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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 8th, 2005
Synopsis
Teenagers Mai and Yu have just become girlfriend and boyfriend when Mai is killed in atraffic accident. Her distraught father uses her digitized physical characteristics and memoriesto create an AI resurrection. The new Mai gradually becomes more and more human and fullysentient (think a digital Pinocchio), and she winds up in the Yu’s laptop. A megalomaniacal CEOwants the technology in order to download his own consciousness into the Net and thereby rulethe world. His mini...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 22nd, 2004
Synopsis
Ten years after the events of Epoch 2000 (didn’t see it? then be prepared to beconfused), scientist David Keith and his son (apparently the result of an immaculate conceptionthanks to alien intervention) are on the run from the Genesis Coalition (a well-funded group ofnutcases devoted to expunging all things alien from the world). Alien rock formations, called“toruses” (they look like frozen tornadoes) rise from the ground, and good guys and bad guysdescend on them to discov...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 2nd, 2004
Venus Risingis a laughably bad movie advertised as “in the tradition of Johnny Mnemonic”. Maybe the two movies are in the same ballpark, theme-wise, but quality-wise they’re not even the same sport. Audie England and Costas Manylor play two fugitives who escape from a desert Island. Eve and Vegas, however, are still controlled by drugs from the Pacifica Corporation. The drugs also enable the characters to achieve a “virtual reality” state of mind. Fantasy sequences occur, flashbacks etc. It’s just an exc...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 2nd, 2004
Synopsis
A year after the clash seen in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, the giant robot built around the bones of the original Godzilla is still being repaired. Mothra and her two fairy princesses appear to warn humanity to return the bones to the sea, but the authorities do not listen, and Godzilla, drawn to Mechagodzilla, returns to ravage Tokyo. A titanic battle ensues, with Mechagodzilla and Mothra struggling to save the city from the unstoppable lizard.
The case could certainly ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2004
While the world of Harry Potter was created primarily for a younger adolescent audience, there is no question that the tapestry is epic, and compelling enough to satisfy adults. I believe the true success of these films lies within that idea. It is truly rare when a film arrives that can appeal so completely to both demographic groups.
Prisoner of Azkaban is perhaps the darkest, but I don’t think the most frightening, Potter film. The creature images of the previous entry were considerably more graphic an...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 26th, 2004
Species III comes from good genes. The original was kind of fun (and starred Ben Kinglsey!), but the first sequel was not as fun. But here comes the second sequel. It has the original alien girl Natasha Henstridge, but her appearance is short (I’ll just leave it at that). The director, Brad Turner, is a veteran of action television shows like 24. Is this direct to DVD release the best one of the “species”? The answer tilts towards the negative.
But Species III has a few things goi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 23rd, 2004
Synopsis
In a rather sparsely populated Chicago in 2035, Detective Spooner (Will Smith) is called into investigate the death of US Robotics’ top scientist (Jame Cromwell). Spooner has deep-seatedprejudices against robots, and is eager to believe that a robot is the murderer. Evidence suggeststhat he is right, but then the signs build that the problem is much bigger: a general robot rebellionmight be in the works.
Director Alex Proyas, after The Crow, gave us Dark C...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 4th, 2004
Synopsis
An organization claiming to be working for children’s aid builds a Godzilla theme park,complete with bigger-than-life replica of the big guy, here serving as headquarters. In fact, thesenice people are alien invaders, as a cartoonist and his friends discover. When their plans arethreatened, the aliens summon King Ghidorah and Gigan (he of the beak and vaguely disturbingbuzz saw stomach) to their aid. But Godzilla and good friend Anguirus charge in to fight the eviland save ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 28th, 2004
Synopsis
On the tenth anniversary of his wife’s death (and his daughter’s tenth birthday), TimothyHutton finds a mysterious briefcase (we see it appear out of nowhere near his wife’s grave). Thecase has his name on it, and when he unlocks the combination, Hutton finds a file containing thedetails of his murder five days in the future. The clock starts ticking. Once he accepts that he isnot the victim of a hoax, will he be able to alter his destiny?
If the idea of a man inves...
