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Drama

The Right Stuff

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 23rd, 2003

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Converting Tom Wolfe’s classic book The Right Stuff was undoubtedly a difficult task. The original 7 Mercury astronauts were epic figures in American history. Perhaps the last of Earth’s true explorers, astronauts are the stuff that every kid’s fantasies are made of. It seems nearly impossible to capture such incredible bravery and charisma in the scope of even a 3 hour movie. Philip Kaufman somehow achieved the impossible. It starts with one of the most dynamic casts since The Godfather. Names like Jeff Goldblume, Dennis Quaid and Ed Harris were all relative unknowns at the time.
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Adaptation

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2003

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Charlie Kaufman is a neurotic, narcissistic, self loathing writer who is hired to adapt Susan Orlean’s novel The Orchid Thief into a film. The only problem is that he is suffering from writers block, add in a twin brother who is also writing a screenplay and his inability to interact with people and hang-on for a wild ride. Charlie tries a number of different approaches to writing the script and suddenly finds himself being written into the story. What starts out as an adaptation of a book into a film turns into a completely different story all together.
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The Pianist (3-Disc)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2003

In 1939 Warsaw is invaded by Nazi Germany, Wladyslaw Szpilman is performing live on a radio station as it is dive bombed by the Luftwaffe. He continues to play until he is almost killed. This opening scene sets the tone for the story of a man so driven by his passion for music even in the face of adversary. As the film continues we watch the establishment of the Warsaw ghetto and the beginning of the reign of hate towards the Jews by Nazi Germany.

The Warsaw ghetto is full of stark contrasts we watch as people die in the streets from hunger and others prosper by bribing guards and importing goods, we see Germans helping Jews escape from the ghetto and Jews who join the ghetto police in an attempt to save themselves.
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Music Box

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003

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Jessica Lange is a top Chicago attorney, who finds herself called on to defend her father when he is accused of having committed war crimes in Second World War Hungary. Convinced of his innocence, she launches herself into the wrenching case, but finds that maintaining her convictions becomes harder as the case moves on. Given his later career (Basic Instinct,Showgirls, etc.), it’s rather surprising in retrospect to find that the script to this intelligent drama is by Joe Esteras. Though sometimes moving a bit too slowly, the film is always interesting, the performances are superb (especially by Lange) and the story builds to a pretty powerful climax.

Basil

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003

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Jared Leto plays Basil, youngest son of the tyrannical Derek Jacobi. Traumatized by the death of his mother when he was young, the exile of his brother (who dallied with a young woman beneath his station), and oppressed by a father for whom class consciousness is the be-all and end-all, Basil is barely equipped to deal with the outside world. He has no friends, and only the most naive notions of romance. Into his life comes Christian Slater, whose worldly ways inspire Leto, and …
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Pennsylvania Miners

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 21st, 2003

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Made for TV (and showing it, what with that jarring fade-to-black exactly 20 minutes in),this film tells the story of a group of men trapped together in a coal mine when they suddenly strike water and their claustrophobic environments floods. We cut back and forth between their struggle to survive, the struggle to reach them, and the experience of their wives and families. At times, what, precisely, is happening in the mine is a bit hard to follow, though the realism is quite strong.

Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2003

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Writer Norman Mailer and director Lawrence Schiller can’t get enough of the nation’s most intriguing criminals. Best known for the critically acclaimed Executioner’s Song, the duo are at it again with this CBS mini-series spruced up to an R rating for DVD.

To anyone who has seen the 60 Minutes piece or kept up with the story in their local paper, the story is familiar enough. Robert Hanssen spied for the Soviet Union for 22 years while a top level FBI agent. William Hurt delivers a rather deadpan performance as Hanssen, a man rife with contradictions.
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Frida

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 12th, 2003

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This is the story of Frida Kahlo, now recognized as one of Mexico’s greatest artists. Most particularly, the film is the story of her tempestuous love affair with fellow artist Diego Rivera –their loves, their clashes, their politics, their infidelities, their betrayals, and so on. So much attention is paid to this relationship that Kahlo’s art itself slips into the background, which is too bad. That said, this is a tremendously engaging film, with great performances all round.
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It’s My Party

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003

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Eric Roberts, miles away from direct-to-video action fodder, plays Nick, a man in the terminal stages of AIDS. Over the opening credits, we see his long-term relationship with Gregory Harrison rise and disintegrate, and in the present, this relationship and its fallout will have a major role to play at Nick’s party. This party, the heart of the film, is an event he throws to say goodbye to all his friends and family. The story has added poignancy since this is based on an actual event.

