Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 26th, 2007
I have no idea what critics thought of this film. I don't know how it did at the box office. I can't even recall knowing anything about it, except for seeing its title on the showtimes board at the theatre. It doesn't matter. I'm telling you now, Reign Over Me is a wonderful film.
I'm in one of those situations when I've discovered a really special movie, and want to recommend it to everyone I know without telling them anything about it. I'm not sure whether I can get away with that here, but I'll try. Let's talk about the DVD. Does it give Reign Over Me a fair shake? Read on to find out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 14th, 2007
In the advertisements we are promised a thrilling heist film. I’m happy to report that those promises were quite wrong. The heist is pretty lame and never keeps up with the many superior attempts. Honestly, we’ve had too many of these multiple twist heist films, culminating in the Ocean franchise which went two films too long. Instead, what we get here is something far better. The Lookout is a compelling character study brought off entirely by a sweet performance by the lead. Who would have believed that Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the dweeb kid from 3rd Rock From The Sun, had pretty nice acting chops? Never a fan of the quirky series, I thought the acting considerably bad, so I certainly would not have been among the Gordon-Levitt faithful. The Lookout is a wonderful breakout performance that should, rightly enough, bring folks like myself into the fold. He carries the entire film on his shoulders. The entire success of this movie hinges on the emotional ride that Gordon-Levitt takes us on. This has to be one of the best portrayals of mental deficiency I’ve seen. Forget Forrest Gump or Rainman; this role isn’t cute or over the top. Here we’re confronted with a convincing enough performance that it might even be hard to watch if your own family has been touched in this way.
Writer/director Scott Frank doesn’t waste any time pulling us into his film. We start out with an adolescent midnight joyride that you just know will end badly for the passengers. Your prediction quickly proves correct, and Frank Scott is ready to move on. He doesn’t bother lingering on the tragic events, instead allowing us to see the tragedy not in the bloody remnants of the crash, but in the emotional aftermath for the driver. Chris (Gordon-Levitt) finds himself four years later scarred both physically and mentally. He has suffered brain damage, and this causes him difficulty in concentration and sequencing events. He has gone from a high school hockey hero from an influential family to a bank night janitor barely in control of his own life. Jeff Daniels spices up the film a bit as Chris’s roommate, Lew. Lew is blind and relatively cynical about most things in life. He offers a symbiotic relationship with Chris and both have obviously fallen into a routine. One of the best lighter moments in the film is Lew’s desire to open a café called “Lew’s Your Lunch”. Things change for Chris when a man who identifies himself as an ex boyfriend of his sister enters his life. Gary (Goode) invites Chris into his tight circle, which includes the attractive Luvlee Lemon (Fisher) who appears interested in Chris. Finding himself a part of a family, of sorts, creates a strong bond for Chris, until he discovers he was being recruited to rob the bank he works at. We are nearly an hour into the film before the mechanics of the heist begin and the action really starts. The true climax of the film, however, isn’t the bank heist; it’s Chris’s discovery that he has been manipulated into taking the fall for the crime. Now Chris must bring out whatever abilities his mind might still possess to get himself out of danger.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 2nd, 2007
As much of a Bruce Willis fan as I am, I have to admit that this movie has no initial appeal to me. Still I am a fan of thrillers and hope I can be surprised by this one as it has a good enough cast including the previously mentioned Bruce Willis, Halle Berry, and Giovanni Ribisi.
The movie opens with the death of Grace, best friend of Rowena Price (Halle Berry, X-Men). We don’t learn much about her so it’s hard to garner up any feelings towards Rowena’s plight in tracking down the killer. But nonetheless as the story plays on Rowena enlists the help of her good friend Miles (Giovanni Ribisi Gone In 60 Seconds) and narrows down the list of potential killers to Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis, Live Free or Die Hard). The rest of the movie consists of Rowena following a trail of evidence that in the end is irrelevant in a twist ending that is quite common of modern day film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2007
I am a big fan of Kung Fu on film, whether it be Bruce Lee’s Enter The Dragon or Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master I can't get enough. More specifically I love Asian Kung Fu cinema, the Sammo Hung's and the Sonny Chiba's. So I think it goes without saying that this isn’t the first time I’ve seen Kung Fu Hustle, and it certainty won’t be the last.
