Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 10th, 2004
Synopsis
Convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, Tim Robbins is sentenced to serveconsecutive life sentences at the horrific Shawshank prison. He looks like the sort who wouldn’tlast a week in such circumstances, let alone decades, but he survives, and begins to transformall around him, most prominently long-time resident and operator Morgan Freeman. Robbinsnever gives up his dream of freedom, however, and so the film is, in some ways, about thelongest prison escape ever. But...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 9th, 2004
Okay. I admit it. I’m guilty. I’m probably one of the few people on the planet Earth who has never seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Not because I’m an art film snob or anything (which I’m not…usually). I just never got around to it. I heard all the hype, heard a lot of the famous lines. But I’ve never actually seen the movie. Until now.
The Special Edition of Fast Times is now available and it’s worth picking up. For all the rest of the planet that has seen it, the movie takes plac...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 8th, 2004
The setting is the home of a decaying family of French aristocrats. The Marquis del’Espérance (whose name is deliberately ironic) is desperate to marry his son Maturin to heiressLucy Broadhurst. Their marriage is in the will of ancestors, but with many conditions. Maturin’sgreat-uncle is desperate to stop the marriage, believing for some reason that it will kill Maturin.Meanwhile, Lucy has vivid dreams of Romilda de l’Espérance who, two centuries before, had avery erotic encounter with a beast in the woods.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
This is the tale of three young American women in Rome, and the men who romance them.The recently arrived Maggie McNamara sets her cap for aristocrat-with-a-reputation LouisJourdan. Jean Peters, who is supposed to be heading back to the States soon, is drawn againsther better judgment into a relationship with kindly translator Rossano Brazzi (they work at thesame office, and the rules are strict about such things). And Dorothy McGuire is secretary toprickly writer Clifton W...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Sterling Hayden, as the demented General Jack D. Ripper, sends a squadron of bombers offto nuke the Soviet Union. The principle bomber pilot is the equally demented Slim Pickens.Captain Mandrake (Peter Sellers) desperately tries to stop the bombers. The President (PeterSellers again) summons his principle aids to the war room and the assembled characters(including George C. Scott, and Sellers again as the titular character) do all they can to avert adoomsday scenario.
...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Writing a synopsis for Gone with the Wind must be as silly an exercise as doing onefor King Kong or Casablanca. But for what it’s worth, this is the tumultuous sagaof Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), spoiled southern belle at Tara, whose life is turned upsidedown by two things: Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and the Civil War. Her love affair(s) with Rhettare almost as fiery as the chaos of war, and in that crucible she is forced into becoming a self-suffici...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 29th, 2004
Synopsis
A plague is sweeping the world: the dead are rising to bite and eat the living, turning theirvictims into yet more ferocious zombies. A group of survivors (headed by Sarah Polley and VingRhames) take refuge in a mall. Tensions keep threatening to tear the group apart, not to mentionthe fact that they don’t know what their next course of action should be. Outside, the zombiesgather in ever increasing numbers.
This is the unrated version, running nine minutes longer t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 26th, 2004
Synopsis
These are the first eight installments of the slasher franchise, a franchise that is now bathedin the warm glow of nostalgia. The basic premise for all the movies is the same: a vengefulmaniac hacks up teenagers in retaliation for the drowning of little Jason Voorhees back in 1958.The films resemble each other so closely, and their plotting is so minimal, that viewers may beforgiven for having trouble keeping them straight. Herewith, a brief reminder of the salientdifferences.
...
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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 19th, 2004
Synopsis
This is the story of Edward D. Wood, Jr., who gave the world such classics as Glen orGlenda? and Plan 9 From Outer Space. Tim Burton’s film follows Wood (JohnnyDepp) from his dismal theatre days through to the premiere of Plan 9, along the wayexploring his friendship with various misfits, including Bela Lugosi (an Oscar-winning turn byMartin Landau), not to mention Wood’s own cross-dressing proclivities.
Purists can complain about the factual in...
