Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 1st, 2006
Synopsis
Plenty of Japanese horror films have storylines that vary from the oblique to the opaque. Pulse is no exception, so forgive me if this synopsis is a bit confusing (or confused). An internet website offers visitors the chance to see actual ghosts. Viewing the footage seems to make one vulnerable to an actual visitation, and when someone encounters a ghost, that person withdraws from others, shunning all society, and becomes consumed by loneliness to the point of suicide or something ev...n more bizarre. All of this is slowly being uncovered by two groups of friends, even as the plague of ghostly encounters spreads far and wide.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2006
Utter the simple phrase of Harry Potter to any age, and it is nearly guaranteed that they will know what you are speaking about. Since becoming a worldwide phenomenon in 1999, the Harry Potter series have been turned into everything from video games to bathing products. Most notably, the series have been turned into a set of excellent films that are successful, for the most part, in recreating the major elements presented in the novels by author J.K.Rowling.
With this being the fourth film in the series of ...even, I had a few fears going into this film. With this book being the longest of the four books at this point, I was worried that new director Mike Newell would’nt be successful in presenting all the ideas Rowling went over in the book. While the film does not mention every little detail (the most notable gripe is the lack of the Dursley’s), Newell is very successful in bringing the action, suspense, fear, emotion, and growth of the characters to the big screen in stunning style.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2006
Wildfire has all the subtlety and charm of an ABC After School Special. Truth be told, the pilot episode reminded me a lot of Showgirls, but instead of becoming a pole dancer, this girl is becoming a horse trainer. The basic elements are still the same, though. A girl with a rough past gets an entry-level position at her dream job, and must work her way up the ranks. Only this show is on ABC Family. Gone is all the glitz and flash that tried to cover up the horrid plot of Showgirls. Withou... all those distractions, the viewer is sadly left only with lame, tired dialog and incredibly predictable plot lines to keep them warm.
If this was a dog show, and you asked me what I thought, I'd say “woof”. However, it's a horse show. Therefore, I say “neigh”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 28th, 2006
Synopsis
Dana Andrews was never an actor who radiated warmth, and here he is perfectly cast as a hardboiled con artist on the lookout for number one. He arrives in a small town and falls hard for sultry waitress Linda Darnell. She is holding out for marriage, but marriage with financial stability, which Andrew can’t offer. So he sets about seducing Alice Faye with the idea of fleecing her of her fortune.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 28th, 2006
Synopsis
Valentina Cortesa plays a survivor of the Belsen concentration camp. She has lost everything in the war. Her best friend in the camp is a woman whose infant child is being looked after in the USA, and when this woman dies shortly before liberation, Cortesa decides to adopt her identity, since no one alive would remember what she looks like. Once in the States, she meets and falls in love with Richard Basehart, the guardian of her “son.” Moving into their home in San Francisco, she sense host...lity on the part of the nanny (Fay Baker). She soon begins to fear for her life, and grows terrified of her husband.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 26th, 2006
If there is one genre that can get away with releasing films direct-to-DVD, it is horror. By nature, most of the best horror films are low budget affairs anyway. Classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th, as well as more modern affairs such as The Blair Witch Project, are perfect models of the power of a smart, low-budget horror film.
Of course, for every Cabin Fever, there are fifteen versions of The Brotherhood III – Young Demons out there, just waiting to suck. Ring ...round the Rosie has several good things going for it. For a low budget affair, it is surprisingly well-produced. Quality audio and video can make even the worst film at least pleasant to observe. The film also has some nice “what's in that shadow?” tension, and Tom Sizemore even found some time between court appearances and stints in rehab to contribute to the film in a key supporting actor role.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 25th, 2006
Synopsis
Quite frankly, I didn’t remember much about 13 Going on 30 when I first saw it (yes, I’m copping to watching it), but in revisiting it for the purposes of the review, I found that it was a cute film whose story is quite clearly lifted from the ‘80s Tom Hanks film Big (right down to the scene where the main character rides in a limo), but the performances by the cast is actually quite commendable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 25th, 2006
Synopsis
I think that by revisiting Unbreakable, and looking at it outside of M. Night Shyamalan’s other films (The Sixth Sense and Signs), there’s actually a pretty good movie going on there. I mean, a movie that grossed $95 million domestically can’t be considered a failure, right? It did, however, do amazing overall numbers, the international totals brought the film up to a near $250 million gross. However, I guess when you put them up against Signs ($227 million domestic, $40... million worldwide) and The Sixth Sense ($293 million domestic, $672 fricken’ million worldwide), maybe it can be considered disappointing, but the film itself is pretty good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 25th, 2006
Synopsis
Donnie Wahlberg plays a cop whose past, to say the least, is checkered. He is drawn into a very personal confrontation with Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) when the killer kidnaps his son. Jigsaw wants Wahlberg to sit and listen to him if he wants his son to live. The boy, meanwhile, is trapped in a house where the air is slowly filling with a toxic nerve agent, and surrounded by a group of people who, desperate as they are to escape and to find antidotes to the poison, also, did they but know it, have ...ood reason to hate the teen in their midst.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 24th, 2006
Get ready, all you pre-teen Emilio Estevez fans, for this new special edition of Repo Man from Focus Features. I had no idea this film had such a following, and after viewing, I can’t seem to make sense of it. Not always sure of its genre, Repo Man is a film oddity that mixes drama, comedy, and goofball science-fiction with a meandering plot and questionable performances to get one of the strangest and most forgettable B-movies this side of Bride of the Monster. I was joking about a pre-teen Este...ez, but he is still very young, and not at all convincing in the role he’s playing here. I wonder if Estevez looks back on this film with the embarrassment one has for an old yearbook photo. He probably should. The great thing about this film, however, is you get to see Harry Dean Stanton at the top of his game, and he was an actor of incredible talent, who could have brought artistic credibility to a porno film if he so desired. Unfortunately, cheesy ‘80’s effects inferior even to Alf and an all-over-the-place plot pull away from the merits Stanton brings to the production.
The story begins with a roguish teen outsider, played by Estevez, who can’t seem to get any respect, or anything good out of life, no matter how hard he tries. One day, Stanton’s character takes a liking to him and decides for no reason that makes any sense he would make a great “repo man.” Voila, instant protégé. Meanwhile, there’s a scientific madman on the loose carrying a neutron bomb in the trunk of his old Malibu, and frying any overly curious person to a crisp with it. Whether it’s a highway patrolmen or a street punk kid, no one is immune from its effects. Along the way, there are crazy conspiracy theorists, street gangs, and a rival team of repo men on the prowl just waiting to heat the pot to a confusing boil. The sad thing about this film: it’s very entertaining in its simplicity, and very frustrating and dull in its complexity. The repossession scenes are immensely entertaining, and I’m sure a good film lurks somewhere within those confines. But Cox wants to make too many films at once and, in the end, does more harm than good.
