Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 12th, 2004
Synopsis
If you don’t know what this movie is about, you grew up in a cave. If you’ve never seen it,ditto. This is the tale, it need hardly be said, of Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews), the nanny whoarrives to take charge of two children whose imaginations have been repressed by theirexcessively proper father. In the care of Mary, and accompanied by chimney sweep Bert (DickVan Dyke), the children bounce from one magical mix of dance, live action and animation toanother.
A more...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Jean-Hugues Anglade plays Zorg (yup, that’s his name), a handyman living in a beach-front house, scribbling away quietly in his spare time. Not so quiet is his tempestuous affair with Betty (Beatrice Dalle), whose passions overwhelm both of them. First she moves in on him with no warning. Then, when she discovers his writing, she decides that they must move to Paris so he can have a career as a writer. To make sure Zorg complies, she burns his house to the ground. Once in Paris, her plans fo...
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 November 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Sterling Hayden, as the demented General Jack D. Ripper, sends a squadron of bombers offto nuke the Soviet Union. The principle bomber pilot is the equally demented Slim Pickens.Captain Mandrake (Peter Sellers) desperately tries to stop the bombers. The President (PeterSellers again) summons his principle aids to the war room and the assembled characters(including George C. Scott, and Sellers again as the titular character) do all they can to avert adoomsday scenario.
...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 14th, 2004
Synopsis
Lola (Anna Ammirati) delights in turning heads in her village, engaging in such antics as riding her bike with her skirt billowing up behind her. The men all think she's great, while the women aren't so fond of her (though the woman working on her wedding dress would clearly like to get to know her better, if you catch my drift). Her main problem is her fiance, who, much to her frustration, refuses to have sex before their marriage. Then there's her stepfather, who seems more than appro...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2004
Scooby-Doo 2 is pretty-much the same as the original film. Oh, sure, the plot differs slightly, but for the most part, this is the same film. If you liked the first one, you will like this one. However, if you hated the first one, like I did, then this is regrettably more of the same mindless fluff.
Recently, movie studios have caught on to the idea that if they make children’s movies with subtle in-jokes for adults, their profits will rise. This was the case with Finding Nemo, Shrek an...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2004
In the shadow of the Olympics’ return to Athens, PBS has decided to take a look back at the original games. This mildly-interesting program that feels more like a documentary that might be screened in a High School classroom than one you might watch on television in your free time. Such is the difference between PBS and the History Channel, I suppose. It is a good documentary, but certainly not great.
That’s not to say that the disc is all dry, though. There is some interesting background into some aspects ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 9th, 2004
Synopsis
The “Patch of Heaven” farm is about to be seized by the bank, unless $750.00 can be raised,and raised quickly. By lucky coincidence, that is precisely the reward being offered for thecapture of cattle rustler Alameda Slim. Three plucky cows (voiced by Roseanne Barr, Judi Denchand Jennifer Tilly) decide to capture Slim and win the reward, thus saving their home.
The opening moments, with a series of Tex Avery-style catastrophes befalling an unfortunaterabbit, are ver...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 2nd, 2004
The fifth season of Babylon 5 would prove to be the show’s last. Fans had clamored at the end of the third season for a fourth, and they succeeded. At the end of the fourth, the clamoring began again, and they earned the show yet another reprieve. The fifth try finally sounded the death knell on this show, however. It’s really all for the best, though, since the series had unquestionably been driving toward this conclusion for some time. To go on any longer would have been unfair to the integrity of the show i...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 1st, 2004
This is one of the most interesting ideas that I have seen for a DVD boxed set in some time. Just as there were five seasons of Babylon 5, there were five made for TV movies created as well. Each was essentially a super-episode that was based on the series, but not necessarily a vital part of the story arc of the overall program. This DVD set includes all five of these bonus films.
Included in this collection is the feature-length pilot, as well as a prequel. The other three films have no added agend...
