Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 30th, 2003
Synopsis
The Justice League is Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern,Martian Manhunter and the Flash. The first story, “In Blackest Night,” sees Green Lanternaccused of destroying an entire planet. “The Enemy Below” introduces Aquaman (a verydifferent one from the version older viewers might remember from their youth). The animation isa slight notch above the usual Saturday morning fare, and the look of the characters isinterestingly stylized, in the vein of the Ba...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 30th, 2003
Synopsis
Josh (David Wenham) is going to leave Australia in three days. He meets Cin (Susie Porter)at a party. The two share a cab, and Cin thinks that three days might be just right for a fun fling.This is what happens, and most of the film takes place in Cin’s apartment. There is some prettywitty, breezy stuff here, but there is also much familiar material about how men and women aredifferent, and did we really need yet another romantic comedy with asides where the characters,inte...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 30th, 2003
Synopsis
Not unlike the New Mutants comic book, these are episodes which feature the heroes in thethroes of adolescence. Unlike the New Mutants, however, these are the X-Men themselves intheir youth: Jean Grey, Cyclops and so on. So in between fighting the Brotherhood of EvilMutants, they also have to worry about dating and homework and the whole bit. At least this discdoesn’t try to pretend it’s a feature film.
Audio
The sound is about par for TV cartoon tr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 28th, 2003
This, the third DVD release of T2, reiterates the genius behind this film. With this disc, we are given the same extended edition and theatrical version as found on the Ultimate Edition release, but the new High Definition transfer found on this Extreme Edition makes this 10+ year old film look brand new.
This disc is set to play the 16-minute extended version of the film. If you prefer the theatrical version, on the main menu, go to Sensory Control, and hit the right arrow on your remote 5 times. After ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 28th, 2003
Synopsis
Bank teller Lee Remick returns home one night to be grabbed in her garage by a terrifying,asthmatic killer. She will do as he says, he tells her, and rob the bank, or she and her sister willdie. Remick seeks the help of the FBI, and agent Glenn Ford is soon locked in a cat-and-mousegame with the killer. Rightly seen as anticipating the films of Brian De Palma and JohnCarpenter, Experiment in Terror combines police procedural with lurking menace, andhas a sequence in ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 27th, 2003
Synopsis
The revolution inspired by Paul Atreides has soured, turning into a galaxy-spanning crusadethat is not necessarily liberatory. Intrigue and conspiracy abound as various factions try toundermine Atreides, control him, or destroy him and his children. Combining the two books wasa smart move, since Dune Messiah on its own would be a rather unsatisfactory viewingexperience, and a bit of a downer. Combining the two makes for a much more completenarrative.
Audio< ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 27th, 2003
Synopsis
I presume a synopsis of Cheers would be redundant, because if you’re not familiar with theshow, than this review would hold no interest. Anyway, this first season sets up the bar and thecharacters, in particular the feuding love-hate relationship between Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane(Shelley Long). In fact, in the pilot episode, we see how Diane gets hired in the first place.
Audio
The sound (in 2.0) breaks down pretty much into three categories. The mus...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2003
Synopsis
Ana (America Ferrera) is 18. She has just graduated from high school, and wants to go tocollege. For the summer, though, she is going to have to work in the garment factory with hermother and sister. Her mother (Lupe Ontiveros), meanwhile, is determined to make her fit thetraditional role of a Latino daughter, and Ana rebels. Body image, tradition versus youth, theLatino experience in the US, sweatshops: all these themes are skilfully braided together.
Audio< ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2003
Synopsis
Good Burger has been serving the community’s fast food need for years, but now, across thestreet, comes the colossal building that houses Mondo Burger, a mega-chain set on wiping outthe little guy. To Good Burger’s doubtful rescue come its employees, led by the clumsy Dexter(Kenan Thompson) and the sublimely stupid Ed (Kel Mitchell).
Audio
The stereo mix is in both 5.1 and 2.0 surround, and is very lively, especially when it comes tothe music. Thund...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2003
Synopsis
The Millennium Building in New York has a problem: its central express elevator hasdeveloped a mind of its own, and is killing people. Even as horror movie concepts go, this ispretty preposterous, but what saves the film is its very awareness of its own preposterousness,and its willingness to go insanely over the top. So, on the debit side: the plot makes virtually nosense at all, with a great many threads left dangling; the post-synch voices are often ratherawkward, with t...
