Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 17th, 2002
Film
Braveheart this film is not, but The Patriot is still a decent Mel Gibson offering. This film, along with Hollow Man, has had the pleasure of being one of the first Superbit Deluxe DVD release. For me, this film will be remembered by one, and only one great sequence. That sequence (if you have seen this film you will know this scene) is when Mel Gibson goes loco with his hatchet. This scene is worth the price of admission (or cost of the DVD) alone.
“In the emotionally...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 16th, 2002
“Among the rugged peaks that frown upon the Borgo Pass are found crumbling castles of a bygone age.” Carla Laemmle read these the first words ever spoken in a horror film that featured sound in the opening moments of Dracula. The film was based more on the Broadway play version of Dracula than the famous Bram Stoker novel. Who better to play the Count than the young Hungarian actor who immortalized him on the stage, Bela Lugosi? Lugosi brought more immortality to Dracula than the blood of his victims.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 15th, 2002
The Films
Guilty as charged. Yes, it is true… until now, I had never seen any of the Rambo films. Sure, these films are all now somewhat dated, but they sure are fun to watch.
Rambo: First Blood – Sylvester Stallone stars as ex-Green Beret John Rambo, a shell-shocked Vietnam vet adrift in the Pacific Northwest. Harassment by an unsympathetic small-town sheriff brings on nasty flashbacks of torture at the hands of the Viet Cong; after busting out of the jail where he has ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 14th, 2002
Bela Lugosi had become the heir apparent to Lon Chaney, Sr. as Universal’s horror king with the extraordinary success of Dracula. When the studio decided that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein would be its next vehicle, Lugosi adamantly turned down the role of the monster. He felt that the role was doomed to failure, mainly because there was no dialogue and that audiences would not relate to the character. Enter a little known character actor from England to fill the monster’s shoes, and the name Boris Karloff would eventually eclipse Universal’s reigning king of horror.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2002
Synopsis
1941. Field Marshal Rommel's forces are sweeping across Africa. The only thing blocking him from the Suez Canal is Tobruk. The British and Australian forces are hopelessly outmanned and outgunned, but their orders are to hold out, and hold out they will. Richard Burton is placed in charge of a battalion of green Australians. Though his toughness doesn't endear him to his him, Burton nevertheless whips them into combat and commando troops.
The characters are familiar. Burton's comm...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2002
Synopsis
Randolph Scott is a young man who refuses to live up to his potential. Though very skilled, and possessing every attribute necessary to excel as a marine, he refuses to do so. When not training, he does one of two things: engage in a battle of wills with the crusty sergeant (John Payne) who knows what Scott should be capable of; or court sensible nurse Maureen O'Hara (who also expects more of Scott than he does of himself).
Don't approach this hoping for an action flick. Despite t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 11th, 2002
The film may take place in London, and feature English actors, and be shot in English, but this is definitely French cinema. How do we know? Because the sex scenes hit hardcore explicitness, and none of the characters are particularly happy about any of the proceedings.
Synopsis
Jay is a former musician, now bartender, and left his family some years ago, in a fit of what appears to have been existential ennui/sexual angst. Now he lives in a run-down house, and is visited every Wednesday by woman with whom he has sex.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 10th, 2002
Film
Here comes another teen movie from Columbia-Tristar… no, not “Not Another Teen Movie”, rather just another teen movie. This time it is Slackers that is getting the DVD treatment. This film was not as bad as I expected. Actually it was somewhat entertaining, especially the role played by Jason Schwartzman (from Rushmore fame) who plays an absolutely insane collage student infatuated with a girl beyond his means. Enough for my rambling, here is the synopsis…
“Crafty room...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2002
“Danger, Will Robinson.” Attempting to make a serious film out of Irwin Allen’s beloved space family Robinson wasn’t one of Hollywood’s brightest ideas. The filmmakers did a pretty decent job of creating a fun science fiction film, but their obvious attempts at nostalgia never quite gel with the overall vision of the film. Complete with stellar special effects and a much more logical plot than the campy 60’s show, Lost In Space had promise. What New Line failed to understand was the cheese cardboard effects and zipper-toting aliens spun around a totally ridiculous plot was the true charm of Lost In Space.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2002
Another recent big-budget French production to hit these shores, this, along with Brotherhood of the Wolves, makes for an interesting comparison with American blockbusters.
Synopsis
A sinister mummy case is discovered in a disused vault of the Louvre. The expedition that originally found the mummy was decimated, and now the mysterious deaths begin again. Living across the street from the Louvre is Sophie Marceau (most recently seen by North American audiences in The World Is Not Enough), wh...
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