Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2007
A mysterious new planet is discovered, and an expedition there discovers a civilization under threat from King Ghidorah. The inhabitants of Planet X ask to transport Godzilla and Rodan to their home for help. Earth agrees, and at first it seems that all has gone well, as Godzilla sends Ghidorah packing. But then it turns out that the Xians are actually invaders, and plan to use all three monsters to subjugate Earth.
If you thought Godzilla grabbing at his butt after being zapped by Ghidorah in Ghidorah, ...he Three-Headed Monster was silly, just wait for the infamous victory jig here. So yeah, the juvenile nature of the series is pretty much set in concrete by this point. This is also the first time of many that aliens will plot our conquest and using monsters somehow figures into their dastardly scheme. That said, the plot is livelier and more entertaining than the previous entry’s.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 8th, 2007
Having heard exactly zilch about The Last Sin Eater before receiving my review copy, I expected it to be a low-budget horror flick. Boy, was I wrong. This film is based on a bestselling novel by Francine Rivers, a popular writer of Christian-themed fiction. Produced under the 20th Century Fox FoxFaith brand, it’s intended for an Evangelical Christian audience.
The story is set in 1850’s Appalachia, where a group of early Irish settlers have made their home. When the grandmother of 10-year-old ...adi (Liana Liberato) dies, Cadi loses the only person who loved her no matter what sins she’d committed, for even her own mother seems to blame her for a recent family tragedy. At her grandmother’s funeral, during a mysterious ritual, Cadi sees the Sin Eater (Peter Wingfield, Holby City), a disturbing man who symbolically eats the sins of the recently departed, taking them upon himself to allow the dead to rest in peace.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 7th, 2007
Synopsis
When all his cowhands desert him to take part in a gold rush, John Wayne is left with no alternative but hire a group of schoolboys, between the ages of 9 and 15, to work for him on a long and dangerous cattle drive. Along with all the usual hazards of such a journey, they are also being stalked by Bruce Dern and his band of rustlers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 7th, 2007
Pacino and Depp in a mob drama about an undercover fed and his unknowing Mafioso mentor? Fuggedaboudit.
Donnie Brasco is based on the true story of F.B.I. agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp, Blow), who spent six successful years undercover in the New York Mafia, as one Donnie Brasco. The film opens with Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino, Heat), an aging made man, connecting with Donnie about a diamond ring. Donnie’s cover is he’s in the jewelry “business”, and Lefty wants to unload a ring some guy ...ave him as payment for a debt. When Donnie insists the ring’s a fake, Lefty goes back to see the guy, bringing Donnie along. The guy still claims it’s the real deal, but Donnie asks for a minute to “talk to him.” Permission from Lefty granted, Donnie smacks the guy around, threatens murder and makes the guy give up the keys to his Porsche.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2007
The opening credits are a frantic run of images that is pretty hard to actually watch. The segment is made worse by the constantly changing images and strobe light f/x. At first you get the idea you’re in for just another horror film made in the modern deluge of images style. Fortunately this is not a portent of things to come. With a little patience, you’re safely beyond these trappings and find yourself in a rather good film. If you’re able to follow this montage, you’ll be introduced to the bloody history of Gus...ave, a 25 foot crocodile. You’ll discover this killer is claiming a mounting number of human victims, most recently an acclaimed UN naturalist. Once the film actually begins, it will be some time before you are introduced directly to Gustave.
