It’s My Party
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003
Eric Roberts, miles away from direct-to-video action fodder, plays Nick, a man in the terminal stages of AIDS. Over the opening credits, we see his long-term relationship with Gregory Harrison rise and disintegrate, and in the present, this relationship and its fallout will have a major role to play at Nick’s party. This party, the heart of the film, is an event he throws to say goodbye to all his friends and family. The story has added poignancy since this is based on an actual event.
Never On Sunday
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003
Melina Mercouri plays Illia, a character who makes prostitution seem like a carefree Utopia.She lives in a version of Greece where there only appear to be 5 women, and they are all ladies of the night. Into this extraordinarily male fantasy comes Jules Dassin, a deluded American idealist who wants to save Illia from herself. Naturally, he doesn’t have a hope, and Greek enthusiasm (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding on steroids) will inevitably overcome his anti-fun attitudes. Obviously, the picture has dated quite noticeably, and makes Pretty Woman look like a gritty expose.
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Strange Frequency
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003
Synopsis
This is essentially Twilight Zone or Outer Limits with a rock angle. There are four stories,each a mild horror tale. The format might be rather limiting, though there are some clever ideas.“Disco Inferno,” for instance, posits what hell would be like for headbangers. That’s a cutenotion, but is hard to sustain, even over 22 minutes.
Audio
No surprise that the music dominates the soundtrack, though even then it isn’t quite aspowerful as one might thi…
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Topper & Topper Returns
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 11th, 2003
Synopsis
Topper tells the tale of Cosmo Topper (Roland Young), a repressed, middle-aged banker,and his liberating encounter with the ghosts of Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. Grant andBennett, irresponsible socialites, die in a car accident without ever having done a good deed.They must make up for this before they can move on, and their good deed is to shake upTopper’s life. This is a gentle comedy, with fabulous character work from Young (who richlydeserved his Oscar nomination)…
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Jungle Book 2, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2003
Synopsis
An all new adventure for all of your favourite characters form Disney’s Jungle Book. Back for more fun we have Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera and Shere Khan of course, Mowgli has moved out of the jungle and into the village but, he misses his old friends. He soon finds an excuse to wander back into the jungle and quickly finds himself hunted by his old enemy Shere Khan. With all new songs and a couple of new characters the fun continues in The Jungle Book 2.
Video
The t…
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Midnight Club II (Xbox)
Posted in Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 10th, 2003
Last fall when Grand Theft Auto: Vice City came out for the PS2, gamers got to witness a myriad of gameplay options. Not only could you shoot, beat up, hold up, and run down people virtually everywhere, but another big draw to the game was the fact that you could jack any car, anywhere, and haul ass around town in it.
Now Rockstar Games has recreated the racing parts of the Grand Theft Auto series and added some great extras in Midnight Club II–the sequel to Midnight Club–out …
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Best Of Charlie’s Angels
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2003
On the heals of the release of Charlie Angels: Full Throttle we have a collection of the five best episodes from season one of the original television show. The five episodes are as follows:
- Angeles in Chains-The Angels discover that the sheriff a, prison authorities and the local County Manager are partners in an extortion-murder scheme in which wealthy young women are arrested and virtually enslaved as prostitutes until they sign over all their assets in exchange for an “early release” and the…
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Project A2
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 9th, 2003
Synopsis
The follow-up to Jackie Chan’s Project A, Dragon Mao returns to Hong Kong after defeating Pirate Lo on the high seas. Dragon is assigned to lead the local police force and finds that police corruption is running wild. Framed for a jewelry robbery he must fight for his freedom and his life against a group of spies, pirates and revolutionaries.
