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Warner Bros.

Girl in the Cafe, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2005

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The Girl in the Café is an interesting idea for a movie. It’s a blend of romantic comedy with a political agenda. The film doesn’t really work, but it’s nice to see something different. The romantic pair is played by Bill Nighy and Kelly MacDonald. Both are fine actors, and they have an awkward, engaging chemistry. Nighy plays a lonely civil servant and MacDonald plays a damn sexy woman. They “meet cute” in, you guessed it, a café, and they end up going to the G8 summit in Iceland (go figure). The scri…
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The Val Lewton Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 23rd, 2005

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Val Lewton produced 9 horror films for RKO back in the 1940’s. His films did not rely on terrible monsters or horrific images. Lewton was a master at atmosphere. Unfortunately these films have mostly been forgotten over the years, The Cat People being perhaps the most recognizable title in the collection. Sadly, this might be more for the lackluster remake in the 1980’s. Truth be told, these films are not really horror films in the usual sense of the genre. In most cases the evil is the product of an all too human hand rather than anything supernatural or fantastic.
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House of Wax

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 20th, 2005

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Synopsis

A group of young folk on their way to the “biggest college football game of the year” (you would do an overnight trip for THAT?) take an unfortunate detour. In groups of two, they are lured into a town run by two madmen, where the only other inhabitants are the was-coated effigies of their victims. What follows is the expected gory slaughter, and some of the deaths are gruesomely imaginative. There is, however, no terror. What does it say when practically the most likeable character in a fil…
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Kung Fu – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 24th, 2005

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All good things must come to an end, and so it is with Kung Fu. It is always better for a show to go out at the top of its game than to overstay its welcome, fizzle, and fade away. Season One of this show was excellent in its storytelling, as the characters and themes were firmly established. Season Two was mostly about maintaining the themes that were set forth in the first year. Season Three, however, is where the whole thing comes together. Without giving too much away, it is safe to say that this season en…
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Complete James Dean Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 24th, 2005

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Synopsis

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is the landmark, because of its star, and because of its subject matter. This intense, rich portrayal of juvenile delinquency triggered a flood of largely exploitive imitators, but it remains a powerful film, not least for the sympathy with which it treats its characters, and for its understanding. It shows why the Dean, Natalie Wood and company behave the way they do, and does not demonize. This was Dean’s second film, but the first to be released, and hi…
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Dallas – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 24th, 2005

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It sometimes becomes quite challenging to write a review of a television show release in the mid-seasons. The opening season of the show has plenty to talk about, and the final season wraps things up, but what about season six, say, of an eleven season show? What is there to say then? “Well, this season involves the same characters doing the same stuff they have been doing for years.”

Lucky for me, this is a mid-season set that has something to talk about. Something big. Something the whole nation was talking…
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Constantine

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 19th, 2005

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I’ll bet the script to this film read like a dream. The Exorcist meets Hellboy meets The Mummy. Surely this is the ideal vehicle for Keanu Reeves following his three picture run on The Matrix. Sound too good to be true? Unfortunately, it is. Now, there is a lot that is admirable in this film. For example, the acting, which is is far above the tired bar set by most modern action/sci-fi flicks. Furthermore, the special effects in Constantineare simply fantastic. In fact, I would go so…
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Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 3rd, 2005

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Synopsis

There are two Lawrence Tierney vehicles here, and the first is the one that made his name, the 1945 Dillinger. Told in flashback for no visible reason, this chronicles Dillinger’s rise from naive and incompetent thief to ruthless, brutal gang leader, and his ultimate fall. There are some startlingly brutal scenes here, for the time, and if Tierney isn’t quite as scary as James Cagney in White Heat, he’s still plenty menacing.