Three American journalists are sent to the heart of Africa on a mission to find and actually capture Gustave. The journey is no less treacherous than Gustave himself. A local dictator intent on genocide now calls himself Little Gustave, after the killer croc, and his hit squads don’t take too kindly to boats entering his domain. Some machine gun fire welcomes our intrepid Americans into the jungles. The reptile is worshipped as a god by many of the locals, as evidenced by a ritual the travelers must participate in to gain their trust. Top this off with a guide who has revenge on his mind and intends to go Ahab on Gustave. Before long we find that peril comes in many sizes on this trip.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 6th, 2007
I should have known I was in trouble from the opening credits. The graphics are accompanied by some really cheap sounding synthesizer music. It sounds like they sprung for the $39 Casio. Beyond the crappy sound, the melody, if you can call it that, didn’t fit the western I was unfortunately about to see. Let’s keep this simple, shall we? If you pick this baby up at your local video store, I’m going to advise you to put it down and back away from the shelf. Now you owe me. I gave you back 2 hours of your life you we...e about to piss away on one of the worst films ever released in any format. This is extremely low budget nonsense all the way around. The acting is the absolute worst I’ve ever seen. Even George Kennedy is obviously only there for the paycheck, which couldn’t have been that much. George’s life must really suck these days for him to allow himself to be a part of this farce, even if it was only for five minutes. I think he just passed Conrad Brooks on the “do anything for a screen credit and a few nickels” circuit. He fumbles through his scene in a performance I hope he’d rather forget. If you’re looking for corny lines, bad acting, and incredibly poor editing, this is the film for you. Perhaps it should be required viewing at all film schools as an example of how not to make a film. If you just think I’m full of crap, I dare ya to sit through all 118 minutes of this film. I double dog dare ya.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2007
Synopsis
Recently released from a psychiatric institute, but hardly a model of stability, archaeologist Taylor Melnick (Geoffrey Lewis) returns home, still haunted by nasty hallucinations involving his demented mother (Karen Black). Complicating his attempts to function are the people around him, ranging from the alcoholic woman across the street to his shady uncle.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2007
Synopsis
Gary Cooper is a writer who hit it big with his first book, but has been mechanically producing more of the same ever since while he and his wife booze it up in New York high society. When his publisher rejects his latest tossed-off effort, Cooper and wife (now dead broke) retreat to his old family home in the country. There he gradually falls in love with the daughter (Anna Sten) of his Polish neighbour. She herself is engaged (unhappily) to another man. The budding relationship is thus fra...ght with many perils.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 6th, 2007
Right off the top, I have to admit I’m a big Scrubs fan. Obviously, this portion of the review will be influenced by that bias, but at least I’m up front about it. Now, this DVD set brings us the ingenious sitcom’s fifth season, which aired in 2006. I didn’t catch any of these 24 episodes on TV, so this release was my first time.
Season five, like all of the previous seasons, picks up at the start of a new year at Sacred Heart. This time around, J.D. (Zach Braff, The Last Kiss) and Elliot (Sar...h Chalke, Roseanne) are full-fledged, attending physicians, while Turk (Donald Faison, Uptown Girls) is vying for one of the hospital’s few surgeon positions. As viewers would expect, the usual gang is still doing its thing, with Dr. Cox ranting, Carla bossing people around, the mysterious Janitor hassling J.D. and Dr. Kelso ruling the place with a nasty fist.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 5th, 2007
What Time Is It? It’s Tool Time! Home Improvement was based on a stand-up routine that made a name for Tim Allen. In his act he would talk about his experiences with power tools and other manly misadventures. He came across as a comedic Bob Vila. Somewhere along the line it was decided this had the makings of a good sitcom for television. It was a rather inspired idea, and for many years it was one of the funnier shows on the tube. I often find myself referring to the show as Tool Time, which in reality is the cabl... handyman show Tim hosts. The reason for this almost constant confusion is simple. It is the Tool Time bits where the show was always at its best. Tim’s rapport with co-host Al Borland (Karn) is always worth a few laughs. Tim lived next door to Wilson (Hindman) who often had long winded words of wisdom when Tim found himself befuddled by life’s complications. As a running gag, we never see Wilson’s face below the nose. Most of the time the privacy fence they spoke over served to cover these areas, but often other well placed items did the job. Tim had a family. His wife, Jill (Richardson) tolerated Tim’s antics, all the while seeing him as an adolescent. The couple had three kids who were quite young as the show began. By season 6 the boys had grown, which demanded more screen and story time. Now there lives have dominated many episodes to the point that Home Improvement became almost a Brady Bunch instead of the more amusing fare it started as. There’s still plenty to laugh at here, but it’s just not as funny as it once was. Combine the older family with 6 years of the tool bits and Home Improvement was running its batteries down a bit. The show had only 2 more years left in it by this time. It might have been better to stop after 5.
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