Dazed & Confused (Flashback Edition)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 12th, 2004
Slow Ride…take it easy…ah yes. Foghat. Dazed and Confused is Richard Linklater’s love letter to teenage nostalgia. And it shows up on DVD in a “flashback edition”. The film is also a love letter to the 70’s and contains a bitchin’ soundtrack. In the same vein, Dazed is like Fast Times and Ridgemont High, American Graffiti, and Almost Famous. Linklater’s approach is different. Like his previous film Slacker, Linklater is interested in the composite effect. There’s no ON…
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Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band – Tour 2003
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 12th, 2004
What is Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band – Tour 2003? Well…The Last Waltz this ain’t. Ringo has been touring with his All-Starr’s since the 1990’s. And the 2003 version includes “stars” such as Colin Hay from Men at Work, Paul Carrack from Mike and Mechanics, John Waite and Sheila E. I suppose we’re in time warp because these are 80’s stars.
The DVD was shot on Digital Video and goes back and forth between live concert footage, “behind the scene” stuff, and interviews (mostly about the “s…
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Tom and Jerry — Spotlight Collection, The Premiere Volume
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 11th, 2004
Synopsis
Here is an excellent package for fans of classic animation: 40 cartoons, of which nine werenominated for Oscars, and seven won. Just about every variation of cat-chasing-mouse variationis provided, including the WWII-themed “Yankee Doodle Mouse” and the musical “The CatConcerto.” There are also the sequences from other films where our heroes dance with GeneKelly (Disc 1) and swim with Esther Williams (Disc 2). Under the guiding hands of WilliamHanna and Joseph Barbera can b…
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Frankenstein
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 10th, 2004
Synopsis
The ice-locked crew of a ship searching for the Northwest Passage finds, to its collectiveastonishment, a near-dead man quite literally in the middle of nowhere. This individual is oneVictor Frankenstein (Alec Newman), and he recounts to the captain (Donald Sutherland) hishorrific tale of creating a monster (Luke Goss), and subsequently losing his family to themonster’s vengeance.
Of all the versions of Mary Shelley’s novel, this is probably the most faithful. The m…
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Resident Evil
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 10th, 2004
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Synopsis
An act of sabotage releases a deadly virus (it kills you and turns you into a flesh-eatingzombie) inside the Hive, the underground R&D headquarters of the Umbrella Corporation.Descending into the Hive to find out what went wrong is a team of security operatives,accompanied by Mila Jovovich, who is a apparently another security operative, but is currentlysuffering from amnesia. It isn’t very long before the team is attacked by hordes of zombies, andtheir numbers dwindle alar…
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Shawshank Redemption, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 10th, 2004
Synopsis
Convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, Tim Robbins is sentenced to serveconsecutive life sentences at the horrific Shawshank prison. He looks like the sort who wouldn’tlast a week in such circumstances, let alone decades, but he survives, and begins to transformall around him, most prominently long-time resident and operator Morgan Freeman. Robbinsnever gives up his dream of freedom, however, and so the film is, in some ways, about thelongest prison escape ever. But…
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What’s Happening!! – The Complete Second Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 9th, 2004
What’s Happening!! (that’s right, 2 exclamation marks) had a three year run on ABC in the mid 70’s. The second season is now on DVD, all 22 episodes. The sitcom revolves around a “family” of sorts. The main characters are three best friends, Raj (the nerdy one), Dwayne (the cool one), and Rerun (the goofy one). There’s also Shirley, the waitress at the local soda shop. But Dee (Raj’s little sister) is a distraction. And I’m not talking about the character. The actor’s line readings are terrible and watc…
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Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 9th, 2004
Okay. I admit it. I’m guilty. I’m probably one of the few people on the planet Earth who has never seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Not because I’m an art film snob or anything (which I’m not…usually). I just never got around to it. I heard all the hype, heard a lot of the famous lines. But I’ve never actually seen the movie. Until now.
The Special Edition of Fast Times is now available and it’s worth picking up. For all the rest of the planet that has seen it, the movie takes plac…
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Shall We Dance?
