Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
This is the life story of Howard Hughes, as told by the man himself. Literally. Sort of. Michael Ferreri is the voice of Hughes, and he narrates his life from birth to death. This narration is intercut with interviews with Hughes’ surviving friends and widow. The visuals are a lively mix of footage and animated stills. Though the case boasts a running time of almost three hours, this is when all the extras are factored in. The actual feature is only 56 minutes long. Though the effort is alwa...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Jean-Hugues Anglade plays Zorg (yup, that’s his name), a handyman living in a beach-front house, scribbling away quietly in his spare time. Not so quiet is his tempestuous affair with Betty (Beatrice Dalle), whose passions overwhelm both of them. First she moves in on him with no warning. Then, when she discovers his writing, she decides that they must move to Paris so he can have a career as a writer. To make sure Zorg complies, she burns his house to the ground. Once in Paris, her plans fo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 2nd, 2004
Things were pretty much over the peak when Voyager warped into Season 5. The Seven Of Nine tension was begin to feel played out by now. The prominence of the girl Naomi I found to be a bit irritating. This would also be a year of rebellion as quite a few crew members cause Janeway more than her fair share of grief. The Borg continue to be the master villains and account for the bright spots in an otherwise mediocre season. Season 5 does bring us to that magical 100th episode with “Timeless”. “Dark Frontier” would be...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 2nd, 2004
Synopsis
A year after the clash seen in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, the giant robot built around the bones of the original Godzilla is still being repaired. Mothra and her two fairy princesses appear to warn humanity to return the bones to the sea, but the authorities do not listen, and Godzilla, drawn to Mechagodzilla, returns to ravage Tokyo. A titanic battle ensues, with Mechagodzilla and Mothra struggling to save the city from the unstoppable lizard.
The case could certainly ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 2nd, 2004
Synopsis
This is an episodic biopic about Bettie Page, moving from her glory days as a model for the pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager and fetish actress for Irving Klaw, maker of B&D shorts. All is well until a Senate investigation into obscenity, and Bettie herself pines for more mainstream, respectable roles. A fair bit of running time consists of B&W recreations of lost Klaw films, with Paige Richards doing a credible re-creation of Bettie’s look.
This is the very textbook definition of ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 2nd, 2004
Rob (Benjamin Ratner) and Melanie (Angela Vint) are a couple that think they’ve found the key to solving all relationship problems - simply break up after 19 months. By then, all the romance, lust, and excitement of a relationship has worn off and both people involved are ready to test the dating waters. So, they agree to do just that, only they’ll remain friends with benefits until they each find someone else. To prove that their theory is correct, Rob and Melanie even allow a film crew to follow them around and ma...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 2nd, 2004
Smooth Talk is a “coming of age” story that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It stars Laura Dern as Connie, a teenage girl from a small southern town. She’s at that rebellious age. In the words of Britney Spears, “she’s still a girl, not quite a woman”. Connie is curious about the opposite sex and a world outside the town. She’s searching for something, but what she finds, she might not want.
Treat Williams plays Arnold Friend. Friend, as it turns out, is nobody’s frien...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 2nd, 2004
Venus Risingis a laughably bad movie advertised as “in the tradition of Johnny Mnemonic”. Maybe the two movies are in the same ballpark, theme-wise, but quality-wise they’re not even the same sport. Audie England and Costas Manylor play two fugitives who escape from a desert Island. Eve and Vegas, however, are still controlled by drugs from the Pacifica Corporation. The drugs also enable the characters to achieve a “virtual reality” state of mind. Fantasy sequences occur, flashbacks etc. It’s just an exc...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 1st, 2004
Synopsis
Lili Taylor essays another of her trademark depressed wallflower roles as Evie, a woman who hates her job, her town and her life. She becomes obsessed with local rock star and pseudo-philosopher Drumstrings Casey (Guy Pearce), to the point of carving his name in her forehead (backwards, since she was looking in a mirror). This brings her to the attention of Pearce, and both of the to the attention of the media, and so begins a prickly, off-kilter relationship.
We’ve certainly been ...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on November 30th, 2004
Fox Home Entertainment will release the Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman and Naomi Watts comedy I Heart Huckabees on February 22nd. This dual-sided disc will include both anamorphic widescreen and full screen presentations, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Extras will include two audio commentaries (The first with director David O. Russell; the second with cast members Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg and Naomi Watts), two featurettes ("Production" & "Behind the S...
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