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Suspense / Thriller

Job, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 21st, 2004

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Synopsis

Daryl Hannah plays CJ, a world-weary hired assassin. She wants out of the life, but hercurrent job goes awry when the drugs she is suppossed to recover for mob boss Alex Rocco gomissing. They have wound up in the hands of nervous Brad Renfro and his very pregantgirlfriend, Dominique Swain. CJ finds it difficult to kill these two young people, and this gets herinto trouble herself. Meanwhile, she begins to succumb to the overtures of a former priest (EricMabius), who wants a…
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Sidney Poitier DVD Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 14th, 2004

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Synopsis

In the Heat of the Night (***1/2) is probably the best known film in the set. HereSidney Poitier plays Virgil Tibbs, Philadelphia homicide detective. Waylaid in a smallMississippi town, he battles racism and his own arrogance as he both clashes and cooperates withPolice Chief Rod Steiger in a murder investigation. Directed by Mr. Concerned Cinema himself,Norman Jewison, the film can hardly be taken seriously, what with all the inhabitants of Sparta,with only the par…
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Pact of Silence, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 12th, 2004

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Synopsis

Gérard Depardieu is a Catholic priest and doctor with a dark secret in his past. Working inBrazil, he deals with the case of Sarah (Élodie Bouchez), a Carmelite nun who suffers all thesymptoms of appendicitis without actually having it. He is gravely concerned for her health, butthe Carmelites are very protective of Sarah. In fact, they are clearly hiding something.Meanwhile, in Paris, Sarah’s twin sister Gäelle is about to be released on parole after serving tenyears of a …
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Devil’s Pond

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2004

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It seems to me that B-level actors sometimes agree to do a movie for the experience and practice as much as to further their career and get a paycheck. Other times, the opposite is true, and major stars purposely chose to do a small independent production following a major success, knowing that they could never top their last picture. Often times, it is obvious when an actor has their personal motives in mind when choosing to do a film. Kate Winslet’s decision to shoot Hideous Kinky following the hugely-succes…
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Last Hand, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 3rd, 2004

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Synopsis

Benny Walsh (Frank Gorshin) wins big at a poker game, but then is murdered as he driveshome with his winnings. His son Clyde (Robert Dubac) comes into town looking for answers.Before long he is at odds with the sinister casino owner Frank (Stanley DeSantis). Clyde is moreand more convinced that Frank is responsible for Benny’s death. His struggle for justice iscomplicated by the presence of other parties fighting over the casino and a big bag ofcocaine.

Not…
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Bogart Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 28th, 2003

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Casablanca. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The Big Sleep. TheMaltese Falcon. To Have and Have Not. All legendary titles, all among the very bestmovies Hollywood has ever made. Terrific adventures and mysteries, the fit together as acollection in fascinating ways, beyond simply having Bogart as the lead. To Have and HaveNot is structurally very much like a more upbeat version of Casablanca. TheMaltese Falcon is frequently held up as the first film no…
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Postman Always Rings Twice, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 28th, 2003

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Synopsis

Drifter John Garfield arrives at a filling station which advertises “Man Wanted” (a sign to beinterpreted in more than one sense). The proprietor is the jovial but cheap and aging CecilKellaway, and his wife is bombshell Lana Turner. Garfield and Turner fall in love, and beforelong, they’re plotting the murder of Kellaway.

To say more would be unfair — this is a film that is best experienced cold, so you can be hitby the twists and turns of the plot. I will …
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Invitation, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 17th, 2003

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I hate to see great ideas go to waste. These days, it’s rare that anyone ever has any new ideas in Hollywood. Everything has been done before, usually more than once. Sometimes concepts are adapted, and sometimes whole films are re-done… the most blatant slap in the face of creativity. When a film comes along that actually is original, I get excited. In fact, I’ll even settle for a new twist on an old story. I get so tired of the same old thing, that even an ounce of creativity goes a long way with me.

