Blake Kunisch's DVD Talk DVD Reviews

The Apprentice: The Complete First Season

Mon, 23 Aug 2004 22:07:58 UTC

Rent It

Introduction:

With the deluge of "reality" television shows littering the airwaves on almost every channel, including those you would last expect, they all seem to run together. Every once in a while, a reality show is able to stand out and above the rest (Survivor, The Mole (non-celebrity), and The Amazing Race). Last season, NBC decided to hold the ultimate job interview, and while that may not be too interesting in and of itself, all you need is a gimmick - and that's where Donald Trump came in. Without Trump, The Apprentice would have been bland, boring, and nothing special, but when you throw in Trump, let us look behind the scenes (to a degree) at his operations, give us a look behind his enigmatic haircut, you can't help but be intrigued. Now, with its release on DVD, we get to see (and hear) even more of the Do...Read the entire review

The Bourne Identity: Explosive Extended Edition

Thu, 15 Jul 2004 16:02:57 UTC

Rent It

Overview: When the Bourne Identity first hit theaters, I lovedit. I saw it twice and waited with anticipation for the DVD to bereleased. I can't really count how many times my friends and I haveenjoyed the "Collector's Edition" of Bourne, featuring a goodamount of special features, including an alternate ending, "explosive"deleted scenes, a featurette on the making of the film and a commentary byDirector Doug Liman. So now, I hear that there's a new "ExplosiveExtended Edition" coming out and I can't wait to get my hands on it (oddthat they use "Explosive" in the packaging again as they did with thecollector's edition, but what can you do?). So once the Extended Editiongot here, I feverishly opened it up, checked out the features and popped it inthe DVD player. I started up the video and chose the "Play theExplosive Extended Edition" option and then realized that I had ...Read the entire review

Love Actually

Wed, 14 Jul 2004 07:51:34 UTC

Highly Recommended

The Movie: Last year's feel good movie, Love Actually, camefrom the makers of Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill, and hasfinally arrived on DVD. The movie itself was uplifting, humorous and funas it intertwined various characters, and, as many films do these days, broughtthem all together at the end. While the film itself does run a bit long at130 minutes, with all the intertwining storylines, it's hard to tell where thetime goes most of the time with only a couple of lulls. Written anddirected by Richard Curtis (his first direction), Love Actually followsvarious couples, singles, and others as they look for romance, partnership, andfulfillment during the holiday season. It'd take too much space to outlineevery storyline or talk about each plot twist, but suffice to say, LoveActually delivers a fun, romantic comedy that stands up through multiple...Read the entire review

Alias: Season 1

Mon, 25 Aug 2003 05:21:21 UTC

Highly Recommended

The Series:

Minor Spoilers for Season 1 follow...

A highly complex and intricate show, Alias was able to deftly blend together multiple storylines dealing with everything from neutron bombs to arms dealers to soviet spies along with a touching, lighter side that showed the humanity of the characters and the true depth each one of the characters brought to the show. In season one, it all starts off ...Read the entire review

Pete's a Pizza

Thu, 01 May 2003 21:03:03 UTC

Highly Recommended

Introduction:

Pete's A Pizza, published by the Scholastic Video Collection, is obviouslygeared towards younger viewers as it presents three different stories - Pete'sa Pizza, Doctor De Soto, and The Amazing Book. Also, inthe "extras" section, there are bonus stories - consisting of TheThree Robbers, The Great White Man-Eating Shark, and Moon Man. Each of the stories are accompanied by fun illustrations that help add to thestory.

The three main stories, along with the bonus stories are all quite fun towatch. Pete's a Pizza provides a fun story to go along with a rainyday as both the parents and the child can have fun acting out the storycontained within. Doctor De Soto brought back some really oldmemories for me - I remember reading the book when I was much younger, however,I never had such a nice video to go along with...Read the entire review

Old School

Sun, 09 Feb 2003 10:34:26 UTC

Highly Recommended

It's pretty obvious whom this film is geared towards - from the trailers, it's easy to see it's a college-themed film, and when they mention that the film is directed by the guy who did Road Trip, rather than just saying Tony Phillips, there's no doubt that they're aiming for the college crowd. Have they succeeded? Most definitely. One of the funniest films I've seen in a while, Old School easily triumphs over such lackluster sequels like American Pie 2 and any film from the Scary Movie series.

