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THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE - Most of us grew up with reruns of Rocky and Bullwinkle, a few were around for the show's first run. Like the original Star Trek series, you either get it, or you don't. Believe it or not, some just don't get the show! Anyone who enjoys Rocky and Bullwinkle should enjoy this farcical movie. The film opens animated, and explains what has happened in the 35 years since Rocky and Bullwinkle were canceled. Fearless Leader, Boris and Natasha have escaped Pottsilvania and made their way to Hollywood, where they hatch a plot to take over the world via bad TV. Their transition from "expensive animated characters to even more expensive movie stars" sets Rocky and Bullwinkle off on a perilous adventure / road comedy to stop them. Along the way we get tons of cameos from some of Hollywood's top talent, always with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Aside from the bad puns that have always been a hallmark of Rocky and Bullwinkle, all the stuff you'd expect is here. The movie plays a bit more for kids than adults, but it's a cute, happy movie , and the characterizations of Boris and Natasha by Jason Alexander and Rene Russo are dead on, and Robert DeNiro is down right funny as Fearless Leader, even going so far as to parody TAXI DRIVER's "are you talking to me?" mono- logue. The DVD is loaded with lots of goodies, including the trailer, DVD-ROM games, a "Spotlight On Location" feature, and audio commentary by the director. The menus unfortunately, are static and boring, which one cannot help but feel was a wasted opportunity.
THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE - AKIRA - In 1988 AKIRA defined the cutting edge of animation and science fiction. By today's standards, it suffers mightily from age. It still looks good, but not great, and the plot--involving a motorcycle gang who gets caught up in a military experiment on psychic powers in children--never really gels together and is quite frankly boring. But it is a landmark film, and it is a modern classic. The DVD release from Pioneer gives us a widescreen THX transfer, the original Japanese dialogue track with English subtitles or an English track, and a "capsule option" which sounds cool but only translates the background graffiti into English. All in all a very disappointing disc for such a landmark film. There was a special edition released in a metal collector's tin, but it was produced in a very small quantity and was unavailable for us to review at this time. We'll keep looking.
AKIRA - Film - ALIENS (SPECIAL EDITION) - You all know the story. Picked up after 60 years floating in space after an alien creature attacked and killed the crew of the Nostromo, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is called back to colony LV-426 to confront the alien menace, this time accompanied by a squad of kick ass, take no prisoners marines lead by Michael Biehn. And of course, the Aliens proceed to eat them.James Cameron's second film is arguably one of his best, and still holds up after repeated veiwings. While the first ALIEN is scary and suspenseful, ALIENS is pretty much wall to wall action, and the special edition includes 17 minutes of restored footage. All the material on the DVD is the same as the material on the Laserdisc box set, but it's a little easier (and more fun) to access thanks to the very cool menus. It includes an interview with Cameron, Still photos, behind the scenes footage, plus the added attraction of being remastered by THX. Sadly, there is no audio commentary, but this is still a must have!
ALIENS (SPECIAL EDITION) - ALMOST FAMOUS - Cameron Crowe's masterful script based on his own experiences as a writer for Rolling Stone takes us back to the seventies for what one character describes as "the death throes of rock n roll." Maybe not the death of rock, but certainly a turning point. Indeed, if AMERICAN GRAFFITI is a coming of age movie about the adolescence of rock, ALMOST FAMOUS is a coming of age movie about rock's late teenage years. It's post Beatles, pre disco as William, a young fifteen year old writer joins the band Stillwater on tour, with three directions: don't make friends with the band, be objective and truthful in your writing, and don't take drugs. The last coming from his angst ridden mother, played with devilish delight by Frances McDormand. William of course, manages to break all the rules, (well, maybe not the drugs one, although he had to get some second hand smoke) as he falls in love with a "Band-Aid" (Kate Hudson) and sees America. His one and only desire is to get his interview and go home, but soon finds his place on the bus, among the band. As Hudson says, "You ARE home." The film is filled with great performances from relative up and comers including Jason Lee of View Askew fame, Goldie Hawn's daughter Hudson (boy does she look and act like Mom!), and Billy Crudup. The movie is a touching portrait of rock, and while some have delved more deeply (VH1's Behind the Music series) and others more in-depth (THE DOORS) it is this film that manages to recapture the special feelings associated with the phenomenon of rock-and-roll. Indeed, one of the film's most touching moments mirrors one I had myself, when William discovers his sister's collection of what are now considered classic albums: Zeppelin II, Pet Sounds, Frampton, etc.... The first time I went through my Dad's vinyl was just as magical a moment, and Crowe understands this. Where were Academy members when this came out??? This was one of the best films of the year. The DVD is another good one from Dreamworks, with a making of documentary, in depth cast BIOS, audio commentary, even a Stillwater music video for "Fever Dog" which features prominently in the film. Kinda boring menus keep this one from being tops, but it's still solid.
ALMOST FAMOUS - ALONG CAME A SPIDER - Detective Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman, reprising the role from KISS THE GIRLS) is lured out of retirement by a brilliant criminal who kidnaps a senator's young daughter. Teamed with a Secret Service agent (Monica Potter) the pair follow a trail of clues leading to a stunning discovery. This is a good suspense thriller that is actually a might tame compared with earlier offerings like HANNIBAL and even KISS THE GIRLS. But what keeps this film smoldering is Morgan Freeman. The man is phenomenal. Every nuance, every action is carefully thought out and plotted behind those wonderful eyes of his before it appears on the screen. Michael Wincott further cements his position as one of the best bad guys around (Although he looks almost naked without his trademark jet black hair.) The match up between his character and Freeman's Cross is an epic battle of brains, just as it should be. The rest of the supporting cast does just that: They support Freeman--who recently stated in a Charlie Rose interview that he loves the character of Cross since he's a thinking man, sort of like a modern day Sherlock Holmes. With SPIDER's $84 million box office take, Paramount loves the character too, and will soon bring another of James Patterson's novels to the screen. The DVD is the standard substandard offering from Paramount, containing only the trailer and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
ALONG CAME A SPIDER - ANGEL EYES - J. Lo stars as a cop afraid to show her feminine side, Jim Caviezel is a mystery man who saves her from a brutal shooting. They begin to fall in love, but is either of them ready for this relationship? I have to admit, I thought I had this one all figured out fifteen minutes into it. Turns out I was only half right, but that was because I was giving the movie WAY too much credit for being clever. Turns out there is nothing interesting happening here, it's just a little movie about two scarred people falling in love. Okay but not great. Both Lopez and Caviezel are better than this.With only audio commentary, and cast and crew BIOS accessed by boring static menus, Warner Bros. didn't put much here to entice us, but that's their standard M.O.
ANGEL EYES - ARMAGEDDON (Criterion Collection) - An asteroid the size of Texas hurtles towards Earth, NASA launches a group of misfit oil drillers lead by Bruce Willis to blow it up. Movies really don't get much better than this! Despite complaints from many about Michael Bay's directional style of fast moving, LOUD movies big on bangs and shallow on substance, (see THE ROCK and BAD BOYS) I say this is his best film. Criterion, no strangers to classics, apparently agree with me. Why else would they lavish this movie with such a great collector's set? The two disc pack includes a director's cut of the movie, two audio commentary tracks, a blooper reel, more deleted scenes, storyboards, special FX analysis, trailers and teasers, the Aerosmith music video "I don't want to miss a thing" with band member interviews, and comments from NASA officials, who were heavily consulted during the making of this movie. The extra footage in the director's cut helps the movie gel just a bit better, and the rest of the extras just plain rock. Add this one to your Christmas list, it's a MUST OWN!
ARMAGEDDON -
THE ART OF WAR - Every time I see a preview for a new Wesley Snipes movie, I inwardly groan, and think to myself. Why bother. The last few Snipes movies I have seen have actually been very good, and this one was no exception. Here, he plays an undercover agent working for the United Nations, performing covert impossible missions against the rest of the world to get them to play nice. All that changes when a Chinese diplomat is killed just before signing a trade agree- ment and Snipes is set up to take the fall. He escapes custody and goes in search of the real killer.The action scenes are tight and exciting, the plot moves along well and the film has a great supporting cast including Michael Biehn, Anne Archer and Donald Sutherland. Unfortunately, the DVD is a little skimpy, with just the trailer and a very boring menu screen.
THE ART OF WAR - ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE - Young Milo Thatch (voiced by Michael J. Fox) is a linguist who believes he has discovered the key to finding the lost city of Atlantis. A mysterious benefactor who knew is grandfather and is “settling a bet” outfits an expedition to search for and find the lost city. What they discover, no one could have predicted. One part STARGATE, one part JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, ATLANTIS is a fun action movie from Disney, a studio well known for family adventures. But not in the realm of animation, where musical comedies have been their trademark. ATLANTIS looks and feels like a Jules Verne novel brought to life (think 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA) with squared off animation that doesn’t exactly look great, but is perfect for this kind of story. Top notch voice talent as usual, including Leonard Nimoy, James Gardner, John Mahoney, David Ogden Stiers, Claudia Christian, Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci himself), and the late, great Jim Varney. The problem is they never really take advantage of what a great concept this is. For example: they introduce The Ulysses, a very cool Nautilus type submarine to get to Atlantis, and then blow it up ten minutes into the movie. And the end seems a bit rushed. Like they could have used another half an hour to play with. Bottom line, it’s an animated Disney film. Of course it’s good. But it’s not great. The DVD includes several features like both widescreen and Pan-&-Scan versions of the film, THX mastering, “How to Speak Atlantian” language lesson with creator Marc Orkland (also responsible for Star Trek’s Klingon language), Disneypedia full of interesting factoids, and more. The 2 disc collector’s edition includes everything above and audio commentary, a full length behind the scenes documentary on the making of the film, DVD-ROM content, and more. ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE -Film -  DVD - Special Edition DVD - 
AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME - With the anouncement that Mike Meyers just signed a twenty five-million dollar deal to return as the suave secret agent in a third installment, I thought it apporpiate to turn back to the mega hit from 1997. (Yes, it was that long ago.) The first Austin Powers was a great, funny movie, but didn't reach it's cult audience until it appeared on video. When Austin 2 was released, it racked up 210 milion dollars box office by surpassing the original in almost every way. Sure, they recycle some jokes and sight gags, but what sequel doesn't? Dr. Evil travels back in time to 1969 to steal Austin's mojo, thus ending the agent's ability to stop him. Austin teams up with CIA agent Shagwell (Heather Graham) to stop the madman, and his deranged clone, Mini-me. The DVD includes 20 minutes of deleted sceens (most of which we are glad were cut) audio comentary from director Jay Roach and Mike Meyers, a behind the scenes Documentary, 3 music videos, 4 trailers (including one from the first Austin) and an "Easter Egg" Hidden featrues that takes you to a hidden page of Dr. Evil Features including Comedy Central's Canned Ham: The Dr. Evil Story, a breakdown of other 60's secret agents and thier adventures and more. Groovy, Baby!
AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME -
AUTUMN IN NEW YORK - Richard Gere and Winonna Rider star in this sappy, depressing, predictable May-December romance which throws every conceivable cliche at us. The actors do well in their parts, but aren't given much to work with. Gere in particular does an effective job acting, but there are a few scenes when it appears he's board with the subject.
AUTUMN IN NEW YORK -
BASIC INSTINCT - This is the one that redefined erotic cinema. A blonde bombshell, a burned out cop. Sex and murder. Cheap thrills abound in Paul Verhoven's stylish Hichcockian suspense thriller, full of explicit reasons to send the kids to bed early. Sharon Stone was born to play this part, and Michael Douglas does the best of his "cowering males in distress from powerful women" roles here. The problem is it may be too tawdry. Yes, it pushes the envelope of artistic vision, but at the same time, it seems almost like exploitation. But if there is one thing Verhoven is good at, it's sex and violence. Look at his track record: ROBOCOP, SHOWGIRLS, HOLLOW MAN, TOTAL RECALL, STARSHIP TROOPERS. All sex and violence. Don't get me wrong, he's good at it, but sometimes a sex and violence filled thriller looses it's effectiveness for that very reason. The Artisan DVD features audio commentary, a photo gallery, "Blonde Poison" documentary, "Cleaning Up Basic Instinct" a montage comparing the TV version to the film, storyboard comparisons, the trailer, cast and crew BIOS and more. All in all rather skimpy for a special edition release. Boring menus also. The so called "ice case" is cool packaging, but murder to open without harming the disc. One of those "looked good on paper" ideas. BUYER BEWARE! Artisan has also released both the theatrical cut, and the racier director's cut that restores cut footage deemed too explicit. If you're gonna buy it, buy the director's cut with all the extra sex and nudity, because really, that's what this film is all about.
BASIC INSTINCT - BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER - Thank God for the animation department at Warner Bros. for single handedly saving the Batman franchise. If I had my druthers, there would be no more live action Batman movies and we'd go animated all the way. For the un-enlightened, BATMAN BEYOND is a new animated series set in the future. Bruce Wayne is an old man who has given up the reins of being Batman to Terry Mcginness, a young punk from the streets. With the help of a state-of-the-art suit, the two continue to save Gotham from the forces of evil. Very cool. In this movie, the clown prince of crime returns for one of the most intense andclimatic battles with Batman ever. I can honestly say this is the most adult Batman storyline I've ever seen, movie or otherwise. That's not to say kids wont enjoy it, they will, but adults should get into this one very easily. It's hands down a great film, with great animation, and a great, great over the top performance from Mark Hamill (yep. Luke Skywalker himself) as the voice of the Joker. The DVD from Warner Brothers is well meaning, and it does have some really cool features. Unfortunately all it does is wet the appetite. There’s audio commentary by the filmmakers, a behind-the-scenes documentary (in which Hamill is absent), animation tests, animated character BIOS, the music video “Crash” by Mephisto Odyssey featuring Static X, a deleted scene, and DVD-ROM content. Quite a bit by Warner’s standards, but there could have been much, much, more. BATMAN BEYOND - Film -
BATTLEFIELD EARTH - Boy, what can be said about this one. L. Ron Hubbard's book of the same title is great science fiction, and was recently voted as the best science fiction book ever written. The movie, by contrast ... uh, sucks. I'd heard all the bad press going into this, but tried to keep an open mind. 30 minutes in I was sold on the press. In the year 3000, John Travolta plays an evil alien, one of many who have taken over the Earth and force what little human population remains to perform slave labor. Travolta does a good job beneath all the make up, but the pacing of the film suffers from the fact the book had over 1000 pages to extrapolate details. The look of the film, despite being helmed by a second unit director from STAR WARS also is nothing to write home about, and is actually quite amateurish. (For artistic reasons? There are no even shots in the film. Everything is filmed at an angle, a la the old Batman TV series.) On top of all this, most of the action sequences are "lifted" from other films (including one slow-motion sequence of our hero running through a corridor of exploding concrete, just like the lobby scene in THE MATRIX). Even the scene transitions were stolen from STAR WARS. The DVD fares a little better, giving us a documentary and a few behind the scenes featurettes along with the trailer, but static menus and substandard substance don't really help.I really wanted to like this movie, but unfortunately, didn't. Maybe Battlefield Earth is just one of those "unfilmable" stories... Maybe they just did a piss poor job of it.
BATTLEFIELD EARTH -
BEDAZZLED - Brendan Fraiser is tempted to sell his soul to Elizabeth Hurley's devil. Uh, who wouldn't be tempted? Who wouldn't sell for that matter? Harold Ramis' remake of an old Dudley Moore movie is funny, cute and loaded with--ahem--ample reasons to watch, Hurley being foremost among them. One of the great bits is her character- izations of other people, giving us a whole range of sexy costume changes. A nurse, a cop, a school teacher... DOWN BOY! (Thank God for the DVD freeze frame abilities!) The film suffers a bit from the fact that most of the plot had to be clearly explained in the trailer, and if you saw the trailer, you've seen almost a third of the movie, but it's still a cute comedy, and did I mention Elizabeth Hurley? The DVD features two comentaries, one by director Harold Ramis, and one by Elizabeth Hurley and Trevor Albert, a making of featurette, THX mastering, a still gallery and costume design featurette, and four different menu screens, each based on one of the fantasies.
BEDAZZLED - BEN-HUR - Click here BENNY & JOON - Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) is a little unbalanced, and her sweet nature can give way to odd behavior without warning. She lives with her older, overprotective brother Benny (Aidan Quinn) who has spent his life taking care of her since their parents dies. One night while playing poker, Joon looses her hand and wins Sam (Johnny Depp) a whimsical misfit who soon charms his way into their lives and into her heart. A sensitive, charming, and funny romantic comedy with fine performances and just a touch of drama, BENNY & JOON is one of those perfect little mid-afternoon movies. Costars Julianne Moore, Oliver Platt, and William H. Macy. The MGM DVD features audio commentary, deleted scenes, interesting but very boring costume and make up tests, a stunt reel, theatrical trailer and the Proclaimers music video “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” BENNY & JOON - BIG MAMA'S HOUSE - I'm not a big fan of Martin Lawrence, and this movie plays like a not-nearly-as-funny retread of Mrs. Doubtfire with black actors. There are a few cute moments, and a few funny moments, but on the whole it's a very disappointing movie. Use caution before renting. Basically, BIG MAMA's HOUSE is another good solid DVD from 20th Century Fox. The menu screen is cute, and there are multiple documentaries, covering the making of the film and the extensive make up. Added bonuses include deleted scenes and a blooper reel. If only the movie was this good.
BIG MAMA's HOUSE - BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (SPECIAL EDITION) - John Carpenter's 1986 thrill ride is part Chinese mysticism, part edge-of-your-seat thriller, part special effects laden supernatural sci-fi, and part campy self parody. One can only wonder what the studio was thinking when he came in to pitch the idea to them, and one can only wonder why they greenlit it. But thank heaven they did. BIG TROUBLE is all of these things and more, but above all, it's a lot of fun. Kurt Russell is Jack Burton, a tough-talking, wisecracking blowhard of a truck driver, who gets swept up in a bizarre series of events when his best friend's fiancee is kidnapped. Speeding to the rescue, they wind up confronting a supernatural force beneath San Francisco's Chinatown. The 2 disc DVD is fully loaded, with a beautiful anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby surround, and audio commentary from Carpenter and Russell that is an absolute riot. The second disc contains a bevy of deleted scenes, a behind-the-sceens featurette, still gallery, music video (performed by John Carpenter) trailers and TV spots and more, topped off with really cool 3-D menus. Add this one to your must have list. Best line: Russell as Jack Burton, "I was born ready."
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (SPECIAL EDITION) - BILLY ELLIOT - An 11 year old coal miner’s son (Jamie Bell) develops an interest in ballet during a boxing lession, and finds his life changed forever when he shows a natrual ability for dance. A charming, heart warming story full of laughs and plenty of family drama. I liked this one a lot better than I ever thought I would. Also has one of the best (and best used) soundtracks to come down the pipe in a long while. The DVD features a behind the scenes featurette, and theatrical trailer, but not much else. BILLY ELLIOT Film -
BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE - On an American Air Force base in Japan during the Vietnam War, something dangerous is on the loose, masquerading as a student in the base school. Something deadly. Fortunately, she's on our side, hunting down vampires who have infested the base before they can kill again. A great concept film with fantastic animation, but it's way to short, clocking in at just under an hour. When the confrontation happens on a plane speeding down a runway, you think to yourself "cool, the movie's just kicked into high gear," and then the credits start to roll and you think "what the hell just happened?" Very gory violence. The DVD is a bit on the plain side, containing the original Japanese trailers, "The Making Of Blood" featurette and your choice of either English or Japanese dialogue and/or English subtitles.
BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE - Film -
DVD - BLOW - Johnny Depp IS George Jung, the man who nearly single single-handedly introduced cocaine to the United States. Blow is a very good movie, the problem is it's a typical drug movie. Think back to any film about drugs you've ever seen, and all the same moments are here. George comes from humble but stable family background. George starts selling drugs, makes money. George moves up the ladder, makes more money. George has great idea for cocaine trafficking, makes tons of money. George meets girl of his dreams (Penelope Cruz) who happens to be involved with another gangster. George lives out lavish, extravagant lifestyle, but leads a totally empty emotional life. George falls from grace. George winds up: A) shot to death by cops or B) in jail for the rest of his life for trafficking. That's pretty much it, and it's enough to make you wonder why people get into drugs in the first place. Johnny Depp is brilliant as usual, and Ray Liotta and Paul Reubens give impressive supporting performances. (Academy members take note, Reubens deserves an Oscar nod for Supporting Actor!) The third Infinifilm DVD from New Line is every bit as impressive as it's predecessors. This one includes interview with George Jung, a Fact Track with "pop up" info during the film, audio commentary with director Ted Deme and George Jung, deleted scenes with director commentary, character outtakes, Ted Demme's production diary, teasers and trailers, cast and crew BIOS, Nikka Costa music video "Push and Pull", "Addiction: Body and Soul" Documentary, and "Lost Paradise: Cocaine's Impact On Columbia" Documentary (which oddly enough, is in Spanish with English subtitles.) Top it all off with cool menus, you got a cool disc.
