Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 25th, 2004
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’... certainly not a horrible movie, but it’s not exactly good, either.
The plot starts off predictably, with a virgin college student, and all that situation entails. It’s not that the film is not funny, it’s just that we’ve already seen it hundreds of times before. The real downfall of this storyline, however, is that it asks the viewer to accept innumerable far-fetched coincidences throughout. The entire film could have been wrapped up in the first 15 or 20 minutes, were it not for countless silly twists of fate. If you ever saw the Sylvester Stallone bomb Oscar, then you’re with me.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 5th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 2nd, 2004
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.... I won’t spoil the ending of the movie, but let’s just say he’s the villain of the piece. The ominous music helps you figure that out. Another performance of note is Levon Helm (drummer for “The Band”) who plays Connie’s remote, sensitive father; a standout piece of acting. He’s probably the best drummer/actor I’ve ever seen. Sorry Ringo.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 30th, 2004
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 29th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 26th, 2004
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...g for it. If you like the gore, there are some nice effects here. In fact, Species III plays like a horror film more than sci-fi. The budget constraints limit the movie to a few locations, so its scope isn’t as broad as the other Species siblings. Sunny Mabrey, who bares a striking resemblance to her alien mother (Henstridge), plays the new daughter. This species chick can kick some serious a$#. And the filmmakers, in this unrated cut, make sure to show off Sunny’s other features (yes, there is above the waist nudity).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 26th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 24th, 2004
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...et, and with this he earned a Palmed’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It is filled with memorable characters and scenes, but thelunatic humour prevents the movie from being as intense as its predecessor. For that matter, Ifind Lost Highway a more satisfyingly committed descent into weird nightmare (though Iacknowledge being in a minority on this). Nonetheless, flaws aside, this is spectacularfilmmaking.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 16th, 2004
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...zany teen, staying up all night adventure comedies. The characters get themselves into some pretty weird situations. One of these “situations” includes Julie, the main character (she’s 14), sneaking into a bar because the scavenger hunt requires her to get a photo of herself being treated to a drink by a grown-up (???). Weird. The grown-up happens to be her teacher (???). Double weird. But if you’re looking for incisive commentary about teen life, this is not the movie. It plays more like an extended Lizzie McGuire episode. At least the Lizzie show was only half an hour.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 15th, 2004
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...ion on prostitute movies then The Ranch is your gold mine. It has every cliché in the book. SPOILERS AHEAD. Let’s see, there’s the prostitute with the kid, and of course the “lady of the evening” is worried that she’s not the proper role model. There’s the prostitute who quits “the life” and has to lie to her fiancé about what she used to do for a living. There’s the prostitute with the “dark past”, and her old pimp comes a runnin’. And there’s the prostitute who starts dating a man in a “real” relationship and well…the dialogue goes something like, “we’re gonna date and you’re gonna watch me take guys to my room all night?”. I could go on. But I’ll just start a new paragraph.
