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Comedy

Family Stone, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 27th, 2006

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Synopsis

Sarah Jessica Parker is the very Manhattan, high stress and rather repressed fiancee of Dermot Mulroney. They head off to small-town New England for Christmas with his family, headed by matriarch Diane Keaton. This is the family Stone of the title, and their free-and-easy lifestyle clashes with Parker’s, and she is seen as an interloper. She is subjected to no end of humiliations, principally at the hands of Rachel McAdams. But when Mulroney’s brother Luke Wilson shows up, Parker finds herse…
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Mrs. Henderson Presents

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 25th, 2006

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Synopsis

Judi Dench is the Mrs. Henderson of the title. Newly widowed in 1937, she decides to put her considerable fortune into owning a theatre. She buys a dilapidated building, has it redone, and hires Bob Hoskins to run it. He is just as headstrong as she is, but their memorable clashes work out to the benefit of their musical revue. When the box office begins to flag, Dench suggests having naked women on stage. A phenomenon is born, one that will not close even during the worst of the Blitz.

Bachelor Party Vegas

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 23rd, 2006

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When I received Bachelor Party Vegas in for review, I took a quick glance at the cover and the basic plot and thought to myself ‘Oh, I haven’t seen something like this before.’ I suppose a film like this is a guaranteed profit maker since these films are usually pretty cheap to make and don’t need to involve much big talent or production.

The film beings with the apparent 10 Commandments of the Bachelor World. Some of them are amusing barely cracking a smile, while others are down right bordering st…
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Punch-Drunk Love

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 22nd, 2006

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A critically acclaimed Adam Sandler film? I’d never would I have thought I’d see the day. I guess if The Truman Show is one of Jim Carrey’s dramatic stabs, then the star of Big Daddy can give a romantic comedy a try. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia), using a story from the “Strange But True” category, combined with adding a touching tenderness to his characters, wrapped up with Sandler, playing a quiet, soft spoken man prone to fits of blind rage.

Sander is Barry …
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Moonstruck

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 18th, 2006

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I always hated Moonstruck… but don’t get me wrong, this is a positive review. See, it seemed like, back in my childhood, every time I wanted HBO or Showtime to play The Goonies, they were always in the middle of yet another airing of this Academy Award-winning romance. It was a boring movie about love with that lady Cher, who needed to stick to the radio, and stay off my movie screens. My, how a little age and maturity can alter perceptions. As a seven-year old boy, I just didn’t have the sensibility fo…
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Undertaking Betty

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 14th, 2006

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Synopsis

What is it about a comedic film about death set in the English countryside that people have to equate it to Waking Ned Devine? Now granted, that film was a crowd pleaser and is a pleasure to watch, but let’s not stigmatize the films that have been released after it. Consider the case of Undertaking Betty, a film about a funeral director named (really) Boris Plots (Alfred Molina, Spider Man 2) who has known Betty (Brenda Blethyn, Beyond the Sea) for quite some time, but h…
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David Spade – Take the Hit

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2006

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This was David Spade’s first HBO special from 1998. Following in the footsteps of giants like George Carlin and Rodney Dangerfield, he somewhat misses the mark here. For some reason Spade displays a serious lack of energy. The real hook for this show was his return to the Tempe Improv where he got his start in his home town. This is still your basic stand-up comedy concert. On Spade’s hit list are such topics as: Dating, Hotels, Parents, and Fast Food Workers. It’s not until about the last 12 minutes that some real…
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Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo – Little Black Book Edition

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 13th, 2006

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Certainly a surprise upon its initial release, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo exceeded so many box office expectations a sequel was inevitable. From what I’ve heard, European Gigolo represents everything wrong with movies today; however, I did not let that abysmal word-of-mouth prevent me from giving the first installment a chance. Unfortunately, after viewing the original, I can’t see how the sequel could be any worse.

