Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 3rd, 2006
Every so often, an idea for a movie, mini-series or TV show becomes so hot that multiple projects are given the green-light, even though the subject matter is very similar. Remember Dante’s Peak and Volcano in 1997? Murder at 1600 and Absolute Power the same year? Deep Impact and Armageddon in 1998?
Now comes ABC’s mini-series, Empire and HBO’s on-going series, Rome. Both were high budgeted, epic projects about ancient Rome, and both networks strived ...o get on the air first. ABC eventually won, airing Empire over the summer of 2005. However, HBO had the last laugh as Rome gained momentum in its fall 2005 run and was rewarded with a second season to be aired sometime in 2007.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 1st, 2006
Synopsis
Plenty of Japanese horror films have storylines that vary from the oblique to the opaque. Pulse is no exception, so forgive me if this synopsis is a bit confusing (or confused). An internet website offers visitors the chance to see actual ghosts. Viewing the footage seems to make one vulnerable to an actual visitation, and when someone encounters a ghost, that person withdraws from others, shunning all society, and becomes consumed by loneliness to the point of suicide or something ev...n more bizarre. All of this is slowly being uncovered by two groups of friends, even as the plague of ghostly encounters spreads far and wide.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2006
Wildfire has all the subtlety and charm of an ABC After School Special. Truth be told, the pilot episode reminded me a lot of Showgirls, but instead of becoming a pole dancer, this girl is becoming a horse trainer. The basic elements are still the same, though. A girl with a rough past gets an entry-level position at her dream job, and must work her way up the ranks. Only this show is on ABC Family. Gone is all the glitz and flash that tried to cover up the horrid plot of Showgirls. Withou... all those distractions, the viewer is sadly left only with lame, tired dialog and incredibly predictable plot lines to keep them warm.
If this was a dog show, and you asked me what I thought, I'd say “woof”. However, it's a horse show. Therefore, I say “neigh”.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 25th, 2006
Synopsis
Donnie Wahlberg plays a cop whose past, to say the least, is checkered. He is drawn into a very personal confrontation with Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) when the killer kidnaps his son. Jigsaw wants Wahlberg to sit and listen to him if he wants his son to live. The boy, meanwhile, is trapped in a house where the air is slowly filling with a toxic nerve agent, and surrounded by a group of people who, desperate as they are to escape and to find antidotes to the poison, also, did they but know it, have ...ood reason to hate the teen in their midst.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 23rd, 2006
Synopsis
What distinguishes Nicolas Cage from other more mainstream actors is that his choices of independent films, providing him the opportunity to take on a wide variety of roles that broaden his range, while periodically taking on the occasional Jerry Bruckheimer production to maintain his box office gravitas and make some money to allow him to work the indie films. It’s a circuitous route that helps to benefit the viewer. Sometimes those lower-level films are hits, while others miss.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 22nd, 2006
Synopsis
In Spain of the early 70s, Javier Cámara is Alfredo, an unsuccessful door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. His wife, Carmen (Candela Peña), desperately wants a baby, but he refuses because of their dire financial straits. The publishing house he works for decides to move into making sex films, and its remaining door-to-door men must film themselves having sex with their wives or lose their jobs. Carmen sees this as a good opportunity to get pregnant, and convinces Alfredo to give it a try. The...two turn out to be very good at making these films. Bitten by the cinema bug, Alfredo has ambitions of making a feature film in the vein of his idol, Ingmar Bergman. Will his artistic dreams be realized? Will Carmen become a mother? And what to do about Alfredo’s non-existent sperm count?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 21st, 2006
Synopsis
Lydia (Sara Wiseman) is in her thirties, is a costume designer, and is desperately in love and lust with her childhood friend Christian (Philip Brown), though he clearly doesn’t think of her in the same way. One day, on the run from an angry pursuer, Luella Miller (Sia Trokenheim) turns up in Lydia’s home, and our heroine gives the interloper shelter. She soon comes to regret this kindness, as Luella begins to weave a destructively sexual web around all the men in the small town, including C...ristian.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 20th, 2006
Each year there are quality films that slip through the cracks for one reason or another. Lord of War is one of those movies. At first look, I would blame this film’s lack of financial success on the marketing department. It was hard to get a feel for the film through the trailers and commercials.
What was it about? A gun salesman? With Nicolas Cage and a bunch of spent bullet casings at the front and center of the ad campaigns, one might think that this was another Jerry Bruckheimer action-fest muc... like past Cage vehicles The Rock or Con-Air. But Lord of War could not be more different than those films. OK, so maybe it’s not the marketing department’s fault after all. Lord of War is a tough movie to pin down. And in today’s age of fast food cinema, it’s no surprise that Lord of War was pushed to the back of theaters upon its release.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 19th, 2006
The idea of a gross-out comedy is nothing new. There have been some extremely funny gross-out comedies like The 40-Year Old Virgin and The American Pie Trilogy. However, there have also been some extremely boring and stupid gross-out comedies like National Lampoon’s Van Wilder and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow. The key to a successful gross-out comedies to is have a smart plot and jokes that actually make sense and aren’t just made for a quick laugh. While there are some funny sequences ...n Waiting…, the film just lacks the overall spark and humor of a good comedy.
Basically summing up the plot of the film; Monty (Ryan Reynolds), Serena (Anna Faris), and Dean(Justin Long) star in this film about a bunch of waiters that are simply trying to show their customers how awesome the service can be at the restaurant ShenaniganZ can be. Monty’s job, it seems, is to show the new guy Mitch (John Francis Daley) around the restaurant, showing him everything from where the condiments are kept to a rather vile game that ends with the offender’s butt being kicked. (I won’t go into full detail as it seemed like Director McKittrick was trying to bring some energy into the film with a gross-out concept that falls extremely flat.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 18th, 2006
I think all true DVD fans have a list in their mind of movies or television programs that they find to be utterly captivating, and simply cannot fathom why the rest of the world doesn't feel the same. I have some products on that list in my mind, and MI-5 may very well be on the top.
I first discovered MI-5 when I was sent Volume 2 to review. Upon watching the first episode of that season , I was so completely blown away that I promptly sent away for Volume 1 before proceeding any farther. I was...not disappointed. For my money, this is a program that rests comfortably between the best seasons of Alias and The West Wing.
