Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 16th, 2007
Before Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, there was another film full of warriors running through the wilderness, accompanied by a majestic score. That film was The Last of the Mohicans, director Michael Mann's remake of the 1936 film of the same name, which was a remake of the 1920 silent film. And all of these movies were based on the original novel by James Fennimore Cooper, a popular 18th Century American writer.
So there's a lot of history to this story, which is set during the French and Indian War in the mid-18th Century. Our hero is Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York), the white adopted son of a Mohican father, Chingachgook (Russel Means, Natural Born Killers). Together with Chingachgook's biological son, Uncas (Eric Schweig, Tom and Huck), they do their own thing in the wilderness, hunting and trapping and uninvolved in the ongoing war.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 14th, 2007
In the great tradition of Hollywood rehashes, The Guardian applies a new coat of paint to a tried-and-true formula. In this case, we're talking about the story of Top Gun with Coast Guard rescue swimmers in place of Air Force fighter pilots. Oh, and maybe throw in a little Officer and a Gentleman for good measure.
Stop me if you've heard this one. They're the elite, the best of the best. Their training program is the most difficult in the world, and it will weed out anyone who can't cut it in their dangerous profession. One man is a legend in the profession, now the lead instructor at the school. The other is a cocky young recruit, with tons of raw talent but always "this close" to throwing it all away. The instructor recognizes the recruit's ability, but questions whether he can be trusted in a real life or death situation. Their relationship starts out antagonistic, but before the tale is finished, they'll find a common ground and shared respect, and the teacher will pass his torch on to the student.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 11th, 2007
Well, after the worldwide success of Dr. No, producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman went back to figure out what to do about a sequel, and following a nod to the series by then-President Kennedy, From Russia With Love was the next candidate in line to be given the Bond treatment from the library of Ian Fleming novels.
In this film, Bond (the returning Sean Connery) has recently vanquished Dr. No, and the organization that he worked for, SPECTRE, decides to try to eliminate Bond, using two things that will lure any well-respecting secret agent, a decoding machine that the Russian government currently is in possession of, and a Russian defector that wants to turn it over to James specifically. The defector in question is Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), who is recruited by a Russian general who has turned over to the SPECTRE side.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 29th, 2007
John Cena is The Marine. Though, as matters develop, The Maroon might be a better handle. At any rate, after being discharged for having Disobeyed a Direct Order in Iraq (where, in a scene distinctly reminiscent of the opening of The Naked Gun, our boy shoots up one of those elusive Al-Qaeda training camps that nobody else seems to be able to find). Readjustment to civilian life is difficult, but then, while heading out for a little holiday with his wife (Kelly Carlson), an unfortunate stop at a gas station results in Carlson being abducted by a violent gang of jewel thieves headed up by Robert Patrick (who comes across, as was pointed out to me, like the love child of Martin Sheen and Chandler Bing). Cue the pursuit through the swamps.
So as we’re watching this, my girlfriend turns to me and says that there’s a problem with a movie when the hero could be removed from the picture to little discernible effect. And she’s right. In fact, Cena disappears completely once the action gets going (!!?!), leaving the field for Patrick to camp it up. What role he does play could have, for the most part, easily been filled by one of the alligators we are shown (but who are never seen again). Perhaps Gustave could have been imported from Primeval to take care of business. And while I love a good explosion as much as the next guy, the ones on display here are so over the top (my favourite is the coop car raised into the air on a pillow of fire) that they are hilarious. And trust me, we’re laughing AT the movie and the steroid freaks in it, not with it (or them).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 19th, 2007
The only thing I really knew about The Librarian was that Noah Wyle, previously known for his work in ER was playing in some goofy looking film, and the making of this film was getting in the way of whatever theatrical film I was watching from August-October. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it was more than just a goofy little film, that it was the second in a presumed series, and hey, it's not all that much about a library at all!
Written by Marco Schnabel in his initial outing and directed by Number One himself, Jonathan Frakes, Wyle plays Flynn Carsen, an adventurous academic with 22 Ph. D's who works in a library that's maintained by Judson (Bob Newhart, Elf) and the accountant Charlene (Jane Curtin, Saturday Night Live). He goes to Africa to search for the secrets behind King Solomon, and encounters a myriad of intrigue that few are familiar with.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2007
I'm sure we all remember when it was rumored that Brett Ratner was going to direct Superman Returns and Bryan Singer was going to direct the third X-Men film. Well we all know how that one turned out. Ratner made a decent film while Singer made a better film but not without it�s own faults.Superman Returns takes place roughly five years after the events of Superman II. Superman aka Clark Kent (portrayed by Brandon Routh) has left on a journey back to his home planet of Krypton. Upon returning, Superman notices everything is different. Most important to him is that Lois Lane (portrayed by Kate Bosworth) is married (and worse off has a child). Superman learns that Lois was kind of pissed that he suddenly zoomed off without saying goodbye to her and everyone else. In fact she was so angered by his sudden departure that she wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning article on �Why the World Doesn�t Need Superman� (something that obviously hurts Clark).
