Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003
Jessica Lange is a top Chicago attorney, who finds herself called on to defend her father when he is accused of having committed war crimes in Second World War Hungary. Convinced of his innocence, she launches herself into the wrenching case, but finds that maintaining her convictions becomes harder as the case moves on. Given his later career (Basic Instinct,Showgirls, etc.), it’s rather surprising in retrospect to find that the script to this intelligent drama is by Joe Esteras. Though sometimes moving a bit too slowly, the film is always interesting, the performances are superb (especially by Lange) and the story builds to a pretty powerful climax.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003
Set in the Pakistani community in London, this coming-of-age story follows Omar (Saeed Jaffrey), a young man who gets his start in business through his not-entirely-scrupulous uncle.Omar has ambitions of transforming a grotty laundrette into a first-class establishment. To this end, he enlists the aid of an old friend (and soon-to-be-lover) (Daniel Day-Lewis), much to the displeasure of the latter’s skinhead friends. Family, racism, Thatcherism, sexism, homosexuality,organized crime and laundromats might sound like a lot to pack into 98 minutes, but this wry, sly comedy does so with grace and agility.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003
Jared Leto plays Basil, youngest son of the tyrannical Derek Jacobi. Traumatized by the death of his mother when he was young, the exile of his brother (who dallied with a young woman beneath his station), and oppressed by a father for whom class consciousness is the be-all and end-all, Basil is barely equipped to deal with the outside world. He has no friends, and only the most naive notions of romance. Into his life comes Christian Slater, whose worldly ways inspire Leto, and ...ho offers friendship, but in fact has deeply destructive motives. The movie s good fun in the vein of semi-gothic Victorian melodrama. Hearing Leto and Slater sporting British accents takes some getting used to (especially when it comes to Slater), and budgetary limitations show in dreadfully cheesy lightning effects and endlessly repeated establishing shots of Windermere mansion. But if you’re a faithful viewer of Masterpiece Theater, you’ll find much to enjoy here.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 21st, 2003
A serial arsonists is terrorizing the Los Angeles area. Investigating are veteran John Orr (Ray Liotta) and his junior partner Keith Lang (John Leguizamo). Before long, it appears that the arsonist is actually a fireman. The synopsis on the case implies that the film is a mystery: whois the arsonist, Liotta or Leguizamo? In fact, this isn’t really a mystery, since the film is based on a well-publicized case, and when was the last time Liotta didn’t play a weasel? In fact, Liotta becomes the prime suspect quite early on, and we see both his double life and the tightening net.This is a stylish tour-de-force, that makes most other based-on-a-true-story movies seem even more staid and boring than they really are. By turns grim and hilarious, Point of Origin is unfailingly intelligent, and even the music conveys more information than simply mood (listen for the sound of a typewriter, audible right from the start of the film).
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 21st, 2003
Made for TV (and showing it, what with that jarring fade-to-black exactly 20 minutes in),this film tells the story of a group of men trapped together in a coal mine when they suddenly strike water and their claustrophobic environments floods. We cut back and forth between their struggle to survive, the struggle to reach them, and the experience of their wives and families. At times, what, precisely, is happening in the mine is a bit hard to follow, though the realism is quite strong.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 21st, 2003
Eleven-year-old Harriet wants to be a writer. Told by her nanny (Rosie O’Donnell) to write down everything she sees, Harriet takes this command to heart and becomes the neighborhood spy. The people she writes about would not be gratified by what she has to say about them, and inevitably, her notebook falls into the wrong hands, leading to some painful lessons for Harriet.The pace is brisk, the editing even faster.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2003
Synopsis
The Legend of the gunfighter who wears the red scorpion jacket has come to South Beach in Miami. When the parking valet at a local strip club gets pulled into the legend he hinds himself the target of a mob hit and running for his life. Throw a sociopathic blonde into the mix and he might as well finish himself off before someone does it for him.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2003
In 1962 Ed Sabol purchased the rights to film the NFL and history was made. NFL films came to pioneer so many styles of filming that are still in use today like slow motion and the tight spiral football shot. The footage contained in these discs have never been seen before, it is old archived footage that was never used and it is amazing. The three discs are as follows…
Disc 1 – The Creation (1962-1965): This film looks at the beginning of what would become NFL Films. Watch as Ed Sabol and his ...on Steve pioneer the use of slow motion, multiple cameras and wireless microphones all while seeing amazing players like Jim Brown in never before seen footage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2003
Steven Seagal is certainly showing his age in Half Past Dead. To ardent fans of his tough-guy act, this might be a bad thing. To those of us just looking for a good film, I think it’s actually a good thing. With Seagal’s ass-kicking held more in check there appears more room for a story to grow. This one is above average. Seagal’s age also means a stronger supporting cast and this one has a nice one. Mia Peoples is stunning as one of the main villains. Ja Rule and Kurupt add the necessary urban reality and some comedy relief when called for. Morris Chestnut is a believable baddie and Hill Street Blues alum Bruce Weitz provides a very refreshing convicted killer found God. Don Michael Paul does a splendid job as director. The story moves constantly and the fight scenes are neatly filmed. You’ll find enough bullets and martial arts to fill a Matrix sequel, but for a change they aren’t extended dance scenes but rather tightly staged moments of action.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2003
Writer Norman Mailer and director Lawrence Schiller can’t get enough of the nation’s most intriguing criminals. Best known for the critically acclaimed Executioner’s Song, the duo are at it again with this CBS mini-series spruced up to an R rating for DVD.
To anyone who has seen the 60 Minutes piece or kept up with the story in their local paper, the story is familiar enough. Robert Hanssen spied for the Soviet Union for 22 years while a top level FBI agent. William Hurt delivers a rather deadpan performance as Hanssen, a man rife with contradictions. An obsessively devout Catholic who secretly shares pictures and videos of his naked wife with his best friend, Hanssen has little moral trouble with providing information that costs other men their lives. Better performances are turned in by Ron Silver and Mar Louise Parker who plays Hanssen’s wife. Wayne Knight sheds his “knucklehead” persona for a solid performance as an FBI colleague of Hanssen’s. You’ll find this cut of the film contains some nudity not shown on the CBS broadcast version.
