Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 24th, 2001
Intro
From 1971, a newly restored “Dirty Harry” has been returned to the screen. This is a fantastic DVD release in every way – as either a solitary disc, or as part of the Dirty Harry box set. The video looks fantastic, the audio sounds good, and the disc is packed with valuable features. Beyond the quality of the DVD presentation, the movie itself is a classic – “Dirty Harry” is a seminal detective story in the annals of Hollywood - Harry Callahan is one of the original disaffected anti-heroes, a traum...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2001
Intro
Once a franchise is launched, it seems, it is by definition unstoppable, even when, as is the case for this series of films involving a large St. Bernard, the franchise has moved into the direct-to-video realm.
Synopsis
Beethoven, with his slobbery, chaotic ways, is making life impossible for the Newton family. He is thus packed off to obedience school. Meanwhile, we are introduced to Michelangelo, the impeccably behaved St. Bernard owned by the impossibly rich Sedgwicks. The Sed...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 23rd, 2001
Intro
If you are part of the MTV generation, you may find this collection more ancient then entertaining. If you grew up watching this series, it will bring back memories….
Synopsis
It changed the face of television forever. Based on the enormously popular and successful Planet of the Apes movie, the 1974 TV series has become a true cult classic. Now all 14 episodes (including "The Liberator," which never aired during the show's original run) have been compiled and are available to ow...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 19th, 2001
Intro
Um. Okay. If anyone ever asks you for a quick definition of “niche marketing,” hand them this DVD. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m hopelessly out of touch, but I’d never heard of backyard wrestling before now. If you’re like me, here’s your chance to correct that oversight.
Synopsis
Scott Hamm and Walter Emanuel Jones play ambitious backyard wrestlers (wrestlers who take part in amateur bouts staged in, yes, backyards). They enlist Bree Turner to film their exploits and market them ov...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 19th, 2001
Intro
From seemingly out of nowhere comes this period piece, directed by Bruce (Driving Miss Daisy) Beresford.
Synopsis
This biopic tells the story of Alma Mahler, a fiercely independent woman in turn-of-the-century Austria. She is attracted by art and artists, and is successively wife of composer Gustav Mahler, lover (then wife) of architect Walter Gropius, lover of painter Oksar Kokoschka, and lover of novelist Franz Werfel. Alma’s love life is not a happy one, as each man seems dest...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 16th, 2001
Intro
It is so rare for a small film, such as MADE, to be given a blockbuster DVD release. This is one of the best low budget films I have seen in a long time (excluding Memento… which was the best). But unfortunately, Memento was not given a DVD release that did it justice, Made, on the other hand, did.
Synopsis
“In this reunion of Swingers co-stars Jon Favreau (making his feature directorial debut) and Vince Vaughn, the two star in a new Mob comedy set in the underbelly of N...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 16th, 2001
The melodrama is a tricky form. Done wrong, the result is risible. Done right, as it is here, and the result can be compelling.
Synopsis
Bette Davis is Charlotte Vale. Charlotte is, thanks to the brutal tyranny of her mother, a repressed, ugly duckling spinster. Then psychiatrist Claude Rains steps in, and she transforms completely. Her rebirth is completed on an ocean cruise when she falls in love with the unhappily married Paul Henreid. What follows is a story of romantic sacrifice and the triump...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 15th, 2001
I have heard a lot of mixed reviews about this film. I will sum it up like this… If you are expecting amazing acting and storyline, you will be disappointed. But, on the other hand, if you are expecting to see a bunch of Apes jumping around and some very fun visual effects, you are in for a treat….
Synopsis
In the year 2029, interstellar reconnaissance missions are relegated to chimpanzee pilots from the Space Station Oberon in deep space. On such a mission, a chimp loses communication and vanis...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 13th, 2001
Intro
I’m guessing here, but I bet that it’s the DVD format’s ability to store vast quantities of information that is behind the sudden home video releases of twenty-year-old TV mini-series. This one is suitably epic.
Synopsis
John Geyser (John Hammond) is the artistic son of a Southern farming family. He is also the most racially enlightened member. He becomes a sketch artist for a newspaper, and therefore also becomes our eyewitness of the US Civil War.
This is one of those Big...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 13th, 2001
Posted in Disc Reviews by Carly Peters
The season 4 collection of the X-Files comes in a seven disc package chock full of special features. Season four had some of the most talked about episodes in the X-Files brief history. Featured in this collection is “Home”, an episode that only aired once due to the undertones of incest in the plot, and has been banned from the re-run rotation. Other episodes include “Musings of the Cigarette Smoking Man”, a subplot that follows the life of young Cancer Man, who took part in some of the worlds most histo...
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