Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 29th, 2003
Synopsis
Thelma (Susan Sarandon) and Louise (Geena Davis) head out on the highway for a well-deserved two-day trip. But then Louise is attacked, and Thelma shoots the would-be rapist, andeverything goes spectacularly to hell. One the one hand, this is a revisionist buddy road movie,with women instead of men in the leads. On the other hand, this is also the definitive buddy roadmovie, smarter and more exciting than any before or since.
Audio
The audio is terr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 26th, 2003
Synopsis
Our guide to the Manchester movement 1976-1992 is Tony Wilson (a mesmerizingly goodSteve Coogan), TV personality and would-be music impresario. Blown away by an earlyperformance by The Sex Pistols, Wilson sets about forming his own music club and record label(The Factory). Central to his enterprise’s rise and fall are Joy Division/New Order and the HappyMondays. Wilson addresses the camera constantly, as if we were watching a documentary onhis life, and the result is as fun...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 18th, 2003
You almost expect to see Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci at any time during State Of Grace. The influence of Martin Scorsese is everywhere, from the tight shots on character interactions to the slight angles during the more violent scenes. Even the clever use of source music more often than Ennio Morricone’s subtle score is reminiscent of Goodfellas. The prize of this feature is the cast. Ed Harris, Sean Penn, and Gary Oldman add much needed tension and realism to a mediocre and predictable script. Stereotypes and clichés abound.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2003
Film
Bad Influence, while not a bad film, is certainly not a good one either. Try as I might I could not bring myself to really care about any of the characters. The film tries to portray Rob Lowe’s influence on James Spader as, well … bad. It’s not like he was a great guy to begin with. There is an incredible irony within the film when Lowe gets Spader out of a marriage he is dreading by slipping the family a copy of the groom-to-be having sex with another woman. Lowe, of course, had a real life video tape episode and Spader dealt with the same thing in Sex, Lies, and Video Tape.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 5th, 2003
Synopsis
Ordinary family man Gene Wilder is innocently parking his car at work one day when hesees Kelly Le Brock doing a Marilyn Monroe routine over a hot air grate. He is immediatelysmitten, and throws his life into chaos pursuing the woman of his dreams. The original Frenchfilm wasn’t anything to write home about in the first place, but it did star Jean Rochefort, whosesomber dignity just begs to be overthrown. Wilder, on the other hand, isn’t that dignified to beginwith.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 3rd, 2003
Hitchcock’s “Strangers On A Train” has always been one of my favorite films from that era. It was perfect Hitch. Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal are two of Hollywood’s best comic actors… so it is no surprise that I would fall hard for a “Strangers” parody by these comedic wonders. There is nothing spectacular about this film, but it is one of those simple little pleasures that come along from time to time that is just effortless to view.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2002
Synopsis
Carolyn McDuffy (Christina Ricci) appears to have it all. She is the most dynamic memberof her sorority. She’s dating the most popular boy on campus. Her unspeakably shallow life isperfect. The sorority does some charity work with challenged athletes, and Ricci is paired up withPumpkin (Hank Harris). She is at first disgusted, then fascinated, and then... Life, of course, goesspinning wildly out of control. Though the trailer suggests this might be another gross-outcomedy, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2002
Synopsis
A tour bus goes hundreds of kilometres off-course in the African desert. Then it breaks downby an abandoned town. While waiting for rescue (which may or may not ever come), thepassengers work on mounting a production of King Lear, and their civilized veneer getsprogressively stripped away. The concept is odd, but it works, and the cast (including JenniferJason Leigh) is uniformly strong.
Audio
The sound is only 2.0, but it must be borne in mind that...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 11th, 2002
Synopsis
In the full widescreen segments of the film, a portion of an American satellite lands inAustralia and is swallowed by a crocodile. Competing agencies send their agents to recover thedevice. In the segments where the screen shrinks to something resembling the TV screen (thoughstill wider than 1.33:1), Steve and Terri Irwin chase after animals, and Steve speaks continuallyto the camera. The collision course of the title is not just the intersecting courses of the Irwinsand th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 5th, 2002
Synopsis
Three working class friends have their hopes set on motorcross stardom to bring them fameand fortune. Their friendships get complicated by, among other things, the arrival of ambitioussexpot Renee Soutendijk (also seen in Verhoeven’s The Fourth Man).
Audio
The sound is mono, and it gets the job done. Nothing exceptional, but clean andserviceable.
Video
The print appears to be in good shape. The colours are very drab, but thi...
