MGM

Confessions of an American Girl

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 12th, 2005

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/lwrept5/Upcomingdiscs.com/wp-content/themes/upcomingdiscs/functions.php on line 453

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

Jena Malone’s life isn’t what she would like. She lives in a trailer with her mother and oldersister and brother, her boyfriend is a jerk who doesn’t want anyone to know they’re dating, andshe pines for her father, who’s in jail. She has a very idealized memory of her father, and aftermuch pleading, she manages to convince the rest of her very reluctant family to go to the annualprison picnic.

This is a comedy in the vein of The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys …
Read More

De-Lovely

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

Buy at Amazon.com

De-Lovely is a musical bio-pic based on the life of Cole Porter. Now, Porter was an American genius, responsible for writing such song classics as “Love for Sale” and “Anything Goes”. Porter’s personal life was also legendary. He had a wife, but also had affairs with men. Porter also suffered a horse riding accident in the late 1930’s that debilitated him for the rest of his life (to his death in 1964). Sounds like the great makings of a movie, right? Well….

Kevin Kline plays Cole Porter, and h…
Read More

National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 25th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

My feelings about this movie can best be summed up by something that I noticed while watching the Gag Reel that is included on this DVD. The clapboard used in these shots lists the name of this film as College Sex Comedy. Now, that’s not the genre, mind you… that’s the title. Of course, the title was changed before release, but the fact that the film was basically titled Insert Generic Teen Sex Comedy Title Here during filming should give potential viewers some idea of what to expect from this film. It’…
Read More

Lost Junction

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 5th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

Drifter Billy Burke’s car breaks down near the town of Lost Junction. He accepts a ride fromNeve Campbell, and very quickly is drawn into a web of mysteries that surround her. Why is sheliquidating her bank account? For that matter, where is her husband? Caught, Burke may bemystified, worried, and threatened, but he cannot tear himself away. Before he knows it, he’s onthe run with Campbell, pursued by the authorities.

The characterizations are quirky, and there is a…
Read More

Smooth Talk

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 2nd, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Smooth Talk is a “coming of age” story that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It stars Laura Dern as Connie, a teenage girl from a small southern town. She’s at that rebellious age. In the words of Britney Spears, “she’s still a girl, not quite a woman”. Connie is curious about the opposite sex and a world outside the town. She’s searching for something, but what she finds, she might not want.

Treat Williams plays Arnold Friend. Friend, as it turns out, is nobody’s frien…
Read More

Luther

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 30th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

Dismayed by the corruption of the Church, Martin Luther (Joseph Fiennes) preaches against the selling of indulgences and other practices that combine tyranny and greed. His teachings find a receptive audience, much to the dismay of the Pope. A power struggle erupts, threatening to tear Christianity apart.

This effort is both compelling and wonky. Luther himself remains a cypher, with Fiennes portraying him as a rather disagreeable pasty-faced neurotic, little more than a mouthpiece…
Read More

Straw Dogs

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 29th, 2004

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/lwrept5/Upcomingdiscs.com/wp-content/themes/upcomingdiscs/functions.php on line 453

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

American mathematician Dustin Hoffman has moved to the English home town of his wifeSusan George. The adjustment is difficult. A gang of local louts is taking forever to assemblehis garage, and he simply cannot stand up for himself or his wife. She, filled with contempt,teases the locals with predictable results. Finally, a crisis looms involving the simple-mindedDavid Warner, and Hoffman takes a spectacularly violent stand.

Peckinpah’s gift for cinematic violence i…
Read More

Phantom of the Opera, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 26th, 2004

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/lwrept5/Upcomingdiscs.com/wp-content/themes/upcomingdiscs/functions.php on line 453

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

A back-stage accident knocks New Yorker Jill Schoelen out and into her earlier incarnationas a 19th-Century opera singer in London. Madly in love with her is the Phantom (RobertEnglund), a composer who sold his soul (and his face) to the Devil in exchange for musicalimmortality. Englund coaches Schoelen and eliminates anyone who interferes with her career. Hewill also stop at nothing to ensure that he and Schoelen are united forever.