BLOW - BRAVEHEART - Click here BRING IT ON - I liked this one better than I thought I would. The story of two competing cheerleading squads, this is one of those marketed for teens movies that usually I hate. But it does have a lot of humor and fun to it, as well as a good message (usually absent from those teen movies I hate). Like most films of this genre, it's a tad on the raunchy side, but nowhere near as bad as say... AMERICAN PIE. Starring Kirsten Dunst and an ensemble cast of fresh young faces. Enjoyable. (And as a character said, any sport that combines dance, gymnastics and short skirts is okay with me!) The DVD is well stocked, including a cool "Pop up" feature with amusing and interesting facts about the movie called Animated Anecdotes. The disc also includes a Spotlight on Location documentary, audio commentary with the director, deleted scenes, extended scenes, home movies of the car wash scene, Wardrobe and make-up tests, "As If" music video by Blaque, DVD-ROM content, trailers and more. Boring, static menus though, keep this one from being an A+ because they could have done so much more.
BRING IT ON - BOUNCE - Ben Affleck and Gwenneth Paltrow star in a romantic comedy that has as much tragedy and drama as a civil war retrospective on the History Channel. This is not to say the film is not good. It was well written and directed, with good performances and I enjoyed it. But, I usually do not enjoy "dramadys" Those films who advertise themselves as light, romantic comedies that start with an unspeakable tragedy as their plot device to bring two people together for the happy ending. The plot device is old and contrived, and more than a little sick. (The recent RETURN TO ME being the other exception to the rule. Same plot device, but I still liked it.) The ones I like may have more to do with the performances. A good performance can lift a piece of crap film to above Shakespeare if the actors are talented enough. Affleck may not be THAT good, but he and Paltrow have chemistry, and it shows here.The DVD is a 2 disc special edition from Miramax (read DISNEY) that includes audio commentary, deleted scenes, Outtakes, documentary on the making of the movie, a music video--strangely enough, we don't know who is singing since they never flash that MTV ID bar, and it's not listed on the menu screen--as well as a few short featurettes. A great collection of extras for a so-so film. Go figure.
BOUNCE -
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID - One of the most popular westerns ever made, this "true" story based on the lives of the outlaws remains one of the greatest films ever (Number 50 on the AFI's top 100 list) and an Academy Award winner. Combining action, romance, and comedy, this is the ultimate buddy PIC. Paul Newman and Robert Redford display rare chemistry here, paralleled nowhere else in movie history, not even in their follow up THE STING. The Special Edition DVD from Fox is standard good stuff, with a gorgeous anamorphic Widescreen transfer, superb THX sound, animated menus, audio commentary, the trailer, and a 45 minute documentary.Best line: Redford to Newman, after they've blown up an entire box car just trying to open the door: "Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?" Priceless.
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID - CASABLANCA - Click here CAST AWAY - Tom Hanks is Chuck Noland, a FedEx employee who has it all, a fast track career, a loving fiancee, friends and family who care for him. All of that is ripped away when a plane crash leaves him stranded on a remote island. As he struggles to survive, he finds his personal journey has only begun. Hanks gives a towering performance considering he's acting opposite a volleyball for over half the movie. It's fascinating to see a time conscious character like Noland stranded where time is meaningless, and his efforts to survive are not only physical, but mental as well. Having said that, Hanks did not deserve the Oscar nod for this film. Don't get me wrong, I like him and he did well, but he's become the academy poster boy, nominated for the sake of being nominated. Like Hank's performance, CAST AWAY is full of great moments, but doesn't really live up to the hype. Robert Zemeckis has carved out a niche for himself among the great directors of our time (see BACK TO THE FUTURE, CONTACT, FORREST GUMP, and WHAT LIES BENEATH) but this outing seems almost formulated, like they knew it would be a hit, and so just gave us the technical specs of a film without injecting it with any true emotion. Noland has problems, overcomes them, deals with the aftermath, roll credits. It just didn't work for me. The DVD on the other hand, is DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox, two studios who know a thing or two about putting together special editions. This is one of the best, with no less than 5 documentaries including an HBO first look, commentary by Zemeckis and crew, a "Charlie Rose Show" interview with Hanks, Dolby DTS, trailers and more.Ultimately, it's a good, but not great movie with an outstanding DVD presentation.
CAST AWAY - CATS & DOGS - You all know of the ongoing war between Cats & Dogs, right? Well, it goes WAY beyond what you think. This cute family film stars Jeff Goldblum as a scientist working on a cure for dog allergies. The cats lead by the diabolical Mr. Tinkles, fear if he succeeds, the balance of power will shift to the dogs, so they launch a plan to stop him from producing the formula. Standing in the way of their plans for world conquest are Man's best friend, the dog agents. A cute and funny family film that supports everything we always suspected about the animal kingdom: Dogs are smart and loyal, cats are evil and stupid. Hope that doesn't give away which side I'm rooting for. The movie features lots of cool effects as the critters go all James Bond on each other, a few really funny scenes that inspire machine gun laughter, and a great voice cast including Toby Maguire, Charlton Heston, John Lovitz, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, and Sean Hayes. Unfortunately, the DVD isn't so cute. Warner Brothers has really screwed the pooch here, because the disc is loaded with extras. First off, there are 2 menu screens, one for Cat people, one for Dog people. (each contain virtually the same features, but look for extra goodies)! You get audio commentary, 2 behind-the-scenes documentaries including an HBO first look, storyboard comparisons, the trailer, trivia challenge, DVD-ROM content and more! But Warner has committed the cardinal sin. The movie is in Pan-&-Scan. A very cool disc suddenly becomes a why bother? I'd like to grade it an F on general principles, but that wouldn't be fair, so it gets a D-
CATS & DOGS - THE CELL - When a serial killer has a seizure and falls into a coma, only a gifted child psychologist and a fantastic new technology can enter his mind to find his current victim, but time is running out. Starring Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn and Vincent D'Orinfino THE CELL plays like LAWNMOWER MAN and SEVEN were thrown into a blender and someone hit puree'. It's dark and foreboding, has great visual effects and a decent story. The acting is great, I'm becoming a bigger fan of Vince Vaughn with every film. But the movie itself seemed a little sub-par. Nothing I can put my finger on, even after letting it sit a month. I'll have to get back to you on that one. The DVD includes several deleted scenes (a few should have been left in the movie to clarify things). A featurette and a psychological test "just for fun." Uh-huh, right.
THE CELL - CHARLIE'S ANGELS - Two words come to mind to describe this one. Chester Cheetah. You know, the animated spokesman for Cheetoes Cheese Puffs? Why him? Because this film is CHEESE!!!!! Utter cheese! Now, cheese is not necessarily a bad thing. (Remember, I'm the guy who thinks FLASH GORDON rocks.) Just don't expect a big "serious" action film, cause you'll be really disappointed. If there was ever an example of a "turn your brain off" movie, this is it. CHARLIE'S ANGELS is sexy, loud, campy fun, just like the series it's based on. Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz play the newest incarnations of the Angels, who can still seduce any man on the planet, then kick his ass. The plot is--okay, who are we kidding? There is no plot. Well, there seems to have been an attempt at a plot, but then the director and producers realized they had Barrymore, Liu and Diaz on screen at the same time and figured, "ah, screw it!" Again, no complaints here.But the film's brightest spot has got to be Bill Murray as Bosley. He waltzes through the movie enhancing his every seen with "Bill-isms" (a term developed and reserved for him and Shatner). There is also a host of other cameo appearances, including Matt Le Blanc, Tom Green, and Tim Curry. The DVD may actually have more substance to it than the movie, with audio commentary, several music videos, several behind the scenes featurettes and cool menus to keep it all together. Turn off you brain, have fun.
CHARLIE'S ANGELS - CHICKEN RUN - From the Academy Award winning creators of Wallace & Gromit comes a remake of THE GREAT ESCAPE, only with Chickens in place of the WWII G.I.S. This Claymation (not sure if I can used that term anymore, since most of the characters are plasticine, not clay) movie is a technical marvel. The attention to detail is astounding, from the backdrops to the character expressions. Funny for both Kids and Adults, it truly warrants a place in your collection. Stars the voice of Mel Gibson as a circus Rooster who, after being shot out of a cannon, is mistaken by the inhabitants of an English chicken farm that he can fly. He agrees to help them fly the coop, but time is running out before the farm's owners turn them all into Chicken Pot Pies! The Special Edition DreamWorks DVD is loaded with goodies, including audio commentary from directors Nick Park and Peter Lord, DVD-ROM content, two featurettes on the making of Chicken Run, trailers, production notes, hidden surprises, cast and crew BIOS, and my personal favorite, the panic button. When selected, it cuts to a shot of the chickens screaming in panic. A riot.
CHICKEN RUN - CHOCOLAT - Chocolat is the sensual story of a gypsy woman who comes to a small French village in the 40's and opens an unusual chocolate shop that has quite an impact on the tranquil town. As the citizens begin to warm to her confections, they discover for themselves the joys of temptation and happiness. Nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, this is another one of those Academy Odd Balls. It is a good movie. I would even go so far as to say it is a great movie. But is it really one of the five best films of the year? No. But having said that, it is enjoyable. It's a happy movie, full of touching moments and lightheartedness. The DVD has commentary with the director and producers, deleted scenes, Dolby 5.1 surround, "The Making Of Chocolat" Documentary, and a featurette for both costumes, and production design.
CHOCOLAT - THE CONTENDER - Attention all Academy Members! Where were you when this film came out? This one should have been nominated for Best film of the year! THE CONTENDER is a political thriller starring Joan Allen as a Vice-Presidential apointee under scrutiny from a "moral" Senator played with absolute brilliance by Gary Oldman (who also produced the film) over an alleged sexual scandal while in college. This film perfectly encapsulates the political shenanigans that go on inside the Beltway known as Washington, and the media frenzy that feeds off them. Released to theatres just in time to see the scandle-ridden Clintons leaving office, the film's premise probably struck a nerve with a public tired of the whole thing, and should have perfomed better. Discover it now on video and DVD for what it is, a brilliant movie with outstanding perfomances. The DVD is another fine example of Dreamworks putting together a "complete" disc. Unlike a lot of other studios (Warner Bros and Paramont come to mind) Dreamworks doesn't skimp on content. THE CONTENDER has audio comentary, complete and extensive cast and crew bios, a documentary, theatrical trailers and more.
