Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007
Synopsis
It always feels good when you go into a film with very little expectations. Such as the case with Griffin and Phoenix, other than Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding), who is apparently in every fricken movie that involves the words “romantic” or “comedy”. While Griffin and Phoenix is a mite bit romantic and its story is hardly new, its execution makes things a bit more pleasant.
Written by John Hill, who originally wrote a 1976 TV movie of the same name, and di...
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on May 28th, 2007
And now for a little change of pace this week, here’s a list of my Top Ten War Movies in honor of Memorial Day. Everyone should never forget…with the inclusion of these into your collection.
I figured what the hell, let me attempt to dive into my own list, and attempt to do some justice to a hotly debated movie genre…war movies. The ability of fighting forces across the world to hurt people and break things has evolved over the years, and so have the war movies, as many have done with the dramatic death in ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 28th, 2007
Prior to Top Gun with Tom Cruise and long before The Guardian with Ashton Kutcher, An Officer and a Gentleman was the film about a hot-headed hotshot military trainee headed for glory or self-destruction.
Starring a youthful Richard Gere (Chicago), An Officer and a Gentleman follows the journey of Zack Mayo, a young man looking to find his place in the world, and to prove he can defy his chaotic, depraved upbringing. His avenue of choice is to become a navy jet pilo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 27th, 2007
Synopsis
Steven Soderbergh has done a successful job of leveraging his reputation through the years in order to experiment with various directorial techniques and styles. With mainstream successes like Erin Brockovich and Traffic, he’s managed to keep in the spirit of anindependent film, producing stellar, less visible works like Bubble and a remake of Tarkovsky’s Solaris. Many of his works over the last few years have been with George Clooney, who starred in Solaris and < ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 26th, 2007
This just in: Hugh Grant stars in yet another formulaic romantic comedy. Having polished his shtick in such films as Nine Months, Notting Hill and Two Weeks Notice, I’m betting Grant barely had to pay attention on the set of Music and Lyrics.
Rom-com fans will find Grant’s turn with lovable Drew Barrymore (Fever Pitch) more than palatable, I’m sure. Heck, I enjoyed Music and Lyrics, in the way one appreciates the occasional handful of those tiny marshmallows in a mu...
Posted in: Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on May 25th, 2007
On May 21, Bruno Mattei died. He was the director of uncounted low-end Italian exploitation films, occupying a niche of horror and sex (frequently both) not unlike that owned by Joe D’Amato. It would be stretching the truth rather too far to say that he left us some good films, but he did leave us some entertaining ones. Viewers wanting a taste of his work should steer clear of Hell of the Living Dead, a zombie film that unfortunately is as dull as it is ludicrous. But Rats: Night of Terror (1983...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 25th, 2007
Synopsis
Gary Cooper and seven colleagues are introverted academics working on a new encyclopedia. When Cooper realizes this his slang entry is hopelessly out of date, he bravely ventures outside the ivory tower to learn what the new lingo actually is. The most fluent slang speaker he encounters is nightclub performer Barbara Stanwyck. When her gangster boyfriend (Dana Andrews) is wanted for murder, she hides from the police by moving in on the professors, ostensibly to help them with their project. ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2007
Synopsis
I really wasn’t entirely sure how to digest watching a film about a natural disaster where a quarter million people have died or are presumed missing/lost. Nevertheless, Tsunami: The Aftermath is a compelling portrait of the events surrounding the 2004 event that resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.
Written by Abi Morgan (Brick Lane) and directed by Bharat Nalluri (The Crow: Salvation), the film was shown on HBO as a two part miniseries and focused on severa...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2007
OK, it's difficult to talk about Season Three of NCIS without talking about what happened in Season Two of the show, so I'd suggest anyone reading this who hasn't seen it to skip ahead to the next paragraph. OK, done. Season Two of NCIS brought in a cast change that virtually nobody saw coming, let alone the cast member who indicated they wanted to leave anyway. Agent Todd (Sasha Alexander, Mission Impossible: III) had been shot and killed by a terrorist, and her comrades made concerted attempt to avenge her death at the beginning of Season Three.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2007
Synopsis
When I was reviewing Season One of Martin, I was actually on a business trip in New Jersey, fondly recalling the early ‘90s and the huge popularity of the show that bore comedian Martin Lawrence’s name. Since that time, I’m no longer going to New Jersey on business, I’m working better hours, and a movie with Lawrence called Wild Hogs came out. It grossed over $150 million, and starred him, John Travolta and Tim Allen as aging adults who do the Easy Rider road trip. The only thi...
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