Poor Mitch Martin (Luke Wilson) just doesn't have anything going for him. His job sucks, and upon returning home early from a seminar, he finds his serious girlfriend watching an adult movie (which excites Mitch at first), until the two ...Read the entire review

F.A.R.T The Movie

Sun, 09 Feb 2003 08:32:55 UTC

Skip It

Will Artie be able to keep his chin up and his cheeksclosed?

The Movie: When I originally received this movie, I wasexpecting a completely different movie. Yes - another FART: TheMovie. It's hard to believe there's one, let alone two movies centeredaround flatulence. The first Fart I saw was about 12 years agowhile vacationing in Lake Tahoe. The previous resident had left it there,and my friends and I got quite a kick out of it. Stupid as it was - andboy was it stupid - there's always something funny about farting. Juvenile? Sure. Funny? Of Course.

Starring the Farley Brothers (related to the comedic genius, Chris Farley),this odd-ball comedy starts out innocently enough, with a mom in labor and herhippy husband by her side. After being born, come to find out, the kid hasa gastro-intestinal disorder causing him to fart whenever ner...Read the entire review

Virgil Bliss

Wed, 08 Jan 2003 02:14:25 UTC

Recommended

Movie: Virgil Bliss is a seemingly simple movie, a con just released tries to get on with his life, but when you take it all in, the movie is actually quite a bit more than initially thought. With very little dialogue, the visuals take you in as Virgil tries to adjust to the new world set before him. A simple, yet deep movie that draws you in and necessitates a second viewing to catch what you might have missed the first time.

Video: Shot completely digitally, the film is actually quite beautiful. While the whites do seem a bit washed out from time to time, overall, the sharpness of the film is top-notch. The DVD is presented in 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen which is a nice addition from the small studio, First Run Features.

Audio: Virgil Bliss is presented in Dolby surround (not 5.1 mind you) and sounds great. A bit short on dialogue, the audio really helps pic...Read the entire review

The Price of Milk

Sun, 08 Dec 2002 06:55:13 UTC

Rent It

Movie: The Price of Milk hails from New Zealand and is directed by Harry Sinclair in his second directorial outing. Considered fresh and new overseas upon its release in New Zealand, unfortunately, this film sours as it makes the long trip to the States. This romantic comedy is, to say the least, a bit offbeat. It features the newly engaged couple of Lucinda (Danielle Cormack) and Rob (Karl Urban) as they test the boundaries of their love in this quirky film. After an accident on the road, Lucinda has questions about Rob's love for her and figures the only way to figure out if he really loves her is to sabotage their relationship by swapping Rob's 117 cows (worth NZ$400,000) for her quilt which was stolen earlier.

Now, any rational person is going to go crazy if your loved one traded NZ$400,000 (approx. US$200,000). Rob proceeds to go crazy, and in this quite interesting film...Read the entire review

Joyride

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 04:42:34 UTC

Skip It

The Movie: With the recent success of Tobey Maguire in theaters(Spiderman, CiderHouse Rules), it seems as if the movie studios holding the copyrights to hisprevious films are jumping on the Tobey-bandwagon and releasing his films onDVD. Joyride, filmed one year before Tobey's break-out performancein The Ice Storm,features Tobey starring as a young man working in his father's motel in themiddle of nowhere. Other recognizable names in this easily forgettablefilm include Benecio del Toro and Adam West - unfortunately, neither they, norTobey can rescue this film from failure.

