Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 8th, 2004
Synopsis
Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) boards the Orient Express with his friend Martin Balsam(playing an Italian). On the train is an eccentric group of characters: sullen millionaire RichardWidmark, his twitchy aide Anthony Perkins, motor-mouthed Lauren Bacall, Bible-obsessedIngrid Bergman, aristocratic couple Michael York and Jaqueline Bisset, army officer SeanConnery, his lover Vanessa Redgrave, princess Wendy Hiller, and so on and on, each with anaccent more outrageous than th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 3rd, 2004
Sometimes, when I am writing my review and I come to the “genre” section, I wish I could find an entry marked “crap”. If there was ever a serious film effort that deserved such an entry, this is it. Let’s be honest… made for TV movies have a bad reputation for a reason. For that matter, so do films that have child actors as their star. This film suffers from the unenviable fate of being both. Mary Tyler Moore and Burt Reynolds may be on the cover, but the kid is in nearly every frame of the film.
This is on...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 28th, 2004
Synopsis
An earthquake opens up a crevasse in outside a desert town in California. Emerging fromthe earth is a species of large cockroach that cause fires. Entomologist Bradford Dilman is at firstfascinated by the bugs, but when his wife is burned to death, he becomes obsessed with...well, something (exactly what his motivations are at this turning point in the plot are hard tofathom, and are the film’s major weakness). The firebugs are dying, and Dilman breeds themwith the common c...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 27th, 2004
Synopsis
Fisherman Richard Harris ignores the warnings of whale expert Charlotte Rampling andattempts to capture a killer whale, the idea being to make a mint by selling it to an aquarium.Everything goes horribly wrong, and he accidentally kills a pregnant female (the scene is prettydamn gruesome). The whale’s mate mounts a vendetta against Harris. It attacks boats and causeshuge fires, turning the town against him, and then lures him out for a final confrontation.
The Ja...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 27th, 2004
Synopsis
Returning home from his stag, the about-to-be-married Tom Tryon is abducted by an alienmonster, who then takes his place at the wedding. Bride Gloria Talbott notices right away thather husband is behaving rather strangely, but by the time she suspects that he really ISN’T herhusband, the takeover of the town of Norrisville has begun, and the poor woman doesn’t knowwho is human, and who is an alien. The aliens have invaded to breed with our women (!!!).
Obviously ins...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 27th, 2004
Synopsis
This is a four-part series that aired on PBS’s Frontline. Four hours long, it is ahistorical/archaeological look at Jesus’ life and that of his early followers. The series has time todelve into detail, and so the whole context of the era, political and otherwise, is presented. Ratherthan use cheesy recreations, the documentary shows us actual settings and interweaves these withinterviews with experts in the field.
Audio
Obviously, this isn’t a relea...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 11th, 2004
Synopsis
Set in the same 1950s never-land as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley starsPenny Marshall and Cindy Williams as its eponymous heroines, two bottle-cappers at the ShotzBrewery in Milwaukee. Laverne is the cynical, semi-bad girl, while Shirley is the wide-eyedPollyanna and conscience of the pair. Both hope for more in life, and inevitably wind up inawkward situations.
The first few episodes assured ratings success by working Henry Winkler’s Fonzie into the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 11th, 2004
Synopsis
It’s the story of Jesus one more time (stop me if you’ve already heard it), in this instance seenthrough the eyes of Judas (Johnathon Schaech). Enraged by the oppression of his people, Judasis a would-be revolutionary who believes he sees in Jesus the leader he has been hoping for, onewho will lead the Jews in a revolt against the Romans. He is increasingly disillusioned by Jesus’lack of commitment to armed resistance, and the bitter disappointment he feels ultimately leads...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 11th, 2004
Season three of Voyager was the most exciting so far. This is the year Q, one of Star Trek’s most beloved characters, adds Janeway to his list of captains to pester. The powerful Borg would also enter Voyager’s universe in Season three. The year would end with a cliffhanger that also introduces 7 of 9 to the cast. This was Kes’s final year. There’s no question that the show’s dynamics went from stun to kill. Episodes became a bit more standalone. The long overdone Kazon arc would be abandoned for more compelling dram...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 6th, 2004
South Park had peaked with Season 3. The film was a huge hit and some of the best stuff came out that year. Season 4 would become a more up and down year. It’s obvious that the Stone and Parker team decided to push the envelope a bit further. This is also the year we got wheelchair bound Timmy. I liked Timmy at first, but he just gets old fast. One of the highlights of this season is the last episode. Another Mr. Hanky Christmas episode has the boys creating a special computer Christmas card called “The Spirit of Chr...