THE CONTENDER - COYOTE UGLY - Okay, in an earlier review of GONE IN 60 SECONDS, I mentioned that any Jerry Bruckheimer produced film would be great. I may have to retract that statement. COYOTE UGLY is a good movie, but it's just not a great movie. Kinda like 54, it's a movie about a bar. But there are so many characters going on that have their little problems, the bar kinda gets lost in the background. Our main character moves from New Jersey to New York to become a singer, but has a really bad case of stage fright every time she steps up to the mic. Enter the bar Coyote Ugly, where there are no inhibitions. Bartenders (all good ooking women) dance on the bar, light it on fire, douse themselves with water, spray down the crowd, play loud, rocking music, and sponsor striptease contests. All this helps her overcome her stage fright -- uh, yeah. The film was criticized for exploiting women and pandering to a male audience, but despite all this beautiful female flesh, this is a girl movie about empowerment. Truth be told, there really isn't enough female flesh to pander to a male audience. The big bright spot in the film is John Goodman, who plays our lead's long suffering toll booth working father. A great performance. All in all COYOTE UGLY is a predictable, kinda slow moving romance movie, with just enough excitement thrown in to try and make it more appealing. Ho-hum.
COYOTE UGLY - CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON - Every society has their mythology stories. America's almost certainly is the western, in which good guys wear white and the villains wear black, the shoot out is at high noon, and good always triumphs over evil after rescuing the girl. Crouching Tiger is a Chinese western. It has all those same elements, but mixed in are ancient mysticism, sword fights, and true love. There's a lot of Star Wars in here, just as Star Wars borrowed heavily from films like THE SEVEN SAMURAI.Winner of 4 academy awards, Crouching Tiger has to be seen to be believed. Set against the backdrop of 19th century China, a stolen sword sends two master warriors (Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat) up against an old enemy, who's young protegee soon reveals her superior fighting talents. The fight sequences alone are worth the ride. The DVD is lavish, with cool menus, commentary by director Ang Lee (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY), BRAVO making-of special: Unleashing the Dragon, a conversation with Michelle Yeoh featurette, photo montage, cast and crew BIOS and more. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles for the purist, but also has a English dubbed audio track if you don't want to read for two hours.
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON - THE CUTTING EDGE - A prima donna figure skater without a partner (Moira Kelly) must team up with a recently injured out of hope hockey player (D.B. Sweeney) for a run at an Olympic gold medal. But will they kill each other before they fall in love? Totally predictable, and totally enjoyable. Call this one a guilty pleasure. Opposites attract stories have been done before and will be done again, but this one is just a great little movie. Good performances (especially Terry O'Quinn as Kate's father) and a rocking soundtrack keep this one trucking along. It also makes for the perfect end for the winter Olympics. The MGM DVD is very skimpy, with just the trailer for an extra. THE CUTTING EDGE - Film -
THE DARK CRYSTAL - Jim Henson will be remembered for many things, but THE DARK CRYSTAL remains his crowning achievement. Jen, the last Gelfling, must fulfill the prophecy of healing the Crystal and destroying the Skeksis' evil empire, uniting them with the peaceful Mystics. But the great conjunction of the three suns approaches, and if Jen fails, darkness will reign forever. A masterful live-action fantasy starring all manner of marionettes, muppets and puppets who weave a timeless myth of Good vs. Evil. The film has great pedigree--based on a story by Henson, directed by Henson and Frank Oz (LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS) and produced by Gary Kurtz (STAR WARS)--and lives up to it. To this day, the film remains a one-of-a-kind marvel.The special edition DVD is just as loaded, with a sharp Widescreen transfer, making of documentary, deleted scenes, original work prints with the Skeksis' language, the trailer, character drawings and profiles, talent BIOS and more. A must have!
THE DARK CRYSTAL - DINOSAUR - Disney has taken live action backdrops and added computer animated dinosaurs to create an exhilarating looking movie. Unfortunately, the plot is a meld of TARZAN and THE LAND BEFORE TIME, and is not very original. Kids should enjoy this, although some parts may be too intense for younger viewers. (DINOSAUR earned a PG rating.) Adults will find enough to keep them occupied, but that's about it. The DVD has several entertaining and informative extras and documentaries on the special effects, a dino identification section and a game. Simple, but cool looking menus bring it all together.
DINOSAUR - DIRTY DANCING (Collector's Edition) - You all know (or should know) the story of Baby (Jennifer Grey), a young and somewhat awkward young lady vacationing in the Catskills with her family, who falls in love with a resort dance instructor (Patrick Swayze). The film was an instant classic upon it's release in 1987, and despite repeated viewings on TBS, the film remains an eternal love story, due mostly in part, to the chemistry between Swayze and Grey. But I would be remiss in my review if I did not mention the music. DIRTY DANCING is loaded with it, good stuff too. The soundtrack sold five million copies in the first five weeks, and leapfrogged over Michael Jackson's BAD into the number one spot. Ultimately, a second soundtrack was released, the first time in history two soundtracks from the same film cracked the top ten. Filled with old classics and new "emotionally old" songs, the film has a beat all it's own. Play any piece of the four big hits and people will instantly recall where the songs originated from. The DVD is truly a collector's edition, containing a behind the scenes featurette, 3 music videos, audio commentary, the trailer, cast & crew BIOS, and DIRTY DANCING "Live in Concert" This ranks up there with the best MUST OWNS.
DIRTY DANCING - DRIVEN - When a rookie Indy cart driver (Kip Pardue) begins to loose his edge and focus, the team owner (Burt Reynolds) calls a talented veteran driver (Sylvester Stallone) out of retirement to help guide the kid. Full of cliché pieces like an unneeded romance between the rookie and his top rival's girlfriend, the movie could have very easily become so much fluff. But there is a spirit of DAYS OF THUNDER here. (Actually, it’s DAYS OF THUNDER Light. Or maybe Fat Free) and the narrative thread holds together long enough for you to enjoy the spectacular race footage. Director Renny Harlin (DEEP BLUE SEA) directs, shooting at cart races around the world and augmenting the live action with some brilliant digital effects. Depicting speed on film can be tricky, and disastrous if not handled right, but Harlin pulls off the illusion. One problem is the sound mix. Music plays through most of the movie, obscuring a good chunk of the dialogue. Is this a film problem or a DVD problem? Not sure, but I sure wish I could have heard what was said. Other than that, a solid, enjoyable movie... if there's nothing better on the shelf. The Warner DVD is more loaded than most, with audio commentary by Harlin, additional scenes with commentary by Stallone, "The Making Of DRIVEN" documentary, "Conquering Speed Through Live Action And Visual Effects" featurette, the trailer, and more, but the same standard static Warner Brothers menus.
DRIVEN - DR. DOLITTLE - Eddie Murphy is the man who can talk to animals in this wacky comedy with an all-star voice cast including Chris Rock, John Leguizamo, Norm MacDonald, Albert Brooks, Garry Shandling, and Ellen DeGeneres Some of the bits are laugh out loud funny, most are so-so. Murphy has done better, and lacks the charm of Rex Harrison, who originated the role. Lots of more raunchy humor prevents the movie from being family friendly, (it IS rated PG-13) but nonetheless is mischievous fun. One of a handful of disappointing DVDs from 20th Century Fox, extras include the trailer. Big whoop.
DR. DOLITTLE - DR. DOLITTLE 2 - John Dolittle is back, still talking to the animals and getting into trouble. This time out he's helping save a forest full of woodland creatures with the help of a dancing bear (voiced by Steve Zahn). Laughable and enjoyable, this sequel is actually better than the first and is a highly enjoyable family film. They've toned down the raunchy quite a bit to earn a PG rating this time out, but Murphy is still Murphy--meaning funny things will happen. The voice cast is top notch including Estelle Warren, Lisa Kudrow, Jerry Stiller, and the returning Norm MacDonald. Fun fluff. Billed as a "Special Edition" DVD, FOX piled on goodies this time out. Audio commentary, extended scenes, an HBO making of documentary, "A Kids Guide To Grizzlies," trailers, storyboard to film comparisons, "Wild On The Set" featurette, and the Product G&B with Wyclef music video "Cluck Cluck".
DR. DOLITTLE 2 -
DUETS - Hewy Lewis, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti, Andre Braugher, Scott Speedman, and Maria Bello make up a great ensemble cast on an offbeat road trip to the national Karaoke championship and $5,000. Its a cute, sometimes dramatic, sometimes hilarious, uplifting story with great performances, and definitely worth a watch. The DVD includes audio commentary from director Bruce Paltrow (Gwyn's dad), additional scenes, a mulit-angle music video for "Crusin" by Hewy Lewis and Gwen, the trailer and a series of conversations with Bruce Paltrow. Boring menus.
DUETS - DUNGEONS & DRAGONS - Jeremy Irons is Profion, a diabolical mage who plots to take over the Kingdom, Thora Birch is the Empress Savina who fights to return power to the people and bring peace. Sounds good, but they are supporting characters. Unfortunately, the movie is about Snails (an annoyingly miss-cast Marlon Wayans) and Ridley, who quest for a magical artifact while perused by Profion's minions. A special effects extravaganza that never gets off the ground, flounders for and hour and half, and finally comes to a stupid, predictable conclusion, D&D is a collection of half-baked ideas. For example, a dwarf (who remains nameless and motiveless for the whole film) joins our hero's quest, and there is dialogue about how fierce a fighter a dwarf can be. But he does nothing through the whole movie. Finally, at the end he attacks Profion, only to be knocked out by one lighting blast from the wizard. If he's not going to advance the story, and serves no purpose, why introduce him? Jeremy Irons is a great actor with an Oscar to prove it. But he chews more than scenery here. He daftly treads on his fans respect by staring (poorly) in such a crap movie. As I sat in bewilderment though most of the film, I wondered if I had played D&D in my younger years if I would have liked the movie more, or been even more pissed off over how bad it was. The Platinum Series DVD from New Line is a puzzle in itself. Why waste this kind of lavishing on crap? Nevertheless, it has two audio commentaries, two documentaries, deleted scenes (which do NOT improve the movie) and a special effects deconstruction.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS - EL MARIACHI / DESPERADO "Director's Double Feature" - Robert Rodiguez burst on to the film scene with EL MARIACHI, about a guitar player forced to trade his guitar in for a gun after a case of deadly mistaken identity. Winner at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, the film is violent fun, and shows what $3000 and 14 days of filming can do.DESPERADO is a more polished, studio version of the independent film. Technically a sequel, it stars Antonio Banderas as the guitar case full of guns toting Maricachi, out for revenge against the men who murdered his girlfriend. But the real star of DESPERADO are the action sequences, which are a blast of creative energy.The DVD is a great set, both films are offered in widescreen, with director's audio commentary (one film on each side). Also included are trailers, multi-language subtitles, the documentaries "10 Minute Film School" and "10 More Minutes... Anatomy of a Shootout" as well as Rodriguez's multi-award winning short film "Bedhead". The static menus keep this from being an A.
