Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 14th, 2008
Here are four films from renowned maverick Jean-Luc Godard. Insofar as these films have plots in the conventional sense of the word, Passion is about a filmmaker struggling to rediscover his love for his profession, First Name: Carmen plays with the tale of that same name to tell another story of filmmaking and bank robbery, Detective is an idiosyncratic tribute to films noirs, and Oh, Woe Is Me is about a man who may or may not be possessed by a god wanting to seduce his wife.
Samuel Johnson once remarked that anyone reading Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa for its plot would be moved to suicide, and that is certainly the case for anyone trying to watch Godard for story. That is not what he’s interested in. These films, all from his late period (ranging from 1982 to 1993), are postmodern, allegorico-politico-philosophical musings on the human condition. Narratives fragment; soundtracks are multi-layered, with dialogue that is dense, sometimes obscured, and often opaque; and there is plenty of provocation. These are films that are probably not terribly inviting for newcomers to Godard. If you already have the likes of Weekend under your belt, you’ll be fine. If this is your first time, your might well reject the filmmaker as a pretentious twit.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 14th, 2008
I'm not sure what we will consider the fall of man. Perhaps it will be dangerous emissions into the air; perhaps it will be what happens when we don't recycle enough. It could just be when I don't win a freaking Nobel Peace Prize for my work in the field of gaming and dvd collecting. But perhaps the true fall of man will actually be rested upon the shoulders of one man and that man is Jerry Springer. For years, his brash trailer trash tv show has done more to destroy mankind than the rubber chicken (trust me, you just don't know). Within the last few years, Jerry has had to take his shtick elsewhere. In college campuses, in shopping malls, on PPV. Yes Pay Per View. This first volume of Jerry explores the first three Pay Per View specials and wow. That is simply all I can say.
If you never seen Jerry Springer, let me sum it up in a couple of sentences. There are people that belong (or are in) a trailer park who sleep with their spouse's best friend, mother, daughter, dog, cow, it really doesn't matter. Then they get on Jerry, talk about it, and have fights that are broken up by security over it. This theme will continue for most of the show until Jerry has his little moment at the end where he will speak about what we have learned today (Yeah, don't live in a trailer park and don't date strippers, we got it!). In other episodes, he'll have some hot women get on and do things that our momma never told us about nor will our girlfriend ever think about doing to us or with us. So it continues.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 13th, 2008
Most people like a good heavy dose of action. Guns a blazing, explosions bursting and people's dead bodies flying in each and every direction. But most people also want something a little more. Perhaps a little suspense or a little who dun it. Or perhaps they are looking for their favorite actor to make a dramatic on-screen performance that will leave them breathless at the door. This lonely review writer loves action but a good dose of story and a well done gotcha at the end means more than the next building that gets blown up. Chaos would prove to have everything I wanted from an action drama and make me believe that there is at least one semi-original story left in Hollywood today.
After an incident on the Pearl Street Bridge, Detective Quentin Conners (played by Jason Statham) is suspended and his partner is sent home. When a bank heist takes center stage, a criminal mastermind known only as Lorenz (played by Wesley Snipes)forces the police's hand in reinstating Conners so that they can work out a negotiation. The police however assign Conners a new partner, Shane Dekker (played by Ryan Phillippe). Shane is a young detective that is expected to keep the brash Quentin Conners in line with policy. However, the bank heist goes awry and Lorenz gets away with the crime. This leads into a deep investigation where things are not as they seem and as the story unravels we find out what is meant by the term "Chaos Theory".
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 9th, 2008
Without knowing if he is or not, I’m willing to bet that director James Gray is a fan of The Godfather. His previous films, The Yards and We Own the Night show flashes and flourishes of The Godfather so familiar, it’s uncanny. Also, while The Yards featured Sonny Corleone, We Own the Night features Tom Hagen.
Funny, huh?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 8th, 2008
Jack Lemmon is a rather meek insurance company employee who is slowly working his way up the corporate ladder by lending his apartment to married executives looking for a place to take their girlfriends. Life is rather inconvenient, as he is locked out of his home at all hours, but things become even more complicated when the big boss (Fred McMurray) takes an interest. The good news is that Lemmon gets another promotion. The bad news is that McMurray’s affair is with Shirley MacLaine, the elevator girl for whom Lemmon is carrying a torch.
