1.66:1 Widescreen

Pleasure Party (Une Partie de Plaisir)

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 11th, 2004

Synopsis

Paul (Paul Gegauff) and Esther (Danielle Gegauff) have, on the surface, a fine marriage. Thesurface cracks open for us almost immediately, however, as we see that the reason why thismarriage is “fine” is that Esther submits completely to Paul, and becomes whatever he desires.When he suggests that they sleep with other people, she complies, and begins to forge an identityof her own, one that Paul disapproves of. He reacts first with sarcasm, then with every-increasingmental …
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Love at the Top

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 24th, 2004

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Synopsis

Jean-Louis Trintignant is Nicolas, a quiet, put-upon bank teller. On impulse one day, he seesa pretty young woman (Jane Birkin) and puts a very unsubtle move on her. It works. Thistransforms Trintignant’s life, especially once he confides to his crippled writer friend (Jean-Pierre Cassel). The latter begins to live vicariously through Trintignant, directing his every move.Our hero is soon sleeping with one woman after another, and through them making theconnections that see…
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Ingmar Bergman Collection, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 8th, 2004

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SynopsisFive films here, making a very coherent package.Persona is probably the most famous of the bunch, and is arguably Bergman’s mosticonic film. The images are among the most famous in cinema, though they are slightly moredifficult to take seriously thanks to SCTV’s parody. The plot concerns Liv Ullmann as an actresswho has suddenly fallen silent, and Bibi Andersson as the nurse hired to look after her. In theface of Ullmann’s silence, Andersson talks and talks …
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Allen Iverson – The Answer

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 28th, 2003

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Most fans of the NBA have strong feelings about Allen Iverson. While some feel that he his the most dominant player in the game today, others feel that he is selfish, a player who is more concerned with his own numbers than the welfare of his team. Iverson is usually embroiled in some sort of controversy, and I suspect that he likes it that way. While it is true that his rough image is probably not what the NBA has in mind as a league player, his talent simply cannot be denied.

This hour-long documentary ha…
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Darling

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 15th, 2003

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Synopsis

The opening credits set the tone, as we see a Relief for Africa billboard being replaced byone advertising the tell-all autobiography of the glamorous Diana Scott (Jule Christie). Yup, it’sall very symbolic, folks: all kinds of close-ups ram the point home just in case we missed it. Therest of the film is no more subtle. See! Diana sleep her way to the top of the modelling world.Feel! John Schlesinger’s contempt for horrible rich people pretending to do good for the ThirdWo…
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Miami Tail, A

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 11th, 2003

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This film is based on a Greek comedy, but I feel like I just watched a Greek tragedy. A Miami Tail is based on the Greek play “Lysistrata”, which tells the story of how a group of women ended war by abstaining from sex with their husbands. It’s not an entirely bad idea for a film, but unfortunately the plot has fallen victim to bad acting and a horrid script, and is helmed by a director with no vision.

I’m not kidding, the acting really is bad. Appalling, in fact. Rapper Trina stars in her first (and…
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Counterstrike

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 5th, 2003

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TBS Superstation presents…

When it comes to DVD, these are frightening words. They conjure up images of bad acting, bad sets, and terrible scripts. Unfortunately, all of this proves true in the “action” film “Counterstrike”, staring Rob Estes (Silk Stalkings) and Joe Lando (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). The plot is tired and familiar; two bothers are the only ones that can stop terrorists from holding the President of the United States hostage, and stealing China’s nuclear codes. Ho-Hum.< ...
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Kim Possible – The Secret Files

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 9th, 2003

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Follow along with Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable and Rufus the naked mole rat as they foil the plans of some seriously wacko bad guys and still make it home for dinner. We have three episodes as well as the very first episode from this popular Disney kid’s series.

