Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 22nd, 2006
Burned out actor Howard Spense (Sam Shepard) has a mid-life crisis, rides off the set of his latest western, and visits his mother (Eva Marie Saint), whom he has not seen in over 30 years. Mother Spense informs Howard that he has a son named Earl, (Gabriel Mann) living in Butte, Montana from a fling he had with Doreen (Jessica Lange), while he was there shooting on location 20 years ago. Upon arriving in Butte (he gravitates there more than actually arriving), Howard also meets Sky (Sarah Polley), a mysterious woman ...ho is carrying the ashes of her mother in an urn. She may also be his daughter.
If this sounds like a Lifetime made-for-TV-movie-of-the-week, then you wouldn’t be far off. There are lots of angst-riddled father-son arguments and tearful reunions. But director Wim Wenders and cinematographer Franz Lustig inject the film with a minor art-house vibe and some major western landscapes, elevating the film into something more relevant than a generic film found on the “men are evil” Lifetime network. Wenders also supplies the film with an excellent alt-country soundtrack (courtesy of T-Bone Burnett) that adds an emotional punch that is sorely lacking on-screen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 17th, 2006
Synopsis
Marnderlay is part two of the trilogy that began with Dogville. Picking up where that film left off, we see Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard replacing Nicole Kidman) and her gangster father (Willem Dafoe taking over from James Caan) arriving at Manderlay, a plantation where slavery never ended. Grace, horrified by this state of affairs, orders slavery abolished, but her attempts to bring freedom to the slaves lead inexorably to disaster.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 17th, 2006
Road House is macaroni and cheese for a lot of movie goers that are over 27 years of age. Released in 1989, the movie chronicles the life of James Dalton (Patrick Swayze, Ghost), a “cooler” at a local bar, who is offered a huge sum of money to help a bar owner named Frank Tilghman (Kevin Tighe, Mumford) get his place called the “Double Deuce” back on its feet. A cooler for lack of a better explanation is a bouncer who helps diffuse situations before they blow up into brawls.
When Dalton gets to the bar, he sees the type of environment he’ll have to deal with. Even though his old friend (and house band singer) is there, he’s got drug dealing waitresses, statutory raping bouncers and money stealing bartenders. And apparently the few legitimate operating businesses in town appear to be owned by Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara, The Big Lebowski). Brad doesn’t hesitate to break the rules whenever necessary, even if it means that Dalton has to call in his mentor Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott, We Were Soldiers), while he continues romancing Dr. Elizabeth Clay (Kelly Lynch, Charlie’s Angels), who just happened to be Wesley’s woman for a little while.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 15th, 2006
Tristram Shandy is the oddest and most entertaining sort of film. It is a film about the making of the film that you are watching, hosted by the fictional main character. It is sort-of like American Splendor, and sort-of like Spinal Tap. The film is the story of the life of Tristram Shandy, an 18th century Englishman of particularly stately means. The man's life is of note and worthy of such a film because... well, now that I think of it... I don't really know. You see, there are so many interruptions and different takes during the film that the actors are trying to make, that the viewer never really learns anything. Herein lies the genius of the piece. For all of the efforts the cast makes to tell the story, they never really tell us anything at all. Instead, the film is full of false starts, tales told out of order, and tons of disturbingly enjoyable comedy.
When reviewers talk about the desire to find new and interesting films, this is just the kind of thing they are talking about. This is a film that defies explanation, except to say that it is very, very funny. It is a fictional documentary about the filming of an unfilmable book. That in and of itself should sell you on picking up this disc.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 9th, 2006
It goes without saying that the James Bond franchise is the crown jewel of the MGM and Sony vault. And in preparation for Daniel Craig’s turn as the man who likes his martinis shaken and not stirred in Casino Royale, it was decided to let them run with some things in order to double-dip Joe Q. DVD Buyer. And in the UK, where Bond reigns supreme, these new “Ultimate Editions” of all the James Bond movies have just been released (don’t worry US fans, these are on their way in November).
