Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 22nd, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 17th, 2004
Back in the day, the Looney Tunes were irreverent, violent, and created with an adult audience in mind (much like South Park is today). Somewhere along the line, however, values changed, and they became standard kids faire. Now, that’s not to say that there wasn’t still plenty in there for adults to enjoy as well, but they just didn’t carry with them the same humorous social commentaries that were prevalent in the days of old.
Well, the Tunes are back! The appropriately-titled Looney Tunes - Back ...n Action is a breath of fresh air for parents who have tired of taking their children to standard animated Saturday matinees. This is a live action/animation hybrid film, in the same vein as the classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. A lot has changed since those days, however. The live action and animation blends seamlessly throughout this film, with virtually none of the awkward line-of-sight errors that were so prevalent in earlier attempts to marry the two formats.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2004
Following in the tradition of This Is Spinal Tap, Mark Hamill’s Comic Book: The Movie is a “mockumentary” that delves into the lives of those obsessed by comics and those that try to make money off of these people i.e. heartless Hollywood types who want to cash into the comic book craze by bastardizing a classic comic book hero into a major Hollywood blockbuster. Hosted by longtime comic geek Donald Swann (Hamill), this new ‘documentary’ shows the evolution of legendary character Commander Courage. Orig...nally a 1940s-era Nazi-fighting patriot, Courage has evolved into a post-9/11 terrorist-fighting vigilante, and Swann is against this evolution every step of the way. A new movie starring the revamped character (Codename: Courage) is in the works, and Swann is lobbying to bring the once-classic hero back to his original roots. With the help of some friends, he just might pull it off.
Most of the footage was shot in just 4 days, during the San Diego Comic Convention. It must have been quite a challenge to put everything together amidst the chaos, but the spontaneous nature of the movie really works to its advantage. It almost seems as if everyone who’s anyone shows up here, from Hugh Hefner (a long-time fan of comics and once-aspiring cartoonist), to Ray Harryhausen (pioneer of stop-motion animation), to Bruce Campbell (cult movie icon), to the Godfather of Comics himself, Stan “The Man” Lee. In fact, most of the supporting characters are noteworthy voice actors from the wonderful world of animation, including Billy West (Ren & Stimpy, Futurama), Jess Harnell and Robert Paulson (Animaniacs), the legendary Gary Owens (Space Ghost), and many more! In short, Comic Book: The Movie is a treasure trove of pop culture comedy gold, and it’s a winning effort from start to finish.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 11th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 11th, 2004
Jack Black has mainly played smaller bit parts in movies and the problem has always been that whenever he is on screen he steals the show. He has had a starring role in one film (Shallow Hal) but as you will quickly learn from this film they kept him on a pretty short leash. This guy is on overdrive whenever there is a camera anywhere within a hundred feet.
Jack Black is Dewey Finn the down on his luck wannabe rock god. His roommate’s new girlfriend threatens to kick Dewey out if he doesn’t come up with som... rent money and then he gets kicked out of his band for sucking and playing 20 minute guitar solos. Out of luck and options he gets a phone call for his roommate, it is a prestigious prep school who wants him to temp for them for $600 a week. Dewey senses an opportunity to make some easy money and you can just imagine what happens next.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 6th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 6th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 4th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Denis Leary plays Doug Munford a wheeling dealing ego maniac skirt chaser who must get the women he has betrayed to forgive him so that he can inherit a million dollars. Elizabeth Hurley plays the lawyer who must accompany him done the road to redemption and cash to ensure that he doesn’t cheat. Along the way Doug finds out that he had a daughter with one of the women who is now dead and decides that maybe he needs to change his life. Ho hum can we throw a couple of more clichés in this one,...Dennis Leary is usually a funny guy but this film has even sucked the funny out of him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Stephen Burrows plays Milwaukee Steve plays a northern from Milwaukee who heads off to LA to seek fame and fortune under the bright lights. He lands his first job in a jock itch commercial and quickly becomes famous for this. Unable to land anymore work he decides what he needs to do is fake his own death and then make a miraculous return.
