Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
The topic for this documentary are the Shakers, more properly the “United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.” The Shakers weren’t around that long: they were celibate, which meant no offspring. However, as the film explores, that didn’t stop them from having a profound impact on American life (they were, for instance, feminist and anti-slavery well ahead of the game).
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
A history and a meditation on the American Congress, both at the institutional and at the architectural level -- there are many beautiful shots of the Capitol, and the building becomes as much a character as any of the politicians who strode the stage within its walls. A fascinating documentary, enlivened not only with Burns’ usual fine use of period paintings and photographs,but also with film clips from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Advise and Consent.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
The film opens with Gary Busey (playing a blind man with the world’s biggest cane)investigating a vampire killing. An elaborate flashback then begins, telling us how a vampire came to be among us. Among American mercenaries in Afghanistan back in 1989 are Jack Frost and Nat McKenzie. The latter is bitten by a Russian vampire, and gradually begins to change,going over to the dark side. Frost eventually realizes him must hunt his best friend down. I’ll say this for the film: it is very ambitious on a very small budget, globe-hopping from Afghanistanto Mexico to the States, and is filled with combat and vampire CGI. The script is painful, though,loaded with ungainly exposition, and the action scenes are curiously static. Neat opening credits,though.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003
We first meet Holly and Michelle in the 70s, when they are 13 and already inseparable friends. They are very different already, though. Holly is bookish and shy. Michelle is beautiful and wild. Over the years, their relationship is tested as they clash, support and sabotage each other. The significant male characters are Kyle Maclachlan as a professor they both have an affair with, and Michelle’s brother, for whom Holly carries a torch through the years.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003
In 2176, the world is a grey, sterile place. All history has been lost. Four scientists (led by David Cassidy of Partridge Family infamy) travel back in time to recover the American Constitution, and revive history. Unfortunately, their time machine malfunctions, and they windup in 1976. Cue the stupidity. Unfortunately, the laughs are very few and far between. We already know that this period had many risible qualities. Just showing them to us isn’t enough.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 3rd, 2003
Spanning a good thirty years, Giant tells the tale of the Benedicts, a Texas family on an immense cattle range. The patriarch is Rock Hudson, whom we first meet as a young man visiting Maryland to buy a horse. There he meets Elizabeth Taylor and falls in love. His new bride initially finds Texas difficult to adjust to, and Texas has difficulty adjusting to her, as she does not hold with the local attitudes towards women and, most especially, Mexicans. The third major player is James Dean, a rather sullen ranch hand who winds up changing everybody’s lives when he strikes oil on his small parcel of land.
This is a big film, with big scope, big stars, big performances, big virtues, and big flaws. It is at its best as it works out the family dynamics, with Hudson and Taylor bouncing off each other.James Dean, though he has comparatively little screen time, turns in a remarkable performance,and as the characters move into middle-age, his is the most convincing transformation. The film is at its weakest in its ham-fisted handling of the racial issues. These scenes play out in deeply predictable fashion, and the symbolism of the final scene is so obvious, yet takes itself so seriously, that the film ends on a note of high camp. But even these problems make up part of the charm, and its 201 minutes go by surprisingly quickly. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore,and nor should they, but thank God they did in 1956.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 1st, 2003
The film opens with the assassination of Jesse James (Kristofferson) and then flashes back tothe last years of the lives of the James brothers. Ostensibly retired from their outlaw ways, they can’t quite settle down. Jesse is the wilder of the two brothers, while Frank is much more of a homebody, and is frequently seeing cursing his stubborn animals. Imagine the kind of western you’d expect to catch on cable in the late 80s, and you’ve imagined this movie. Kristofferson is notably more convincing in his role than is Cash.
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