Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 3rd, 2003
Originally released in 1988 this film received 4 Academy awards (Best film editing, best sound effects editing, best visual effects, special achievement in animation direction) and was the first film to feature a combination of live action and traditional cell drawn animation. Before any of the other big budget animation films of the 90’s (think the Little Mermaid, The Lion King, etc.) there was Roger Rabbit. This film spawned the animation revolution of the 90’s and there still to this day is nothing like it. One pa...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 1st, 2003
Synopsis
Kiddie-show host Rainbow Randloph (Robin Williams), up to his armpits in graft, is nailedby the FBI and turfed from his slot. Replacing him is Smoochy the Rhino (Edward Norton), arelentlessly nice and upstanding individual. Being so nice makes the target not just of theobsessive and psychotic Randolph, but also of the mob (headed, in a brilliant piece of casting, byHarvey Fierstein). Almost everyone in the film is a nasty piece of work, which makes the blackhumour all the m...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2003
Synopsis
Earl Crest (Joshua Jackson) and his (extremely feisty) girlfriend Baby (Jamie King) aregetting ready to up sticks from Texas for LA. Unfortunately, Earl’s deeply moronic cousin hasstolen a lot of money from the wrong (and dangerous people). All sorts of comical troubleensues.
Audio
A full 5.1 mix, and pretty good stuff. The music has some particularly nice echo effects,sounding as big as the state of the title. The sound effects are good too, with s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2003
Synopsis
Ione Skye is Frankie (named after Frank Sinatra, the patron saint of her family). She is achronic insomniac, and is unable to find a man who meets her high standards (why any rationalmale wouldn’t run screaming from this scary neurotic, however, is as mysterious as the fact thatthat geek always winds up with the babe in male-centred romances). Into her life walksMackenzie Astin, who has the necessary blue Sinatra eyes (which is also the cue for the film toshift from black-a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 13th, 2003
Synopsis
Sketch (Jeramie Gladman) is artistic and sensitive. He doesn’t want to have anything to dowith his buddies’ obsessive quest to lose their virginity on prom night. Nevertheless, he getsroped into a bet to do just that. Misadventures ensue. A very independent film, whose low-budgetquirks and likeable central character keep threatening to make it transcend the morass of itsgenre.
Audio
Box claims to the contrary, the audio tracks come in both 5.1 and 2...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 13th, 2003
Synopsis
Balthazar Getty is Sol Goode, charming campus rogue unable, as his best friend Chloë(Katharine Towne) says, to commit to a relationship for longer than 20 minutes. The hijinks can’tlast forever, though, and as Sol matures, he realizes he’s fallen in love. No points for guessingwho with. The direct-to-camera asides make this the college version of Malcolm in theMiddle.
Audio
The 2.0 mix is solid, if unspectacular. It is certainly crisp and clear, and...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 13th, 2003
Synopsis
Lucy (Monica Potter) is dumped by the man she though would love her forever. In fact, sheis so off-putting in her confidence, that it’s hard to feel sorry for her when the dumping occurs inthe most humiliating way possible. The rest of the film follows her through a series of five dates.We cut back and forth between the dates, and which man she marries is held off for the end. Ifyou still care by then.
Audio
The 5.0 audio mix is a completely profess...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Albert is not a people person. He doesn’t enjoy his job as a travel agent, doesn’t travelhimself, and doesn’t want to go out. All he wants to do is stay at home and be left alone.Unfortunately, his childhood friend Louis, who was always good at getting him into trouble,breaks out of prison two weeks before his sentence is up, and calls up Albert, dragging himwilly-nilly into After Hours-style misadventures.
Audio
The sound (in a 2.0 mix, from all av...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
George Sand is a documentary filmmaker, and quite conceited about the fact. He comes tothe US from the UK to shoot a documentary about the 2nd Mike Wong Film Festival. Curiously,all of the competitors at the festival, each of which worked on Wong’s last movie before he died,start being murdered one by one. Sand decides to uncover the murderer. This is a cheerfully sillylow-budget film, loaded with hilarious send-ups of student films. The sense of the absurd isnicely underst...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2003
Synopsis
Martha is the highly strung, control-freak chef at a top restaurant. Her organized life isthrown into chaos when her sister is killed in a car accident, leaving Martha to look after her littleniece Lina. Lina, understandably traumatized, refuses to eat. Meanwhile, Martha feels that herposition at the restaurant is threatened by newcomer Mario. Soon, though, she realizes that Mariohas other, more romantic goals in mind. Though witty, the film does not shy away from the realp...
