Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 27th, 2004
Synopsis
During the Korean war, a platoon led by Laurence Harvey and Frank Sinatra is captured andsent off to Manchuria. Here the men are brainwashed into believing that Harvey saved them allin an incredible feat of heroism (which he did not) and that he’s a loveable guy (which he isn’t).The unfortunate Harvey is programmed to become a remote-control assassin. Back in the States,Sinatra is plagued by nightmare memories of the experience, and gradually comes to believe thatsomething ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 25th, 2004
The 1970s was a fertile time for feminist movements. This film was amazingly cited by both sides of the argument, never seeming to please either. Feminists considered the film to be a slap in the face of the “modern woman”. It was accused of undermining years of progress to the age-old stereotypes of a woman’s place. At the same time anti-feminists citied it as a mockery of what were considered wholesome American values. It’s strange that a film that was never intended to be part of these controversies couldn’t seem ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2004
It is nearly impossible to escape the common comparisons between Monk and Columbo. But don’t get this show expecting it to be at all like the well-loved bumbling detective played for decades by Peter Falk. The two characters are nothing alike. The comparisons are made because we haven’t had a detective show since Columbo where the quirks and personality of the character himself were more important than the cases he solved.
Tony Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk suffers from a long list of phobias from germs to drink...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2004
Well if you don’t know what is going on in this film then I am not quite sure why you are reading this review. This is the third and final installment of the Lord of the Ring’s trilogy, we finally after three long years get to discover the fate of Frodo, the ring, Sam, Gollum and all of Middle Earth. This film like The Two Towers just keeps getting better and managing to exceed our ever increasing expectations.
The multiple story lines all come together and finally conclude themselves, maybe not quite exac...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 18th, 2004
Everyone’s favorite television psychiatrist is back for his third go around. Frasier and his emmy award winning cast return for one of the better seasons that the series produced. The third season sees more wackiness, more Eddie jokes, and more shenanigans at the radio station. The biggest story shift this year is Niles' (David Hyde Pierce) separation from the still unseen Maris, leaving him more free time to moon over Daphne (Jane Leeves). In a half-season arc, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) finds himself at odds with, an...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 18th, 2004
Wizards is a Ralph Bakshi production that is a lot more family friendly than some of his other better known works aka Fritz the Cat and the less said about his adaptation of The Lord of The Rings, the better. Wizards does borrow a lot from the Tolkein classic however, in it’s themes of industrialism versus nature as played out in the classic good versus evil story.
The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where an ancient prophet foretells the coming of twins who will battle and the outcome of the con...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 18th, 2004
Apparently inspired by Three Godfathers, the over-sentimental John Ford western from 1948, the "godfathers" here are three homeless Tokyo-ites -- Gin, a former professional bicycle racer; Hana, a transvestite; and Miyuki, a young runaway girl -- living together in Shinjuku, Tokyo. On Christmas Eve, they find a baby, and embark on a journey that takes them all across the city in order to reunite the baby with its parents, while at the same time bringing their own lives closer to their ultimate destinies. Fun, fast-pac...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 16th, 2004
Synopsis
If ever an actor mastered the double-take, it was Cary Grant, and his hilariously flabbergastedlook gets a full workout in My Favorite Wife (1940). Seven years ago, he lost wife IreneDunne in a shipwreck. Now he has just remarried to Gail Patrick, and Dunne, who spent the lastseven years marooned on an island, suddenly shows up again. We follow the comicmisadventures that will lead Grant to reuniting with Dunne and parting with cold-fish Patrick.Grant’s flustered att...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 15th, 2004
Synopsis
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) follows the safari of Jane Parker (Maureen O’Sullivan)and her father into the jungle world of Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller). Searching for the elephantgraveyard and the wealth of ivory it would contain, the safari meets all sorts of peril and climbs aforbidding escarpment before they encounter Tarzan. He makes off with Jane, who falls in lovewith him before the movie is out. This film had all the elements that would recur in the rest of theser...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 15th, 2004
With the release of Spider-Man 2 in late June, it was no surprise that Sony decided to give us an upgrade of the first film. Spider-Man was probably the best superhero film to come along since the original Superman in the late 70’s. Perhaps not as recognizable as Batman or Superman, Spidey is still quite an American icon to the millions of us who grew up during the golden age of comics.
This film is a faithful adaptation. The only real complaint I’ve heard is the tweaking of the origin story. In the comics...
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