Kangaroo Jack
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 24th, 2003
Synopsis
Charlie is a hairdresser with a mob boss for a step father; Booker is his best friend and a bumbling idiot. Together they find themselves in the outback of Australia after hitting a kangaroo and loosing $50K of mob money. They need to recover the money from the kangaroo or they are dead. They meet a cast of interesting characters along the way to catching the kangaroo (who they have dubbed Jacky Legs) and manage to get themselves in and out of all kinds of funny situations.
Vid…
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The Right Stuff
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 23rd, 2003
Converting Tom Wolfe’s classic book The Right Stuff was undoubtedly a difficult task. The original 7 Mercury astronauts were epic figures in American history. Perhaps the last of Earth’s true explorers, astronauts are the stuff that every kid’s fantasies are made of. It seems nearly impossible to capture such incredible bravery and charisma in the scope of even a 3 hour movie. Philip Kaufman somehow achieved the impossible. It starts with one of the most dynamic casts since The Godfather. Names like Jeff Goldblume, Dennis Quaid and Ed Harris were all relative unknowns at the time.
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The Pianist (3-Disc)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2003
In 1939 Warsaw is invaded by Nazi Germany, Wladyslaw Szpilman is performing live on a radio station as it is dive bombed by the Luftwaffe. He continues to play until he is almost killed. This opening scene sets the tone for the story of a man so driven by his passion for music even in the face of adversary. As the film continues we watch the establishment of the Warsaw ghetto and the beginning of the reign of hate towards the Jews by Nazi Germany.
The Warsaw ghetto is full of stark contrasts we watch as people die in the streets from hunger and others prosper by bribing guards and importing goods, we see Germans helping Jews escape from the ghetto and Jews who join the ghetto police in an attempt to save themselves.
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Adaptation
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2003
Charlie Kaufman is a neurotic, narcissistic, self loathing writer who is hired to adapt Susan Orlean’s novel The Orchid Thief into a film. The only problem is that he is suffering from writers block, add in a twin brother who is also writing a screenplay and his inability to interact with people and hang-on for a wild ride. Charlie tries a number of different approaches to writing the script and suddenly finds himself being written into the story. What starts out as an adaptation of a book into a film turns into a completely different story all together.
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Metroid Prime (Gamecube)
Posted in Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 23rd, 2003
Gamers looking for a First Person Shooter on the Nintendo GameCube have never had a better game to check out than Metroid Prime–a classic FPS with some of the best visuals seen to date on the console outside of the Resident Evil series.
The story follows a brave warrior by the name of Samus Aran as she infiltrates the depths of Tallon IV in an attempt to uncover a mystery surrounding Phazon and it’s effects on life forms. Using a specially designed battle suit, which is e…
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Basil
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003
Jared Leto plays Basil, youngest son of the tyrannical Derek Jacobi. Traumatized by the death of his mother when he was young, the exile of his brother (who dallied with a young woman beneath his station), and oppressed by a father for whom class consciousness is the be-all and end-all, Basil is barely equipped to deal with the outside world. He has no friends, and only the most naive notions of romance. Into his life comes Christian Slater, whose worldly ways inspire Leto, and …
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My Beautiful Laundrette
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003
Set in the Pakistani community in London, this coming-of-age story follows Omar (Saeed Jaffrey), a young man who gets his start in business through his not-entirely-scrupulous uncle.Omar has ambitions of transforming a grotty laundrette into a first-class establishment. To this end, he enlists the aid of an old friend (and soon-to-be-lover) (Daniel Day-Lewis), much to the displeasure of the latter’s skinhead friends. Family, racism, Thatcherism, sexism, homosexuality,organized crime and laundromats might sound like a lot to pack into 98 minutes, but this wry, sly comedy does so with grace and agility.
Music Box
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003
Jessica Lange is a top Chicago attorney, who finds herself called on to defend her father when he is accused of having committed war crimes in Second World War Hungary. Convinced of his innocence, she launches herself into the wrenching case, but finds that maintaining her convictions becomes harder as the case moves on. Given his later career (Basic Instinct,Showgirls, etc.), it’s rather surprising in retrospect to find that the script to this intelligent drama is by Joe Esteras. Though sometimes moving a bit too slowly, the film is always interesting, the performances are superb (especially by Lange) and the story builds to a pretty powerful climax.