Video

The transfer of this 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen format video is pretty good, it is not plagued with edge enhancements or noise. The story is a traditional cell animated cartoon and the video quality varies somewhat, at times…
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The Lion King

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 9th, 2003

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For a long time The Lion King was the highest grossing animated film in history. For my money it is still miles ahead of any other animated feature. Using more frames per second in animation than the modern cost-cutting standard, this animation simply flows. Elton John and Tim Rice combined for some spectacular songs that somehow appeal to adults and the pop crowd while still maintaining that charm and sing-along ability necessary to attract children. The story is far richer in content than the typical animated fare.
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Hatred of a Minute

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 11th, 2003

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Synopsis

Writer/director Michael Kallio stars as Eric Seaver, autopsy report transcriber and serialkiller. In the present, he drives through the night, a terrified woman trussed up in the back of hiscar. As he talks to her, we see his life unfold in flashback. He was twisted by the relentless abusedished out by his stepfather (erstwhile Leatherface Gunnar Hansen), and the rage he held withinfinally explodes at his mother’s funeral. So begins his spiral into madness. Made on a shoestri…
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C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2003

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Make no mistake about it. CSI is not your father’s Quincy. The idea of forensic science on drama is not really a unique one. CSI makes its mark with an incredible style not seen before on TV or even in films. The cases are always engaging and the characters and writing remain strong. This second season set is far superior to the initial outing. Paramount finally got the message and released this set in widescreen and with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The packaging, however, is the same awkward and flimsy design offered in year one.
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Sunday Bloody Sunday

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 4th, 2003

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Synopsis

Glenda Jackson is a job placement consultant who wants to resign. Peter Finch is a doctorwho has more than his fair share of neurotic patients. Both Finch and Jackson are in love withMurray Head, a young artist who really loves himself more than either of his two lovers. Jacksonand Finch know about each other, and try to reconcile themselves with having to share Head. Asensitive character study, Sunday Bloody Sunday rivets with its superlative performancesand …
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Stitch! The Movie

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 3rd, 2003

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Synopsis

Stitch the lovable alien of mass destruction is back with 625 of his closest relatives ready to wreak havoc on the Hawaiian Islands. Captain Gantu has kidnapped Dr. Jumba and brought him to his evil partner Dr. Hamsterviel, they want the other 625 experimental aliens of mass destruction that Dr. Jumbo created. Lilo and Stitch find them and decide that they don’t want to give them up as they are part of the family, so in order to keep them they must rescue Dr. Jumba.

Video

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Haunted Palace / Tower of London, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 3rd, 2003

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Synopsis

Made at the height of Roger Corman’s successful Edgar Allan Poe series (with his perennialstar Vincent Price), these two pictures, while similar in tone to the Poe films, adapt two differentwriters. Tower of London, a remake of the Basil Rathbone/Boris Karloff film from 1935,is a version of Shakespeare’s Richard III, with Price taking on the role of the villainoushunchback, plotting and killing his way to the throne of England. The Haunted Palace,…
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Countess Dracula / The Vampire Lovers

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 8th, 2003

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Synopsis

Countess Dracula features Ingrid Pitt as a fictionalized version of Countess ElizabethBathory, who slaughtered hundreds of women to bathe in their blood. Here the body count is notthat high, but the bloodbaths actually work: the aged countess becomes young again, andromances a young soldier while pretending to be her own daughter. Unfortunately, old age keepspouncing back on her without notice. The Vampire Lovers (which also stars PeterCushing) is based on J. …
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Piglet’s Big Movie

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 1st, 2003

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Piglet has finally moved from supporting cast of the Winnie the Pooh crew to lead in Piglet’s Big Movie. In the fashion that made the Winnie the Pooh stories so popular, Disney has created another Pooh adventure that is sure to entertain children all around the world. This film is not at the same level as Disney’s blockbuster animated features such as A Bug’s Life or Finding Nemo, but it will hold it’s own in the children’s DVD market.

