Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 18th, 2004
Love Nest is one of those films that has a great plot, but is unable to follow through on the script. The idea behind this film is simple; a man returns home from the war to find that his wife has purchased an apartment building, and they are now landlords. Every one of their tenants is crazy in their own way, and mad-cap adventures ensue.
After the first act, the story really settles in on one tenant in particular… a sneaky old Casanova who makes his money by pretending to fall in love with rich old...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 13th, 2004
Synopsis
Kelly Lynch is distraught after girlfriend Sherilyn Fenn moves out, claiming she "needs somespace." Lynch hires male escort William Baldwin (who is having troubles of his own with aviolent past acquaintance) to be her date at her sister's wedding, and then hits upon a scheme: shewill hire Baldwin to seduce Fenn and break her heart, thus sending Fenn running back to Lynch.But matters take an unexpected turn.
That last sentence is a lie. Things play out safely and pre...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 6th, 2004
Synopsis
This is a fascinating collection, but be warned that this isn’t a “Best Of” by any means. Thereis no Duck Soup here. After leaving Paramount, the Marx Brothers moved to MGM,where (as we learn in the commentaries), studio head Irving Thalberg gave their movies a newform: big, lavish production numbers, and more linear plots.
With the first effort, A Night at the Opera (1935) (****), this approach producedwonders. The formula for all the other films in t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 27th, 2004
Ahh, those funny little Kids from Canada. I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point in the 90’s, The Kids in the Hall became North America’s answer to Monty Python. Now, that’s not to say that the Kids are as classically funny as the Pythons, but the similarities run rampant nonetheless. Both troupes had a very successful sketch comedy television series, in which many of the all-male cast dressed in drag. Following the success of their respective shows, they both explored what feature films might conta...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 25th, 2004
Synopsis
Mandy Moore plays Anna Foster, daughter of President Mark Harmon. She is extremelyfrustrated with the fact that her social life is consistently ruined by the vast phalanx of SecretService personnel that shadow her every move. Harmon promises to ease up on her while theyvisit Prague, but he breaks his promise, and she flees, hooking up with handsome photographerMatthew Goode. A travelogue of Europe ensues, with romance aborning. Trouble is, Good isactually another Secret Ser...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 24th, 2004
The Farelly brothers are back with another unconventional comedy, this time about conjoint twins (otherwise known as Siamese twins). When I first saw the ads for this movie, I thought, “Yikes, what jokes in bad taste are the Farelly’s going to poke at the conjoined community?” I watched this move with some trepidation, but was surprised to find Stuck On You the least offensive and most accessible of all of the Farrelly’s pictures.
The movie follows the lives of Bob (Matt Damon) and Walt (Greg Kinnea...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 23rd, 2004
Synopsis
Type A real estate salesman Eddie Murphy can't ever stop selling, even when this meansneglecting his family. His drive lands them all into trouble when he insists they take a detourfrom their vacation to follow up on a mysterious offer concerning the mansion of the title. Soonenough, He and his family are trapped in the massively haunted building, running hither andthither from ghosts, while his wife (Marsha Thomason), believed to be the reincarnation of themaster's long-lo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 22nd, 2004
I remember all of the controversy and discussion that was stirred up when Judy Dench won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love. It’s not that the public felt that she didn’t do a great job, it’s just that she was only in the film for approximately six minutes. What’s more, Cate Blanchette was in a film called Elizabeth that same year, in which she played the same historical figure, and was nominated for the role of Best Actress, which sh...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 16th, 2004
Synopsis
Devastated by being dumped by his fiancee (Minnie Driver), Colin Firth flees to OldeEngland for New, attracted by the refuge offered by the name of the town of Hope. There hemeets wild child of nature Heather Graham, and begins to fall in love. Re-enter Minnie Driver,and a revelation that complicates things considerably. How will the triangle be resolved?
And do you care? Firth doesn’t stretch much, filtering the stiff befuddlement of his Mr.Darcy variations from < ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 15th, 2004
It appears that Fox is having a hard time keeping a good thing going when it comes to the Marilyn Monroe Diamond Collection. The Volume One boxed set included five discs, Volume Two included four discs, and the group of films that are generally being referred to as Volume Three don’t come in a box at all, but are only available for individual sale. I understand the logic, however, as these latest films aren’t exactly Marilyn Monroe star vehicles. Yes, she appears in all of them, but she is certainly not a feat...