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on November 9th, 2004
Buena Vista will release the Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci film Shall We Dance? on February 1st. This box-office hit will be presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen tranfer, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Extras will include an audio commentary (with director Peter Chelsom), deleted scenes (with optional director commentary), three featurettes (“Beginner’s Ballroom”, “Behind the Scenes”, & “Music of Shall We Dance?”), along with the Pussycat Dolls “Sway”…
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Harvest, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 8th, 2004
Synopsis
Miguel Ferrer plays a screenwriter sent down to a rather rough Mexican city to research themurder his script is based on. He quickly discovers that the crime is not what was given out forpublic consumption, and he begins to rework his script in consequence. He also runs intoLeilani Sarelle. Smitten, he follows her to the beach, but is conked on the head and comes tominus a kidney. Then it seems that the organ thieves want his other one.
Writer/director David Marconi…
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The Beast
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 8th, 2004
The setting is the home of a decaying family of French aristocrats. The Marquis del’Espérance (whose name is deliberately ironic) is desperate to marry his son Maturin to heiressLucy Broadhurst. Their marriage is in the will of ancestors, but with many conditions. Maturin’sgreat-uncle is desperate to stop the marriage, believing for some reason that it will kill Maturin.Meanwhile, Lucy has vivid dreams of Romilda de l’Espérance who, two centuries before, had avery erotic encounter with a beast in the woods.
Falling from Grace
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 7th, 2004
Synopsis
John Mellencamp plays a darker, fictionalized (one hopes) version of himself as a rock starwho returns to his home town in Indiana. He is accompanied by his wife (Mariel Hemingway),and his journey stirs up a veritable hornet’s nest of resentments in his family and friends. KayLenz is married to his brother, but still resents Mellencamp for not choosing her, and the twobegin a very prickly flirtation and affair. As he begins to fall from grace, the question is whetherour her…
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XIII (Playstation 2)
Posted in Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 7th, 2004
With all of the grand first person shooters out there like Halo, Doom, Quake, & Unreal, many titles of the same genre tend to fall into a void. Titles like Po’ed, the Medal of Honor series & Blake Stone (yes I said it, Blake “I am a Wolf 3d clone” Stone!) tend to fall by the waste side. Another of those titles is XIII. Brilliant in concept, and gorgeous graphics make this title a must have for anybody who loves FPS (or even third person aficionados).
Based on a French comic book, the concept of the sto…
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Renegade
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 6th, 2004
Synopsis
As a young man, Mike Blueberry (Vincent Cassel) falls in love with a prostitute, but theirtryst is rudely interrupted by the black-hearted Michael Madsen. The woman is killed, andBlueberry is badly wounded. He is taken in and nursed back to health by Native Americans, andthus taps into a bunch of mystical hugger-mugger as well. Years later, he is the town marshal,and who should ride into town but Madsen again, now possessed of supernatural power andintent on capturing the s…
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Sense and Sensibility (Classic DVD and Book Collection)
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 5th, 2004
Synopsis
Jane Austen’s tale concerns the Dashwood sisters. Elinor (Emma Thompson) is sensible tothe point of excessive caution in matters of the heart. Marianne (Kate Winslett) is the opposite,so passionate that she might follow her heart into trouble. Their lives (and those of their littlesister and their mother) are made difficult by their loss of fortune. They are at the mercy ofselfish in-laws, though the brother of the gorgon-in-chief is the extremely likeable Hugh Grant(with w…
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Little Women (Classic DVD and Book Collection)
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 5th, 2004
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Synopsis
For the audience this film is aimed at, a synopsis should be superfluous. At any rate, this isthe tale of March family, consiting of mother Marmee (Susan Sarandon) and her four daughters:protagonist Jo (Winona Ryder), proper Meg (Trini Alvarado), delicate Beth (Claire Danes) andyoungest Amy (first Kirsten Dunst, cute as a button, then Samantha Mathis). We begin during theCivil War, with the father absent, and the family dealing with the privations of that time, andthen move…
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Godzilla vs Gigan
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 4th, 2004
Synopsis
An organization claiming to be working for children’s aid builds a Godzilla theme park,complete with bigger-than-life replica of the big guy, here serving as headquarters. In fact, thesenice people are alien invaders, as a cartoonist and his friends discover. When their plans arethreatened, the aliens summon King Ghidorah and Gigan (he of the beak and vaguely disturbingbuzz saw stomach) to their aid. But Godzilla and good friend Anguirus charge in to fight the eviland save …
