Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 25th, 2004
Synopsis
Officer Gabriel Goodman (and yes, the name is supposed to be allegorical) comes to on thefloor of his precinct. He is alone, and his watch is running backwards. Strange enough, but thenhe stumbles outside to discover that the city is deserted. He follows a hooded figure, andencounters a priest who is locked out of his own church, and has apparently gone mad. Moreshadowy figures lure Goodman into a school, and he is soon locked in conflict with the priest,mysterious beings, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 25th, 2004
Synopsis
Philip, King of Macedonia (Fredric March) is busy conquering all of Greece when his wifebears him a son. There is no love lost between the couple, and the young Alexander (RichardBurton) grows up to be torn between the political machinations of his parents. His prowess inbattle threatens to make his glory overshadow his father’s, and conflict between them leadstemporarily to Alexander’s exile. When Philip is assassinated, Alexander ruthlessly consolidatespower, and then mar...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 25th, 2004
Synopsis
There’s nothing really to summarize about these films. Their reason for being, after all, is simply to present clips from classic MGM musicals. The first film, released to huge success in 1974, set the pattern, with various big stars (Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly and so on) narrating different segments of a potted history of the MGM musical. That’s Entertainment, Part 2 (1976) broadened its scope to include comedy and romance scenes as well. The third film didn’t arrive...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 23rd, 2004
The time: Prohibition. The smell of bootleg gin and the sound of bullets lingers in the urban air. It’s Chicago. It’s Good vs. Evil. Elliott Ness vs. Al Capone. Kevin Costner vs. Robert DeNiro. Brian De Palma directs this wonderful period piece. The film drips with as much stylish atmosphere as outlawed booze. I’m not sure if the credit belongs to David Mamet’s imaginative script or De Palma’s direction. Both were at the top of their game with this film. Sean Connery must certainly bear mention as the no nonsense me...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 22nd, 2004
Synopsis
Brian Benben is a book editor. He is still madly in love with his ex-wife, but his dreams of getting back together with her are smashed by her upcoming marriage. And “dreams” is very much the operative term here, since Benben’s emotional reactions to the world around him are daydreams in the form of B&W clips from old films and TV shows. Exec-produced by John Landis, the series follows Benben’s misadventures (primarily with the opposite sex), and features plenty of Big Name guest appearances...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 21st, 2004
Synopsis
Gabriel (?!) Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman), 19th-Century James Bond/Batman action guy forthe Vatican, is dispatched to Transylvania, where Dracula is up to no good. Dracula wants to usethe Frankenstein Monster’s life force to bring to life his thousands of vampire offspring, littlebat-gremlin thingies that so far only live for a few moments before expiring. Should Draculasucceed, the world will be overwhelmed with vampires. Jackman is aided by Kate Beckinsale (ina wildly anach...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 19th, 2004
Synopsis
This is the story of Edward D. Wood, Jr., who gave the world such classics as Glen orGlenda? and Plan 9 From Outer Space. Tim Burton’s film follows Wood (JohnnyDepp) from his dismal theatre days through to the premiere of Plan 9, along the wayexploring his friendship with various misfits, including Bela Lugosi (an Oscar-winning turn byMartin Landau), not to mention Wood’s own cross-dressing proclivities.
Purists can complain about the factual in...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 18th, 2004
Synopsis
Erstwhile Little House on the Prairie fixture Melissa Sue Anderson is recoveringfrom the death of her mother and her own brain injury. She seems to be doing okay, despite aloss of memory, for which she seeks the help of psychiatrist Glenn Ford. She is one of thepopular kids at her college. All is not well, however, as the friends start being killed one by one.Who has it in for the Top Ten?
Happy Birthday to Me has no more plot than the usual slasher, b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 17th, 2004
Synopsis
This is a redemption movie – in this case, redemption for CIA assassin (“counter insurgent expert”) John Creasy – a burnt out alcoholic in search of forgiveness for the heinous acts perpetrated under the banner of his job (“Do you think God will ever forgive us for what we’ve done?”). Creasy’s path to redemption is laid out by his friend and compatriot Rayburn, who lands him a job as a bodyguard for a wealthy family in Mexico City. Apparently kidnapping the children or spouses of wealthy cor...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 17th, 2004
Synopsis
A medical examiner and a biologist travel deep into the Bayou, investigating the death ofa local fisherman. They and the inhabitants of a group of houseboats are soon all-too-aware ofthe what killed the man: giant, genetically modified snakehead fish. The fish lays siege toour unfortunate characters.
Not much more plot to this tight little creature feature than that. It gets right to the point, andwastes precious little time on subplots. Most of the film consists of...
