Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 4th, 2005
Synopsis
The thing that surprised me about this animated version of Spider-Man was not that it ran for over 60 episodes during afternoons in the early ‘90s, but that there was a decent level of voice talent on the show. Ed Asner (Elf) is the voice of J. Jonah Jameson, Roscoe Lee Browne (King) does Kingpin, and the voice of the Venom character is done by Hank Azaria (The Simpsons). And they put together a fairly decent storyline also.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 4th, 2005
Synopsis
Among the more unjustly ignored performances was Jack Nicholson’s turn as Union boss Jimmy Hoffa in Hoffa. Fox finally decided to put out the Danny DeVito directed, David Mamet written film on DVD. Mamet’s script seems to romanticize Hoffa, portraying him as more of a Union man, as one who was forced to make deals that could compromise his integrity, but he overlooks his integrity in order to help benefit the American working man. The story is told in the point of view of Hoffa aide Bobby Ci...ro (DeVito), a fictitious character whose flashbacks are used to help us see how Hoffa perhaps should be viewed, as opposed to the punchline in some jokes we may make now.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 3rd, 2005
Synopsis
A silent pimp (the only words he speaks – a couple of brief sentences late in the film – are also the last words spoken in the film) sees a young college girl and instantly falls obsessively in love. When she humiliates him after rejecting his crude advances, he arranges events to drive her into debt and legal problems, and from there into prostitution. He watches her in the brothel every night through a two-way mirror, as she descends further and further into the degradation of this world.< ...p>
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 3rd, 2005
Synopsis
For several years, unbeknownst to a lot of people, Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) was a fan of Bobby Darin and had a film project in the works about the singer’s life. One of the reasons why the project took so long is that even with someone of Spacey’s caliber, the toughest part is always the financing. Spacey’s project was definitely a labor of love, as he wrote and directed the film, and even sung such Darin standards as “Splish Splash”, “Dreamlover” and of course, the hit that shares the...movie’s title.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 3rd, 2005
Synopsis
I’m a very white guy. But in growing up, one of my first music gods was Jimi Hendrix. Then, one day I saw Bustin’ Loose with Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson (a.k.a., Miles Davis’ punching bag) when I was 10, so I wanted to see any comedy Richard Pryor had made. And I did, from Car Wash to Uptown Saturday Night. These were my first real lessons or experiences, watching a cast (or film) with African Americans in it. It wasn’t Star Wars or anything, it was memorable for its ...wn reasons.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 30th, 2005
Synopsis
Strong-willed Englishwoman Irene Dunne (the Anna of the title) arrives at the court of King Rex Harrison to teach his wives and 67 children. The clash of cultures is immediate, with the very British Anna refusing to bend to the more outlandish demands of her new surroundings, and Harrison himself torn between modernity and tradition.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 29th, 2005
Synopsis
Lauren Ambrose is a Candide-like figure, wide-eyed in her approach to the world, and she really doesn’t want to go to college, so her interviews are disasters. She reads her poems to her mentally handicapped sister and no one else, and when this sister starts spouting the poems (she memorizes very well), her mother (Amy Madigan) thinks something wonderful has happened. Ambrose doesn’t clear things up, and events soon spiral out of control.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2005
Synopsis
When it comes to 80’s films, you can talk about Spielberg, Lucas, or whomever, but those in the know will always put John Hughes at, or near, the top of influences of that era. Take a look at the 7 year run that he had in the 80’s when it came to writing movies in that era. From 1983 to 1990, the list brings up a flood of kitsch and nostalgia for any movie going kid during that time – Mr. Mom, Vacation, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, Ferri... Bueller’s Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck and Home Alone. Aside from getting a good dose of Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald and John Candy, one, some or all of those films have a soft spot in anyone’s heart if they’re under 30. So much was experienced from his films, hell, the guy served as a surrogate parent to a lot of people! For good or bad, he had an influence on a lot of lives, and if you take a look at the high school comedies that come out now, there’s no comparison. They just don’t have the same kind of originality. Hughes may not have done the high school comedy first, but very few have come close to achieving the combination of unique characters, quotable lines, touching emotional moments and hilarious scenes that have resulted in the Hughes films of the 1980’s. Universal put out an inexpensive boxed set of 3 of his films; The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and the "other" movie in the set, Weird Science, which I’m reviewing for your dining and dancing pleasure.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2005
Synopsis
In the midst of all of this Lucas-generated Star Wars hype, why not release an animated film on DVD whose storyline seems to eerily mirror Episode IV’s A New Hope? The story is about a boy named Orin, who works in an underground mine that’s guarded by silver stormtrooper-looking robots. I’m just saying. One day, he finds a sword that has magical powers, and with the help of his friends, he goes on an intergalactic adventure to free his friends from an evil warlord named Zygon. With he...p from the magic sword, of course.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 29th, 2005
Synopsis
Out of the blue, the Stevens family (whacky dad, brainy sister, dorky brother, and so forth) finds out they’ve won a trip to a tropical paradise. Unbeknownst to them, they have in fact been selected to participate in an over-the-top reality TV show, and their holiday turns into a series of slapstick catastrophes.
