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Buena Vista

Stay Alive

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 25th, 2006

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Synopsis

Boy, this haunted technology stuff is getting out of hand. Seems a body can’t touch a single appliance or toy without some evil spirit emerging in smite-mode. In this instance, the problem is a survival-horror video game called Stay Alive, which not only refuses to let you stop playing, after your character dies, you die in the same way. At the root of it all is the Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who has been the subject of many a film already. Unaware of this, our usual batch of charact…
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Scary Movie 4

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2006

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Synopsis

Anna Faris takes a job as a social worker, moving into a house with the evil presences we know and love from The Grudge. Meanwhile, next door, Craig Bierko is about to deal with The War of the Worlds. And off we go, as the movie riffs one parody of recent films after another.

At the helm is David Zucker, part of the team responsible for the Airplane! and Naked Gun films, and much the same kind of sensibility pervades this film. There’s plenty of fun, but…
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Annapolis

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 27th, 2006

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Synopsis

I wanted to like Annapolis. I really did. I appreciated the intent of the film without having a full awareness of what it was about. I thought it kind of served as a de facto publicity film for the Naval Academy. But as I was watching it, several things started on course for me to dislike the film.

First, the story is tremendously predictable. Huard (James Franco, Spider-Man) is a kid who has been raised on the wrong side of the tracks, and helps to build the ships that the …
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Enemy of the State

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 31st, 2006

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Synopsis

Jon Voight is a rogue director in the National Security Agency. When politician Jason Robards stands in the way of dangerous bill that would give the NSA almost unlimited powers, Voight has him killed. The murder is captured on tape, and a disc containing the incriminating evidence winds up in the hands of attorney Will Smith. The next thing he knows, his life is turned upside down as Voight sends high-tech minions after him. He seeks the help of retired surveillance whiz Gene Hackman.

Commander in Chief – Inaugural Edition Part 1

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2006

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Synopsis

Geena Davis is the Vice-President who was chosen as running mate by the Republican President because she would balance out the ticket (she’s an Independent) and help him with the female voters. When he is felled by a stroke, the possibility that she might become President fills the powers that be with dread, and her resignation is demanded so that the hard-right Speaker of the House (Donald Sutherland) can step in instead. Davis refuses, and the series follows her struggles as the first woma…
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Trainspotting

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2006

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I’ve seen people quote this film from time to time, and I never understood the attraction because I saw it once and forgot about it. After a bit of intrigue, I finally got my hands on a copy of the US version of this 2 disc set (though the UK version, with the orange cover and silhoulette image of Ewan McGregor on the cover looks much cooler) and gave it a spin, lo and behold, I discovered a pretty good movie.
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Zu Warriors

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 23rd, 2006

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Synopsis

Above the Zu Mountain range, on floating peaks and the like, live various clans of immortals. They must unite to fight off the attack of a returning enemy: the dreaded demon Insomnia. The united efforts of the clans meet with plenty of problems, including star-crossed lovers, and humans from down below wind up being dragged into the battle, too.

At least, that’s what I’ve been able to make of this. Tsui Hark’s remake plays out like a showcase demo disc for the Hong Kong special eff…
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Empire

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 3rd, 2006

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Every so often, an idea for a movie, mini-series or TV show becomes so hot that multiple projects are given the green-light, even though the subject matter is very similar. Remember Dante’s Peak and Volcano in 1997? Murder at 1600 and Absolute Power the same year? Deep Impact and Armageddon in 1998?

Now comes ABC’s mini-series, Empire and HBO’s on-going series, Rome. Both were high budgeted, epic projects about ancient Rome, and both networks strived …
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Unbreakable

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 25th, 2006

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Synopsis

I think that by revisiting Unbreakable, and looking at it outside of M. Night Shyamalan’s other films (The Sixth Sense and Signs), there’s actually a pretty good movie going on there. I mean, a movie that grossed $95 million domestically can’t be considered a failure, right? It did, however, do amazing overall numbers, the international totals brought the film up to a near $250 million gross. However, I guess when you put them up against Signs ($227 million domestic, $40…
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Dead Poets Society