It i…
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Chicago Joe and the Showgirl

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 1st, 2003

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Synopsis

London, 1944. Emily Lloyd thinks she’s a showgirl. She dreams of being a big star, orpossibly a gangster’s moll. Serviceman Kiefer Sutherland claims to be a gangster known asChicago Joe, heading up Al Capone’s outfit in London. Yeah, right. When these two meet, theyfeed each other’s fantasies. In order to live up to Lloyd’s image of a gangster, Sutherland letshimself be talked into ever more violent crimes, culminating in murder. Director Bernard Rosekeeps the movie …
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Glory Boys, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 29th, 2003

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Synopsis

Rod Steiger is an Israeli nuclear scientist on a speaking tour of England. He is targeted forassassination by a group of Palestinian terrorists. While the French police manage to kill twoof the assassins, the third makes it to England, where he hooks up with an IRA fixer (who justhappens to be the spitting image of Conan O’Brien). The British Security Service calls inAnthony Perkins to head up the protection detail around Steiger. What follows is a Day ofthe Jacka…
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Cat Chaser

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 25th, 2003

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Synopsis

Ex-Lance Corporal Goerge Moran (Peter Weller) has a fairly comfortable life, if you leaveaside his disturbing dreams of his part in the military intervention in the Dominican Republic in1965. He has a slightly run-down beachfront hotel, and he takes it easy. His past won’t leave himalone, however. Not only does he make a return trip to the Dominican Republic, he renews hisrelationship with Kelly McGillis, wife of a former Dominian strongman. This brutal character isa…
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Bad Bizness

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 23rd, 2003

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Synopsis

In a lush Hawaiian resort, someone is killing off strippers and nude models. Security officerTraci Bingham investigates. You don’t really care about the plot, do you? Because no oneinvolved with this film did. The lackluster investigation fills in time between numbingly dullsoftcore couplings. Bad Bizness even has the nerve to recycle at least one sex scene fromFinal Examination, never mind that it has nothing to do with anything. Fred Olen Raydirected …
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Kiss Daddy Goodnight

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 23rd, 2003

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Synopsis

Uma Thurman plays Laura, a young woman who picks older men, drugs them, and robsthem. Her little schemes go awry, however, when she starts being stalked. There is more,involving a relationship with a loser played by Paul (brother of Matt) Dillon, but none of it isinteresting. Deeply, deeply dull.

Audio

The sound is, apparently, 2.0 stereo, but it certainly isn’t surround. What it sounds like isextremely muzzy mono. The music is muddy and unex…
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Looking Glass War, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 21st, 2003

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Synopsis

A British agent is killed trying to get information back to England, information that mightconfirm or refute the presence of a Russian nuclear missile at a particular location in EastGermany. The British Secret Service, operating on a budget, decides to recruit a Polish civilian,offering him asylum if he will travel to East Germany to find out in person if the missile is thereor not. Much of the film is taken up by his training. Our hero is extremely cynical, and the o…
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Dark Passage

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 16th, 2003

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Synopsis

Unjustly convicted of murdering his wife, Vincent Parry escapes from San Quentin. He ispicked up and helped by Iris Jansen (Lauren Bacall), who has always believed in his innocence.Parry, whose face we never see (much of the first half hour of the movie is shot from his POV),but whose voice is clearly Bogart’s, undergoes plastic surgery, eventually emerging as Bogart.He wants to clear his name, but the murder of his best friend only makes things worse. Centralto his …
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City of Ghosts

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 29th, 2003

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In his directorial debut, Matt Dillon gives us a character driven story with fantastic cinematography and numerous plot twists. Matt Dillon, better known for his role in teen flicks and his over the top performance in “There’s Something about Mary” definitely can add another credential to his Hollywood portfolio – actor and director. It just seems funny that in his directorial debut he features himself as the main character.