EL MARIACHI - Film - THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE - If Disney knows anything, it's how to make funny animated buddy pictures. This one borrows quite a bit from other sources, but in a nutshell, a spoiled rotten Emperor (voiced by David Spade) has his eye on converting a peaceful hill top village into his own vacation bungalow. His royal adviser (voiced by Ertha Kitt) schemes to kill him and place herself on the throne. But her concoction goes wrong and instead turns him into a llama. Now the emperor must rely on the peasant (voiced by John Goodman) he wantsto evict to help him reclaim the kingdom and discover the kindness in his heart. Pure and simple, this is a fun movie. Full of contemporary humor for adults and kids alike, it's fast paced and very funny. Disney films have covered the gambit of emotion the last decade, from heavy drama like BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and THE LION KING to action adventures like ATLANTIS. All have had elements of humor, but this is the first flat out comedy they've done. Spade and Goodman are a wonderful vocal team, and the supporting characters are great, especially Cronk (voiced by Patrick Warburton), who steals every scene he's in. Check this one out, it's worth the watch. The DVD features the widescreen version of the movie, three behind the scenes featurettes, two music videos, a deleted scene (that deserved to be left out. More disturbing than funny) audio commentary by the animation team, cute animated menus, a trivia game, and DVD-ROM features. But if you really wanna get your grove on, try “The Ultimate Groove: 2 Disc Collector's Edition.” Disc one is nearly identical to the single disc version, but disc two contains a plethora of additional features, including a fast paced behind-the-scenes tour of how a modern Disney animated film is made from the start of the development process all the way though to publicity for the release. The tour can be watched all as one feature, or broken down into individual segments. Also THX certified. Best lines: Cussco to Pasha, floating down river tied to a log after a sequence of events that has to be seen to be believed. "Don't tell me, we're about to go over a huge waterfall." "Yep." "Sharp rocks at the bottom?" "Most likely." "Bring it On. Booyah!!!!"
THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE - Film - ENEMY AT THE GATES - In 1942 Russia, the Nazi war machine cuts a path of destruction through the Motherland to Stalingrad. The battle for the city drags on for months. If Stalingrad falls, the rest of the country will collapse. The line must be drawn here. Enter Joseph Fiennes, a political officer who comes up with the idea of giving the soldiers hope by giving them a hero. He chooses sniper Jude Law, who begins to cut down German officers with amazing speed and accuracy. As his legend grows, and as more and more Germans are cut down by his riffle, the Nazi's send for their own legendary sharpshooter (Ed Harris) to combat him. What starts as a slam bang war movie slowly and subtly evolves into a protracted duel between the two sharpshooters, each hunting the other as the battle for Stalingrad rages around them. Ed Harris once again shows why he is one of Hollywood's greatest actors with this powerhouse performance. Jude Law and Joseph Fiennes are well paired, Rachel Weisz is the suitably strong and sexy female lead, and Bob Hoskins pulls off a convincing performance as Nikita Khrushchev. Based on a true story and beautifully filmed and acted, ENEMY AT THE GATES is a brilliant piece of film making, and definitely worth a look. One other thing about ENEMY AT THE GATES. The stiring score composed by James Horner appears to once again have been canablized from two of his other scores, most notably STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, and APOLLO 13. James, knock it off already. You're a great composer. Compose.... The DVD is better than most Paramount offerings, but still not great. Some additional scenes, trailer and 2 behind-the-scenes featurettes round out the extras topped off with simple but cool menus.
ENEMY AT THE GATES - EVOLUTION - When a meteorite crashes on Earth and brings alien life forms with it, a pair of science teachers (David Duchovny and Orlando Jones) must fight off teams of government agents including Julianne Moore to keep credit for the find. But when the aliens being rapidly evolving and threaten to take over the planet, they team up with a goofball aspiring fireman (Sean William Scott) to stop the menace. At first glance, EVOLUTION is a mildly amusing enjoyable sci-fi comedy, worthy of a B grade or so. But watch it more than once, and you begin to see the genius of Ivan Reitman. Orlando Jones is not my favorite comedian in the world, but here he isn't playing Orlando Jones for a change, and he and Duchovny have real chemistry together. The interplay between them alone is worth watching the film for. And Dan Akroyd makes a cameo as the governor of Arizona. True, the film is not on par with Reitman's more famous effort GHOSTBUSTERS, but it works in all the same places and inspires silly giggles for an hour and a half. Watch it again, and the jokes just seem to keep getting funnier. Like the aliens in the story, it grows on you. The DreamWorks DVD is a solid, yet less than stellar effort. Special features include deleted scenes, storyboards, a visual effects featurette, and a conversation with Reitman, Duchovny, Jones and Scott. They could have done better. Best line: Jones to Scott as they hunt a flying dinosaur-like alien in a mall and Scott tries to lure it out with bird calls: "Wayne, I think we've established k-caw k-caw and tookie tookie don't work."
EVOLUTION - EXIT WOUNDS - Steven Segal and DMX team up to expose police corruption in this standard action thriller from producer Joel Silver. Silver's films used to be revolutionary, but now they're all about formula. His last hit teamed up an action star (Jet Li) and a music star (Allyia) in ROMEO MUST DIE. That formula proved successful, so he does it again here, with Segal and DMX. He even reunites many of the same elements from ROMEO MUST DIE, including most of the supporting cast. What's surprising is how effective that is. This is a fairly good, effective movie, but Silver has done better. This one also adds Tom Arnold, who is funny, but here it seems like he's playing a rip on his character from TRUE LIES. Segal seems able to laugh at himself now, which makes for some humorous scenes. (Like when the police department sentences him to anger management classes.) Segal hasn't lost his touch, although the movie taints his Aikido performance with doses of wire work and Kung Fu, which is a shame because Segal is renowned for Aikido. All his previous martial arts work was real. Worth a watch if nothing better is up for grabs. The DVD includes a behind-the-sceens documentary, theatrical trailer, a day on the set with Anthony Anderson, and DMX's music video "No Sunshine."
EXIT WOUNDS - FANTASIA (60th Anniversary Edition) - 60 years ago Walt Disney's concert feature took pieces of classical music and blended them with unforgettable images of animation. The Nutcracker Suite is represented by winged fairies and cascading snowflakes. The Sorcerer's Apprentice is the classic Mickey Mouse comedy of errors. Dance Of The Hours features ballet performing hippos. Where else can you get all this? FANTASIA was always meant to be a returning feature, with new segments every few years, but despite it's artistic brilliance and critical acclaim, did not perform well at the box office, so those plans were shelved. This DVD for the first time returns FANTASIA to it's full uncut beauty and glory, and it's about time.Let's be honest hear. FANTASIA is a technical marvel, but it's boring. So much of the music is beyond us simple folk, the animation needs to really draw us into the story of the piece. Most of FANTASIA doesn't do that. It's still one of my favorite films of all time, and I applaud Walt for even attempting something so revolutionary, especially as his second feature, but it's just not one I sit down and watch all the time. Still, if you're going to own it, own it on DVD. The DVD features THX certification of the original uncut widescreen feature, audio commentary by Roy E. Disney, Conductor James Levine and more, Interviews of Walt that span 3 decades, and the making of FANTASIA featurette.
FANTASIA - FANTASIA 2000 - Rarely does a sequel outperform the original so completely. A hearty thanks to Roy Disney for getting the ball rolling on this one nearly 10 years ago. Fantasia 2000 is a marvel, in every way a miracle of sight and sound. The music is fantastic, and includes such compositions as Beethoven's 5th Symphony, Rhapsody in Blue, and Pomp And Circumstance. It seems there was almost a conscious decision to use music more of us would recognize immediately. The animation is gorgeous, and well improved over the last 60 years, (although the computer animation for the Steadfast Tin Soldier segment seems to predate TOY STORY). Overall the film delivers a sense of wonder well beyond the first. (And I'm not knocking the original, but this one is just SO much better.) My only complaint was seeing it in IMAX, which was beyond belief. It's hard to go back to a 27" TV now! Walt's plans to return FANTASIA with new segments every few years were put on indefinite hold until Roy picked up the baton and said now is the time. I am currently holding my breath for the next installment, and hopefully, we won't have to wait another 60 years. A MUST SEE. The DVD features THX certification, audio commentary by Roy E. Disney, Conductor James Levine and Producer Don Ernst, audio commentary by segment directors and art directors, the animated shorts "Melody" and "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" a commemorative booklet, and more.
FANTASIA 2000 - FANTASIA LEGACY - But if you really want to immerse yourself in this wonder of music and animation, the only way to go is the FANTASIA ANTHOLOGY box set, which contains not only both films but a bonus disc THE FANTASIA LEGACY. Split into two sections, one for each film, the disc contains a navigational map for access to both. FANTASIA features include an in-depth breakdown of each segment of the film, "The Special Effects Of FANTASIA", still frame galleries, publicity materials, pencil tests of unused animation, Walt Disney segments, cast and crew BIOS, trailers, the historical content of each musical piece, and most exciting of all, "The FANTASIA That Never Was" a collection of abandoned concepts with animation, story reels and music for 5 more segments! Fascinating stuff.FANTASIA 2000 features include the same, in-depth behind the scenes look at each segment, interviews with the filmmakers, deleted animation, alternate versions, abandoned concepts, publicity materials, historical content of each musical piece, the trailer and more.
FANTASIA ANTHOLOGY DVD BOX SET - FAST AND THE FURIOUS, THE - A turbo charged speeding thriller? A 200 MPH action film? Nah, a fairly effective series of racing footage ruined with a poor attempt at plot. Street racer Vin Diesel owns the sport, and takes newcomer Paul Walker under his wing and into his team. But Walker is actually an undercover agent working to discover the identity of cargo hijackers. Of course he falls for the life of a street racer, of course he falls for Diesel's character's sister. Predictable. And completely ripped off from POINT BREAK and a hundred other movies. There are moments in this film that are truly fast and furious. Most of them are in the trailer. The movie is like a porno, all flash and no substance, but the payoff is not nearly as satisfactory. The DVD from Universal comes fully stocked, with audio commentary, a visual effects montage, the making of THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS documentary, DVD-ROM content, eight interactive camera angles for the films climatic crash sequence, movie magic effects footage, "Racer X" the article that inspired the movie, editing featurette, deleted scenes with commentary, trailer, and 3 music videos. Ja Rule's "Furious", Caddilac Tah "POV City Anthem" and "Click Click Boom" by Saliva.
