Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 26th, 2005
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 is one of the worst movies ever made. At least...that's what I keep reading. Reviews have torched this movie, and I must concur. This movie is bad. And I don't think the first one was much of a hit either. So why make this dreck?
The plot of the movie revolves around our little genius heroes saving the world from an evil TV mogul played by Jon Voight (need a paycheck?). This baddie wants to submit subliminal messges through kiddie TV and control children (and baby ta...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 20th, 2004
Synopsis
We are in the 1920s. Two young tiger cubs live in what seems to be the tiger version of theGarden of Eden. Then Guy Pearce comes along to ruin everything (though he will subsequentlyrepent). He kills the cubs’ parents, and sells one cub to the circus. The other is also captured andwinds up as the beloved pet of Raoul, the colonial governor’s son. The tension resides in whetherthe brothers will eventually reunite, and will they be allowed to live their lives in peace?
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 20th, 2004
Synopsis
Kris Kristofferson narrates the story in flashback, telling the story of his younger self (JosephAshton) during the Depression. The young boy dreams of owning a hunting dog, and afterslaving away on odd jobs for two years, he finally acquires two: “Old Dan” and “Little Ann.”Together they become an unbeatable team, and have various adventures in a setting that is bothbucolic and poverty-stricken. The film is handsomely mounted and genuinely performed (with,interestingly, Dav...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 12th, 2004
Synopsis
If you don’t know what this movie is about, you grew up in a cave. If you’ve never seen it,ditto. This is the tale, it need hardly be said, of Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews), the nanny whoarrives to take charge of two children whose imaginations have been repressed by theirexcessively proper father. In the care of Mary, and accompanied by chimney sweep Bert (DickVan Dyke), the children bounce from one magical mix of dance, live action and animation toanother.
A more...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 22nd, 2004
Synopsis
Eloise (Sofia Vassilieva) is a six-year-old who runs rampant through NYC’s Park PlazaHotel. Her only adult supervision is in the form of the eccentric Nanny (Julie Andrews). The plottakes the form of a series of incidents as Eloise races from one adventure to another, meddlingwith the best of intentions in the lives of all around her, with emphasis, as the title suggests, onthe Christmas spirit this time around. Specifically, she’s helping out with a Christmas wedding,and e...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 17th, 2004
The original Around the World in 80 Days is known for its spirit of adventure, wild cameos, and also one of the weaker movies to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. Disney’s remake of Around the World still has that sense of adventure, has a few funny cameos, and is in no danger of winning Best Picture.
Based on the Jules Verne book, Around the World in 80 Days stars British actor Steve Coogan as the infamous inventor Phileas Fogg. His famous balloon is supposed to go around the wo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2004
Synopsis
Three philanthropic businessmen -- the boisterous Irishman, the English Gent, and theOklahoman Grump -- live together on Central Park South, tended to by exiled Russian countessMaria Ouspenskaya (best known today for her turn as Bela Lugosi's mother in The WolfMan). One Christmas Eve, they experimentally toss wallets out into the snow to see if theyare returned. A young man (Richard Carlson) and a young woman (Jean Parker) turn up andunder the happy gaze of our lovea...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 3rd, 2004
Sometimes, when I am writing my review and I come to the “genre” section, I wish I could find an entry marked “crap”. If there was ever a serious film effort that deserved such an entry, this is it. Let’s be honest… made for TV movies have a bad reputation for a reason. For that matter, so do films that have child actors as their star. This film suffers from the unenviable fate of being both. Mary Tyler Moore and Burt Reynolds may be on the cover, but the kid is in nearly every frame of the film.
This is on...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2004
Synopsis
Lorenzo Lamas is the coach of a group of motocross-racing kids. When an evil biker gangthreatens to take over the good guys’ track, a race is proposed, winner take all. The bikers don’tplay fair, however, and our heroes lose both their top rider and their bikes. Fortunately, as far asthe rider is concerned, a chimpanzee is able to fill in.
Groan. This is “family viewing” in the form of the worst kind of pabulum. But then, wat doyou expect from a film that tosses a m...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 28th, 2004
Synopsis
Surely we all know the story. The Darling children -- Wendy, Michael and John -- are visitedby the ever-young Peter Pan, and they fly off with him to Neverland. There they battle thevillainous Captain Hook, and deal with the fact that, sooner or later, everybody (with oneexception) has to grow up.
Infinitely better than the bloated Hook, this is a first-rate adaptation of the tale. Theartistic design and cinematography are glorious, and the film is constant f...
