Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on March 19th, 2007
P>The first full week of being format neutral, and all appears to be well.
Well, that pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it? I picked up Casino Royale, Layer Cake and Black Hawk Down, and all seems to be pretty good. All of them having PCM soundtracks doesn’t hurt either. I’ve also grabbed Motorstorm and Resistance Fall of Man recently, so the gaming and movie split is about 50-50 right now, on top of everything else I’ve been doing. The reasoning for those three titles, aside f...om exclusivity, is their extras are mostly port overs from the SD versions, so it gives me another reason to cast aside the SD versions of the above titles that I’ve already got.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 19th, 2007
Cupt Epics here presents five films identified as "underground" (a fluid term at the best of times). Certainly, they are all deliberately transgressive, though not all are equally successful. Two are by Nico B. - the perviously released "Pig" and "Hollywood Babylon." The former has been reviewed here before, but briefly, its catalogue of murder and S&M horrors, working out a killer's fantasies, is rather too self-conscious about its own transgression. The latter is a 4-minute tribute to Kenneth Anger, taking in exhibits at the Museum of Death. It's not a bad little piece, but it is interesting to note that its existence confirms once and for all that now even the underground film community has an established history to look back on. "Dislandia" is a half-hour, plotless portrayal of a little girl (whose face is covered in a mask) doing odd things and moving through a gritty, disconnected landscape. Interesting visually, the film is sufficiently obscure in its goals that one's mind does begin to wander. "Adoration," on the other hand, is gruelling, brutal, intelligent and effective. Based on an actual case, we see a young man invite a woman to his apartment, record her reading poetry, then kill and eat her. All of this is seen through the eyes of a camera he has place on a wall. The unblinking gaze is explicitly equated with the audience's own, and many uneasy questions about art and voyeurism are thus raised. Finally, "Le poéme" is the one that most viewers will find hardest to deal with: we watch an actual autopsy while listening to the poem "Le bateau ivre" by Arthur Rimbaud. Difficult though the film is, it is also, like "Adoration," quite beautiful.Audio
The sound is 2.0, and the actual sound quality depends primarily on the source material. In fact, "Adoration" is largely silent. But at any rate, the overall audio quality is perfectly satisfactory. There isn't too much by way of surround, and what emerges from the rear speakers isn't always perfectly placed, but the job is generally quite effectively done.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 18th, 2007
The Pursuit of Happyness is inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, who wrote a biography of the same name, from which the movie is based. Will Smith plays Gardner who is a salesman of medical equipment, who actually only manages to sell the odd unit. Because of his poor sales, his family is struggling making it from bill to bill, until finally his wife becomes so fed up she packs up and leaves for New York. Gardner is now left by his request, with his five-year-old son Christopher. With the untimely loss...of their apartment, Chris has to make a hard decision; pursue the career path of a stock broker which requires six months training with no pay and no employment guarantee, or continue the life as a salesman in hope of earning enough to put food on the table. After a short time of deliberation Chris chooses to go after the internship, but endures some real hardships along the way including going hungry and homelessness.
This film is really inspirational, it proves that no matter where you’re from and no matter the circumstances that you face if you want something you can have it. The acting was impressive by Will Smith, but I was more impressed with the ability of young Jaden Smith who will obliviously be following in his father’s footsteps. Aside from the great cast and intense realism of the life on the streets this movie provides a good plot, and sends out a good message. This movie ultimately has a positive vibe to it and it beings such a touching story I have a hard time saying this, but it wasn’t awfully engaging. I felt for the characters, but the story dragged on a bit and didn’t always keep me interested, it’s the sort of movie that is going to be hit and miss. Some people will love it and call it inspirational, will others will simply shrug and say it was like any other underdog movie. For me personally I thought it was better than I anticipated, but wasn’t a perfect movie, but definitely worth checking out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 17th, 2007
James Caan is a sailor whose stopover in Seattle becomes much longer than he expects, as first he has to wait for new orders when a medical exam forces him to miss shipping out with his crewmates, and then his records disappear. During this time, he meets Marsha Mason, a prostitute with an 11-year-old son. Caan falls for both of them, and a finely developed sense of responsibility sees him moving heaven and earth to make life good for all three. His task won’t be an easy one.
On the one hand, the film has the quality common in films of this era (it’s from 1973) to take its time and soak the audience in a convincingly quirky ambiance. Screenwriter Darryl Ponicsan (adapting his own novel) and director Mark Rydell have fun bouncing the various characters off each other, and we have fun as they do so. But the further into the film we go, the more predictable everything becomes, until there is a generalized collapse into hackneyed melodrama. Ponicsan also wrote the book that The Last Detail was based on, and here, as there, he seems incapable of conceiving of female characters who are not prostitutes (that is, when they are not needy, self-absorbed, neurotic, self-destructive prostitutes). The film has fine performances, is crafted well, but is also badly flawed at its core.
Posted in: Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on March 16th, 2007
Gosh, I don’t know if today’s subject counts as cult movies. These are genre films, though. And they’re old.
Really old.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2007
I can't say I'm too familiar with The Last Unicorn, I mean overall, animated children's films were in the midst of a decline in the '80s. However my wife was more than familiar with it and enjoyed it a lot growing up. And Lion's Gate has presumably cleaned up the film and thrown some extras on it just in time for the film's 25th anniversary.
