Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 16th, 2005
I will be honest and admit that Insurrection is one of my least favorite Trek films. I rank it down there with the first film due to its many flaws. While it has always been Star Trek’s style to engage in open social commentary, I don’t believe it usually needs to hit you over the head so blatantly. The social message here is too cut and dry. There is not the necessary moral middle-ground to create honest conflict. This is also Brent Spiner’s worst performance. The inside jokes are too cute and forced to appeal to any but the most dedicated fans, and I believe even they might feel insulted.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 14th, 2005
The Godfather Part II is, quite simply, one of the best films of all time. Personally, I would actually place it above it's predecessor, the original Godfather film, though both won Academy Awards for Best Picture. Part II, however, gave us not only Al Pacino in a genre-defining role, but also the young days of the original Godfather, played brilliantly by Robert De Niro, who impressively treads the line between believability and farce that is so fine with an actor like Marlin Brando.
In fact, i...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 13th, 2005
This Showtime version of John Knowles' A Separate Peace will bring joy to high school teachers everywhere. Finally, there is a quality movie version to show in English class. Peace is usually mandatory reading in high school (I know I read it), and follows the story of Gene and Finny. Their prep school relationship is ambiguous, and character motivations are a little more complex in the novel (dare I say...a little more provocative?). But, at its core, the novel and this adaptation is a coming of ag...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 2nd, 2005
Synopsis
Aaron Jacob Estes’ film Mean Creek has been favorably compared to films like River’s Edge and in a sense, Lord of the Flies, for obvious reasons, and that’s not a bad thing. Written and directed by Estes, the film begins with Sam (Rory Culkin, Signs), who “borrows” a camcorder owned by George (Josh Peck, Spun), and gets beaten up for it. Sam’s brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan, The Patriot) steps in as the protective, bigger brother and does a little scheming.>
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2005
Guilt’s a bitch. It can drive you down the road to insanity, and turn your life upside-down. The Machinist is an interesting story that leaves you guessing right until the end. The story moves a little slow, but the performances are impressive and the cumulative tale is well done. Watching Christian Bale portray lead character Trevor Reznik is both impressive and disturbing. Bale looks like a shell of himself; shedding an astounding 63 pounds to play this role. Bale is so thin that you can see every rib ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 29th, 2005
Synopsis
You should know the drill by now. More lunatic stories, with a cavalcade of gags that haveyou exclaiming at the whole thing is stupid even as you are convulsed with laughter. The KrustyKrab, Mr. Krabs and food in general play a big role in a number of the episodes here, and muchfun is had with Mr. Krabs’ avarice (“Arrgh!”, where he becomes obsessed with finding a piratetreasure, is a standout). All in all, 95 minutes of goofy fun.
Audio
Par for the ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 15th, 2005
Season five of Cheers is a major turning point for this show which ran an impressive 11 seasons. This season marks the end of Shelly Long’s (who plays Diane) tenure, and frees up a key opening in the cast – eventually filled by Kirstie Alley in season six. All of the regulars are back, including Sam, Woody, Carla, Frasier, Lilith, Norm, Cliff, and the aforementioned Diane. The laughs are contagious in each episode, and make you realize why this show was so popular for its entire eleven year run.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2005
“It’s been a long time getting from there to here.” 35 years to be exact. Enterprise is the fourth spin-off from the original 1960’s hopeful series. Rick Berman decided to set this series about 100 years before the days of Kirk and Spock. Enterprise has certainly taken a ton of heat since its debuted just 4 years ago. While much of the whining by the “get a life” fans can be delegated to the “Nitpicker’s Guides,” much of it is well deserved.
The most egregious infraction is the liberty the show has taken with established timeline of Star Trek.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 24th, 2005
Enduring Love claims to be a psychological thriller, but comes across as more of a drama then a thriller. The story moves along quite slowly and the overall tone of the film is somewhat dry. The story does take a few interesting turns, and does keep you guessing at times, the story was not suspenseful enough to keep my eyes peeled to the screen for the span of the film.
One thing I can say about this film is that the story is different than anything that I have seen before. It touches upon some od...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 21st, 2005
The Film
Suspect Zero follows the contradictory teacher/student relationship between serial killer Benjamin O’Ryan (Ben Kingsley) and FBI Agent-in-Pursuit Tom Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart, sporting as much chin as Bruce Campbell). O’Ryan is a tormented refugee of a government program to tap psychic powers for military intelligence, and Mackelway is a borderline-rogue agent, tormented by visions and headaches. Without letting slip any spoilers, the movie sees O’Ryan draw their paths together in pur...