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The Crying Game (Collector’s Edition)
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on November 4th, 2004
Lion Gate Home Entertainment will release The Crying Game: Collector’s Edition on January 25th. This disc will be presented in a remastered anamorphic widescreen transfer, along with both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks. Extras will include an audio commentary (with director Neil Jordan), an alternate ending (with optional commentary), a making-of featurette, and a featurette examining the war in Northern Ireland as seen through the eyes of a Catholic cabbie from Belfast and a Protestant paramilitary cons…
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Three Coins in the Fountain
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 3rd, 2004
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Synopsis
This is the tale of three young American women in Rome, and the men who romance them.The recently arrived Maggie McNamara sets her cap for aristocrat-with-a-reputation LouisJourdan. Jean Peters, who is supposed to be heading back to the States soon, is drawn againsther better judgment into a relationship with kindly translator Rossano Brazzi (they work at thesame office, and the rules are strict about such things). And Dorothy McGuire is secretary toprickly writer Clifton W…
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Mr. Show – The Complete Fourth Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 3rd, 2004
For four seasons, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, along with a group of writers and comedians, served up comedy skits, parodies, and more, in the underrated but hilarious HBO late-night sketch comedy series Mr. Show.
Mr. Show is a smart comedy show, at least from what I can gather from the fourth season. The first thing to point out is every skit is somehow related to the next one by way of introducing a certain product, idea, or interstitial video. It’s as if each skit is part of one big narra…
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Creature from the Black Lagoon – The Legacy Collection
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 3rd, 2004
Hot on the heels of spring 2004’s Monster Legacy Collections, Universal is at it again. This time The Invisible Man, Mummy, and Creature films get the special treatment. The Creature set is the most obvious standout from the latest releases. Just in time for Halloween, The Creature walks among us again. All 3 Creature films are included along with all of the bonus materials from Universal’s release of the original film.
The synopsis of these films goes something like this…
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Sanford and Son – The Complete Fifth Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 3rd, 2004
This really was “The Big One”. Season 5 was probably my favorite year of Sanford and Son. Episodes like the Dickens-inspired Ebenezer Sanford, The classic Sanford and Rising Son and The Oddfather leave me laughing just to think about them. I can’t look at George C. Scott as Patton and not be reminded of the intrepid Sergeant Gork. George Foreman took a break from his fight schedule to appear as himself. Even the clip-loaded Camping Trip is a constant riot. In Season 5 the Sanfords discover NBC is making a TV show abo…
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Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 3rd, 2004
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Synopsis
Sterling Hayden, as the demented General Jack D. Ripper, sends a squadron of bombers offto nuke the Soviet Union. The principle bomber pilot is the equally demented Slim Pickens.Captain Mandrake (Peter Sellers) desperately tries to stop the bombers. The President (PeterSellers again) summons his principle aids to the war room and the assembled characters(including George C. Scott, and Sellers again as the titular character) do all they can to avert adoomsday scenario.
Gone with the Wind
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 3rd, 2004
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Synopsis
Writing a synopsis for Gone with the Wind must be as silly an exercise as doing onefor King Kong or Casablanca. But for what it’s worth, this is the tumultuous sagaof Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), spoiled southern belle at Tara, whose life is turned upsidedown by two things: Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and the Civil War. Her love affair(s) with Rhettare almost as fiery as the chaos of war, and in that crucible she is forced into becoming a self-suffici…
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Mr. 3000
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on November 3rd, 2004
Touchstone Home Entertainment will release the Bernie Mac comedy Mr. 3000 on February 1st. This disc will be presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, along with both English Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio tracks. Extras will include an audio commentary (with director Charles Stone), deleted scenes )with director commentary_, extended scenes, four featurettes (“The Tonight Show”, “Spring Training: The Extras Journey”, “Everybody Loves Stan”, & “Making of Mr. 3000”), and outtakes.