Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 14th, 2004
Synopsis
Janie inherits a strip club from her uncle, and is determined to put the club back in the black,notably by getting all her college friends to strut their stuff on the stage. But not everyone wantsher to succeed, notably one conniving stripper who wants to get her hands on the treasuresecreted somewhere on the premises.
Why am I even bothering provided a synopsis for this poor man’s cross betweenShowgirls and Degrassi High? The plot gets us from one silicone-en...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 8th, 2004
Synopsis
A minor fire (not the big scorch that case implies) breaks out in the forest, and is quickly extinguished. Nonetheless, there are clear signs of arson, and four teens are involved. The Ranger in charge of the area locks the teens in his station and proceeds to work on ferreting out the truth of what happened. And this fractious group has secrets they would rather not reveal. The film turns into a tale of relationships and coming of age.
But I found it very difficult to care. The fo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2004
Synopsis
Chris L. McKenna plays Sean, who seems, at first, to be a typical slacker, working nothingjobs. He is hired by Daniel Baldwin (doing a very fine dissolute turn) first to watch atroublesome city hall accountant (whose wife -- Kari Wuhrer -- McKenna falls for), then to killhim. McKenna agrees with surprisingly little reluctance. He has a falling out with Baldwin andhis associates (including a brutal George Wendt), and they beat him to within an inch of the life,the idea being to indu...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 2nd, 2004
Rob (Benjamin Ratner) and Melanie (Angela Vint) are a couple that think they’ve found the key to solving all relationship problems - simply break up after 19 months. By then, all the romance, lust, and excitement of a relationship has worn off and both people involved are ready to test the dating waters. So, they agree to do just that, only they’ll remain friends with benefits until they each find someone else. To prove that their theory is correct, Rob and Melanie even allow a film crew to follow them around and ma...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 23rd, 2004
Synopsis
Many years ago, a mystical peach holding the secret of eternal life was stolen. Now, aftertraining since childhood at the Shur-Li Temple (get it?) under the tutelage of Master Card and thelike, a hero arises to recover the peach: Art Chew. He arrives in Vancouver (played by SanFrancisco, in one of the film’s cleverer conceits), and is joined on his quest by such friends asRoy Lee, who has seen a great many kung-fu movies, but is completely incompetenthimself.
This is an g...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 25th, 2004
Synopsis
Officer Gabriel Goodman (and yes, the name is supposed to be allegorical) comes to on thefloor of his precinct. He is alone, and his watch is running backwards. Strange enough, but thenhe stumbles outside to discover that the city is deserted. He follows a hooded figure, andencounters a priest who is locked out of his own church, and has apparently gone mad. Moreshadowy figures lure Goodman into a school, and he is soon locked in conflict with the priest,mysterious beings, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2004
Synopsis
A serial killer (whose methods, though gruesome, resemble in no way the atmospheric casefor this disc) is carving up women. Ron Perlman slowly investigates, but the main plot concernsignored housewife Claudia Christian. When her husband hares off again on another trip, she hasa torrid one-nighter with a pick-up at her tennis club. This is a bad move, since the toyboy is akiller, and he begins to stalk Christian Fatal Attraction-style, while the police begin tosuspect her hus...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004
Synopsis
Tom Berenger plays Andras Vayda, a young man growing up in post-war Hungary. He isboth precociously sexual and completely at sea with girls his own age, and at 16 becomes thelover of Karen Black. He then has a succession of older mistresses, including Susan Strasberg asa revolutionary in the heady days of the unsuccessful Hungarian uprising against the Communistsin the late 50s. He then moves to Canada, where his adventures continue.
The tale of sexual adventures pl...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004
Synopsis
Nick Broomfield’s first documentary about Aileen Wuornos is a mixture of media clips andinterviews Broomfield conducted with Wuornos and the major figures in her trial, notably heradoptive mother and her unbelievably sleazy and incompetent lawyer (his “Dr. Legal” ad markshim as the legal equivalent of Dr. Nick Riviera). Then there’s the issue of police corruption. Allin all, essential viewing, especially in conjunction with the later film (which shows that, at thevery least said la...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004
Synopsis
William Baldwin is the leader of a group of friends in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen area. Theyare all on the periphery of the crime world, and the local kingpin is Armand Assante (with a mostsinister scar on his cheek). Two of the five become involved in a scheme that has them passingincompetently counterfeited hundred-dollar bills, and Assante demands their lives. Baldwininvestigates the death of one of them, and gradually realizes the depth of the betrayal.
The plot is rathe...
