Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2005
Exit light…enter night. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is a documentary about the inner workings of the band. But it’s not a “behind the music” type piece or a concert movie. The filmmakers attempt to gnaw away at the troubling trials of fame, addiction, and friendship. It’s fascinating stuff. Now, I’m not a big fan of Metallica, but I’ve been in creative collective situations. The personal relationships are constantly shifting. You bicker one minute, you love one another the next. In Metallica’s cas...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 13th, 2005
Synopsis
In his patented style (plenty of vintage stills and, in this case, vintage film footage combinedwith compelling narration and actors voicing the actual words of the subjects), documentaristKen Burns unveils the story of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion. Histriumph was intolerable for white society, and that included the American government. Narratedby Keith David, with Samuel L. Jackson providing the voice of Johnson, this is a powerful lookat the r...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2005
The story of Troy and the warrior Achilles is the stuff of legends now brought to life by Wolfgang Peterson. With an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Peter O’Toole, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson and Sean Bean there are only two things that can happen, magic or mediocrity. In this case I think we end up somewhere in between. Some scenes like the battle between Achilles and Hector is incredible while the storming of the beach at Troy is almost downright laughable. Overall though the film works I just wish it ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 8th, 2005
Synopsis
China is under the rule of the Ching dynasty, who send out assassins to kill anyone whochallenges the regime. Greatest of these assassins is the blind master of the flying guillotine. Hesets out to kill the One-Armed Boxer (don’t ask me why all these guys have disabilities). Thecharacters come together at a huge martial arts tournament (this is where Mortal Kombatcomes from, kiddies). The plot is no more developed than that of a typical porno. The film’sreason for be...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2004
Barry Pepper is an actor who seems to have an affinity for playing sports heroes, Roger Maris and now Dale Earnhardt. Pepper also seems to have an affinity to star in movies with numbers in the title, 51, 25th Hour, and now 3 – The Dale Earnhardt Story. ESPN presents an original sports movie about the iconic racing driver who lived and died (literally) on the track.
Being a sports fan, I have a soft place in my heart for sports bio pics. They have a tendency to be clichéd, by nature....
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 12th, 2004
Synopsis
If you don’t know what this movie is about, you grew up in a cave. If you’ve never seen it,ditto. This is the tale, it need hardly be said, of Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews), the nanny whoarrives to take charge of two children whose imaginations have been repressed by theirexcessively proper father. In the care of Mary, and accompanied by chimney sweep Bert (DickVan Dyke), the children bounce from one magical mix of dance, live action and animation toanother.
A more...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 10th, 2004
Spider-Man 2 is a superior film to the first. While it is rare for sequels to live up to expectations, there are rare moments in film history when the sequel may even surpass the first film’s quality. The Godfather Part II and Bride of Frankenstein are two well known examples. But for Every T2 there are usually 20 Jaws 3-D’s. Doc Ock was the perfect choice as the story’s villain; Alfred Molina was a wonderful selection to bring this fan favorite to life on the big screen. Peter Parker’s life is more multi-dimensional...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2004
While the world of Harry Potter was created primarily for a younger adolescent audience, there is no question that the tapestry is epic, and compelling enough to satisfy adults. I believe the true success of these films lies within that idea. It is truly rare when a film arrives that can appeal so completely to both demographic groups.
Prisoner of Azkaban is perhaps the darkest, but I don’t think the most frightening, Potter film. The creature images of the previous entry were considerably more graphic an...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 18th, 2004
One Christmas Eve, an infant crawls into Santa’s sack while the big man is visiting an orphanage, and isn’t discovered until Santa (Ed Asner) is back at the North Pole. Adopted by the Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), the baby grows into Buddy (Will Ferrell). Though Buddy does his best, he is enormously clumsy by elf standards. He decided to head off to New York City to meet his birth father (James Caan), the Scrooge-like editor of a children’s book publisher. Buddy descends on the big city
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 11th, 2004
Synopsis
Here is an excellent package for fans of classic animation: 40 cartoons, of which nine werenominated for Oscars, and seven won. Just about every variation of cat-chasing-mouse variationis provided, including the WWII-themed “Yankee Doodle Mouse” and the musical “The CatConcerto.” There are also the sequences from other films where our heroes dance with GeneKelly (Disc 1) and swim with Esther Williams (Disc 2). Under the guiding hands of WilliamHanna and Joseph Barbera can b...