FAST AND THE FURIOUS, THE - 15 MINUTES - Two Eastern European criminals begin video taping murders as a way to fast track into the world of the rich and famous with two NY detectives on their trail. I'm paraphrasing, but that's pretty much what New Line billed the movie as. If only it were that simple. The Eastern European criminals are not terrorists, or anything remotely interesting, they are simply misguided and stupid. Attempting to track down a witness to their first murder they wind up killing another person. Both are caught on videotape by one of them who fancies himself the next Frank Cappra. After an afternoon of Jerry Springer, the two decide they can put the tape to good use by selling it to the news media. Robert De Niro is a NYPD detective trying to catch them, teamed up with arson investigator Edward Burns. Kelsey Grammer costars as a TV tabloid reporter. Advertised as a slam bang thriller, what we get is a mildly entertaining plot with good actors in wooden performances and a very substandard movie. No real attempt at explaining why the cops would team up with the fire department is made. (I mean really, why would an arson investigator be involved with protective custody?) The crooks are not villains, just misguided. And dumb. One can't act, the other "borrows" from every Gary Oldman performance as a bad guy. (And yes, that was a slam against the actors and not their characters. These two cannot ACT.) Also, the cat-and-mouse chase you'd expect never appears, since the killers don't send the cops the tape, and it doesn't even end up on the air until nearly the end of the movie. Did New Line do a poor job of advertising this film, altering my perceptions of what to expect? Yes, But at the same time, I don't mind being surprised by films if they are well made. This one isn't, which is surprising considering the star talent involved. The underlying theme of the movie, has television--specifically tabloid television--gone too far? I don't need this movie to tell me the answer to that is yes. Some people will kill for their 15 minutes of fame. The infinifilm DVD is another surprise. It is very in-depth, with a 15 minute documentary on tabloid reporting with Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, Sally Jessy Raphael and more, another documentary on weather or not crime does pay, a trivia track with pop ups, audio commentary, deleted scenes, the trailer, DVD-ROM content, Video camera footage of the "killings," and very cool menus that resemble CNN's new news ticker. This is New Line's second infinifilm DVD (see Thirteen Days) and I certainly hope the format is here to stay, but why all this for a film that basically sucks?
15 MINUTES - FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN - In the year 2065 Earth is infested with alien spirits and mankind is on the brink of extinction. Led by a strange dream, Dr. Aki Ross struggles to collect the eight spirits in the hope of creating a force powerful enough to protect the planet. What? Okay, so the plot is kinda whacked--and very JapAnime. Think ALIENS meets STARSHIP TROOPERS and throw in a dash of AKIRA. A great cast lead by Alec Baldwin, Steve Bushemi, Ving Rames, and Donald Sutherland gives voice to the characters, but the true star of this movie is the visual effects.
Breathtaking and groundbreaking digitally rendered characters (a la TOY STORY)
that look like real people. Even when Aki runs her hands though her hair,
you'd swear the hair was real. Look again, it's digital. (The director even
wants to cast Aki in another film as a different character) FINAL FANTASY
is the ultimate eye candy movie, and it's nearly impossible to look away
from it. Based on the series of video games (which I have never played, so
I can't compare storylines) this movie does what it's tagline promises: Unleash
A New Reality. Despite the somewhat weak plot, it's A MUST SEE, for the visuals
alone.
FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN - FLASH GORDON - Just recently I found FLASH GORDON had been released on DVD. No, not the black and white serials starring Buster, this is the glossy 1980 remake with the Queen soundtrack. Now, this movie is cheese. Complete and utter cheese. Nothing but cheese... It's also one of my favorites of all time. I don't know why, but it's the ultimate guilty pleasure. The DVD has nothing extra on it, not even a trailer, but now that I can watch Flash in widescreen and hear Freddie Mercury and Queen rock, who cares about extras? (Come to think of it, between FLASH GORDON and HIGHLANDER, Queen should have stuck to doing movie soundtracks)
Best Line from "Dale Arden" : "Flash, I love you! But we only have 14 hours
FLASH GORDON - PARENTAL ADVISORY! The following review contains coarse language and subject matter. Anyone under 17 is strongly discouraged from reading this! FREDDY GOT FINGERED - I laughed once in Tom Green's so-called comedy. Just once. The bit was funny. I laughed. Once. Just once. Gordy (Tom Green) is an aspiring animator who clashes with his dad (Rip Torn) over--no, wait. I am not going to waste my time relaying the poor attempt at a plot when there wasn't one. It's a series of Tom Green bits strung together with some semblance of a narrative, I think, but I'm not sure because the fact the movie was so bad kept getting in the way. What's interesting is the DVD is actually pretty good. (What else would you expect from FOX?) It contains commentary by Green, Harland Williams, Marisa Coughlan and Rip Torn, deleted scenes with optional commentary, an MTV making of special, the trailer, an audience participation track, wacky menus, and a "family friendly" PG version of FREDDY GOT FINGERED. (It's only 3 minutes long.) But this returns us to the question, if you put a piece of shit in a very nice gold plated box does it cease to be a piece of shit? Or do you just wind up with a shitty gold box? This is the worst movie ever made, and that's saying something because I sat through SHOWGIRLS. SHOWGIRLS looks like CITIZEN KANE or CASABLANCA compared to this. There aren't enough adjectives in the English language to describe how terrible this movie is. I can't even rightly call it a movie, because as a rule I enjoy movies, and if I call this a movie, I am disgracing every movie I have ever enjoyed. Tom Green can be funny. Occasionally on his MTV show, spontaneity took hold and something amusing happened. I kept waiting for it all though FREDDY GOT FINGERED, and it finally happened. Once. But the bit was so over wrought with gross-out intensity it really wasn't all that good. The "picture" (even that term is being far too kind) is full of gross. Tom Green doesn't cross the line of good taste so much as nuke it from orbit with gleeful abandon. Just about everything was offensive or gross in some way, shape or form, from caning his paraplegic nymph girlfriend to manually masturbating not one, but two animals. Now I am well aware this is Tom Green we're talking about here. The adage "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" was written with him in mind. Green is all about pushing the envelope and seeing what he can get away with. I understand that. I respect that. But here he doesn't push the envelope, he throws it in a wood chipper. Yes, Tom Green is an acquired taste, but the bottom line is his "picture" sucked. It wasn't funny, it was stupid, insipid, moronic, and badly made. How the hell did he get Rip Torn to agree to appear in this? It was an affront to all movies everywhere. There are thousands of starving artists out on the streets of Hollywood with ideas better than the seed of inspiration that became this pile of shit. Tom Green apparently doesn't know step one of writing, acting or directing, because he did all three jobs, and this is what we wound up with. I am well aware that my vehement hatred and loathing of this "picture" may be exactly what Tom Green wants me to post, hoping that sheer curiosity from you--the reader--will drive you to watch it, thinking to yourself "Oh, it can't possibly be THAT bad." Well, I assure you gentle reader, there is a powerful force of evil at work in this world, and I have seen it. It has followers who will tell you "Oh, the movie was stupid, but it was funny." DO NOT BELIEVE THEM! THEY WILL LEAD YOU DOWN THE PATH OF DAMNATION! I can't even be pissed that I wasted 2 hours of my life watching it though, because if the pain and suffering I endured will prevent another human being from watching this, it was worth it. I have made that my mission in life. I must go out into the world and destroy every print of this film that rolled off the line. But first I must go and bathe in hydrochloric acid because I feel contaminated. Then I am going to re-watch SHOWGIRLS and maybe PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and marvel at what brilliant pieces of filmmaking they are because I feel mentally violated. After that, I'm soaking my DVD player in kerosene and igniting it because it touched the disc. Once all of that is done I think I'll file a class action lawsuit against 20th Century Fox for releasing this weapon of mass destruction on an unwitting public. Also to be named in the suit is the entire country of Canada, who must take responsibility for allowing the abomination that is Tom Green to leave their borders, and MTV for encouraging him. I've never given a "picture" an F grade before. Ever. Even the most deprived junk can elicit a D- by being witty, or fun, or a good effort. (Hell, even SHOWGIRLS at least had nudity.) But I can't find one redeeming factor this time. The bottom line here, is if you like Tom Green, this is Tom Green uncensored and you'll probably enjoy his "picture". If you have one shred of taste or decency, you'll rent SHOWGIRLS instead.
FREDDY GOT FINGERED - FREQUENCY - "What if you could reach back in time and change the one event that forever altered your life? What if that change ... made things worse?" So asks the tag line for FREQUENCY, one of the most intelligent dramatic thrillers made this decade. A once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon of nature allows police officer John (Jim Caviezel) to communicate with his dad Frank (Dennis Quaid) ...who's been dead for 30 years. But by changing the past, they set in motion a string of brutal, unsolved murders, with Frank's wife the next victim. A mind-bending movie, that is well made and deserves your attention.The Platinum edition DVD from New Line is another good one, featuring deleted scenes, a documentary: The Science And Technology Behind Frequency, audio commentary, an isolated music score from composer Michael Kamen, the trailer, and a computer animation gallery breakdown, plus DVD-ROM content. A MUST SEE.
FREQUENCY - GET CARTER - Based on a 1970's film of the same name, Sylvester Stallone's latest vehicle is an attempt to do a gritty 70's film, like Mel Gibson's PAYBACK. The problem is it almost doesn't feel gritty enough. Stallone plays Jack Carter, a "financial adjuster" from Vegas who's brother is killed in Seattle, sending Carter on a violent spree to find the guilty party responsible. Stallone plays the good bad guy here, surrounded by true villains like Mickey Rorke, Alan Cumming and Michael Caine, who started as Carter in the original. The movie's a bit slow starting off, but soon gets it's motor running with some great car chases and inter- esting camera work. Quite possibly the coolest soundtrack I've heard in a while, too. The DVD is another substandard venture from Warner Bros. Oh, it's got trailers for both the new and original GET CARTER films, plus a handful of deleted scenes, but nothing truly noteworthy, and again, boring menus. Aaaarrrrrgh!
