Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2001
Intro This quirky little Christmas film will really put the holidays into perspective for you. The cast of Mixed Nuts contains a who’s who of comedy… Steve Martin, Gary Shandling, Adam Sandler, Rob Reiner, Rita Wilson, Etc. This is not the best Holiday comedy ever made, but it should bake you chuckle. Synopsis Funnyman Steve […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2001
Intro Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the first Horror/Suspense film to hit the SuperBit Circuit. This film is quite good, and the disc is another great release. Synopsis “Sumptuous retelling of the Dracula legend as originally conceived by Stoker in his 1897 novel. Avenging the death of his beloved wife, a 15th-century Romanian warrior lives on […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 26th, 2001
Intro The timing on this release is just about perfect: close enough to the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings for people to be eager for some high fantasy, but far in advance enough that comparisons will be less likely. Synopsis The story, by George Lucas, should be familiar to followers of his […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 12th, 2001
Intro ‘Tis the season of bangs and booms it seems, as the release of big war movies of the past continues. This isn’t one of the best, but, produced as it is by Dino De Laurentis, it is big. Synopsis Robert Mitchum headlines as a war correspondent accompanying the Allied landing at Anzio, Italy, in […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 12th, 2001
Intro Lo how the mighty have fallen. There was a time when Patrick Swayze and Melanie Griffith were A-level stars with a certain guaranteed box office. No more, it seems. Now they’re starring together in made-for-cable efforts like this one, originally titled Forever Lulu. Synopsis Melanie Griffith is a schizophrenic. Once, she and Patrick Swayze […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 10th, 2001
Intro Here’s a unique opportunity: the chance to see director Paul Verhoeven’s very first theatrical release. We’re a long, long way from Total Recall and Starship Troopers here, but perhaps not so far from Showgirls, at least as far as subject matter is concerned. Synopsis This film has a plot only in the loosest sense […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 4th, 2001
Intro CTHE has managed to squeeze yet another release out of the Monty Python franchise, this time in the form of a Holy Grail two-disc Special Edition. A single disc version with 2.0 sound streeted in September of 1999. While the discs are loaded with a mountain of extras and the video and sound are […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 1st, 2001
Intro In terms of Box Sets, HBO has impressed with the Sopranos DVD Collection. Season One was a pure treat on DVD. From the packaging, the layout, the quality, and the content, the First Season was a beautiful DVD release. HBO has pleased again with the release of Season Two. The quality standards have remained […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2001
Just in case you thought war propaganda was incompatible with good filmmaking, here’s this release in Fox’s War Classics series. Synopsis The film literally is a diary, narrated by Reed Hadley, a war correspondent covering the US assault on Guadalcanal. Every step of the way the men are up against not only the Japanese enemy, […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 28th, 2001
Fans of Saving Private Ryan are hereby advised to look in to this 1950 effort, one of the original platoon films. Synopsis Richard Widmark is former school teacher (sound familiar?), now Lieutenant. He and his men (including such notables as Jack Palance, Robert Wagner, Karl Malden and Jack Webb) are part of a massive assault […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 22nd, 2001
Intro We’re all pretty familiar with Demi Moore shorn of hair in GI Jane. But do you remember her with a blonde wig? No? Time to refresh your memory. Synopsis Moore is Marina, a fay North Carolina clairvoyant who has been waiting by the sea for her True Love. When, according to the signs, he […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 19th, 2001
Intro Even though I expected a little more from this film, I must say that the DVD release is wonderful. Paramount has put together a jam-packed Special Edition, which should be enjoyed by all. For those who are not familiar with the Tomb Raider premise, here is a little synopsis for you… Synopsis “Lara Croft […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 13th, 2001
Intro Here we have perhaps the most ambitious of all the biblical epics. John Huston’s film isn’t content with dealing with just one story from the Bible. Oh no. This is the first 22 chapters of Genesis. Needless to say, the scope is BIG. Synopsis Do you know your Book of Genesis? Then you know […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 10th, 2001
Intro For you British comedy fans out there, do I have a treat for you? The BBC has released the complete Fawlty Towers collection on DVD, and it is a very nice 3-Disc set. Synopsis “John Cleese stars as Basil Fawlty, the sharp-tongued, short-tempered owner of Fawlty Towers, a hotel plagued by crisis, chaos and […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 1st, 2001
Intro Here’s a real treat for the baseball fans out there, but the appeal of the film doesn’t end with them. Anyone interested in the experience of the American Jewish community, or in the social history of the States in the 30s and 40s, will find this documentary absorbing. Synopsis Hank Greenberg was the first […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 25th, 2001
Intro It’s amazing the effect that the passage of time has. It was hard to find a series that had a cheaper and nastier reputation than the Friday the 13th films back when they were first released. Now, in the wake of the slick postmodernism of Scream and its ilk, these slashers seem oddly quaint […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 17th, 2001
Intro “If you have a taste for terror, you have a date with CARRIE.” So intones the original theatrical trailer for 1976’s “Carrie,” Brian de Palma’s cinematic adaptation of Stephen King’s identically named novel. This is a revenge story: Carrie is a high school student (at “Bates High” – yes this did come out after […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 15th, 2001
Intro Forget the “blue-lightning = naked guy” time transport system; you can do real time travel in your living room with MGM’s “The Terminator SE.” Step back to a time before Linda Hamilton started taking steroids, and before Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped. A time when guys (Michael Biehn = “Kyle Reese”) wanted to look like Sting, […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 30th, 2001
After watching this epic film, I could see why it was the winner of multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture. I have to thank Columbia-Tristar for presenting this film in a DVD release that actually enhances the viewing experience of this amazing picture. Sure, the 190 minute running time is not for those with no […]
