Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 31st, 2005
On the one hand, I have pretty low expectations for movies that were made for TV. On the other hand, this is an HBO film, so my expectations are just a bit higher than normal. My interest was further peaked when I saw that this was a romantic comedy. It is nice to see the network famous for drama branch out into comedy, and I was curious to see the results.
The plot of this film reminded me somewhat of the Keanu Reeves sleeper hit A Walk in the Clouds. In this case, however, the family business is not ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 30th, 2005
Synopsis
The frustrating thing in watching Gas is just how familiar it is to The Cookout, Barbershop, Beautyshop, and other films that involve groups of African-American men getting together in the neighborhood and having fun, and getting the most successful family member in touch with their roots. What’s next, Sunday Church? Or Night at Silver Diner?
There are even a couple of parallels to The Cookout in this film. While Damien in this film is played by “Flex” ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 30th, 2005
Synopsis
Poor Tom Selleck. The guy has had to deal with the Magnum P.I. stigma for so long, whenever he tries to play darker characters in a film noir-style TV movie, people just don’t buy it, as what seems to be the case in Stone Cold.
But Selleck actually does a pretty decent job in the film, playing Jesse Stone, a chief of police in a small New England town who has to deal with a serial killing husband and wife combo. Jesse has moved from Los Angeles, where he lost his job and his...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 28th, 2005
Synopsis
A small mining town is torn apart by strife between the workers at the toxic mine that is about to be closed down, and the Native Americans on whose land the mind is, and who are about to erect a casino over the closed facility (but won’t that make a for a dangerous contaminated entertainment complex?). Stirring up trouble is Satanist David Boreanaz and his cohorts (which include Tara Reid, whom we first see as a sniper, so you know the audience is in deep, deep trouble here). As part of a r...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 28th, 2005
I remember a couple of years ago when MTV produced The Real World Movie: The Lost Season. I was sitting at home on a Saturday, and didn't know exactly what I had tuned in to. At first, I was just watching the show as if it were any other first-episode of a season of The Real World. It wasn't long, however, before I realized that something strange was going on. Once I realized that the “documentary” was an elaborate hoax, I promptly changed the channel. Let's be honest... reality shows are manipulated en...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2005
It’s another case of mistaken identity that gets our boys (Abbott and Costello) in trouble, this time with a couple of gangsters. I’ve always been an Abbott and Costello fan but somehow missed this 1948 film over the years. It’s possible that because it was one of only a few pictures the duo did outside of Universal it did not enjoy the wide release their other works had. A few gems from the boys’ routines can be found. Look for the “horse eating his fodder” and “I’ll bet you you’re not here”. There is none of the Big Band Era song and dance routine to slow this film’s pace.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2005
The Naked Truth is a 1958 British farce that benefits most from an excellent performance by Peter Sellers. Sellers plays Sonny Boy MacGregor as a comedic Lon Chaney. Each of Sonny’s characters is a complete package from the makeup to the accents. Moments of the inspired genius that would be better displayed in The Pink Panther films make this average production something more. The comedy is decidedly European in flavor and probably not for everyone. Most of the film slows when Sellers is not on the scene
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 27th, 2005
Synopsis
Anna Sophia Robb is a little girl named Opal, who has just arrived in the small town of Naomis with her single-parent father (Jeff Daniels), a preacher. Opal finds it hard to fit in and make new friends, until she adopts a rambunctious dog she finds in the Winn-Dixie supermarket. The dog’s extroverted nature helps make connections not only between Opal and the town, but between the townspeople as well.
A very kind little movie, but a completely unoriginal one, too. Between this and...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 26th, 2005
Synopsis
In the year 2525, humanity has been forced to seek refuge deep in the earth from robots known as “Baileys.” The title character is a stripper from our century, who went in for a breast enhancement and wound up cryogenically frozen until now. Thawed out, a stranger in a dangerously strange land, she winds up joining forces with two other female freedom fighters.
Though much is made of Sam Raimi’s involvement as exec-producer on this series, his direct role on the creative side is pr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 26th, 2005
Synopsis
The premise should be familiar to anyone interested in the third season: Jerry O’Connell and friends continue sliding from one universe to another, encountering a different alternate earth in each episode, always trying to find the way back home. The range of possibilities is naturally pretty wide, so our heroes wind up in a deadly war game show (granted not the most original idea), in a world devastated by electric tornadoes, and so on. It’s all done with engaging humour and energy, though ...
