Hustler, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2007
I’m kicking myself. Martin Scorcese’s The Color of Money has long been a favourite of mine, but for some reason I never knew it was a sequel to The Hustler, a film 25 years older and three times better.
Starring a young Paul Newman (Road to Perdition) in a role that earned him his second Oscar nomination, The Hustler is about a cocky pool player hustling his way to the top. When “Fast Eddie” Felson (Newman) challenges undefeated straight-pool champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason,…
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Black Snake Moan
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2007
Watching the trailers for Black Snake Moan, I recall thinking it was going to drum up some outrageous controversy. I mean, the only thing we really knew about the film was that a big, scary black man chains up a half-dressed white girl in his home. Not exactly a wholesome image.
It’s a southern gothic parable, starring Samuel L. Jackson (Shaft) as Lazarus, a God-fearing man whose wife just left him for his own brother, and Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow) as Rae, a broken young woman wh…
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Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 14th, 2007
Recently released on HD DVD, this film is the last of the films from the famous British comedy band Monty Python. Originally released in 1983, this is by far Python’s darkest film, filled with violence and dark humor, seemingly tailored to offend everyone. I did not care for the part in the restaurant with the extremely obese man, so there we are.
The film consists of a series of short sketches about various aspects of the “Meaning of Life” or at least an observation of the quirky aspects of life, such as …
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Frighteners, The (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 13th, 2007
Peter Jackson’s the Frighteners is a 1996 comedy/horror film starring Michael J. Fox. It follows the story of a physic investigator/ deactivate who is in league with the very sprits he is supposed to be exorcising. For the first half hour, the film is mostly comedy, with good work by Chi McBride as Cyrus, the ghost of a black man from the 70’s, complete with a huge afro. The other ghosts are less noteworthy and merely amusing, such as R. Lee Ermey as a ghostly version of his character from Full Metal Jacket. T…
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Bruce Almighty (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 13th, 2007
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a TV news reporter at Eye Witness Channel 7 in New York who fails to get a job as an anchorman and, after a series of other bad luck incidents, complains to God that He is treating him unfairly and is doing a poor job as supreme deity. God (Morgan Freeman) contacts Bruce and offers him the chance of a lifetime. He offers to give Bruce all the powers he has. Bruce quickly abuses his new powers for personal gain (new car, pleasing his girlfriend), only to be reminded that he also has to take…
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Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on June 13th, 2007
Prince in Persia, Game Dev in Texas, and PS3 dominant in 2009? – Welcome to the column that predicts it will be #1 in readers by 2010 (but probably remain at 4,235) known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I did get my brand spanking new 20″ screen. I think I cried in joy when it turned on. I had been flopping around with my 17″ tube for so long, I forgot what it was like to actually really see wh…
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Seraphim Falls
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2007
Seraphim Falls was a sparsely released film released early in 2007, recently finding its way to DVD. In addition to being the first film where two Irish stars – Pierce Brosnan & Liam Neeson – share screen time together, it also marks the directorial debut of David Von Ancken who also happened to be a co-writer. After watching this movie I can definitely tell you that I am looking forward to any future projects of Von Ancken’s. But that’s aside from the point, how was this film?
