Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2003
Synopsis
John Wayne and Stewart Granger strike it rich in Alaska during the gold rush. Wayne travelsdown to Seattle to fetch Granger’s fiancee, but discovers she has already married another man.Wayne, who has no use for romance himself (you can see where this is heading), convincesnightclub performer Capucine to return to Alaska with him as a potential wife for Granger. Thetone is light and rollicking, with the mood set by a barnstormer of a bar fight in the openingscene. Great fun....
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2003
Synopsis
John Wayne is brave scout leading an enormous wagon train of settlers through hostilecountry to their promised land. All the expected trappings of the western epic are present andcorrect: cliffs, storms, battles, stampedes, the works. The western was already very wellestablished as a genre by the time of this 1930 release, having flourished during the silent periodas well, but here is where Wayne comes to prominence. Due the film’s lack of success (becauseof an early widesc...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 4th, 2003
Synopsis
The story opens in 18th-Century England. Jim Hawkins (played by the very American BobbyDriscoll) helps his mother run a tavern. One of their guests is William Bones, a old seaman whois being hunted by a group of former comrades. He dies of a heart attack, but not before givingJim a map of Treasure Island. The local squire, excited by the map, organizes an expedition tofind the treasure. Unfortunately, as ship’s cook he unknowingly hires notorious pirate Long JohnSilver. Fal...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Chihiro is a ten-year-old girl moving to a new home. On the way there, her father takes awrong turn, and they find themselves in an abandoned amusement park. I really don’t want tosay too much, as this is a film whose wonders should be discovered without too muchforeknowledge. Suffice to say that Chihiro soon finds herself in a magical world of spirits,striving to free herself, her parents, and a new friend. Spirited Away is a stunning film, worthyof comparison to Alice in Wonderla...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
In 1868, ships are being sunk by what appears to be a monster. Investigating scientists PaulLukas and Peter Lorre discover that it is, in fact, a submarine, when their ship is struck. They arepicked up, along with sailor Kirk Douglas, by Captain Nemo (James Mason) of the Nautilus. IsNemo a genius or megalomaniac? Villain or hero? Both? Our heroes wrestle with these questionsover the course of their adventures. The special effects, almost 50 years old, still stand up well(wi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson) beefs up his strip club business by publishing an explicitnewsletter. This newsletter becomes the glossy porn mag Hustler, and Flynt becomesstaggeringly rich. He also becomes the target of a serious of obscenity trials. Harrelson is terrific,and this was the film that confirmed that Edward Norton’s film-stealing performance in PrimalFear was no fluke. Courtney Love, as Flynt’s wife Althea, acquits herself well among theseheavyweights. Though ma...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner are pilot and co-pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Wagneris the sensitive type. McQueen, on the other hand “walks the thin line between hero andpsychopath” according the base doctor. Both men become interested in the same woman. Thoughthe film takes forever to get its plot in gear, and the bombing missions are very predictable (thefellow who shows Wagner photos and his wife and kid might as well be signing his own deathwarrant), the utter dist...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Welcome to the Tarrytown aerodrome, where Jay Jay The Jet Plane and his friends hang outand learn life lessons. These lessons (the importance of friendship, of overcoming your fears, andso forth) are presented in a clear, gentle way. The animation in these 5 stories is a bit on theeconomical side.
Audio
The audio is 2.0, but you wouldn’t know it in the first story. Here the result is effectivelymono, even when it comes to the music. The subsequent episodes ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
If you need a synopsis, why are you reading this review? The Bundys, for the uninitiated,are long-suffering boorish dad Al (Ed O’Neill), sex-deprived wife Peg (Katey Sagal), slut airheaddaughter Kelly (Christina Applegate) and cynical loser son Bud (David Faustino). Married withChildren definitely falls into the category into the category of acquired taste, and I’ll confess, Inever acquired the taste (I’ve always thought The Simpsons hit the same satiric targets -- andthen ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
Jamal and Peanut get together to hang out and cruise Compton. At Jamal’s house, however,they interrupt a thief who has broken in. Confronted with a gun, the thief keels over from a heartattack. In a panic, our two heroes bundle the body into their car and continue on their way. Thisis one-man-show filmmaking (the director handled just about every behind-the-camera duty),and the cast is very natural. The script is entirely (and obviously) improvised, and so each scenegoes on...
