Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 16th, 2006
Synopsis
Audrey Hepburn is Holly Golightly, a young woman to her name born. Flighty, hopping from party to party, she waits for her life to match her ideal. Into her apartment moves writer George Peppard, who is certainly not the millionaire our heroine imagines will sweep her off her feet. Peppard himself is a kept man, and his keeper is Patricia Neal. Peppard does have a more realistic view of how life works, in the long run, and that is a lesson that Hepburn must learn before romance can follow it... natural course.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 29th, 2006
It's great to see Scorsese return to his love and respect of music in documentary form. Of course, the first time he did a music documentary, the result was what many consider to be the best musical performance film of all time; The Last Waltz. He has always paid special attention to rock and roll music in his films, from using Cream in a gangster film (Goodfellas) to The Moody Blues in a film about old Las Vegas (Casino). Music has played an interesting and important role in all of Scorsese's fi...ms, no matter the theme.
No Direction Home is more than just a documentary about Bob Dylan. It approaches The Beatles Anthology in both its superior style and its importance as a historical record. This is not just a film about a rock musician, this is a film about the consummate rock musician. Uncle Bob is an entire generation all wrapped up into one man. In the Southern part of the United States, the importance of getting the stories of the eldest generation onto tape is often discussed, as so much of their lives are still passed down today through the oral tradition. This 2-disc documentary is a very similar idea, as so much of it is made up of Dylan discussing his childhood, his early days in music and on into his career. The result is a record of a life that is both important and utterly captivating.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2006
Hustle & Flow works because of one reason and one reason only. That reason is Terrence Howard.
Howard injects himself into the role of DJay, a Memphis pimp who stumbles across a church choir and then strives to put his daily experiences into rap music, hoping to break out of the lifestyle he has grown to hate.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2006
Hustle & Flow works because of one reason and one reason only. That reason is Terrence Howard.
Howard injects himself into the role of DJay, a Memphis pimp who stumbles across a church choir and then strives to put his daily experiences into rap music, hoping to break out of the lifestyle he has grown to hate.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2006
After the MTV show Jackass closed production, MTV scrambled to try to find a show that would secure the ratings that Jackass had been doing for so many years. What resulted from that scrambling? The moderately entertaining Viva La Bam which features a majority of the Jackass outcasts and ‘losers’. Since this is the review for the fourth and fifth seasons, one can imagine that Viva La Bam did succeed in finding that audience that would make MTV more money.
While the show original...y began by finding the stars adjusting to their new found success and stardom, the show slowly has become less and less funny as the years drew by. The main reason lies in the editing room. The editing of the show almost makes the characters look cartoonish causing the viewer to lose focus on what the show was originally about. The show was very funny because it was a type of insanity that was sporadic giving the show a unique feel from Jackass. Episodes in this season seem to almost have that sitcom feel to them, which is NEVER a good thing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2006
After the MTV show Jackass closed production, MTV scrambled to try to find a show that would secure the ratings that Jackass had been doing for so many years. What resulted from that scrambling? The moderately entertaining Viva La Bam which features a majority of the Jackass outcasts and ‘losers’. Since this is the review for the fourth and fifth seasons, one can imagine that Viva La Bam did succeed in finding that audience that would make MTV more money.
While the show original...y began by finding the stars adjusting to their new found success and stardom, the show slowly has become less and less funny as the years drew by. The main reason lies in the editing room. The editing of the show almost makes the characters look cartoonish causing the viewer to lose focus on what the show was originally about. The show was very funny because it was a type of insanity that was sporadic giving the show a unique feel from Jackass. Episodes in this season seem to almost have that sitcom feel to them, which is NEVER a good thing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2006
Bad News Bears is not necessarily a fine film, but it is a lot better than the host of other remakes Hollywood has thrown at us as of late. Billy Bob Thorton stars in the film, and I quote, “as a drunk who makes a living killing rats to live in a trailers.” The film seems to take his character from Bad Santa and the football coach in Friday Night Lights and seems to merge the two. However, neither of his tactics in either film are used in the film. This results in the audience liking his characte... more than he probably likes himself.
