Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 31st, 2003
There have always been directors that have stood out in the public consciousness. Scorsese. Spielberg. Hitchcock. Lynch. These are all directors that have a specific vision. With very few exceptions, if you came across one of their films on television on an average Saturday afternoon, it wouldn't take too long to figure out who the director was. They each have a very unique cinematic style, usually based in dramatic films.
Oddly enough, Rob Reiner also fits into this category. His light comedies all have a ...pecial feel to them, and even the bad ones are uniquely pleasing. A kind man hiding behind an emotional facade, a quirky but charming woman and a classic soft jazz soundtrack is all it takes to make one of his light-hearted modern classics.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 30th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 30th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 29th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 28th, 2003
Casablanca. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The Big Sleep. TheMaltese Falcon. To Have and Have Not. All legendary titles, all among the very bestmovies Hollywood has ever made. Terrific adventures and mysteries, the fit together as acollection in fascinating ways, beyond simply having Bogart as the lead. To Have and HaveNot is structurally very much like a more upbeat version of Casablanca. TheMaltese Falcon is frequently held up as the first film no...r, and The Big Sleep comefrom the peak of the noir period. To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep alsogive us the incredible screen chemistry of Bogart and Bacall. The former film is Bacall’s filmdebut, and her arrival has the same effect as the Hindenburg’s at Lakehurst, NJ: she doesn’t justlight up the screen, she incinerates it. If you love movies at all, you owe it to yourself to see allof these films. Again, and again, and again.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 28th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 27th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 26th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 23rd, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2003
I have never really seen a movie like Gang Tapes, a sort-of urban mockumentary told in the first-person through a digital camcorder. The Blair Witch Project is all that really comes close, and even that is not exactly the same thing. The film begins with home video footage of a family on vacation in Hollywood, but once they are carjacked, the family video camera falls into the hands of a 14 year old kid in urban Los Angeles. With this camera, he chronicles his adventures with the other boys and young me... in the neighborhood, including going to parties, dealing drugs, hitting on women, committing crimes and even witnessing murder. The audience is treated to a view of this boy's life through his own eyes, and the result is a frightening look at the life of a child growing up in the ghetto.
While this is a gripping urban tale, the film is not without some problems. At first, the story is intriguing, shining a light in a corner of America that not many people are familiar with. After a while, however, the extreme use of language and constant arguing wears thin. While this may very well be the reality of the situation, it is not always entertaining faire. Likewise, the action begins to give way to a series of speeches by various members of the cast throughout the last part of the film. Many of these scenes feel forced and unnatural in the midst of the chaos around them. The result is a very good film that could have been even more powerful if it were edited down to a running time of about an hour.
