Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2005
I love it when a DVD as advertised as a “hit series” on the back of the box, yet I have never even heard of it. Granted, I am not this product's target market, but you would still think that I would have at least come across the title of this show somewhere. I am familiar with all of the products advertised on this disc, so I know I am not completely out of the loop.
This show tells the adventures of Lopaka, a boy who has made friends with a dolphin with the original (?) name of “Flipper”. It seems that Flipp...r has somehow taught his earth-bound buddy how to live and breathe underwater. Now, I know this is a cartoon, and it is supposed to fanciful, but come on! I am all for teaching kids to think outside the box, but I don't know of anybody who can “learn” to breathe underwater. Yo have to have a strong command of reality to live outside the box.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2005
1955 was a very significant year in the life of filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. He received his American citizenship and he changed the face of the young television industry forever. Alfred Hitchcock Presents came before all of the other classic anthology shows. The show combined Hitch’s trademark gallows humor with his unerring instinct for suspenseful storytelling. The show was the first overnight success, drawing millions of viewers with its first episode, no small feat for 1955.
Hitchcock was ahead of his time. He was one of the first to believe that you could apply the same standards of big budget film making with the limited scope of the newly discovered smaller screen. While Hitchcock did rely on some very talented people to provide the day to day work on the series, his presence could always be felt in every detail. Hitch himself was active in selecting stories as well as cast. The show was both entertaining and thought provoking. Hitch himself began and ended each show with some clever observations and sketches that made him a household name. He tempted fate by constantly poking fun at his own sponsors, a habit that was not always taken in good fun. Hitch also poked fun at the moral code that existed at the time for television. Bad guys were never allowed to get away with their crimes. Instead of adjusting his scripts, Hitch demanded they be unchanged. To “settle the score” as he used to call it, he would inform us of some unfortunate luck the bad guy fell into after the events of the story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2005
I love it when a DVD as advertised as a “hit series” on the back of the box, yet I have never even heard of it. Granted, I am not this product's target market, but you would still think that I would have at least come across the title of this show somewhere. I am familiar with all of the products advertised on this disc, so I know I am not completely out of the loop.
This show tells the adventures of Lopaka, a boy who has made friends with a dolphin with the original (?) name of “Flipper”. It seems that Flipp...r has somehow taught his earth-bound buddy how to live and breathe underwater. Now, I know this is a cartoon, and it is supposed to fanciful, but come on! I am all for teaching kids to think outside the box, but I don't know of anybody who can “learn” to breathe underwater. Yo have to have a strong command of reality to live outside the box.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2005
The Girl in the Café is an interesting idea for a movie. It’s a blend of romantic comedy with a political agenda. The film doesn’t really work, but it’s nice to see something different. The romantic pair is played by Bill Nighy and Kelly MacDonald. Both are fine actors, and they have an awkward, engaging chemistry. Nighy plays a lonely civil servant and MacDonald plays a damn sexy woman. They “meet cute” in, you guessed it, a café, and they end up going to the G8 summit in Iceland (go figure). The scri...t is written by Richard Curtis (of Love Actually). Curtis seems to have a flair for the unconventional in his scripts. He doesn’t quite pull off the last act, but (for most of the ride) The Girl in the Café is worth a look.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 28th, 2005
Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney are a couple whose marriage appears to be reaching its end. They travel through France, which was the scene of so many other memories, and they (and we) experience, through interlocking flashbacks, the history of their relationship.From the moment the animated credit sequence and Henry Mancini score begin, one is clearly watching a Stanley Donen film from the peak of his career (the presence of Hepburn is yet another reminder of Charade from just a couple of years prior). The flashbacks-within-flashbacks structure might initially seem daunting, but the film is light on its feet, and is never confusing. Finney's character is sufficiently cranky even in the early stages of the relationship that one might be forgiven for wondering what Hepburn ever saw in him, but the scenery is pretty and the dialogue zings.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2005
Synopsis
Wow, take a look at the vocal talent that lends a hand to this straight-to-video sequel! As Lilo, you’ve got that child actress next to be exploited by her parents in Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds). Lilo’s custodian is Nani (Tia Carrere, Wayne’s World). Stitch’s alien friends are voiced by David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H*) and Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall). Jason Scott Lee (Dragon) plays Nani’s love interest David.
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2005
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the horror film The Exorcism of Emily Rose in separate rated (119 min.) & unrated (121 min.) editions on December 20th December. Each version will include a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Extras will include three featurettes ("Genesis of the Story," "Casting the Film" & "Visual Design").
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 27th, 2005
George Montgomery plays the lead trumpet for the "Gene Morrison Band" (the Glen Miller Band). As they set out on tour, he falls in love with, and marries, audience member and big fan Ann Rutherford, much to the displeasure of Lynn Bari. The film then uses the tensions between the various significant others during the tour to cobble together a plot that connects the various musical numbers.From the point of view of plot and character, this is nothing to write home about. But as a record of one of the greats of the Big Band era in action, it is a valuable document, and certainly manages to entertain, if not much else.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2005
Synopsis
In between the other new stuff that’s come out (and the older stuff I’ve picked up), I wanted to try and whittle down the archives, so huzzah for small victories.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 27th, 2005
Synopsis
Wow, take a look at the vocal talent that lends a hand to this straight-to-video sequel! As Lilo, you’ve got that child actress next to be exploited by her parents in Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds). Lilo’s custodian is Nani (Tia Carrere, Wayne’s World). Stitch’s alien friends are voiced by David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H*) and Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall). Jason Scott Lee (Dragon) plays Nani’s love interest David.
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