Miss Congeniality 2
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on April 26th, 2005
On June 21st, Warner Home Video will release the Sandra Bullock sequel Miss Congeniality 2 on DVD. This disc will be relesaed is separate 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 full frame versions, both featuring Dolby Digital 5.1 audio (in both English & French). The only extras to be included are some deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer.
Spanglish
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 25th, 2005
Synopsis
Mexican immigrant Paz Vega comes to work as a maid for the household of Adam Sandler (a chef who is very reluctantly accepting his growing renown) and Téa Leoni (insanely overwrought neurotic interior designer). Vega and her daughter wind up living with this family during a summer, and Vega’s presence is the catalyst for many changes, particularly in the relationship between Sandler and Leoni, which is veering into very treacherous shoals.
I have maintained before that a comedy nee…
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Blade: Trinity
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 25th, 2005
Blade: Trinity caught a lot of flack from most critics, and even the movie going public as per the box office returns (only grossing $52 million domestically). When I went to see this film in the theatre, half of my party was extremely disappointed with the flick. The other half, including myself, thought the film was quite entertaining. I must admit, this film does not come close to the original Blade, but I did find it a little bit more entertaining the Blade 2.
The biggest change…
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Sling Blade (Collector’s Series)
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on April 25th, 2005
On June 7th, Miramax will release the Collector’s Series of the Billy Bob Thorton film Sling Blade. This disc will feature the Director’s Cut of the film presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks (English & French). Extras will include a Commentary from Writer/Director/Actor Billy Bob Thornton, Roundtable discussions & Conversations with the cast, a “Mr. Thornton Goes to Hollywood – The rise of Billy Bob and the evolution of Sling Blade” featurette, Bravo Pro…
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Enduring Love
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 24th, 2005
Enduring Love claims to be a psychological thriller, but comes across as more of a drama then a thriller. The story moves along quite slowly and the overall tone of the film is somewhat dry. The story does take a few interesting turns, and does keep you guessing at times, the story was not suspenseful enough to keep my eyes peeled to the screen for the span of the film.
One thing I can say about this film is that the story is different than anything that I have seen before. It touches upon some od…
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Elektra
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 24th, 2005
Elektra was pretty much a failure at the box office, bringing in just over half of its production cost. Add to this the raised expectations of comic characters in the movies and it’s a safe bet Elektra won’t return anytime soon. Although this was not a great film by any standards, it’s a shame it tanked so badly. I missed the film in its theatrical run, and I was actually expecting a far worse film.
Garner is quite good in the role; I thought she brought a ton of emotion to a difficult character.
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Wild Things 3 – Diamonds in the Rough
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 22nd, 2005
There are just some trilogy’s that should not be made – and the Wild Things trilogy is one of them. This is not really a trilogy per se, since each of the films carries with it the same story, with the same twists. If you have seen the first, you have basically seen each of the sequels… except the sequels are both much worse. Take out the big name actors and make a direct-to-DVD release… and you have Wild Things: Diamonds In The Rough.
I am sure you all know the story by now, but here is a brief syn…
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Memento Mori
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 22nd, 2005
Synopsis
Set in a girls’ high school, this tells the tale of Min-Ah, who finds a diary written by two of her schoolmates. This is a revealing book, exposing as it does their love affair. Concurrently with Min-Ah reading the diary, that relationship comes to an end, and one of the girls leaps to her death from the school roof. Supernatural events begin almost immediately thereafter.
As an exploration of the painful tribal realities of high school (à la Carrie), this works very well, a…
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Wake of Death
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2005
I don’t expect this film will appeal to any but the biggest Van Damme fans; even many of them will be disappointed. If you’re a Van Damme fan, you might not be looking for the most original of story ideas. What you want is good solid action and some sweet action f/x. This film simply doesn’t deliver the goods on any level. The action is too sparse for anyone looking for an adrenaline rush. The dialogue is entirely lame; I mean, does anyone talk like that? To be fair, it is possible the script is an English translation of a French work.
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Primer
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 21st, 2005
Primer is notable not only for its critical success, having won awards at Sundance and been lauded by independent and mainstream media alike, but also for its production methods: independent, low-budget, and home-brewed. Using rented equipment, his parent’s garage, his brother’s apartment, a slew of public facilities, and a desktop PC, Shane Carruth (writer, director, producer, and one of two main characters) has created a $7,000 Sci-Fi Drama that’s able to compete with the efforts of the big studios.
< …
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Suspect Zero
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 21st, 2005
The Film
Suspect Zero follows the contradictory teacher/student relationship between serial killer Benjamin O’Ryan (Ben Kingsley) and FBI Agent-in-Pursuit Tom Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart, sporting as much chin as Bruce Campbell). O’Ryan is a tormented refugee of a government program to tap psychic powers for military intelligence, and Mackelway is a borderline-rogue agent, tormented by visions and headaches. Without letting slip any spoilers, the movie sees O’Ryan draw their paths together in pur…
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The Jacket
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on April 18th, 2005
Warner Bros. will release the Adrien Brody/Keira Knightley thriller The Jacket on June 21st. This disc will be presetned in a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, along with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks in both English and French. Extras will include a “Look of The Jacket” documentary, a “Jacket: Project History” featurette and a collection of deleted scenes.
Firewalker
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 15th, 2005
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Synopsis
Down-on-their-luck adventurers Chuck Norris and Louis Gosset are approached by theslightly flaky Melody Anderson to help her track down a horde of Aztec gold. They proceed totraipse about Central America, experiencing one sub-Indiana Jones adventure after another,racing to reach the treasure before a villain with (yes) an eye-patch.
