Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 22nd, 2006
Everyone in the world knows about the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. With films hitting the big screen in 2006, I guess the studios thought time enough had gone by to start making movies on the tragedy. World Trade Center is based on the attacks on the World Trade Center, as obvious by its name, but makes mention of the other attacks of the day. I can�t comment on the realism of the movie pertaining to the individuals depicted in the film (John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno) but they were involved with the production of the film, and since film is based on their accounts of the day I could imagine it�s very realistic. There are a few factual inaccuracies regarding some of the events of the day, but nothing major.
World Trade Center opens on the morning of September 11, 2001 when everyone was going about his or her life without any idea of the tragedy that was about to strike. You get a glimpse into the lives of John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) two Port Authority police officers and family men as they leave for work. The two begin their day as usual patrolling Lower Manhattan until there is a loud thump similar to that of an earthquake. The officers rally back at their police station and together head to the site of the World Trade Center to help evacuate people. Along the way they get news of the second tower being hit, and debate whether or not that could have even happened. When they arrive they are asked to volunteer to enter 5 World Trade Center (a building part of the 7 buildings that made up the World Trade Center) and help people escape.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 20th, 2006
Director Ron Howard is quite the puzzling man. He surely knows how to direct a fine film like A Beautiful Mind or even The Da Vinci Code, but still knows how to give us that random piece of crap. When word came that Howard was going to adapt Dr. Seuss� timeless classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas, I immediately questioned why? After all wasn�t the TNT special that airs oh 40-50 times a year good enough? I guess not for Hollywood as the 2000 remake made some serious bank with Jim Carrey portraying the lead character. The only unfortunate part here is that the film is absolutely horrendous.
Obviously being billed as a kid�s movie, this 2000 remake attempts (key word attempts) to reach the level that the TNT classic has by telling us the basic story. The first major problem is that the original 26-minute version that honestly everyone has probably seen is stretched out over the course of some 90 minutes. You must be asking yourself how did Howard and company manage to do this? Well first they decided to cast normal great actor Jim Carrey in the leading role. The Grinch is a boring, old, foogie who hates Christmas. We never learn why he hates Christmas (even though in the cartoon version we can assume it may be because of the togetherness of the season). In this version, Howard decided to just assume we could figure this one out. Even though the Grinch does hate Christmas, I must admit that Carrey does what he can with the material at hand. He�s able to make the film slightly (SLIGHTLY!) entertaining with his interesting humor and quirky smiles.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 20th, 2006
Some films never achieve greatness, but still manage to leave their viewers with a wry smile, and a “that wasn’t so bad, I’m glad I watched it” mentality. Lonesome Jim from IFC Films is one such motion picture. Starring Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler and directed by Steve Buscemi, this is one mood-swinging comedy that will lull you into complacency, then occasionally drop large hilarious bombs into the experience when least expected. Centered on a depressing, tight-lipped, tell-it-like-it-is, loner, who is for...ed back into the misery of his parents’ house when he runs out of money, Lonesome Jim dramatizes a dreary journey from stark hopelessness to undying optimism. The laughs don’t come easy, but hang around, and you’ll reap the rewards.
Affleck and Tyler are familiar with one another, albeit in a six-degrees-of-Kevin Bacon sort of way, as Tyler previously played opposite the other Affleck in two films - Armageddon and Jersey Girl. Now she’s changing out for the younger brother, and I think the result is a better romance than Jersey Girl, but a lesser film than Armageddon. Holding it all together is Buscemi’s increasingly competent direction. (If you’ve seen his previous effort Trees’ Lounge you’ll know the kind of quirky comedy to expect here.) It’s a refreshing film, but not an uproarious one. Mary Kay Place, Seymour Cassel, and Mark Boone Junior, also star.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 18th, 2006
A Fish Called Wanda returns to DVD, this time in a stunning 2-disc collector’s edition that finally gives adequate treatment to one of the funniest surprises of the eighties. John Cleese stars as an English barrister, whose life is so dull and – well, British – that a seductress/jewel thief named Wanda comes along and steals his heart in record time. But Wanda carries a lot of baggage with her, the heaviest piece being a Nietzche-quoting moron, who just so happens to be her psychotic boyfriend. Add an anima...-loving hitman with one of the world’s worst stuttering problems, and Wanda quickly turns into an outrageous farce – but one that works with the efficiency of a well-oiled machine.
This kind of film, without doubt, is Cleese’s strong suit. An alumnus of Monty Python, Cleese actually tones down the farcical elements, and I think his film benefits from the downgrade. While Cleese is a very funny actor, most of the good stuff goes to Kline, who can’t stand to be called stupid, though he is mostly incapable of proving such accusations wrong. But he is a formidable opponent once he gets his hands on you, a fact Cleese draws many laughs from in his scenes with the nemesis. If it’s been a while since you’ve seen A Fish Called Wanda, and you’re worried it’s lost something, don’t be. The film stands up well, though some of its humor has since been copied in more unflattering films. No doubt this reality will hurt some of the laughs, but there is still plenty of Kline, Cleese, and Michael Palin, to go around for everyone, so you shouldn’t be disappointed.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2006
If there's something that bothers me about the wave of digital films for children's entertainment nowadays, it's that anyone who has a Mac and good enough software feels compelled to make a movie, no matter how much it sucks. And Disney (or Dreamworks) or another studio will put enough marketing money behind it to make anyone want to watch it.
