Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 14th, 2004
Synopsis
Janie inherits a strip club from her uncle, and is determined to put the club back in the black,notably by getting all her college friends to strut their stuff on the stage. But not everyone wantsher to succeed, notably one conniving stripper who wants to get her hands on the treasuresecreted somewhere on the premises.
Why am I even bothering provided a synopsis for this poor man’s cross betweenShowgirls and Degrassi High? The plot gets us from one silicone-en...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 13th, 2004
Synopsis
Lai Xi (Nakai Kiichi) must complete one last mission for the Emperor before he can returnto Japan: track down and execute mutinous Butcher Li (Jiang Wen), who refused to kill femaleand children prisoners, and is now an outlaw. Li and Lai Xi’s first encounter ends in a draw, andLai Xi agrees to wait for a rematch until Li has completed his current mission: escorting acaravan through bandit country. Lai Xi is soon caught up in the effort to protect the caravan, andthe battles...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 13th, 2004
Synopsis
This is a two-part special episode of The Office, picking up some time after the endof the second season. The loathsome but self-regarding David Brent no longer works in theoffice, but still hangs out there all the time. Gareth is now in Brent’s position, and Brent is tryingto launch a pop career, and at the same time find himself a girlfriend in time to avoid humiliationat the Christmas party.
This is more of the viciously corrosive humour that made this sho...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 12th, 2004
Synopsis
If you don’t know what this movie is about, you grew up in a cave. If you’ve never seen it,ditto. This is the tale, it need hardly be said, of Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews), the nanny whoarrives to take charge of two children whose imaginations have been repressed by theirexcessively proper father. In the care of Mary, and accompanied by chimney sweep Bert (DickVan Dyke), the children bounce from one magical mix of dance, live action and animation toanother.
A more...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 11th, 2004
Synopsis
Zach Braff (who also wrote and directed) stars as Andrew Largeman, a young man so heavilymedicated since his childhood that he finds it completely impossible to experience any kind ofemotion. This is true even at his mother’s funeral, for which he returns from LA to New Jersey.There he reconnects with his old friends (chief among them being Peter Sarsgaard), all of whomare living odd, if aimless lives, and encounters Sam (Natalie Portman), whose emotions-on-the-sleeve appro...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 10th, 2004
Spider-Man 2 is a superior film to the first. While it is rare for sequels to live up to expectations, there are rare moments in film history when the sequel may even surpass the first film’s quality. The Godfather Part II and Bride of Frankenstein are two well known examples. But for Every T2 there are usually 20 Jaws 3-D’s. Doc Ock was the perfect choice as the story’s villain; Alfred Molina was a wonderful selection to bring this fan favorite to life on the big screen. Peter Parker’s life is more multi-dimensional...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 10th, 2004
After learning about lawsuits filed by two obese women against McDonald’s - accusing the fast-food giant of making them obese - Morgan Spurlock decided to eat nothing but food from McDonald’s for 30 days to see what would happen. Even his doctors didn’t expect the eventual results: Spurlock gained 30 pounds, became depressed, experienced a diminished sex drive, and teetered on the edge of liver failure. His doctors even warned him that failure to change his diet immediately would cause death - and he still had a week...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 10th, 2004
I’ve got to be honest. I was never a Depeche Mode fan. My lack of interest in them didn’t really come from their music, which I always thought was different - in a good way. It was just that in the 80's and 90's, MTV played their videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The video for “Enjoy the Silence” was burned into my eyelids. I couldn’t get away from the band no matter how hard I tried.
My, how things have changed. MTV doesn’t play Depeche Mode videos anymore, or any videos for that matter, and after wat...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 9th, 2004
Synopsis
Giovanna Mezzogiorno plays a wife and mother (also named Giovanna) who is frustratedand ground down by her lot in life. Her job is depressing, her marriage has lost all its spark, andshe lives in a building that echoes with the furious battles of dysfunctional couples. She is alsofascinated by the man she sees across the way, whose life in all respects seems to be the oppositeof hers. The catalyst for change in her life is the arrival of Simone, an elderly amnesiac whom her...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 8th, 2004
Synopsis
A minor fire (not the big scorch that case implies) breaks out in the forest, and is quickly extinguished. Nonetheless, there are clear signs of arson, and four teens are involved. The Ranger in charge of the area locks the teens in his station and proceeds to work on ferreting out the truth of what happened. And this fractious group has secrets they would rather not reveal. The film turns into a tale of relationships and coming of age.
But I found it very difficult to care. The fo...
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