J. Lee Thompson’s film doesn’t take itself seriously for a moment, but that doesn’t mean it’sactually funny. It isn’t, much, and the by…
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Dangerous Game
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 15th, 2005
Synopsis
Harvey Keitel is making a film about a relationship that disintegrates into terrible violence.His cast are James Russo and Madonna, and they have a pretty fraught relationship themselvesoff the set. Physical and mental brutality ooze from the film into real life, and Keitel descendsinto this hell, too.
Fresh off Bad Lieutenant, director Abel Ferrara, writer Nicholas St. John and Keitelplunge into the heart of darkness yet again. The shooting of the film has a…
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Star Trek: First Contact
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2005
Star Trek: First Contact is light-years ahead of any other Next Generation film. There is virtually every characteristic that makes good Star Trek present here. James Cromwell as Cochrane provides the best comedy relief on Star Trek since the tribbles. The Borg infiltration reminds us of the first Alien film with its shadows and cramped airshaft scenes. The action is ramped up several notches from previous films. The basic crew seems to have found its feature legs and is more comfortable as a unit.
Hostage
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on April 14th, 2005
On June 21st, Miramax Home Entertainment will release the Bruce Willis action/thriller Hostage. This disc will be presented in an anamorphic widescreen transfer, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Extras will include an audio commentary (with director Florent Siri), a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a collection of deleted/extended scenes.
House of Flying Daggers
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2005
While House of Flying Daggers may be easy to pigeonhole as a movie similar to Zhang Yimou’s own Hero or even Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the only thing you could say about all three is that they have an impressive level of stuntwork that also, features the acting skills of Zhang Ziyi. But where Lee’s work is more story based around three characters’ feelings for one another, and Hero had some great stuntwork set against some breathtaking cinematography, House of Flying Dag…
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Quiet American, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 13th, 2005
Synopsis
Michael Redgrave is a cynical British journalist posted in 1952 Saigon, happily far awayfrom his estranged wife. He views both sides of the French and Communist war with equalindifference, and likes the comfortable arrangement he has with his Vietnamese girlfriend(Giorgia Moll), a woman whose intelligence he hardly seems to respect. Everything goes tosmash for him when a polite young American (Audie Murphy) shows up. Redgrave finds hisidealism suspicious, if not actively da…
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Fond Kiss, A
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 13th, 2005
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Synopsis
The setting is Glasgow, and racial and cultural tensions are visible right from the start asTahara, daughter of Pakistani immigrants, pulls no punches about her experiences with racismpost 9-11 in a speech at school. Some of her schoolmates do not take kindly to her, aconfrontation ensues, and a chase takes place through the school. Tahara’s brother, Casim, a DJ,intervenes, and in the process meets Tahara’s music teacher, Roisin, an Irish Catholic. Sparks fly,and the stage …
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Sacred Planet
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 13th, 2005
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Synopsis
Robert Redford narrates this documentary look at the remote human cultures that are livingin harmony with the planet, rather than conquering (or raping and pillaging, if you will) nature.Think of this as a 47-minute lite version of the Koyanisqatsi trilogy. Everything is verydreamy and beautiful, and this is hardly a rigorous work. But the images are absolutelybreathtaking. Produced for IMAX, this has all the earmarks of those features: short in runningtime and subst…
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Updated Release Calendar and Cover Gallery
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on April 12th, 2005
We have newly updated our release calendar and our cover gallery with hundreds of upcoming titles. From here on out, these resources will remain to be keep up-to-date. Be sure to check them out!
She Hate Me
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 10th, 2005
Synopsis
Anthony Mackie, VP of a biotech company, learns the hard way that no good deed goesunpunished. When he blows the whistle on the corporation’s misdeeds, he is the one who windsup losing his job and being investigated. Given his desperate straits, he agrees to impregnate, fora price, his ex-girlfriend and her girlfriend. So begins a new business for our hero: stud-for-hireto well-heeled lesbians. The two tales intertwine, and sex and capitalism/corruption collide whenMackie i…
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Ocean’s Twelve
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 10th, 2005
The who’s who of Hollywood have assembled once again in this sequel to the highly successful film Ocean’s Eleven. This time around the cast are equally great and extremely entertaining to watch, but the film seems to lack the same strong storyline that it predecessor carried with it.
This time around, the story takes place a few years after the Bellagio heist. A leading European thief known as The Nightfox, consumed with being the best thief in the world, derives a plan to take out Ocean and his te…
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Chisholm ’72: Unbought & Unbossed
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 9th, 2005
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Synopsis
Shirley Chisholm made history in 1972 as the first black woman to run for President of theUS. This documentary chronicles her run, doing so with a mixture of archival footage and newinterviews with people who were involved with her campaign, as well as those who wereinspired by it. Presented without a narration, the film lets the interview subjects and the film clipsspeak for themselves, backed by a very 70s funk soundtrack. Chisholm herself comes across as apassionate and …
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Around the Bend
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 9th, 2005
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Synopsis
Michael Caine begat Christopher Walken, who begat Josh Lucas, who begat Jonah Bobo.Got that? Eccentric patriarch Caine is approaching the end of his days, and wants to bring theestranged Walken back into the family fold. After a tense family reunion at a KFC, Caine dies,but leaves behind an elaborate testament that sends the three other generations together on across-country trip. Tentatively, with many a misstep, Lucas begins to reconnect with the father hehasn’t seen sinc…
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