Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 9th, 2003
Synopsis
The plot, such as it is, involves a mysterious medallion that, wielded by its child guardian,can convey supernatural power and eternal life. Julian Sands, phoning in a Creepy English BadGuy performance, wants the child and the medallion. He goes after the child first in Hong Kong,and then in Dublin (where, strangely, we do not encounter a single Irish person). Opposing himare Interpol agents Jackie Chan, Claire Forlani, and a bumbling Lee Evans. Chan is killedmidway ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 9th, 2003
Synopsis
This is a portrait of a family in terminal disfunction. The breadwinner is Janet (played by“Laila Morse,” Gary Oldman’s sister under a pseudonym). Her daughter Valerie (Cannes-winnerKathy Burke) is apathetic, pregnant, and married to the brutal, bullying and self-pitying Ray (RayWinstone). Her son Billy is a heroin addict, and he is thrown out of the house by Ray (who alsoalmost bites his nose off) after smoking some of Ray’s stash.
The worst-case scenarios o...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 9th, 2003
It seems that most people have strong opinions when it comes to Ellen DeGeneres. Of course, when you make yourself the first openly gay character on television, those opinions can be expected. Some feel that she is courageous, bravely stepping into the forefront of the gay rights movement. Others feel that her lifestyle is immoral, and that she should be shamed of her actions. Personally, I feel that it is unfortunate that her status as a gay woman is an issue at all. The desire of any true performer should be for th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 7th, 2003
MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is one of the most memorable TV series ever produced. It was on the air for 11 years (much longer than the Korean War in which it took place). For those of you that have never heard of the show, it followed the trails and tribulations of the 4077th, a battlefield hospital for the American Soldiers in the Korean War. Military settings don’t exactly make one think of a comedy series but it worked. The writing on the show was and still is amongst the best in television history – and ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Lumi Cavazos had great hopes for her marriage, but now it has gone spectacularly on therocks. Amanda de Cadnet, rather more cynical, is still trying to deal with her husband’s infedility,and one of her responses is to seduce a young student. Ione Skye, meanwhile, is involved withphotographer Steve Jones, whose relationship with his daughter is just a wee bit creepy.
Audio
The sound is 2.0, and barely qualifies as stereo. It is, but only just. T...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2003
Synopsis
We are at the end of high school. Jason Gedrick is the basketball star. Tracy Pollan is thecheerleader. Kiefer Sutherland is the sensitive loner. We see them all poised on the threshold ofthe next big step. Two years later, Sutherland returns to the home town, now in the company ofwild child Meg Ryan (and for those who keep track of these things, her turn puts the lie to thenotion that the recent In the Cut features her first nude scenes). The usual set of real-...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 3rd, 2003
Willis O’Brien, the f/x magician behind King Kong and The Lost World, had always wanted to do a cowboys and dinosaurs film. It is no surprise that his prodigy Ray Harryhausen would accomplish the task. Using some of O’Brien’s design ideas, Harryhausen credibly put these two film icons together with mixed results. The script is certainly not the best Harryhausen had to work with. More Bronco Billy than Jurassic Park, this is more an entertaining film than anything to be taken seriously. James Franciscus does a fine job of playing to the f/x.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Three losers want to get on easy street. After being kicked out of a blood bank for trying tosell their blood too often, they steal a mail carrier’s load, hoping to score some cash in the letters.Instead, they discover that the daughter of a bible-thumping politician is apparently strugglingwith her sexual longing. They decide to deflower her, secretly film the deed, and sell the tapeto a tabloid publisher. Everything starts to go wrong, not the least of which is the d...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 1st, 2003
Synopsis
Ray Greene wrote, directed and edited this documentary. He also narrates, and a fine guidehe is to the world of the exploitation film. He acknowledges such 30s classics as ReeferMadness, but his interest is primarily the 50s and 60s, tracing the post-WWII world of theindependent film, and ending with the 70s, as the major studios moved in on the market and theexploitationers became victims of their own success at challenging censorship laws. The filmis smart, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 1st, 2003
Synopsis
London, 1944. Emily Lloyd thinks she’s a showgirl. She dreams of being a big star, orpossibly a gangster’s moll. Serviceman Kiefer Sutherland claims to be a gangster known asChicago Joe, heading up Al Capone’s outfit in London. Yeah, right. When these two meet, theyfeed each other’s fantasies. In order to live up to Lloyd’s image of a gangster, Sutherland letshimself be talked into ever more violent crimes, culminating in murder. Director Bernard Rosekeeps the movie ...
