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...women. Unfortunately, his mannerisms and dialog are completely transparent, so while the characters in the film are fooled, his true nature is blatantly obvious to even the casual viewer. A much more interesting storyline deals with Marilyn Monroe’s role as an old Army buddy of the landlord. His wife is obviously quite jealous of this sexy young woman, and her suspicions about how well her husband knew her during the war are comedic fodder that could have carried this film much farther than it went otherwise.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 13th, 2004
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 6th, 2004
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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...n. Following this exploration, they both performed some of their classic material before a live audience. The last part of the puzzle is the emergence of one of the cast members as a serious Director; for the Pythons, it was Gilliam, and for the Kids, it’s Bruce MuCulloch.
Just to make this clear yet again, I am certainly not saying that Gilliam and MuCulloch are equals in the world of film… far from it. I can say, however, that McCulloch is off to a good start, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him evolve into a talented comedy director in the future. Dog Park is a basic romantic comedy, with indie sensibilities and a twisted view of dog owners. Think Best in Show meets When Harry Met Sally.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 25th, 2004
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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...) as they transition from their comfortable lives in New England as burger joint owners and chefs, where they are accepted for who they are. Walt has the acting bug and has starred in a number of local productions but wants more. He wants to ply his trade in Hollywood.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 23rd, 2004
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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... did not ultimately win. Ahh, the drama and controversy that is Oscar.
A similar controversy brews on this DVD, though certainly not as strongly. 20th Century Fox has released this disc billed as a Marilyn Monroe movie. True, Marilyn is in the film, but let’s be honest… she’s only in it for about eight minutes. Granted, the film is only 76 minutes long, but still. Eight measly minutes. For me, the better story here is Robert Wagner. Yep, the cast includes Mr. Hart to Hart himself, in one of his first film appearances. Not only that, but he has a major supporting role in the film. In this case, I feel that Wagner should be on the cover of this disc, instead of Monroe
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 16th, 2004
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 15th, 2004
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