Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 18th, 2012
Written by Joe Gause
After watching this movie, it really makes me wonder how Hollywood is still allowed to make movies. Although funny in some points, all in all, it’s a very run-of-the-mill college movie. Basically, the story centers around Paul Tarson (Christopher Gorham), a college student who is unable to make decisions, especially when it comes to where he wants his life to go. He is given a chance to follow in his father’s (Ralph Williams) footsteps and be a college professor
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2011
It all started with a very short novel by French author Pierre Boulle. It wasn't even that much of a hit at first. But a small group of Hollywood moguls led by Arthur P. Jacobs believed in the property and worked hard to get a film made. It wasn't easy. They had to interest a big star and make a test reel in order to get anyone to bite. Fortunately for us all, Fox did bite. After five films, a television series, and a cartoon run, the franchise ran out of steam by the middle of the 1970's.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 22nd, 2011
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the pre-eminent holiday fare success story. Not only was it gigantically successful for Dickens himself, to the point that not only did he then follow it up with other Christmas books (The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Haunted Man), but he also took charge of one of its early adaptations, trimming it down for oral performances. It has also, of course, been the subject of numerous film versions, with everyone from the Muppets to Bill Murray having a go. This one, from 1970, turns the story into a musical.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 22nd, 2011
"How about... The Rocketeer?"
Back in 1972 Elton John pushed himself to the top of the charts atop the hit song Rocket Man, who was burning out his fuse up here alone. Well, it wasn't going to be a very long long time before Disney and company gave us a Rocket Man in their family drama/comedy The Rocketeer. It was the first day of summer in 1991 when The Rocketeer first appeared. The box office was moderate, but it had seemed like he disappeared from the scene for a long long time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 21st, 2011
"Man, we'll die with you. Just don't ask us to do it twice."
Well... that's exactly what Sylvester Stallone is asking you to do. Many will look at this release as a simple case of a double-dip, and to a certain extent it is. But Sly isn't kidding when he tells us that it's a better film this way. At least I thought so. No question the studio wants to build buzz going into the second film, and this edition works as a sort of placeholder. It's still a tough decision, but let's look at the film again, just for argument's sake, shall we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 14th, 2011
"Long ago in ancient China, the peacocks ruled over Gongmen City. They brought great joy and prosperity to the city, for they had invented fireworks. But their son, Lord Shen, saw darker power in the fireworks. What had brought color and joy could also bring darkness and destruction. Shen's troubled parents consulted a soothsayer. She foretold that if he continued down this dark path, he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white."
We all know who that warrior is, don't we?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 13th, 2011
“Oh hidy ho officer, we've had a doozy of a day. There we were minding our own business, just doing chores around the house, when kids started killing themselves all over my property.”
A carload of preppie college kids set off for a Memorial Day weekend of partying deep in the backwoods of West Virginia. They encounter a couple creepy looking hillbillies leering at them on the highway. Stopping to gas up they encounter the two rednecks again, but this time one of the two approaches the girls holding a scythe over his head and laughing like a madman.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 7th, 2011
A small town girl named Lorie Walker is injured, which forces her to abandon her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. After a chance encounter with an old friend, she is convinced to appear in a rap music video. The director of said video is immediately smitten with her beauty and takes her away to Los Angeles to become a Video Model.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 2011
There have been a lot of films out that deal with the Iraq war and the various political situations that region of the world has had to deal with since that time. Most of these efforts are trying so hard to make some radical political point that they tend to serve their audiences poorly as entertaining films. Happily, that's not the case with Lee Tamahori's The Devil's Double. The film cuts through the polarizing political elements and provides a brutal view of the Hussein regime through the actions of one of Saddam's sons, Uday. Tamahori has created a modern Scarface
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on December 4th, 2011
This historical film looks at the three-year siege of Leningrad during World War 2. The film follows a Russian, female police officer who aids a stranded, English news reporter as they try to survive the siege.