Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 14th, 2006
Synopsis
Fred Astaire plays wealthy businessman and inveterate bachelor. On trip to France, his car goes into a ditch. Seeking help in a nearby orphanage, he catches sight of the vivacious Leslie Caron. Captivated by her joie de vivre, he arranges for her to receive a full scholarship and education in the states, and watches from the safety of anonymity as she flourishes. But then, whoops, he begins to fall in love with her.
Astaire was 55 at the time, and playing his age. Caron was 20, pla...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 13th, 2006
Synopsis
Jane Fonda plays Lilliam Hellman. She is living in a beach house with Dashiel Hammett (Jason Robards), struggling with a play (The Children’s Hour, though the film is ridiculously coy about mentioning its title). She is also worried about her childhood friend Julia (Vanessa Redgrave), who is caught up in the struggle with the rising tide of fascism in 1930s Europe. Hellman loses contact with Julia, but on a trip to Europe in the wake of her play’s success, she is contacted by friends ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 10th, 2006
Synopsis
These are the adventures of the Legacy (whose front is the Luna Foundation), a secret society dedicated to protecting humanity from the forces of darkness. And wouldn’t you know it, those pesky forces are present around every corner in the form of somewhat ramshackle special effects. The leader of the group lost his father to demons as a child, and now carries on the good fight. Every episode sees the group up against another nasty ghost or other supernatural force. Points must be given for ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 9th, 2006
Long before Marlon Brando was making us an offer we couldn’t refuse, he was making his bones in James Dean-like portrayals of the young troubled spirit. It isn’t hard to see why Sidney Lumet chose him for the role of Val Xavier in The Fugitive Kind. Ultimately Brando is miscast in the part. He is obviously struggling to get a feel for the character. Instead of a classic Brando performance we are tortured, having instead to watch him try to make the job more than it is.The film is based on the Tennessee Williams pl...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 9th, 2006
Synopsis
FBI trainee and psychic Caterina Scorsone is suddenly graduated because her abilities are needed on a missing person case, and so begins her partnership with borderline rogue FBI agent Vivica A. Fox. And there’s the premise set up: each episode, someone else is missing, and CSI meets the X-Files, but with none of the panache of either show. The dialogue is pseudo-hard boiled, and Fox is no more an federal agent than I am the Pope (I highly doubt those stiletto-heeled, snakeskin boots are eit...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 8th, 2006
One of the unfortunate responses to the emergence of a successful movie is the appearance of copycat films. When Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture, all these sword and sandal flicks went into production. Now we have epics such as Troy, Kingdom of Heaven and Alexander to show for it. Sometimes, the backlash is even worse when the hit film is a bit of a surprise hit. Such was the case with The Fast and the Furious. Now, I really enjoyed Furious, but I knew on the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 8th, 2006
Synopsis
Though they span a mere five years of his career, these are some of Cary Grant’s best films. They are also among the directors’ best films. Viewers wanting to see comedy from Hollywood’s Gold Age at its best and most sophisticated will be amply rewarded by spending a few evenings with this collection.
Holiday (1938) sees Grant engaged to the snobbish Doris Nolan. The real prize in her family is Katharine Hepburn (natch), who will ultimately break from her families more stult...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2006
Pity the younger generations that will forever associate the character of Inspector Clouseau with Steve Martin. Peter Sellers might not have been a “wild and crazy guy,” but he was nothing short of brilliant as a comedic actor. Sellers never relied on over the top grandstanding to make a point. You never needed to be hit over the head with the jokes. He displayed an altogether different, more subdued, flamboyance than the modern comic. You didn’t need to be told when to laugh. The problem was more often being able to stop.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2006
The most amazing thing about this one-joke movie is that it was based on a John Grisham novel: Skipping Christmas. Chris Columbus certainly does not display his biting wit and the skills he debuted with Gremlins 20 years ago. It’s hard to imagine this is the same guy who kicked off the Harry Potter series.
When their daughter joins the Peace Corps and leaves for South America during the Holidays, the Kranks decide to skip Christmas altogether and go on a cruise with the money they save. Why these altern...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 7th, 2006
A sequel to Ingmar Bergman’s 1973 classic Scenes from a Marriage, Saraband reintroduces us to Marianne (Liv Ullman) and Johan (Erland Josephson) after 32 years apart, when Marianne decides it’s time to pay her ex-husband a visit. Upon arrival, she becomes involved in strained family relations between Johan, his son Henrik (Borje Ahlstedt), and Henrik’s daughter Karin (Julia Dufvenius). There are implications that Henrik and daughter share an incestuous relationship, highlighted by a scene where they lie...