This film has its share of supporters, and I can’t really come down on anyone …
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Shaggy Dog, The (Wild and Woolly Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 10th, 2006

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The original 1959 version of The Shaggy Dog is notable for two reasons. First, it is the first live action film that Disney ever produced. They had created some animated features, of course, but this was the company’s first real foray into the live action market. Secondly, the film marks the screen debut of Annette Funicello, a name certain to be familiar to fans of later Disney films. Later known as “America’s Sweetheart”, Annette became a staple of the popular teenage beach movies of the 60’s.

This …
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Laurel and Hardy Collection Volume One, The (Cinema Classics Collection)

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 10th, 2006

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Synopsis

Laurel and Hardy’s career highs were all at Hal Roach Studios, and these three films are from their Fox period, in the twilight of their filmography. It is hard to call any of these classics, but there is still some very worthwhile comedy.

Best of the bunch is Jitterbugs (1943), where are duo hook up with con man Robert Bailey, and decide to pull a sting on the grifters who robbed Vivian Blaine’s mother of her savings. As is the case with the other two films, the trademarked…
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4 Weddings and a Funeral

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 4th, 2006

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Synopsis

I’ve gotta admit that for a long time, Four Weddings and a Funeral was in a category of movies that I had no intention or curiosity to see because of the title, the cast and the story. Hugh Grant was a significant step down towards the emasculation of man, where are start wearing large sweaters, hang out in pseudo-Starbuck coffee shops and talk about what happened on American Idol or some lame thing along those lines.

Well here I am, 12 years later, apologizing for some of t…
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Ghostbusters

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 31st, 2006

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“Who you gonna call?” By now everyone knows the answer. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson are the Ghostbusters. As their ad proclaims, they’re ready to believe you. Ghostbusters was originally conceived by Aykroyd as a vehicle for John Belushi and himself. When Belushi died, reportedly from a drug overdose, the project sat on the shelf a few years. Harold Ramis would eventually team up with Aykroyd and finish the script. It’s been said that “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Leave it to these …
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Squid and the Whale, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 27th, 2006

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Synopsis

We begin with an ending: the final collapse of the marriage between Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney. He is a formerly renowned author who now can’t get himself arrested, let alone published. She is suddenly coming in to her own as a writer. He is pathologically self-obsessed. She is deeply insecure. Together, they spell bad news for their two sons, 16-year-old Jesse Eisenberg and 12-year-old Owen Kline. Both parents are a bit of a mess, but daddy is easily the worst offender, and is an absolut…
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Ghostbusters 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 22nd, 2006

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Synopsis

Five years after saving New York City from supernatural destruction, the Ghostbusters have fallen on hard times. Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver have broken up, and he is now the host of a dubious psychic TV show. Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson have been reduced to performing a children’s parties, what with the anti-spook outfit having been sued into non-existence. And so it goes. But then weird goop, powered by New York’s anger, rises from the ground to create havoc anew.

Can anyon…
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Prime

Posted in 1.85:1 Widescreen, Comedy, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French), DVD, Universal by David Annandale on March 8th, 2006

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Synopsis

The recently divorced Uma Thurman is seeing therapist Meryl Streep as she tries to put her life back together. She meets Bryan Greenberg, sixteen years her junior, and falls for him. Streep encourages her to go for it, and then discovers that the object of Thurman’s affection is her son, whom she wanted to find a nice Jewish girl. Neither Thruman nor Greenberg know of their connection through Streep and carry on with their relationship, while Streep struggles to carry on with Thurman’s thera…
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Time Bandits

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 5th, 2006

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Synopsis

Well, a Terry Gilliam children’s film might seem like a bit of an oxymoron, however writing a film with fellow Monty Python alum Michael Palin actually resulted in a funny, and even philosophical film, reflecting on themes of good and evil.

In a futuristic, technological world of the early 1980s, young Kevin (Craig Warnock) sees a medieval knight and horse burst from his wardrobe closet and run into the woods. The next night he prepares for something similar, but instead meets a gr…
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13 Going on 30 (Fun and Flirty Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 25th, 2006

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Synopsis

Quite frankly, I didn’t remember much about 13 Going on 30 when I first saw it (yes, I’m copping to watching it), but in revisiting it for the purposes of the review, I found that it was a cute film whose story is quite clearly lifted from the ‘80s Tom Hanks film Big (right down to the scene where the main character rides in a limo), but the performances by the cast is actually quite commendable.