It’s the 1930’s in Shanghai and various gangs compete for territory, the most powerful being the deadly Axe Gang. The police are powerless and it seems the only people that can live without fears are the poor ones, who the gangs have no interest in. That is until things get shaken up by Sing (Stephen Chow, Shaolin Soccer) and his sidekick Bone (Lam Chi Chung, Shaolin Soccer). The two pose as Axe members in the tenement Pig Sty Alley, where they attract the attention of real gang members. Catastrophe is merely averted when three local tradesman the coolie, tailor, and baker showcase their kung fu talents and thwart an Axe gang attack.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 31st, 2007
In the same cinematic style of Sin City another Frank Miller graphic novel has found its way to the big screen. For those of you history buffs out there, you might recognize this story as the Battle of Thermopylae. Although 300 is large in part fictitious, the core elements of the historical story remain intact, and factual. Regardless of your knowledge of history, 300 is to be enjoyed by anyone, and everyone.
300 is told in a narrative from Spartan orator Dilios (David Wenham, The Lord of The Rings). It begins with a young Leonidas who is in the midst of his typical Spartan training. He is cast out into the wild and survive amongst the beasts throughout the winter, when he comes home he is crowned King of Sparta. Some time goes by and Leonidas (Gerard Butler, The Phantom of the Opera) now the fully grown Spartan King is faced with a problem. Persian King Xerxes sends messengers to Sparta demanding their submission to the Persian Empire. Insulted by the offer King Leonidas kicks the Persian messenger into a pit and the rest of his commandants follow shortly. Leonidas seeks the advice of the Oracle and requests permission to go to war, only to be denied. He then takes the matter into his own hands and gathers 300 of Sparta’s best warriors, to take on the dominating numbers of the Persians. The Persians demand that the Spartans drop their arms but the persistent group of warriors will not let up and they try to hold up knowing that they are facing sure death.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 20th, 2007
While expecting her husband home from a business trip, Sandra Bullock receives word that he has died. But the next morning, when she wakes up, he is still alive, and hasn't even left yet on the trip. Next morning, he's dead again, and it's the day of the funeral. Understandably, our poor heroine is a might discombobluated as she deals with having become unmoored in time, struggling to save her sanity, her husband, and her marriage.This film was thoroughly trashed at the time of its theatrical release, and there are, it must be said, plenty of things wrong with it. Some temporal elements are inconsistent as the days move around (why, for instance, does Bullock's older daughter not show, on the day the news of the husband's death is received, the facial injuries that she received a few days prior?), the pace flags after a fairly taut first half-hour, a theme of incarceration mysteriously disappears, and the explanation for why this is all happening is weak, not to mention that the purpose for it all is rather pointless. So yeah, all of that is wrong. As a supernatural thriller, the film doesn't work. But as an old fashioned weepy melodrama, it has a certain daffy power. Bullock gets to chew up the scenery in some wonderfully OTT moments of Grand Guignol soap opera. The film also stays true to the weepie form with its heroic/tragic conclusion. As a piece of whacked entertainment, engaging in no small part because of all the things it does wrong, but also because it takes itself so seriously and plays the emotional heartstings for all they're worth, this isn't on part with such classic weepies as Now, Voyager, Stella Dallas or Mildred Pierce, but it could hold its head up alongside the likes of The Other Side of Midnight.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2007
Previous to receiving this copy of Happy Feet for review, I have wanted to check it out but never got the chance; the animation appears to look spectacular and the cast of voice actors seems really impressive. The list includes one of my favorite actors Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Robin Williams, Hugo Weaving, Nicole Kidman, and more. So on paper Happy Feet sounds like a winner, how does it turn out?
Happy Feet revolves around the lives of a colony of emperor penguins on...Antarctica, and as I’m sure some of you know compliments of Planet Earth or March of the Penguins that in order to find a mate emperor penguins sing to each other - in Happy Feet they call this a “Heartsong.” Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman) sings to Memphis (Hugh Jackman) who in turn sings to her and the two identify each other as soul mates. They mate and Norma Jean along with the rest of the females take off to get food while Memphis and the males stay and guards the eggs, but Memphis drops his and normally the harsh winter isn’t so forgiving of a dropped egg in the sub zero temperatures, but the baby penguin survives and out hatches Mumble (Elijah Wood). As time goes on it becomes realized that unlike every other penguin Mumble’s can’t sing, therefore has no “Heartsong.” Instead he is blessed with an outstanding ability to tap dance, which ultimately gets him branded as a freak amongst the emperor penguins. As Mumbles grows older he fails to garner a singing voice, and it unable to attract the penguin of his dreams, Gloria (Brittany Murphy). Then through a series of unfortunate events Mumble is swept into the sea and lands up within a new colony of fun loving penguins who actually adore his tap dancing abilities. Through the adventures with his new penguin buddies, Mumble discovers humans who he refers to as aliens, caught up in the hype he sets out for home to tell the colony of his findings, where he must prove himself to not only his family, but also the colony and his crush Gloria.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 21st, 2007
Flags of Our Fathers is based on the book of the same name by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima and the famous raising the flag on Iwo Jima picture. It’s the second recently released movie about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the other being Letters from Iwo Jima.
