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Driving Miss Daisy

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 27th, 2003

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Synopsis

The Miss Daisy of the title is played by Jessica Tandy. After she wrecks her car, her son (Dan Aykroyd) hires a chauffeur (Morgan Freeman) for her. Miss Daisy is fiercely resistant to the supposed loss of independence this represents, but she eventually lets Freeman do his job. A strong friendship grradually develops between the two. In the background, we catch glimpses of the changing American South as the film moves from 1947 to 1972. Prejudice, both racial and anti-semitic, lurks just und…
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24 Hour Party People

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 26th, 2003

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Synopsis

Our guide to the Manchester movement 1976-1992 is Tony Wilson (a mesmerizingly goodSteve Coogan), TV personality and would-be music impresario. Blown away by an earlyperformance by The Sex Pistols, Wilson sets about forming his own music club and record label(The Factory). Central to his enterprise’s rise and fall are Joy Division/New Order and the HappyMondays. Wilson addresses the camera constantly, as if we were watching a documentary onhis life, and the result is as fun…
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The Last Man

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2003

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I wouldn’t say The Last Man was the worst film I ever saw, but that’s only because I did see Battlefield Earth and Event Horizon. If there’s a category below B film this is a great example. The whole film has the feel of community theatre at its worst. Dan Montgomery delivers such a bad performance that it would be funny if it didn’t hurt so much to watch. The story rambles on for 93 minutes that will feel more like 3 hours.

Devil at 4 O’Clock

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 21st, 2003

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Synopsis

Father Kerwin Matthews is flown to the island of Talua (near Tahiti) to replace cynicalFather Spencer Tracy. Also on the plane are three convicts, led by Frank Sinatra. Tracy enliststhem for help in fixing up a hospital for child lepers. When a volcano erupts, forcing theevacuation of the entire island, it’s redemption all around as the convicts join with Tracy to savethose sweet little kids. Oh, and did I mention that Sinatra falls in love with a blind woman whoworks at th…
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Dreamers

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 19th, 2003

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Synopsis

Two young friends move from Tennessee (where one lives in dysfunctional household andthe other in a deeply conservative one) to Hollywood, where they dream of making films. Theolder of the two gets there first, and is making a film about people who have delusions aboutmaking films (got yer postmodern hall of mirrors thing happening here) and, of course, hisfunding dries up. There isn’t much here that hasn’t been done before, but the execution is nicelydone, and the performa…
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Harder They Fall, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 19th, 2003

Synopsis

Humphrey Bogart, down-on-his-luck sports writer, is recruited by crooked boxing impresarioRod Steiger. Bogart’s assignment: build up the reputation of a gigantic but incompetent fighter.A series of fixed fights leads to the gentle Goliath’s superstardom, but you know this is all goingto end in tears. Bogart descends further and further into corruption, hating himself all the way.The boxing scenes are stunning in their brutality, and the film (barring a perhaps overlyoptimis…
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State of Grace

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 18th, 2003

You almost expect to see Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci at any time during State Of Grace. The influence of Martin Scorsese is everywhere, from the tight shots on character interactions to the slight angles during the more violent scenes. Even the clever use of source music more often than Ennio Morricone’s subtle score is reminiscent of Goodfellas. The prize of this feature is the cast. Ed Harris, Sean Penn, and Gary Oldman add much needed tension and realism to a mediocre and predictable script. Stereotypes and clichés abound.
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Signs

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 17th, 2003

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Film

M. Night Shyamalan, the brilliant director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, comes through again with his latest film Signs. Buena Vista has given Shyamalan his due respect by adding Signs to their Vista Series of DVD’s.

