Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 27th, 2005
Most film-goers could identify a Michael Bay film just by the techniques he uses -- quick edits, sun drenched color palate, and lots of action. This usually means that Bay is suited more for low-brow action movies as opposed to high concept films.
In Pearl Harbor, Bay proved that he couldn’t handle anything that didn’t explode -- resulting in a lop-sided film. The first hour was a tedious love story and the last 90 minutes were better -- including an excellent recreation of the surprise attack.
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 27th, 2005
Synopsis
This is a short (69 minutes), quite elliptical film that traces the arc of a relationship between a young man (Kieran O’Brien) and woman (the pseudonymous Margo Stilley). We see individual moments, usually framed around episodes of lovemaking, and in between we see our couple at rock concerts (and so we get, in their entirety, performances by the likes of Primal Scream, Super Furry Animals and Franz Ferdinand). The whole story is a flashback, with O’Brien in the present, post-relationship, r...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 26th, 2005
Four Brothers starts off as a solid drama about a group of orphans (Marky Mark, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garrett Hedlund) who were raised by a sympathetic woman (Fionnula Flanigan) in downtown Detroit. When she is murdered, the brothers reunite and stay in their mother’s old house. They sit at the dinner table and stare at her now empty seat. They horse around with one another in her living room. And in some cases they even wear her old clothes. In scenes like these, the actors do a good job of makin...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 26th, 2005
Synopsis
Despite the upside of pro wrestling-being on worldwide TV and having people from ages 6 to 60 buy a shirt with your face on it, and cheer (or boo) you in the ring until they become hoarse, there is still a downside. A wrestler can be on the road for 250 days out of the year. The pay is comfortable, but there is the risk of injury, or worse, addictions to drugs to overcome the pain you can suffer from while on the road. And unlike John Q. Businessman, a lot of the wrestlers out there either don’t ha...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 26th, 2005
Synopsis
There was a period in Francis Ford Coppola’s (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) life where he went through a bit of a phase, where he was making films based on relatively obscure material. And he went through another smaller phase in the early ‘80s where he was making films from source material of author S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders). And Rumble Fish was one of those.
Based on Hinton’s novel, the film details the life in a small town, with a tough neighborhood kid n...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 24th, 2005
Season Four of The West Wing was the series' final season with the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin. This left quite a bit of trepidation among the show's faithful followers. What would happen with the series left in the hands of new writers, and without Rob Lowe's portrayal of Sam Seaborn? After all, Sorkin's original plans for the show were for it to focus on Sam, and now everything seems to be falling apart.
With one notable exception, I am proud to announce that the show is still rolling along at a s...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the Jon Favreau directed family adventure Zathura on February 7th. This disc will be presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, along with English Dolby Digital 5.1 & French 2.0 audio tracks. Extras will include an Audio Commentary (by Jon Favreau and Peter Billingsley), three Featurettes ("Making-Of," "Cast of Zathura" & "Miniatures and the World of Zathura"), a "Visual Effects" Documentary, & more.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Synopsis
Angie Dickinson is a single mother of two teenage girls (whom the film very explicitly characterizes as “ripe” – boy howdy, they don’t make movies like this anymore). Money is tight during the Depression, and after a fiasco of an interrupted wedding, mother and brood hit the road to seek their fortune, and before you know it, they’re robbing banks.
A low budget, tongue-in-cheek variation on Bonnie and Clyde (minus Clyde), this is a nicely produced bit of period sleaze. The d...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Synopsis
It did take a little bit of intestinal fortitude to sit down and be willing watch Herbie: Fully Loaded, but I did it dammit, because I care about YOU. Fully Loaded is not a remake, but an extension of The Love Bug films with Buddy Hackett and others. In this new edition, Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan, Mean Girls) is the daughter of racing legend Ray (Michael Keaton, Batman) and brother of Ray Jr. (Breckin Meyer, Road Trip). She is going to work for ESPN now ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Synopsis
So after a somewhat shaky 4 episode run for Season 1 and a 6 episode showing of Season 2, the powers that be at HBO, apparently in between editing sessions of "Real Taxicab Divas," or whatever, answered Bob and David’s pleas for an increased budget for Season 3. But they also wanted a 10 episode season, something that brought them to new heights of stardom, neuroses and some real good comedy. Saturday Night Live had started to see their stars leave for TV shows, movies, or they were just tir...
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