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 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 Archive Authors on May 16th, 2005
The Bodyguard is silly. Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner star this decade old thriller/romance. Houston plays Rachel Marron, a pop singer. Not much of stretch back then, these days...not so much. Costner plays Frank Farmer, bodyguard to the stars. It seems as though Marron is receiving death threats. Enter Frank Farmer. A romance eventually develops. This is this the stuff of high camp. Instead, we get low camp. The Bodyguard is not quite bad enough to be Showgirls, and not quite good ...nough to be Basic Instinct. The Brit director, Mick Jackson, tries to add some intelligence to the precedings. But why bother. It's The Bodyguard.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 10th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 9th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 6th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 4th, 2005
Wes Anderson has been a breath of fresh air since he hit the Hollywood scene in 1996 with his first feature length film Bottle Rocket. Since then, Anderson has continued to stretch the imagination of film-goers with fabulous films such Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and now with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). Anderson’s films are not for every joe-schmo film fan; his work could even be described as an acquired taste. But from a creative and visual perspective,...Wes Anderson’s work stands by itself.
Anderson has a thing for using actors that he is comfortable with, so in The Life Aquatic, we see many return actors from his previous films – Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, & Anjelica Huston. Fresh to this film, and with a good chance of appearing in future Wes Anderson projects, include Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, & Jeff Goldblum. With a cast that reads as a whos-who of Hollywood, how could this film not be entertaining?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 28th, 2005
Sony once again hits us with not only a double dip, but a triple dip release of xXx. What started out as a Special Edition, evolved into a Superbit release, and has now ultimately become the Uncensored Unrated Director’s Cut of the film. What is different this time around you ask… well, you get 8 more minutes of action and skin.
Let me guess… you want more specifics don’t you? Well here is what has been added… The scene with the girl “dancing” in Xander’s room has been extended. The...single girl in Yorgi's bed turns into three naked girls. The gunfight at the end has been extended. And a scene has been added with a young girl talking to Xander on a plane. Each of these scenes can be viewed in the Deleted Scenes section on the Special Edition release.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 26th, 2005
Synopsis
This is a film that delights in not being what it appears. The opening moments look like a period gangster film. Suddenly, the scene transforms into a musical. Then this turns out to be movie within the movie. And so it goes, as one scene after another turns out not to be what we thought it was. The plot has roguishly charming Jean-Louis Trintignant setting up a kidnapping scheme with two colleagues. I can’t say much more without giving away the whole plot and the strange circuit on which it...operates. Suffice it to say that though there might be a couple of confusing moments, this is a playful, light-on-its-feet effort that will have you smiling (if sometimes sardonically) from start to finish.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 25th, 2005
Blade: Trinity caught a lot of flack from most critics, and even the movie going public as per the box office returns (only grossing $52 million domestically). When I went to see this film in the theatre, half of my party was extremely disappointed with the flick. The other half, including myself, thought the film was quite entertaining. I must admit, this film does not come close to the original Blade, but I did find it a little bit more entertaining the Blade 2.
The biggest change...to this sequel is the addition of Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel to the cast of Vampire Hunters. Reynolds is a breath of fresh air to this series with his wit and humor, and Biel, well, she looks great. Reynolds one-liners were a little much at times (which turned many viewers off), which made this picture more of an action-comedy then an action-horror. You could tell they were stretching for a premise this time around, but the cast pulled through for the most part. I don't think you will get a consensus on this films quality, but if you are looking for some over the top action and some cool special effects, this film is worth a watch.