Based on a novel by Peter Beagle and directed by the animation team of Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin (who helped produced such shows as the stop motion of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and The Hobbit animated version back in the '60s and '70s), the unicorn in question is named, well, Unicorn (voiced by Mia Farrow, The Omen), who walks around rather peacefully in the countryside. She is captured by a witch and is released by her assistant named Schmendrick (Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine). So when Schmendrick and Unicorn are threatened by an ominous red bull, he turns her into a mortal named Amalthea, who finds love by Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges, Tron) and finds out why she was the last unicorn from King Haggard (Christopher Lee, The Lord of the Rings).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 15th, 2007
I�ve been anticipating the release of Harsh Times for quite a while now, never being able to catch it in the theatre, I finally got the chance to check it out. Christian Bale is by now known for his versatility and wide range of playable characters; Harsh Times offers another committed and deep portrayal to his resume. Bale plays ex-ranger Jim Davis who is back in Los Angeles after a 6-year tour. He is trying to land a job with the LAPD so he can marry his Mexican sweetheart and have her live in America. Only things don�t go as planned and the LAPD turn him down sending Jim into an uncontrollable rage and has him craving all things illegal. Riding shotgun for the whole adventure is his best friend Mike Alonzo (Freddy Rodriguez), a nearly completely reformed ex-con. Dealing with problems of his own, particularly his girlfriend Sylvia (Eva Longoria), Mike sets out daily to find work but instead finds himself running the streets with Jim. Before things get worse there is hope yet as The Department of Homeland Security calls up Jim where he hopes to land a job. Soon the two aspects of his life have to find balance as things start spinning out of control for the two best friends, will it end with everyone back on the right track, or in blood?
Simply put Harsh Times is a great movie, some great performances and a story I�ve never seen done before. Bale�s character was so conflicted it was hard to predict his next move and what he was really capable of, then to counter that was the equally impressive performance of Freddy Rodriguez as the mellow cool headed one of the group. This movie takes turns down places you wouldn�t expect which left me interesting throughout its entire duration. At times this film had me laughing, at the edge of my seat, and mesmerized with what was going to happen next. If you were a fan of Training Day you should check this movie out, although there are a few similarities, Harsh Times provides a deeper story with more realistic characters, proving to be a must see.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 15th, 2007
No matter where you grew up or what books you�ve read, you have undoubtedly come across the workings of William Shakespeare, and especially his Romeo and Juliet. This film takes the dialogue from the original play pretty much word for word but depicts it in a more modern time, with, of course, then-teen heart throbs Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as our star-crossed lovers.
Instead of swords and castles, there are guns and skyscrapers. The famous opening argument with Benvolio, Tybalt and Mercuteo is a public firefight that kicks off the film. For the few of you who are unfamiliar with Romeo and Juliet, it�s a love story about two young people who are forbidden to love each other because of their families. For as long as anyone can remember, the Capulets and Montagues have shared a mutual hatred for one another. Romeo, a Montague, and Juliet, a Capulet, meet and share a passionate love for one another but are forever bound to secrecy as no one in either family could accept this love connection � the hate runs too deep. The story deals with the tribulations of love in the midst of hate, and the couple�s eventual decline.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 15th, 2007
At one point or another you�ve either seen Ghost, or have seen some of its memorable scenes parodied. Paramount is now releasing a new special collector�s edition of the 1990 Academy Award winning picture. Since then, star Patrick Swayze hasn�t really been up to much besides a Ja Rule video and a small role in Donnie Darko. Whether Demi Moore has seen success since this film is debatable, but for a while there in 1990 these two were the talk of the town. At the time I was too young to have any interest in the film, so prior to this review all I knew were the memorable clips I�d seen. I looked forward to finally viewing the entire film.
Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) are just your average happy couple living out their lives in New York City. Sam appears to have a problem expressing his feelings for Molly, only saying �ditto� when she tells him �I love you.� Apart from this obvious minor hindrance on the relationship, the two seem genuinely happy. That is until one night while walking back from the theatre the couple is mugged, Sam puts up a fight and is shot and killed. His soul doesn�t realize this and chases down the thief. When he returns to the scene, he realizes what has transpired but he doesn�t accept it and refuses to be taken by the light, leaving him on earth as a ghost. Sam follows the thief home and eventually finds out that none other than Sam�s best friend and co-worker Carl Bruner in fact planned his murder. Frustrated and feeling helpless, Sam enlists the help of the fraudulent medium Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), who appears to be the only one who can hear him. Through her, Sam contacts Molly and tries to remedy the situation, but things get out of control and quick.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 15th, 2007
Long the bad boy of French novelists, Jean Genet directed this 25-minute short in 1950. Borderline pornographic, it is a silent portrayal of (literally) imprisoned desire. Two prisoners convey their longing for one another through the prison walls, while a voyeuristic guard watches, becoming aroused and frustrated to the point of violence. Poetic, fetishistic, and intensely personal, it is a startling and historic piece of underground cinema.Audio
Consider the rating a place-holder, because we don't have a star equivalent for "Not Applicable." This is a completely silent film. Not even a score. As for the extras, they are clear enough.
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