The original 1976 film starred the late Walter Matthau. Thorton’s performance in the film seems to be holding a candle to Matthau’s. Thorton just seems to find more of a sad tone in his character of Morris Buttermaker than Matthau did. His team is called the Bears, which is only around due to a lawsuit that feels the Little League discriminates. The attorney Liz Whitewood (Marcia Gay Harden) demands that the league except all players. This results in the typical sport film’s cliché. His team gets ALL of the terrible players including a black kid, two Spanish speakers, an Indian, a kid who seems to be too little to even hold the bat, and one kid who is in a motorized wheelchair. As you can possible assume from this cliché, is that NONE of these players can play the game.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 6th, 2006
Peter Weir’s Gallipoli is a remarkable film. Starring an inexperienced model, who was only intended to be used for a photo shoot to promote the picture and shot on a small budget, this film's longevity and frequently attained levels of excellence could have never been predicted. That doesn't mean Gallipoli will be turning up on any all-time best lists any time soon, as the first half has a tendency to drag its feet. However, a solid hour two punctuated by one of the most haunting images I have seen in a...war film elevates the material from slow-paced and dragging to something that actually works, and is certainly worthy of recommendation. Mark Lee, the model-turned-actor mentioned above, stars opposite Mel Gibson, and delivers a performance of such credibility that no one could have ever guessed he didn't know the first thing about acting. In fact, he holds his own with the already seasoned Gibson, and the two make a believable pairing as a couple of naive young men hungry for adventure, who make the mistake of seeking it during the First World War. Their paths lead them to the disastrous real-life battle of Gallipoli, where strategic incompetence led to the senseless slaughter of a great many Australian soldiers.
The sense of pride in one's country is always there, and the movie seems to endorse such a feeling. However, the anti-war message is never far from the surface, and it wells up prominently in the third act like blood from a liver wound that reappears as quickly as it’s washed. Still, it's anti-war without being partisan, and remains true to all the soldiers, who gave their lives for their country, their beliefs, and most importantly, their mates. Weir's directorial style also provides the film with two strong legs, and has since been imitated in every great modern war film, especially Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. The underwater shrapnel scene of Gallipoli is recreated with equal skill and effectiveness by Spielberg, but let's remember: Weir did it first. And Weir's constant use of exterior locations, while nearly achieving overkill status from time-to-time, demonstrates the director's expert sense of landscape and scope. It's a beautiful picture to watch, but not always one to entertain. However, hang with it through the first hour, and you'll be blown away by the crescendo of fear and violence Weir's film has reached.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 30th, 2005
Frasier is, quite simply, the one of best sitcoms of all time. This show proves that the studios don't have to dumb down their product to appeal to a mass audience.(Are you listening, Hollywood?) If the writing is of a great enough caliber, the audience will always rise to meet the material. More shows in this sad era of reality television overkill would do themselves well to follow the lead of this wonderfully funny program.
What Frasier is better at than just about an other film or televisio... show I have ever seen is it's mastery of farce. It is extremely difficult to make farce genuinely funny, and this show did it masterfully on a weekly basis. Any show can throw some lame jokes into a show, but it takes thought and attention to detail to craft jokes where the elements build up over time, and the punchline hits the audience out of nowhere.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2005
Note: the following synopsis contains spoilers. Only read this first section if you know have happens in season four.
I shall first give a bit of the background of the show for any readers who are a bit interested in the background of the show. The show debuted in the fall of 1985 during an era of non-violent and very-feel good nature type television shows. Even though a show like Macgyver did follow this standard 80’s television show rule, the show manages to distance itself from the standard cop sh...w/soap opera show solely because of the lead character Macgyer. Instead of using brute force to overcome his adversaries, Macgyver simply stops and takes a moment to use his head to decide what to do next. Since Macgyer he has an astounding mind (most specifically in the science field), he is able to always get the upper edge over his foes with his ability to make easy use of any of the materials surrounding him to create solutions to the numerous problems he encounters. While I must say this is a bit different from your average show, this routine does get a bit tiring after awhile.