”It’s Piglet’s first m…
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Night of the Shooting Stars, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003

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Synopsis

We are in the final days of WWII. The Allies are liberating Italy, but the Nazis and holdoutFascists haven’t quite been beaten yet. They still hold sway in the town of San Martino. Whenthe villagers are ordered to gather in the cathedral, a large group decide to flee into thecountryside, hoping to find the Americans. The film is narrated by a woman who, at the time ofthe story, is six years old, and thinks the flight is a grand adventure. There are great momentsof tendernes…
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20 Million Miles to Earth

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2003

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20 Million Miles To Earth has always been one of my favorite films. It was from this classic monster fest that I developed my long standing respect for stop motion pioneer Ray Harryhausen. In 1998, I got to meet Ray for the first time as his assistant for a horror convention (unfortunately run by a megalomaniac). It was there that I developed enough of a relationship with him and his lovely wife Diane that I was able to interview him at the 2003 Wonderfest in Louisville. Ray’s time was extremely limited, so I …
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Never On Sunday

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003

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Melina Mercouri plays Illia, a character who makes prostitution seem like a carefree Utopia.She lives in a version of Greece where there only appear to be 5 women, and they are all ladies of the night. Into this extraordinarily male fantasy comes Jules Dassin, a deluded American idealist who wants to save Illia from herself. Naturally, he doesn’t have a hope, and Greek enthusiasm (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding on steroids) will inevitably overcome his anti-fun attitudes. Obviously, the picture has dated quite noticeably, and makes Pretty Woman look like a gritty expose.
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Jungle Book 2, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2003

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Synopsis

An all new adventure for all of your favourite characters form Disney’s Jungle Book. Back for more fun we have Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera and Shere Khan of course, Mowgli has moved out of the jungle and into the village but, he misses his old friends. He soon finds an excuse to wander back into the jungle and quickly finds himself hunted by his old enemy Shere Khan. With all new songs and a couple of new characters the fun continues in The Jungle Book 2.

Video

The t…
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Giant

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 3rd, 2003

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Spanning a good thirty years, Giant tells the tale of the Benedicts, a Texas family on an immense cattle range. The patriarch is Rock Hudson, whom we first meet as a young man visiting Maryland to buy a horse. There he meets Elizabeth Taylor and falls in love. His new bride initially finds Texas difficult to adjust to, and Texas has difficulty adjusting to her, as she does not hold with the local attitudes towards women and, most especially, Mexicans. The third major player is James Dean, a rather sullen ranch hand who winds up changing everybody’s lives when he strikes oil on his small parcel of land.

Atlantis II: Milo’s Return

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 26th, 2003

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Milo and company return in the follow-up to Disney’s Atlantis. In the original film Milo and company find the lost city of Atlantis and Milo stays behind to help rebuild it. Here he returns to the surface world to help with ancient creatures that are threatening that world. Follow along as they battle an ancient see monster, a coyote windstorm and an ancient Norse god and along the way discover the true power of the Heart of Atlantis.

Video

As is the case with most of the new Disney animate…
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People From Space

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 2nd, 2003

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Synopsis

Two couples looking for something to do on the weekend decide to drive down to BeavertailLake and look for a UFO that supposedly landed there. (There’s a $100,000 reward if they findevidence.) Along the way, they squabble, meet odd characters, and get lost in the woods. Thisis another film with improvised dialogue. Improv is a tricky form to get right in films. It worksin films like Best in Show and The Blair Witch Project because a) the very forms of thosenarratives (pseud…
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Biggie & Tupac

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 24th, 2003

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Synopsis

Nick Broomfield, never one to shy away from hard and prickly topics, here tackles theshooting deaths of Biggie Smalls (the Notorious B.I.G.) and Tupac Shakur. The trail opens up allsorts dangerous vistas, including crooked cops moonlighting as security for Death Row Records.Most intriguing, and more than a little alarming.

Audio

The sound quality is all over the map, but that’s to be expected: this is a documentary, folks,and you don’t expect the ev…
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Unfaithful Wife, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 8th, 2003

Synopsis

Michel Bouquet and Stephane Audran are a well-off couple with a young son. They live in anice house in the countryside near Versailles. Everything looks swell. But Audran has beendistant lately. Bouquest suspects she is having an affair. He hires a PI to discover the truth, andthis truth leads to murder. The film is deliberately paced, with a musical score that convincesyou that something awful is going to happen, even when all is, on the surface, benign. Thismakes the viol…
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