Before watching this m…
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Liar Liar (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2007
Fletcher Reed (Jim Carrey) is your typical lawyer in that he’s successful and seemingly loves his job. He openly lies each and every day to the judge just so his client can win the case. In fact Fletcher has gotten so accustom to lying so much that he doesn’t even realize that his son Max (Justin Reed) has pretty much became aware that his father is a liar (he means to say lawyer). When Fletcher doesn’t show up to Max’s birthday, Max wishes that for 24 hours his father couldn’t tell a lie. Enter the real humorous and…
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Hard Easy, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 11th, 2007
Not all heist films are created equal. The Hard Easy is a poor man’s Ocean’s Whatever. Number. While that might appear more often than not a knock on the film, that would not be so in this case. Actually I rather liked the film, more for its nuances. The first thing that impressed me was the cast. This isn’t the gaggle of A listers found in the Ocean films. These are still some hard working craftsmen. Just because this isn’t as hyped or financed to the hilt doesn’t take anything away from the performances. It might…
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Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Adventures Of (Extra Frills Edition)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 10th, 2007
Synopsis
One of my favorite movies of all time is Rocky Horror Picture Show. My favorite character of that movie is Dr. Frank-N-Furter who is just a sweet transvestite transexual from Transylvania. So when I got Priscilla Queen of the Desert to review which had two cross dressers and a trannie and a grand helping of humor to boot, I was hoping it would become one of my favorite movies as well. The story behind Priscilla is that Tick Belrose (drag name: Mitzi) …
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Smokey and the Bandit (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2007
Posted in Disc Reviews by Joshua Noyes
Smokey, aka Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), is the prospective father-in-law of unwilling bride Carrie (Sally Field). The Bandit (Burt Reynolds), a maverick racecar driver, makes an 80,000-dollar bet that he can transport a shipment of Coors beer from Texarkana, TX, to Atlanta within 28 hours. It’s important to note that in 1977, it was illegal to sell the Coors brand east of the Mississippi River without a permit; if we don’t note that, then the plot won’t make sense at times.
Already in dange…
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Miss Potter
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2007
Where was I when Miss Potter was in theatres last year? I don’t recall hearing much about it, and that’s a shame. This is one of the most charming, infectiously light-hearted films I’ve seen in long while.
It’s the story of Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger, Chicago), the 19th century British creator of the famous Peter Rabbit children’s stories. When we first meet Beatrix, she’s an unmarried woman in her early thirties, lugging her portfolio of paintings and a story to potential publishers.
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Freedom Writers (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2007
Freedom Writers is based upon The Freedom Writers Diary; a book written by teacher Erin Gruwell and her students. I’ll admit that initially I was quite mixed about what to expect from this film; on one hand I just didn’t want to sit through another one of these To Sir with Love, Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds type movies, but on the other hand I hoped it would be different and live up to some of the rave reviews I have read. Well, let’s find out.
Instead of giving a lengthy sy…
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Marsh, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 10th, 2007
Synopsis
Gabrielle Anwar is a children’s author (of the Edward Gorey school, from the looks of things) who is haunted by intense nightmares. When she sees the house of her dreams on television, she heads out to the small town where it is located and rents the place. Sure enough, there are ghosts there. Fortunately, Forest Whitaker is also in the neighbourhood as a psychic investigator.
Moody, blue-black photography, sudden jump cues in the score, ominous shadows, equally ominous flashbacks:…
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Tex Avery’s Droopy (The Complete Theatrical Collection)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on June 10th, 2007
Synopsis
Hello, all you happy people. Growing up, many people of my generation when turning to classic cartoons turned to Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse or even Popeye. I wasn’t normal (who would have guessed?). I found my cartoon home when I wasn’t watching Transformers or He-Man in the old Tex Avery cartoons of yesteryear. My favorite character was Droopy, the little dog with the deadpan wit and a penchant for outsmarting the big bad Wolf or Spike/Butch the bulldog. Tex was fa…
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Last Sin Eater, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 8th, 2007
Having heard exactly zilch about The Last Sin Eater before receiving my review copy, I expected it to be a low-budget horror flick. Boy, was I wrong. This film is based on a bestselling novel by Francine Rivers, a popular writer of Christian-themed fiction. Produced under the 20th Century Fox FoxFaith brand, it’s intended for an Evangelical Christian audience.
The story is set in 1850’s Appalachia, where a group of early Irish settlers have made their home. When the grandmother of 10-year-old …
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Invasion of Astro-Monster
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2007
A mysterious new planet is discovered, and an expedition there discovers a civilization under threat from King Ghidorah. The inhabitants of Planet X ask to transport Godzilla and Rodan to their home for help. Earth agrees, and at first it seems that all has gone well, as Godzilla sends Ghidorah packing. But then it turns out that the Xians are actually invaders, and plan to use all three monsters to subjugate Earth.