Jenna Fink is growing up in the mid ‘80s and is disenchanted with her teenage l…
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Richard Pryor 4 Movie Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 24th, 2006

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The death of a celebrity usually brings sadness to many of their fans. However, whenever a celebrity does die, you can definitely expect a best of or some type of collection to find its‘ way to your video store shelves as soon as possible. After Richard Pryor died in December, Universal decided to wait one short month before releasing this four disc movie collection which features four of Pryor’s films that he either starred in or had something to do with. While the film’s contained her are not the best work of Pryor…
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Repo Man

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 24th, 2006

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Get ready, all you pre-teen Emilio Estevez fans, for this new special edition of Repo Man from Focus Features. I had no idea this film had such a following, and after viewing, I can’t seem to make sense of it. Not always sure of its genre, Repo Man is a film oddity that mixes drama, comedy, and goofball science-fiction with a meandering plot and questionable performances to get one of the strangest and most forgettable B-movies this side of Bride of the Monster. I was joking about a pre-teen Este…
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Torremolinos 73

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 22nd, 2006

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Synopsis

In Spain of the early 70s, Javier Cámara is Alfredo, an unsuccessful door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. His wife, Carmen (Candela Peña), desperately wants a baby, but he refuses because of their dire financial straits. The publishing house he works for decides to move into making sex films, and its remaining door-to-door men must film themselves having sex with their wives or lose their jobs. Carmen sees this as a good opportunity to get pregnant, and convinces Alfredo to give it a try. The…
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Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Graham Chapman’s Personal Best

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2006

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Eric Idle, Kohn Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and of course Graham Chapman formed Britain’s most famed comedy troupe. The exploits of Monty Python’s Flying Circus were truly “something entirely different”. Their off the wall antics have written an entire chapter in the story of pop culture. There certainly is not near enough space here for me to give the group its just due. So I won’t even try. If you’ve never heard of them, then stop reading, crawl back into the rabbit hole you’ve been living …
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Yours, Mine & Ours

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 20th, 2006

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Synopsis

Dennis Quaid is a widower Coast Guard Admiral with eight kids. He runs his household with (of course) military precision. His career has taken him back to his home town, where he runs into high school sweetheart Rene Russo. She is a widow (no divorces in THIS movie, thank you very much) with ten kids (four biological, the rest adopted), and her household is a joyful chaos of artistic self-actualization. Quaid and Russo fall in love and marry immediately, and then announce to their kids that …
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Waiting…

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 19th, 2006

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The idea of a gross-out comedy is nothing new. There have been some extremely funny gross-out comedies like The 40-Year Old Virgin and The American Pie Trilogy. However, there have also been some extremely boring and stupid gross-out comedies like National Lampoon’s Van Wilder and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow. The key to a successful gross-out comedies to is have a smart plot and jokes that actually make sense and aren’t just made for a quick laugh. While there are some funny sequences …
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Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 16th, 2006

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Synopsis

Audrey Hepburn is Holly Golightly, a young woman to her name born. Flighty, hopping from party to party, she waits for her life to match her ideal. Into her apartment moves writer George Peppard, who is certainly not the millionaire our heroine imagines will sweep her off her feet. Peppard himself is a kept man, and his keeper is Patricia Neal. Peppard does have a more realistic view of how life works, in the long run, and that is a lesson that Hepburn must learn before romance can follow it…
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Cary Grant Box Set, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 8th, 2006

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Synopsis

Though they span a mere five years of his career, these are some of Cary Grant’s best films. They are also among the directors’ best films. Viewers wanting to see comedy from Hollywood’s Gold Age at its best and most sophisticated will be amply rewarded by spending a few evenings with this collection.

Holiday (1938) sees Grant engaged to the snobbish Doris Nolan. The real prize in her family is Katharine Hepburn (natch), who will ultimately break from her families more stult…
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