He’s even scarier as an out-and-out psycho…
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Tales from the Crypt — The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 20th, 2005

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Synopsis

Hugely popular in the 1950s, but politically excoriated and ultimately shut down, EC Comics such as Tales from the Crypt saw their stories revived first in the theatrical Amicus anthologies of the early 70s, and then as this TV series. Here is the first season (a mere six half-hour episodes), directed by the likes of Richard Donner, Walter Hill, Robert Zemeckis and Mary Lambert, among others. The stories are very faithful to the spirit of the comics (and are taken from actual stories)…
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Errol Flynn — The Signature Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 11th, 2005

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Synopsis

Captain Blood (1935) is the picture that made Errol Flynn a star, and paired him for the first time of many with Olivia De Havilland. There had been pirate movies before (Douglas Fairbanks was the star in them), but this became the new high watermark of the genre. Flynn plays a doctor who is unjustly accused of treason and shipped off to a life of slavery in the colonies. He fights back, eventually becoming the pirate of the title, but always remaining an honourable man, of course. Th…
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Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 10th, 2005

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Years before she was a resident on Wisteria Lane, and even before she was a notorious Bond girl, Teri Hatcher played Lois Lane on the New Adventures of Superman. Along with Dean Cain who played Clark Kent (aka Superman), these two actors brought the traditional story (unlike the recent Smallville) of superman once again to the small screen. Although Cain has not been able to reach the recent success that Hatcher has, the pair did share good chemistry on this show – creating an enjoyable television ex…
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Lost Lake

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2005

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Lost Lake is an incomprehensible mess. Think David Lynch with less sense. If that makes any. The story takes place at an isolated ski lodge. Cue the entrance of exotic hottie Kat Walker (played by Angel Boris). The movie is hard to describe. Letâ€™s just sayâ€¦the ski lodge has some really weird guests. And pee can make frozen privates thaw from metal. Didnâ€™t you know that? An avalanche also comes into play. Kat starts having â€œvisionsâ€. I dunno. The plot is convoluted and makes Mulholland D…
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Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2005

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In the unnecessary sequel department comes Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. Why make this movie? Because Sandra Bullock needs a hit? It doesn’t come here. Bullock, once again (and hopefully for the last time), plays Gracie Hart. Her involvement in a well known beauty pageant has made it impossible for Gracie to maintain a low FBI profile. So she has become the PR person for the bureau. But Gracie is “called back” into the line of duty (against the FBI’s wishes) when two of her friends (played by …
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Controversial Classics

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 13th, 2005

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Synopsis

The degree to which any of these films is or was “controversial” varies quite a bit, but the claim can certainly be made that all seven of these films dealt with pertinent social issues of their times. Some are still quite relevant today, and all are well worth watching.

I Am a Fugitive from as Chain Gang (1932) is the film that, of this group, had the most direct impact on the real world: not only did it give a huge boost to penal reform, but Robert E. Burns, on whose book …
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Getaway, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 2nd, 2005

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Synopsis

Steve McQueen is Doc McCoy, master thief. Having just been denied parole, he asks wife Ali McGraw to make a bargain with political fixer Ben Johnson to get him out. This she does, but what McQueen doesn’t realize is that the deal not only involved McQueen’s participation in a bank job, but also McGraw sleeping with Johnson. In short order, the robbery goes wrong, and husband and wife are on the run.

From its punchy, jaggedly edited credit sequence on, this is Peckinpah at his most …
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Space Ghost: Coast to Coast – Volume Three

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 29th, 2005

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In terms of concept, it seems kinda cool and avant-garde: take the old cartoon Space Ghost, hire some writers and voiceover guys to interview some guests as part of a talk show and see what happens. The result, being Space Ghost Coast to Coast eventually did turn into a cult following and captured an older (read: 18-30) demographic for the Cartoon Network.

Though Space Ghost is a superhero, in this series he has kidnapped a couple of his villains to be a part of his talk show. You have …
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Criminal

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 25th, 2005

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Much like previous con films before it like Matchstick Men and The Grifters, Criminal tells the story of a veteran taking a young inexperienced rookie under his wing and showing him the tricks behind the money, and the con artist philosophy.