How can you tell how good or bad it will be? Well, if it's not a Pixar film, you can generally tell by the cast that is brought in to do voice work for it. In the case of The Wild, Samson the Lion (Kiefer Sutherland, 24) lives in the New York zoo with his son Ryan (hey, that's me! But really it's Greg Cipes, John Tucker Must Die). Ryan is a little bit shy because he hasn't gotten his roar yet, and Samson is a legend among his zoo friends for the stories he tells. His friends include a giraffe named Bridget (Janeane Garofalo, The Truth About Cats and Dogs), a squirrel named Benny (Jim Belushi, According to Jim) and a snake named Larry (Richard Kind, Spin City). And Ryan leaves the zoo and accidentally gets on a ship bound for Africa, so Samson and friends follow the ship that lands'in the wild!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2006
Maybe you guys don't remember the Blake Edwards romantic comedies of the '70s and '80s like 10 or even Skin Deep, but I'd even go so far as to say that when it clicks, The Oh in Ohio is much in the same vein of those comedies. Anyone notice the disclaimer?
Anyway for those that missed it, Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey, Superman Returns) is a successful businesswoman in Cleveland who is married to Jack (Paul Rudd, Anchorman), a high school teacher in the area. They've been married for awhile, but the marriage is cold and distant, in large part because Priscilla has problems, well, "arriving", when she sleeps with Jack. Jack thinks the problem is his, even though it isn't.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 12th, 2006
The Griswolds, a household name for a series of National Lampoon comedy�s beginning with Vacation and most recently Vegas Vacation. Few of us could say these iconic characters haven�t left an impression in our minds. I was happy when I heard that Christmas Vacation was going to be released on HD DVD, a true Christmas classic in high definition. With many memorable scenes associated with Christmas, is this classic worth the purchase in HD?
Clark Griswald (Chevy Chase) is a family man who always has a positive outlook on matters, as you may remember his optimism throughout the other collection of Vacation movies. He is joyous at the thought of putting up a large group of his family and in-laws for the holidays, and it all starts with the perfect tree. The opening of the movie tracks Clark, Ellen (Beverly D�Angelo), and kids (Juliette Lewis & Johhny Galecki) as they scour the countryside looking for a tree to take home. They end up uprooting the biggest tree in sight and driving home with it on the roof of their station wagon, and yes getting stuck under a semi-truck in the process. I�m sure you remember this scene, along with the numerous classic sequences spread throughout the movie.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 7th, 2006
In a live action sequence, Mother Goose (Hal Smith in drag) is hauled before the court to account for herself. She proceeds to inflame the passions of those present with a series of raunchy tales. These are animated, and we find out what Jack really found up on that beanstalk, how Cinderella really impressed the Prince, and what sort of, er, encounters a not-so-Little Red Riding Hood had on her way to Grandma's house.There is some wit here (see the coda to Cinderella's story, for instance), but for the most part, the film is (surprise, surprise) crude in every sense of the word. The animation is roughly on the caliber of "Rocket Robin Hood," though given the nature of the acts depicted, limited repetitive motion isn't as much of a handicap as it might be, and seeing something like this in the Hanna-Barbera style is seriously weird. The characters are for the most part engagingly drawn, and as a curiosity, this is absolutely priceless. This had theatrical dates (albeit limited) in 1976. Hard to imagine the same thing today.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 6th, 2006
I remember that this film was all the rage when I was a kid growing up in the early 80's. I always assumed that the reason that I didn't care for the film at the time was that I was just too young to fully appreciate it. Turns out, it's just not a very good movie. I certainly appreciate where it is trying to go, it's just that it takes the hokiest path possible to get there. The film tells the story of a military academy that is slated to be shut down and turned into condominiums. The cadets, who apparently enjoy the fact that they are in military school, are so proud of the institution that they use their minimal combat training to hold off the developers. It this a dramatic film that wishes to be taken seriously, or The Goonies? By the time the situation escalates to the point where the cadets are involved in a full-fledged skirmish with the real US military, audiences will likely be too bored to care. Part of what makes Dog Day Afternoon such a fantastic film is that the standoff in that film comes at about the 5-minute mark. This thing is more like an 80's sitcom for the first hour or so.
The acting, however, is surprisingly good under the circumstances. This film marks the first real film efforts from both Tom Cruise and Sean Penn. Even with such hokey source material, these two fine actors give it their all, and it is occasionally possible to believe that they really care about the academy here and there. George C. Scott is also here as the school's Dean, which was an excellent casting decision for anyone who remembers him best as General George Patton. In the end, though, the mixture of great young actors and seasoned veterans just isn't enough to elevate this film beyond being a second-rate After School Special version of The Lord of the Flies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 5th, 2006
I don�t recall when I first saw Rocky, and I haven�t kept track of how many times I�ve seen it since. The answers are probably �15 years ago� and �more than 10 times�, but accuracy isn�t important. What is important for you to know, is that Sylvester Stallone�s masterpiece is one of my favourite films of all time.
In other words, I love this movie, so don�t expect any criticism until at least the �video� section of this review. I don�t deny that there may be aspects of Rocky that merit denigration, I just refuse to let anything distract me from what I consider to be the ultimate inspirational story.
![World Trade Center (2-Disc Commemorative Edition) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/world-trade-center-2-disc-commemor-large.jpg)
![How The Grinch Stole Christmas [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
![National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/national-lampoons-christmas-vacati-large.jpg)
