Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 27th, 2004
Ahh, those funny little Kids from Canada. I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point in the 90’s, The Kids in the Hall became North America’s answer to Monty Python. Now, that’s not to say that the Kids are as classically funny as the Pythons, but the similarities run rampant nonetheless. Both troupes had a very successful sketch comedy television series, in which many of the all-male cast dressed in drag. Following the success of their respective shows, they both explored what feature films might conta...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 20th, 2004
Synopsis
In 1973, a group of Young, Beautiful People are on the way across Texas to a rock concert.They pick up a hitch-hiker: a terrified young woman who commits suicide when she thinks she isbeing driven back to the place she just fled. Seeking help in a nearby house, our heroesunfortunately come into contact with Leatherface and his clan, and the slaughter begins.
Though there are some variations, the plot, in is broad lines, is very close to the 1973original. And therein...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2004
Synopsis
John Malkovich plays Tom Ripley in this incarnation. He is living a life of luxury in Italy,house in a palatial villa with his harpsichordist wife. Two events disrupt his comfortableexistence: the unwelcome re-emergence of former colleague-in-crime Ray Winstone, and a aninsult at a part from leukemia-ridden picture framer Dougray Scott. Winstone wants a criminalrival eliminated, and Ripley, vengeance on his mind, decides that the innocent Scott is just theperson to be manip...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 22nd, 2004
The Stupids are a family with, as you can guess, a below-average intelligence. I think this might be due to inbreeding. The plot is fairly simple, more a series of vignettes: the family gets into some mess because of a mistake they make, and then get out of it in some silly manner. It sort of comes together in the end, but that's how the whole movie goes.
The Stupids is a kid's movie, and it was made with that exact audience in mind. It's not really there to entertain adults and...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 20th, 2004
I can only imagine what it might have been like to be a child during the heyday of Disney’s live films division. Going to see The Parent Trap or Mary Poppins as a young girl must really have been exciting. Experiencing Pete’s Dragon or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the theater must have been a thrill for young lads.
Unfortunately, Disney has not lived up to those high standards in its later days. Part of the wonder of those films was that they were not children’s films, as much as s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 10th, 2004
Synopsis
Freddy has been rendered powerless by being forgotten. In order to revive his memory, andthus his power, he impersonates Jason’s mother (work with me, here) and sends the hulkingkiller down Elm Street way, hoping that he will be blamed for Jason’s murders. His plan beginsto work, but Jason is so relentless in his slaughter that he starts nailing teens that Freddy hadreserved for himself, and thus the two monsters are set on a collision course.
Enormous fun, even tho...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 8th, 2004
Synopsis
Paul Rudd is a college student carrying on a long-distance relationship with his blandlybeautiful and rather sickening girlfriend when he learns (he thinks) that she is cheating on him.With the help of Reese Witherspoon, a fellow student moonlighting as a stripper, he composes anexcoriating letter (plus accompanying materials) and sends this to her on overnight delivery. Nosooner has he done this than he finds out that the "other man" is, in fact, a Chihuahua. A cross-count...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 11th, 2003
I don’t know what it is that makes men enjoy stupid comedies so much. Maybe it is our inner bully, lashing out at the weaknesses of those around us, and thus proving our superiority. Maybe it's because it's such a relaxing break from the stress of our busy working lives. Maybe it is because laughing at idiots makes us feel better about our own questionable level of intelligence. Whatever it is, it is clear that laughing at the ignorance of others is a basic male trait. There is a point, however, when the subject of o...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 30th, 2003
Synopsis
Audie England plays Elena Martin (i.e. Anais Nin), an American living in Paris at theoutbreak of World War II. She has a passionate affair with Costas Mandylor (the poor man’sAidan Quinn), but when he is unfaithful, she leaves him. Desperate for money, she undertakes acommission to write erotic stories for an anonymous collector. So begins her sexual and literaryblossoming.
This is all very high-end stuff, with sumptuous cinematography and jazzy editing. King...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 28th, 2003
Synopsis
Mandy Moore plays Halley, a teen having a rough year. Her parents have just gottendivorced, and her DJ father (Peter Gallagher) is about to marry a weather bimbo. Her best friendhas suddenly fallen in love, her sister is getting married, and she feels very alone. Enter theexaggeratedly cute Trent Ford, who slowly will turn Halley’s cynical heart around. Though everyconceivable teen trauma is bundled into the plot, solid performances, a more mature look at teensexuali...
