1.78:1 Widescreen

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 16th, 2006

Synopsis

Audrey Hepburn is Holly Golightly, a young woman to her name born. Flighty, hopping from party to party, she waits for her life to match her ideal. Into her apartment moves writer George Peppard, who is certainly not the millionaire our heroine imagines will sweep her off her feet. Peppard himself is a kept man, and his keeper is Patricia Neal. Peppard does have a more realistic view of how life works, in the long run, and that is a lesson that Hepburn must learn before romance can follow it…
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Supercross

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 8th, 2006

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One of the unfortunate responses to the emergence of a successful movie is the appearance of copycat films. When Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture, all these sword and sandal flicks went into production. Now we have epics such as Troy, Kingdom of Heaven and Alexander to show for it. Sometimes, the backlash is even worse when the hit film is a bit of a surprise hit. Such was the case with The Fast and the Furious. Now, I really enjoyed Furious, but I knew on the…
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Saraband

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 7th, 2006

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A sequel to Ingmar Bergman’s 1973 classic Scenes from a Marriage, Saraband reintroduces us to Marianne (Liv Ullman) and Johan (Erland Josephson) after 32 years apart, when Marianne decides it’s time to pay her ex-husband a visit. Upon arrival, she becomes involved in strained family relations between Johan, his son Henrik (Borje Ahlstedt), and Henrik’s daughter Karin (Julia Dufvenius). There are implications that Henrik and daughter share an incestuous relationship, highlighted by a scene where they lie…
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Once Upon a Mattress

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 6th, 2006

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Synopsis

At first glance Once Upon a Mattress would appear to be a bit of a Disney cash grab, an often performed musical featuring a couple of aging comediennes, one of which had performed a role in the musical for decades.

Based on a musical by Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer and directed by Kathleen Marshall, Once Upon a Mattress is a musical and hilarious take on The Princess and the Pea. Sir Harry and Lady Larkin (Zooey Deschanel, Elf) are in love with one another, b…
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House of 9

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 4th, 2006

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Synopsis

Nine people are kidnapped and imprisoned inside a huge mansion. A voice informs them that only one of them will leave this place alive. That person will win five million dollars. But meanwhile, the owner of the voice will enjoy watching them kill each other. Present are a young dancer, a priest (Dennis Hopper, of all people), a cynical French music composer and his wife, a gay fashion designer, a runaway, a glamorous former tennis star, a cop, and a resentful rapper. The mix gets volatile ri…
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Grizzly Man

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2006

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In the era of the popularity of documentaries, it seems that everywhere we look a new documentary is coming out about another subject. From Michael Moore’s look into the Bush administration’s ties with the Sauds in Fahrenheit 911, to the recent look into the world of penguins in March of the Penguins, each documentary holds something special as they bring us to a world we may have never known if it not for these filmmakers. One of the more special documentaries in recent time is an extremely powerful na…
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Sueno

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 1st, 2006

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The opening titles of this film are a bit misleading. The font is a colorful, comical display played against animation more suitable for the opening of a Pink Panther film. Instead of a comedy, we are presented with a film likely to appeal to a very limited audience. To the film’s credit, it doesn’t abandon the themes and style it intends to portray in an effort to gain more mass appeal.

Antonio is a young man living in Mexico. His dreams are filled with playing music. Like most young ambitious music…
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Alfred Hitchcock – The Masterpiece Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2006

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Last year, Warner Brothers put out a great ten-disc set of all of the Hitchcock films in their catalog. While not the ultimate Hitchcock collection, it was still an excellent representation of the Master’s work, including many films that have received a well-deserved second look as a result of their inclusion in the set. It was especially rewarding to be given the opportunity to see Montgomery Clift’s amazing portrayal of a Priest caught in the middle of a murder scandal in I Confess.

