Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 18th, 2005
Synopsis
In Akira Kurosawa’s later years, it was almost criminal that a director with his resume was forced to practically beg for financing. Kurosawa was in the midst of a career drought, having made only two movies in almost 15 years with Dersu Uzala and Dodesukaden. This coming after a run of films that has proved influential to even today’s filmmakers. While Kurosawa did have to obtain foreign financing for his movies in later years, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, both of whom cite...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 17th, 2005
Pickpocket is precisely the kind of film that could never have been made in Hollywood in the 50's. The Hays Code was a set of morality guidelines that dictated what was and was not acceptable to be shown in motion pictures. Amongst many other things, the code would not allow a criminal to be depicted on screen in such a way as to induce sympathy from the audience. It also said that criminals must always be punished for their actions. (For a complete copy of the code, visit http://www.artsreformation.com/a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 17th, 2005
In the light of today's world - all the changes that are going on in Iraq, and with hostilities toward America for our involvement being the naturally derivative baggage - I fully expected a piece of anti-American propaganda with Zaman: The Man from the Reeds. However, I was pleasantly surprised upon the discovery that director Amer Alwan, regardless of his political feelings, has instead told a simple, sweet story of love and sacrifice.
Spirituality does play a part of Zaman's character, but keep in mind before any rushes to judgment that Zaman's family is very poor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 17th, 2005
Peter Jackson is a true visionary. In most circles, such a statement is agreed upon if the subject is the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or his brand new King Kong remake. There are also those who'd rather remember him for his schlocky, disgusting, and dangerously enjoyable efforts Braindead and Bad Taste. Of course, either camp will love his work. It's just a matter of preference as to which type of film they love more. I'd say most find his latest efforts to be superior to those low budget e...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 16th, 2005
Synopsis
The oppressive Parliament controls human civilization, willing to engage in any atrocity for the sake of a dubious greater good. A teenage girl, developed as a psychic super-weapon and traumatized by some mysterious event, is broken out of Parliament custody by her brother, and the two become part of the fractious crew of the mercenary ship Serenity. This crew is made up of veterans of independent colonies who fought in an unsuccessful war against the Parliament. Captain Malcolm Reynolds is ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2005
Synopsis
Pooja (Kirti Reddy) dreams of being a film director, but the old boys at the ad agency she works for are constantly brushing her off. When she meets singer Kabir (Abhishek Bachchan), she thinks she could use his talent, but he is hoping for a more romantic relationship. She, meanwhile, is attracted to her boss’s son, but then things become further complicated when she has to pretend to be engaged to Kabir in order to save her job.
Why, precisely, the Jennifer Anniston vehicle was c...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 16th, 2005
Just in time for the mega release of Peter Jackson’s King Kong comes a slew of Kong-related merchandise determined to cash in on the hoopla. Like long lost relatives only interested in you after that big lottery win, these forgettable items are giving it one desperate shot on DVD. Among this sub-par schedule of releases is the new feature-length cartoon Kong – King of Atlantis. In this outing, Kong is a new gorilla descended from the original King Kong. He has inherited the size, but is still struggling...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 15th, 2005
Written by Clayton Self
The Polar Express is a milestone in digital film making. Making use of “performance capture” (little attachments connected to the body to mimic human movement) and green screens, Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) has created a stunning visual world that is sure to find its way into homes of millions to be enjoyed during the Holiday season. Labeled by some as creepy because of the not quite real, yet not quite fake digital characters, The Polar Express is nothing more than an epic Christmas a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 15th, 2005
Synopsis
During the Cold War, a vaguely defined group breaks into a Romanian church and the cavern beneath it for vaguely defined reasons. They accidentally trigger a landslide, trapping themselves beneath the earth. Jump forward thirty years, and the cavern has been rediscovered. A team of cave divers headed up by Cole Hauser descends into the depths, and soon find themselves up against vicious bat-winged monsters. A parasite enters into Hauser’s blood, and he slowly starts to transform into one the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 14th, 2005
The spoof film means something different to audiences today than it did in the early 80's. Anything, if done enough times over, starts to become stale. For instance, the first Scary Movie, while having a couple of really lame scenes, was actually pretty funny overall. With each sequel, however, came diminished returns. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see a film that spoofs spoof films (though I'm not sure how one would do that).
Airplane!, however, was the first of the genre. Not onl...