Dillon plays Jimmy Cremmins, a New York con artist, whom in the wake of a huge in…
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Final Examination

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 27th, 2003

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Synopsis

At a Hawaiian resort, a five-year college reunion is underway. Four young women inparticular are excited to be chosen as centerfolds for Cavalier magazine (don’t ask). One by one,they are killed in boringly unbloody ways. Investigating is local detective Kari Wuhrer and ex-LA cop Bretn Huff, sent to Hawaii after a stock footage car chase back home. The dialogue withmake you want to hit your head with a sledgehammer, the mystery’s resolution is simultaneouslyobvious and nons…
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Charade

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 26th, 2003

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At a time when the women’s liberation movement was picking up steam, Hollywood was changing the kinds of stories they told, and some of films most beloved personalities were aging and leaving the spotlight, the stars aligned perfectly for Stanley Donen to make the incredibly charming “Charade”. Both a send-up of James Bond films and a genuinely engaging mystery, “Charade” was the perfect film at the perfect time.

The story revolves around a young woman (played by the graceful and immensely likeable Audre…
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Hard Word, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 25th, 2003

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Synopsis

Guy Pearce leads a gang of three bank-robber brothers. They’re very good at what they do,and they take great pride in the fact that no one has ever been hurt during one of their jobs.Released from prison, they stage another heist in partnership with their lawyer and some crookedcops. What they don’t know is that their lawyer is sleeping with Pearce’s wife (the incendiaryRachel Griffiths), and he has them sent back to prison, only to spring them once again for aneven bigger …
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Scenes of the Crime

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2003

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Synopsis

Jon Abrahams plays Lenny Burroughs. He’s about to get married and, to his fiancee’schagrin, continues to earn money by driving mob guy Peter Greene around. On this particularday, what he thinks is a simple errand turns out not to be when Greene kidnaps top mobster JeffBridges, the promptly gets himself killed. A terrified Abrahams holes up in his van with Bridgesat gunpoint, while the mysterious currents of the mob war play out around him. The cast is quiteimpressive (add M…
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Deadly Invasion

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 17th, 2003

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You can pretty much guess a film’s in trouble when it begins with an ominous narrative that ends with: “The following could be a true story”. Deadly Invasion starts slow and gets dull from there. This was a 1995 TV film about killer bees. Weren’t we over that story in the 1970’s? The plot is predictable at every turn. This might not be all that bad if not for below B grade acting and cinematography. I’m more afraid of having to watch this film again than of killer bees.

Audio

Dancer Upstairs, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 7th, 2003

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Synopsis

The setting is an unnamed country in Latin America. The time is the recent past. Amysterious terrorist organization, led by someone called “Presidente Ezequiel,” launches a seriesof baffling and increasingly deadly attacks. The government responds with more and moredraconian measures. Caught between the terrorists and a corrupt regime is honest cop JavierBardem, desperate to salvage what democracy his country still has. As he tracks Ezequiel, hisinvestigation…
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Identity

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 26th, 2003

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Synopsis

On a dark and stormy night, a series of strange (coincidental?) events trap a group of peopleat an isolated hotel. They are all strangers, and yet more bizarre coincidences appear to link themto each other somehow. As if that wasn’t enough, someone is killing them off, one by one. Allvery mysterious and suspenseful, and the cast is excellent. Unfortunately, there’s a twist, and notonly does the twist take a thriller that was setting itself up as something daring and ne…
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Guilty By Association

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 24th, 2003

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A cautionary tale about gangs and racism we have the story of Rick Brown convicted of drug offenses and now out on probation trying to get his life back together. With no where to go he gets sucked back into his own life. Lieutenant Redding (Morgan Freedman) is on the hunt for a ruthless gang killer. Things soon go bad for Rick and he finds himself in the middle as the violence erupts. Unfortunately the acting, directing and storyline is so weak that you are not really interested if the two s…orylines are ever going to come together.
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Wait Until Dark

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

Audrey Hepburn is recently blind, and still adjusting to her new condition. Unfortunatelyfor her, three criminals are convinced that a load of heroin has been stashed in her apartment,and they want it. Most sinister of the trio is Alan Arkin, playing a complete psychopath. Thetension builds until Hepburn must defend herself against a madman in her darkened apartment.Perfect sweaty-palms material, with a very famous jolt (and believe me, you’ll know it when yousee it).

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