Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 8th, 2003
Synopsis
A synopsis is beside the point here. The main feature is song clips from various Winnie ThePooh cartoons with animated captions encouraging the kids to sing along. I do wonder about theaudience for such bits as the Tigger song: this piece moves so fast that you need to be a speedreader to keep up, and so probably too old for the DVD.
Audio
No sound effects to speak of, naturally, since music is the whole point of the DVD. Themusic sounds fine. It is...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2003
Synopsis
Eddie Murphy is Pluto Nash, ex-smuggler, now owner of the Moon’s most successful nightclub. He refuses to sell his business to mysterious casino operator Rick Crater, with the resultthat his club is blown up, and various and sundry goons are after him. What follows is all sortsof barely motivated running around sets that appear to have waltzed off outtakes from TotalRecall. The film makes little sense, isn’t very funny, isn’t very exciting, and doesn’t have verygood special...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2003
Synopsis
In a beautiful opening shot, a plane flies across the screen at sunrise, parachuting a box tothe ground. The in the case is a ballot box, and a solider stationed on a deserted beach is to watchover the election agent who comes for the box. Together they criss-cross the island in search ofvotes, which is not the straightforward task you might think. This is very low-key satire, whereevery nuance counts for something. The extremely long, often motionless takes furtherconcentr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 5th, 2003
Synopsis
Sanaa Lathan is a music journalist, and Taye Diggs is a hip-hop star. They’ve been friendssince childhood, but not a romantic couple. Diggs is about to get married to someone else, whichcauses Lathan to reconsider her feelings. The naturalism of the performances and the importanceof the setting make this a refreshing break from too many cookie-cutter romances.
Audio
The environmental effects aren’t bad, with decent use of sound effects. The music, how...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 5th, 2003
Synopsis
Elected with the greatest majority of any US president, Lyndon Johnson (Michael Gambon,who will be replacing Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore) begins his administration withgreat hopes for the positive transformation of American society. But he listens to the wrongpeople about Vietnam (Alec Baldwin instead of Donald Sutherland), and little by little everythinggets swallowed up by the war. Though long, this is one compelling drama, and much of thedialogue is spooky in ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 4th, 2003
Synopsis
On their way to a kid’s concert, the Veggies’ bus runs off the road, and they go for help ina seafood restaurant. At this restaurant are the “pirates who do nothing,” who teach one of theyoungsters a lesson in compassion through their tale of their adventures with Jonah. Nicelyanimated, Jonah for the most part avoids the ham-fisted didacticism that plagues many similarefforts.
Audio
A very strong, powerful mix. The music is a particular standout. Th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Alison Lohman is the daughter of the chillingly beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer. Dangerouslyself-possessed, Pfeiffer murders her boyfriend when he cheats on her, and is sentenced to 35-years-to-life. Lohman then bounces from one foster home to another, and among her fostermothers are Robin Wright Penn (as a born-again ex-stripper) and Renee Zellweger (as a fragileformer actress). Tragedy and hardship are present around every bend, and as if that weren’tenough, Pfeiffer does her...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 4th, 2003
Synopsis
Owen Wilson is an agent for the fictional Bureau of National Security. He doesn’t have avery good track record, and so is constantly stuck with substandard equipment. He is sent toHungary to recover the Switchblade, a super-stealth plane stolen by Malcolm McDowell. He ispartnered up with egotistical boxer Eddie Murphy, and the usual buddy hijinks ensue. There issome fun to be had in the frantic action sequences, and in a Cyrano de Bergerac moment whenMurphy is trying to coa...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Christopher Gorham plays a 19-year-old Mormon who is sent on a three-year mission toconvert the islanders of the Tonga. After some initial stumbles, he learns the local languagethanks to a four-day Bible reading marathon (that’s what it looks like, anyway), and is soon goinggreat guns, despite such hardships as a vicious rival minister and a hurricane. This is anunbelievably retrograde film. Setting aside whatever doubts one might have regarding the entiremissionary project...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Being the outsider at school is never an easy thing and for 14 year old Lucas who has been accelerated in his schooling it is especially difficult. He is more interested in bugs and symphonies then football and popularity. This all changes after he befriends the new girl in town during summer break, she turns into a cheerleader who only has eyes for the quarterback and Lucas will stop at nothing to get her to notice him. This includes joining the football team! A coming of age film staring C...
