Lost City, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2006
Synopsis
Andy Garcia plays Rick… er… I mean Fico, who runs a lavish nightclub in Batista-era Havana. The revolution is brewing, and two of his brothers are drawn to the cause. Fico is apolitical, putting family above all, but the revolution will transform his life whether he wants it or not, and then there’s the problem of falling in love with his brother’s wife.
Garcia not only starred here, he also directed, co-produced and scored the film. His elegy to pre-Castro Cuba is shooting to …
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Seabiscuit (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 13th, 2006
Seabiscuit tells the true tale of three men and one legendary racehorse. The story takes place right after the Great Depression has hit leaving many feeling the after effects. John Pollard (Tobey Maguire) is a young man who wants nothing more than to race his horse. Tom Smith (Chris Cooper) is his ‘horse whisper’ in that he seems to be able to communicate with his horses. Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) is your standard businessman at this time, completely broke. Looking for a way to get out of his hole, he dec…
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ALF: Season 4
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 13th, 2006
It’s time to say goodbye to that lovable furry alien from Melmac. After 4 years the network unceremoniously pulled the plug. Unfortunately it was in the middle of a cliffhanger. While a TV movie tried to wrap things up, I was never completely satisfied. The final season of ALF offers up pretty much more of the same. ALF’s go as a day trader is one of the better episodes. In case you haven’t noticed, all of the episode titles are song tittles. This season offers such hits and near misses as: Live and Let Die, Happy …
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Trilogy of Terror
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 13th, 2006
When I was young there was an armchair in the living room that had its back to the hallway leading to my bedroom. I would frequently sneak down that hall and hide behind the chair. There I could spend hours after my bedtime watching whatever my parents were watching on television. What I saw from my secret vantage point in 1975 was the scariest thing I have ever seen. All my life I have been a horror fan. From the silent classics of Lon Chaney, through the Universal masterpieces of the 30’s and 40’s, all the way to…
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Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on September 13th, 2006
PS3 Shipments, Moonwalking to the beat of a different drummer, and the Devil May Cry in joy – Welcome to the broken nose job of game columns known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that had a really strange week. Those of you who are close to me probably understand more than the general populace reading this column. But lets just say I got some me time and will have a lot more me time in the upcoming …
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Curb Your Enthusiasm – The Complete Fifth Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 12th, 2006
Synopsis
Larry David plays Larry David, so thorough a narcissistic curmudgeon that he would be completely and utterly loathsome were it not for his unerring propensity to bring disaster down upon his head. Once again, we see him grump from episode to episode, never failing to make the worst possible decision at the worst possible moment in every social situation. A case in point: he dings another character’s car, gives the guy money to get the car fixed. Instead, the money goes to the man’s daughter,…
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Invasion – The Complete Series
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 12th, 2006
Synopsis
Hurricane Eve descends upon the Florida coast, wreaking particular havoc on the rural town of Homestead. The central characters are a park ranger, his two children, a reporter who is the ranger’s second wife, his conspiracy-nut brother (channelling Jack Black), his ex-wife and her second husband (the always suspicious-looking William Fichtner). As if the devastation weren’t enough, there are all those weird lights, and… hey… some people are acting kinda strange, like they’re might not be…
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Troy (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 12th, 2006
Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy tells the famous story based on the poem ‘The Iliad’ by poet Homer. The film recounts the struggle between the Greeks and the Trojans. The Trojan War has quickly begun after young and beautiful Helen (Diane Kruger) is seduced by Paris (Orlando Bloom) while he is on a peace mission to Sparta. Obviously Helen’s husband, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) is annoyed by this as is Paris’ older, wiser brother Hector (Eric Bana). Paris eventually wins Helen’s heart and sneaks her away from her husba…
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Edison Force
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 12th, 2006
Mix two parts hip-hop artists, two parts Oscar-winning actors, one part TV actor, and one part bad actor, and what do you get? The stars of Edison Force, that’s what. Now just because I specify one as a bad actor doesn’t let the others off the hook. Of course, Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman are going to be tolerable. They’re phenomenal at their craft. Even the TV actor (Dylan McDermott) does a worthy job of bringing menace to his role as primary leg-breaker. But when it comes to poor performances, Cary …
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Sahara (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 11th, 2006
Sahara tells the story of Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) and his buddy Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) as they travel to a country called Mali in search for what the locals call “The Ship of Death”. This “Ship of Death” is a lost Civil War ship named the CSS Texas that has a huge cargo of what was thought to be gold. Once there, Dirk and his buddy run into Doctor Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) who’s about to be executed for muddling in business that is, well, none of her business.
This “business” turns out to …
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Highly Defined – The World of High Definition
Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 11th, 2006
We all know what today is, so let’s skip the tagline.
Well, for all the news (interesting and otherwise) that the Blu-Ray camp made last week, Universal announced their round of November titles for HD-DVD release. Among them are Waterworld (I met Kevin Costner on the set of that film when I was in the Army, true story), The Hulk (a better movie than people give it credit for and one that should blow out a subwoofer or two) and the granddaddy of them all, King Kong. Release for all three…
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Italian Job, The (2003) (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 9th, 2006
The 2003 remake of The Italian Job is about five men named Charlie Croker (Marc Wahlberg), Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), Lyle (Seth Green), Steve (Edward Norton), and Left Ear (Mos Def) who are all part of a group that pull off elaborate heists. The leader of the pack, John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), has decided he wants to quit the game presumably to spend more time with his daughter Stella (Charlize Theron). The only thing is that he wants to commit one last going-away theft so that he can not only secure …
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Vicki
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 8th, 2006
Synopsis
Jean Peters is Vicki, a top New York model, who is found murdered in the opening scene. Burnt-out cop Richard Boone comes pounding back from his vacation, rabid to take over the case. He is convinced her press agent Elliott Reid is the guilty party, and the screws are put to Reid. In flashback, we see Vicki’s rise to fame, and the effects it has on the people around her, including her sister Jeanne Crain, who might harbour feelings for Reid.
