Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 12th, 2002
A truly atrocious television mini-series (the second in the “V” series) has been resurrected for “V: The Final Battle.” This is (apparently) the second in the V series (“V” stands for Visitors, or maybe Vituperative snake aliens), and shockingly, not the last. In fact, the “Final Battle” was apparently followed by a weekly TV series which – irony alert – ended up being cancelled in favour of “Dallas.” Wow! What times the eighties were!
At any rate, this DVD wraps a mediocre TV series in a mini...um value package. The audio and video are as fine as can be expected, but there’s no extras or content of any kind. This is (apparently) in stark contrast to the Original Mini-Series DVD release, which was apparently a much bigger budget production, loaded with extras. Warning to V fans or collectors: don’t expect the same level of quality from this disc.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 1st, 2002
Long before tough cop Dirty Harry made our day, Clint Eastwood defined the modern western with his Spaghetti Westerns. It is no surprise that a Western would define Clint Eastwood as an Academy Award winning producer and director. Unforgiven is unlike any movie Eastwood has ever done. It is loaded with extraordinary actors surrounding his own stellar performance. Names like Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Richard Harris are rarely found in such supporting roles. Unforgiven also sets itself apart from Eastwood’s previous films in the way it portrays the West that Eastwood glorified for so many years. This film is dark and foreboding and offers no redemption by the end of the story.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 28th, 2002
Films addressing domestic and international terrorism have been around for a long time. We’ve come to accept them and tell ourselves it can never happen except in the movies. On September 11, 2001, America’s security was incinerated in a series of horrific attacks on the United States. For Arnold Schwarzenegger, this put a halt to the release of his new film Collateral Damage, which dealt with issues that closely mirror the events of that day. The release was delayed for several months into early 2002 where it was sh...nned due to the touchy subject. Nearly a year later, Collateral Damage makes it way to DVD and hopes to dodge the unlikely bad timing of its theatrical release.
In the blink of an eye, Gordy Brewer’s life is shattered. This once proud fireman is left grieving the death of his wife and daughter at the hands of a terrorist attack in downtown Los Angeles. As fate would dictate, Gordy bumped into the terrorist right before the explosion and with the help of an ex-CIA operative, traces El Lobo back to Columbia. With nothing left to live for, Gordy travels to South America and eventually Washington DC with one mission only: to kill the man that murdered his family.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2002
What do you get when you splice together Meet the Parents with Beverly Hills Cop? You get a rarely comedic, intense or interesting action movie that suffers from never finding its own identity. And flat screenwriting. And long lulls.
Detective Preston (Robert DeNiro) and Trey Sellers (Eddie Murphy) are brought together as unlikely partners to star in a new reality TV cop drama, produced by Chase Ransey (Rene Russo) of Maxis TV. As expected, they are at each others throats the entire movie until the end, wh...re they become best friends. The action portion of Showtime comes in the flavor of Super Guns, which are reminiscent of the rifles found in the Arnold flick, Eraser.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 11th, 2002
The final (so far) Lethal Weapon is not a bad film at all, but it does suffer from the escalation syndrome. After three explosive films number 4 finds itself in the trap of having to try too hard to top its predecessors. While Chris Rock is a funny guy and he adds some great moments in the film, he’s just simply not necessary and distracts from the Glover, Gibson, Pesci trilogy of hysterics. I could also do without the domestication of Riggs through Russo’s character. All that said, you won’t be disappointed because it’s back to Disney World and another film literally exploding with rides.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 5th, 2002
The Lethal Weapon series peaked with the third installment. The addition of Rene Russo, while giving Riggs more of a personal life, adds little to the chemistry of Glover, Gibson, and Pesci. Make no mistake. By the third film it’s all about these three characters. This series does not mix well with romance thrown into the pot.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 5th, 2002
Just when it seemed that the Glover and Gibson chemistry was as good as it could be, Richard Donner finds a way to improve it. Joe Pesci was the best thing that could have happened to the franchise. This second installment keeps everything that was good about the original and makes it bigger and better. Lethal Weapon 2 is a lot more fun than the first film. The guys are much more comfortable in the roles and it’s obvious they’re having a blast. Watch for a few scenes where you can see Glover working very hard not to crack up around Pesci.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 26th, 2002
There have been so many “buddy cop” films that it has become its own genre of sorts. Still, no pairing has yet matched the chemistry of Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon franchise. Even with four films now under their belts, the duo is capable of delivering a relationship that is worn and comfortable while still remaining fresh and exciting. Some of the franchise’s running gags begin in this first film, like Riggs and his dislocated shoulder and Murtaugh’s familiar “I’m getting to old for this shit.” If you are more used to the later films, this one will strike you as a bit grittier and certainly darker.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 18th, 2002
Synopsis
After a prank goes horribly wrong, almost resulting in the death of another student, high school bad boy Landon (Shane West, doing his best impression of Christian Slater channelling Charlie Sheen), is condemned not to jail, or to community service, but to act in the school play. In this new environment, he becomes more and more acutely aware of self-assured preacher's daughter Jamie (Mandy Moore). Opposites attract, hard lessons are learned, and redemption is handed out all round. Call it t...e Anti-Heathers. Also starring in what is essentially a slickly photographed after-school special (with neon-bright Moral Lessons) is Daryl Hannah as Landon's mom, almost unrecognizable as a brunette.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 13th, 2002
Film
Robert DeNiro has built a tremendous career out of portraying men who are to be feared. Starting with Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II through Good Fellas, DeNiro has established himself as the Hollywood Don. Analyze This is a brilliant comedy that cashes in on that long body of work. There’s no setup required for us to accept DeNiro as the head of a crime family. What makes the film work on an even higher level is the addition of Billy Crystal and the fact that both powerful actors play against what you would expect. Long-time funny man Crystal plays the straight man to DeNiro’s hilariously stressed don. This is one hell of a funny movie.
