Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 12th, 2007
After watching a bloated Tom Sizemore run around tunnels being chased by a man in a rubber suit while making bad jokes, it’s hard to believe that he used to be in good movies like Heat, Saving Private Ryan, and Black Hawk Down. And that’s probably the biggest impression I got from Bottom Feeder, just another example of the latest “anyone can make a direct-to-video horror movie” trend. My, how far Sizemore has fallen.
The plot is minimal, which is par for the course in most horror films... A burn-scarred millionaire seeks a serum that will regenerate his flesh, so naturally, he tests the serum on the scientist to make sure it works. However, the serum only works properly if it's taken with another anecdote. If not, it will turn you into a monster. And just think, I hate it when medicine makes you groggy. Don't you hate when that happens?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 12th, 2007
The Queen is all about Helen Mirren’s performance. All of the buzz I heard leading up to the Oscars was about Mirren’s remarkable turn as the queen bee herself, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and rightfully so.
The film presents an intimate perspective on the royal family during the week of Diana’s death. Despite her majesty’s very public persona, she is actually a very private person, bound to tradition. She’s at odds with new prime minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen, Blood Diamond), who...s her opposite in many ways – modern and image conscious in a political world that’s drastically changed since the Queen took power. The British people, in shock and mourning for their “people’s princess,” look to their leaders to recognize the traumatic event of Diana’s death. The Queen, however, fully intends to keep it a private, family matter, and spurns Blair’s suggestions to make public statements and to hold a royal funeral. Unfortunately for her majesty, her family’s inaction doesn’t play well with her people, and the royals become the subject of media scorn. Essentially, this is a story about one of the greatest public tragedies in recent history, and how it was handled by those in power, behind the scenes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 11th, 2007
It seems unbelievable to me that Scooby Doo was just on for three seasons. Undoubtedly there were individual cartoon tie-ins created all along the way, and there are new episodes being created even today. No, I’m talking about the original classic program. Just three short seasons were produced, the final one of which is now available on DVD.
What is there to say about this series, these cartoons that were such an integral part of my childhood? You would have to be living in the mountain caves of Afgha...istan to not know about Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and the rest of the Scooby Gang, riding around in the Mystery Machine solving crimes and debunking ghost myths. Each episode was an island unto itself, without any plot points that carried over from episode to episode. In fact, it was actually helpful if you didn’t remember what was going on the last time you saw the show, since every episode was pretty much the same. There is a guy that is secretly doing something bad for personal gain, Daphne Fred and Velma investigate and compile clues, and Scooby and Fred accidentally solve the crime. The funny thing is, he “would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids.” The perpetrator is turned over to the police, the dog eats some snacks, and everybody piles into the van to go find another mystery.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 10th, 2007
Notes on a Scandal is an unsettling film, uncomfortable to watch because it highlights some of the darkest aspects of the human condition. It’s a film about loneliness, secrecy and obsession, and thanks to incredible performances by its leading ladies, it succeeds as a thriller.
Barbara Covett (Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents) is an aging schoolteacher and a voracious diarist. When young, beautiful Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett, The Aviator) shows up as the high school’s new art teache..., Barbara initiates a friendship. Sheba invites Barbara to lunch with her husband and two children, and although Barbara comes off a bit odd about the friendship, all seems to be fine. That is, until Barbara discovers Sheba’s dark secret: she’s having an affair with one of her students, a 15-year-old boy. Revealing a dark side to her intentions for Sheba’s companionship, Barbara promises to keep the illegal affair under wraps, in hopes that the shared secret will bind them together forever. She asks only one price for her secrecy – Sheba must end the affair.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 9th, 2007
In many ways, slasher films are like porno movies. Chief among them is that many times you just want to skip to the good parts. There may be a plot, but it’s so poorly constructed, the dialog is downright embarrassing and the direction leaves a lot to be desired. But the one thing they get right is all that matters. After all, there’s only one reasons we watch.
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film is a documentary which does just this. It features some of the most gruesome and fam...us scenes from slasher films, all while exploring the slasher film’s history, from inception in the late 70's, right up until what seems like a few months ago, with in-depth and fascinating interviews from the slasher film masters themselves, as well as others in the slasher film industry.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 9th, 2007
Synopsis
Carlos Santana has been a veritable part-owner in the Montreux Jazz Festival, with a half dozen or so appearances under his belt in over three decades of performing. Some have been solo appearances, but others have been fruitful collaborations with various blues and jazz performers, some singers. In 1988, Santana and friend Wayne Shorter performed at the show as part of a brief tour. The songs performed are listed as follows:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 9th, 2007
Synopsis
Carlos Santana has been a veritable part-owner in the Montreux Jazz Festival, with a half dozen or so appearances under his belt in over three decades of performing. Some have been solo appearances, but others have been fruitful collaborations with various blues and jazz performers, some singers. In 1988, Santana and friend Wayne Shorter performed at the show as part of a brief tour. The songs performed are listed as follows:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 8th, 2007
On June 4, 1968, U.S. presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy was shot in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel, and later died in hospital. Bobby is the story of that day, and the people who were there.
It’s not so important that I summarize the characters and their stories for you. What you should know is that Bobby is one of those films that cuts between many plot lines that seem unrelated until the end, when an event brings them all together. In this case, we’re talking about 22 people at the...Ambassador Hotel, and the assassination that changed their lives forever.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 8th, 2007
Synopsis
As a kid, I read Garfield on a daily basis. I collected the little books they would put out every so often (still have most of them). The cartoon show, Garfield & Friends; I always found funny & I even went to the first movie though I found it a little puzzling (like why would you animate Garfield but have a real live Odie, doesn't make much sense). In my head, I had even teased the idea of owning the Volume sets of Garfield & Friends. So when this title came across my desk, I wa... a little interested to say the least.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2007
Dances With Wolves has always been a bit of a conundrum for me. The story is simply a beautiful one. The cinematography is often nothing short of breathtaking. What causes my trouble is when we get down to its star. Kevin Costner is horrible in this film. I’m not a Costner hater. Untouchables and JFK are two of his best films, and in each he delivered exactly what was required. I’m beginning to think, however, that the G-Man persona is all he is capable of delivering with any consistency. What exactly is my problem... I’m glad someone asked. Dunbar needs to be a very complex character. We find him at first a very loyal American soldier dedicated to his duty. His transformation under the Indian influence should be a dramatic one and pivotal to the essence of this tale. Costner doesn’t show us this change. The writers do in his words and actions, but Costner hasn’t changed the very soul of his character. Example: In the Godfather Al Pacino plays Michael, who is the son of a crime lord. He despises what his father stands for and has vowed never to be involved. When Michael makes the decision to lash out at his father’s attackers, you can see the change before he speaks a word. Pacino played a different man then. It’s obvious he understood this man was different not because of how he was now behaving, but rather that he had changed somewhere in the core of his being. His voice and speech changed as did even the way he walked across a room. Where is the change Dunbar undergoes inside? It’s simply not there. Costner was also the director, and perhaps there lies the true flaw. Maybe if another perspective had been there to better guide the transformation, we might have been given that dramatic metamorphism so desperately required for this film to work. There’s a reason why given the film’s many Oscar wins one was not for Best Actor.
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