Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 23rd, 2005
As is the trend for today, this is the Special Edition re-release of The Day After Tomorrow tagged as the All-Access Collector's Edition. As much of this set is the same as the original release, pieces of this review will be taken from our prior review of The Day After Tomorrow.
Storms both freakish and intense devastate the planet. Climatologist Dennis Quaid realizes that the world is on the brink of a sudden new ice age. As a freezing hurricane descends upon the US, Quaid must struggle through the snow and killing cold to reach a crippled New York City, where his son (Jake Gyllenhaal) is huddled with other survivors in the Public Library.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 10th, 2005
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2005
Star Trek: First Contact is light-years ahead of any other Next Generation film. There is virtually every characteristic that makes good Star Trek present here. James Cromwell as Cochrane provides the best comedy relief on Star Trek since the tribbles. The Borg infiltration reminds us of the first Alien film with its shadows and cramped airshaft scenes. The action is ramped up several notches from previous films. The basic crew seems to have found its feature legs and is more comfortable as a unit.
Purists will find some fault with the continuity errors the film brings to the Trek Universe, but after four years of Enterprise, these errors are quite minor. Jonathan Frakes is not, in my opinion, one of the brightest actors in Trek’s world, but here he does show he has the chops to be a first class director. Like Nimoy before him, it took one of the show’s main actors to breathe emotion into the franchise. The atmosphere in the cinematography is the best of any Trek before or since. This is probably technically the finest Trek film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 8th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 10th, 2005
After hearing that Russell Crowe had decided to embark on a movie about an early 19th century sea captain whose character was written about in several books by an author I never heard about, there was a part of me that was intrigued. This feeling was elevated by the film receiving 10 Oscar nominations, second only to Return of the King. And perhaps in another year, Master and Commander would have won more awards than it did (just one), and perhaps may go down as one of the more underappreciated films i... recent memory.
Based on the novels by Patrick O’Brian, the film chronicles the travels of Jack Aubrey (Crowe), commander of the British ship H.M.S. Surprise, and his close friend and ship’s doctor Stephen Maturin (Crowe’s A Beautiful Mind co-star Paul Bettany). The ship’s orders are to locate and do battle with the French ship Acheron, in the hopes of preventing further British/French conflicts. The Surprise is the victim of an early attack by the Acheron, and is rendered almost dead at sea. However instead of going to port, Aubrey decides to keep the ship at sea in the hopes of keeping a close watch on the Acheron without losing her, and at the same time repairing his own vessel. The ships navigate rough seas, the waters of the Galapogos, and even wintery conditions in the hopes of capturing the Acheron. Complicating matters is Maturin’s accidental shooting by a member of the crew, and Aubrey is forced to deal with the possible loss of his friend, the only one he feels can speak freely to him and as honestly as possible.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 25th, 2005
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 6th, 2005
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 3rd, 2004
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 23rd, 2004
The time: Prohibition. The smell of bootleg gin and the sound of bullets lingers in the urban air. It’s Chicago. It’s Good vs. Evil. Elliott Ness vs. Al Capone. Kevin Costner vs. Robert DeNiro. Brian De Palma directs this wonderful period piece. The film drips with as much stylish atmosphere as outlawed booze. I’m not sure if the credit belongs to David Mamet’s imaginative script or De Palma’s direction. Both were at the top of their game with this film. Sean Connery must certainly bear mention as the no nonsense me...tor Malone. In less than 20 years this film has easily earned its classic status. It’s hard to believe that Andy Garcia was an unknown at the time.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 20th, 2004
With the success of Star Trek as both a television and film franchise, it made perfect sense to eventually pass the baton from the Kirk era to the Next Generation. Generations had promise, but could and should have been a far better film. The f/x were for the most part inferior to previous Trek films. The destruction of the Enterprise D is the notable exception. Perhaps it was unwise to attempt to blend the established film environment with the too recently completed television series.
The film might have ...een better served by taking more time to create a better film version of the Enterprise D. It’s obvious that the ship’s destruction was written into this film to allow for the necessary redesign of the Enterprise for future films. A greater participation by the rest of the original cast, while costly, would have gone further to portray the changing of the Star Trek guard. I have heard Nimoy speak several times on the issue. He declined the role not because of money as many speculate, but because Spock’s role was too insignificant and out of character. How I would have loved to see Picard, Data, Spock, and Kirk work together toward the film’s climax. Still, Generations did bridge the two generations of Star Trek in an emotional if unsatisfying fashion.