Audio
The audio on this disc is an average quality Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The badly overdubbed voices (part of the appeal o…
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Frost: Portrait of a Vampire
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
The film opens with Gary Busey (playing a blind man with the world’s biggest cane)investigating a vampire killing. An elaborate flashback then begins, telling us how a vampire came to be among us. Among American mercenaries in Afghanistan back in 1989 are Jack Frost and Nat McKenzie. The latter is bitten by a Russian vampire, and gradually begins to change,going over to the dark side. Frost eventually realizes him must hunt his best friend down. I’ll say this for the film: it is very ambitious on a very small budget, globe-hopping from Afghanistanto Mexico to the States, and is filled with combat and vampire CGI.
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The Congress
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
A history and a meditation on the American Congress, both at the institutional and at the architectural level — there are many beautiful shots of the Capitol, and the building becomes as much a character as any of the politicians who strode the stage within its walls. A fascinating documentary, enlivened not only with Burns’ usual fine use of period paintings and photographs,but also with film clips from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Advise and Consent.
The Shakers
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
The topic for this documentary are the Shakers, more properly the “United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.” The Shakers weren’t around that long: they were celibate, which meant no offspring. However, as the film explores, that didn’t stop them from having a profound impact on American life (they were, for instance, feminist and anti-slavery well ahead of the game).
Audio
A mono soundtrack. Though it might have been nice to hear the Shaker songs in stereo, the sound is still very clean, and without distortion.
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Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 6th, 2003
Synopsis
Fans of blue-collar/redneck humour are in for a treat here. Comics Ron White, Larry theCable Guy, Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy (in that order) perform their routines to a largeconcert hall audience, then team up for a comedy jam. Whether the humour works for you willdepend on your personal taste, of course, but there is some pretty funny material here.
Audio
Dolby 5.1 Surround is arguably overkill for a stand-up routine. Hell, mono would get the jo…
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Me Without You
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003
We first meet Holly and Michelle in the 70s, when they are 13 and already inseparable friends. They are very different already, though. Holly is bookish and shy. Michelle is beautiful and wild. Over the years, their relationship is tested as they clash, support and sabotage each other. The significant male characters are Kyle Maclachlan as a professor they both have an affair with, and Michelle’s brother, for whom Holly carries a torch through the years.
The Spirit of 76
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003
In 2176, the world is a grey, sterile place. All history has been lost. Four scientists (led by David Cassidy of Partridge Family infamy) travel back in time to recover the American Constitution, and revive history. Unfortunately, their time machine malfunctions, and they windup in 1976. Cue the stupidity. Unfortunately, the laughs are very few and far between. We already know that this period had many risible qualities. Just showing them to us isn’t enough.
Songcatcher
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003
Synopsis
It is 1907. Musicology professor Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer), unjustly passed over forpromotion, leaves the city to stay with her schoolteacher sister in the Appalachians. There sheexperiences revelations of various kinds. She discovers traditional Irish and Scottish ballads,altered but recognizable, still living vibrant folk lives. She also finds her superior, urban anduptight attitudes slowly but surely demolished by the people around her. The most importantperson she me…
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What’s Cooking?
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2003
Synopsis
The film is set during American Thanksgiving, and follows the holiday experience of fourseparate families. The effect is not unlike Robert Altman Lite, as all four families live in thesame neighbourhood, and sometimes cross paths, though these interfamily connections remaintangential. This is a vision of melting pot LA, with our families being Latino, Vietnamese,African-American and Jewish, each re-interpreting the WASP holiday through the prism of theirown experiences.
Giant
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 3rd, 2003
Spanning a good thirty years, Giant tells the tale of the Benedicts, a Texas family on an immense cattle range. The patriarch is Rock Hudson, whom we first meet as a young man visiting Maryland to buy a horse. There he meets Elizabeth Taylor and falls in love. His new bride initially finds Texas difficult to adjust to, and Texas has difficulty adjusting to her, as she does not hold with the local attitudes towards women and, most especially, Mexicans. The third major player is James Dean, a rather sullen ranch hand who winds up changing everybody’s lives when he strikes oil on his small parcel of land.
