Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2005
Note: the following synopsis contains spoilers. Only read this first section if you know have happens in season four.
I shall first give a bit of the background of the show for any readers who are a bit interested in the background of the show. The show debuted in the fall of 1985 during an era of non-violent and very-feel good nature type television shows. Even though a show like Macgyver did follow this standard 80’s television show rule, the show manages to distance itself from the standard cop sh...w/soap opera show solely because of the lead character Macgyer. Instead of using brute force to overcome his adversaries, Macgyver simply stops and takes a moment to use his head to decide what to do next. Since Macgyer he has an astounding mind (most specifically in the science field), he is able to always get the upper edge over his foes with his ability to make easy use of any of the materials surrounding him to create solutions to the numerous problems he encounters. While I must say this is a bit different from your average show, this routine does get a bit tiring after awhile.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2005
Sorry for Kung Fu tells the story of a woman, who has defied her staunchly conservative heritage by getting pregnant out of wedlock. Not so big of a deal, except she's returning home to live with her parents, and must deal with the tension that comes with having gone against the ways they have taught her. In spite of it all, she manages to enjoy a truce with mother and father until the baby is born - and it's of Asian descent. With family turmoil and racial bigotry within family bloodlines to propel its conflict, you'd think this film would have a lot to recommend it. However, it can't jump that one final hurdle of execution in order to make it all happen. Part of what makes it not work is the fact that it's a family drama with an incredibly unsuitable potty mouth.
Before you label me a prude, allow for explanation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2005
Director Brian Henson continues a family tradition with father Jim’s creations, The Muppets. He also carries on another tradition, this time in the form of the long-told tale “A Christmas Carol” by legendary author Charles Dickens. The combination goes so well together I can hardly understand why it wasn’t done sooner, as in by Jim himself before his untimely death. Michael Caine does an extraordinary job, as usual, in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, a hopeless miser, who receives visits from three very different ghost... in a last ditch chance at redemption. It doesn’t matter how many times the story is told, or in how many ways – it never seems to lose its power, and The Muppets’ retelling in their own unique way only serves to enhance the tale.
There is something missing without Jim Henson as the voice of Kermit the Frog, but his replacement does a comparable job, and we still get Frank Oz in his usual roles of Miss Piggy and Animal. The result is something any Muppets’ fan will be proud to place on the shelf alongside the other children’s classics for which this troupe is responsible.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 28th, 2005
Synopsis
It would appear that the 1961 Disney film The Parent Trap helped to spur popularity within Disney’s non-animated film section. Films like the Herbie films, and films featuring other stars like Kurt Russell would soon follow several years later. Based on a book by Erich Kastner, and written and directed by David Swift (Eight is Enough, Barney Miller), the film is centered around Sharon and Susie (both played by Hayley Mills, Saved by the Bell, Pollyanna), who are i...entical twins who do not realize that they are sisters. After some initial bristling between the two, they manage to get along and learn more about each other.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 28th, 2005
I must admit feelings of suspicion before popping in the DVD copy of Prozac Nation:. I remember seeing the theatrical trailer years ago. It was not, by any means, poor advertisement. I had taken a liking to the acting of Christina Ricci, and the film looked like a decent outing with a talented supporting cast. So I waited for the film to come out. Then I waited some more. Years passed and the film never popped up at my local multiplex. It is generally not a good sign that a film is shelved for so long, but I s...ill kept an eye out for its theatrical release.
However, Prozac Nation: never did get that theatrical release. Instead Miramax gave it a cable debut on its sister network Starz/Encore, and the film went straight to DVD. Now I have seen awful films that have been delayed for years, and those titles were even given a theatrical release. Since Prozac Nation: was not even given that freedom, I couldn’t help but suspect a terrible film. Just when I had started thinking about the film after seeing an advertisement on Encore, a copy of the film ended up on my doorstep a few days ago for review. Truthfully speaking, I don’t quite see what all the delays were about. This may not be a wonderful picture, but it certainly deserved more respect than some of the other crap that reaches screens across the world.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 27th, 2005
Synopsis
This is a short (69 minutes), quite elliptical film that traces the arc of a relationship between a young man (Kieran O’Brien) and woman (the pseudonymous Margo Stilley). We see individual moments, usually framed around episodes of lovemaking, and in between we see our couple at rock concerts (and so we get, in their entirety, performances by the likes of Primal Scream, Super Furry Animals and Franz Ferdinand). The whole story is a flashback, with O’Brien in the present, post-relationship, r...flecting on it while he does research in Antarctica.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 27th, 2005
Most film-goers could identify a Michael Bay film just by the techniques he uses -- quick edits, sun drenched color palate, and lots of action. This usually means that Bay is suited more for low-brow action movies as opposed to high concept films.
In Pearl Harbor, Bay proved that he couldn’t handle anything that didn’t explode -- resulting in a lop-sided film. The first hour was a tedious love story and the last 90 minutes were better -- including an excellent recreation of the surprise attack.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 26th, 2005
Synopsis
There was a period in Francis Ford Coppola’s (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) life where he went through a bit of a phase, where he was making films based on relatively obscure material. And he went through another smaller phase in the early ‘80s where he was making films from source material of author S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders). And Rumble Fish was one of those.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 26th, 2005
Synopsis
Despite the upside of pro wrestling-being on worldwide TV and having people from ages 6 to 60 buy a shirt with your face on it, and cheer (or boo) you in the ring until they become hoarse, there is still a downside. A wrestler can be on the road for 250 days out of the year. The pay is comfortable, but there is the risk of injury, or worse, addictions to drugs to overcome the pain you can suffer from while on the road. And unlike John Q. Businessman, a lot of the wrestlers out there either don’t ha...e a health or pension plan, or can’t even afford either or both to begin with. Numerous wrestlers over the years have been incapacitated from the life, and at least that many have committed suicide, including several well known (to fans) wrestlers in the recent months. The upside can be great though, and a wrestler’s character can have a lasting impact on the public, long enough to maybe make them lifelong fans. I’m still watching it, off and on for (damn!) 20 years, and Barry Blaustein has the same identification with it, and uses it to help focus on several different people who have, and are, making their livelihood in the business, in Beyond the Mat.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 26th, 2005
Four Brothers starts off as a solid drama about a group of orphans (Marky Mark, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garrett Hedlund) who were raised by a sympathetic woman (Fionnula Flanigan) in downtown Detroit. When she is murdered, the brothers reunite and stay in their mother’s old house. They sit at the dinner table and stare at her now empty seat. They horse around with one another in her living room. And in some cases they even wear her old clothes. In scenes like these, the actors do a good job of makin... their characters feel real -- a rare feat in movies these days. Then the action starts. And that’s where Four Brothers goes downhill.
What starts as a serious toned film about coming together to bury a loved one, Four Brothers transforms into an unintentionally funny action movie. The characters don’t just shoot at one another, they make corny quips while doing it. Marky Mark, yeah I know he’s Mark Wahlberg and all, but after this performance, he’s Marky Mark again. He’s lost the right to be taken seriously. Anyway, Marky Mark actually says the line, “Grab the gun and bust some shots” to Tyrese Gibson while chasing some bad guys down a street. I don’t know... the line might sound perfectly normal to some people. I guess they are the intended audience for this film. But it made me laugh. Many lines like that one made me laugh.
