Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 5th, 2006
The concept of the musical biopic is nothing new. We have seen many films come and go, some good and some bad. A majority of these musical biopic films try to tell the rising of a group, whether or not the group is a reality, in a manner that will connect with the audience. Robert Townsend’s The Five Heartbeats is a prime example of a film that connects with its audience by taking this concept of the musical biopic just that one step further than we might expect from a film like this.
The Five Hea...tbeats are a nineteen-sixties Motown type singing group that consists of lead singer Eddie (Michael Wright), songwriter ‘Duck’ Matthews (Robert Townsend), ladies’ man J.T. Matthews (Leon), bassman ‘Dresser’ Williams (Harry J. Lennix), and tenor ‘Choirboy’ Stone (Tico Wells). These guys start out by singing on streets corners. Enter big shot manager (Chuck Patterson). Potter nails them a record deal and gets them to perform everywhere leading to super exposure and stardom. Naturally with stardom, comes the rocky road one travels on. The road consists of internal conflict between the band members and producers, drug addiction, racism, and even a close death. This all occurs before the groups untimely end in the mid nineteen-seventies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2006
Synopsis
I’ve long held the somewhat chauvinistic belief that female stand up comedians are simply not funny. I’ve given people like Ellen DeGeneres, Paula Poundstone and Margaret Cho as much unbiased time as I can give, and I just don’t laugh at them. Their sense of humor is softer than any comparable male comedians, and is far more subtle. Does that make me a cro-magnon male with a large forehead? Probably.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2005
Director Brian Henson continues a family tradition with father Jim’s creations, The Muppets. He also carries on another tradition, this time in the form of the long-told tale “A Christmas Carol” by legendary author Charles Dickens. The combination goes so well together I can hardly understand why it wasn’t done sooner, as in by Jim himself before his untimely death. Michael Caine does an extraordinary job, as usual, in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, a hopeless miser, who receives visits from three very different ghost... in a last ditch chance at redemption. It doesn’t matter how many times the story is told, or in how many ways – it never seems to lose its power, and The Muppets’ retelling in their own unique way only serves to enhance the tale.
There is something missing without Jim Henson as the voice of Kermit the Frog, but his replacement does a comparable job, and we still get Frank Oz in his usual roles of Miss Piggy and Animal. The result is something any Muppets’ fan will be proud to place on the shelf alongside the other children’s classics for which this troupe is responsible.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 7th, 2005
Synopsis
Things don’t get much more anodyne than this storyline, showcasing an impossibly idealized family and their trials of love and prize pigs as they travel to the eponymous event. This is strictly for the nostalgic and pure fans of Rodgers and Hammerstein (the songs generally are not as culturally engrained as those of Oklahoma!). There are two versions of the film here, and the 1945 take is easily the better of the two. The 1962 remake (and the third film by this name, a non-musical ver...ion having appeared in 1933) has Pat Boone in the lead (never a good sign) and is even more plastic. This version does, however, have Ann-Margaret pulling a bit of a show-stopper with her dance number.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2005
Synopsis
The orphanage where brothers Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) grew up is going to be expropriated unless back taxes are paid, and our heroes are resolved to help. The nun in charge won’t accept any of their ill-gotten gains, however, and so they embark on a frenetic cross-county chase to reassemble their old band for a benefit gig. Cue many famous music cameos, and massive car chases.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 21st, 2005
Pocahontas is Disney’s animated version of the Pocahontas myth. This movie is not history, but a Disney-fied version of it. European settlers came to North America and disrupted the Native American way of life. John Smith (voiced by Mel Gibson) and his British plunderers attempt to rob the “New World” of its riches. Chief Powhatan, and his daughter Pocahontas (voiced by Irene Bedard), might have something to say about this. In the end, in typical Disney fashion, a moral emerges: both cultures have a lot...to learn from eachother.
Pocahontas hits all the right Disney animated film notes, but not as strongly as other films. The villain, the scheming leader of the expedition Ratcliffe (voiced by David Ogden Stiers), is no one to be scared of, really. He comes off more like a goofball. Ratcliffe is not in the tradition of the great Disney villains we’re used to. The cute cuddly comic relief characters (a raccoon, a hummingbird, and a dog) are not as funny or endearing in comparison to, say, Poombaa or Scuttle (from Little Mermaid). And the romance between Pocahontas and John Smith isn’t as charged as Belle and the Beast, for example. It seems a little forced here. So without a great villain, funny comic relief characters, or a believable romance, what does Pocahontas have? It has scope. The “New World” is a wonder to behold. The animators have done an amazing job. And the “Colors of the Wind” song (an Oscar winner) is quite lovely.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2005
What kid growing up in the 60’s and 70’s wasn’t totally and completely captivated by the moon landings? We were equally on the edge of our seats when, for a brief moment in time, it appeared we were going to lose our first men in space. Seldom can a film be successful when the audience has most of the story’s details burned into the core of their memory. After all, we know how this one comes out. Still, the film manages to create the intense tension and anticipation as if we were experiencing it all for the first time. The cast is quite crucial for such a monstrous task. Tom Hanks has arguably never been better. The understated style of Gary Sinise is exactly what the film requires when the suspense mounts. It’s particularly gratifying to have Ed Harris along for the ride, quite possibly an homage to his unforgettable John Glenn in The Right Stuff. Ron Howard should be congratulated on producing a piece of cinematic magic that will likely stand the test of time.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 9th, 2005
I started watching this movie expecting something akin to a National Lampoon episode – a goofy motorcycle road trip populated by harmless and amusing stoners. Those of you who are Easy Rider fans, or who have seen and appreciated the film should be chuckling now at my ignorance. This film, as well as Rambo: First Blood and Vanishing Point have now made it adequately clear to me that I’ve completely missed an entire genre of filmmaking. For those who share my ignorance, what I’m referring to is th... bleak and depressing post-1969 disillusionment film (this movie was actually filmed during ’69): love, merriment, and hope have been replaced with unmitigated bleakness and futility. The freedom and exuberance of the sixties has been replaced with imagery that exposes it for what it was – a brief flare in a perpetual night otherwise characterized by self-serving manipulations, hollow appearances, unrealized and forgotten dreams, violence, and willful ignorance.
Yes – the world after the summer of love is a pretty depressing place. Easy Rider makes this adequately clear in the opening minutes of the film as our two hero’s (Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda) complete a drug deal close to the Los Angeles airport. By starting the movie in this way, even the liberal, free spirited protagonists of the film are deprived of any moral base – their innocent, archetypal sixties dream of traveling by motorcycle across the US and having fun along the way is revealed as the end product of a career of crime and drugs, and the protagonists are presented as amoral and self-serving at best. The idealism of the sixties is flayed and exposed as the hollow moral posturing that – by and large – it was. Interesting side note here: the person that the drugs are sold too is in fact the Phil Spector, who’s monumental music production career has since been eclipsed by his Hughes-esque eccentricities, and allegations of murder. Check out the Making-Of documentary for more on Spector’s weirdness while filming.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 12th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 29th, 2004
Synopsis