We’re a long way from Andrew Llo…
Read More

Species 3

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 26th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Species III comes from good genes. The original was kind of fun (and starred Ben Kinglsey!), but the first sequel was not as fun. But here comes the second sequel. It has the original alien girl Natasha Henstridge, but her appearance is short (I’ll just leave it at that). The director, Brad Turner, is a veteran of action television shows like 24. Is this direct to DVD release the best one of the “species”? The answer tilts towards the negative.

But Species III has a few things goi…
Read More

Wild at Heart

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 24th, 2004

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/lwrept5/Upcomingdiscs.com/wp-content/themes/upcomingdiscs/functions.php on line 453

Buy at Amazon.com

Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern are the last-word in star-crossed lovers. Pursued by theminions of Dern’s psychopathic mother Diane Ladd, they engage in a nightmarishly picaresquejourney across the American south, encountering one grotesque after another (most memorablyWillem Dafoe’s deeply creepy Bobby Peru). The over-the-top sex and violence is held togetherby a narrative that is a dark remake of The Wizard of Oz.

This was David Lynch’s follow-up to Blue Vel…
Read More

Sleepover

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 16th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Released approximately at the same time as Mean Girls, Sleepover is an attempt to make an impact on the teen demographic. But after watching this movie, there’s really no impact. In fact, it barely makes a dent. Four best friends go on a crazy all night scavenger hunt against the “popular” girls. The winner of the hunt gets to sit at the “popular” lunch hang out. The loser…well…gets to hang out with the losers. Pretty trite stuff, eh?

Sleepover is supposedly a throwback to those…
Read More

Ranch, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 15th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

The Ranch is a movie about life in bawdy high class brothel. It’s supposedly based on a real life place. Somewhere in Nevada I think. The Ranch is advertised as unrated and uncut. And it’s also SINsational; well…I’m not so sure of the sational part. And maybe not even about the sin. There are some naked breasts from time to time, and some matter of fact and tasteful sex scenes. But there’s nothing really too hot. If this movie is salsa, it would be mild.

But if you’re doing a disserta…
Read More

Mulholland Falls

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 31st, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

Nick Nolte (in full bruiser form) heads up the Hat Squad, a team of LA detectives composedof himself, Chazz Palmiteri, Michael Madsen and Chris Penn. We first see them in actionroughing up a gangster by tossing him down a cliff (hence the joke of the title). Their next caseis the body of a woman, found flattened in the sand, every bone in her body broken. Nolte israttled by the sight of the victim, because she is Jennifer Connelly, with whom he had an affair(kept secret fro…
Read More

Stargate SG-1 – The Complete Seventh Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 27th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Michael Shanks returned to Stargate full time in Season 7. What continues to impress me is that after 7 years the quality of this show just keeps getting better. I’m rarely moved by film or TV, but “Fragile Balance” was one of the most moving hours of television I’ve ever seen. The writers and actors continue to collaborate to create the best science fiction show ever. I’m sorry, but that might even include Star Trek. Season 7 brought us even more complex stories, if that was possible. The characters each had opport…
Read More

That’s Entertainment! The Complete Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 25th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

There’s nothing really to summarize about these films. Their reason for being, after all, is simply to present clips from classic MGM musicals. The first film, released to huge success in 1974, set the pattern, with various big stars (Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly and so on) narrating different segments of a potted history of the MGM musical. That’s Entertainment, Part 2 (1976) broadened its scope to include comedy and romance scenes as well. The third film didn’t arrive…
Read More

Alexander the Great

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 25th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

Philip, King of Macedonia (Fredric March) is busy conquering all of Greece when his wifebears him a son. There is no love lost between the couple, and the young Alexander (RichardBurton) grows up to be torn between the political machinations of his parents. His prowess inbattle threatens to make his glory overshadow his father’s, and conflict between them leadstemporarily to Alexander’s exile. When Philip is assassinated, Alexander ruthlessly consolidatespower, and then mar…
Read More

Martian Chronicles, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 16th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