Songcatcher

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003

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Synopsis

It is 1907. Musicology professor Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer), unjustly passed over forpromotion, leaves the city to stay with her schoolteacher sister in the Appalachians. There sheexperiences revelations of various kinds. She discovers traditional Irish and Scottish ballads,altered but recognizable, still living vibrant folk lives. She also finds her superior, urban anduptight attitudes slowly but surely demolished by the people around her. The most importantperson she me…
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Giant

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 3rd, 2003

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Spanning a good thirty years, Giant tells the tale of the Benedicts, a Texas family on an immense cattle range. The patriarch is Rock Hudson, whom we first meet as a young man visiting Maryland to buy a horse. There he meets Elizabeth Taylor and falls in love. His new bride initially finds Texas difficult to adjust to, and Texas has difficulty adjusting to her, as she does not hold with the local attitudes towards women and, most especially, Mexicans. The third major player is James Dean, a rather sullen ranch hand who winds up changing everybody’s lives when he strikes oil on his small parcel of land.

Real Women Have Curves

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 26th, 2003

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Synopsis

Ana (America Ferrera) is 18. She has just graduated from high school, and wants to go tocollege. For the summer, though, she is going to have to work in the garment factory with hermother and sister. Her mother (Lupe Ontiveros), meanwhile, is determined to make her fit thetraditional role of a Latino daughter, and Ana rebels. Body image, tradition versus youth, theLatino experience in the US, sweatshops: all these themes are skilfully braided together.

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Paper Chase, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 25th, 2003

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Synopsis

Timothy Bottoms plays Hart, a first-year law student at Harvard. His existence centresaround a class taught by Kingsfield (John Houseman), a brilliant but utterly ruthless professorwho consistently humiliates his students, yet somehow acquires their unswerving loyalty. Hartalso begins an affair with a Susan (Lindsay Wagner), who turns out to be Kingsfield’s daughter.Though the film is never less than compelling, it does lack a centre. The characters are almostall cyphers or…
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25th Hour

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 18th, 2003

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Synopsis

In 24 hours Monty Brogan is going to prison for seven years, with his last day of freedom he tries to set his life straight. Once a king of New York with easy access to the best clubs Monty has alienated his friends and family with his lifestyle that he must now say goodbye to. He has dinner with his father and goes out clubbing with his two best friends and his girlfriend Naturelle (who he thinks may have been the one who pinched him). With time running out Monty must do everything he can t…
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Traffic

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2003

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Traffic sports an A cast and a pretty compelling story. The only real thing holding it back is that there are times the plot is too ambitious. It gets weary following the three distinct storylines. You might also find the ending a bit of a letdown. I was expecting something far more dramatic given the intense buildup over two and a half hours. Michael Douglas is the main star and gives us a fine performance, but I was more captivated by the character of Mexican cop Javier Rodriguez, played with excellent flair by Benicio Del Toro.

Down Time

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 7th, 2003

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Down Time, a direct to video release, set mostly in prison. The worst crime these guys commit is felony bad acting. I’d love to sentence the producers to 25 to life of watching their own movie, but the Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. If you like prison films, you’re better off watching Oz reruns. Everything about this film plays out like a high school A.V. project. Actually that’s unkind, because I’ve seen much better high school video projects.

Synopsis

Slim (Van Nolan) is a down on his luck drug dealer who was set up and now finds himself facing the harsh realities of prison life.

