Video

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 8th, 2002

Synopsis

Surely you know the story: cute little alien is left behind by his fellows, and befriends youngElliott (Henry Thomas). Elliott and his siblings do their best to help E.T. phone home and getrescued, but meanwhile the government is also on the hunt for the hapless fellow. The re-releasefeatures improved special effects, a couple of restored scenes, and miscellaneous other fixingup. Granted, the film does look slicker (though not all the new CGI elements are entirelynecessary,…
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Sunshine State

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 2002

Synopsis

The setting is the imaginary Florida town of Delrona Beach. It isn’t the most attractive placein the world, and there are rival developers moving in, each with their own ideas on how theplace should be bought and remade. Some of the characters, such as Marly (Edie Falco) needto escape. Others, like Desiree (Angela Bassett) are, on the contrary, returning to their roots. Thescript is low-key and finely tuned, building toward small epiphanies. The characters are nicelyfleshed…
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King of Comedy, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 6th, 2002

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Synopsis

Robert De Niro is Rupert Pupkin, supreme loser. He has delusions of greatness, andconstantly fantasizes he has a wonderful friendship with talk show host Jerry Langford (JerryLewis, superb). Pupkin is determined to get his moment in the limelight, and he will stop atnothing, not even kidnapping, to make sure he gets what’s coming to him. Along for the ride issimilarly obsessed (and grotesque) fan Sandra Bernhard. Look out. Incredibly smart, incrediblyfunny, incredibly uncom…
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Good Girl, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 6th, 2002

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Synopsis

Welcome to the stagnant end of the gene pool. In this world, mortally stupid people live in asuburban hellscape, and shop at Retail Rodeo, the bastard love child of WalMart and ValueVillage. Desperate to escape from this world and her slob of a husband (John C. Reilly) is Justine(Aniston). She falls in love with Tom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a younger co-worker, and now Justine isabout to find out what hell really is. Incidentally, all of this is very funny.

Audio>

A carefully wrought 5.1 sound mix is on offer here. The quiet music is given a warm,atmospheric sound. “Atmospheric” is also the word for the sound effects. They swirl about theroom, and most noticeable is the wind, which not only creates a full environmental effect, butpunches up one of the central metaphors of the film. Very nice left-right separation.

Video

The film is presented in both 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen formats, one oneach side of the disc. The colours are good, as are the blacks. The contrasts could be a little bitstronger. The image is sharp for the most part, though there is once grainy shot near the end ofthe film.

Special Features

Irritatingly, the extras are split over the two sides of the disc, though the bulk are on thewidescreen side (the only extra the fullscreen has to itself is the gag reel, which consists largelyin shots of actors laughing). There are two commentaries. The first is a feature-length one bywriter Mike White and director Miguel Arteta. These are a couple of very low-key guys, and theirdiscussions is sometimes more odd than informative. The other commentary is limited to selectedscenes, and is provided by Aniston, who is full of praise for everybody. There are also 9 deletedscenes (with optional commentary by Arteta). Finally, there’s an alternate ending montage. Themenu has a scored and animated main page and transitions.

Closing Thoughts

There’s a real trend of dark, melancholy comedies these days. If you liked Ghost World, thiswill be right up your alley.

Special Features List

Audio Commentary
Scene Specific Commentary by Jennifer Aniston
Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
Alternate Ending Montage

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2002

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Synopsis

I’m not going to summarize an entire season for you. But this is the season where theBuffy/Angel arc reached its conclusion, since the spin-off series was about to begin.

Audio

The sound is limited to a 2.0 mix, but it is a solid mix. As ever with TV shows, the musicheavily dominates, but there is still some sound effect presence, and the result isn’t bad atall.

Video

The last collection was marred with some truly awful grai…
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SpongeBob Squarepants: Sea Stories

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2002

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Synopsis

SpongeBob tries to make Gary the snail take a bath. SpongeBob tries out an extreme sport(“riding the hooks”). And so on. More good-natured goofiness, and I have to confess this guy isbeginning to grow on me.

Audio

The 2.0 sound is very crisp and clear, completely distortion-free. The surround effect,however, is minimal. Even the music barely registers.