Not to be outdo…
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Dirty Deeds

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 27th, 2006

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Synopsis

At West Valley High (how generic a name is that?), homecoming week is marked by a special challenge: can you perform ten outrageous dirty deeds in twelve hours. The record is eight. Zach (Milo Ventimiglia) has no interest in any of the school traditions, but when the younger brother of the girl he is sweet on volunteers to take the challenge, Zach steps in to save the boy from certain doom and do the deeds himself, in the process taking down the king of the jocks a few notches.

Wha…
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Toy Story 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2006

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Disney continues to pull its disappearing acts on DVD with their limited time offers, this time using the new Toy Story 2 2-disc release as the proverbial carrot in front of the mule. While such marketing tactics may be a little annoying to those of us that don’t like to be told when we can or can’t see a movie, there should be no greater incentive to pick this up if you haven’t yet claimed a copy of the film. Toy Story 2 cemented Pixar’s name in quality animation and continued to prove the little studi…
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Story of the Weeping Camel, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2006

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Synopsis

The film focuses on the life of a family of nomads in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia. Their camels are vital to their well-being, and when a mother rejects her newborn white calf, this is a serious problem. Two sons set off to a distant village to summon a magician is summoned, who, it is to be hoped, can perform the necessary miracle to save the calf.

This film is another testament to the virtue of simplicity and restraint in storytelling. There are no histrionics (even the ca…
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Downfall

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2006

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The Academy Awards ceremony continues to devalue itself by giving honors to films, which are mediocre at best, or films that try desperately to force a political agenda down the American people’s throats, while gems such as 2004’s Downfall linger in relative obscurity, and certainly do not receive the recognition they deserve. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel’s study of Hitler’s final days transcends the triviality of being considered a film and instead functions as a window into the past. And for a little more th…
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Made

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 10th, 2006

This is the perfect time for Lion’s Gate to release Made on UMD for the PSP. Not only does the film feature such trendy personalities as Faizon Love and Puff Daddy/Puffy/Sean “Puffy” Combs/P-Diddy/Diddy, but it also stars the current comedic genius of the week… Vince Vaughn. That’s not to say that I don’t like Vince Vaughn, it’s just that he is riding such a high wave since his hilarious work in Wedding Crashers that this is the perfect time for the studio to cash in on some of his lesser known films …
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Bad News Bears (2005)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 8th, 2006

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Bad News Bears is not necessarily a fine film, but it is a lot better than the host of other remakes Hollywood has thrown at us as of late. Billy Bob Thorton stars in the film, and I quote, “as a drunk who makes a living killing rats to live in a trailers.” The film seems to take his character from Bad Santa and the football coach in Friday Night Lights and seems to merge the two. However, neither of his tactics in either film are used in the film. This results in the audience liking his characte…
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ER – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 3rd, 2006

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Note: the following synopsis contains brief spoilers. Only read this first section if you know have happens in season four.

Nominated for 25 Golden Globes and 110 Emmys, including 7 for Outstanding Drama Series, ER has long been one of the best prime-time shows on television. Premiering in September 1994 on NBC, the hour-long hospital drama vividly illustrates the intensity and fast-paced stress endemic to hospital emergency rooms across America. Brought into being by Michael Crichton – famous Hollywoo…
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American Pie Presents Band Camp

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 3rd, 2006

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Synopsis

The Stiffler character from the Amercian Pie movies has, it turns out, a younger brother, who is also a loathsome creep. After sabotaging the high school band’s performance, his punishment is to attend band camp himself. He makes the best of a bad deal, planning to videotape raunchy goings on.

What can you say about a movie where ex-porn star Ginger Lynn Allen is the most convincingly human character present? Eugene Levy returns from the other movies to collect a paycheck as…
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Murderball

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 1st, 2006

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One of the few positive side-effects of the popular era of reality TV that we live in today is that the desire for the real has also crossed over to film. This has provided an excellent opportunity for documentary filmmakers to get their product seen by a large audience that just a few short years ago would never have taken the time to watch a documentary film. In fact, documentaries have become so mainstream that Murderball is produced in association with MTV Films. While a wheelchair rugby documentary sounds…
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Kronk’s New Groove

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 1st, 2006

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Synopsis

Having zipped through The Emperor’s New Groove awhile back (yes, I have Disney DVDs), I was somewhat familiar with the story and the cast behind it. I was aware that the original film enjoyed some theatrical success, but I didn’t understand why the film necessitated a sequel. But here I am, trying to wrap my head around the logic for this sequel.