Synopsis

One morning on their farm in Buck’s County, Pennsylvania the Hess family wake up to find a 500 foot crop circle in the corn fields in their back yard. Watching the news brings them reports of similar circles showing up …
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Shampoo

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 16th, 2003

Synopsis

Warren Beatty plays George, who is as gifted a hairdresser as he is a ladies’ man. He needsmoney to open his own salon, and is hoping Lester (Jack Warden) will invest. That Beatty issleeping not only with Jill (Goldie Hawn) but with Lester’s wife (Lee Grant), mistress (JulieChristie) and teenage daughter (Carrie Fisher) might just complicate the issue. Especially as moreand more characters find out about each other. Very well made, but also very much a productof its times -…
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Bad Influence

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2003

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Film

Bad Influence, while not a bad film, is certainly not a good one either. Try as I might I could not bring myself to really care about any of the characters. The film tries to portray Rob Lowe’s influence on James Spader as, well … bad. It’s not like he was a great guy to begin with. There is an incredible irony within the film when Lowe gets Spader out of a marriage he is dreading by slipping the family a copy of the groom-to-be having sex with another woman. Lowe, of course, had a real life video tape episode and Spader dealt with the same thing in Sex, Lies, and Video Tape.
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Infested

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 13th, 2003

Synopsis

Five Gen-X yuppies (yup, they’re old enough to be that now) reunite for the funeral of oneof their friends. What ensues is a parody of The Big Chill, complete with bad 80s music. Thenmysterious bugs that disintegrate in bright light start infesting them one by one, turning them intomurderous zombies. So far, so eccentric, and the satire is sometimes very funny. The FX are sobargain-basement, however, and the plotting so loose, that the film loses direction and winds uupjust…
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Handgun

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 13th, 2003

Synopsis

Karen Young (turning in a remarkable performance) is a sweet, somewhat insecure schoolteacher who is date-raped by attorney Clayton Day. The law is no help. This being Texas, thereare plenty of opportunities for her to learn how to use a gun, and she proceeds to do so. Thoughinteresting, the film is divided against itself. On the one hand, it sets out to criticize Americangun culture. On the other, it encourages us to root for Young as she transforms into an avengingwarrior…
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Curse of the Devil

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

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Synopsis

Centuries after his ancestor wipes out a devil-worshipping cult, Waldemar Daninsky feelsthat cult’s revenge. A woman he tries to help curses him with lycanthropy. He tears around thecountryside ripping people to shreds. Will the woman he loves be able to help him? A welcomerelease for Eurohorror fans (and uncut for the first time on these shores), Curse of the Devil’sslow pace and wooden performances mean it will have limited appeal to viewers outside theserious fans. If yo…
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Woman in Red, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 5th, 2003

Synopsis

Ordinary family man Gene Wilder is innocently parking his car at work one day when hesees Kelly Le Brock doing a Marilyn Monroe routine over a hot air grate. He is immediatelysmitten, and throws his life into chaos pursuing the woman of his dreams. The original Frenchfilm wasn’t anything to write home about in the first place, but it did star Jean Rochefort, whosesomber dignity just begs to be overthrown. Wilder, on the other hand, isn’t that dignified to beginwith.

Throw Momma from the Train

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 3rd, 2003

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Hitchcock’s “Strangers On A Train” has always been one of my favorite films from that era. It was perfect Hitch. Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal are two of Hollywood’s best comic actors… so it is no surprise that I would fall hard for a “Strangers” parody by these comedic wonders. There is nothing spectacular about this film, but it is one of those simple little pleasures that come along from time to time that is just effortless to view.

Back to the Future Trilogy

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 31st, 2002

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Film

The original Back To The Future film is already a classic. There has never been a more original sci-fi/comedy film. The sequels are less stellar but do retain the charm and uniqueness of the original. The talent of Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox shine in these films. Both actors were trying to shed strong TV characters and prove they were more than Reverend Jim and Alex Keaton. The chemistry generated between them goes a long way in enhancing both performances. The supporting cast is also quite good here.
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I Spit On Your Grave

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 30th, 2002

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Synopsis

Jennifer (Camille Keaton) leaves New York for a summer in the country. Four low-lifes rapeher, beat her, and leave her for dead. She strikes back most violently. This is the nec plus ultraof rape-revenge films, the yardstick against which all others are measured. The gang rape isharrowingly brutal, and goes on for almost half an hour. The film is cheap and raw, and has itsflaws, but is also searingly powerful in the unflinching realism of its violence. For this, and forits …
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2002

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Synopsis

Petty crook Nicholson is transferred from prison to a mental institution. Is he crazy? Hecertainly seems to be to go up against head nurse Louise Fletcher, the well-meaning tyrant of theplace. In the course of his war, he ignites the spirits of the other inmates.

