first three seasons of The O.C. I’ll briefly fill you in on the situation, so be prepared for spoilers. Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) was a troubled teenager living in Chino, after being busted for theft his public defender Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher) decided to adopt him giving him a new start in the posh Orange County. Before long Ryan befriends Sandy’s son Seth (Adam Brody) and the neighbor’s daughter Marissa (Mischa Barton). Of course there are love triangles, parties, fights, and other teenage matters that are dealt with throughout the show, but it mainly focuses on the relationships between Ryan and Marissa and Seth and the girl of his dreams Summer (Rachel Bilson). By the time season three wraps up Marissa has died in a car accident and Summer is heading to college out east.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 21st, 2007
Synopsis
When Admiral Walter Pidgeon’s glass-nosed submarine (?) Seaview surfaces at the North Pole after an extended stay underwater, Pidgeon and crew discover the sky is on fire. It turns out the Van Allen radiation belt has caught fire (?!) and life on Earth will be incinerated once the temperature reaches 175 Farenheit (and not, apparently, a single degree less). Pidgeon and co-hort Peter Lorre come up with a plan to launch a nuclear missile into the belt and use the explosion to blow out ...he fire (??!!). The UN scientists think they’re made, and subs are dispatched to stop the Seaview as it makes a desperate journey to the reach the correct location and time to launch the missile. On top of everything else, there’s a saboteur aboard.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2007
Shooter is closely based on Point of Impact, an excellent novel by thriller writer Stephen Hunter. I read the book in the late 90’s, and enjoyed it. A lot. When I began seeing trailers for this film last year, you can bet I was excited at the prospect of seeing Bob Lee Swagger come to life on the big screen, even if it had to be “Marky” Mark Wahlberg in the role.
The film updates Hunter’s story to present day, shifting Vietnam to Iraq and villains to mercenary pawns of thinly veiled Dubya coho...ts. Otherwise, it’s fairly true to the story structure in the novel, which is a good thing in my book, but obviously the movie has to play well on its own. I’d call this one entertaining overall, but uneven – some parts are terrific, others drag it down.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 20th, 2007
Synopsis
An overheated Cold War plot sees a scientist, crucial to American interests, felled by a blood clot. The only way of saving his life consists in shrinking a submarine and specialist crew to microscopic size and injecting them into the his body. They must make their way up the circulatory system to the brain and there destroy the clot. But on top of all the hazards they encounter in the body, there is also a saboteur aboard.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2007
I’m not sure exactly what I expected going into this film, but whatever it was, the film I saw could not have been farther from it. What Bridge to Terabithia is, is a little hard to explain. It’s certainly a children’s fantasy, but not in the style most popular today with franchises like Harry Potter and Narnia. This film is actually wonderfully understated. It centers on two children who are misfits of a sort. Like many kids they feel alien in the world around them. They are at that awkward age where they are gett...ng too old for childishness but are still too young for the adult world. The only option left to them is to create a world where not only do they fit in but rule with confidence. Terabithia is indeed populated with the traditional fantasy elements, but here these things blend in with the real world around them. It is a place firmly imbedded in their imaginations, a world let out only in snippets at a time. The film is never overwhelmed with an f/x laden image that fails to satisfy on any complete level. They immerse themselves in the battle of good and evil in Terabithia, but everything there is strongly connected with the lives they are actually living in the mundane world of reality. The film also goes down a path that will be unexpected, and that I will not spoil for you now. Like all classic Disney, Bridge To Terabithia is loaded with the obligatory life lessons. Concepts like friendship and standing up for yourself abound. Disney understands that less can often be more, and that understanding makes this a far more rewarding film to watch. There are moments when the film does bog itself down and move somewhat slowly. If I think so, I’m sure the kiddies will be even more aware. The film dips its toe into Christianity a bit. Most of this is directly from the Katherine Paterson novel. Fantasy and reality can often be so intertwined here that you will never quite know where one ends and the other begins until you are already fully there.
Another fine Disney tradition is the performances they have consistently gotten from child actors. Bridge To Terabithia is no exception. Jess, played by Josh Hutcherson, is the understated character. Hutcherson does a fine job of portraying the changes that come over his character. When we first meet Josh, he is shy and turned well within himself. He gets picked on at school, and his Dad seems to favor his younger sister. Once he warms up to new student Leslie, he begins to open up and finally finds things to get excited about. AnnaSophia Robb is equally good as Leslie. Leslie’s character doesn’t change quite so much. Still, it is Leslie who must bring out Jess. It is her imagination that first gives birth to Terabithia. Robb plays her with a tremendous amount of energy.
![Happy Feet (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/happy-feet-combo-hd-dvd-and-standa-large.jpg)
![Black Snake Moan [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/black-snake-moan-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
![Flags of Our Fathers (Two-Disc Special Edition) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/flags-of-our-fathers-two-disc-special-edition-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