Billy Wilder’s follow-up to Some Like It Hot certainly has plenty of funny moments, most involving Lemmon’s doctor neighbour (Jack Kuschen). But the film doesn’t shy away from the darker implications of its storyline (up to and including a suicide attempt). The result is a romantic comedy-drama that is sweet without being sentimental, and hard-nosed without being cynical. And the audience’s emotions are thus sincerely earned.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Athena on March 6th, 2008
Athena here. That’s right, I’m the 12 year old Siberian Husky that kind of runs things here at Gino’s house. Since I did such a great job doing the review on Snow Dogs, I decided to step in when I saw Gino watching yet another dog film. This time it was Walt Disney’s classic 101 Dalmatians. Naturally the film would have been better if it had been called 101 Huskies, but unfortunately the film was based on a popular children’s book by Dodie Smith who happened to have Dalmatians herself, so let’s not blame her; she didn’t know any better. Walt Disney himself discovered the story and took a personal interest in having it made into an animated film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 4th, 2008
Tyler Perry has created an empire. Stand-up tours… movie studio… and now he’s thrown his hat into television with the sitcom, House of Payne, on TBS. One can’t deny Perry’s power in Hollywood. His movies are constantly at the top of the box office and his stand-up tours are always sold out.
So can Perry make it in what is perhaps the hardest medium to succeed? The sitcom?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 29th, 2008
Blackgate Prison is built on ground where massacres of one sort or another have occurred throughout the history of the United States. When a disused wing of the prison is reopened, all sorts of nastiness emerges. Michael Paré is the officer called in when a guard mysteriously commits suicide, but that is only the first of many unexplained deaths yet to come.
So here we go with another haunted prison film, and a great deal that we have seen before. Take a cinematic tone that seeks to borrow the eeriness of Session 9 (but fails), mix in creepy little girls in jump-cuts (from the J-horror remake of your choice), and season with a cast that’s a collection of down-on-their luck pros (Tom Sizemore) and a lead in Paré who clearly took the part when From Hell It Came’s tree turned the role down for something with more range. Wake me when it’s over. Our hero’s performance is not helped by a script that appears to be composed entirely of lines from CSI fan fiction.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 29th, 2008
My college life was usually spent doing two things. Okay, actually three things. One, studying (nearly unsuccessful) . Two, trying to get women to sleep with me (mostly unsuccessful). Three, playing Dungeons & Dragons. I owned a good dozen dice from a D3 to many assorted D20's. Want to scare a fellow gamer? As DM, roll for damage and bring out 5 D20's. Anyhow, around this time I also discovered D&D adventure books. I read primarily the works of R.A. Salvatore & Ed Greenwood (Drizzt & Elminster). So needles to say, I was a little intrigued when I saw a Dragonlance movie in my pile. The original book was published in 1984, a few years before I really got into D&D. But with dragons, elves & a mad mage; it was a surefire recipe for something wonderful.
Tanis (voiced by Michael Rosenbaum), a half-elf comes upon his old friend, a dwarf named Flint Fireforge. The two are also joined by a kinder named Tasslehoff Burrfoot. They decide to go to their local hometown tavern where they meet up with their other friends. First there is a knight named Sturm Brightblade. Beside him are two brothers, one a warrior named Caramon Majere. The other, a young mage named Raistlin Majere (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland). Off in the corner, an older mage named Fizban is telling tales of long ago (what he can remember anyways)about the gods of light and their ultra powerful healing magic that has since left this world.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 28th, 2008
Beowulf is one of the oldest written stories known. The story began as a heroic tale passed from generation to generation only by word of mouth. Naturally there’s no way to know how much the story changed during those years of oral tradition. The author of the piece is unknown, and it is likely several persons contributed to the work. By the 8th Century an epic poem was written that forms the story as it is remembered today. Several translations have followed over the years, resulting in many variations of the story. This very impressive history makes Beowulf a natural to be filmed. There are so many versions that there is little worry about following a beloved canon. Second, the story is flourishing with wonderfully imaginative creatures that can now be savored ever so much more with the development of CG technology over the last 20 years. I’m honestly quite surprised that it has taken this long for this kind of a movie to find its way into release.
