Gemini
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2006
Synopsis
Masahiro Motoki plays a well-to-do doctor, very much concerned with class difference, eager to distance himself from slum-dwellers, whom he regards as barely human. He is deeply in love with his fiancée, a woman suffering from amnesia. His life collapses in chaos when his parents are murdered by a prowler, who then throws him down a dry well. This prowler turns out to be his twin, who proceeds to take over his identity.
One hell of a rattling score gets things off to a disturbing s…
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End of the Spear
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2006
Synopsis
The Waodani tribe of the Amazon is, we are told, so violent that they have almost hunted each other to extinction. Oops. Anyway, in 1956 a group of missionaries and their families arrive to live with the Waodani and do the missionary thing. A misunderstanding leads to the missionaries being slaughtered, but their wives decide to stay. The film follows the journey of the son of one of the five men, and the whole thing is all about forgiveness.
See, the title is “End” not “Tip” of th…
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Caché (Hidden)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 22nd, 2006
Synopsis
Daniel Auteuil, host of a literary TV talk show, and his wife Juliette Binoche begin receiving strange videotapes. These are hours-long recordings of the front of their house. Nothing else. No explanations. Then child-like but disturbing drawings start to accompany the tapes, and the recordings begin to be of other locations, suggesting that all of this has something to do with Auteuil’s distant past.
Writer/director Michael Haneke creates a slow but steadily rising sense of dread,…
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Syriana (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 21st, 2006
The world of politically charged films has certainly grown in the past few years. Films like Farhenheit 911 have seen big success, while other films like Rupert Murdoch’s OutFoxed have seen more of a critical success. Both of these films had extreme media attention, one obviously more than the other, prior and after their releases. Both asked questions and demanded answers to topics and issues we, as people, wondered about but never really asked about as a simple person can’t really enact a high success…
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Silent Hill
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on June 21st, 2006
On August 22nd, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Silent Hill in separate Widescreen, Fullscreen, and Blu-Ray releases; all of which will be presented with a Dolby Digital 5.1 (English) audio track. Extras will include an audio commentary (by Director Christophe Gans), deleted/extended scenes, and a six-part production diary documentary.
Trainspotting
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2006
I’ve seen people quote this film from time to time, and I never understood the attraction because I saw it once and forgot about it. After a bit of intrigue, I finally got my hands on a copy of the US version of this 2 disc set (though the UK version, with the orange cover and silhoulette image of Ewan McGregor on the cover looks much cooler) and gave it a spin, lo and behold, I discovered a pretty good movie.
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Sgt. Bilko – The Phil Silvers Show
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2006
The Phil Silvers Show was groundbreaking for several reasons, but to look at the list of those who appeared on the show during its four season run is to look at a “Who’s Who” of television ancestry and history. Allen Melvin played Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, Harvey Lembeck previously appeared in Stalag 17 and his son Michael became an accomplished television director. Joe Ross played one half of the cop team in Car 54, Where Are You? next to a guest star of the show, a guy named Fred Gwynne, who also appeared in a show called The Munsters.
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Monterey Pop Festival
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2006
The 60’s have become something of a caricature of themselves. Take a girl with straight hair and flowers, throw in a “groovy” and a “man”, add some grainy photography, and you’re all ready to go. It is sometimes hard to remember that there was a time when this was not a kitchy formula, it was just the way that it was. This film is so authentically steeped in 60’s hippie culture that it almost doesn’t seem real when the footage starts rolling. Once the film begins to sink in, though, the viewer is completely drawn in …
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The Rockford Files – Season Two
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 16th, 2006
Growing up, that twangy Mike Post music provided a part of the soundtrack of my life. I remember walking around school and everywhere you turned you heard kids saying, “That’ll be $200 a day plus expenses.” We all printed up fake business cards. I can tell you firsthand that it takes more than the props. I didn’t have Jim’s natural charm and finesse. Somehow fifth grade’s Sister Margaret wasn’t buying that my NSA credentials meant my homework assignments were classified and above her clearance level. As I sat in detention wondering what could have possibly gone wrong, one theme kept going through my mind.
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MacGyver – The Complete Sixth Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 16th, 2006
I’ve already had a lot to say about this show in my Season 5 review. All of it still applies. Richard Dean Anderson was fortunate enough, some would say talented enough, to have played two iconic characters in one life-time. I propose that he’s really played only one, but in two very different circumstances. I’ve already pointed out the similarities between the actor and his two roles, from their birthplaces to their hobbies and sports activities. This should in no way be interpreted as taking anything away from Anderson.
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V For Vendetta
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2006
When the film V For Vendetta was announced, my interest immediate peaked as I found out the Wachowski Brothers would be writing the film. Unlike a majority of fans, I didn’t completely dislike The Matrix Trilogy; in fact, I thought they were a ton of fun. With this new film, the brothers attack the theme of a society where the government has the only voice, similar to the novel 1984. Add in actors Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving, and you have me at the word go.
The year is 2020. A vir…
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Rundown, The (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 14th, 2006
For Director Peter Berg, the film The Rundown was an interesting note for him. Before his ultimately better film Friday Night Lights, The Rundown marked the first time Berg directed a film that went on to become a big success. Before The Rundown, Berg had films like Very Bad Things which was just that and The Last Seduction which was excellent. The Rundown also marked the first main feature film (main staring role) for wrestler turned actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. N…
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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 14th, 2006
I like to call movies like this “exception films”. They are the exception to the rule. Those odd little films that show up every once in a great while that really have no right to be good. You hear the plot, you see the trailer, and you know that this film is mere days away from losing vast sums of money for someone on the left coast. Then the movie comes out and it is… inexplicably entertaining and fantastic.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has carved out a surprisingly strong cult following for itself since it…
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Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 13th, 2006
Utter the words ‘Dave Chappelle’ or ‘The Chappelle Show’ to any person and odds are they will think of the ‘Lil’ Jon’ skit or the ultra famous “I’m Rick James, bitch”. While this one joke doesn’t even come close to the charm and humor that Dave Chappelle had on his once popular ‘Chappelle Show’ on Comedy Central, it still has become the most popular joke. But enough about that and more about the actual film at hand.
