Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2005
Synopsis
Taking as its starting point a course offered by Harvard professor Dr. Armand M. Nicholi(and his book of the same name), this is a debate between belief and skepticism. A round tableled by Nicholi bounces of a series of recreations of events from the lives of C.S. Lewis andSigmund Freud, and the two historical figures make their cases for their respective sides of theargument. At 225 minutes, this is a pretty involved undertaking. It attacks its subject withadmirable ambiti...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2005
Synopsis
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., chair of Harvard’s Afro-American Studies, takes the pulse of BlackAmerica as he travels the country, interviewing the famous (Colini Powell, Morgan Freeman,Maya Angelou, and so on and so forth) and the everyday. The results are interesting indeed,though the interviews might perhaps have been a little more rigorous and a little less chummy.Still, an engaging, personal work.
Audio
The 2.0 track is perfectly serviceable for the ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2005
Synopsis
Few figures in our era have managed to polarize opinion so consistently and for so long ashas Fidel Castro. This portrait of the man is a (thankfully) non-hysterical approach to the subject,and presents thoughtful views from a wide range of participants, representing all kinds ofopinions. There are plenty of fascinating clips, including some footage of Castro when he visitedthe states BEFORE that 40-plus-year squabble began.
Audio
The sound quality ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2005
Synopsis
The focus of this documentary is on the last few years of Martin Luther King’s life, as hisactivism moved beyond the struggle for civil rights to encompass the other progressive battlesof his era. There’s a real richness here in terms of documentary footage of the man himself andinterviews new and old with those who were close to him.
Audio
The dialogue here is crisp and clean, with no distortion, sibilance, or other such issues (I amreferring here,...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2005
Buena Vista will release the Complete First Season of the popular J.J Abrams action series Lost on September 6th. Each episode will be presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers, along with English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Extras will include a never-before-seen extended uncut version of the original pilot, Featurettes ("Making of the show" & "Backstage with Drive Shaft" & "The art of Matthew Fox"), "Before They Were Lost" original casting tapes, a blooper reel, deleted scenes, as well as filmmak...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 16th, 2005
Synopsis
If you have any interest in this series, then a synopsis is surely unnecessary. I can’t imaginenew fans flocking in droves to this soggy material. Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) is thespunky former street urchin who is now the ward of lovable curmudgeon Henry (GeorgeGaynes). We follow Punky to school and elsewhere, and see her learn all sorts of life lessonsthrough what passes for humour. This is total pap, and a reminder of just how depressingly badthe sitcom form can b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 15th, 2005
Phase IV isn’t a sequel, and it isn’t a remake of the 1974 movie about aliens brainwashing desert ants to wage war over its human desert inhabitants. Those of you looking for that film might be disappointed. Instead, you get this modern action film staring Dean Cain and the Boz, Brian Bosworth. And it ain’t half bad.
Simon Tate (Dean Cain) plays a reporter trying to clear the name of his best friend. The friend is involved in a mysterious death of a scientist. This death is just one in a s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 15th, 2005
Hype! is a documentary of the "Seattle scene" of the early 90's. Grunge was king. I remember wearing flannel shirts and listening to the big three: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. But what about the other bands? Hype! also talks about the lesser-known bands, like the Supersuckers and The Gits. Hype! is an examination of what went on underneath the "hype" of the Seattle music scene. This isn't some VH1 doc. And it's not all about Kurt Cobain either. Hype! covers it all, and cre...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 15th, 2005
Bright Young Things is a sumptuous adapation of Evelyn Waugh's novel "Vile Bodies". The book is a cutting satire of British cafe society of the 1930's. The director and adapter, Stephen Fry, retains much of the novels comic edge. I would expect nothing less from Fry, the noted British humorist and living embodiment of Oscar Wilde.
The movie is mostly about the posh lifestyle of novelist Adam Fenwick-Symes (played by Stephen Campbell Moore)and his lover Nina (played by Emily Mortimer). The circle ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 15th, 2005
Synopsis
Krakatoa is about to erupt in one of the most gargantuan explosions in recorded history. Thisis an event that literally shook the world. However, that’s not good enough for this movie, whichpiles in a ludicrous plot that sees Captain Maximilian Schell is unknowingly taking his ship intothe jaws of danger on a quest for a sunken treasure of pearls. Along for the ride are a diver whoselungs are wrecked, Italian balloonists, troublesome prisoners, and so on. Cute kids and awful...
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