People Vs. Larry Flynt, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2003

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Synopsis

Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson) beefs up his strip club business by publishing an explicitnewsletter. This newsletter becomes the glossy porn mag Hustler, and Flynt becomesstaggeringly rich. He also becomes the target of a serious of obscenity trials. Harrelson is terrific,and this was the film that confirmed that Edward Norton’s film-stealing performance in PrimalFear was no fluke. Courtney Love, as Flynt’s wife Althea, acquits herself well among theseheavyweights. Though ma…
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Miller’s Crossing

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 26th, 2003

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Synopsis

Tom (Gabriel Byrne) is adviser to Leo (Albert Finney), top boss of the Irish mob duringProhibition. Leo isn’t listening to Tom right now, and offends Johnny (Jon Polito), who leads theItalian gang. War between the rival mobs heats up, and Tom gets caught in the middle. I havejust oversimplified an incredibly complex plot, which you really should discover for yourself.Other discoveries that await are glorious cinematography by Barry Sonnenfeld, and endlesslyquotable dialogue…
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Murder in Greenwich

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 24th, 2003

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Synopsis

In the 1970s, a young girl is brutally murdered in the exclusive town of Greenwich,Connecticut. Among the suspects are two young members of the Kennedy clan. The murder goesunsolved, and in the 1990s, Mark Fuhrman, disgarced-cop-turned-author, re-opens the case.Though the gore is sometimes beyond prime time levels, this is still very run-of-the-mill TVfodder.

Audio

The sound (limited to 2.0) is crisp and clear, and privileges the music. The sound ef…
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8 Mile

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 24th, 2003

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In this story, very loosely based on his own life, Eminem makes his acting debut. This is the story of Jimmy Smith Jr. a white boy born on the wrong side of Detroit’s 8 Mile divide. With an alcoholic white trash mother played by Kim Basinger, a dead end job and a trailer park for a home he does not have much going for him. His dreams fed by Detroit’s vibrant underground rap battle scene Jimmy tries to find himself and his voice in the world. This is a well written story about courage and not allowing one’s self to become a product of your environment.
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Black Swan

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 22nd, 2003

Synopsis

Hopeville isn’t terribly well named. The population is dwindling, and those who remainappear to have precious little hope. Chief among them is Helen (Melanie Doane), who woulddo anything to leave town. One can hardly blame her, given that her boyfriend is disagreeableloser Carl (Michael Riley), who, it seems, might well be responsible for the murder of the localgrocer. The film is loaded with quirky characters, but none of them are especially likeable, andthe plot meanders …
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Drug Wars: The Camarena Story

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 22nd, 2003

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Synopsis

Undercover DEA agent Enrique Camarena (Steven Bauer) is kidnapped and killed inMexico. Drug lord Benicio Del Toro is responsible, but investigators Treat Williams and CraigT. Nelson discover the corruption is more widespread than they thought. The case boasts thatthis if “from the producers of The Insider, Ali and Black Hawk Down,” but a more accuratesense of this effort would be given had the tag read “from the director of Poltergeist III.” Prettystandard TV fare, and the …
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Hysterical Blindness

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 21st, 2003

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Synopsis

Uma Thurman plays Debby, a young woman so wound up that she has experiencedpsychosomatic blindness. She and her best friend Beth (Juliette Lewis) hit the bars looking forlove. If ever a character radiated desperation, it’s Debby. As Thurman plays her, she’s toxicallyradioactive, one more disappointment from snapping completely. Both the leads are very good,but this is the kind of role that Lewis has more than mastered in the past, whereas Thurman isone doing the real stretc…
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Psych-Out / The Trip

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2003

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Synopsis

Two classics from American International are what we have here, with lots of familiar namesinvovled. Psych-Out stars Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson, Dean Stockwell and Bruce Dern.The Trip, scripted by Nicholson, stars Strasberg, Dern, Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, and isdirected by Roger Corman. You can’t do much better for pedigree. The plots of both arerudimentary (at best). In Psych-Out, Strasberg (whose character is deaf for some reason),searches for her brother (Dern…
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Swimmer, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2003

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Synopsis

Burt Lancaster, a member of the New England aristocracy, wanders out of the forest andleaps into some friends’ swimming pool. After much overly hearty banter, he realizes that thereis an unbroken link of swimming pools between here and his home. He sets off, and at each pool,there is a revelatory encounter of some sort. We gradually find out more and more about him, andit soon becomes clear that all is not sweetness and light in his world. The film is extremelystylized, and…
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