Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 13th, 2004
Synopsis
Spencer Tracy arrives in Nuremberg to sit as chief justice at a war crimes tribunal. In thedock are three judges and a prosecutor, accused of crimes against humanity. Chief among theaccused judges is Burt Lancaster, whose record prior to the Nazi era was exemplary. Theprosecutor is Richard Widmark, driven to fight for justice no matter what the wider geo-politicalcontext might be. Defending the accused is Maximilian Schell (who won an Oscar), stopping atnothing to protect h...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2004
Synopsis
Three friends head out planning to lose their virginity. Misadventures ensue. You really don’tneed to know anymore about the plot than that, because you really, really, really don’t want towatch this amateurish, shot-on-video attempt to be an “urban” American Pie. Theassumptions behind the film seem to be that the target audience is completely stupid andundiscriminating, and will laugh uproariously at jokes lifted completely from other movies.Dreck of the lowest orde...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2004
Synopsis
Lorenzo Lamas is the coach of a group of motocross-racing kids. When an evil biker gangthreatens to take over the good guys’ track, a race is proposed, winner take all. The bikers don’tplay fair, however, and our heroes lose both their top rider and their bikes. Fortunately, as far asthe rider is concerned, a chimpanzee is able to fill in.
Groan. This is “family viewing” in the form of the worst kind of pabulum. But then, wat doyou expect from a film that tosses a m...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2004
Synopsis
In 2024, the Earth’s ozone layer has been depleted (or so most assume), and life is protectedby an electromagnetic shield designed by Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). Eco-crusaderVirginia Madsen, however, believes that the ozone layer has restored itself, and the corporationthat runs the shield is maintaining it for its own purposes. Meanwhile, back in the past, villainMichael Ironside sends assassins to the future to kill Lambert, who is an aging man as the filmbegins...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 12th, 2004
There was a time, even as late as the 90’s, when making an anti-American film was still taboo in Hollywood. Of course today, movies like Fahrenheit 9/11 are big money makers, but for many years, such films were discouraged. Air America is one of the rare exceptions to this rule. This may be due to the fact that it was disguised as a comedy about the Vietnam conflict, but no matter how you look at it, the film is quite critical of the US government, and it makes some pretty scathing accusations about our...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2004
Synopsis
On the cusp of graduation, honour student Emile Hirsch’s quiet, orderly life is thrown intochaos when he falls in love with girl next door Elisha Cuthbert, who turns out to be a porn star.Hirsch’s reaction to this revelation drives a wedge between the couple, and pushes Cuthbert backinto the industry. Hirsch’s attempts to redeem himself lead him into deeper and deepertrouble.
This is not another would-be American Pie (though apparently the script started out...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 11th, 2004
Synopsis
It’s the story of Jesus one more time (stop me if you’ve already heard it), in this instance seenthrough the eyes of Judas (Johnathon Schaech). Enraged by the oppression of his people, Judasis a would-be revolutionary who believes he sees in Jesus the leader he has been hoping for, onewho will lead the Jews in a revolt against the Romans. He is increasingly disillusioned by Jesus’lack of commitment to armed resistance, and the bitter disappointment he feels ultimately leads...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 11th, 2004
Synopsis
Set in the same 1950s never-land as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley starsPenny Marshall and Cindy Williams as its eponymous heroines, two bottle-cappers at the ShotzBrewery in Milwaukee. Laverne is the cynical, semi-bad girl, while Shirley is the wide-eyedPollyanna and conscience of the pair. Both hope for more in life, and inevitably wind up inawkward situations.
The first few episodes assured ratings success by working Henry Winkler’s Fonzie into the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 10th, 2004
Synopsis
Released on parole after serving 15 years for the murder of his wife, Rutger Hauer becomesthe new case for social worker Natasha Richardson. This being one of those thrillers we’ve seena million times before, Richardson naturally suspects that Hauer is innocent after all, andpromptly falls in love with him. She begins investigating the case, and someone doesn’t takekindly to the fact that she is digging up the past.
Any viewer who actually falls for the did-he-or-di...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 10th, 2004
Synopsis
All in the Family begat Maude, which begat Good Times, giving thisseries the dubious distiinction of being a spin-off of a spin-off. Unusual then and now for beingset in a housing project in a crime-ridden area of Chicago, the series continues, in its thirdseason, to tackle such subjects as gun control, unemployment, the recession, and so on. Thismakes the show more ambitious than the empty-headed sitcoms that were unaccountablysuccessful (Full House...
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