Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 25th, 2004
James Gurney created a wonderful mythical land to rival Tolkien’s Middle Earth that was populated by stranded travelers and talking dinosaurs. Hallmark finally brought these settings to life on film with their popular mini-series. The ABC series that followed was unfortunately complete with several fatal flaws. The dino f/x were not really as good as we have become used to. The blurs and surreal appearance often takes one out of the experience. The actors used in the mini-series were replaced with virtual unknowns and a noticeable lack of skills. It was obviously a mistake to attempt such an ambitious project for weekly television.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2004
It seems to me that B-level actors sometimes agree to do a movie for the experience and practice as much as to further their career and get a paycheck. Other times, the opposite is true, and major stars purposely chose to do a small independent production following a major success, knowing that they could never top their last picture. Often times, it is obvious when an actor has their personal motives in mind when choosing to do a film. Kate Winslet's decision to shoot Hideous Kinky following the hugely-succes...ful Titanic comes to mind, as does Elijah Wood's decision to take part in All I Want, following his work on The Lord of the Rings.
These films are usually great for everybody except the audience. The obscure filmmaker gets a "name" in their film, the actor gets to work in a more relaxed environment, everybody gets to work a little and the studio will hopefully break even in the accounting department. The film is almost secondary, and while the finished product usually has a bit of low-budget charm, it's certainly not going to be an award winner.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 27th, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 20th, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 2nd, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 1st, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 25th, 2003
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 25th, 2003
It takes a lot to become a true Christmas classic. Mr. St. Nick just doesn’t have any of it. The story of a reluctant Santa Claus was done with much funnier results in the Tim Allen The Santa Clause films. Kelsey Grammer can be a very fine comedic actor as his stints in Cheers and Frasier have more than proven. The problem here is the material is old and tired and Grammer never seems to be able to decide on a tone for the film. I’m a fan of just simple fun, but this film never really takes me on a good ride. Hallmark has a reputation for good clean family value filmmaking. Mr. St. Nick certainly fits that profile. There just simply isn’t any life here.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 23rd, 2003
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