The Recruit
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2003
As Al Pacino constantly reminds us in The Recruit, nothing is ever as it seems. This film, while not a great effort, is vintage Pacino. Strong performances are also to be found from Colin Farrell and Bridget Moynahan, but as usual it is Pacino who steals the show. The Recruit is actually two different films in one. The first half is an intruding look at CIA training at the fabled “farm”. Once the training ends, an effective spy/counterspy plot takes over that won’t lose momentum. You’ll find enough surprises to keep even the most irritating “I knew it” viewers quiet for much of the film.
The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 1st, 2003
The film opens with the assassination of Jesse James (Kristofferson) and then flashes back tothe last years of the lives of the James brothers. Ostensibly retired from their outlaw ways, they can’t quite settle down. Jesse is the wilder of the two brothers, while Frank is much more of a homebody, and is frequently seeing cursing his stubborn animals. Imagine the kind of western you’d expect to catch on cable in the late 80s, and you’ve imagined this movie. Kristofferson is notably more convincing in his role than is Cash.
Outlaw Justice
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2003
Synopsis
Waylon Jennings, in a brief cameo, is gunned down by a former acquaintance who hasreturned from prison consumed with thoughts of vengeance. Jennings’ son gets together withKris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Travis Tritt to track down the killer. Not unentertaining,but, flawed by both sentimentality and flip moments such as a saloon slaughter that, sinceUnforgiven, is difficult to take a face value any longer.
Audio
The audio is a 2.0 mix, but wit…
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Sabretooth
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2003
Synopsis
For reasons never properly explained, a prehistoric tiger is cloned and, for reasons that areexplained but are dumb, escapes into the mountains. It is tracked by those responsible for itscreation (John Rhys-Davies and Vanessa Angel) and a big-game hunter (David Keith).Meanwhile, a group of hikers is about to run into trouble. The dialogue is hackneyed when itisn’t dumb, Angel’s accent fluctuates mysteriously, the characters are largely idiots, and themonster is created by b…
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Kung Fu Chaos (Xbox)
Posted in Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 1st, 2003
During the 1970’s, Kung Fu and martial arts films were the in thing. Bruce Lee and the cheap Hong Kong action film were leading the wave of popularity of the Far Eastern martial arts. Even music of the time reflected America’s love of the Kung Fu culture with a hit song entitled Kung Fu Fighting.
Now Microsoft has brought all of the fun and campy nature of those old 35 mm films to life here on the Xbox. Kung Fu Chaos is a colorful, tongue-in-cheek fighter that is influenced by the Hong …
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Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon (Gamecube)
Posted in Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 1st, 2003
The year is 2008 and the Soviets are up to their old tricks again. It seems they liked the idea of having an Eastern Europe border nation, and they want to pull all of the entire break away provinces back under the sickle and hammer. Of course, America and her allies cannot let that happen, and just like we stood up for freedom at Kosovo, Serbia, and Kuwait, we will send troops and supplies to the region as a ‘peace keeping’ mission.
This is where players enter the game Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon for t…
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Star Trek: Nemesis
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2003
If ever there was a film that was badly misunderstood it is Star Trek: Nemesis. The most common complaint I’ve heard is it was too much like an episode. Excuse me, but isn’t it supposed to be? Nemesis has everything a good Star Trek film should have. The character chemistry, space battles, a morality tale, and terrific f/x. If the film suffers at all it is from poor editing, as the collection of deleted scenes clearly shows (more on that in the special features section). As many politicians are fond of saying, “mistakes were made,” but this is a far better film than the critics or fans have given it credit for being.
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Justice League: Justice On Trial
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 30th, 2003
Synopsis
The Justice League is Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern,Martian Manhunter and the Flash. The first story, “In Blackest Night,” sees Green Lanternaccused of destroying an entire planet. “The Enemy Below” introduces Aquaman (a verydifferent one from the version older viewers might remember from their youth). The animation isa slight notch above the usual Saturday morning fare, and the look of the characters isinterestingly stylized, in the vein of the Ba…
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