Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2005
Synopsis
One of the first scenes in Out of Sight was the main character robbing a bank using only his words. That same kind of knack for thinking quickly under pressure is employed in Catch Me If You Can, which tells the story of Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio), who, after witnessing the end of the marriage of his parents (Christopher Walken and Nathalie Baye), decides to flee, and begins to bounce checks. Not only does he bounce over $2 million in checks, but he also impersonates a tea...her, a doctor, a lawyer and an airline pilot, all by his 21st birthday. DiCaprio’s foil in the movie is the FBI agent pursuing him, Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), who is dedicated to pursuing "paper hangers" like DiCaprio. The 2 hour movie is spent on the chase and friendly jousting between the two, and puts you right by DiCaprio as he makes sure not to say the wrong thing in the situations he runs into. One of the other subplots given attention is the relationship between Frank and Frank Sr., portrayed by Christopher Walken, who earned an Oscar nomination for his brief work in the film. Unconditionally, despite whatever financial woes he suffered, Frank Sr. loved his son, and despite Frank Jr.’s attempt to ease his father’s pain, his father seems to be a proud man, and never accepts his gifts, however extravagant they may be. As a funny postscript, Abagnale not only worked with the FBI as part of his parole to assist in check fraud cases, but also helped developed check security protocols for many corporations, and has made millions from those also.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2005
Synopsis
According to some reports, Fred Durst almost directed this thing, and if I ever wind up supporting anything Fred Durst does, I’ll kill myself. Having said that, Lords of Dogtown is a fond look back at the California skateboarding explosion in the late ‘70s. Since, like everything else, timing is everything, this film was largely neglected in a lot of circles, because it came out shortly after the outstanding documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, which was written and directed by Stacy Peral...a, who was one of the members of the legendary Zephyr skating team. Peralta is one of the writers of Lords of Dogtown, which is a more dramatic look at the characters of the era.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2005
Cara Loft (geddit?) is enticed by Dr. Scrotus (har!) to complete her dead father’s quest, and travels through desert and jungle in the quest to reunite “the legendary womb idols of creation.” she is shadowed by Natasha, an equally hot-bodied spy who (surprise, surprise) has the hots for her.
I can’t believe a summary was necessary. Anyway, this looks like what would happen if writers of fan fiction were given a camcorder and a travel budget. Lauren Hays can pass visually for Lara Croft, and kudos for a real attempt at creating a sense of exotic locations and sets. As an adventure, this is pretty dull, though. As erotica, it’s even duller. To make things worse, there is an unrated version out there, making this R version completely futile.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2005
Jean Hamilton, after having a bad relationship, decides to move to New York City with her two daughters. We quickly learn that this particular mother feels the need to move after EVERY bad relationship. The whiny eldest daughter gets sick of it, so she decides to set up her mom with an imaginary guy so she can get her mother on the possible right path.
The Perfect Man is the type of film that you watch once and literally cry through. No, it's not the type of film that you cry because it is really s...d. It's the type of film that you cry through because it's so pathetically bad. The film contains so many countless scenes where the characters do such ridculous things to each other that are, apparently, suppose to be funny. How can harming each other be considered funny? Apparently this film was made for all those teenage people who A. Love Hilary Duff for some reason, B. Love silly romantic comedies, and C. Need a stupid, mundane, boring film to make themselves feel better about their own lives.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2005
This remake ofCheaper by the Dozen, like the original, focuses on the Baker family. Father Tom Baker (Steve Martin) and mother Kate Baker (Bonnie Hunt) decided to have 12 children. The children range from 5 years old to 22 years old. Nora (Piper Perabo) is the oldest child and the one who lives outside the home. Tom coaches Division III football at the small Lincoln College. When Tom’s old teammate Shake Maguire (Richard Jenkins) shows up to offer Tom a big fat contract to coach Division I at Illinois Poly Uni...ersity, Tom decides to take the job. The obvious catch is that Tom and his ENTIRE family must move from Chicago to Illinois.
The second oldest child Charlie Baker (Tom Welling) is the star quarterback of his team. Charlie leads his siblings in voting on the decision not to move. Tom and Kate decide it’s in the family’s best interests to move. The kids, for the most part, are complete brats and are extremely annoying (I guess ALL children are right)?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 21st, 2005
The year is 1976. Buenos Aires, Argentina. A ruthless dictatorship has just begun, where people who speak out against the government are “disappeared.”
One of the “disappeared” is newspaper columnist, Cecilia Rueda (Emma Thompson). Her recent column denounces the government for kidnapping some young men who were in a disagreement over a bus fare. When her husband Carlos (Antonio Banderas) returns home and can’t find her, he goes to the police only to receive little help.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 21st, 2005
Synopsis
During the crippling drought of the 1930s, con man Burt Lancaster arrives in a small town, promising to make it rain (for, of course, a small remuneration). Present here too is Katharine Hepburn, apparently doomed to spinsterhood. She will blossom under the care of Lancaster’s charming rogue.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 20th, 2005
If your first introduction to William L. Petersen is through CSI, then you’re missing some real treats with his short-lived film career, which burned brightest about fifteen years before he ever became Gil Grissom and investigated his way onto our small screens and, subsequently, into our hearts. Both of his cinematic outings never got the respect due them until after Petersen reminded us he was still alive, still well, and still acting. His best effort was Manhunter, Michael Mann’s adaptation of the Th...mas Harris novel Red Dragon. While the most recent effort stuck more to the letter of Harris’s novel, Manhunter proved the superior film through Mann’s unmistakable style, and the straight-laced, troubled, and obsessive portrayal of Agent Graham by Petersen.
In To Live and Die in L.A., Petersen again dons a badge, this time as Federal Agent Richard Chance for the U.S. Treasury Department. He’s after a murderous counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe), and he has zero qualms about cracking heads and breaking rules to bring down his adversary. As the film progresses, director William Friedkin throws us quite a few surprises, and yet another breathless car chase. It’s too bad Friedkin’s career is remembered for only two films: The Exorcist and The French Connection. Because his courtroom-serial killer thriller Rampage, and this 1985 action-drama are solid efforts, and much better deserving of success than most anything Hollywood puts out today.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 20th, 2005
Compilations are so plentiful these days but often what once was, is not meant to be. Too few games, games that don't hold up with time, and bad porting can make this practice extremely hit or miss. When one is awful, it destroys our relationship with that game of yesteryear so much that we might curse older games, and don't pick one up for quite sometime. However, when the compilation is well drawn up and executed proficiently, it gives us a sense of our lives before and what made those old games so great. Capcom Cl...ssics is of the latter. It takes 22 games from the period of 1984-1992 and inserts them onto a DVD for some good ole fashioned fun. From Street Fighter 2 to the 194x series to Ghost & Goblins and beyond; a little of every arcade type genre is included from Capcom. It boasts graphics, sound & most importantly great gameplay to a mere twenty dollar disc.
Graphics
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 19th, 2005
Dear Chris Farley, we har'ley knew ye.
What is it with SNL and untimely death? I am pretty surprised that I have never seen a "conspiracy theory" written out about this, like the Wheaties curse or the curse of the Sports Illustrated cover. Jim Belushi, Phil Hartman, Gilda Radner and even the lovable Chris Farley died way before their time.
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