Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 17th, 2005
Synopsis
Centuries ago, a gargoyle is shot down by a priest and sealed in the ground. In present-dayRomania, an earthquake breaks the seal and unleashes a host of monsters on Bucharest. CIAoperative Michael Paré is investigating what at first appears to be a series of kidnappings, buteventually finds himself up against the mythical beasts.
The dialogue consists of cobbled-together clichés (and bargain-basement ones at that), andthe plot makes no sense. The Romanian setting i...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2005
The second volume of Lost In Space Season 2 is pretty much like the first. I’m still not sure I like the idea of splitting seasons. The reason given was that stores were refusing to carry a higher priced season set. This set does contain one of my favorite of the entire show. “Trip Through The Robot” is an obvious “Fantastic Voyage” rip-off but is a terribly entertaining romp. The stories continued their slide into even sillier tales and lower budget monsters. Gene Roddenberry often told the tale of how CBS pi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2005
M. Night Shyamalan has a knack for channeling the spirit of Rod Serling each time he sits down to write and ultimately direct and produce a new film. When Serling’s spirit is unavailable, then it seems that Hitchcock will do. The Village, like each of his previous films, is carried off in rather subtle tones both in visual textures and storytelling.
The Village again begins with little or no action but somehow compels us to begin to ask questions about the deceptively simple story unfolding b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 16th, 2005
Synopsis
Paul Bettany once had an almost-promising career in tennis, but he’s on his way out now,and his last hurrah is a wild-card placement he’s landed at Wimbledon. A chance encounter withrising super-alpha player Kirsten Dunst revives his passion for both life and the game, and hesuddenly starts beating all comers. Her game, however, begins to suffer as she becomesdistracted by her new relationship.
As a romantic comedy, this leaves much to be desired. Top-billed Dunst i...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on January 14th, 2005
On April 12th, Universal will release the Seed of Chucky in three seperate editions - the theatrical cut (fullscreen) and an unrated cut (widescreen & fullscreen). Each disc will feature English Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS 5.1 audio tracks along, and a slew of extras... an Audio Commentary (with director Don Mancini and Jennifer Tilly), a "Family Hell-iday" Slide Show, a new "Conceiving The Seed of Chucky" featurette, Jennifer Tilly's video diary from The Tonight Show, and "FuZion Up Close with the Seed of Chu...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 14th, 2005
First off, let me say that if you have only seen Showgirls on VH-1, then you haven’t had the full experience. It’s bad on network television, but the sheer scope of how truly awful it is can only be experienced in the full, uncut version. Laughing at an idiot is one thing. Laughing at a naked idiot is something else entirely. It’s amazing how un-sexy this film really is. Showgirls is funny in the same way that it was funny to make fun of the fat kid riding in the front of the bus in Junior High. ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 13th, 2005
“All good things must come to an end…” Truer words have never been spoken, especially when it comes to describing what may be argued as the greatest epic ever produced for the silver screen. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy has redefined excellence in movie making. The only other series that I can compare this accomplishment to is, not surprisingly, the original Star Wars trilogy in terms of the scope of what was accomplished – old fashioned story telling which captured its audience with ground...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 13th, 2005
Synopsis
In his patented style (plenty of vintage stills and, in this case, vintage film footage combinedwith compelling narration and actors voicing the actual words of the subjects), documentaristKen Burns unveils the story of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion. Histriumph was intolerable for white society, and that included the American government. Narratedby Keith David, with Samuel L. Jackson providing the voice of Johnson, this is a powerful lookat the r...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 13th, 2005
Synopsis
Pauly Shore’s career spirals down into the toilet in the wake of a disastrous Fox sitcom.Desperate, he fakes his own death, thus boosting his popularity. His plan seems to be working,until the terrible backfire when he is caught and sent to jail.
There’s a halfway clever conceit here, given that Shore co-wrote, co-produced and directedwhat plays partly as an exercise in self-loathing, a perspective that viewers can only heartilysupport. There are some amusing cameos...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 13th, 2005
Sometimes, titles can be misleading. In fact, in our modern high-octane marketing culture, that’s often times their function. For instance, despite the rumors, everybody does not love Raymond. Furthermore, I do not love Raymond. I find the show bland and predictable, and the acting is consistently sub-par. However, just because it’s not my kind of thing, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s bad. A Room With a View was nominated for Best Picture, but I found it so detestable that I couldn’t even make ...
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