GET CARTER - GLADIATOR - Click here GODZILLA 2000 - This is one of the best Godzilla movies ever made. Like most, the plot is a bit ridiculous, but this is a Godzilla movie. You want plot? Go rent THE USUAL SUSPECTS. This is about fun, and fun involves an alien UFO and a guy in a rubber suit stomping on Tokyo. Simple minds, simple pleasures. That's me.
GODZILLA 2000 - GHOST IN THE SHELL - A hacker known as "The Puppetmaster" begins terrorizing the cyberworld of 2029, looking for a body for it's ghost. Trust me, it makes sense once you see it. GHOST IN THE SHELL is highly intelligent science fiction, asks probing questions about technology and our uses for it, and is all around one of the best movies I've ever seen. The fact that is also one of the richest and most thrilling animated movies ever only adds to it's allure. This is a great film, that requires repeat viewing. The DVD offers much, including the very dry documentary "The Making Of Ghost In The Shell," production reports, the trailer, Manga fan club information, English dialogue, Japanese dialogue or Japanese with English subtitles, art and text files, and more, but most of this information is presented in Text format. Who wants to page through all of this stuff?
GHOST IN THE SHELL - Film -
DVD - GONE IN 60 SECONDS - When I saw the preveiews for this one, I thought "no big deal.". Boy was I wrong. I should really learn to trust the trailer when it advertises the film as a Jerry Bruckheimer production. After all, this guy is responsible for pro- ducing some of the biggest action moves ever made, like TOP GUN, ENEMY OF THE STATE, CRIMSON TIDE, DAYS OF THUNDER, THE ROCK, CON AIR and ARMAGEDDON. Like all these predacessors, GONE IN 60 SECONDS is a high-octaine thrill ride, full of "guy movie" stuff like car chases and explosions. Hello! THIS is YOUR movie!! Nicolas Cage plays Randall 'Memphis" Raines, a car thief pulled out of retirement because his kid brother gets into trouble with a gangster To get brother out of the predicament; he has to steal 50 cars in one night. And we're not talking my car here, we're talking Ferrari, BMW, Lamborgini, Hummer, and of course, a 69 Mustang Shelby CT. Gurrr. The movie launches into high gear and stays there, thanks in large part to the great supporting cast. Giovani Ribisi. Angelina Jolie, Deroy Lindo and Robert Duvall fill out the rest of the boosters. There's one unbelievable stunt at the end of the movie, but by that time you're having so much fun you don't really care. Like all these cars; the DVD is fully loaded with extras; including the director and producer talking about the cast as opposed to the usual still-flame bio page we usually get. It was a small touch, but a nice one.
GONE IN 60 SECONDS - GONE WITH THE WIND - Click here THE GOONIES - With a pedigree that includes director Richard Donner (LETHAL WEAPON) screenwriter Chris Columbus (MRS. DOUBTFIRE) and story by executive producer Steven Spielberg, this has to be a good movie. It revolves around a group of kids called the Goonies, who find a treasure map which may lead to the riches of pirate One-Eyed Willie. Persued by a family of bumbling bad gusy through underground passages, booby-traps and Indiana Jones style adventure, the gang plunges headlong into a race to the loot. Popular enough when it was released in 1985, the film has achieved cult classic status now. (Thousands of visitors each year make the trek to Astoria to see "The Goonies House" which was an actual residence used on location.) Detractors will complain that the kids do nothing but scream for an hour and a half, and yes, that's true, but the movie has a magical quality about it you didn't have to grow up with to appreciate. First of all, it's fun. It's funny. It's one of my favorite movies of all time. And it is a treasued relic of the eighties. Remember Corey Feldman and Cyndi Lauper? The Warner Brothers. DVD features a great widescreen version, the documentary "The Making Of THE GOONIES", the trailer, Cyndi Lauper's music video "The Goonies R Good Enough", cool 3D menus, outtakes (contrary to initial reports, none of the deleted scenes are cut back into the film. I was heart broken to learn the fabled "octopuss scene" would not be in the movie. And then I saw it. Hokey. Really hokey. Thanks for leaving it out Donner!) and a delightful audio commentary with director Richard Donner and the Goonies that includes pop-up video segments. This is my favorite part of the DVD. The stories are great, it's cool to see the entire cast toghether 15 years later (although Sean Astin disappears about half way through the movie with no explination) and you can litterally see the chemestry this cast had and still has. Oh sure, things change over the course of sixteen years, (Chunk is a lawyer!) but THE GOONIES is about simpler times and simpler pleasures. A MUST SEE, and a worthwhile addition to your library. Best Line: Chunk and Mouth as they find a golden doubloon. Chunk - 1632 Is that a year? Mouth - No, it's your top score on Pole Position.
THE GOONIES - Film - HANNIBAL - Years after the events of SILENCE, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) is still on the loose, living quietly in Florence, Italy and almost forgotten by the world. But when a series of events threatens Starling's (Julianne Moore) future with the FBI, and a deranged millionaire (an uncredited Gary Oldman) who survived a previous attack by Lecter begins trying to hunt him down, he decides it's time to "come out of retirement". In many ways, HANNIBAL is the weakest film in the Lecter Trilogy. In many ways, it is the best. Both MANHUNTER and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS are basically detective stories, about the FBI attempting to catch a serial killer using Lecter's help, but this film is about Lecter. This is his movie at last, and the film benefits from the increased screen time for Hopkins. Julianne Moore does a competent job replacing Jodi Foster as Clarice Starling, and the supporting cast of Ray Liota and Gary Oldman--buried beneath a mountain of makeup--is outstanding.But this is Hopkins movie, from start to finish. Hannibal is not a horror movie. It's gruesome, but not overtly gory. (well, until the end anyway) and the end is a bit of a shocker as well. But I'll never tell. It has horrible elements in it, but at it's heart, it is a psychological chess game between Lecter and the world, but mostly between he and Starling. She is intriguing to him in a way no one else is. She is his equal, not in intelligence, but in tenacity and drive. And she understands him as no one else can. Their relationship is like a pair of intertwined destinies, inescapable from each other. If the film has a problem, it's that Hannibal is made out as so evil in the first two, that we almost begin rooting for him now. Like when a Florence cop tries to turn Lecter in for the reward. Come on, we want Lecter to disembowel this guy for his stupidity. The DVD is fully loaded, with over 35 minutes of deleted scenes, including an alternate ending (I do like the one in the film better) audio commentary by Ridley Scott, a multi-angle featurette on the art of storyboarding, "Breaking the Silence" documentary made up of 5 individual featurettes, trailers and TV spots, poster concepts, "Anatomy of A Shootout" breakdown of the fish market scene, and more. My only complaint is the random menu screens, which do match up with the surveillance camera / ENEMY OF THE STATE-like opening sequence of the film, but that is never explained. Still a great disc. Best Line: Lecter to Starling after answering a cop's cell phone: "Is this Clarice? Well, hello, Clarice." Also see - Silence of the Lambs & Manhunter
HANNIBAL - Film - HEARTBREAKERS - Max and Page (Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt) are a mother / daughter team who are real pros at conning millionaires out of their millions. Max lures them to the alter, Page leads them to temptation and huge divorce settlements. But while Max sets her sights on an aging tobacco tycoon (Gene Hackman), daughter Page goes after a young, handsome restaurateur (Jason Lee) and breaks the cardinal rule of the con and falls in love with him. The movie is full of funny moments, good performances, and light humor, but there is something shallow about it I can't quite put my finger on. Oh, the budding romance between Hewitt and Lee is charming, the plot is plausible, Hackman is great as usual, and there is a lot of beautiful cleavage on display here. Perhaps that's the problem. All sex and no substance? There's something hollow about the movie; a comedy without a soul. Everyone goes through the motions without the comedic payoff that this cast should have been able to elicit. The MGM DVD is listed as a special edition, with 2 documentaries, "The Making Of Heartbreakers" and "Laffs & Gaffes," a collection of bloopers that would have been much funnier without the set ups of the crew to attempt to make them funny, 22 deleted scenes with or without commentary, 2 audio tracks, one with director David Mirkin, the other with Weaver and Hewitt, and the trailer.
HEARTBREAKERS - HEAVY METAL - No "adult" animation review would be complete without mentioning HEAVY METAL, the cult classic that has burned in our collective memories for years. Based on the illustrated magazine of the same name, HEAVY METAL tells the story of a glowing green orb from outer space that spreads destruction throughout the galaxy. Told through a series of short stories linked through the orb arc, HEAVY METAL was the ultimate fan service movie. Animated blood and guts, sex and drugs. How cool is this? The film is a bit dated now, but it's perverse sense of humor remains intact, and the story moves like nothing else, helped along by great voice talent including John Candy and Harold Ramis, and a soundtrack featuring Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick, Devo, Blue Oyster Cult, Journey, Sammy Hagar, Nazareth, Riggs, Stevie Nicks and Trust. The Columbia DVD is truly "Louder and Nastier Than Ever" with newly remastered audio and video, the documentary "Imagining HEAVY METAL," deleted scenes, feature length rough-cut with optional commentary, production notes, Magazine cover gallery, photo gallery, conceptual art and more.
HEAVY METAL - Film -
DVD - HEAVY METAL 2000 - Here's an idea: Let's take a classic film with a cult following, screw it up by making our own piece of crap movie but call it a sequel that we're "taking in a different direction" from the original, slap an updated title on it and call it good. That's pretty much what happened here. Former porn star Julie Strain was the model and voice for the main character, who's family is wiped out when an evil entity takes control of a miner (voiced by perennial villain Michael Ironsides) and sends him on a mad quest for power. Julie goes all Mad Maxine and opens up several six-packs of whoop ass to get revenge. Okay, HEAVY METAL worked because it was original, it was inventive, it melded sex and violence and cartoons, and it had several short stories making up it's core, so if one was bad, you had several others to redeem the film. HM2K is one long story which could have been good, but wasn't, and goes downhill from there. Really, this is just a different version of the final segment of HEAVY METAL, about a half-naked female warrior bent on destroying evil. Kinda hooky fun at times, but mainly, just bad. The DVD does have a few redeeming qualities however, including an isolated music score, animation tests, "Julie Strain: Super Goddess" featurette, a voice talent featurette, photo gallery, trailers, and more.