J.T. (Maguire) along with his best friend, James (Wilson Cruz) meet up with awannabe model, Tanya (Amy Hath...Read the entire review

Thumbtanic

Wed, 13 Nov 2002 01:29:54 UTC

Recommended

The Movie: Thumbtanic is a parody of the mega-blockbuster hit, Titanic - on a much, much smaller scale. The gimmick in this parody is that instead of people making fun of the movie, all we get is people's thumbs. With an interesting blend of computer graphics and thumb-puppets, Titanic comes to life once again, albeit in a much shortened version, lampooning all the sappy, over-dramatic moments from the original film. Written by Steve Odekirk (Kung Pow: Enter the Fist), you're not quite sure what you're going to be presented with, but in this scant 26 minute-long movie, just about everything from Titanic is covered in a hilarious way - with thumbs. There really isn't much to Thumbtanic, and if you look deeper, you're not going to find anything - it is what it is - a short, thumb-filled farse. A few jokes really succeed and have you laughing out loud, while others are just too stupid to ev...Read the entire review

The Ring

Fri, 18 Oct 2002 06:32:53 UTC

Highly Recommended

Have you heard about a videotape that, after you watch it, you receive a phone call, informing you that you only have 7 days to live? Supposedly, someone or something knows that you've watched the tape, and in exactly 7 days, you will die because you've seen it. But it's just an urban legend - right?

The Ring opens up with Becca telling her friend Katie about the urban legend. Katie then reveals that almost exactly one week ago, she had watched the tape, and we watch as she tries to dismiss the urban legend and go on with her life, but finds herself increasingly aware of her surroundings, and as the opening comes to an end, we see Becca screaming in horror after finding what we believe to be the body of Katie, dead exactly one week after viewing the tape.

A few days later, we're introduced to news reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts), the aunt of Katie, who is asked by Katie's m...Read the entire review

Austin Powers in Goldmember

Fri, 26 Jul 2002 08:46:21 UTC

Rent It

I remember sitting in a movie theater five years ago, not knowing what to expect from Mike Myers. Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery had just been released and, while it looked funny from the commercials, no one knew exactly what Mr. Myers had planned. What followed was a film that was able to spoof almost every other spy movie in existence with a brand of comedy only Mike Myers could pull off. The result, while not a huge hit at the box office, gained a cult following after it hit video - large enough - to spawn a sequel. The sequel, in one weekend, did more business than the first did in its entire run, and cemented Austin Powers a spot in movie history. While the sequel was the second in the franchise, it was the first truly successful Austin Powers movie and just cried out for another sequel.

Unfortunately, this time, the sequel has gone the way of many other great films as they...Read the entire review

Dragonfly

Mon, 15 Jul 2002 22:03:46 UTC

Rent It

The Movie: You'd think that after so many bad movies, Kevin Costner would realize that it's just about time for him to retire. But alas, unfortunately, that most likely will not happen. Instead, we're going to be subjected to more and more horrible Costner films - not because he's a bad actor, but because he's the only one willing to do these bad films. Director Tom Shadyac, after success with Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor, and Liar Liar, decided to try a comedy/drama with Patch Adams, a horrible film starring an over-the-top Robin Williams. Not learning from that mistake that it would be best to stick to comedy only, he decided to make Dragonfly his first drama film.

Essentially, Dragonfly ends up being boring, overly analytical, and tedious to watch. Costner, try as he might just can't make this film work. The symbolism of the Dragonfly emerges early in the fil...Read the entire review

Novocaine

Tue, 30 Apr 2002 05:54:32 UTC

Recommended

The Movie: When this movie hit the theaters last year, I had wanted to see it - black comedy plus Steve Martin just can't go wrong, but it was released in limited theaters and I just couldn't find the time to see it. Now that Artisan's released the DVD, with a good amount of extras, I decided to give it a view.

The comedy is most definitely dark (my favorite type) and the acting is top-notch throughout. Steve Martin stars as Dr. Frank Sangster, a dentist, whose seemingly perfect world unravels after one little lie about one little patient (played by Helena Bonham Carter). As the one little lie becomes two, the two become four and the four become eight, until Dr. Sangster is faced with a murder he's accused of, a distrusting fiancee, and a relationship with his patient that revolves around sex and drugs.

