Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 13th, 2002
Synopsis
Kieran Culkin and Emile Hirsch are best friends in a Catholic junior high. They are goingthrough the usual adolescent throes, but with a few twists. Hirsch’s budding romance with JenaMalone is complicated by a rather dark secret of hers. As well, their pranks, whose target is theirnemesis Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster), are spectacularly elaborate, not to mention dangerous.Hirsch’s hopes and fears also take the form of a cartoon (produced by Spawn creator ToddMcFarlane). Th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 13th, 2002
Synopsis
Dylan McDermott is a struggling writer in LA (cue de rigueur pseudo-profundities about thesoulless evil of Hollywood, many provided by ice-bitch agent Sharon Stone). He sets himself upin a house where murders took place, and starts work on a book about the murders. He rents aroom to Tom Sizemore, Norman Bates-ish in his shyness and fastidiousness. Guess that meanshe’s bad news, right? The plot asks rather too much good faith on our part, and so suspense iscrushed by falling...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 3rd, 2002
Synopsis
Jennifer Lopez plays a waitress named Slim. She meets Prince Charming in the person ofMitch (Billy Campbell). They get married, have a kid, and overnight Prince Charming turns intoJason Voorhees. After suffering a relentless campaign of terror, Slim shifts from Sleeping withthe Enemy to I Spit On Your Grave, and fights back. Her retaliation, which is the entire pointof the film in terms of title and promotion, only begins 80 minutes in. That’s a long time to waitthrough wha...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2002
This disc combines excellent sound, a fantastic movie, and bales of extras with murky video to create a very acceptable – if not truly outstanding - first release of Spider-Man. I would heartily recommend this disc to anyone, but with some caution: this release (“Widescreen Special Edition” reviewed) leaves plenty of doors open for SuperBit Deluxe and later Collector’s releases. Both sound and video are good – but definitely not the best – so, watch for re-releases after the holidays.
This two-disc set is b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 16th, 2002
Tommy Lee Wallace. Not John Carpenter. Do not be fooled. Just because “Vampires: Los Muertos” (V:LM) says “Presented by John Carpenter” on the front, doesn’t mean it has anything to do with John Carpenter. It was directed, in fact, by Tommy Lee Wallace, who is a Grade B king, responsible for such other gems as “Stell Chariots” and “Danger Islands”. Whether Carpenter was involved or not (no big prize after Ghosts of Mars, anyway), V:LM was a fairly large disappointment anyway. The sound and video are fine, but the mov...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2002
Synopsis
Juan is a small-time grifter. Marcos is several steps up the ladder in terms of ambition andexperience. He takes Juan under his wing, and involves him in a possible Big Score, sellingcounterfeit stamps. Can Juan trust Marcos? Can we in the audience trust anything? This superbcrime film takes great delight in making you question absolutely everything you see, and youwind up in a state of grinning paranoia. Sophisticated, fiendishly intelligent, superblyentertaining filmmaki...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2002
We find out early in the film that the term Last Orders is an English tradition along the lines of a last will and testament. There’s really nothing very complicated about this film. There are some wonderful moments of acting particularly by Bob Hoskins. The major complaint is that there are actually four stories being told from four different timelines making it extremely confusing at times.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 11th, 2002
Synopsis
I'll confess, I saw Maiden myself, lo these many years ago on their Powerslave tour, so I was sort of partial to this disc. The big favourites ("Number of the Beast" and "Run to the Hills" among them) are present and correct. As with all concert films, there are only so many ways of filming largely motionless people and making them look interesting, but the main point is the sound, when you get down to it.
Audio
The sound is BIG. A hugely powerful mix. I was suspic...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 13th, 2002
Synopsis
Meredith Monroe is the rich girl who's been breezing through life. Mia Kirshner is the poor girl for whom life is a struggle. Thrown together for a sociology project, they find that each has something the other needs, and dangerous wheels are set in motion. All of this is recounted in flashback, as Sheriff Taye Diggs (looking a bit young for the role) investigates the cause of Kirshner's near-fatal drug overdose.
Audio
Good, crisp sound, with decent surround for bo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 13th, 2002
Synopsis
Bad boy Spike discovers the benefits of calling the title phone number for his "horrorscope." Bad things happen to the people who tick Spike off. But Spike doesn't need help as much as his put-upon cousin Hoax does. And Hoax's addiction to the number is going to spell bad news for everyone.
Audio
The music is good, the effects okay. Most of the time there's not too much to create an environment for the viewer, and there is some minor distortion on some voices. But ...
