Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 28th, 2006
Jet Li's Fearless is reportedly the star's final martial arts epic. Since we're talking about the guy who did Once Upon a Time in China, Twin Warriors and Hero, that fact alone makes this is a significant film for martial arts fans.
Fearless tells the story of Huo Yuanjia, who in 1910 helped found the Jin Wu Sports Federation (Chin Woo Athletic Association), the first civil Kung Fu organization in China. Li plays Yuanjia, who is a Chinese folk hero. The film follows Yuanjia's life from early childhood until his last days, showing his journey from a weak, little boy to a cocky, selfish bully, and finally to a respected martial arts master and Chinese patriot.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 27th, 2006
Synopsis
I must be crazy, but I kinda liked Hulk! Although, this is coming from the kid who faithfully watched the old CBS show and loved every damn minute of it. When Universal decided they were going to make a big-screen adaptation, with a computer created green machine, so be it. I fell for the trailers, and everything else. So when it came out to theaters, it seemed like the consensus result was: �Blah!� in large part to said CG leading man/monster. But at the end of the day, it doesn�t seem like he takes up much of the movie, and the action scenes aren�t hurt by his presence, some of them look very good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 22nd, 2006
In case Rain Man didn’t give you your fill of films about autistic characters, Ron Bass, writer of Rain Man, has decided to give us an unnecessary sequel. OK, this isn’t really a sequel, but it might as well be. Honestly, this film has everything Rain Man had except for a good scripts, solid performances, and oh yeah, Dustin Hoffman. Still, this romantic nonsense utilizes the same theme. Unfortunately autism here is reduced at times to stereotyping that appears grossly unfair to the millions of people who suffer from the disability and their loved ones.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 22nd, 2006
Everyone in the world knows about the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. With films hitting the big screen in 2006, I guess the studios thought time enough had gone by to start making movies on the tragedy. World Trade Center is based on the attacks on the World Trade Center, as obvious by its name, but makes mention of the other attacks of the day. I can�t comment on the realism of the movie pertaining to the individuals depicted in the film (John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno) but they were involved with the production of the film, and since film is based on their accounts of the day I could imagine it�s very realistic. There are a few factual inaccuracies regarding some of the events of the day, but nothing major.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 22nd, 2006
Don't pay any attention to the description on the back of DVD case. Described as "hilarious", this film is anything but. While it may have a few funny moments, we're talking about a serious drama. The Last Kiss is a cautionary tale about temptation. It presents the circumstances and life choices of 30-year-olds in an intense, honest way, which makes the film both completely engrossing as well as difficult to watch.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 21st, 2006
What we have here are three films from Hollywood’s days before the Production Code kicked in, which show just how much the envelope was being pushed when it came to sexual subject matters. The recurring theme here is sex as a commodity, whether the situations beinig dealt with involve outright prostitution or not.
Outright prostitution is very much the issue in Waterloo Bridge (1931), director James Whale’s effort just prior to making Frankenstein. Mae Clarke (who would play Elizabeth in Frankenstein) is an out-of-work chorus girl during WWI, not a prostitute trolling for men on the titular bridge.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2006
It started as “the show about nothing”, but we really know better. While some say it’s much ado about nothing, they’ve missed the point, haven’t they. Ask some folks, and they’ve got nothing to say. Well. If you can’t say something nice…
Jerry Seinfeld did what so many comics have failed to do well. It seems just about every stand-up out there thinks the stuff will work on television. Some of it does. Those that got the chance owe much to the success of Seinfeld. Like few sit-coms before it, the series was the hot topic at work water coolers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 20th, 2006
Some films never achieve greatness, but still manage to leave their viewers with a wry smile, and a “that wasn’t so bad, I’m glad I watched it” mentality. Lonesome Jim from IFC Films is one such motion picture. Starring Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler and directed by Steve Buscemi, this is one mood-swinging comedy that will lull you into complacency, then occasionally drop large hilarious bombs into the experience when least expected. Centered on a depressing, tight-lipped, tell-it-like-it-is, loner, who is for...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 20th, 2006
Director Ron Howard is quite the puzzling man. He surely knows how to direct a fine film like A Beautiful Mind or even The Da Vinci Code, but still knows how to give us that random piece of crap. When word came that Howard was going to adapt Dr. Seuss� timeless classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas, I immediately questioned why? After all wasn�t the TNT special that airs oh 40-50 times a year good enough? I guess not for Hollywood as the 2000 remake made some serious bank with Jim Carrey portraying the lead character. The only unfortunate part here is that the film is absolutely horrendous.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2006
A twisted twist on the zombie genre. Dellamorte (Everett) is a watchman of sorts over a small village cemetery. The problem is not so much with folks breaking in as with the dead breaking out. In this neck of the woods the dead arise within 7 days of their death. A simple shot in the head solves the rather pesky problem; however, it requires a certain amount of vigilance. Now so far none of this is terribly original at all. Things begin to change when Dellamorte becomes infatuated with a mourning widow. Their escapades at her husband’s grave literally wake the dead.
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