Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 12th, 2005
Synopsis
Incorrigible and not altogether competent small-time crook Richard Pryor has pulled one fastone too many. His exasperated parole officer threatens him with a long jail term unless he agreesto drive a group of special education students in a rickety bus from Philadelphia to Seattle, wherethey will find a new home. All sorts of misadventures await along the road trip.
There’s a vaguely gritty atmosphere, which helps defuse some of the sentimentality, and thekids are h...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on March 11th, 2005
Fox Home Entertainment will release the collector's edition of Man on Fire on May 24th. This 2-disc set will be presented in a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen trnasfer, along with both English Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS audio tracks. Extras will include two audio commentaries (the first by Director Tony Scott; the second by Lucas Foster, Brian Helgeland and Dakota Fanning), fifteen deleted scenes (including an alternate ending), a seventy-two minute documentary entitled "Vengeance is Mine: Reinventing Man on Fi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 11th, 2005
I don’t remember hearing anything about Heat when it was coming out, but once I saw who was in it, I was hooked. With Al Pacino’s 8 Oscar nominations (with 1 award) and Robert DeNiro’s 6 nominations (and 2 awards), the two have had quintessential acting performances over the past 30 years, and the impact they have had on cinema speaks for itself.
The names of the characters are hardly consequential, as they are used to further storylines more than develop character. But Pacino plays a cop who is tr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2005
It’s hard to imagine that just 10 years ago Steven Bochco stirred up a hornet’s nest with the introduction of NYPD Blue. I say hard to imagine because after just three seasons The Shield has taken commercial TV to heights unimagined by anyone 10 years ago. Vic Mackey doesn’t just rough up suspects. He controls the streets he patrols. He’s not even above killing another cop to keep his thumb on crime in the Barrio district of L.A. Michael Chiklis, once known as the fatherly kind cop on The Commish, has t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 10th, 2005
Synopsis
Poor Haru is have a rough day at school, and it isn’t like this is an exception. She can’t seemto fit in, and is filled with self-doubt. On her way home, she rescues a cat from traffic, and isastonished when the cat speaks to her. It turns out that she rescued the prince of the CatKingdom. By way of thanks, the Cat King decides she should become his son’s bride. Harudoesn’t like this idea. Coming to her aid is the Baron, an elegant cat figurine come to life, alongwith his f...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 9th, 2005
Alice Through the Looking Glass is a 1998 television version of the Lewis Carroll classic. Now this is NOT Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Looking Glassis Carroll's lesser known follow up. There's no mad hatter or chasing white rabbits. But there are white queens, talking insects, and discussions of the Jabberwocky. This is a fairly faithful adaptation.
The story is simple. Alice, through her magic mirror, enters Carroll's world of dream logic and nonsense. Kate Beckinsale (re...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 9th, 2005
Synopsis
As with such other series as The X-Files, this is less about single-episode adventuresthan about a long, complex storyline. As a result, I can’t even pretend to understand what the hellis going on here, and so turn the synopsis over to the box copy: “‘You’re one of us now,’Nikita is told. But has she truly abandoned her compassionate nature and become anunquestioning member of the soulless covert organization called Section One? Or has shemastered the group’s knack f...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 8th, 2005
Jeremyis an early 70's film that put Robby Benson on the map (for what that's worth). Benson was nominated for a Golden Globe for his tender performance as the title character. This is quite an intimate little perforance. Glynnis O'Connor plays Jeremy's love interest, Susan. O'Connor matches Benson's truthful performance. The film centers around Susan and Jeremy's awkward, but authentic, teenage romance.
The film moves along at a snail's pace. But that's part of the point. There are no major Romeo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 8th, 2005
Paul Giamatti, in typically depressed form, is an aspiring writer (his unpublished manuscript looks twice the size of War and Peace) and wine connoisseur who heads out with best friend Thomas Haden Church for a road trip through wine country before the latter’s wedding.Church is far more interesting in getting laid than in tasting wine, however, while Giamatti is still agonizing over his failed marriage (not to mention his perception of a failed life). He allows himself to be dragged by Church into all sorts of misadventures, but one particular entanglement,with Virginia Madsen, might perhaps turn out to be something special.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 8th, 2005
Synopsis
Director Trey Parker plays Joe Young, a Mormon on a rather losing missionary trip toHollywood. A chance encounter lands him (reluctantly) as the lead in Orgazmo, a pornflick about the titular super-hero. The film becomes a runaway success, and Joe finds himself anunwilling porn superstar. Meanwhile, his co-star in the film has developed a real, workingversion of the hero’s Orgazmarator (or something like that), which causes orgasms at a distance.It is only a matter o...
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