Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 26th, 2006
Synopsis
Not much to is. This is one larger film and a series of shorter ones (though they are all of a piece) extolling the virtues of contemplative prayer, which, it appears, consists in sitting quietly and listening to God, rather than speaking yourself. The whole thing drips in every “inspirational” cliché you can imagine (lots of shots of parks, clouds, sunsets, gentle spring rains, and so forth). Oddly, for a piece that’s supposed to help viewers practice being quiet, some of the speakers here ...re hardly advertisements for that fact. Priscilla Shirer, in particular, speaks in a Camille Paglia-style torrent of words, making one extremely doubtful that she has ever had a quiet moment in her life. But whatever. Those who like this sort of thing will surely like this sort of thing. Obviously, I’m utterly outside the demographic for this thing. For a chuckle, check out the consumer review on Amazon to see how this bit of flotsam can generate hugely polarized viewpoints. Hilarious.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 26th, 2006
Dr. Dolittle 3 is yet another unnecessary direct-to-DVD sequel of a film, whose glory has long since passed. Young actress Kyla Pratt takes center stage as the next generation of Dolittle to inherit the gift – or curse – of hearing animals speak. At the outset of the film, she is ashamed of her gift, and her lineage. But when she is sent to an old family friend’s ranch for the summer, she begins to see that a talent is what you make of it. Along with telegraphed comedy, lightweight rivalries, and a budding rom...nce with a young ex-bull rider, Kyla’s feature debut is a harmlessly amateur piece of family film fluff, sure to delight the kiddies (but only the very young).
From an adult’s perspective, the film contains a lot of weaknesses – namely stemming from a core plot founded and developed on one cliché after another. The slapstick aspects of the humor have also been done to death – and here, they’re not very effective. The whole “will they or won’t they save the ranch” thing also feels like familiar territory, and tension is absent as a result. It’s been said there’s nothing new under the sun – certainly, this is the case at the Durango Ranch in Dr. Dolittle 3. But sometimes, a film filled with regurgitated plot points matters not when the eyes appealed to are that of a child. Kudos to the animal trainers, though – they do a fabulous job making all the ensuing hijinx feel authentic.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 25th, 2006
Battle For The Planet Of The Apes was the last of the original Apes films. It has been far too frequently maligned. While I will admit that some of the high concepts are a little too undisguised, there was still some life left in the franchise. Of course, the novelty had worn off by now. It didn’t help that the films’ budgets kept falling as Fox was looking for cheaper ways to sell the same ideas. “Battle” was a violent film, but it was really a film about peace and the violent rite of passage often necessary to ac...ieve any long-term tranquility.
Roddy McDowell was, in fact, Planet Of The Apes. He appeared in four of the original films as well as the short-lived television series. The series was a victim not of its viewership, but rather a strong anti-violence movement aimed at the television industry at the time. While it was no more violent than most shows, it seemed to draw the most fire. Whether playing Cornelius in the first film, Caesar in the final two, or Galen in the series, McDowell had an uncanny ability to bring emotion and strength of character to the Apes make-up. He brought a realistic animation to a risky business. The Apes films might have easily become farces with laughable characters that no one took seriously enough to listen to the social commentary being offered. With the help of brilliant makeup artist Chambers, these characters were real. Paul Williams was a surprising cast choice. Better known for writing syrupy love songs, the singer did a fine job as the cynical brain trust, Virgil. Claude Akins brings the gruffness of gorilla Aldo exactly what it needs. The cast is pretty solid.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 10th, 2006
Synopsis
Laurel and Hardy’s career highs were all at Hal Roach Studios, and these three films are from their Fox period, in the twilight of their filmography. It is hard to call any of these classics, but there is still some very worthwhile comedy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 6th, 2006
Ever since the original Survivor first became extremely successful, it seemed like every network was trying to get a piece of their own reality television fame. We had FOX give us The Chamber and MTV throw us the Jackass series. One had success while one crashed and burned very quickly. This proved that not every idea would make a successful reality show. Naturally FOX is not one to give up and knew what to do next. Coming off her, probably, un-welcomed fame, Paris Hilton was approached by FOX to...star in a reality series called The Simple Life. The show would team Hilton and her childhood friend Nicole Ritchie together while they live with one family in the middle of nowhere.
After two successful seasons of The Simple Life where Paris and Nicole stayed with just one family, the creators of the show thought it would be interesting to see how Paris and Nicole would react to staying with multiple different families dealing with multiple jobs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 19th, 2006
The genre of Thrillers and Suspense are usually categorized by types of films that the viewer watches and then wonders what they just watched. Films like Memento and The Machinist are prime examples of this. Both films, after many viewings, are excellent films solely because they require that the viewer think of each scene with careful scrutiny making note of each and everything on the screen. Both films end with the type of ending that doesn’t necessarily satisfy on the first viewing, but ultimately sa...isfies after many viewings. Add the film Stay to this list of films.
