Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Nick Cannon plays Devon Miles, brilliant drummer with attitude to burn, who arrives at acampus with one of the most prestigious marching bands in the US. What follows is essentially atraining film, the kind of thing you see in To the Shores of Tripoli and GI Jane, only this timemusic, rather than war, is the goal. The usual ups and downs and character conflicts are present(you can set your watch by the predictability of the script), but the performances are engaging,and the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Being the outsider at school is never an easy thing and for 14 year old Lucas who has been accelerated in his schooling it is especially difficult. He is more interested in bugs and symphonies then football and popularity. This all changes after he befriends the new girl in town during summer break, she turns into a cheerleader who only has eyes for the quarterback and Lucas will stop at nothing to get her to notice him. This includes joining the football team! A coming of age film staring C...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
When Pierce Brosnan’s wife up and leaves him, decamping with another man for Australia,his attempts to be a single parent are quickly derailed by the government. Since he is currentlywithout work, his children (including the title daughter Evelyn) are placed in group homes runby nuns (where Evelyn goes) and monks (where the two boys go). Once he is back on his feetfinancially, he still isn’t granted custody, as the children will not be released without the consentof both pa...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 1st, 2003
Synopsis
Kiddie-show host Rainbow Randloph (Robin Williams), up to his armpits in graft, is nailedby the FBI and turfed from his slot. Replacing him is Smoochy the Rhino (Edward Norton), arelentlessly nice and upstanding individual. Being so nice makes the target not just of theobsessive and psychotic Randolph, but also of the mob (headed, in a brilliant piece of casting, byHarvey Fierstein). Almost everyone in the film is a nasty piece of work, which makes the blackhumour all the m...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 30th, 2003
Synopsis
Daniel Stern stars as bumbling package delivery man “Mad Max” Grabelski who finds himself on the wrong side of the law after a get rich quick scheme makes him a murder suspect. He heads for the hills and is mistaken for a world famous scout leader and things just go down hill from there. Your pretty low end stab at slap stick kids comedy this film falls short and really disappoints on all fronts
Audio
This disc has a simple Dolby stereo audio track so there is not...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 30th, 2003
Synopsis
A rare glimpse inside a world rarely seen by outsiders we have the story of a young, brash captain (played by Matthew Modine) on a quest to reclaim the America’s Cup (that he lost) to an arrogant Australian (played by Jack Thompson). Entangled in the battle of wits on the water we also have a classic love story of two people separated by their own personal ambition and reunited by a shared dream.
Audio
I suspect that the original audio for this film was a simple ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2003
Steven Bochco is no stranger to innovative television. Hill Street Blues is arguably the best cop show ever made. Even his failures are praised for their innovativeness and freshness. Remember Cop Rock? NYPD Blue didn’t just push the prime time envelope. It tore the envelope to pieces and blew it away with hurricane force winds. George Carlin made a career out of his “7 words you can’t say on television”. Along comes NYPD Blue and Carlin just might need a new act. Language and nudity made this the first R-Rated primetime program.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2003
Synopsis
In 1959, US sailors stash a load of money on an island not far from Cuba. Flash forward tothe present, and one of those sailors (Daniel J. Travanti!) and his wife (poor Faye Dunaway)convince John Laughlin (the son of one of the other sailors) and his wife Kim Cattrall to sail outto get this cash. Naturally, all is not what it seems. Travanti is badly miscast as the villain, andthe plot takes so long to get in gear that you have plenty of time to realize this makes nosense.< ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2003
Synopsis
An all-around sleaze is found murdered (and the discovery of his body is, I have to admit,pretty damn funny). All sorts of evidence points to hot-tempered cop Burt Reynolds, and he ischarged with murder. Defending him is a very wooden Theresa Russell. She and Reynolds areconvinced he was framed, and they begin to dig. There are loose ends all over the place by thetime the film wraps up, but it is decently entertaining along the way.
Audio
The sound ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2003
Synopsis
Someone, variously known as the Black Angel and the Co-Ed Killer is, well, killing co-eds.All of whom knew each other. Who is responsible? And who the hell cares? This is about as badas a slasher film can get. Never mind the amateurish acting, the sub-literate script, and the awfulphotography. There’s no blood!
Audio
The sound is technically 2.0, and I suppose it is, but just barely. There is virtually no soundat all from the rear speakers, music or...