The UK version ...f this collector’s set is somewhat snazzy, as there’s a locking metal attaché case that houses all of the films (20 in total), and each film gets a 2 disc edition to boot. So the bottom line is that if you’re a fan of Connery, Moore, Brosnan, Dalton and Lazenby, get that fridge by the TV installed and get a case of diapers ready, because you’re getting married to that furniture for the short and intermediate term with 40 discs of James Bond cinematic joy. I did some skimming of the titles, and decided to get this party started by watching Octopussy. I think the reason I might have gone with this is that I think this may have been the first Bond film I saw in the theater, and I remember it being a really cool thing to see as a tyke growing up as the son of a British mother.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 8th, 2006
Synopsis
A group of masked criminals, led by Clive Owen, take over a Manhattan bank and hold everyone there hostage. Denzel Washington arrives on the scene as police negotiator, and he rapidly finds that his opponent is extremely clever, and appears to know every move the police will make even before they do. Complicating matters further is the arrival of Jodie Foster, an ice-cold fix-it woman hired by bank-owner Christopher Plummer to protect his interests: there is a safety deposit box he desperate...y wants to avoid having opened.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2006
We Were Soldiers unfortunately, was a film that didn’t really find its audience, and was also a casualty of the 9/11 attacks. Whereas Black Hawk Down was released in late December 2001/early January 2002 and made almost $110 million, We Were Soldiers was released six months later, and made $30 million less. Figure in the then-recent surge of big studio films of that genre in recent years, notably Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, perhaps We Were Soldiers was the film ...hat the moviegoing public wanted to take a break from.
Whatever the case may be, the film didn’t really get a fair enough look in its theatrical release. One of the differences between it and Black Hawk Down was the increased focus placed on the families in this film, including the initial delivery of casualty notices by taxicabs, an event that did occur for a period of time until the Army developed a group specialized in breaking that unfortunate news. Perhaps the focus on families, or family life, may have reminded some of scenes from The Deer Hunter, but this is still a movie full of emotion and heartache.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 31st, 2006
Synopsis
Jon Voight is a rogue director in the National Security Agency. When politician Jason Robards stands in the way of dangerous bill that would give the NSA almost unlimited powers, Voight has him killed. The murder is captured on tape, and a disc containing the incriminating evidence winds up in the hands of attorney Will Smith. The next thing he knows, his life is turned upside down as Voight sends high-tech minions after him. He seeks the help of retired surveillance whiz Gene Hackman.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 22nd, 2006
On Jerry Seinfeld's first comedy CD after his run on Seinfeld ended, he does a joke where he talks about why he hasn't done a movie yet. He talks about what a huge commitment it is to do a movie, and how he fears that when it is all over, he will be on the screen looking out at the audience saying, “this sucks, doesn't it? I didn't know. I really meant well.”
This movie is that punchline. Catching Ray Romano after his show's run and Kevin James just before the end of his sitcom, the two pair up as a co...ple of door to door meat salesmen who somehow get themselves involved in a situation between the mob, some killers... whatever. You know the drill. On the one hand, I can most certainly understand how someone could get talked into something that sounds better than it is actually going to be. On the other hand, surely they read the script before hand, didn't they?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 16th, 2006
Valley of the Dolls is a musical that way way ahead of its time. Based on the novel by Jacqueline Susann, the film tells the story of three aspiring actresses and their attempts at becoming stars. Sure, this is an age old tale, but it had not been told as bluntly an honestly until now. The film starts Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke and Sharon Tate as the actresses in question. Audiences must have been shocked upon going to the theater, as they were much more used to rags to riches musicals such as A Star is Bo...n instead of the brutally honest vision that Dolls presented.
The actresses in this film are mean-spirited, nasty, drug-addicted women who will stop at nothing to get where they want to be, and they don't care what they have to do or who they have to step on to get there. As horrible as these women are, this Hollywood musical strips away all the glitz and glamor to bring the true story of what it takes to make it in show business. It is a groundbreaking film that was nominated for an Academy Award for its wonderful musical numbers. Both the beauty and the ugliness of the business are shown here, and the film completely took me by surprise.
