Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 3rd, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 3rd, 2004
The times, they were a-changin’ during the mid-sixties in America. The Vietnam War was heating up, the civil rights movement was making major strides, and it seemed that the whole country would soon be vastly different than it was just a few short years earlier. It was in the midst of these turbulent times that the first episode of Green Acres hit the airwaves.
The idea of metaphorically moving the average American family from the madness of the modern urban landscape and returning them to the simpli...ity of a traditional rural locale was an inspired one. Loyal fans tuned in each week to see what inept farmer Oliver Wendall Douglas would do next, when confronted with the challenges presented by his wife, the local townspeople and even by the land itself. The citizens of Hooterville would never be the same, once the Douglas’s moved in to the old Hayney place. Similarly, for a half-hour each week, the citizens of the United States were also changed, and given a relaxing and comfortable setting in which to unwind from the stresses of their own tumultuous lives.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2004
Synopsis
Well – this qualifies as one of the most bizarre examples of casting and scripting that I have ever seen in my life. Kelsey Grammer plays what is supposed to be a near-unemployable submarine captain whose insane antics are about to get him kicked out of the naval submarine command program. The movie chronicles his “return,” so to speak, as he overcomes insurmountable odds in a naval war game exercise to win a respectable submarine to command. His weapon – a WWII sub against the modern Americ...n nuclear submarine fleet. His crew – misfits and rejects that noone else in the navy would take.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 2nd, 2004
Fifteen years after it swept the 1989 Academy Awards show with Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman in his first win since 1979's Kramer vs. Kramer), MGM has finally released a Special Edition of Rain Man.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 1st, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 31st, 2004
Synopsis
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (OUTM) is the third film in the conceptual trilogy of El Mariachi, Desperado, and OUTM. Its not a direct sequel, but you’ll recognize a lot of characters and imagery from the prior movies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 31st, 2004
I have had the pleasure of reviewing better films than Home Room; and I’ve certainly suffered through worse. But I am not sure I’ve reviewed a more important film. I’ve been a public high school teacher for over 8 years. Ask any educator and you’ll find that Columbine changed things for everyone, so I wasn’t sure how I would find this study of that kind of violence. The subject is handled with extreme care in Home Room. In a wise decision, the shooting occurs to a black screen. We don’t really pick up the story until after the event.
The film has two basic themes. The most obvious is the budding relationship between two teenage girls who are dramatically unalike but forced together to deal with their tragedy. The second theme is blame. Our society seems to possess a powerful need to blame someone when disaster strikes. We don’t deal well when evil has no recognizable face. This film examines that theme like no other I’ve seen before. The acting is incredibly on target. Victor Garber is excellent as the detective who is haunted by the tasks before him. Busy Phillips and Erika Christiansen nail the characters of Alicia and Deeana, our two troubled teens.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 31st, 2004
I am just old enough to remember when my favorite childhood television channel, Nickelodeon, took on a new evening persona called Nick at Night. “What were they doing to my beloved cartoons?”, I pondered. I still remember those first few weeks of the new format, tuning in during the evening hours after my father had returned home from a long day at work. I was amazed to see that not only were my parents interested in what I was watching, but they actually knew what it was before I did! How was this possible!?
...p>Of course, I came to love the new nighttime format, and I began to pick out my favorites of these classic shows, just as my parents had done a generation before. One of the best new programs, I felt, was Mister Ed, the story of a man and his talking horse. Every child enjoys silliness and fantasy, and this show had both.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 31st, 2004
Synopsis
Well, Vanishing Point is definitely a movie of the seventies. Don’t be deceived by the DVD case, which proclaims this to be “the Ultimate Car Chase Movie” – yes, there is certainly car chases, but this film is more art gallery than speed shop. To contextualize the film, it was originally released in 1971 – the Vietnam war was crawling towards defeat for the U.S., the summer of love had come and gone, and disaffection and disillusionment had become the twin staples of the America.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 30th, 2004
This is a great idea for a children’s video. Our Friend Martin is an animated film that follows the Dickens Christmas Carol format to tell the story of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When two boys (an underachieving African-American and his slacker white counterpart) visit the birthplace of Dr. King on a school field trip, they are magically transported back in time to experience monumental events in the civil rights movement. Along their journey, they learn of the legacy of Dr. King, and of his...importance to our modern American way of life.
Many A-list actors have provided their voice talent for the production, including Ed Asner, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel A. Jackson, Angela Bassett and John Travolta. Part of the fun of watching the film was trying to pick out which actor was voicing what character. Surprisingly, however, much of the voice talent is weak, and only a few actors (such as James Earl Jones and the aforementioned Sarandon) really grasp the intricacies of providing a voice for an animated character. Particularly bad is the “surfer hick” accent of the white main character.
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