And surprisingly enough, I got a nice kick out of this animated film. Instead of focusing largely on the Emperor Kuzco (voiced by David S…
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West Wing – The Complete Fifth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 24th, 2005

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Season Four of The West Wing was the series’ final season with the show’s creator, Aaron Sorkin. This left quite a bit of trepidation among the show’s faithful followers. What would happen with the series left in the hands of new writers, and without Rob Lowe’s portrayal of Sam Seaborn? After all, Sorkin’s original plans for the show were for it to focus on Sam, and now everything seems to be falling apart.

With one notable exception, I am proud to announce that the show is still rolling along at a s…
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Death Race 2000

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 22nd, 2005

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Synopsis

In the year 2000, the United States (and much of the rest of the world, it seems) is under the dictatorial rule of Mr. President, and the masses are kept passive with the Transcontinental road race, where the competitors must not only race from the remains of New York to the remains of LA in record time, but kill as many pedestrians as possible. Chief rivals are fan favourite Frankenstein (David Carradine) and the villainous Machine Gun Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone).

You know yo…
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24 – The Complete Fourth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 20th, 2005

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Note: the following synopsis contains spoilers. Only read this first section if you know have happens in season four.

The Fourth Season of 24 begins with a deadly terrorist strike resulting in the kidnapping of Jack Bauer’s new boss, the U.S. Secretary of Defense James Heller (William Devane). Even though Mr. Bauer was dismissed from his job at the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles at the end of Season Three, it comes as no real surprise that Robo-Jack is called back into action. We quickly l…
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Charlie

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2005

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Charlie was a British effort in the typical gangster style. It begins more like an A&E biography. Various characters from the film with ties to Charlie appear to be giving their insights on the man for a documentary camera. Charlie Richardson, it appears, was one of Britain’s most infamous gangsters. The film, directed by Malcolm Reeds, no relationship to a certain starship tactical officer, tries hard to be another Goodfellas. The film utilizes the same style of retrospective narration. There’s also the trademark period songs and freeze-frame on a particularly violent image.
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Dinocroc

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 19th, 2005

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Synopsis

A prehistoric crocodile is genetically resurrected (using the Jurassic Park treatment, one assumes, though one is never told), supposedly because its growth hormone will solve world hunger (more or less the scenario that led to giant grasshoppers in Beginning of the End, and that was 1957). Anyway, the titular dinocroc gets loose from the sinister corporation’s lab, and starts gobbling up the nearby population. It’s up to Aussic crocodile hunter Costas Mandylor (Your Guide To Quality …
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Frostbite

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 11th, 2005

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Synopsis

Sometimes studios will hit big on a film, and other times, they’ll be so far off the mark as to miss the boat completely. Take the case of Frostbite. Summarized, as one cast member puts it, as “part Caddyshack meets part American Pie meets part Dude, Where’s My Car? in the snow.” You know, I remember a movie kinda like that, and I rented it back in 1984, when t was called Hot Dog..The Movie.

To their credit, the producers did try to create a link to the …
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Shackles

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 10th, 2005

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Ben Cross (D.L. Hughley) is a former teacher with a dark past and some anger issues. He still sleeps with his ex-wife, but she’d rather be elsewhere. When Ben gets a call from an old colleague who asks him to teach at a juvenile prison facility, Ben figures it’s a good stepping stone to get back into teaching.

After meeting his unruly class, Ben realizes that a good way to get the kids focused is for them to express themselves through rap and poetry. One student named Gabriel (Jose Pablo Cantillo), with who…
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