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party takes place around September of 2004, which was before …
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Failure to Launch
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 12th, 2006
In Failure to Launch, Trip (Matthew McConaughey) is a 35-year-old man who still lives with his parents. His parents simply want him out of the house, which doesn’t seem so harsh considering his age. So what do they do? Why, they simply decide to hire a woman named Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) to assist them. Paula, you see, is a specialist in helping grown men move out of their parents’ homes. I didn’t even think such a job existed. Well, Paula, we soon learn, has a very simple method that usually guarantees h…
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The 39 Steps
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 11th, 2006
OK, I hope I’m not diving into a review that may fall into the “film scholar” category, and thus rule me out of being taken seriously. When there’s a lull in buying new releases, sometimes my wallet gets cabin fever, and so I went out and picked up the Hitchcock set from Criterion, entitled Wrong Men and Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers 1935-1946, and includes the previous Criterion releases from Hitchcock, namely Rebecca, Notorious, Spellbound and The Lady Vanishes.
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That Girl – Season One
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 11th, 2006
Synopsis
Long before she paired up with Phil Donahue and the two went on to do..who knows what, Marlo Thomas appeared in some smaller TV shows from in the early ’60s, until she got a break when she was given a TV show to utilize her talents. That Girl is the story of Ann Marie, who decided to move to New York City to try to find steady work as an actress, and over the course of the show’s five year run, Ann Marie’s exploits are documented in situation comedy fashion.
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Guardian of the Realm
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 11th, 2006
Synopsis
A group of occultists horsing around with more than they know accidentally open up an evil portal and unleash a terrible force upon the world. Fortunately, there’s an organization of Demon Hunters on the job, determined to send this evil and all if its minions back where they came from.
We’re in sub-sub-sub-Buffy territory here. Like that series, the film has a fair amount of self-deprecating humour. Numerous jokes fall completely flat, but there are still a few that raise a chuckl…
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Driver 4: Parallel Lines (Playstation 2)
Posted in Game Reviews by Michael Durr on June 11th, 2006
Opening
The Driver series has had a pretty interesting history to date. The first two games were very impressive driving sims for the original playstation and showed a lot of potential. However, when it came to the playstation 2 and subsequent nex-gen consoles, Driver 3 (or Driv3r) took a bold step. The step to become the first real Grand Theft Auto clone. However, it was best described as a failure. Plagued by bugs, collision detection and just general bad gameplay, most feared that would be the end…
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U-571 (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2006
Director Jonathan Mostow is an interesting director to say the least. He directed Kurt Russell is the great Breakdown where a man must fight to save his wife. He director Arnold Schwarzenegger in the third Terminator film where a machine must fight another machine to help save the human race; but before he made Terminator 3, he directed Matthew McConaughey and Bill Paxton in a film where men must fight against their wits to save themselves. Two of the three films are great and are a joy to watch,…
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Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2006
Synopsis
Jeremiah is taken at the age of five from his loving foster parents and turned over to the tender mercies of his white-trash mother, Sarah (Asia Argento, in an absolutely monstrous role). He is dragged down into the abusive nightmare of her life, being raped by her male partners when he is being beaten by them. There is an interlude where he is taken under the care of his fundamentalist grandparents (whicih is a nightmare in itself), but mother reclaims him, ultimately making him up as a gir…
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Rescue Me — The Complete Second Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2006
Synopsis
Not having seen the first season, I confess as to floundering somewhat in my encounter with the second. In the interest of keeping things simple and comprehensible, I thus present the synopsis provided by the box itself. The second season “finds Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) away from his former crew . . . and working in a Staten Island firehouse. He must come to terms with the havoc his drinking has caused and realizes it’s time to get his problems under control. His comrades back at 62 Truck a…
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Murder, Inc.
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2006
Limitations of budget and social conventions of the time prevent Murder, Inc. from being all it can be – still, the performances, and the captivating dynamic between hero (Stuart Whitman) and villain (Peter Falk) result in entertaining fare, so long as this film is allowed to be a movie and not a documentary. Whitman leads a fine cast as the mob lackey, who is constantly manipulated by a tough-talking contract killer. Part of the real life syndicate of hit-men “Murder, Inc.,” Falk’s baddie steals every …
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Backdraft (Anniversary Edition)
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2006
On September 12th, Universal Home Video will release the Anniversary Edition of the Kurt Russell, William Baldwin & Jennifer Jason Leigh film Backdraft. This disc will be presented in an Anamorphic Widescreen transfer, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Extras have yet to be announced, but we will update this blog as we learn more.
Thinking XXX
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 8th, 2006
Synopsis
Photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders decided to do a series of portraits of some 30 porn stars. Two pictures of each, one clothed, one not, the same pose in both pictures. This is his documentary of that shoot. Scenes of the studio process are intercut with interviews with the various stars and talking-head moments from the likes of Karen Finley, Gore Vidal, John Waters and Whitley Streiber (!). We are at the other end of the porn spectrum from Dag Yngvesson’s Rated X – these are t…
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