Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 27th, 2004
Synopsis
An wounded amnesiac (Matt Damon) is fished from the Mediterranean. He travels acrossEurope searching for his identity, only to discover that he has several, one of which is “JasonBourne.” He is, in fact, a CIA super-assassin who has slipped his leash, and the Agency isdetermined to take him down. Dodging killers, he travels to Paris in the company of Marie(Franka Potente), still searching for the key to his memory and a way to escape the implacablepursuit.
Easily ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 26th, 2004
Synopsis
Repressed, timid writer Alan Bates arrives in Crete with the goal of re-opening a mine leftto him by his father. On the way to the small village where he will live, he hooks up with theexuberant Zorba (Anthony Quinn, who, as an American of Irish and Mexican extraction, is nomore Greek than Bates). Bates puts Quinn in charge of the mine, and Quinn sets himself themission of teaching Bates how to take risks in life.
The broad arc of the story -- repressed Anglo-Saxon ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 25th, 2004
Synopsis
One year after the brutal murder of a family, an old woman and her silent granddaughtercome to live with some relatives. We know from the opening that these are the killers, and thatbad times lie ahead. This is especially true for the wheelchair bound Yasu. His father is gone forthe week, his siblings are likewise mostly absent, and they ignore his warnings that the newarrivals are weird. As soon as the house is empty of any who might interfere, the torture sessionsbegin. M...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 23rd, 2004
Synopsis
A madman with a dream of cleansing the planet steals a ferociously deadly virus and kidnapsMadchen Amick, the only scientist who potentially knows how to create a vaccine for thedisease. A multinational special forces squad is sent to find the bad guys and rescue Amick.Meanwhile, our villain begins the spread of the virus, and a trigger-happy National SecurityAdviser wants to nuke all of Africa. Erstwhile mummy Arnold Vosloo is the scientist at theWashington HQ urging calm.
...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2004
It’s perhaps a sad commentary on the level of political correctness that Archie Bunker could never have graced network primetime in 2004. Archie was ignorant and an incredibly vocal bigot. Archie was an equal opportunity bigot. He didn’t just hate certain minorities … he hated everybody who wasn’t white blue collar protestant. Carroll O’Connor, who brilliantly portrayed Archie, was without a doubt one of the best actors to grace a network sitcom. Just watch his eyes and you’ll understand. All in the Family holds a re...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 21st, 2004
Synopsis
A powerful bomb explodes in downtown LA law office. The authorities suspect terrorism,but former FBI agent (now officer for the Bureau of Postal Investigation) Randall Batkinkoff hashis doubts. Politics interferes with his investigation, but he gradually becomes involved asanother bomb goes off. Evidence points to violent survivalist, but is he really the right man?
The rebellious investigator who’s always right. The politically-motivated chief investigatorwho hamstrings th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 20th, 2004
It seems like there have been quite a few dramatic films over the past three years or so that have fallen into this trap of bad marketing. Curiously enough, they all seem to have the same narrative feel, from Heist to Confidence to Spy Games… and now Spartan. I sometimes have a hard time figuring out why some films become hits, and some don’t. (Of course, if I were a master at that, I would be the highest paid man in Hollywood.) I don’t understand how mindless films like Men in Black II...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 20th, 2004
Synopsis
Designed to be as nonthreatening a form of teen movie as can be imagined, the Gidget filmswere the predecessors to the Beach Party movies with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello,and were sunny bits of cheer not even hinting at the darker side of adolescence explored by suchcontemporaries as I Was Teenage Werewolf (1957). Sandra Dee, perkiness made flesh,was first to play the role in 1959's Gidget. Here she meets surfer Moondoggie (JamesDarren, the only actor...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 19th, 2004
Synopsis
Our main characters are Campbell (Eion Bailey), Nell (Jennifer Garner) and Henry (ScottBairstow). They are twentysomethings facing the reality that they are finally going to have togrow up. Campbell is tense, judgmental, and constantly trying to come up with the Next BigThing. Nell is a flake incapable of any kind of commitment (romantic, career or otherwise).Henry is a writer who wants to be writing better stuff than he is. All sorts of affairs of the heartensue. Created b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 17th, 2004
I am sure that many consumers have noticed the disturbing trend taking place in DVD land with regard to the same movie being released in multiple versions. This practice, commonly referred to in the industry as “multiple bites at the apple”, is a cheap way for studios to persuade consumers to buy movies that they already own over and over again, since each new release offers some sort of extra upgrade from the previous versions. Even those of us in the DVD community sometimes get burned on this type of thing, as ther...
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