Written and directed by David Atkins, this offbeat comedy succeeds on many ...Read the entire review

The Wash

Wed, 06 Mar 2002 09:58:13 UTC

Recommended

The Movie: About a month or so ago, Lions Gate Films sent me The Wash on VHS to evaluate and most likely post a review for. But while I couldn't find the willpower to write the review, I did watch it, and surprisingly, enjoyed myself. The beauty of The Wash is that it's so bad, it's good. Snoop, Dr. Dre, D.J. Pooh and various other rap stars and comedians star in this film following one man as he tries to get enough money for rent after his car is repossessed. Sean (Dr. Dre) needs fast cash, and his friend Dee Loc (Snoop) suggests he work at the wash, which he begrudgingly does, rather than resorting to the sale of narcotics to raise cash as Dee Loc resorts to. But when Sean is made a manager and Dee Loc is still a lowly wash-boy, tensions flare and the movie takes off from there.

While watching the extras on this 2 disc DVD set (note: only one DVD - the other di...Read the entire review

Left Luggage

Sat, 06 Oct 2001 09:12:40 UTC

Rent It

The Movie: Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbe's (IMMORTAL BELOVED) first feature film is a touching look at the connected lives of two Jewish families in early 1970s Belgium. Laura Fraser stars as Chaja, the 20 year-old daughter of two Holocaust survivors who eschews her faith and goes to Antwerp to study philosophy and live a bohemian life. However, when she takes a job as a nanny for the Kalmans, a Hasidic family, she begins a friendship with the devout Mrs. Kalman (Rossellini) and her four year-old son, Simcha that forces her to reevaluate the Jewish faith. An affecting and clear eyed look at Hasidic faith, which is so often glossed over and generalized in movies, LEFT LUGGAGE is a moving film, aided immeasurably by Ms. Rossellini's and Ms. Fraser's standout performances.

The Picture: The picture is a bit subdued, but this is probably how the film was meant to be viewed and other than ...Read the entire review

Wit

Thu, 06 Sep 2001 20:12:48 UTC

Recommended

Movie: Wit is a story of courage, hope, and perseverance. Based on the award-winning play of the same name, almost the whole movie is set in a hospital as Vivian Bearing (Emma Thompson) struggles with Phase IV ovarian cancer (as pointed out in the movie, there is no phase V). We follow Vivian as she undergoes 8 full-dose treatments of chemotherapy as she must keep her sanity, pride, and most importantly, her wit, to help her through it.

While Wit is most definately not the feel-good movie audiences have come to expect, it paints a startingly vivid and precise image of the kind of treatment chemotherapy is. Emma Thompson is superb in her role as Vivian as she portrays the complex feelings and thoughts she undergoes. Easily one of her best performances, she enhances the Pulitzer-prize winning play and for most of the movie, you forget that it was made for TV.

It's no secret wher...Read the entire review

Venus Beauty Institute

Thu, 06 Sep 2001 20:09:37 UTC

Rent It

Movie: This French romantic comedy stars Nathalie Baye as a beautician (Angèle) who seems to be unsure as to what she wants out of life. She's content to work at the salon, but is quite uncertain about what to do with her love life. Angèle believes that love is slavery nad instead she opts for the occasional interlude with the opposite sex, but doesn't enjoy the other parts of the relationship that follows. As she argues with a lover in the streets, another man (Samuelle Bihan) somehow, inexplicably falls in love with her and pursues her throughout the rest of the movie.

The film is entertaining, but nothing special as the full load of the movie is placed squarely on Nathalie's back. Single-handedly, she carries the movie from start to finish. While her scenes inside the salon are done well, her interactions outside of the salon, in various restaurants and street-corners, as she ...Read the entire review

Citizen Cohn

Thu, 06 Sep 2001 20:03:30 UTC

Rent It

Movie: Starring James Woods as his usual strong-willed self, Citizen Cohn benefits greatly from the performances by all involved. Focusing on Roy Cohn, the right-hand man for Senator Joeseph McCarthy during the Red Scare, Citizen Cohn presents an intensely real portrayal of a man that was universally hated throughout America. Ruthless and power hungry, Roy Cohn took pleasure in masterminding the downfall of others to further his own career.

