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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 4th, 2005
Synopsis
Teenage rites of passage during the summer vacation at the beach. The protagonist is a quiet, decent sort, but his close friend is a domineering alpha male who bullies everyone around him into doing whatever he wants. He is clearly pulling his companions toward serious trouble. The story builds to one night when the boys use each other’s homes as alibies: they are supposed to be having a sleepover, but in fact are out looking for girls. Things go wrong.
The storyline itself isn’t s...
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.< ...
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...
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 ...
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.
The 1946 film is something of a cultural relic itself, now, and is something of a postcolonialist’s nightmare, what with constant references to the “h...
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.
This could easily turn into a soggy mess o...
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...
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...
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.
Collapsing temples, rampaging squirrels, lots of yelling and double-takes. This is Disney slapstick at its most uninspired. Extremely undemanding younger viewers might get...