Audio

The sound has been remastered into 5.1. Though the sound quality is nice (barring somedistortion due to original recording), I’m not sure the surround mix was necessary. The musicand …
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Beauty & the Beast

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 22nd, 2002

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Synopsis

Likely the best version of the tale of a beautiful young woman and the beast who loves hersince Jean Cocteau’s 1945 film, this one has all the strengths of Disney’s best features: top-notchanimation, lively songs, humorous characters but some solidly gothic scares as well.

Audio

Fabulous on all counts. The reproduction is flawless and distortion free. The effects arestrong in both rear speaker presence and left-right separation. The music dominates, h…
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Final Encounter

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 18th, 2002

Synopsis

On an unnamed planet hundreds of years in the future, two cities — Brecca and Obsidian –have been at war for almost a century. They are but shattered remnants of their former selves,and the war carries on pointlessly. The governing general of Brecca leads a small expedition toObsidian on a quest that might finally bring the war to an end. The film has some of the post-apocalypse-on-a-budget feel of Albert Pyun epics (the Nemesis series) or stuff like CircuitryMan. This b…
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Wendigo

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2002

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Synopsis

A couple and their young son are driving to their vacation home in the Catskills. They hita deer on the highway, accidentally ticking off one of the hunters, whose elevator doesn’t go allthe way to the penthouse, if you know what I mean. The boy, already on edge from the death ofthe deer and the lurking menace of the hunter, also begins to have visions of the hungry spiritWendigo. Whether the supernatural events are real or imagined is left ambiguous, as in The Turnof the S…
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Buying the Cow

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 12th, 2002

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Synopsis

This movie presents the question of “Why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free”? David (Jerry O’Connell) is forced to face this question when his girlfriend of 5 years Sarah (Bridgette Wilson) leaves for New York for two months and leaves him with the ultimatum of marry me or move on. He is helped along with his decision by the usually colorful cast of comic side kicks played Ryan Reynolds and Bill Bellamy. This movie just never really seems to get going, with one notable exception…
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First $20 Million, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 12th, 2002

Synopsis

Adam Garcia plays an ad exec with a conscious, he wants he create something that will change the world. He recruits a rag tag group of geniuses and misfits to build the world’s first portable $99 computer. After losing their jobs and funding from the research facility where they work they set out on their own to finish what they started. Their creativity is rekindled by Andy Caspar’s (Garcia) neighbor (Rosario Dawson) and side tracked by the back stabbing genius at the research facility where …
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My Wife is an Actress

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 8th, 2002

Synopsis

Charlotte Gainsbourg plays film star Charlotte. Her husband Yvan Attal (who also wrote anddirected the film) plays Charlotte’s husband Yvan. So far so postmodern. Yvan becomes jealousin this slight but engaging comedy when Charlotte’s next role has her co-starring with anotoriously sexy British actor (Terence Stamp).

Audio

Very solid soundtrack, though limited to 2.0. The music sounds fine, and the sound effects,though low key, are enough to create …
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E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 8th, 2002

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Synopsis

Surely you know the story: cute little alien is left behind by his fellows, and befriends youngElliott (Henry Thomas). Elliott and his siblings do their best to help E.T. phone home and getrescued, but meanwhile the government is also on the hunt for the hapless fellow. The re-releasefeatures improved special effects, a couple of restored scenes, and miscellaneous other fixingup. Granted, the film does look slicker (though not all the new CGI elements are entirelynecessary,…
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