Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 17th, 2006
Anthology films are a good training ground for young filmmakers to flex their muscles and really get creative. However, with Eros, the three filmmakers have already been around the block a time or two, and on the surface, that could be considered a good thing. But when you consider what Michaelangelo Antonioni, Steven Soderbergh, and Kar-Wai Wong, are already capable of, these shorts seem a bit of a letdown. The best segment is Soderbergh’s “Equilibrium,” with its symbolic stylistic effects and wry sense of hu...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2006
Director Pete Red Sky conducts a small, but capable cast in the psychodrama The White Horse Is Dead. Some bits of dialogue hit sour notes, but the cast, which consists of Resmine Atis, Andrew Welsh, and Irina Stemer, hold their own through the rough parts and truly elevate this flawed rendering of an otherwise intriguing – and sordid – tale. Atis plays Naya, daughter to Giselle (a domineering and beautiful hypochondriac), and at the film’s opening, we see she’s the kind of girl, who would do most anything to p...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 14th, 2006
Johnny Cash’s dramatic road to Christianity is no secret to his fans and thanks to the recent biopic, Walk The Line, it’s no secret to the masses. Cash made this film, he explains, to show people why he is so drawn to the Passion of Christ. This is no doubt a sincere effort to bring this expression to life. The film is entirely shot in the Holy Land. The film is enhanced by the wonderful locations. Cash attempted to follow the actual path of Christ. There is no doubt that the care and conviction Cash felt is evide...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 14th, 2006
Take every Catholic movie cliché you can find, wrap them up in a weak and predictable murder-mystery, throw in Christian Slater and Stephen Rea as they struggle for some semblance of the glory their careers once held, release direct-to-DVD, and you have The Confessor. Slater plays a priest struggling with his own faith, to the point he hasn’t prayed in years. His primary purpose to the Catholic Church is as a fundraiser for whatever causes they deem necessary to support. Of course, all of his higher-ups are st...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 11th, 2006
Synopsis
First off, I never would have thought that a Comedy Central TV show featuring animated eight-year olds who curse like I used to (I still do, who am I kidding?), is transformed into a 94 minute movie with abundant musical numbers and (gasp!) an Oscar-nominated song performed by Robin Williams at said awards ceremony. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone created a dazzling, hilarious, and unpredictable movie, filled with musical numbers, and vocal cameos from George Clooney, Dave Foley and Eric Idle, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 9th, 2006
Michael Ontkean and Kate Jackson play a married couple dealing with the ramifications of the husband's newly discovered homosexual behavior. Right off, I'll say these two seem too happy from the beginning to make the sudden turn believable. Also, the ending [SPOILER ALERT, kind of] is too predictable and cliche to be the least little bit effective. The "I'm okay/You're okay" resolution, where everyone moves on and everyone's okay with who they are, and the world is once more a wonderful place, is pure Grade-A drivel ...
Posted in: 1.85:1 Widescreen, Comedy, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French), DVD, Universal by David Annandale on March 8th, 2006
Synopsis
The recently divorced Uma Thurman is seeing therapist Meryl Streep as she tries to put her life back together. She meets Bryan Greenberg, sixteen years her junior, and falls for him. Streep encourages her to go for it, and then discovers that the object of Thurman’s affection is her son, whom she wanted to find a nice Jewish girl. Neither Thruman nor Greenberg know of their connection through Streep and carry on with their relationship, while Streep struggles to carry on with Thurman’s thera...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 7th, 2006
Synopsis
Christmas in Wichita Falls, but there’s not much comfort and joy going around. John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton have just stolen two million bucks from mob boss Randy Quaid. If they can keep things together for just a few hours, they will be home free and off to warmer climes with their loot. But a huge thug is looking for them, Cusack keeps drawing attention to himself, and then there’s the question of whether these two can really trust each other.
Harold Ramis’ comic noir/black...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Well, a Terry Gilliam children’s film might seem like a bit of an oxymoron, however writing a film with fellow Monty Python alum Michael Palin actually resulted in a funny, and even philosophical film, reflecting on themes of good and evil.
In a futuristic, technological world of the early 1980s, young Kevin (Craig Warnock) sees a medieval knight and horse burst from his wardrobe closet and run into the woods. The next night he prepares for something similar, but instead meets a gr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 3rd, 2006
Neil Gaiman’s Mirrormask is just the sort of mixed bag I expected. While parts are mesmerizing and the performance of Stephanie Leonidas is a joy in itself, the plot fails to make room for credibility when it’s desperately needed. The holes left behind from this weak story cause the film to masquerade as art while carefully avoiding admission to what it really is – a product of sloppy writing. Gaiman is a talented scribe, but with Mirrormask, he’s dangerously close to believing his own hype. Judging fro...
