Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2005
M. Night Shyamalan has a knack for channeling the spirit of Rod Serling each time he sits down to write and ultimately direct and produce a new film. When Serling’s spirit is unavailable, then it seems that Hitchcock will do. The Village, like each of his previous films, is carried off in rather subtle tones both in visual textures and storytelling.
The Village again begins with little or no action but somehow compels us to begin to ask questions about the deceptively simple story unfolding b...fore us. Just as he brought out the incredible talent of the young Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense, the surprising talent in this film is obviously Bryce Dallas Howard as the blind Ivy Walker. At times she is capable of carrying the film entirely on her shoulders. Fortunately that is not often the case as a well rounded supporting cast includes William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, and Joaquin Phoenix playing a Gladiator named Lucius.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2005
The second volume of Lost In Space Season 2 is pretty much like the first. I’m still not sure I like the idea of splitting seasons. The reason given was that stores were refusing to carry a higher priced season set. This set does contain one of my favorite of the entire show. “Trip Through The Robot” is an obvious “Fantastic Voyage” rip-off but is a terribly entertaining romp. The stories continued their slide into even sillier tales and lower budget monsters. Gene Roddenberry often told the tale of how CBS pi...ked his brain about how to achieve sci-fi looks with a TV budget. The story goes they feigned interest in his Star Trek pilot to pick his brain. It doesn’t look like they got as much out of the deception as Roddenberry might have thought.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 14th, 2005
First off, let me say that if you have only seen Showgirls on VH-1, then you haven’t had the full experience. It’s bad on network television, but the sheer scope of how truly awful it is can only be experienced in the full, uncut version. Laughing at an idiot is one thing. Laughing at a naked idiot is something else entirely. It’s amazing how un-sexy this film really is. Showgirls is funny in the same way that it was funny to make fun of the fat kid riding in the front of the bus in Junior High. ...art of you feels sorry for Elizabeth Berkeley, and part of you secretly gets a certain satisfaction out of watching her fail so horribly and famously on film. The point is, this film is truly enjoyable, in the most twisted of ways.
This trashy flick is the very definition of a film so bad that it’s good. For those of you that live in a cave in Afghanistan, this is the story of a small-town girl who goes to Vegas to make it big as a showgirl (because you have to have goals, right?). Once she gets there, she finds that Sin City is called that for a reason, and she fights through catty co-workers, sleazy managers and her own blind ignorance to get her shot at the big time. I think I might have died of boredom if this movie wasn’t so gloriously horrible.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 13th, 2005
Ahh, Scooby-Doo. The cartoon of my youth is back with all new episodes. Luckily, the new episodes haven’t meddled too much with the classic formula, as so often happens with remakes of movie and TV shows. There are four episodes included in this collection, each dealing with a different spooky mystery. Trampy Fred and Daphne, sexually confused Velma, baked Shaggy and their English-speaking dog are all here, and their trippy hippy van as well. You know them, you love them. Scooby is back!
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 13th, 2005
Sometimes, titles can be misleading. In fact, in our modern high-octane marketing culture, that’s often times their function. For instance, despite the rumors, everybody does not love Raymond. Furthermore, I do not love Raymond. I find the show bland and predictable, and the acting is consistently sub-par. However, just because it’s not my kind of thing, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s bad. A Room With a View was nominated for Best Picture, but I found it so detestable that I couldn’t even make ...t through the whole thing. People are different, and their DVD viewing preferences are as well.
All 22 episodes from the first season of this highly-rated show are included on this set, including the series pilot. Pilots are invariably awkward, but this seems to be an exception. There are some genuinely funny moments here, and though there are a couple plot lines and character traits that are different from the directions the show eventually went in, the pilot is pretty true to the rest of the season and the series. One of the hallmarks of this show is its consistency, and the comedy has been consistent since episode number one. Unfortunately for me, I don’t care for Ray Romano’s brand of humor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 13th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 13th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 13th, 2005
“All good things must come to an end…” Truer words have never been spoken, especially when it comes to describing what may be argued as the greatest epic ever produced for the silver screen. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy has redefined excellence in movie making. The only other series that I can compare this accomplishment to is, not surprisingly, the original Star Wars trilogy in terms of the scope of what was accomplished – old fashioned story telling which captured its audience with ground...breaking visuals and sound. Where Peter Jackson has surpassed George Lucas however, was in the DVD production of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The extended versions of the three films should be identified as the best DVDs ever produced. Period. These versions of the films truly demonstrate the full potential of what DVD has to offer.
The Return of The King completes the Lord of the Rings trilogy by allowing Aragorn to fulfill his destiny and bring honor back to his disgraced family line, bringing together the peoples of Middle Earth to fight for a common good, and for Frodo to end his life altering journey to save all of the people of his world. The extended version adds 50 minutes to the already 3 hr and 20 minute long theatrical cut. One would think that it may be difficult to sit through a 4 hr and 10 minute film, but nothing could be further from the truth. The additional scenes contribute an added depth to the movie that rounds out the story very nicely. The mix of the scenes involve a deepening of not just action, but also emotional tenderness, suspense, and humor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 12th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 12th, 2005
Synopsis