HEAVY METAL 2000 - Film -
DVD - H.G. WELL’S “THE TIME MACHINE” - An inventor (Rod Taylor) creates a machine that will allow him to travel back and forth in time. His trip forward from 1899 shows him the ravages of all three World Wars, and finally lands him in 802701, where the passive Eloi face a grim future as prey to the Morlocks unless he intervenes. An instant cinematic classic upon its release, THE TIME MACHINE has lostnone of its virtue. It still remains a stylish, charming, well-made movie that never fails to light the fire of imagination. Oh, one can scoff at the futuristic sight of 1960s London in the grips of WWIII, but that is counterbalanced by the time machine itself. Elegant and beautiful, the brass railed sled has been the inspiration for most of Hollywood's time machines, including a flying DeLorean. Director George Pal, also responsible for bringing Well’s THE WAR OF THE WORLDS to life, has done an outstanding job of remaining faithful to the book while striking out in a new direction for film. The Warner Brothers DVD includes a music only audio track, cast and crew BIOS, theatrical trailer, and “Time Machine: The Journey Back” a delightful documentary hosted by Rod Taylor. The documentary includes a skit filmed exclusively for this release of an aged time traveler returning to London to meet his friend Philby (Alan Young) to try and persuade him to come back to the future with him. A pure delight. H.G. WELL’S “THE TIME MACHINE "- HIGHLANDER (10th Anniversary Director's Cut) - First, red letters on black background, and Connery's voice, speaking softly to us like the voice of God. "No one knew we were among you... until now." Then the first strains of Freddy Mercury come up "Here we are. Born to be kings. We're the princes of the universe...." An eternal classic that is remembered fondly by everybody, the original stars Christopher Lambert (Pronounced Lamb-Bear, it's French), Sean Connery, and Clancy Brown as three of a group of Immortals who must fight throughout the centuries until the time of the Gathering, for "There can be only one." Funny, but this movie is not as good as we remember it. Don't get me wrong, Highlander deserves it's place in the anals of movie and science ficiton history, but it hasn't aged well. The DVD is a pretty cool set up though. A THX remastered version of the 10th Anniversary director's cut, which restores key sceens and makes the film flow better, audio comentary from the director, and a still gallery. And best of all, IT'S CHEAP!!! MAN, I'VE SEEN THIS DISC AS LOW AS SIX BUCKS NEW!!!! I BOUGHT MINE FOR $7.99! FOR A DVD!!! OF HIGHLANDER!!! Uh-huh, cool!
HIGHLANDER (10th Anniverary Director's Cut) - HIGHLANDER 2: RENEGADE VERSION - A long time ago in a far off land called Hollywood, some studio exec got the idea to do a sequel to a film that really couldn't have a sequel. And so, they quickly assembled Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, and Michael Ironsides together and began shooting in Agrentena. Meanwhile, the insurance company pulls the plug on the studio. The Execs, desperate for cash, closed down the production, edited what footage they had, (well, edited is too strong a word... How about: Cobbled together?) and thus HIGHLANDER 2: THE QUICKENING was born! And boy did it suck. Years latter, director Russell Mulchay bought the rights to the film back. They restored the original flow of the narative, re-established the flashbacks that were so part of the HIGHLANDER myth, inserted a bunch of new sceens and cut out all references to the immortals being from another planet. (Trust me, you don't really want to know) The result was the RENEGADE VERSION, a much much better versionof a bad movie.Set in the far future, Conner McCloud has grown old sincethere are no more immortals to fight. But it seems that immortals are actually from the past, banished to the future by the priests. When more immortals arrive intent on killing McCloud, he regains his youth and summons the spaniard Ramerez to help him. Oh, did we mention that Ramerez is summoned fromthe dead? All of this is built around the framework of an enviromental crisis which has resulted in the construction of a shield around the planet and an evil corperation's attempts to control it. Uh... okay. HIGHLANDER 2 was just a bad idea to start off with. RENEGADE VERSION salvages a good portion of it, and makes it watchable, but it's still not great. The DVD is also mastered by THX, and has many of the same extras as the first film. The best is the audio comentary, in which directors and producers explain their way out of THE QUICKENING version. A must for the "how not to run a studio" lesson in film school.
HIGHLANDER 2: RENEGADE VERSION - HIGHLANDER: THE FINAL DIMENTION - Boy, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse... Actually, I kinda liked this one when it first came out, for explaining a lot about Conner's where-a-bouts after he finished training with Ramerez. And the plot was half-way decent: After fighting evil immortals lead by Mario Van Peoples, from which Conner escapes, a cave in trappes the baddies in the Himilayan mountains for eternity, until an archeology dig accidentally uncovers them. Therefore the quickening McCloud got in the first movie wasn't THE quickening, just a really powerful one. But the film has not aged well. In fact it's probably the worst feeling film of the bunch.
HIGHLANDER: THE FINAL DIMENTION - HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME - For the first time since the series folded, Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul team up as two immortal brothers trying not to loose their heads. This film has all kinds of stuff going for it. Slick production values from the series, amped up action scenes, a really great villain, a sexy love interest, everything you've come to expect from a Highlander movie. In fact, I would go so far as to say this is the best Highlander movie ever made.... ...until 20 minutes to the end of the movie, when the plot completely unravels the entire Highlander universe. AAARRRGGGHH!!! Okay, let's be honest, the Highlander universe wasn't exactly the most stable of time lines anyway. The first film from 1986 was never meant to have a sequel, and since then we've had 3, all shoehorned into the mythos like a fat lady trying to get her elephant feet into a size six spectator pump. It worked, but you had to work really hard at it. ENDGAME obviously reflects the series more than the movies, and the series is a much more stable universe to play in. If you ever watched the Highlander series, you should really enjoy this movie. If your entire knowledge of the clan McCloud comes from the movies, you'll probably hate it. The door is wide open for future Highlander installments, and upon a second viewing, I have decided that this is my favorite after all. Except for those 20 minutes at the end. The DVD is an awesome 2 disc set that features a new "Director's Cut" which includes quite a bit of stuff cut from the theater version, including a new beginning and a new ending. (Don't get too excited. The new ending didn't change much) and an earlier cut of the film (w/o sound effects, different music, etc...) not really worthwhile viewing, but a fascinating look at how a film can change from edit to edit. There are lots of featurettes on special effects and the making of the movie, interviews, cool menus and audio commentary, as well as DVD-ROM games and an on-disc trivia game. My only complaint is the scene selection menu, which is cool in layout, but murder to navigate. Overall, this is a must have if you're into HIGHLANDER.
HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME - THE HOBBIT - Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel of the same name, this animated version of THE HOBBIT tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit who goes on a grand adventure with thirteen dwarfs to slay a dragon and retrieve their stolen gold. Jerky animation and some truly goofy songs derail this from being a serious effort to adapt the book (although the songs are in there as well). It also runs a bit too short at just under an hour, so great chunks of the book are left out and the party moves immediately from one peril to another. But it still manages to capture the essence of the story, and is mildly entertaining. The DVD contains only Tolkien and filmmaker highlights along with standard DVD options. Feels like Warner Bros. trying to make a quick buck cashing in on the live action LORD OF THE RINGS.
THE HOBBIT - HOLLOW MAN - Director Paul Verhoeven (STARSHIP TROOPERS, BASIC INSTINCT) brings us another retelling of the invisible man story. This time the head of a government research project (Kevin Bacon) is turned invisible by an irradiated serum on purpose, but can't be brought back. As he begins to adjust to the possibilities of invisibility, evil takes root. It's a classic tale of absolute power corrupting absolutely, and of man playing God, an act that always has disastrous results. (At least in the movies) This one is no exception, and although predictable, still delivers the goods. Visually these are some of the most incredible effects sequences ever put on film. The phasing process where the subjects become invisible and back is absolutely jaw dropping. The DVD is the same, with audio commentary, 3 deleted scenes, an isolated music score from composer Jerry Goldsmith (STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, BASIC INSTINCT) and 15 behind the scenes featurettes on the FX of HOLLOW MAN. Also has some very cool menus.
HOLLOW MAN - THE IRON GIANT - A giant robot falls to Earth and befriends a young boy, learning all about humanity in the process. Staring the voices of Vin Desil,Jennifer Aniston, and Harry Connick Jr. One part E.T, one part TERMINATOR 2, this is one of the best animated films ever made, and sadly, one of the most overlooked. Warner did a horrible job marketing the film and it got lost and forgotten as a result. If you havn't seen it yet, you're in for a treat. It's become one of my favorite movies of all time, and definetly ranks as A MUST SEE. The DVD includes a Making of documetnary, cast and crew BIOS, the trailer, and Eddie Platt's music video "Cha-Hua-Hua." Fully loaded for Warner Brothers. The DVD also has much cooler box art than the clamshell VHS does.
THE IRON GIANT - IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD, WORLD - When 8 people stop on the side of the road to help an accident victim (Jimmy Durante) who tells them "there's all this dough, buried under this big W!" it sets off a comedic avalanche of disasters for three hours. The all star cast list reads like a who's who of comic legends, including Spencer Tracy, Ethel Merman, Milton Berle, Sid Ceaser, Phil Silvers, Jonathan Winters, Jack Benny, Rochester, The Three Stooges, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Don Knots, Dick Shawn, Jerry Lewis, Peter Falk and more. This is quite simply the greatest comedy ever made. A bold statement made all the more amazing when you consider that director Stanley Kramer was better known for his high brow dramas (JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG, INHERIT THE WIND) than for low brow comedy. But once this ball starts rolling, it never stops. No matter how many times I have seen it, I laugh pretty much nonstop from the opening scene through the fights and pratfalls, mishaps and one liners, right up to the priceless ending involving a banana peel, the most basic of all comedy props. Never before and never again can a movie of this magnitude ever appear on the silver screen. There have been attempts both good (this years RAT RACE was loosely based on this story) and wretched (MILLION DOLLAR MYSTERY was an HBO staple for years, and one of the worst films ever made). But this is the classic, the measuring stick against which all other comedies fall far short. A MUST SEE. A disappointing DVD from MGM, it does have the trailer, a documentary (which is first rate) and a bevy of deleted scenes that are not cut back into the film. Disappointing, because the VHS version of the movie uses a different print of the film, and has those deleted scenes incorporated into it. Sure, the running length is a bit long already, but with this kind of inspired lunacy, more is always better. BEST LINE: Buddy Hackett interrupting Ethel Merman: "Look, we figured it seventeen different ways, and every time we figured it, it was no good. 'Cause no matter how we figured it, somebody don't like the way we figured it. So now, there's only one way to figure it, and that is every man--including the old bag--for himself!" Rooney - "So good luck and may the best man win!" Hackett - "Except you lady. May you just DROP DEAD!"
IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD, WORLD -
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