Presented as flashbacks from his deathbed, the story progresses in a linear fashion with the occasional contemplation from his bed, with an occasional appearance of a person from his past who haunts him and questions his methods of attaining fame and importance. James Woods does a spectacular job in his portrayal of Roy Cohn and carries most of the film on his back. The only problem is, that while telling the story of Roy Cohn, there's not much a...Read the entire review

The Hidden Fortress

Mon, 28 May 2001 03:35:20 UTC

Highly Recommended

The Movie: Kurosawa's epic feature, and inspiration for many other filmmakers, The Hidden Fortress is a spectacular film with a simple premise and extraordinary acting. Matashichi and Tahei are simple peasants who go to war for fame and fortune, but arrive late and are mistaken for war prisoners and sent to work in a prison camp. They work their way out and start their trek back home. The only problem is that the border is heavily guarded and they must take a very round-about route home.

Matashichi and Tahei provide the comic relief as they bicker between themselves and aren't the brightest peas in the pod. They end up becoming petty thieves on their way home, stealing rice and such, when they read a wanted sign for the princess. The bounty on her head is 10 gold pieces, with which both could comfortably live the rest of their lives. But do they need the reward? Not if t...Read the entire review

The Offspring - Americana

Sat, 05 May 2001 20:40:26 UTC

Skip It

The Movie: Essentially, this DVD is a whole montage of music videos and other mayhem set to The Offspring music. Featuring 21 chapters of 21 different Offspring songs, this DVD ranges from just basic music videos of audiences during performances to staged stunts/crimes set to music. There's really nothing new and/or interesting, but Offspring fans will probably enjoy this "movie."

The Picture: At the start of the DVD, a warning is displayed to viewers about the video quality, as it was filmed on handheld camcorders and isn't supposed to be high quality. Perhaps I went a little too hard with my rating, but as the warning says, the picture is bad, but for the transfer to DVD, it's probably pretty good - it's just hard to tell with the originaly being purposefully low-grade.

The Sound: The sound, presented in Dolby 2.0 is quite disappointing. Supposedly presented in...Read the entire review

Sisters

Tue, 24 Apr 2001 05:58:10 UTC

Highly Recommended

The Movie: Sisters, one of Brian De Palma's earlier forays into the filmmaking business, is horror and suspense at it's finest (De Palma has gone on to direct such blockbusters as Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission: Impossible). A tightly woven story, Sisters follows Danielle (Margot Kidder), a model who has been separated from her siamese twin. An obvious homage to Hitchcock in many ways, Sisters makes extensive use of tight quarters, long tracking shots, and only three main characters. To further enhance suspense throughout, De Palma brilliantly uses a split screen at a couple of points to illustrate the careful timing necessary to cover up a murder.

The murder, witnessed by investigative reporter (Jennifer Salt), occurs in Danielle's apartment, across the street from Grace's (Salt) apartment. After frantically calling up the police, who give Grace ...Read the entire review

The Rock: Criterion Collection

Wed, 21 Mar 2001 22:39:24 UTC

DVD Talk Collector Series

The Movie: Note: The Rock is one of my all-time favorite movies, so please realize that this review will be extremely biased. ;)

That said and done, it's hard to name action movies of the 90's and not include The Rock in the list of the best. The second pairing of Bay with Simpson/Bruckheimer (after Bad Boys), The Rock is one of the most action-packed movies you'll see. But it's not the action that furthers the movie, it's the characters. All characters are extremely well acted and features the talent of Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery and Ed Harris. The Rock is loaded to the brim with talent and features everything you look for in a movie - comedy, action, drama, and suspense. From start to finish, The Rock will keep you on the edge of your seat and can be watched repeatedly without losing any of its punch.

The Picture:...Read the entire review

Titus

Mon, 12 Mar 2001 08:09:01 UTC

DVD Talk Collector Series

The Movie: "Titus Andronicus" was one of Shakespeare's first plays, and widely considered to be one of his worst - so why would it get the grand treatment to be put on film? Simple - the transition is simply stunning. Some critics of the play might dismiss it as nothing more than a parody of his contemporary Marlowe and while researching the play itself, I found that it is generally believed that the characters are 2-dimensional and have no real depth to them in his early plays, luckily Taymore is able to take such a critically "dry" play and spice it up and add character and vigor to the participants.

