Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 19th, 2003
Brush With Fate is not a film in any traditional scenes. Based on Susan Vreeland’s novel, “Girl In Hyacinth Blue” this is in reality an anthology of vignettes. The common thread in these stories is that a certain painting is passed down through 300 years. The stories are overly simple. Some of the locations in the Netherlands shot for this film offer the only redeeming quality to be found. Some of the vistas are breathtaking.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 15th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 14th, 2003
This 1994 Hallmark film is based on an obscure Truman Capote story. It’s loaded with the usual heavy sentimental trappings of a Hallmark film. The film attempts to create atmosphere through its 1930’s period setting. The trouble is I found it very hard to relate to or care about anyone in the film. The young Buddy appears to have each emotional turn literally forced out of him. Even the lovable Fonz, Henry Winkler, never gets a good foothold on his character. Katherine Hepburn’s age has obviously robbed her of the abilities she has so often displayed in her vast body of work. There are moments reminiscent of the vastly superior A Christmas Story, but this film never approaches that kind of holiday magic.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Nicolas Cage is a fantastic actor. I will be the first to admit that he has had some mistakes (“Face/Off” and “Snake Eyes”, to name a few), but for the most part, his performances are gutsy and honest, with just a hint of cool 60’s Rat Pack style smoldering underneath the surface. My favorite Cage performance came in the fantastic film “Leaving Las Vegas”, where he brought the struggles of a dying alcoholic to life in beautiful and tragic detail.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 31st, 2003
Not since the height of the American Western has there been a film genre where we find ourselves rooting for the bad guys and booing the good guys. Yesterday’s Jesse James and Billy The Kid have become Michael Corleone and Tony Soprano. Add to the mix that The Sopranos have totally revolutionized the face of the television drama. It’s no fluke that this show dominates nearly every Emmy category there is. The cinematography is feature film quality. The cast is high end and the writing is gutsy and tight. Make no mistake about it. Season Four was not the best Sopranos by any measure. Still, even at its weakest, the show delivers what most shows can’t at their best.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 23rd, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 14th, 2003
All The Real Girls is an attempt to delve deeper into the emotional landscape involved with being young and in love. Most movies that try to tackle this very complicated issue often only so a very superficial job. The main thrust of this movie is to examine what it’s actually like to be smitten i.e. not being able to think straight, how desperate our emotions can make us feel and doing things we hadn’t planned and facing the consequences.
Paul (Paul Schneider) is the 22 year old town heart-throb who is wo...king his way through all of the girls in town. His motto is “ love’em and leave’em.” This is contrasted with his soon to be love interest Noel (Zooey Deschanel). Noel is the 18-year-old sister of Paul’s best friend who just returned from 6 years of boarding school. Yikes! I guess Paul never heard of the unwritten rule: never date your best friend’s sister. Of course this leads to difficulties between Paul and Tip (Noel’s brother), and Tip and Noel. The dialogue feels and sounds very natural and very commonplace. It’s as close to the real thing that one is going to find in a movie.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 11th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 9th, 2003
A double crossed drug deal goes bad and two half brothers 20/20 Mike (Laurence Fishburne) and Torch (Titus Welliver) retreat to an abandoned New York warehouse. When Mike calls his friend Tony the Tiger to help them out, tension erupts and not everything is as it seems in this story of loyalty and love. This is a well written, well shot and very well acted film, Titus Welliver is riveting as the dope fiend half brother. Written and Directed by Laurence Fishbourne this film is raw and gripping.