What Science Fiction fan has not read Ray Bradbury’s groundbreaking book, The Martian Chronicles. The book is not really a novel, but a series of shorter works that follows the settlement of Mars. Even though the Martian canals of medieval times were already disproved by the 1940’s when Bradbury began the project, he insisted on conforming his Martian landscape to such fancy. The series of works translate well to the mini-series format; however, the necessary f/x to pull it off just weren’t available in a 1980 TV bud…
Read More

Hi-5 Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 18th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

There are three volumes under review here: “Color Craze,” “Music Magic,” and “GameTime.” Imagine a kids’ show taken over by a co-ed version of the Backstreet Boys, and you’llhave some sense of what these shows are like. A group of 5 young people sing and danceenergetically, and then, in individual segments, each host focuses on a different specialty (onedoes shapes, another movement, and so on). Other segments consists of more song, storytelling,activities, and so on. I won…
Read More

Chastity

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 17th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

Chastity (Cher) is a runaway, careening from one encounter to the other in a desperate searchfor herself and an attempt to escape the nightmare of her past. Mostly this means wanderingaround in an extremely sullen mood and treating everyone around her like dirt. How verysympathetic. This 1969 effort pretty much encapsulates everything that could make a sixties filmintolerable. Precious and portentous, it achieves a certain degree of unintentional comedy. SEE!The endless ope…
Read More

Good Times

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 17th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

When sinister businessman George Sanders offers to produce a film starring Sonny and Cher,Sonny can’t wait to get started, though Cher has severe doubts. It turns out the shooting scriptis impossibly bad, and Sonny has ten days to come up with an alternative. We see his fantasiesof various film possibilities (western, mystery, jungle adventure), each one clearly a catastrophein its own right.

This was the directorial debut of William Friedkin. Of course it was! Obvi…
Read More

Unspeakable

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 15th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

Psychologist Dina Meyer has a device that, all jargon put aside, permits one to literally seeinto the mind of a subject. Since it has no legal standing, this machine is of no help to aninnocent death-row inmate. Nor, for that matter, is the warden (Dennis Hopper), a fundamentalisttyrant, nor the governor (Jeff Fahey), a greasy political operator who, behind his Family Valuesimage, once got an underage Meyer pregnant. Into the prison comes serial killer Pavan Grover,who is n…
Read More

Walking Tall

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 4th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

Returning to his home town after eight years in the Special Forces, Chris Vaughn (The Rock)finds that everything has changed. The lumbermill has shut down, and in its place a casino hasarisen, dispensing drugs and sin on all sides. Beaten and left for dead by casino hoods, Chrisfights back, eventually replacing the sheriff and cleaning up the town by cleaning clocks.

This remake is loosely inspired by the life of Sheriff Buford Pusser (who was actually a prowrestler…
Read More

Soul Plane

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 3rd, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

After a catastrophic flight, during which his rear end is stuck on the toilet and his dog issucked into an engine, Kevin Hart sues the airline and wins a hundred-million dollar settlement.With this windfall, he establishes a new airline: NWA. The film then follows the maiden voyageof NWA’s purple pimpmobile plane, complete with every hip-hop video stereotypeimaginable.

Clearly aspiring to be an urban Airplane!, this dog rarely rises above the level of thewo…
Read More

Judgment at Nuremberg

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 13th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

Synopsis

Spencer Tracy arrives in Nuremberg to sit as chief justice at a war crimes tribunal. In thedock are three judges and a prosecutor, accused of crimes against humanity. Chief among theaccused judges is Burt Lancaster, whose record prior to the Nazi era was exemplary. Theprosecutor is Richard Widmark, driven to fight for justice no matter what the wider geo-politicalcontext might be. Defending the accused is Maximilian Schell (who won an Oscar), stopping atnothing to protect h…
Read More

Barbershop 2: Back in Business

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 12th, 2004

Buy at Amazon.com

There is an interesting trend that seems to be going on in Hollywood right now. Contrary to the record of history, sequels are starting to turn out better, not worse, than their original productions. X2 was better than X-Men, Spidey 2 was better than the first, and each installment in the The Lord of the Rings trilogy built upon the previous episode to an eventual Best Picture climax. I am thrilled that this is the case, since there are more sequels being made now than ever before.

«< 8 9 10 11 12 >»