Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2005
“It’s been a long time getting from there to here.” 35 years to be exact. Enterprise is the fourth spin-off from the original 1960’s hopeful series. Rick Berman decided to set this series about 100 years before the days of Kirk and Spock. Enterprise has certainly taken a ton of heat since its debuted just 4 years ago. While much of the whining by the “get a life” fans can be delegated to the “Nitpicker’s Guides,” much of it is well deserved.
The most egregious infraction is the liberty the show has taken with established timeline of Star Trek. At times it does appear Berman has decided to insult the very fans that have made the program so enduring. The writers try too hard to make Enterprise the underdog in every fight. It sure seems like everybody else has shields and better weapons. Makes you wonder how Earth became the dominant member of the Federation. With that said, I have found this to be the most entertaining Star Trek since Picard and his crew flew their Enterprise in The Next Generation. The characters, with the notable exception of Hoshi, are the most compelling in many years. Finally there is a trinity of characters reminiscent of the Kirk, Spock, and McCoy relationships. Great effort has been made to create this chemistry with Archer, Trip, and T’Pol, the newest Vulcan. I particularly liked the nice touch of having the three often dine together while discussing the business of exploring space.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 11th, 2005
For those of you who think that all foreign films are drab and dreary, Los Debutantes may reinforce that belief. Written and directed by Andres Waissbluth, it tells the story of two brothers in Chile who celebrate Victor’s (the younger brother’s) birthday by going to a strip club. He falls in love with one of the dancers there named Gracia and attempts to pursue her (even during her day job, when she is the attendant at an adult theater), despite the feelings his older brother Silvio has for her.
The...story shows several different points of view in 30-40 minute periods, first you see the Victor’s, then Silvio’s, then Gracia’s, followed by the dramatic and violent ending the film seems destined for. Granted, the plot twists are familiar to other nonlinear films like Rashomon or Pulp Fiction, but the characters, particularly Gracia, dream of lives beyond their current state, and look to do better. Victor goes to school, while Silvio works to make Victor’s life easier.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 11th, 2005
What the Bleep Do We Know!? appears to be a New Age film without actually saying the words “New” or “Age.” Consider this, the film, produced by Captured Light & Lord of the Wind Films, is about “a life-changing journey with Amanda (Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser “God), a divorced photographer who tumbles down a metaphysical rabbit hole.”
Now, that premise sounds interesting enough, you’re unsure where Amanda will wind up or how she’ll get there. But read on…”Her mind-bending voyage throug... the worlds of science and spirituality includes revelations by quantum physics experts, playful animation and even a conversation with a 35,000 year-old being.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 10th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 10th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 9th, 2005
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 8th, 2005
Farscape is an acquired taste. Honestly, it took me a few viewings to get hooked. It is unlike any sci-fi show ever produced, with stories that are often too complicated to follow with a casual viewing. It requires your full attention or you can become hopelessly lost. The characters are never cut and dried good or evil, and the stories do not always end on a happy note and seldom with all of the loose ends brought together. The Henson creature creations are the most outstanding examples of puppetry I’ve ever seen in television or the big screen.
The Sci-Fi Channel relied on Farscape for the first three years to anchor its original programming. Having a smart and totally original program elevated the once repeat wasteland to the ranks of a premier program outlet. After the third season Sci-Fi committed to a fourth and fifth season of Farscape. Unfortunately, Bonnie Hammer, the president at Sci-Fi, decided not to honor her commitments. Near the end of season four the station abruptly decided to end the show. Fans were angry and “save Farscape” campaigns began to pop up like Hynarians at a buffet. It seemed that Farscape was doomed to end with a cliffhanger fans would never see resolved. That was until Henson and his crew pushed hard enough to secure financing and eventually an airdate for a mini-series that would conclude at least this incarnation of Farscape.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 8th, 2005
Based on real events, The Last Shot is a Hollywood comedy about an FBI sting operation. The joke (and the real life event) is that the sting is a Hollywood production. Get it? The sting operation will employ mob level types, who are toughing there way into the movie industry. Will the FBI catch the bad guys? Will this fictional movie get made? Rent it and find out.
Alec Baldwin and Matthew Broderick are the two stars of the film. Baldwin plays Joe Devine, the FBI agent running the opera...ion from the inside. Broderick plays Steven Schats (yes, the last name does sound like that), an aspiring screenwriter. The Last Shot also sports a great supporting cast: Tony Shalhoub, Toni Collette, Ray Liotta, Buck Henry, Tim Black Nelson, Calista Flockheart, and an always hilarious Joan Cusack. It's a great premise for a film. And I was hoping the "real" screenwriters who got duped would've written the screenplay. Jeff Nathanson, a veteran screenwriter but a newbie director, goes for a Get Shorty style satirical Hollywood stab, but also tries to create a quirky comedy. Both attempts are mildly successful. The strength of the film is Broderick and Baldwin. They create characters that, seemingly, are worlds apart. But really, these two men are looking for the same thing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 7th, 2005
Racing Stripes is a “family film” about a zebra (with the original name “Stripes”) who’s only dream is to race with the other horses. Stripes, you see, was abandoned and then rescued by horse farmer Nolan Walsh (played by Bruce Greenwood). Nolan’s younger daughter, Channing (played by Hayden Panettiere), takes the young zebra under her wing, and she helps Stripes realize his dream: to race with the horses. Stripes’ litany of zany friends include a pelican, a lazy bloodhound, flies, roosters, a wise goat, an... some Shetland ponies. That’s the story in a nutshell.
But is the movie any good? Well…the human actors are solid. And the list of voice actors is like a roll call of the star studded. There’s Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Foxworthy, David Spade, Snoop Dogg, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mandy Moore, and Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle himself) as Stripes. What a cast! But what’s the problem? Other than having a live animal’s mouth move in a computer generated manner? That looks a little weird. But, as they say, it all starts with the script.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 7th, 2005
Kiss the Bride tells the story of a fairly large Italian family living in Rhode Island as Danni (Amanda Detmer, The Majestic) is preparing to marry Geoffrey (Jonothon Schaech, That Thing You Do!) and her sisters come home for the wedding. You have Nikki (Brooke Langton, Swingers), the oldest daughter with a degree but yet still shows up in a belly shirt on the beach each week on a popular TV show. Chris (Vanessa Parise) is a New York financial manager/workaholic, and Toni (Monet Mazur) as ...he youngest who will do anything to get attention. The mother and father will look familiar to you, as they are played by Talia Shire and Burt Young, who played Adrian and Paulie in the Rocky films.
Produced, written and directed by Parise, the film has been slightly compared to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and may be, if that film had snorted a two foot line of cleanser, I could buy the comparison. This film is substantially darker and goes into each of the individual women’s conflicting emotions about the family and each other, but because the family’s so large, there’s nothing that carries out, or it’s left unresolved altogether. The scene that most typifies the movie is when Nikki and her boyfriend, whose relationship is deteriorating, are almost arguing (in between something between two other sisters), and the boyfriend asks if anyone wants to go out to play football, and everyone happily jumps at the chance. Just when you think the film may go somewhere, it goes into another direction.
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