Night of the Shooting Stars, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 22nd, 2003
Synopsis
We are in the final days of WWII. The Allies are liberating Italy, but the Nazis and holdoutFascists haven’t quite been beaten yet. They still hold sway in the town of San Martino. Whenthe villagers are ordered to gather in the cathedral, a large group decide to flee into thecountryside, hoping to find the Americans. The film is narrated by a woman who, at the time ofthe story, is six years old, and thinks the flight is a grand adventure. There are great momentsof tendernes…
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Harriet the Spy
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 21st, 2003
Eleven-year-old Harriet wants to be a writer. Told by her nanny (Rosie O’Donnell) to write down everything she sees, Harriet takes this command to heart and becomes the neighborhood spy. The people she writes about would not be gratified by what she has to say about them, and inevitably, her notebook falls into the wrong hands, leading to some painful lessons for Harriet.The pace is brisk, the editing even faster.
Pennsylvania Miners
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 21st, 2003
Made for TV (and showing it, what with that jarring fade-to-black exactly 20 minutes in),this film tells the story of a group of men trapped together in a coal mine when they suddenly strike water and their claustrophobic environments floods. We cut back and forth between their struggle to survive, the struggle to reach them, and the experience of their wives and families. At times, what, precisely, is happening in the mine is a bit hard to follow, though the realism is quite strong.
Point of Origin
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 21st, 2003
A serial arsonists is terrorizing the Los Angeles area. Investigating are veteran John Orr (Ray Liotta) and his junior partner Keith Lang (John Leguizamo). Before long, it appears that the arsonist is actually a fireman. The synopsis on the case implies that the film is a mystery: whois the arsonist, Liotta or Leguizamo? In fact, this isn’t really a mystery, since the film is based on a well-publicized case, and when was the last time Liotta didn’t play a weasel? In fact, Liotta becomes the prime suspect quite early on, and we see both his double life and the tightening net.
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Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2003
Writer Norman Mailer and director Lawrence Schiller can’t get enough of the nation’s most intriguing criminals. Best known for the critically acclaimed Executioner’s Song, the duo are at it again with this CBS mini-series spruced up to an R rating for DVD.
To anyone who has seen the 60 Minutes piece or kept up with the story in their local paper, the story is familiar enough. Robert Hanssen spied for the Soviet Union for 22 years while a top level FBI agent. William Hurt delivers a rather deadpan performance as Hanssen, a man rife with contradictions.
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Half Past Dead
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2003
Steven Seagal is certainly showing his age in Half Past Dead. To ardent fans of his tough-guy act, this might be a bad thing. To those of us just looking for a good film, I think it’s actually a good thing. With Seagal’s ass-kicking held more in check there appears more room for a story to grow. This one is above average. Seagal’s age also means a stronger supporting cast and this one has a nice one. Mia Peoples is stunning as one of the main villains. Ja Rule and Kurupt add the necessary urban reality and some comedy relief when called for.
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NFL Films – Inside the Vault 1960-1970 (Vols. 1-3)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2003
In 1962 Ed Sabol purchased the rights to film the NFL and history was made. NFL films came to pioneer so many styles of filming that are still in use today like slow motion and the tight spiral football shot. The footage contained in these discs have never been seen before, it is old archived footage that was never used and it is amazing. The three discs are as follows…
Disc 1 – The Creation (1962-1965): This film looks at the beginning of what would become NFL Films. Watch as Ed Sabol and his …
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Suicide Blonde
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2003
Synopsis
The Legend of the gunfighter who wears the red scorpion jacket has come to South Beach in Miami. When the parking valet at a local strip club gets pulled into the legend he hinds himself the target of a mob hit and running for his life. Throw a sociopathic blonde into the mix and he might as well finish himself off before someone does it for him.
Audio
This film has a number of gunfights and I expected the audio to be above average but, instead it is somewhat belo…
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Dracula II: Ascension
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 19th, 2003
Dracula II drops all the characters from Dracula 2000, fudges the ending of that film, but retains the central idea of Dracula in fact being Judas Iscariot, cursed with eternal life. This time around, his sunlight-burned body is recovered by a group of grad students and their crippled professor with the hope of finding a miracle cure from the regenerative qualities of vampire blood. Meanwhile, a vampire-hunting priest named Uffizi (Jason Scott Lee, no more improbable as Italian than he was as Irish in Tale of the Mummy) is on the trail of Dracula (with minor help from Roy Scheider, putting in a few seconds of screen time).
