Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on October 6th, 2004
Fox will finally release the complete fifth season of The Simpsons on December 21st. Each episode will be presented in 1.33:1 fullscreen transfers, along with English Dolby Digital 5.1 and both Spanish and French Dolby Digital 2.0 audio tracks. Extras will include a commentary tracks on 6 episodes (by Matt Groening and his associates), animatics and storyboards with illustrated commentary, commercials, Tree House of Horror Sketches and deleted scenes. If more extras are announced, we will let you know.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004
Synopsis
William Baldwin is the leader of a group of friends in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen area. Theyare all on the periphery of the crime world, and the local kingpin is Armand Assante (with a mostsinister scar on his cheek). Two of the five become involved in a scheme that has them passingincompetently counterfeited hundred-dollar bills, and Assante demands their lives. Baldwininvestigates the death of one of them, and gradually realizes the depth of the betrayal.
The plot is rathe...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004
Synopsis
Nick Broomfield’s first documentary about Aileen Wuornos is a mixture of media clips andinterviews Broomfield conducted with Wuornos and the major figures in her trial, notably heradoptive mother and her unbelievably sleazy and incompetent lawyer (his “Dr. Legal” ad markshim as the legal equivalent of Dr. Nick Riviera). Then there’s the issue of police corruption. Allin all, essential viewing, especially in conjunction with the later film (which shows that, at thevery least said la...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004
Synopsis
Tom Berenger plays Andras Vayda, a young man growing up in post-war Hungary. He isboth precociously sexual and completely at sea with girls his own age, and at 16 becomes thelover of Karen Black. He then has a succession of older mistresses, including Susan Strasberg asa revolutionary in the heady days of the unsuccessful Hungarian uprising against the Communistsin the late 50s. He then moves to Canada, where his adventures continue.
The tale of sexual adventures pl...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 6th, 2004
Synopsis
A young couple (Stephen Wastell and Paula Ficara) move from the East Coast to LA withdreams of writing screenplays. Their new house is on a hill that was once part of Tom Mix’sHollywood studio, and all their neighbours are in the movie business in one way or another.Ficara is recovering from a nervous breakdown, and when she begins to see ghosts, she assumes,at first, that she is having a relapse. But then Wastell not only becomes inhumanly productive,banging out a script i...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on October 4th, 2004
On January 4th, New Line will release separate Rated and Unrated editions of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Both releases will feature a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Extras will include two audio commentaries (teh first with director Danny Leiner and actors John Cho and Kal Penn, the second with writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg), deleted scenes, "Back Seat" Interviews, an "Art of the Fart" sound documentary, Cast & Crew: Drive-Thru Bites,...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on October 4th, 2004
On January 4th, New Line will release separate Rated and Unrated editions of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Both releases will feature a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Extras will include two audio commentaries (teh first with director Danny Leiner and actors John Cho and Kal Penn, the second with writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg), deleted scenes, "Back Seat" Interviews, an "Art of the Fart" sound documentary, Cast & Crew: Drive-Thru Bites,...
Posted in: News and Opinions by Archive Authors on October 4th, 2004
In the firm's latest reversal, Sony has abandoned anti-copying technology on CD's. The corporate claim is that the anti-piracy message has been communicated, and such measures are not really necessary. Now - consider also that Sony recently announced that it will allow the playback of native MP3 in its digital music players, and a somewhat different message is communicated: Sony figures they can make more money selling music and hardware that allows consumers the freedom to do with their media as they please. Too bad it...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 4th, 2004
Synopsis
It’s 1964 and The Beatles are about to make their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.Teenage girls are losing their minds. We focus on four (with two boys in tow) who head off toNew York to try to crash the show and meet the band. Our heroines are the Shrieking Fan, theWould-Be Photographer, the New-Fiancee-Who-Has-Other-Things-On-Her-Mind and theBeatles-Hater.
This was a bomb in 1978, perhaps because it wasn’t hugely different from the sort of thing...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 4th, 2004
Synopsis
This is a fly-on-the-wall documentary that follows Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign fromDemocratic primaries to the White House. This piece also made stars of sorts out of campaignmanage James Carville and communications director George Stephanopoulos, with the formerbeing an especially larger-than-life character. There is no narration, and pretty good knowledgeof how the American political system works is helpful, not to mention a sharp memory of thecon...
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