Based on the Argentinean film Nine Queens, Richard (John C. Reilly, Magnolia) spots Rodrigo (Diego Luna, The Terminal) trying to hustle drink money in a club. He hustles Rodrigo out, and discovers Rodrigo is doing this to earn m…
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Aviator, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 21st, 2005

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There’s nothing like a big Hollywood epic. And Martin Scorsese is the man to deliver. The Aviator is a tantalizing blend of Old Hollywood and modern filmmaking panache. The movie tells the story of Howard Hughes. He rose to fame as a Hollywood producer and aviator extraordinaire. Eventually, Hughes descended into a crippling OCD affliction. The movie gives us a taste of the tragedy to come, but doesn’t dwell on it. The Aviator is a thrilling ride into the world of a complicated man.

The…
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Bodyguard, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 16th, 2005

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The Bodyguard is silly. Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner star this decade old thriller/romance. Houston plays Rachel Marron, a pop singer. Not much of stretch back then, these days…not so much. Costner plays Frank Farmer, bodyguard to the stars. It seems as though Marron is receiving death threats. Enter Frank Farmer. A romance eventually develops. This is this the stuff of high camp. Instead, we get low camp. The Bodyguard is not quite bad enough to be Showgirls, and not quite good …
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ER – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 15th, 2005

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It is 1994, and both ER and Chicago Hope premier in hopes to win the battle for Hospital drama supremacy on primetime TV. Fast forward to today, and the winner of this battle has been clearly decided; Chicago Hope had six successful seasons before getting cancelled after the 2000 season, while ER has become the most successful Hospital drama in TV history. While ER is currently in its 11th season, we now rewind to 1997, to the shows third season.

So what is this show about? Here is a…
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Bill Maher – Be More Cynical

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 7th, 2005

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Bill Maher – Be More Cynical is a recording of a 2000 performance in San Fransico. Now, the jokes are a bit dated. Monica Lewinsky and George W. Bush, back then, were still prime fodder (in fact Bush still is, but that’s beside the point.) This performance lasts just over and hour and is an excellent introduction to Maher’s work. He’s one of those “edgy” comedians. He rants a lot about religion, drugs, and sex. But Maher’s rants are well phrased and his comic timing is well polished. The guy knows how t…
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Racing Stripes

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 7th, 2005

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Racing Stripes is a “family film” about a zebra (with the original name “Stripes”) who’s only dream is to race with the other horses. Stripes, you see, was abandoned and then rescued by horse farmer Nolan Walsh (played by Bruce Greenwood). Nolan’s younger daughter, Channing (played by Hayden Panettiere), takes the young zebra under her wing, and she helps Stripes realize his dream: to race with the horses. Stripes’ litany of zany friends include a pelican, a lazy bloodhound, flies, roosters, a wise goat, an…
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Everybody Loves Raymond – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2005

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Very few sitcoms have the endurance to last nine seasons. Everybody Loves Raymond shares their long-running tenure with comedy heavyweight shows such as Friends, Frasier, & Cheers. Not even Seinfeld lasted nine seasons… it fell short, ending after eight. That says a lot for this show; I guess everyone does love Raymond.

All 26-episodes of the complete third season of Everybody Loves Raymond are included in this set. The episodes are all very entertaining; from “The Invitation” all the way to “How They Met”.
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Ocean’s Twelve

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 10th, 2005

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The who’s who of Hollywood have assembled once again in this sequel to the highly successful film Ocean’s Eleven. This time around the cast are equally great and extremely entertaining to watch, but the film seems to lack the same strong storyline that it predecessor carried with it.

This time around, the story takes place a few years after the Bellagio heist. A leading European thief known as The Nightfox, consumed with being the best thief in the world, derives a plan to take out Ocean and his te…
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Around the Bend

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 9th, 2005

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Synopsis

Michael Caine begat Christopher Walken, who begat Josh Lucas, who begat Jonah Bobo.Got that? Eccentric patriarch Caine is approaching the end of his days, and wants to bring theestranged Walken back into the family fold. After a tense family reunion at a KFC, Caine dies,but leaves behind an elaborate testament that sends the three other generations together on across-country trip. Tentatively, with many a misstep, Lucas begins to reconnect with the father hehasn’t seen sinc…
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