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Captain’s Paradise, The

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

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Synopsis

Alec Guinness is a ferryboat captain who runs back and forth every other day betweenGibraltar and Morocco. He has a wife in each port: the domestic Celia Johnson and the fieryYvonne DeCarlo. This state of affairs cannot continue indefinitely, of course. A fun battle-of-the-sexes story, very much of its time (1953). While not quite up to the Ealing films, The Captain’sParadise does have some extremely funny moments courtesy Guinness and co-star CharlesGoldner.

Keys to Tulsa

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2003

Synopsis

The black sheep of a wealthy Tulsa family comes back to a world that he had walked away from, only to return and get pulled in to a tale of blackmail with his ex-high school sweetheart’s drug dealer husband. While attempting to help the only witness to a murder he gets wrapped up in a world of revenge, deceit and redemption, starring James Spader, Eric Stultz and Deborah Kara-Unger. Cameron Diaz is billed as one of the stars of this movie and for the approximately 3 minutes she is in this mov…
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Chris Botti and Friends: Night Sessions Live in Concert

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2003

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Synopsis

Acclaimed trumpeter Chris Botti is joined on stage by his band and friends (Sting and Shawn Colvin) for a night of evocative and sensual music. Filmed on location in the historic El Rey Theater in Los Angeles on December 3, 2001. Chris Botti’s regular gig is as the trumpet player for Sting both on tour and in the studio, this show is to celelbrate the release of his solo album with Comlumbia records.

Audio

The audio on this disc is excellent; it is 5.1 surround with…
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Kind Hearts and Coronets

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 8th, 2003

Synopsis

Dennis Price (icy in his perfectly correct heartlessness) is the son of a disowned member ofthe D’Ascoyne family. Determined to rectify this slight, and incidentally become Duke, Price setsout to cooly murder the eight D’Ascoynes who stand in his way. All eight, including LadyAgatha, are played by Alec Guinness. Price is utterly amoral, but he is such a charming narratorthat we root for him, and chuckle warmly over each demise. The script is supremely smart. Thisisn’t knock…
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Gladiator Days: Anatomy of a Prison Murder

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

Not for the squeamish, this documentary opens with prison surveillance camera footage ofTroy Krell and Eric Daniels stabbing Lonnie Blackmon to death. After that little bit of snuff TV,the hour-long program gets down to interviews with Krell and authorities about the culturethat produces these events. The topic is certainly worthy of examination, but the cheesy heavymetal score and tabloid-TV stylistic flourishes (black-and-white, slow motion, etc.) Could havebeen dispensed…
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All About Eve

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

A corrosive satire of stardom in general, and the theatre world in particular, All About Evestars Bette Davis as an insecure theatre diva, and Anne Baxter as Eve, the young woman whobefriends Davis but is a the conniving, fawning sociopath who will stop at nothing for her ownstab at stardom. George Sanders (stealing every scene he’s in as a sublimely cynical critic) is onelof the only people who can see through Eve. Baxter overdoes the fawning, so it becomes difficultto bel…
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Woman in Red, The

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.

Python 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 5th, 2003

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Synopsis

A genetically modified super-python, dropped on Russia by the Americans at some pointfor some reason or other, is captured. But the plane carrying the snake is shot down by Chechens.The cargo is recaptured and taken to a base. A husband-and-wife team of cargo haulers areengaged for no truly logical reason by a CIA team to go the base, where the snake is to be stolenand taken back to the States. Unfortunately, the snake is already loose. “Loose” is also a goodword for the pl…
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WiseGirls

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 5th, 2003

Synopsis

Mira Sorvino, hard up for a job, lands one at Santolino’s restaurant. Learning the ropes isdifficult enough (even with the help of vets Mariah Carey and Melora Walters), but the restaurantis a mob hangout, and Sorvino finds herself caught in a web of danger (don’t you hate when thathappens?). I’ll say this: it’s better than Glitter.

Audio

A mere 2.0 mix, but it is a solid one. Particularly good are the restaurant scenes, where youfeel properly surro…
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Throw Momma from the Train

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 3rd, 2003

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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.

How Green Was My Valley

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 3rd, 2003

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Synopsis

The setting is turn-of-the-century Wales, and a way of life is coming to an end as economiccrises hit. The film chronicles the saga of the Morgan family, headed by stern but lovingpatriarch Donald Crisp, and we get all this through the eyes of young Roddy McDowall. Analternative title might be “Cavalcade of Misery” and the answer to the film’s question might be“not very,” given the endless tragedies that afflict our loving family. The film hasn’t weatheredthe passing years …
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Blood Work

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 2nd, 2003

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Synopsis

While pursuing the elusive Code Killer, Terry McCaleb (Clint Eastwood) suffers a heartattack. Two-and-a-half years later, recovering well from a heart transplant, McCaleb is visitedby the sister of the woman whose heart he now has. She would like him to investigate the sister’smurder. Some of the plot twists you can see coming, and the story takes a major credibilityhit three quarters of the way through, when Eastwood gets involved with a woman young enoughto be his grandda…
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Gentleman’s Agreement

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 31st, 2002

Synopsis

Gregory Peck is a freelance writer recently arrived in New York. Hired to write a series onanti-Semitism, he hits on the idea of passing himself off as Jewish. The angle works only toowell, and he experiences prejudice first-hand, in ways that threaten to completely derail his life.The performances are universally excellent, and the actors are really put to the test when theyhave to mouth the painfully moralizing speeches at the end of the film. Until the disappointingconcl…
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Back to the Future Trilogy

