Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2004
Barry Pepper is an actor who seems to have an affinity for playing sports heroes, Roger Maris and now Dale Earnhardt. Pepper also seems to have an affinity to star in movies with numbers in the title, 51, 25th Hour, and now 3 – The Dale Earnhardt Story. ESPN presents an original sports movie about the iconic racing driver who lived and died (literally) on the track.
Being a sports fan, I have a soft place in my heart for sports bio pics. They have a tendency to be clichéd, by nature.... We usually see the rise of the sports hero from humble beginnings to glory. There are hardships along the way, familial tension, and of course “the big game” (or in this case, the “big race”). 3 is no exception to the cliché ridden sports movie. But the story is well told and serves a lasting testament to a sports legend.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 14th, 2004
Synopsis
Janie inherits a strip club from her uncle, and is determined to put the club back in the black,notably by getting all her college friends to strut their stuff on the stage. But not everyone wantsher to succeed, notably one conniving stripper who wants to get her hands on the treasuresecreted somewhere on the premises.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 9th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 8th, 2004
Synopsis
A minor fire (not the big scorch that case implies) breaks out in the forest, and is quickly extinguished. Nonetheless, there are clear signs of arson, and four teens are involved. The Ranger in charge of the area locks the teens in his station and proceeds to work on ferreting out the truth of what happened. And this fractious group has secrets they would rather not reveal. The film turns into a tale of relationships and coming of age.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 6th, 2004
Synopsis
The storytelling is oblique in the extreme, but as near as I can discern it, the film tells the story of a young woman (Gong Li) who, after reading a collection of poems by Chen Ching (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) called Zhou Yu’s Train, attempts to imaginatively recover the experience of Zhou Yu (Gong Li again). Zhou Yu is an artisan who travels vast distances by train twice a week to keep up an increasingly troubled romance with Chen Ching. The other major figure is a veterinarian (Sun Hongle...), who also travels on that train, and wants to become more than a friend to Zhou Yu.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Jean-Hugues Anglade plays Zorg (yup, that’s his name), a handyman living in a beach-front house, scribbling away quietly in his spare time. Not so quiet is his tempestuous affair with Betty (Beatrice Dalle), whose passions overwhelm both of them. First she moves in on him with no warning. Then, when she discovers his writing, she decides that they must move to Paris so he can have a career as a writer. To make sure Zorg complies, she burns his house to the ground. Once in Paris, her plans fo... him fall apart, and so, bit by bit, does she.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 2nd, 2004
Smooth Talk is a “coming of age” story that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It stars Laura Dern as Connie, a teenage girl from a small southern town. She’s at that rebellious age. In the words of Britney Spears, “she’s still a girl, not quite a woman”. Connie is curious about the opposite sex and a world outside the town. She’s searching for something, but what she finds, she might not want.
Treat Williams plays Arnold Friend. Friend, as it turns out, is nobody’s frien.... I won’t spoil the ending of the movie, but let’s just say he’s the villain of the piece. The ominous music helps you figure that out. Another performance of note is Levon Helm (drummer for “The Band”) who plays Connie’s remote, sensitive father; a standout piece of acting. He’s probably the best drummer/actor I’ve ever seen. Sorry Ringo.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 2nd, 2004
Synopsis
This is an episodic biopic about Bettie Page, moving from her glory days as a model for the pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager and fetish actress for Irving Klaw, maker of B&D shorts. All is well until a Senate investigation into obscenity, and Bettie herself pines for more mainstream, respectable roles. A fair bit of running time consists of B&W recreations of lost Klaw films, with Paige Richards doing a credible re-creation of Bettie’s look.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 1st, 2004
Synopsis
Lili Taylor essays another of her trademark depressed wallflower roles as Evie, a woman who hates her job, her town and her life. She becomes obsessed with local rock star and pseudo-philosopher Drumstrings Casey (Guy Pearce), to the point of carving his name in her forehead (backwards, since she was looking in a mirror). This brings her to the attention of Pearce, and both of the to the attention of the media, and so begins a prickly, off-kilter relationship.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 30th, 2004
Synopsis
Dismayed by the corruption of the Church, Martin Luther (Joseph Fiennes) preaches against the selling of indulgences and other practices that combine tyranny and greed. His teachings find a receptive audience, much to the dismay of the Pope. A power struggle erupts, threatening to tear Christianity apart.