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 20th, 2006

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Synopsis

The setting is an exclusive boys’ private school in New England, 1959. Welton Academy is deeply hidebound and conservative, and into this environment comes one of its graduates, Robin Williams, to teach English literature, and along the way encourage his students to make of their lives what they want, now what is expected of them. This approach clashes with the establishment’s ideas of how things should be done, and raises the ire of one parent in particular, whose son takes too much interes…
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Straight Story, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 14th, 2006

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Synopsis

The unfortunate part for me is that movies like this, and before that, Sling Blade, were only in arthouse theaters that are in downtown Washington, DC, and I really have a problem with driving 25-30 miles to pay $10 for 2 hours of joy, and possibly that same amount of time spent in traffic trying to get in and out of DC. If you want to call it laziness, I’ll admit to that also, but I think my first excuse holds a lot more weight. It’s gotten better lately, but there’s still some work to be d…
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Rock ‘n’ Roll High School

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 6th, 2006

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Synopsis

Welcome to Vince Lombardi High School, where new principal Mary Woronov (coming on like a cross between Miss Jean Brodie and Ilsa) is determined to stomp the student body into submission. In order to do this, she wants to banish rock music. Her chief antagonist is PJ Soles, a huge fan of the Ramones, and she eventually enlists the band itself to help defeat Woronov and her fascistic hall monitors.

The chaos may reach epically destructive proportions (KABOOOM!), but this is all in g…
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Their Eyes Were Watching God

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 5th, 2006

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Synopsis

Can someone stop the multimedia empire that Oprah Winfrey imparts on the rest of the world? I mean really, you’ve got the TV show, you’ve got the books, and you’ve done the movies, what else is there to do? Oh, provide reading and watching lists of material you enjoy? Um, OK. But why?

Take the case of Their Eyes Were Watching God. Based on a novel by Zora Neale Hurston and directed by Law and Order veteran Darnell Martin, the film covers the story of a black woman in the tu…
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Dark Water

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 31st, 2005

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Synopsis

Jennifer Connelly is going through a messy divorce with Dougray Scott. They are feuding over the custody of their daughter. Trying to piece her life together, Connelly rents an apartment in a down-at-the-heels building on Roosevelt Island in New York City. A leak develops in her ceiling that keeps getting worse. Her daughter develops an imaginary friend. The supernatural events gather force, apparently determined to drive her out of her mind.

In the extras, the filmmakers make much…
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Big Bad Mama

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005

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Synopsis

Angie Dickinson is a single mother of two teenage girls (whom the film very explicitly characterizes as “ripe” – boy howdy, they don’t make movies like this anymore). Money is tight during the Depression, and after a fiasco of an interrupted wedding, mother and brood hit the road to seek their fortune, and before you know it, they’re robbing banks.

A low budget, tongue-in-cheek variation on Bonnie and Clyde (minus Clyde), this is a nicely produced bit of period sleaze. The d…
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Death Race 2000

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 22nd, 2005

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Synopsis

In the year 2000, the United States (and much of the rest of the world, it seems) is under the dictatorial rule of Mr. President, and the masses are kept passive with the Transcontinental road race, where the competitors must not only race from the remains of New York to the remains of LA in record time, but kill as many pedestrians as possible. Chief rivals are fan favourite Frankenstein (David Carradine) and the villainous Machine Gun Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone).

You know yo…
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Dinocroc

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 19th, 2005

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Synopsis

A prehistoric crocodile is genetically resurrected (using the Jurassic Park treatment, one assumes, though one is never told), supposedly because its growth hormone will solve world hunger (more or less the scenario that led to giant grasshoppers in Beginning of the End, and that was 1957). Anyway, the titular dinocroc gets loose from the sinister corporation’s lab, and starts gobbling up the nearby population. It’s up to Aussic crocodile hunter Costas Mandylor (Your Guide To Quality …
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City of God

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 26th, 2005

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Synopsis

The small Brazilian film City of God is a very powerful film that few have seen, but it made such an impression on critics that it was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, and with just cause, as this film makes for one of the better cinematic experiences in several years.

