Studio

Levity

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 9th, 2003

Synopsis

Twenty-two years ago, Billy Bob Thornton killed a cashier in a botched robbery. He hasdwelt on this crime ever since, and doesn’t want to be released from prison. He is, though, and re-enters society very much adrift. His life begins to take on a sense of direction when he meetsand strikes up relationships with an embittered preacher (Morgan Freeman), a young woman onauto-destruct (Kirsten Dunst) and the sister of the man he killed (Holly Hunter). Low key,gorgeously photogr…
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Tinto Brass Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 8th, 2003

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Synopsis

There are three movies here: Miranda, The Key and All Ladies Do It(whose Italian title, Cosi Fan Tutti sounds much less awkward). Though taking place indifferent periods (the first two are set in Fascist Italy, while the third is more modern), all threeshare some similarities in terms of plot: a dark haired-beauty has a long series of eroticencounters, but her true love belongs to one man. Handsomely mounted, with nice attention tocolour and costume, the…
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Countess Dracula / The Vampire Lovers

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 8th, 2003

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Synopsis

Countess Dracula features Ingrid Pitt as a fictionalized version of Countess ElizabethBathory, who slaughtered hundreds of women to bathe in their blood. Here the body count is notthat high, but the bloodbaths actually work: the aged countess becomes young again, andromances a young soldier while pretending to be her own daughter. Unfortunately, old age keepspouncing back on her without notice. The Vampire Lovers (which also stars PeterCushing) is based on J. …
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Sherlock Holmes Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 8th, 2003

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Synopsis

There are four 90-minute telefilms here: “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” “The Sign ofFour,” The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire,” and “The Royal Scandal.” They are of varyingand iffy degrees of fidelity to the Conan Doyle stories. Starring as Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson are, respectively, Matt Freuer and Kenneth Welsh, who essay British accents to varyingdegrees of success. Ex-Max Headroom Freuer puts plenty of energy into his role, but takes it soover-the-top that he co…
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Keep Your Eyes Open

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 7th, 2003

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Extreme sports films come in two flavors first there are the sport specific show off films and then there are the documentary like Ultimate X that show what extreme sports are about. Keep Your Eyes Open rides the line between these two types of films, it looks at six of the wildest sports out there by looking at the athletes. We get an understanding of what motivates them, how they got into it and we also get lots of footage of them doing what they do. Starring Marc Frank Montoya and Mike and Tina Basich (snowboardin…
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Tom Green Show – Subway Monkey Hour

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 6th, 2003

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Let me start out and admit that I never really understood this show to begin with. The DVD can at times be mildly humorous, but never once can I say I really enjoyed this disc. I’m sure fans of the show will “get” a few inside jokes. Tom Green’s act is reminiscent of some of David Letterman’s much more clever street sketches throughout New York City. In this show, Tom Green travels through Japan begging for laughs, mostly by pretending not to understand the people around him.

Paper Moon

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 6th, 2003

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Synopsis

The Great Depression. Ryan O’Neal is an itinerant con man, selling bibles to newly widowedwomen. Unexpectedly, he winds up saddled with Tatum O’Neal, a sharp, cynical child who mayor may not be his daughter — she certainly shares his gift for the fast move. The two engaged ina picaresque journey, which pulls of the neat trick of being funny but not wacky, moving but notsentimental. The last film of Bogdanovich’s golden period (following Targets, TheLast Picture S…
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Junior

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 6th, 2003

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Synopsis

Our two heroines head out to the Dutch countryside for a holiday. They run into car trouble,and blunder into The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or so the available evidence would haveone believe. They stop at the wrong gas station, and it isn’t long before first one, then the otherare prisoners of a deranged family and their masked, hulking youngster. You’ve seen this before,and done so much better.

Audio

Both 5.1 and 2.0 soundtracks are available,…
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Laurel & Hardy

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 6th, 2003

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Synopsis

Misadventures aplenty are in store for our hapless duo. On offer are “Sons of the Desert”(which, at 65 minutes, counts as feature-length), “The Music Box” (which won an Oscar),“Another Fine Mess,” “Busy Bodies” and “County Hospital.” In virtually every case, a simplepremise (such as delivering a player piano or visiting a friend in the hospital) is milked formaximum chaos. A terrific introduction to two comedic geniuses.

Audio

There are two versions…
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Best of Bonanza – Volume One

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 6th, 2003

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In the late 1950’s Westerns accounted for six of the top ten programs on TV. Only Gunsmoke had a longer run than Bonanza. From 1959 to 1973 Ben Cartwright and his boys rode across the small screen. Years later in syndication the series re-emerged as Ponderosa and a handful of TV movies continued the tale into the 90’s.We never have grown tired of the genre that gave us such heroes as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. While I am far more in favor of season sets, this best-of collection is a might heapin’ helping of tall tales.
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Rodentz

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 6th, 2003

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Synopsis

When a strange formula (cooked up in beakers and coloured a bright green) gets into thesewage system and is consumed by escaped lab rats, trouble ensues for a small group of young(and inexpensive) actors. At the climax, they have to face off against a super-rat, whose costumemakes the inside-out bear of Prophecy look like a high point of SFX technology.Extremely cheap, but not without some amusement for connoisseurs of bad film.

Audio

The sou…
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Wait Until Dark

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. So there are these three friends, right? They’re allsomewhere on the geeky spectrum, but you’ve got the macho dude, the fat boy, and the sensitivetype. And they all want to get laid. And there’s also one special girl that the sensitive type hasfallen for… You’ve seen it before, you’ve seen it better. You’ve seen it as an after-school special(minus the nudity). Worth a look though, if only to see the only abortion sequence scored toU2.< ...
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Chaplin Collection Volume 1, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 30th, 2003

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Synopsis

Chaplin’s career was a long one, and the four films here cover a good span. Chaplin is bestknown for his silent work, and that is represented by Modern Times and The GoldRush. Though the former is also technically his first talkie, it is still primarily silent. Thelatter comes in two versions: the original 1925 release, and the 1942 re-issue, which featured afew new scenes, and the intertitles replaced by Chaplin’s narration (though the film remainsbasically a…
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Bowling for Columbine

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 29th, 2003

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Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore’s film Bowling for Columbine has done more then just win the Academy Award for best documentary film, it has also ruffled a lot of feathers. Moore’s extreme views, which are embraced by many, also seem to piss off a lot of people.

Moore’s extreme bias on the topic of gun control and U.S. war mongering has lead many to believe that Bowling for Columbine is more of a 2-hour speech then an award winning documentary. You may not like what he has to say, but y…
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Cape Fear (1991)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 29th, 2003

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Once in a blue moon, though, there’s a re-make that not only takes the original to a new level of appreciation, but actually improves upon it. In musical terms, it’s Ike and Tina’s “Proud Mary.” In the cinematic forum, Martin Scorsese’s 1991 re-work of the B-movie thriller Cape Fear is another.

Max Cady (Robert DeNiro, lost the Oscar to Anthony Hopkins) is a recent parolee, fresh out of the joint after serving a fourteen year stretch for aggravated assault. During his trial, his lawyer, public…
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