Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 30th, 2001
Posted in Disc Reviews by Carly Peters
Intro
I had to dab the drool from the corner of my mouth when I was handed this beauty. The Smashing Pumpkins are considered to be one of the most musically and visually creative bands of the Twentieth century. This DVD features every music video released by the Pumpkins from Gish to Machina, and includes some live footage that was not released previously.
Audio
The audio sounds exactly like CD quality. The music is clear, rich and full, with no auditable distortion. Unfortunately thi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2001
Intro
This is a deeply, deeply silly film. But it takes being silly deeply, deeply seriously.
Synopsis
Peter Weller is Buckaroo Banzai: brain surgeon, physicist, rock star, fighter of evil. He and his merry men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, fight to save the world from destruction caused by a war between the Black Lectroids (good aliens) and the Red Lectroids (bad aliens). The deadpan cast includes good guys Jeff Goldblum and Ellen Barkin, and, on the side of evil, John Lilthgow and Christ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 12th, 2001
Intro
The most recent film from Tran Anh Hung, writer/director of The Scent of Green Papaya, continues his restrained, low-key examination of human interaction.
Synopsis
In some ways, providing a synopsis for movies like this is to do them a disservice. This is not meant to imply that there is no story. There is: three sisters prepare a feast to mark the anniversary of their parents’ death, and we explore their relationships with each other and with the men in their lives. But above an...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 9th, 2001
Intro
Mean-spirited. Nasty. Spiteful. Evil. All words that apply to this comedy. And they’re compliments.
Synopsis
Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas are Barbara and Oliver Rose. They’ve had seventeen wonderful years together. But their marriage collapses. Their hatred for each other emerges, and a tit for tat battle erupts, each indignity that one inflicts on the other inviting greater retaliation. The war escalates into a total domestic Armageddon. This is uncompromising black comed...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 4th, 2001
Intro
1993 isn’t that long ago, but watching this film makes that year seem much further back than it is, given the subsequent career paths of some of the cast.
Synopsis
Johnny Depp is Gilbert, our hero and narrator. He lives in the US heartland small town of Endora, with a family that includes his mentally impaired brother Leonardo DiCaprio (in a performance that reminds us that yes, he really is a good actor) and his enormous mother (Darlene Cates), who has not been out of the house ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 30th, 2001
Gary Sinise (who also produced and directed) is George, the smart one. John Malkovich (in a role light years from his usual creepy venom) is Lennie, child-like but enormously strong. The two best friends wander Depression-era California, looking for work. They find what seems likea long-term gig at the Tyler Ranch, but trouble rears its head in the form of the unhappy Sherilyn Fenn, trapped in an abusive marriage. It isn’t long before everything goes to hell.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 26th, 2001
Intro
The timing on this release is just about perfect: close enough to the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings for people to be eager for some high fantasy, but far in advance enough that comparisons will be less likely.
Synopsis
The story, by George Lucas, should be familiar to followers of his work. Once again, there is the promised deliverer, this time in the form of a baby girl. A quest ensues to save her, and the leader of this quest is Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), a Lu...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2001
Intro
Once a franchise is launched, it seems, it is by definition unstoppable, even when, as is the case for this series of films involving a large St. Bernard, the franchise has moved into the direct-to-video realm.
Synopsis
Beethoven, with his slobbery, chaotic ways, is making life impossible for the Newton family. He is thus packed off to obedience school. Meanwhile, we are introduced to Michelangelo, the impeccably behaved St. Bernard owned by the impossibly rich Sedgwicks. The Sed...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 19th, 2001
Intro
Um. Okay. If anyone ever asks you for a quick definition of “niche marketing,” hand them this DVD. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m hopelessly out of touch, but I’d never heard of backyard wrestling before now. If you’re like me, here’s your chance to correct that oversight.
Synopsis
Scott Hamm and Walter Emanuel Jones play ambitious backyard wrestlers (wrestlers who take part in amateur bouts staged in, yes, backyards). They enlist Bree Turner to film their exploits and market them ov...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 19th, 2001
Intro
From seemingly out of nowhere comes this period piece, directed by Bruce (Driving Miss Daisy) Beresford.
Synopsis
This biopic tells the story of Alma Mahler, a fiercely independent woman in turn-of-the-century Austria. She is attracted by art and artists, and is successively wife of composer Gustav Mahler, lover (then wife) of architect Walter Gropius, lover of painter Oksar Kokoschka, and lover of novelist Franz Werfel. Alma’s love life is not a happy one, as each man seems dest...