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 31st, 2002

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Film

The original Back To The Future film is already a classic. There has never been a more original sci-fi/comedy film. The sequels are less stellar but do retain the charm and uniqueness of the original. The talent of Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox shine in these films. Both actors were trying to shed strong TV characters and prove they were more than Reverend Jim and Alex Keaton. The chemistry generated between them goes a long way in enhancing both performances. The supporting cast is also quite good here.
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I Spit On Your Grave

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 30th, 2002

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Synopsis

Jennifer (Camille Keaton) leaves New York for a summer in the country. Four low-lifes rapeher, beat her, and leave her for dead. She strikes back most violently. This is the nec plus ultraof rape-revenge films, the yardstick against which all others are measured. The gang rape isharrowingly brutal, and goes on for almost half an hour. The film is cheap and raw, and has itsflaws, but is also searingly powerful in the unflinching realism of its violence. For this, and forits …
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Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 30th, 2002

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Synopsis

The son of DIA hotshot Ray Park is kidnapped by Lucy Liu. Antonio Banderas is forced backinto action with the promise of finding information about the wife he thought was dead. Hisassignment: track down Liu in order to get to bad guy Park, who is fooling around with ananotech assassin machine (which looks like a frog with a hypodermic). Now, none of this makesa whole lot of sense. The film’s real purpose is to stage huge gunfights and Really BigExplosions. Sometimes, that’s…
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Mad Love

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 30th, 2002

Synopsis

Joan, who will inherit the throne of Castille, is sent to Flanders to marry the Archduke Philip.She falls madly and passionately in love with her husband. He is not faithful, however, and hersanity teeters because of this. Ambitious politicians jockey for power in the background, and seethe Queen’s possible madness as their ticket to ride. The film looks great, and the performancesare excellent. We aren’t shown much of the relationship before it begins to fall apart, however,…
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Pig

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 28th, 2002

There isn’t really a plot, as such. In collaboration with director/photographer/scripter/editor Nico B, co-director/composer/writer Rozz Williams works out his serial killer fantasies through the images of a pig-faced man torturing another. The big influences here are equal parts Eraserhead-era David Lynch, the surrealist films of the late-20s-early-30s (especially Un ChienAndalou) and the contemporary piercing/SM scene. In fact, there are moments where this plays like an artsy infomercial for the latter.
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2002

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Synopsis

Petty crook Nicholson is transferred from prison to a mental institution. Is he crazy? Hecertainly seems to be to go up against head nurse Louise Fletcher, the well-meaning tyrant of theplace. In the course of his war, he ignites the spirits of the other inmates.

Audio

The sound has been remastered into 5.1. Though the sound quality is nice (barring somedistortion due to original recording), I’m not sure the surround mix was necessary. The musicand …
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Beauty & the Beast

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 22nd, 2002

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Synopsis

Likely the best version of the tale of a beautiful young woman and the beast who loves hersince Jean Cocteau’s 1945 film, this one has all the strengths of Disney’s best features: top-notchanimation, lively songs, humorous characters but some solidly gothic scares as well.

Audio

Fabulous on all counts. The reproduction is flawless and distortion free. The effects arestrong in both rear speaker presence and left-right separation. The music dominates, h…
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Serpico

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2002

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Al Pacino started his career with The Godfather, but Serpico went a long way to introducing filmgoers to the raw talent he still possesses. Based on the true story of an officer’s lone fight against corruption in the New York City PD, Serpico is gritty and almost documentary-like in style. Sydney Lumet’s stylized direction would create a template that countless future cop films continue to emulate. A credit to Lumet’s ability to spot talent rests in the fact that this was considered largely a cast of unknowns.
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Quicksilver

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2002

Synopsis

Kevin Bacon is a high-rolling stock trader. When he screws up and loses it all, he becomes(naturally) a gifted bicycle messenger, and so rebuilds his confidence. Many bike tricks and GiorgioMoroder songs ensue. Dire.

Audio

The 2.0 mix gets off to a strong start, with a truly impressive street environment simulatedduring the opening credits. Thereafter, however, the FX are pretty minimal, and take a back seatto the endless, horrible 80’s soundtrack. …
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Doppelganger

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 18th, 2002

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Synopsis

Drew Barrymore returns to Los Angeles after stabbing her conniving mother to death in ahilariously operatic sequence. But is Barrymore really guilty? Was the crime committed by herdoppelganger? Is she crazy? Possessed? Or is something else afoot? George Newbern plays hernew roommate, a shy, aspiring screenwriter, and he gets tangled up in her mystery. A tangledmystery it is too, and the film gets so carried away that it doesn’t really tie up all the loose ends.The ending, t…
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Final Encounter

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2002

Synopsis

On an unnamed planet hundreds of years in the future, two cities — Brecca and Obsidian –have been at war for almost a century. They are but shattered remnants of their former selves,and the war carries on pointlessly. The governing general of Brecca leads a small expedition toObsidian on a quest that might finally bring the war to an end. The film has some of the post-apocalypse-on-a-budget feel of Albert Pyun epics (the Nemesis series) or stuff like CircuitryMan. This b…
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Country Bears, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 17th, 2002

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Synopsis

Beary Barrington (voice of Haley Joel Osment) runs away from his (human) adoptive familyto seek out Country Bear Hall. When it turns out that the evil Christopher Walken hasdevelopment plans that include the Hall’s demolition, Beary is determined to re-unite theCountry Bears for a benefit concert that will save the Hall.

Audio

The big star of the soundtrack is the music — arena-style country rock that will either haveyou stomping your feet or slitt…
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