The film’s debt to Laura is obvio…
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Good Woman, A
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 8th, 2006
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Helen Hunt is horribly miscast as a 1930’s infamous seductress on the prowl for vulnerable rich husbands. There’s not a moment in the film she doesn’t look and sound completely out of character for the role. Fortunately Scarlett Johansson is better suited for her performance. Still, most of the cast seems ill-placed. The film is based on the Oscar Wilde play “Lady Windermere’s Fan” which I have never seen. Of course, things are never what they appear to be throughout the film. While the dialogue contains the tradem…
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Poseidon
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 8th, 2006
Poseidon doesn’t waste any time getting to the action so I won’t waste any time with an introduction to this review. Yes, it’s a remake of the 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure. Yes, it is chock full of convenient cardboard characters (a former Navy man, a fireman, a nurse, etc…). But we don’t watch movies like Poseidon for character exposition, do we?
Poseidon is a rip-roaring 90 minutes of intensity and even delivers some gory goods. Yes, I said gory. I know Poseidon…
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Brain Blasters
Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on September 8th, 2006
Remaking cult movies is a risky proposition. By their nature, they are going to have a rabidly loyal fan base, and therefore the people most likely to be interested in the remake are also the people most likely to be hostile towards it. This is the lesson being learned the hard way by Neil LaBute. His remake of 1973’s The Wicker Man is in the theatres now. He faced a barrage of criticism from the fans even before he’d finished his work. He’s unlikely to hear anything different now. Both films tell a similar st…
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Mrs. Harris
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 7th, 2006
Jean Harris made international headlines in 1980 for killing her on again off again lover and fiancée. Of course, such crimes are rather commonplace and would hardly merit all the attention let alone a feature film. The victim, however, in this case, was the famous Dr. Herman “Hi” Tarnower, better known to you and me as the “Scarsdale Diet Doctor”. The film claims to base its script on actual testimony from the well publicized trial. While this may in principle be true, the tale is obviously intended as a satire. T…
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Rome – The Complete First Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 6th, 2006
What is it about The Roman Empire that fascinates us so? The answer is far too complicated to address in this forum, if you can pardon the pun. The influences of Rome are all around us. From the very form of government we practice to the grand arenas we watch our ballgames in, Rome can be found literally around every corner. Hollywood has recognized the allure since the early days of filmmaking. Classics like Ben Hur and Spartacus eventually gave way to the more modern epic Gladiator.
It is 52 BC and…
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South Park – The Complete Eighth Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 6th, 2006
The boys are at it again in Season 8 of South Park. To say that this season provides more of the same would be a tad unfair. It appears to me that South Park optimally matures in its eighth year. No, not that kind of maturity. Cartman and the gang are as raunchy as ever, and yes, still at times over the top. The kind of maturity I refer to is more subtle. South Park no longer has to rely on the running gags epitomized by the old Kenny deaths. The show isn’t afraid to feature some of the more peripheral characters. …
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Fourteen Hours
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 6th, 2006
Synopsis
A young Richard Basehart climbs out onto the ledge of his fifteenth-floor hotel room. He could jump at any moment. Paul Douglas is the traffic cop who is first on the scene, and becomes the only person Basehart will willingly talk to. Hour after hour goes by as the authorities do everything they can to bring the troubled young man in.
The premise is so simple it’s high concept, and the film wrings every conceivable drop of suspense from the situation. Will Basehart jump? Why is he …
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Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on September 6th, 2006
A Full Roster, Forgotten Worlds & A Good Hard Drive crash – Welcome to the 2 bit processor in a 64 bit world known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that hates hard drive crashes. My hard drive of 6 years or so crashed on Friday. (I love beeps). However, my fairly new (less than a year) hard drive is just fine. So all the really important stuff was really on that drive anyhow. I however had to restor…
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Sentinel, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2006
Something must be drawing Michael Douglas to the upper-crust “man in peril” role. He’s been stalked by a woman who likes to boil rabbits, sexually harassed by his sexy boss, and is currently being framed for the assassination of the President in The Sentinel. Douglas plays Peter Garrison, a Secret Service veteran who is also having an affair with the wife of the man he is sworn to protect, First Lady Ballentine (Kim Basinger, still looking good at 53). When Garrison is framed by the assassins (one of who…
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Scary Movie 4
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Anna Faris takes a job as a social worker, moving into a house with the evil presences we know and love from The Grudge. Meanwhile, next door, Craig Bierko is about to deal with The War of the Worlds. And off we go, as the movie riffs one parody of recent films after another.
At the helm is David Zucker, part of the team responsible for the Airplane! and Naked Gun films, and much the same kind of sensibility pervades this film. There’s plenty of fun, but…
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Elizabeth I
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2006
Synopsis
Maybe it’s because of their funny accents, or maybe it’s because of the natural desire to see ancient history relived, but the British sure have a knack for their period piece dramas and making everyone want to watch. And when Elizabeth I aired on HBO over a two-part miniseries during the spring of 2006, it won a truckload of Emmy awards, not only for the production, but also for the title character, played by Helen Mirren (Excalibur) and one of the supporting actors (Jeremy Irons,
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Wireless HDMI – due soon?
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2006
There you have it, HDMI over UWB. Time to get creative with your setups!