Throughout Titus we watch as the characters progress and grow, as they come to realize more about the world around them and reflect on who they really are. Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange turn in brilliant performances along with the supporting cast as one of Shakespeare's e...Read the entire review

The Old Man and the Sea

Mon, 12 Mar 2001 06:14:23 UTC

Recommended

The Movie: The Old Man and the Sea is a classic, no matter which way you look at it - as a book, or as this great 1958 movie. Spencer Tracy stars as the old man, a cuban fisherman, without much luck day after day until the big strike comes. Tracy's performance earned him is sixth of nine Academy Award Nominations and the film won the National Board of Review's 1958 Best Picture and Best Actor awards.

Awards aside, there's no getting by the sheer beauty of this film. While the voice-over narration does get a bit old, there really is no other way to tell this story. Tracy is superb as he follows the old man's trials as he battles his marlin for three days on the ocean.

Adding to this great film is a superb score (which I can't find available on CD anywhere unfortunately). This Oscar-winning score follows the ups and downs of the old man's contests with the marlin. Onc...Read the entire review

Scooby Doo and The Alien Invaders

Mon, 12 Mar 2001 06:13:34 UTC

Rent It

The Movie: Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders is pretty much your classic Scooby-Doo episode, but lengthened to a healthy 71 minutes. The gang encounters aliens which inevetably scare Shaggy and Scooby, so they're off on their own, while the rest of the gang investigates the alien invaders. It's a pretty cheesy movie, but what did you expect from Scooby-Doo? If you like Scooby and the gang, you'll most likely enjoy this movie.

The Picture: The picture is exactly what you'd expect from this straight-to-video movie. The animations are crisp and clear and there are hardly any video problems evident. Being developed directly for video, this film is in 1.33:1 ratio, which most people probably won't like, but it's geared for the kids, and they probably could care less about aspect ratios.

The Sound: The sound is also to be expected of a direct-to-video film. It's pres...Read the entire review

After Life

Mon, 12 Mar 2001 06:12:36 UTC

Rent It

The Movie: After Life tries to answer the age-old question - what happens after we die? Where do we go? By taking a very interesting look at the after life, the movie is actually quite captivating and engaging throughout. While it does seem to move a bit slow in a couple of scenes, the pace always picks up and draws the viewer in once again. With the help of dedicated caseworkers, each soul is given three days to choose one cherished memory from their life that they will relive for eternity. As the film reveals, recognizing happiness and finding a life's worth of meaning in a single event is no simple task. If Heaven is only a single memory from your life, as Kore-eda suggests, which memory would you choose?

The Picture: The picture, presented in widescreen letterbox is devoid of an anamorphic transfer and presents some flaws at times. The picture seems muted and th...Read the entire review

The Old Man and the Sea

Fri, 09 Feb 2001 06:43:33 UTC

Recommended

NFL 2000 - A Century of Pro Football

Wed, 24 Jan 2001 06:15:16 UTC

Rent It

The Movie: If you're a fan of NFL films that you see on ESPN from time to time, this DVD is right up your alley. Featuring 4 different segments, each about 45-60 minutes long, they feature "In Their Own Words," a look inside the minds of different players each the best (or one of the best) at their respective position today. The next is "Passing the Torch," an interesting segment that features 4 different hall-of-famers who meet up with a player who has potential to be a hall-of-famer to give some advice, joke around, and have some fun. After that is "Coaching 2000," where the viewer is able to go inside meetings, film review sessions, training camps, and game day from the coaches' perspective. Last, but not least, is "Generations," a look at football's greatest families - from the Grieses to the Mannings to the Dorsetts. It's interesting to see how football is viewed through these diffe...Read the entire review