Both films were directed by Clint Eastwood. Although both focus on the same event, they are quite different. Letters from Iwo Jima is from the Japanese perspective and Flags of Our Fathers from the Ame...ican. Also, Flags is more focused on the group of Marines that raised the flag, their efforts in selling war bonds back in America and their coping with the war. Having recently watched and enjoyed Letters from Iwo Jima, I eagerly anticipated this film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 19th, 2007
Marvel Comics has certainly enjoyed a renaissance of late. There can be no question that this entire run of comic heroes on screen began with Spider-Man. Even the recent DC reimaginings might not have gotten this second chance without everyone’s favorite web slinger, or at least the gobs of money that franchise has pulled in. While none of these recent comic films have come close to the success of Spider-Man, the studios are determined to keep the trend alive and well. That translates to great news for us. The most...recent development of this success is that lesser known comic heroes are starting to emerge on film. Ghost Rider is not quite as known around the world but is not without its loyal following. Nicholas Cage happens to be among the Ghost Rider faithful. We’re talking about a guy so into the comic scene that he named his son Jor-El (Superman). Cage, it appears, has wanted to do Ghost Rider for almost as long as he’s been acting. This unusually high level of passion for a character plays to the film’s advantage. He believes in the role and thus becomes Ghost Rider with an uncanny ease.
The Ghost Rider character has evolved more over the years than perhaps any other comic icon. The story and the character himself have gone through many significant changes. The film pays homage to a ton of this history by including elements of many of those comic runs. The writers combined some of the best elements from the whole to create a world and character that is unique, yet quite true to the spirit of the Ghost Rider. The basic story remains relatively faithful to some aspect of the story’s varied history while allowing the film to have its own distinct look and tale. Here a young Johnny Blaze discovers that his father is dying of lung cancer. Together father and son have a motorbike daredevil show. He is approached by an ominous stranger who offers to heal his father’s ailment in return for, you guessed it, his soul. I know what you’re thinking. “Boy have we seen that one a thousand times before. Believe it or not this story has a remarkable twist to the old story. Of course, the deal’s a rip-off and Johnny gets exactly what he wants but not really what he wants. It’s that old fine print stuff again. The twist is that our old devilish friend has a more complicated fate in store for Johnny. When called upon he must ride his bike as the flaming skulled Ghost Rider to do the Devil’s bid. In this film the spectral rider is called upon to collect a powerful contract , which is also goal of some rather nasty elemental bad guys. It’s a royal battle to control Hell, and Blaze is right in the middle of it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2007
Seraphim Falls was a sparsely released film released early in 2007, recently finding its way to DVD. In addition to being the first film where two Irish stars - Pierce Brosnan & Liam Neeson - share screen time together, it also marks the directorial debut of David Von Ancken who also happened to be a co-writer. After watching this movie I can definitely tell you that I am looking forward to any future projects of Von Ancken’s. But that’s aside from the point, how was this film?
Before watching this m...vie I didn’t know anything about it, and it definitely makes it more interesting this way. The movie opens with Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) sitting next to a fire in the snowy woods, the tranquility of the forest is soon interrupted by gun shots aimed for Gideon, one hitting him. He begins running and pursuing him closely is Carver (Liam Neeson) with a posse. I was perplexed at the time trying to figure out what was going on, more specifically why Carver was trying to kill Gideon. I couldn’t figure out who to cheer for, and after Gideon cleverly kills a few posse members it becomes apparent that he’s not just your average Joe which made it all the more interesting to discover their back stories. As the film progresses you learn more about the connection between these two and their motives, but I won’t spoil that. But you can expect a very entertaining movie with an intense chase that leads from mountains to desert, although there isn’t much dialogue there is a lot of intensity and enjoyment, of course there is some action as well.
![Happy Feet (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/happy-feet-combo-hd-dvd-and-standa-large.jpg)
![Flags of Our Fathers (Two-Disc Special Edition) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/flags-of-our-fathers-two-disc-special-edition-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
