Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 18th, 2004
Synopsis
Our story begins in 1939, just before the outbreak of WWII. The Minivers (Greer Garsonand Walter Pidgeon) enjoy an idyllic existence in a charming town where the biggest controversyis over whether the station master Henry Travers should be entering his rose against localaristocrat Dame May Witty’s in the flower competition. But then the war comes, and little bylittle, it reaches into the lives of the townspeople, wreaking ever more havoc. Through it all,Garson remains a tow...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 16th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 14th, 2004
If Sofia Coppola hasn’t redeemed herself from the whole The Godfather, Part III debacle by now, then it simply can’t be done. Lost in Translation is a beautiful film, the likes of which are rarely seen on this side of the Atlantic. (Of course, to be fair, the film was filmed entirely on location in Tokyo.)
Shot on a shoestring budget, Coppola has definitely made a mountain out of a molehill with this film, taking her small story of two ships that cross in the night, and making that night as br...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 13th, 2004
Synopsis
Welcome to Peyton Place, a charming New England town, and as picture-perfect a postcardof the 1950s as you could hope to fine. Except for all the rape, incest, and murder, that is. LanaTurner is the repressed mother trying to protect her daughter from the real world. Lee Philips isthe dashing new principle who courts Turner. Arthur Kennedy is the drunken janitor withunhealthy designs on his step-daughter. Russ Tamblyn is the quiet boy with the domineeringmother, and he year...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 10th, 2004
Synopsis
Laura San Giacomo’s husband is a serial adulterer, and has just taken off for three weekswith his blonde assistant. Gradually, San Giacomo falls for a handsome stranger (Paul Rhys) shehas started to see regularly in a park. The story of their affair is recounted to a journalist workingon a piece about marriage in the 90s, and so we see it all unfold in a series of flashbacks. Theperformances are good, especially San Giacomo’s, who is appealingly naturalistic. Even thesmalle...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 8th, 2004
SynopsisFive films here, making a very coherent package.Persona is probably the most famous of the bunch, and is arguably Bergman’s mosticonic film. The images are among the most famous in cinema, though they are slightly moredifficult to take seriously thanks to SCTV’s parody. The plot concerns Liv Ullmann as an actresswho has suddenly fallen silent, and Bibi Andersson as the nurse hired to look after her. In theface of Ullmann’s silence, Andersson talks and talks ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 5th, 2004
Synopsis
Jane Fonda is recently widowed, and works at a baked good factory. Robert De Niro is thecafeteria cook. He is illiterate, and loses his job when this is discovered. He turns to Fonda,asking her to teach him to read. Slowly, tentatively, romance blossoms.
Plenty of gritty realism in the first half of the film, and the portrayal of the hard lives thesepeople face is pretty unsparing. In this bleak landscape, their relationship becomes a real beaconof hope. One can onl...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Liam Neeson is a doctor who stumbles upon Jodie Foster, who has lived in the wildernesswithout ever coming into contact with the rest of the world. She speaks her own language, and isa society of one. Neeson wants to preserve Foster’s existence, but psychologist NatashaRichardson wants to study Foster, and believes that the world will encroach willy-nilly on thepoor woman. Though they are at loggerheads, Foster’s transformative power will bring themtogether.
True,...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2004
Fifteen years after it swept the 1989 Academy Awards show with Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman in his first win since 1979's Kramer vs. Kramer), MGM has finally released a Special Edition of Rain Man.
Synopsis
Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is a self-centered dealer of exotic cars. He imports high-end sports cars into the states and sells them to the highest bidder. Within the first 10 minutes, we learn that he is not above bribing the EP...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2004
I have had the pleasure of reviewing better films than Home Room; and I’ve certainly suffered through worse. But I am not sure I’ve reviewed a more important film. I’ve been a public high school teacher for over 8 years. Ask any educator and you’ll find that Columbine changed things for everyone, so I wasn’t sure how I would find this study of that kind of violence. The subject is handled with extreme care in Home Room. In a wise decision, the shooting occurs to a black screen. We don’t really pick up the story until after the event.