Henry Lethem (Ryan Gosling) is an art student at a university who plays to kill himself in three days, that is unless his psychiatrist Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor) can figure him out to stop his plan. Foster soon learns that Lethem is starting to hear voices, voices that are telling him to do things. But the enjoyment for Foster doesn’t end here as Lethem starts experiencing horrifying visions of pain. Lethem seems to be able to see the future at least as he knows everything that is going to occur a bit before it does. When Foster asks if they’ll meet again when Lethem informs him that he’ll kill himself, he declares “Yeah, there’s still three more days’. While the concept of seeing into the future before your ‘death’ is nothing new, I always find it to be interesting how every movie plays this angle out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 14th, 2006
Johnny Cash’s dramatic road to Christianity is no secret to his fans and thanks to the recent biopic, Walk The Line, it’s no secret to the masses. Cash made this film, he explains, to show people why he is so drawn to the Passion of Christ. This is no doubt a sincere effort to bring this expression to life. The film is entirely shot in the Holy Land. The film is enhanced by the wonderful locations. Cash attempted to follow the actual path of Christ. There is no doubt that the care and conviction Cash felt is evide...t on the screen..
Gospel Road is basically the story of Christ’s life. Cash narrates the entire film which gives it more of the flavor of an educational effort. At times it feels like watching an A&E biography. When Cash isn’t speaking he’s singing. It is in the music that this film separates itself from the many Christian biopics out there. Unfortunately there really aren’t many complete songs. Instead he uses musical phrases to reinforce more powerful messages. The bad news is that the cast has a very difficult job. There is no real dialogue from the actors. The only notable exception is June Carter Cash, who plays Mary Magdalene. She has the only real speaking part in the film. While she does a good job I’m not sure it fits the message Cash was trying to convey. It seems strange that that role would be stronger than even Christ himself. The action takes place not on sets but rather out in the wilds of Israel. The style recalls the technique also used to great effect in Jesus Christ Superstar, coincidentally another musical depiction of The Passion..
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 14th, 2006
Synopsis
In his film debut, Sidney Poitier is a newly minted doctor at a downtown hospital. Two patients arrive in the prison ward, shot in the leg by police. One is Richard Widmark, frothing racist. The other is his brother, who dies under Poitier’s care, not from the wound, but from a terminal brain tumour. Widmark blames Poitier, and sets about inflaming racial hatred in his quest to destroy Poitier.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 9th, 2006
In its first year NYPD Blue succeeded through controversy. Language and partial nudity was pretty much all the critics were talking about. Season two brought “the test”. Could the show survive a major cast loss with David Caruso’s well publicized split from the show? Season three, however, is when it all came together. It’s so much fun watching a quality series hit its stride, that season when everything falls into place and we see for the first time that we could be in for a sweet ride.
The cop show ...as back in the 1990’s resurrected by the man who performed CPR on the genre in the 1980’s. With NYPD Blue we realize that Hill Street Blues wasn’t a fluke. Jimmy Smits was far more compelling than Caruso could be on his best day. The writers were beginning to find deep emotional material here. The season’s many rich themes included alcoholism, with not only Sipowitz but the newly formed Russell character. This seems to be a common theme for Steven Bochco. Every one of his shows have featured at least one alcoholic. Andy gets a fresh shot at fatherhood. One of the most compelling arcs has been the Andy/Andy Jr. arc. The tragic death of his son and the birth of a new son were huge stories in this season. Overall the characters are challenged both professionally and personally. The show’s documentary-like filming remains. This is the point when NYPD Blue finally took shape. We haven’t looked back yet, until now.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 9th, 2006
Michael Ontkean and Kate Jackson play a married couple dealing with the ramifications of the husband's newly discovered homosexual behavior. Right off, I'll say these two seem too happy from the beginning to make the sudden turn believable. Also, the ending [SPOILER ALERT, kind of] is too predictable and cliche to be the least little bit effective. The "I'm okay/You're okay" resolution, where everyone moves on and everyone's okay with who they are, and the world is once more a wonderful place, is pure Grade-A drivel ...hat simply got by with it at the time because it was one of the first movies to deal so openly with such a controversial topic.
With that said, the film's flaws really have nothing to do with its handling of the subject matter. Instead, it goes down - in flames - at the hands of two actors, who haven't learned a thing since they nabbed their first roles. Kate Jackson's wife is supposed to be a career woman, but she never stops whining and self-indulging into her own feelings long enough to step off your nerves and convince you she's any more than a cry-baby trophy wife. Harry Hamlin secured his rightful place in Lifetime movie hell with performances such as this one, where he's so convinced he's charming that all he really accomplishes is making the viewer want to punch him right in the mouth. As two-thirds of the triangle (Ontkean is actually quite good as the husband), the film was dead in the water, and nothing Arthur Hiller's direction could do was able to save it.
