Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 9th, 2004
Synopsis
Abandoned street kid Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) lives in an empty apartment withher dog Brandon until the building supervisor (George Gaynes) discovers her. Gruff old sort thathe is, he takes her in. Subsequent episodes see Punky’s adventures with friends, in school, and soforth.
Take Diff’rent Strokes, dump Willis, replace Gary Coleman with Soleil Moon Frye,and voilà, instant sitcom. Don’t worry about coming up with new jokes, however. In fact, youb...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2004
Synopsis
Larry David (playing himself) has never met a good situation that he couldn’t turn into adisaster. Though his friends and relations have his best interests at heart, the creator ofSeinfeld he sabotages them at every turn, and manages to alienate just about everyone heencounters.
The series is not unlike a cross between The Larry Sanders Show (with its causticityand plethora of actors and other Hollywood players appearing as themselves) and the mundane-...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 8th, 2004
Summer School is one of those films that I really enjoyed as a boy growing up in the 80’s. It had crazy characters, pretty girls, funny one-liners and cool people, like Mark Harmon. Watching the film today, I can honestly say that it is as good now as it was then. The only problem is, I have matured as a person and as a movie viewer. The characters are still crazy, but they are also largely annoying. The girls are still pretty, and the foreign exchange student is the same woman who played Allota Fagina in A...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2004
Synopsis
Risk assessor Ben Stiller believes his life is unfolding according to plan. But then his newwife (Debra Messing) leaves him on their honeymoon for a French scuba instructor (aterrifyingly ripped Hank Azaria). Trying to put his life back together (with dubious help fromslob friend Philip Seymour Hoffman), Stiller runs into old classmate Jennifer Aniston (the Pollyof the title). Her bohemian character is the polar opposite of his, which leads to many dismayingsituations for h...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2004
Synopsis
Adam Sandler is a Hawaii-based veterinarian and swinging bachelor, seducing one touristafter another. His pleasure in short-term flings comes to a crashing end when he meets DrewBarrymore, who is physically incapable of anything but a short fling: she has no short-termmemory, and begins every morning with no recollection of the day before. Sandler, however,is smitten, and puts himself through all sorts of contortions to win the girl of his dreams. Againand again and again.< ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2004
Synopsis
Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon are Sean McNamara and Christian Troy, plastic surgeons.Sean is the suave ladies’ man, who has ethics only when convenient and/or profitable. Christianis the better surgeon and the (by no means perfect) family man. Neither man is a prize (they areplastic surgeons, after all), but Christian at least tries to be better than he is. Models, gangsters,porn stars, and transsexuals are but a few of the characters whose live intersect with thesurgeons.
...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 7th, 2004
Synopsis
This is the story of the tragic arc traced by the relationship of three friends. Kevin Bacon isa cop, Sean Penn is a shady grocery store owner, and Tim Robbins is a hollow man, irreperablydamaged after being kidnapped by paedophiles as a youth. The three had grown apart, but theirlives intersect fatefully when Penn’s daughter is murdered. Bacon investigates the case, andRobbins cannot satisfactorily account for his actions the night of the murder, much to themounting distre...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2004
Synopsis
Set in France in 1918, What Price Glory centres on a company of marines headedby James Cagney. He and his more conventionally military First Sergeant (Dan Dailey) arequickly at loggerheads over the same woman, an omnipresent theme in the recent releases of theFox War Classics series. Equally obligatory, it seems, is the presence of Robert Wagner, whoseromance is a side-story here. So is the war, which really doesn’t play much of a part until the lastact. Most of the ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2004
Synopsis
Crack torepedo-boat Captain Tyrone Power is detached from his beloved fast ships andassigned as second-in-command to Dana Andrews on a submarine. Power complains about thetransfer a little bit, but then sucks it up -- duty, don’t you know. Tensions between the two menmount over the same woman (haven’t we had enough of that particular plot?), but they put asidetheir differences as they tail a Nazi freighter to a hidden base. There are good special effects here,but the romant...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2004
Synopsis
Joe Orton was at least as controversial (if not more) for who he was than for the plays hewrote. Stephen Frears’ film (say its title aloud and fast and you’ll hear the rude pun) begins withthe murder of Orton (Gary Oldman) at the hands of his lover Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina).Then, as biographer Wallace Shawn sets about reconstructing Orton’s life, the tales of friendsand relations (particularly agent Vanessa Redgrave) lead us into extended flashbacks, showingthe move...