If you thought Godzilla grabbing at his butt after being zapped by Ghidorah in Ghidorah, …
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Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2007
There’s a heat-wave in January, and dozens of meteorites are falling from the sky. The plane carrying a princess explodes, but the princess has somehow survived, though she has no memory of her former self and believes herself to be Venusian, come to warn humanity of impending calamity. In due course, this calamity arrives as one of the meteorites transforms into King Ghidorah. Earth will be destroyed unless Mothra manages to convince Godzilla and Rodan to stop fighting each other and instead take on King Ghidorah.
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Revenge (Unrated Director’s Cut)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 8th, 2007
Tony Scott’s controversial thriller, Revenge, is based rather loosely on a 1979 novella written by Jim Harrison for Esquire Magazine. I say loosely because the source material is quite short and was necessarily expanded for a feature length film. I never saw the 1990 theatrical release of the film, but research shows it did rather poorly. What I know of the difference between this cut and the original comes from Tony Scott’s commentary, which I’ll discuss in the audio portion of this review. I do know the changes m…
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Brain Blasters
Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on June 8th, 2007
The Wishlist, Part 1. Wherein I pine over films that are overdue for a DVD re-release, or have yet to see the light in that format at all. Today’s subject: the 1980 sci-fi fiasco Saturn 3.
The film is a joy for a number of reasons. First, there’s the absurd plot: on a research base orbiting Saturn, passions flare as the idyll of the couple living there is disrupted by an unstable new arrival and his killer robot, who both wind up lusting after the woman on board. If the storyline were all that was ri…
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Donnie Brasco
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 7th, 2007
Pacino and Depp in a mob drama about an undercover fed and his unknowing Mafioso mentor? Fuggedaboudit.
Donnie Brasco is based on the true story of F.B.I. agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp, Blow), who spent six successful years undercover in the New York Mafia, as one Donnie Brasco. The film opens with Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino, Heat), an aging made man, connecting with Donnie about a diamond ring. Donnie’s cover is he’s in the jewelry “business”, and Lefty wants to unload a ring some guy …
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Cowboys, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 7th, 2007
Synopsis
When all his cowhands desert him to take part in a gold rush, John Wayne is left with no alternative but hire a group of schoolboys, between the ages of 9 and 15, to work for him on a long and dangerous cattle drive. Along with all the usual hazards of such a journey, they are also being stalked by Bruce Dern and his band of rustlers.
What a peculiar concoction. All the expected western conventions are present, but most of the cast is a half or a third of the age one would generall…
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Scrubs – The Complete Fifth Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 6th, 2007
Right off the top, I have to admit I’m a big Scrubs fan. Obviously, this portion of the review will be influenced by that bias, but at least I’m up front about it. Now, this DVD set brings us the ingenious sitcom’s fifth season, which aired in 2006. I didn’t catch any of these 24 episodes on TV, so this release was my first time.
Season five, like all of the previous seasons, picks up at the start of a new year at Sacred Heart. This time around, J.D. (Zach Braff, The Last Kiss) and Elliot (Sar…
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Wedding Night, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2007
Synopsis
Gary Cooper is a writer who hit it big with his first book, but has been mechanically producing more of the same ever since while he and his wife booze it up in New York high society. When his publisher rejects his latest tossed-off effort, Cooper and wife (now dead broke) retreat to his old family home in the country. There he gradually falls in love with the daughter (Anna Sten) of his Polish neighbour. She herself is engaged (unhappily) to another man. The budding relationship is thus fra…
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Light in the Darkness, A
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2007
Synopsis
Recently released from a psychiatric institute, but hardly a model of stability, archaeologist Taylor Melnick (Geoffrey Lewis) returns home, still haunted by nasty hallucinations involving his demented mother (Karen Black). Complicating his attempts to function are the people around him, ranging from the alcoholic woman across the street to his shady uncle.
As one would expect, everyone’s life reaches a crisis point with the unfortunate Melnick as a focal point. Though some would-b…
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