Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 20th, 2002
The second version of Cornell Woolrich’s novel “Waltz Into Darkness” (previously filmed by François Truffaut’s Mississippi Mermaid), this is a decidedly steamier version, especially here, in its unrated form.
Synopsis
Cuban plantation owner Antonio Banderas advertises for a wife, and the woman who answers his ad is, he believes, plain but pure. What shows up, however, is the beautiful but duplicitous Angelina Jolie, who has larceny rather than matrimony on her mind. Her scam runs smoothly at first,...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 5th, 2002
Intro
We’re approaching the Easter season, which means it’s time for Biblical epics to hit the new release shelf (whichever ones haven’t been put on DVD yet). This one puts its emphasis on spectacle and action.
Synopsis
Anthony Quinn plays Barabbas, the thief freed in Christ’s place. Though he initially goes back to his drunken, thieving, carousing ways, he is rattled by the events surround the crucifixion. He successively discovers his faith and loses it over the course of a tumultuou...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 1st, 2002
The most basic rule in Hollywood seems to be that a sequel can never be as good as the original. If you’ve seen enough Police Academy films you know the rule by heart. This rule has been broken with Terminator 2. Not only is it better then the original, it is so much better that it has become “the” Terminator film. It’s no surprise that the DVD would have to be something special right down to a metal cover for the box. This is an ultimate edition that truly lives up to the name, and will make you forget about all previous issues of the film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 7th, 2002
What is the Matrix? That’s the question everyone’s looking to answer in this sci-fi spectacular from Wachowski brothers. One thing it was -- groundbreaking both in the spectacular special effects that we’ve since taken for granted even in tv commercials and in actual ground (the tons of concrete) broken in the film itself.
Synopsis
Computer hacker extraordinaire Neo (Reeves) has this gut feeling that life isn’t all that it seems to be. Turns out he’s right in a big way. A group of revolutionaries l...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2002
Written By Kelly Stifora
Intro
Kim Basinger and Dan Larroquette upstage Bruce Willis in his tepid debut as a leading man. Don’t let the fact that Blake Edwards directed blind you: this is a dud.
Synopsis
Walter (Willis) gets set up on a blind date with Nadia (Basinger) for an incredibly important business dinner at which his boss is expecting him to make a good impression on a prospective client. After being explicitly told not to let Nadia imbibe, Walter heads straight out to get a bottle of champagne and sta...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 29th, 2002
Intro
This is the new film from writer/director Scott Reynolds, who brought us The Ugly, a stylishly weird psycho-thriller from a few years back.
Synopsis
Radha Mitchell runs a diner and a motel by herself in a middle-of-nowhere little town. One morning, she opens her diner and strange young man comes in. He’s been stabbed in the gut, and he needs her help. He’s terrified of a group of surfers who arrive shortly after him. He says they’re after him. Should Mitchell believe him?
I...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 26th, 2002
Say the name Bruce Willis and what is the first thing that comes to mind? Lately Willis has excelled in roles that have redefined him as an actor. Of course, I’m talking about films like “The Sixth Sense”. But when I hear Bruce Willis I think of John McClane. Die Hard was the film where Willis “made his bones” in Hollywood and revolutionized the action film forever.
Synopsis
John McClane just can’t catch a break. It seems his wife has moved from their home in New York City, where John’s a cop, to L.A.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2001
Intro
This is a deeply, deeply silly film. But it takes being silly deeply, deeply seriously.
Synopsis
Peter Weller is Buckaroo Banzai: brain surgeon, physicist, rock star, fighter of evil. He and his merry men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, fight to save the world from destruction caused by a war between the Black Lectroids (good aliens) and the Red Lectroids (bad aliens). The deadpan cast includes good guys Jeff Goldblum and Ellen Barkin, and, on the side of evil, John Lilthgow and Christ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 26th, 2001
Intro
The timing on this release is just about perfect: close enough to the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings for people to be eager for some high fantasy, but far in advance enough that comparisons will be less likely.
Synopsis
The story, by George Lucas, should be familiar to followers of his work. Once again, there is the promised deliverer, this time in the form of a baby girl. A quest ensues to save her, and the leader of this quest is Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), a Lu...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 15th, 2001
I have heard a lot of mixed reviews about this film. I will sum it up like this… If you are expecting amazing acting and storyline, you will be disappointed. But, on the other hand, if you are expecting to see a bunch of Apes jumping around and some very fun visual effects, you are in for a treat….
Synopsis
In the year 2029, interstellar reconnaissance missions are relegated to chimpanzee pilots from the Space Station Oberon in deep space. On such a mission, a chimp loses communication and vanis...
