Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2007
I’m kicking myself. Martin Scorcese’s The Color of Money has long been a favourite of mine, but for some reason I never knew it was a sequel to The Hustler, a film 25 years older and three times better.
Starring a young Paul Newman (Road to Perdition) in a role that earned him his second Oscar nomination, The Hustler is about a cocky pool player hustling his way to the top. When “Fast Eddie” Felson (Newman) challenges undefeated straight-pool champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason,...Requiem for a Heavweight) to a high stakes game, the talented young hustler shows he has the skills to be the best, but self-destructs toward the end of the 25-hour marathon match. Left near-penniless and without the managing partner who helped him get started in the seedy world of pool hustling, Eddie faces an uphill struggle to regain his confidence. Shacking up with smart, attractive and similarly self-destructive Sarah (Piper Laurie, Carrie) proves to be a decent diversion while Eddie wallows in misery, but while he uses her as a crutch, he becomes the cause of her destruction when he agrees to play for Bert Gordon (George C. Scott, Patton), a ruthless, greedy manager, and brings her along when they hit the road.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 13th, 2007
Peter Jackson’s the Frighteners is a 1996 comedy/horror film starring Michael J. Fox. It follows the story of a physic investigator/ deactivate who is in league with the very sprits he is supposed to be exorcising. For the first half hour, the film is mostly comedy, with good work by Chi McBride as Cyrus, the ghost of a black man from the 70’s, complete with a huge afro. The other ghosts are less noteworthy and merely amusing, such as R. Lee Ermey as a ghostly version of his character from Full Metal Jacket. T...e movie becomes more of a thriller after Bannister spots a Reaper-like figure killing people that are marked with numbers on their foreheads. The rest of the movie involves Frank’s efforts to stop these mysterious murders.
The special effects by Richard Taylor and WETA are excellent; a clear sign of talent that definitely was a proving ground for Lord of the Rings. This film is no exception, with characters such as Wallpaperman or Portraitman. Rick Baker’s makeup work on the Judge was exceptional. Baker has won Oscars for makeup from the Nutty Professor, Harry and the Hendersons, and Men in Black. The Grim Reaper figure will definitely be recognizable to fans of Lords of the Rings as the inspiration for LOTR is clear and defined.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 11th, 2007
Not all heist films are created equal. The Hard Easy is a poor man’s Ocean’s Whatever. Number. While that might appear more often than not a knock on the film, that would not be so in this case. Actually I rather liked the film, more for its nuances. The first thing that impressed me was the cast. This isn’t the gaggle of A listers found in the Ocean films. These are still some hard working craftsmen. Just because this isn’t as hyped or financed to the hilt doesn’t take anything away from the performances. It might...have made them work even harder.
Paul (Thomas) and Roger (Boreanaz) both have some serious money problems. Paul owes a huge gambling debt to vicious mobster Freddie (Allen). Roger is caught up in a stock scam about to explode in his face. The only way out, or so it appears, is an easy score. Seems there’s this can’t miss opportunity waiting for the right crew to come and make a good $15 million. Circumstances pull both of these misguided lads into the job. The problem is, of course, they don’t know each other. Both are working with separate crews planning the same job. So this easy score gets very hard; hence the title. When both crews show for the same diamond heist, all hell’s gonna break loose. What this film lacks in action it more than makes up for in characters. Peter Weller has some of the best lines in his over the top portrayal of Ed who leads Roger’s crew for the heist. The cigar crunching ex commando is such a stock character that it’s actually pretty funny to observe. An aging Bruce Dern puts in an almost equally rousing turn as Gene, the leader of Paul’s gang. Where most films concentrate on pulling off the job, this film mines the characters themselves for most of the running time. While it might not be gold they’re mining, it still comes up silver. Rae Allen might have the best role in the very short appearance of female mobster Freddie. I don’t know about you, but I’ll never look at a wrench quite the same way again. Her facial stuff is priceless. Gary Busey plays Vinnie, a counselo of sorts for Paul, who might just be setting him up for a fall. Vera Farmiga has the most unlikely role as Dr. Charlie. Why do all of the women in this film have guy names?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 10th, 2007
Synopsis
Hello, all you happy people. Growing up, many people of my generation when turning to classic cartoons turned to Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse or even Popeye. I wasn't normal (who would have guessed?). I found my cartoon home when I wasn't watching Transformers or He-Man in the old Tex Avery cartoons of yesteryear. My favorite character was Droopy, the little dog with the deadpan wit and a penchant for outsmarting the big bad Wolf or Spike/Butch the bulldog. Tex was fa...ous for throwing one gag at you and then while you are still laughing throw another. He would usually follow that up with a third one for good measure. It was this constant unapologetic slapstick that would become his signature and would be found most consistently in the hands of Droopy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2007
Where was I when Miss Potter was in theatres last year? I don’t recall hearing much about it, and that’s a shame. This is one of the most charming, infectiously light-hearted films I’ve seen in long while.