Joe Gould's Secret

Sun, 21 Jan 2001 04:21:54 UTC

Rent It

The Movie: Joe Gould's Secret is about Joe Mitchell (Tucci) who writes for the New Yorker. He does profiles of various people, and one day in a deli, he meets an eccentric man who pours ketchup in his soup, actually puts ketchup on everything. Come to find out, this is Joe Gould (Holm). He's a cantankerous, unkempt, but brilliant writer who plans to write 'The Oral History of the World.' He has already written over 1.2 million words, and is still working on it. Mitchell decides to profile Joe Gould, and a friendship ensues - in this friendship though, Mitchell will not only learn about Gould, but also about himself. It's an interesting film with fine acting all around. Good for one watch, but probably not much more.

The Picture: The anamorphic transfer of the film works well, and displays a crisp and vibrant image. However, there are a couple of times when pixel...Read the entire review

An Affair of Love

Sat, 20 Jan 2001 22:17:51 UTC

Highly Recommended

The Movie: An Affair of Love, originally titled, Une liaison pornographique in French, was renamed to be more inviting for American audiences. It all starts when "she" places an ad in a paper looking for someone that shares her sexual fantasy. "He" answers and after meeting, and agreeing to go forward, check into a hotel room, and behind a closed door, perform the act. We never know what it was, nor do we even need to know. In interviews interspersed throughout the film taking place after the affair itself, both reveal that whatever "it" was, "it" was good. We never learn their names, nor do they share any personal information. All that takes place is an affair of love - what starts out as a simple affair to fulfill a fantasy turns into a love that neither has control over. It goes beyond being an affair, and progresses slowly throughout the film into true love.

Read the entire review

No Code of Conduct

Sun, 07 Jan 2001 08:08:51 UTC

Skip It

The Movie: A 'B' movie from the past makes it's ugly return this year trying to ride high on the current success of its stars, Charlie and Martin Sheen (currently seen in Spin City and The West Wing). A formulaic action movie from start to finish, no amount of good acting could help this movie rise above its horrid script (not that there was much good acting). Charlie Sheen is his usual renegade self, not obeying the rules or calling for back-up, 2 of the many traits his wife doesn't like, and her main reasons for wanting a divorce. Martin Sheen, in the obvious role of Charlie's dad, does his best to rise above the script he's presented with, but no matter how good he tries to be, the script drags him down time and time again. With the formulaic plot, small budget, and bad acting aside from the Sheens, this is one movie that you can most definitely skip.

The Pi...Read the entire review

Farinelli

Tue, 19 Dec 2000 18:58:21 UTC

Rent It

The Movie: A Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee in the category of Best Foreign Film, Farinelli is an amazing true story of the famous castrato. Young Farinelli had a most beautiful voice, and to preserve it, he was castrated. This movie tells the story of his life, and everything that came along with it - money, talent, fame, and women (some how). While the movie has its problems, as a whole, the film is held together as we watch Farinelli as he holds the power of voice, but experiences the downfall of fame.

The Picture: The picture features a great transfer from pring, with almost no signs of dust or grain. The anamorphic transfer is gorgeous, but as a whole, the film was a little blurry throughout (maybe the intention of the director). There is a little hint of edge enhancement at times, but it in no way distracts from the film. Had the sharpness been improve...Read the entire review

The Color of Paradise

Thu, 14 Dec 2000 21:22:33 UTC

Rent It

The Movie: The Color of Paradise is about a blind boy who loves to learn at the school he attends for the blind. After school gets out for a break (the children live at the school), Mohammed's father doesn't show up for quite a while. His father thinks that Mohammed is more of a burden to him than a joy. Mohammed is instead taken care of by his loving grandmother and sisters. The Color of Paradise is a simplistic, but beautiful film - I belive Ebert put it best: "'The Color of Paradise' is a family film that shames the facile commercialism of a product like 'Pokemon' and its value system based on power and greed. Because they do not condescend to young audiences, Majidi's films of course are absorbing for adults as well, and there is a lesson here: Any family film not good enough for grownups is certainly not good enough for children."

The Picture: The picture, unfortunately...Read the entire review