Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 31st, 2010
"More of this is true than you would believe."
What was intended as a somewhat thought-provoking quirky comedy looks a lot like something you would expect to see on a late night rerun of The X-Files. All of the subject matter has been covered there, just not quite in this way. It all started with a non-fiction book written by Jon Ronson. He claimed to have researched various government studies in human behavior that entered into the world of the paranormal. It was part of an ideology of waging non-lethal war. It was a strange combination of 1980's new age mysticism and actual studies that showed that soldiers in World War II were, in fact, quite reluctant to kill or even harm the enemy. The study claimed that almost 80% of the soldiers deliberately looked for excuses not to fire or merely aimed inaccurately to avoid killing. The study went further and claimed that of the minority that did shoot with deadly results, most of them suffered terrible guilt over the experience, often making them unable to remain effective soldiers. The study regards the remainder of the study group, the ones who did fire accurately and did not suffer guilt as psychopaths. In short, the book gathered a lot of speculative ideas and put them into a rather oddball collection of "facts".
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 31st, 2010
"Maybe I'm not being clear enough. Maybe I need to be honest with you and tell you what I want. I want your soul to open up for me."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 25th, 2010
If you are a regular reader here, you know I'm not much for the romantic comedy department. I tried to pass this one off on the rest of the staff but couldn't find a taker. We finally got a woman to review this stuff, but not even she was enthused enough about this title to take it on. This experience is pretty typical when it comes to Did You Hear About The Morgans. With a $58 million budget and a $30 million gross at the box office, it would seem that a lot of folks took a pass on the movie. In less than 4 weeks it dropped from nearly 3000 screens across the fruited plain to just about 500. We're not talking about an unknown cast here. The real mystery is, why did such an impressive cast take this movie on? Hugh Grant is pretty well known, if not for his movies, then for his back seat antics with a hooker. So, his judgment should already be in question. I mean, who would give up Elizabeth Hurley for a 20 dollar hooker? Sarah Jessica Parker has been riding pretty high on her Sex In The City fame. Perhaps she was just trying to solidify a romantic comedy image here. Both made horrible choices here, and neither generated a character worth caring about. What's worse, the two share no chemistry and even a devout romantic comedy avoider like me knows enough to understand that the two most important elements in the genre are chemistry and characters that you feel something for.
Paul and Meryl (Grant & Parker) are a married couple who have been separated for three years because Paul had an affair. Both are highly successful in their chosen fields. Paul is the senior partner in a prestigious law firm and Meryl runs a very elite real estate agency. Paul wants to patch things up, but Meryl is not so sure. So the two agree to meet for a date and see if they can talk about their situation. The dinner date doesn't go very well and is completely ruined when the two witness the murder of a man who was about to turn state's evidence. Now their relationship issues are the least of their problems. The killer knows who they are (Meryl's picture is pasted everywhere from billboards to bus stations) and he's not about to let them testify against him. Enter the Witness Protection Program. The two are given new names (The Fosters) and sent to rural Ray, Wyoming where the local sheriff happens to be a Federal Marshall who has experience protecting witnesses. Marshall Clay Wheeler (Elliott) and his wife Emma (Steenburgen) are simple folk who live miles from civilization, making their home the perfect place to hide the couple. Now forced together, the two have to deal with their relationship issues to save their own lives. You know the killer's going to track them down, and through the carelessness of the couple's two personal assistants and Meryl's inability to stay off the phone, he tracks them down.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 17th, 2010
"There's two kinds of people in this world when you boil it all down. You've got your talkers and you've got your doers. Most people are just talkers. All they got is talk. But, when all is said and done, it's the doers who change the world. And, when they do that, they change us. And, that's why we never forget them."
And while The Boondock Saints never did bring in box office gold (heck, it didn't even bring in Box Office aluminum) like the characters in the film, they were not forgotten. There were conventions and local film festival showings that brought out untold thousands to share the movie experience. It became what we commonly call today a cult hit. But that's a term of endearment used by critics and fans to describe this kind of grass roots fan base. Unfortunately, it's a dirty word in Hollywood. No one in the studio highchairs wants to produce a cult film. Well, no one except maybe Troy Duffy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 17th, 2010
In 1952 pioneering animator Osamu Tezuka’s manga series ignited a cultural phenomenon in Japan that has now reached worldwide acclaim: anime. Astro is a beloved pop culture figure that is finally getting wider recognition with younger audiences thanks to 2009’s feature film Astro Boy. Set in a future where Earth has endured years of abuse and pollution, one city decided to improve their quality of life. Metro City hovers far above Earth’s surface, but shares little similarities. Robots have been designed to take over the menial, mundane jobs they can’t be bothered to do themselves.