Superman�s arch enemy, Lex Luthor (this time portrayed with little to no emotion by Kevin Spacey) is out of jail (yes like a common sense world would release a super criminal like Luthor out just because Superman couldn�t testify) and is ready to create more havoc. This time Luthor intends to use a few kryptonite crystals to make cities right in the middle of the ocean. And what is Luthor�s goal in this? Why to make money of course (imagine the cost he asks). Doesn�t Luthor have enough money?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 13th, 2007
Honestly, was anyone really surprised when Universal announced a sequel to the ultra successful (and ultra-good) film The Mummy? The easiest comparison one can make is that Universal was trying to create their Indiana Jones series ala Fox. Even though neither Mummy film will EVER approach the quality of any of the Indiana Jones films (even the weakest Temple of Doom), The Mummy films, especially The Mummy Returns, are damn fun to watch.
Rick O�Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Evie (Rachel Weisz) are a happily married adventure seeking couple. Having just returned from another treasure hunting trip (this time looking for the bracelet of Anubis). We zip to another scene where we learn that Anuksunamun is trying to bring her old love Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) back to life. The only big problem is that this particular year, 1933, happens to be the year of the Scorpion (a little back-story is that The Scorpion King sacrificed his soul to the god Anubis in exchange for victory over his enemies). If someone gets a hold of this bracelet and puts it on, The Scorpion King will rise in seven days (which is exactly what Imhotep and company want as they hope to steal The Scorpion King�s power). Well imagine what exactly happens and you have a pretty solid (if loop-holed) film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 13th, 2007
Let me tell you something about myself. I am surrounded by hundreds, sometimes thousands, of snakes every day. As I write this review, there are about 500 snakes just a couple hundred feet away. I'm not on a plane, of course, but snakes are a big part of my life. I'm a snake breeder. I'm also a musician who has just released an entire CD of reptile tracks (see footnote). So it was with more than the little bit of curiosity that I just had to see this film. I knew everybody would be asking me what I thought. So what did I think? This film is a hell of a lot of fun. I've long since learned to forgive the use of common non-venomous species to play these nasties on screen. These are actors, for crying out loud. And at least Samuel L. Jackson's worth a ton of jack, so it really wouldn't be a great idea to place him in a confined space with a pack of cobras or mambas. At least they made some effort to mimic the deadly kinds. I had a little bit of fun trying to see how many species I could identify. Then the game becomes how many of them do I own. Quite a few, as it turns out.
Snakes On A Plane rocks. If you didn't catch this when it was out, you must at least rent it now. What I love most about this film has almost nothing to do with the snakes. This film pretty much puts it out there. As Jackson is fond of saying, you just know exactly what you're going to get with the title. There were efforts to tone down the gore and silliness, but Jackson wanted nothing to do with any of that. And so the film is a romp, but it never told you it would be anything more. The same can be said of Jackson himself. When you go to one of his movies, unless George Lucas has anything to do with it, you pretty much know what a screen full of Sam Jackson's gonna be. The supporting cast is your obvious planeload of stereotypes, but again, this is all what you paid your admission to see. There will be F Bombs littered across the dialogue. His in your face persona will make or break the film, not anything in the script. Lots of guys curse, but Jackson makes the language his own. I often complain in these pages about the use of vulgarity for vulgarity's sake ruining an otherwise nice film. Here I don't think there was enough. I first saw the film in a theater and when Jackson delivered his battle cry, the room exploded. Honestly, isn't that what we all came to see? Snakes? What snakes? Oh, those MF snakes. Got it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2007
After seeing Casino Royale it's hard to look at a Bond film the same way, and when Roger Moore inhabited the guy who likes martinis, fast cars and dangerous situations, it may have been a little cheesy. Granted, Moore did appear in a couple of notable Bond misses, but in the tenth release of the James Bond franchise, The Spy Who Loved Me stands as one of his best, if not the best Moore film.
From a screenplay by Richard Maibaum (his 7th Bond film) and Christopher Wood (his first) and directed by Lewis Gilbert (his 2nd Bond film), this new situation finds James at first in Austria, being chased by assassins, with everyone on skis. The end of the chase, whether you like it or not, is one of the better (maybe the best) in Bond film history. Once he gets settled, he is sent to find out why nuclear submarines are going missing. Complicating things is that James has to work with a Russian agent, a striking female named Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach, Caveman). Together, they find out the cause of the disappearances, a reclusive businessman named Stromberg (Curt Jurgens, The Longest Day, The Enemy Below) and his henchman, the ginormous guy with metal teeth, lovingly nicknamed Jaws (Richard Kiel, The Longest Yard).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 2nd, 2007
On its surface, The Promise seems to have a good pedigree backing it up. You've got the guy who directed Farewell, My Concubine and the cinematographer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, combining forces for a Chinese film that is epic in scope, similar to the Zhang Yimou films Hero and House of Flying Daggers.
The problem with The Promise is that the story rambles a bit, and the characters are ones that you don't care about. The stunts aren't even breathtaking either, as the visual effects are apparently done with wires and green screens, and can be made out so obviously, they lack the magic and wonder of the Yimou films, or even other films like Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle.
![The Mummy Returns [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-mummy-returns-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