It’s the story of Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger, Chicago), the 19th century British creator of the famous Peter Rabbit children’s stories. When we first meet Beatrix, she’s an unmarried woman in her early thirties, lugging her portfolio of paintings and a story to potential publishers. In meeting with two crusty older gents, it seems she’s not going to have any luck. They flip through her drawings of rabbits dressed in human clothes, while she insists they, the rabbits, are her friends. She must be crazy. Lucky for her, these guys have an annoying younger brother who’s insisting he be allowed into the family publishing business. They decide to give him this “bunny book” to minimize the harm he would surely do to their serious business.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 10th, 2007
Synopsis
One of my favorite movies of all time is Rocky Horror Picture Show. My favorite character of that movie is Dr. Frank-N-Furter who is just a sweet transvestite transexual from Transylvania. So when I got Priscilla Queen of the Desert to review which had two cross dressers and a trannie and a grand helping of humor to boot, I was hoping it would become one of my favorite movies as well. The story behind Priscilla is that Tick Belrose (drag name: Mitzi) ...(played by Hugo Weaving) got a contract to perform a show way out in the Australian desert. He convinces an old trannie named Bernadette (male name: Ralph) (played by Terence Stamp) and a rather flamboyant newcomer named Adam (drag name: Felicia) (played by Guy Pearce) to come along to be part of the act. From there, they take a faboulous journey across the desert with many hilarious stops along the way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2007
Tony Scott’s controversial thriller, Revenge, is based rather loosely on a 1979 novella written by Jim Harrison for Esquire Magazine. I say loosely because the source material is quite short and was necessarily expanded for a feature length film. I never saw the 1990 theatrical release of the film, but research shows it did rather poorly. What I know of the difference between this cut and the original comes from Tony Scott’s commentary, which I’ll discuss in the audio portion of this review. I do know the changes m...st be significant as extra credits were required which provide for an additional composer for new music for some additional footage. The running time is also a stunning 30 minutes or so less than the original film. I say this up front so that if you are a fan of the original your mileage may differ. That DVD was released back in 1998. The DVD cover contains a quote from Quentin Tarantino exclaiming that Revenge is Tony Scott’s masterpiece. He does not imply which version he’s talking about. Either way, that’s saying a ton when you consider Scott’s impressive portfolio.
The film begins as Michael Cochran, no relation to Zephram (I think) is retiring as a Navy pilot. He heads to Mexico to spend time with a very old friend. It is hinted that he is going there to work for him, but that situation is never really explained. Unfortunately he falls in love with his pal’s wife, Mireya (Stowe). I say unfortunately because it happens that his pal Tibby (Quinn) also happens to be a ruthless underworld kingpin with plenty of power, money, goons, and guns. Did I mention he has a lot of guns? From almost the moment Cochran enters this world he seems to be ruffling the feathers of everyone around Tibby even before he starts ruffling Mireya’s bed sheets. Now I hate to disagree with the venerable Mr. Tarantino, but doesn’t all of this look just too contrived to be a masterpiece? Call me, Quentin, and we’ll talk about it over pasta and meatballs, my treat.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2007
There's a heat-wave in January, and dozens of meteorites are falling from the sky. The plane carrying a princess explodes, but the princess has somehow survived, though she has no memory of her former self and believes herself to be Venusian, come to warn humanity of impending calamity. In due course, this calamity arrives as one of the meteorites transforms into King Ghidorah. Earth will be destroyed unless Mothra manages to convince Godzilla and Rodan to stop fighting each other and instead take on King Ghidorah.
This follow-up to Mothra vs Godzilla marks the point at which the series definitively took a deliberate turn for the comic, for good or ill. The slapstick had already been present in King Kong vs Godzilla, but now it would be here to stay. The storylines would also become more and more outlandish. The monster battles here are largely in the countryside, thus cutting costs on the expensive destruction of city miniatures. Whatever one's feelings on the direction the series took from this point on until the late 70's, the wrasslin' is still a lot of fun, both exciting and funny. However, it is far too long in coming. The monsters have far too little screen time, taking backseat to the rather uninteresting (but much cheaper to film) human stories.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2007
A mysterious new planet is discovered, and an expedition there discovers a civilization under threat from King Ghidorah. The inhabitants of Planet X ask to transport Godzilla and Rodan to their home for help. Earth agrees, and at first it seems that all has gone well, as Godzilla sends Ghidorah packing. But then it turns out that the Xians are actually invaders, and plan to use all three monsters to subjugate Earth.
If you thought Godzilla grabbing at his butt after being zapped by Ghidorah in Ghidorah, ...he Three-Headed Monster was silly, just wait for the infamous victory jig here. So yeah, the juvenile nature of the series is pretty much set in concrete by this point. This is also the first time of many that aliens will plot our conquest and using monsters somehow figures into their dastardly scheme. That said, the plot is livelier and more entertaining than the previous entry’s.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 7th, 2007
Synopsis
When all his cowhands desert him to take part in a gold rush, John Wayne is left with no alternative but hire a group of schoolboys, between the ages of 9 and 15, to work for him on a long and dangerous cattle drive. Along with all the usual hazards of such a journey, they are also being stalked by Bruce Dern and his band of rustlers.
![The Frighteners (Peter Jackson's Director's Cut) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-frighteners-peter-jacksons-di-large.jpg)