The father of those creations is scientist Dr. Tenma, voiced by Nicolas Cage. His brilliance in the field of robotics doesn’t make up for his shortcomings as a parent to his son Toby. Despite being a mature and remarkable student, Toby never quite receives the warm encouragement from his dad he craves. When a meeting with President Stone, a no-nonsense military man desperately seeking re-election, goes horribly awry, Toby is killed, leaving nothing but a red ball cap behind. Dr. Tenma attempts to resurrect the spirit of his departed son through a new life-like robot: Astro Boy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 14th, 2010
The flesh-eating plague from the first film is still spreading and turning teens into gurgling vomitarioms of puss and blood. This film takes place a few short seconds after the first one as we see the original hero explode onto the front of a school bus right before the title sprawls across the screen, which then leads to a cute animation explaining how the tainted water has been bottled and shipped to a high school in a neighbouring town. From there we have a slight love-triangle story that is peripheral to the fountains of gore that fill the screen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 15th, 2010
I have absolutely no doubt that Hilary Swank meant well, but we all know what wise men say about good intentions. It is likely that Amelia Earhart has been a hero and inspiration to the young actress as I know she's been to women of all professions throughout the years. There's no question that she is an influential historical figure and deserving of attention. Of course, she's had plenty over the years. There have actually been quite a few films and television shows dedicated to the heroine since her disappearance so many years ago. Like any subject, there have been some great efforts and some forgettable ones. Recently the character showed up in a much more frivolous and fictional way in the latest Night At The Museum film. From Star Trek to A&E documentaries, there is little danger that she will be forgotten in the world of entertainment. I suspect, from what I've seen from news reels, that she was a passionate and spirited woman full of life and heart. Unfortunately Amelia, the film, has none of that.
From the film's promotional campaign one is left with the definite idea that this is less about the aviatrix and more about the love story between Earhart and George Putnam, played by Richard Gere. At least that's the film I was most prepared to see. I suppose one piece of good news, at least for me, was that this love affair is played quite flatly. Who could have expected that from a Gere romantic film? If that really was the focus, someone forgot to tell the leads that they were in love. The portrayals are so matter-of-fact and dispassionate that you could debate whether there was indeed any love there at all. Perhaps that was the way the relationship was in reality. If that's true, it's a poor choice for a romantic film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 15th, 2010
This film chronicles the career of Maurice “The Rocket” Richard, an NHL player for the Montreal Canadians, from his childhood days in a Junior hockey league, to the season in 1955 where his suspension from playing for the remainder of that season led to violent riots in Montreal. This film is more than just an examination of Richard as a French-Canadian citizen and legendary hockey player (many still argue as the greatest ever to play) but also a look at his impact as an icon and living legend to the people of Quebec.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 15th, 2010
“The Man Who Cannot Die”, better known as the Phantom was created by Lee Falk in 1936. The comic strip runs until this day, despite the creator dieing more than ten years ago. The Phantom was a costumed crimefighter that lived in the country of Bengalla. Bengalla was fictional but located in Africa. In 1996, they finally decided to create a movie based on the comic strip to find out what the “Ghost Who Walks” would do on the big screen.
The story starts when a young boy washes up on the shore of the African island known as Bengalla. He got there as the last survivor from a vicious pirate attack. In a ceremony with an ancient tribe known as the “Poison People”, he is dubbed the Phantom. The Phantom will devote his life to destroying piracy, cruelty and injustice. When the boy grows, he assumes the identity of a purple masked superhero with a brilliant horse to ride and a faithful wolf at his side.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 8th, 2010
Recently, my parents moved to Tennessee in their attempt to enjoy retirement. We actually lived there about six months when I was in the 8th grade. So, apparently there was something in the water that made them want to go back. After the movie Glitter, I never wanted to see anything with Mariah Carey that involved anything where she actually had to speak. For some reason, I also came back to Tennessee.
The movie opens with a mother who is abused by her husband. As this is happening, their son Carter comes in and stands up to his father. Then Carter takes his brother, Ellis and his mother into a car and drives as far as he can without looking behind him. They end up in Tennessee. Later, Carter and Ellis’s mom dies and Carter is forced to take care of Ellis until they both reach the age of maturity.
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