Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 8th, 2004
Synopsis
Though the character first appeared on film in 1926, the Charlie Chan films proper ran from1931 to 1949. Warner Oland’s interpretation of the character is the most beloved, though SidneyToller (who took over after Oland died in 1938) was still part of the series’ peak (1936-9). In1944, beginning with Charlie Chan in the Secret Service, the series moved from 20thCentury Fox to Monogram, one of the Poverty Row studios, and the decline began, though thecheapest of the f...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 7th, 2004
Sometimes, I just don’t know where to begin with these reviews. There are bad movies, there are really bad movies, and then there are movies such as this. When it comes to DVD, extremely bad comedies are the lowest of the low. Bad dramas, horror films or love stories are usually only bad because they are tired and predictable. While that doesn’t make them any less annoying, at least they are comfortable. A bad comedy, however, goes beyond those other annoyances and creates something that is truly uncomfortable. It’s ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 6th, 2004
Synopsis
G.I. Joe is the collective name of a secret assault force who are locked in combat with thenefarious terrorist organization Cobra (who certainly can afford much nicer accommodationsthan al-Qaeda). Adventures include everything from a giant mutated bacteria to the swordExcalibur. There are also four two-parter episodes.
The animation is typical 80s Saturday morning: crap. The stories move quickly enough, butit is surprising how many of the Joes sound deeply stupid. A...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 6th, 2004
Synopsis
Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz) is training at a CIA summer camp. A midnight drill that resultsin the flight of the camp leader turns out not to have been a drill at all. It turns out that the man isa villain (so why did the CIA let him run the camp at all?) and he has absconded with a mind-control device. Muniz is sent to England to track him down, where he hooks up with fellow teenspy Hannah Spearritt and adult-yet-childlike handler Anthony Anderson.
The idea of a CIA ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 6th, 2004
Synopsis
Walter Matthau is Joseph P. Kotcher, a doting grandfather who is rapidly wearing out hiswelcome at the home of his son and daughter-in-law. Increasingly unwanted, Matthau finallyrebels when life in a retirement home looms. He winds up hitting the road with a pregnantteenager, and once again he is needed.
Jack Lemmon made his directorial debut with this piece that simultaneous goes all-out andtakes the easy way in its determined effort to be heartwarming. Matthau, ra...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 6th, 2004
South Park had peaked with Season 3. The film was a huge hit and some of the best stuff came out that year. Season 4 would become a more up and down year. It’s obvious that the Stone and Parker team decided to push the envelope a bit further. This is also the year we got wheelchair bound Timmy. I liked Timmy at first, but he just gets old fast. One of the highlights of this season is the last episode. Another Mr. Hanky Christmas episode has the boys creating a special computer Christmas card called “The Spirit of Chr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 5th, 2004
Synopsis
Mousy scienties Rosetta Stone (Tilda Swinton) creates three Self Replecating Automatons(SRAs): the glamorous Ruby, Marinne and Olive (all played by Swinton). The SRAs need themale Y chromosome to survive, so Ruby ventures forth from their home periodically for someanonymous sex. She saves the condoms, which are subsequently used as tea bags. The SRAs pinefor independent life, and Ruby oversteps her bounds, thus risking discovery for them all.
Though some of the elements mig...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 5th, 2004
Synopsis
John Wayne Gacy (Mark Holton) is a typical, if rather slobbish, middle-class family man. Heis the local organizer for the Democrats. He also has a bad stench emanating from the crawlspace beneath his house, and the neighbours keep complaining. Gacy has his work cut out forhim dealing with the stench, since it is caused by the rotting bodies of the young men he hasmurdered.
The lurid qualities of Gacy’s crimes mean that this film could have been an unwatchableexercise in b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 5th, 2004
Synopsis
Megan Gallagher and family move into a new house, and very soon things start to go wrong.It seems that there is a race of little creatures, the “Huldre,” living under the earth, and they playincreasingly nasty pranks. Their central target is Gallagher’s young daughter, who at first isdelighted to befriend the creatures. Malcolm McDowell, slumming for another paycheck, plays apsychiatrist who sees the child’s case as his ticket to glory.
The plotting is sloppy, the character...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 3rd, 2004
What we have here is a messy British independent film that takes most of its cues from the Agatha Christy 10 Little Indians formula. The film fails to provide enough setup or character development to ensure we give a crap about any of these people or what happens to them. As the dull actors and their equally dull counterparts disappear, I found myself looking forward to losing another one. Most of these chaps are complete unknowns. Only Paris Hilton’s name rang any bells. The producers were quite aware of this dilemm...
