Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 14th, 2007
In the great tradition of Hollywood rehashes, The Guardian applies a new coat of paint to a tried-and-true formula. In this case, we're talking about the story of Top Gun with Coast Guard rescue swimmers in place of Air Force fighter pilots. Oh, and maybe throw in a little Officer and a Gentleman for good measure.
Stop me if you've heard this one. They're the elite, the best of the best. Their training program is the most difficult in the world, and it will weed out anyone who can't cut it in their dangerous profession.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 14th, 2007
Some films can be intensely personal. Written and directed by one individual, the stories are fairly long in runtime and epic in terms of hopes and dreams, with characters that intertwine either coincidentally or a little bit more directly. They always seem to have a big name marquee star or two in them and always end on a message of hope or optimism.
Take the case of Babel. Written by Guillermo Arriaga and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who were the creative team behind the Amores Perros and 21 Grams films comes perhaps their grandest idea yet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 13th, 2007
A group of former college friends (now apparently weathered by life, though they look as if they are CURRENT college friends) gather at beach cottage for a reunion. Stresses and resentments within the various marriages and couplings quickly put a damper on the weekend, and a desultory evening’s conversation leads to a few members of the group playing the party game that consists in reciting “Dead Mary” in front of a mirror. Inevitably, the evil spirit is summoned, and people start being killed off.
Posted in: Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on February 12th, 2007
First off, thanks and much love to those who filled in while I was gone. And wow, while I was gone, apparently HD-DVD did the same. After a lackluster CES, the only other thing they could do was announce that Spielberg films like E.T. would be “coming soon” to the format. However, Senor Spielburgo put the kaibash on that pretty quick, and those responsible for the gaffe (namely the HD-DVD Promotions Group) issued a quick apology. For what it’s worth, now that Blu-Ray has caught up and passed HD-DVD in the numb...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2007
KISS fans will likely feel like they're in heaven with this quasi-intimate look at the long-tongued demon of rock. All others might be tempted to stay away, and yet, that might be a mistake. Let me first admit that I'm no fan of reality television or KISS. With that said, you might be expecting me to trash this particular program. Wrong! Honestly, as an outsider I have the unique ability to judge the show without all of the trappings of the band's fame and history.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 12th, 2007
The Holy Bible has been the source for many incredible epics. One might argue that the Book itself is the first epic. From De Mille's Ten Commandments to Gibson's recent Passion of the Christ we have been enthralled by tales of faith and the divine since the very birth of the cinema. One Night With The King has all the essential elements to take its place with these classics. The cast includes some of the greatest actors alive in Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole, and John Rys-Davies. The settings are some of the most beautiful desert lands on earth.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 12th, 2007
It's really hard for me to review films such as this one. On the one hand, I firmly believe in film preservation, and the importance of not shying away from history, no matter how painful it may be. On the other hand, it's difficult for me to enjoy a film that so casually deals with the trade of humans. Band of Angels tells the story of the daughter of a plantation owner who is sent away to school. Her father is a good and kind man, for he has never beaten his slaves. When he falls deathly ill, she rushes back...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 12th, 2007
The Arrangement is a film that I had always heard the name of, but never really heard anything about. It's rare for a film to be directed by the author of the book that it is based on. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing that before. Upon watching the film, it is obvious to me how important it is for a director to have a clear understanding of the story he is trying to tell. Kazan knows this story inside and out, and even the slightest nuance of the least-important scene contributes to the story being told.
The arrangement tells the story of Eddie, a high-powered advertising executive who has a very unexpected midlife crisis within the first few minutes of the film. As viewers, we spend the rest of the movie examining his life, and slowly discovering what led him to this tumultuous point in his life. The film actually reminded me a lot of The Graduate, if Dustin Hoffman had been in this 40's. Here, Kirk Douglas plays the Benjamin Braddock role, with just a bit of Sybil thrown in for good measure.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 11th, 2007
Portions of this review were lifted from the previous Criterion Collection edition review. Now on to the review...
After making such internationally renowned samurai period films such as Rashomon and The Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa did make another film, Yojimbo, with a decidedly different tone, bordering on dark comedy. The opening shot is of Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune, Throne of Blood), a samurai without a master, who look at a mountain, and suddenly scratches his head, as if his hair is on too tight.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 11th, 2007
Well, after the worldwide success of Dr. No, producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman went back to figure out what to do about a sequel, and following a nod to the series by then-President Kennedy, From Russia With Love was the next candidate in line to be given the Bond treatment from the library of Ian Fleming novels.
In this film, Bond (the returning Sean Connery) has recently vanquished Dr. No, and the organization that he worked for, SPECTRE, decides to try to eliminate Bond, using two things that will lure any well-respecting secret agent, a decoding machine that the Russian government currently is in possession of, and a Russian defector that wants to turn it over to James specifically.
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