Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2007
Watching the trailers for Black Snake Moan, I recall thinking it was going to drum up some outrageous controversy. I mean, the only thing we really knew about the film was that a big, scary black man chains up a half-dressed white girl in his home. Not exactly a wholesome image.
It’s a southern gothic parable, starring Samuel L. Jackson (Shaft) as Lazarus, a God-fearing man whose wife just left him for his own brother, and Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow) as Rae, a broken young woman wh...
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,...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 14th, 2007
Recently released on HD DVD, this film is the last of the films from the famous British comedy band Monty Python. Originally released in 1983, this is by far Python’s darkest film, filled with violence and dark humor, seemingly tailored to offend everyone. I did not care for the part in the restaurant with the extremely obese man, so there we are.
The film consists of a series of short sketches about various aspects of the “Meaning of Life” or at least an observation of the quirky aspects of life, such as ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 13th, 2007
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a TV news reporter at Eye Witness Channel 7 in New York who fails to get a job as an anchorman and, after a series of other bad luck incidents, complains to God that He is treating him unfairly and is doing a poor job as supreme deity. God (Morgan Freeman) contacts Bruce and offers him the chance of a lifetime. He offers to give Bruce all the powers he has. Bruce quickly abuses his new powers for personal gain (new car, pleasing his girlfriend), only to be reminded that he also has to take...
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...
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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2007
Fletcher Reed (Jim Carrey) is your typical lawyer in that he’s successful and seemingly loves his job. He openly lies each and every day to the judge just so his client can win the case. In fact Fletcher has gotten so accustom to lying so much that he doesn’t even realize that his son Max (Justin Reed) has pretty much became aware that his father is a liar (he means to say lawyer). When Fletcher doesn’t show up to Max’s birthday, Max wishes that for 24 hours his father couldn’t tell a lie. Enter the real humorous and...
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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 10th, 2007
Synopsis
Gabrielle Anwar is a children’s author (of the Edward Gorey school, from the looks of things) who is haunted by intense nightmares. When she sees the house of her dreams on television, she heads out to the small town where it is located and rents the place. Sure enough, there are ghosts there. Fortunately, Forest Whitaker is also in the neighbourhood as a psychic investigator.
Moody, blue-black photography, sudden jump cues in the score, ominous shadows, equally ominous flashbacks:...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2007
Freedom Writers is based upon The Freedom Writers Diary; a book written by teacher Erin Gruwell and her students. I’ll admit that initially I was quite mixed about what to expect from this film; on one hand I just didn’t want to sit through another one of these To Sir with Love, Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds type movies, but on the other hand I hoped it would be different and live up to some of the rave reviews I have read. Well, let’s find out.
Instead of giving a lengthy sy...
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