Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 6th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 4th, 2005
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement is the sequel to the popular Disney feature The Princess Diaries. How is our princess (Anne Hathaway) now? Well, life isn’t so easy in Gevonia. While trying to dodge Machiavellian plots and ill-suited suitors, the princess Mia tries to find love and (more importantly) herself.
The Princess Diaries 2 feels like one of those “phoned-in” sequels. All the notes are there, but none of the music. Veteran director Garry Marshall does a poor job o... filling this movie with energy or any sense of pace; and the movie plods along to its inevitable conclusion. Pre-teens might get a kick out of it, but the movie’s long windedness might make them turn towards the XBox. Anne Hathaway’s moxie and Julie Andrews’s grace make The Princess Diaries 2 modestly watchable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 4th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 31st, 2004
On the DVD cover of The Door in the Floor, the writing promises “surprises”, “shocks”, and “cuts like a knife”. One would think this movie would be a thriller. False advertising can get you nowhere. The Door in the Floor is far from a thriller, but more in the meditation on love, loss, and loneliness genre. Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger star as a dysfunctional married couple. Things are far from blissful. Bridges is a writer of children’s fiction; Basinger is, well, I’m not sure what she does. Bu... she sure is unhappy. She even takes up an affair with a young boy, played effectively by Jon Foster.
The movie is based on the first third of John Irving’s novel “A Widow for One Year”. It does feel a little like the first act of a much larger story. But the movie kinda works as a stand alone piece. Door covers some familiar territory (think In the Bedroom but without the murder). Basinger is good, but the movie is Jeff Bridges’ to own. He’s tortured but understated, rascally but sympathetic. The performance is one of the best of 2004. “The Dude” abides.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 31st, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2004
Barry Pepper is an actor who seems to have an affinity for playing sports heroes, Roger Maris and now Dale Earnhardt. Pepper also seems to have an affinity to star in movies with numbers in the title, 51, 25th Hour, and now 3 – The Dale Earnhardt Story. ESPN presents an original sports movie about the iconic racing driver who lived and died (literally) on the track.
Being a sports fan, I have a soft place in my heart for sports bio pics. They have a tendency to be clichéd, by nature.... We usually see the rise of the sports hero from humble beginnings to glory. There are hardships along the way, familial tension, and of course “the big game” (or in this case, the “big race”). 3 is no exception to the cliché ridden sports movie. But the story is well told and serves a lasting testament to a sports legend.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2004
That’s So Raven features Raven (or the artist formerly known as Raven Symone) as a sassy teen who gets into hilarious teen situations. Sound familiar? Raven seems a little Lizzie McGuire-esque, but the difference is in the main character. Raven has psychic powers. That’s right. She has the supernatural ability to see events that may (or may not) have happened. Freaky.
That’s So Raven: Supernaturally Stylish is a DVD that features four episodes from the Disney TV series. An... if Raven looks familiar, she used to play that new cute kid that ruined The Cosby Show. Raven and her buddy Chelsea get into some wacky situations, including going undercover as disco divas. Raven likes to use disguises. Oh…and she likes to act upon her psychic powers. The series ain’t “all that”, but the spirit of the show is fun enough.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 29th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 29th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 25th, 2004
My feelings about this movie can best be summed up by something that I noticed while watching the Gag Reel that is included on this DVD. The clapboard used in these shots lists the name of this film as College Sex Comedy. Now, that’s not the genre, mind you… that’s the title. Of course, the title was changed before release, but the fact that the film was basically titled Insert Generic Teen Sex Comedy Title Here during filming should give potential viewers some idea of what to expect from this film. It’... certainly not a horrible movie, but it’s not exactly good, either.
The plot starts off predictably, with a virgin college student, and all that situation entails. It’s not that the film is not funny, it’s just that we’ve already seen it hundreds of times before. The real downfall of this storyline, however, is that it asks the viewer to accept innumerable far-fetched coincidences throughout. The entire film could have been wrapped up in the first 15 or 20 minutes, were it not for countless silly twists of fate. If you ever saw the Sylvester Stallone bomb Oscar, then you’re with me.
