Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 23rd, 2007
An epic is defined as an artistic work that celebrates the feats of a legendary figure. The film Cleopatra actually deals with many such figures, the title character being merely one of them. The truth is the film was never really about the Egyptian queen as much as it was about Rome and its relationship with Egypt.. Of course, Elizabeth Taylor's portrayal has achieved something of a classic status that is not completely deserved. Much has been made of the Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor pairing in this film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 23rd, 2007
If you'd asked me last year whether I thought Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe should work together again, I would have said "absolutely." No hesitation. We're talking about the director and star of Gladiator, after all, and I'd love to see another epic picture from that team.
What I didn't expect to see was A Good Year, a romantic comedy that wholeheartedly joins the ranks of the "wine is like life" camp. What's with that, anyway? Maybe it's time to move on to another beverage, like coffee. You know, coffee and life have a lot in common - plenty of lessons to be learned there.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2007
Marisa Tomei caused quite a stir in 1993 when she walked away with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in My Cousin Vinny. Even after watching the film again, I guess I'm still a bit amazed. Now that's not to say she doesn't do a wonderful job here. The fact is the entire cast did a splendid job. I can't say I found her performance any better than Joe Pesci as Vinny "Sack Of Potatoes" Gambini or the wonderful portrayal of the judge by Fred Gwynne.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 21st, 2007
There were a lot of changes in store for the Bunkers in the sixth season. The Jeffersons, long a source of irritation for Archie and a ton of laughs for us, were moving on up to the East Side and that big de-lux apartment in the sky. Mike and Gloria finally move out of the house, but only as far as next door in the vacated Jefferson home. Most importantly, little baby Joey joins the family. For the 30 years since All In The Family, there is still speculation as to just how Carroll O' Connor was able to take such a bigoted, seemingly irredeemable character and make him loved by millions.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 20th, 2007
We all know that Daniel Craig helped effectively reboot the James Bond movie franchise in 2006 with the amazing Casino Royale. But let's not forget that Pierce Brosnan was at the helm of the first Bond "rebirth" in Goldeneye. Brosnan was the darling of Bond producer Albert Broccoli in the mid '80s, but was unable to take the role because of his then-current commitment to the television show Remington Steele. Assuming he could have gotten the job back then, he would have followed Roger Moore after A View to a Kill.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 19th, 2007
Seriously, have criminals ever been this cool or this much fun to watch? Since Ocean's Eleven, I mean. For those that don't know, Hu$tle is a BBC drama that follows the exploits of a team of five con artists as they “earn” their keep. For the sake of keeping the charaters interesting, the majority of the jobs they pull target people who deserve to be conned. Sort of a modern day band of Merry Men, so to speak. If you are a fan of Spooks (known as MI-5 here in the states), you will probably...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 18th, 2007
Synopsis
The filming world seems to be full of un-original ideas. Everything from endless sequels to the same types of films repeated and repeated until one falls into a deep dark slumber. The Quiet staring Elisha Cuthbert(24, Girl Next Door) as Nina Deer & Camilla Belle(When A Stranger Calls) as Dot from the cover and box description appears to be another teenage high school drama about some new girl and sexual tension sans Cruel Intentions. How...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 18th, 2007
Synopsis
I grew up with Beavis & Butthead, the so stupid it hurts MTV cartoon show that basically would launch MTV programming and put it on the map for future series. Mike Judge was the creator behind that masterpiece. He would go on later to be the guy behind King of the Hill and a few assorted good shows. However, somewhere along the way he decided to direct a couple of movies. His most recent affair, Idiocracy; a feature film staring Luke Wilson (Old...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 18th, 2007
The day and age were Hollywood remakes coming off as a somewhat passable effort are completely gone. Hollywood continues to feed us drivel that is devoid of anything remotely entertaining or anything that made the original entertaining in its own right. In 2006 Warner Brothers decided to remake the 1973 classic film Wicker Man. Instead of trying to adhere to the original, Warner threw everything that made Robin Hardy's original such a classic and have since replaced it with moments that were meant to scare us but instead come off as almost laughable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 16th, 2007
Since its premiere in 1994, Inside the Actors Studio has been a fascinating talk show for film fans and aspiring actors, writers and directors alike. Each episode a famous guest � usually an actor � is interviewed one-on-one by host James Lipton, followed by questions from the student audience.
In early 2006, one such guest was Dave Chappelle (Chappelle�s Show). Chappelle�s appearance followed some controversial events in his life, mainly his surprising exit from his mega-hit Comedy Central sh...