Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 24th, 2002
Synopsis
The Littles (Hugh Laurie and Geena Davis) head off to the local orphanage to adopt a child. Their son George (Jonathan Lipnicki) is hoping for a little brother, but what he gets is considerably smaller than he had in mind: talking mouse Stuart (voice of Michael J. Fox). We follow Stuart's misadventures as he adapts to his new family, and they adapt to him. Nathan Lane does the voice of Snowball, the very put-out cat.
Audio
The sound is very clear, and Alan Sil...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 24th, 2002
Synopsis
A group of friends made a bet at the end of high school to see who would bring the most attractive date to the ten-year reunion. That time has come, and the bet is worth $50,000.00. Time to surf the Internet for that perfect woman. This is, apparently, a comedy. Really. Utterly inept in every department (acting, writing, direction, editing, cinematography), this achieves the not-inconsiderable feat of making Corky Romano looking screamingly funny by comparison.
Audio
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 24th, 2002
Synopsis
Three episodes from the first season, plus the pilot with its opening seconds restored as much as possible. The series is a landmark in television comedy, no doubt there, though, for my tastes, the schtick hasn't aged particularly well.
Audio
The sound is, of course, mono. No too much to say, therefore, except that the mono is crisp and clear, especially on the actual season episodes.
Video
The picture is as good as one could expect,...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 22nd, 2002
”Movin’ on up". The Jeffersons did just that… all the way up to become one of the highest rated and longest running sitcoms in television history. There have been many memorable African-American television characters… but who could forget George and Weezy Jefferson? These characters will live on forever, and this set helps to continue there legacy.
Audio
In 1975, when this series began it illustrious run, surround sound was not even an after-thought. That being said, it is very u...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 11th, 2002
Synopsis
Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley star as Edina and Patsy, terminal fashion victims and loathsome relics from the sixties. Edina is a psychopathically narcissistic motormouth (conveniently, writer Saunders gives herself the lion's share of lines), and Patsy is a vaguely sinister man-eater. She spends most of the time lurking about on the edges while Edina makes life miserable for her long-suffering daughter. The sum total of the series' humour is graspable within five minutes, but that did...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 26th, 2002
Synopsis
You might wonder how it's possible for a reality show to have bloopers. How are bloopers different from the other things that go on? Not much, except for those instances where the crew gets involved (cameras falling down, that kind of thing). All of this is strung together by Puck, who seems to think he is entertaining. Beyond boring.
Audio
The audio is a faithful reproduction of the TV experience, for what it's worth. The music has decent surround presence, a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 26th, 2002
Synopsis
This is a collection of clips along with retrospective interviews with the participants. Shower antics, bathroom disasters, lots and lots of digitally fogged nudity. If watching paint dry is just a little too racy for you, then this is just what you're looking for.
Audio
The source material is TV, and the disc reflects this. Nothing much wrong with the sound, but there's nothing much to it either: people talking, people yelling, musical interludes. The surroun...
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2002
Synopsis
Tyrone Power is the intensely irritating American flyboy who flies a delivers a bomber to England to earn some money. Once there, he spots old flame Betty Grable, and enlists in the RAF so he can woo her back. Grable is also being courted by Power's commanding officer, who possesses all the decent qualities Power lacks (i.e. just about everything).
The romance, which central to the film, is not exactly enthralling, since you're rooting for the wrong man. The combat scenes, however,...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2002
Synopsis
A synopsis is pretty pointless. Either you watch the series or you don't. But for what it's worth, Buffy is a high-school student who is also one of the chosen heroes of history whose purpose in life is to combat and destroy vampires. The big complication this season is the fact that she's fallen love with one (Angel).
Audio
The Dolby 2.0 audio is acceptable, but nothing special. While generally clean, the dialogue does occasionally have some buzz to it. The music ...