The story focuses on Rocket, a young boy growing up in the slums of the worldwide playground of Rio de Janeiro. Rocket and several other boys grow up in extreme poverty, and while Rocket dreams of becoming a photograp…
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Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 14th, 2005

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In this, the third Bionicle film, the Toa return to Metru Nui to find their land overrun by the evil dictator Sidorak, his soon to be queen, Roodaka and the Visorak, a spider-like army. Roodaka, who plans to take over Metru Nui for herself, tries to lure Toa leader Vakama over to the dark side to lead the Visorak army when Vakama feels disrespected as the leader of the Toa.

While Vakama is seduced by the forces of evil, the remaining Toa meet up with the friendly Rahaga to find Ketongu, a powerful Buddha li…
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Hellraiser: Hellworld

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 11th, 2005

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Synopsis

Two years after one of their number has committed suicide, a group of friends are still very much into playing Hellworld, an internet game based on the Hellraiser mythology. They score invitations to the big Hellworld party, where they meet host Lance Henriksen, and then they start being killed off one by one.

This is yet another script that originally had nothing to do with the Hellraiser series, and the connection is even more tangential than ever. Pinhead’s involvement is minima…
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Prophecy – Forsaken, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 27th, 2005

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Synopsis

Having survived one onslaught by rebel angels, Kari Wuhrer becomes a target yet again. She is the guardian of the Lexicon, and self-writing book of prophecies, and big-shot angel Tony Todd wants that book so he can learn the identity of the Antichrist and kill the child before he can bring about Armageddon. He sends killer Jason Scott Lee after Wuhere, but Lee is stricken with a conscience attack, and helps her instead. When the straits become very dire, however, there is only one person Wuh…
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My Left Foot

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 25th, 2005

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Synopsis

This is the biopic of Irish painter and writer Christy Brown. Born with crippling cerebral palsy, he retained movement only in his left foot. His body is a cage for his mind, and at first, only his mother believes that he is an intelligent being. When, as a child, he spells “MOTHER” on the floor in chalk, this is the breakthrough moment, and we follow him through the triumphs and frustrations of his adult years.

The film is markedly different from what one would imagine would be th…
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Momentum

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 19th, 2005

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Synopsis

A gang of thieves using telekinetic powers is on the loose. They are the result of CIA experiments decades ago, but only about-to-retire Louis Gossett, Jr. (remember when he had a theatrical release career?) takes the threat seriously. He enlists a similarly powered young physics professor to infiltrate the gang. Meanwhile, FBI agent Teri Hatcher is also on the case. The poor prof is soon in over his head.

Nothing here that hasn’t been done before and better. Take Firestarter, for instance, and that movie isn’t even that good. The production is workmanlike but ho-hum, and the telekinetic drafted to fight bad guys by means of budget-conscious special effects puts me in mind of a failed TV pilot I saw back in the 70s: The Man With The Power.

Audio

The audio is a generous 5.1 (one of the few generous things about this bare-bones disc). The placement of the sound effects is good, and the sense of an environment is quite nicely done. The dialgoue is clear and undistorted. The music sounds fine, though it isn’t exactly booming.

Video

The colours are very strong, with excellent flesh tones. The blacks are deep, the contrasts fine, and the image is sharp. In other words, a very good transfer. So even if what’s on the screen isn’t really worth watching, it looks nice.

Special Features

Nothing here but a trailer for Sin City and (surprise, surprise) Desperate Housewives. The menu is basic.

Closing Thoughts

Deeply ordinary stuff. Don’t waste your time.

Special Features List

Trailers

Home Improvement – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 11th, 2005

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Synopsis

Tim Allen was fortunate enough to ride a couple of trends and nurture them into a steady paycheck without really having to do anything. He was a stand-up comic in the mid ‘80s and early ‘90s and was pretty good at it. And like many other stand-ups during the time, he was given a sitcom with which to basically recycle his act onto a smaller stage. And to his benefit, the public enjoyed it, and Allen’s pet project Home Improvement was a smash hit, and would later go on to enjoy eight seasons o…
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Dracula III: Legacy

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 8th, 2005

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Synopsis

The surviving characters from the cliffhanger ending of Dracula II: Ascension pick up the chase. Pursuing Dracula (or rather, the much-older being who uses that name, and who was said to be Judas in earlier installments, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, either) are Jason Scott Lee as Uffizi, the vampire-killing priest now slowly turning into a vampire himself, and Jason London, whose girlfriend was snatched at the end of the last film. They travel through a Romania beset …
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