Video

No disappointment with the picture, however. Many TV shows, for som…
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Men in Black II

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2002

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Men in Black was a landmark film that almost came out of nowhere. Tom Baker’s standard setting makeup effects combined with the Lethal Weapon-like chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones made it one of the best simple entertainment films in recent memory. The problem with a sequel is you aren’t going to sneak up on an innocent audience. Expectations are high and this film does not meet those high expectations. With that said, however, it really is an entertaining film. All the great elements from the original film are here: Frank the Pug is much more involved, Tony Shalhoub’s Jeebs is still loosing his head over the MIB, and The Practice’s Lara Flynn Boyle is a far more attractive bad guy … eh girl … eh something.
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My Neighbor Totoro

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 28th, 2002

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Synopsis

Two young children move to a new house with their father. Their mother is in the hospital,but they are hopeful she is getting better. In the garden, they have access to a magical world ofspirit creatures. This is a gentle, warm work, with the same delight in the fantastic as is present inPrincess Mononoke and Spirited Away (though unlike those films, this one can be enjoyed evenby very young children). Sweet but never cloying, moving but never saccharine, funny, andfrequent…
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Spider’s Web

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 28th, 2002

Synopsis

Kari Wuhrer is an ambitious corporate lawyer constantly hitting the glass ceiling in a male-dominated world. Her affair with Stephen Baldwin leads to a $40-million theft, and doubt,deception and betrayal follow. Now, if Wuhrer really turned your crank in Eight Legged Freaks,then you might be interested in a film that has her naked as often as possible (and thus makingthe plot’s pseudo-feminism even more laughable). And, if you’re into trivia, one-time JamesBond George Lazen…
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Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 28th, 2002

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Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2002

Synopsis

Can’t afford Jim Carrey? Then hire Dave Sheridan, who will do his best impersonation of thebig star. As Frank McKlusky, Sheridan plays a young man so traumatized by his daredevilfather’s disastrous stunt that he has become psychotic about safety precautions (a neurosisencouraged by mother Dolly Parton). McKlusky’s dad (Randy Quaid) was denied medicalinsurance due to a crooked legal firm, who now, many years later, are up to no good again.McKlusky investigates, and the hilar…
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Pumpkin

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2002

Synopsis

Carolyn McDuffy (Christina Ricci) appears to have it all. She is the most dynamic memberof her sorority. She’s dating the most popular boy on campus. Her unspeakably shallow life isperfect. The sorority does some charity work with challenged athletes, and Ricci is paired up withPumpkin (Hank Harris). She is at first disgusted, then fascinated, and then… Life, of course, goesspinning wildly out of control. Though the trailer suggests this might be another gross-outcomedy, …
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Reign of Fire

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2002

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Written by Dan Bradley

Ever since Dragonslayer lit up the screen, I’ve been waiting for a comparable dragon movie to come along. There have been a few between then and now, most recently the lighthearted Dragonheart, but none have come close to capturing the style and mood of Dragonslayer. Finally a dark depiction of the mythical beasts has returned to ravage audiences and scorch anything in sight, although it could have been a lot better.

The premise of Reign of Fire comes across like a classic bad B movie. Dragons are awakened…
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Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 21st, 2002

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The Greeks are well known for their complex and compelling mythology. Writers like Homer have for millennia defined the literary world of mythology. I challenge anyone to debate that J.R.R. Tolkien has filled that role for the 20th century and beyond. The foreword to The Fellowship of the Ring begins by saying: “The tale grew in the telling until it became a history…” I entered the theatre for a midnight showing of this ambitious film with very high expectations. Truth be told, it was not possible that those expectations could be met.
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Black Point

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 19th, 2002

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Several years ago David Caruso left a young TV series to pursue a career in the big time. That young series was NYPD Blue and the big time movie career ended up somewhat less successful. Caruso is back on TV now and his latest film is proof that’s where he belongs. It’s not that Black Point is a bad film at all. It’s not. It does, however, play out like a made for TV movie. Artisan must agree because they decided to release it in full screen format. It’s one of those several twists/ no honor among thieves affairs.
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