Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 21st, 2002
Synopsis
Country boy John Travolta arrives in the big city of Houston. He finds a home away fromhome in Gilley’s, a huge country & western bar. There he meets and falls in love with DebraWinger. But when villain Scott Glenn tries to steal her from him, will Travolta rise to thechallenge of the mechanical bull?
Audio
A pretty nice job done of giving an older soundtrack a solid surround mix. The music and thesound effects both come through very well. You won’t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 21st, 2002
Synopsis
Tony Manero (John Travolta) is still dancing up a storm (snort). He’s a dance instructor now,but he’s hoping to land the big gig on Broadway. Duly that break comes, and he must choosebetween the two women in his life, one of whom (Finola Hughes) is British, so you know she’sa bitch. Finally we reach the big finale, and it’s everything that was wrong with the 80s.
Audio
The soundtrack is showing its age, and up to the crystalline clarity and richness w...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 21st, 2002
Synopsis
Poor Will, AKA Flappy the Clown. He lives in a dump, is dumped on by his mother, andis tormented by just about everyone he meets. Then he’s brutally raped. Just when he’s ready toend it all, he saves a little girl, and his instant celebrity turns his life around. But the men whoassaulted him haven’t forgotten him... I really didn’t know what to make of this flick, and thisis reflected in the middling star rating. Is it supposed to be a comedy or not? There are enoughcharact...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2002
Synopsis
Nothing much happens in the nothing town where Tobey Maguire and Wilson Cruz live.Nothing that is, until the arrival of sexy Amy Hathaway and her sleazy dad Adam West (yes, thatAdam West). He uses her as jailbait with which to blackmail local bigshots. Then there’sChristina Naify, in town to kill a sleazy doctor. She has a very nice car too, which Maguire, Cruzand Hathaway steal for a joy ride... A little slow in getting it into gear, and a little uncertain intone, but an i...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2002
We find out early in the film that the term Last Orders is an English tradition along the lines of a last will and testament. There’s really nothing very complicated about this film. There are some wonderful moments of acting particularly by Bob Hoskins. The major complaint is that there are actually four stories being told from four different timelines making it extremely confusing at times.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 7th, 2002
Synopsis
Stockard Channing is top-flight executive, and has been in the game long enough to become a hardened, battle-scarred veteran. When Julia Stiles arrives late, screwing up a presentation, Channing initially comes down on her like a ton of bricks. Later she apologizes, and the two, becoming friends, plot revenge on a mutual acquaintance who has apparently done them both wrong. But there are plenty of twists ahead (some easier to swallow than others).
Audio
This isn't ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 2nd, 2002
In the Bedroom carries with it some very powerful acting performances. The story is good, but not as great as it was hyped up to be around the Academy Awards. If you like a very powerful drama, you will enjoy this film.
“Frank Folwer is a young man home from college. He develops a special relationship with an older woman and their love blossoms in their small New England town. Natalie is the older woman (Tomei) and has two children from her marriage to an abusive husband. When this abusive ex...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 31st, 2002
Pam Grier, in a superb performance that sadly did not revitalize her career to the same degree as happened with co-star Robert Forster (and with John Travolta in Pulp Fiction), plays a flight attendant who is being used as a pawn by both bad guy Samuel L. Jackson and FBI guy Michael Keaton. Grier, with the help of bail bondsman Forster, sets up an elaborate counterattack. While Jackie Brown lacks the propulsive intensity of Reservoir Dogs, and Tarantino's reliance on 70s-dominated soundtracks is getting annoying, the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 16th, 2002
What happens when you take a writer/producer known primarily for music videos and documentaries, give him a modest budget, and a script of vignettes? You get a very artsy David Lynch imitation that I like to call Lynch-Lite. Jon Reiss wants so much to be David Lynch that there are even moments of the Twin Peaks theme in the score. I don’t mind struggling through a piece of film noir if I can eventually find my way to a payoff. Not that there aren’t bright spots and even flashes of cinematic genius here, just not enough.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 16th, 2002
Anyone who watched all the tobacco CEO’s testify before a congressional committee might have thought they were watching a Hollywood comedy. They all stood there with straight faces and denied their products were addictive. It felt a little bit like watching Ted Bundy saying, “What girls are you talking about?” The Insider is actually a brave film. Hollywood has for years depended upon tobacco for revenue. Product placement was, until recently, a tree of money for many productions. Russell Crowe shows a preview of the talent that would blossom fully in Gladiator.