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Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 18th, 2003
Fred Ward is a tough, no-nonsense cop. One night (when for some reason he has no partner),he is the victim of an attack, and wakes up with a different face and a new identity. He has been recruited by a shadowy government organization (currently made up of three other people). He is trained by Korean master Chiun (Cabaret MC Joel Grey under lots of makeup) to become a fighting machine. Meanwhile, future starship captain Kate Mulgrew is an army major investigating an industrialist who seems to be fleecing the US military for billions of dollars. All paths will soon merge.
Animal Crossing (Gamecube)
Posted in Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 18th, 2003
Few titles have the ability to be both cute and popular amongst all types of players, yet with Animal Crossing, this is exactly what one gets. The game has such great playability to it, that everyday brings something new and refreshing to the table. The character and town designs are almost unbearably cute–but in a good way that adds feel and depth to the overall game. Are you ready to be wowed by a classic Nintendo title? Then pack your bags–you’re moving to Animal Crossing !
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Wings of Desire
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 17th, 2003
This is closer to a being a tone poem than a narrative, so there is hardly any plot as such. We move through Berlin in the company of angels. They can hear our thoughts, but they cannot interfere or feel the physical world. Two of the angels — Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are increasingly disenchanted with their existence, and Damiel, falling in love with a trapeze artist, wants to become mortal. This simple story is built on very gradually, and most of the film consists in our hearing the innermost thoughts of various characters, and all these thoughts are presented in poetic (often elliptical) words. The cinematography is quite extraordinarily beautiful.
Best of the Steve Harvey Show, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2003
This disc is a compilation of the 5 highest rated episodes of the Steve Harvey Show. This TV series ran from 1996-2002 on the WB network and features Steve Harvey (The Original King’s of Comedy) as Steve Hightower ex-1970’s R&B star turned music teacher and assistant principal and Cedric “The Entertainer” (Barbershop) as coach Cedric Wilson and Steve’s best friend and roommate. It also featured your usual high school sitcom cast of characters. The five episodes presented here are:
- That’s My Mama- Ste…
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Midnight Run
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 15th, 2003
Forget Lethal Weapon and Beverly Hills Cop; Midnight Run has got to be one of the funniest cop-buddy films of the genre. True, Midnight Run did not break any records at the box office and was actually panned by a few well-known critics of the time, but the comic action just never lets up. Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin share a rare chemistry. The overkill plot developments just wouldn’t work with any other combination. In all fairness, I wasn’t too thrilled about this one when it first hit the theatres. My wife suggested it and I agreed more out of guilt for all the genre films I’ve inflicted on her.
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Pilot’s Wife, The
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2003
Synopsis
A knock on your door in the middle of the night can change your life forever for Kathryn Lyons this knock comes after her husband’s plane crashes off the coast of Ireland. As the investigation starts to piece together that there was an explosion on board and that her husband may have had something to do with it here perfect life starts to unravel. As she starts to look into her husbands life in an attempt to clear his name she starts to discover that she really did not know her husband at al…
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Inside Pitch 2003 (Xbox)
Posted in Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2003
Take me out to the ballgame! Buy me peanuts, and popcorn, and…ah, maybe not. But, you should probably check out Inside Pitch 2003 out now for the Xbox console.
Players can do a bevy of gameplay options with Inside Pitch 2003 such as Season, Single Game, Network Play, and Championship Challenges. On top of all that, players with the LIVE service hooked up to their consoles can enjoy some downloadable content from the MS servers and invite a friend for some action out on the diamo…
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Rayman 3 (GameBoy Advance)
Posted in Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2003
Rayman is certainly a character that gets around. Not only has he seen a fruitful life on the Playstation 2 console for a number of years, but now he is available on the GameBoy Advance system from Ubi Soft with the title Rayman 3.
Incorporating many of the characters from the Nintendo GameCube version of Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, this GBA offering sees Rayman doing what he does best; fighting the evil minions of the Dark Lum and finding his pal Globox, whom has disappeared…
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