0ur opinion: essential video:Not an ideal choice for younger kids, this hip and violent animated feature from Disney was nevertheless a huge smash in theaters and on video, and it continues to enjoy life in an acclaimed Broadway production. The story finds a lion cub, son of a king, sent into exile after his father is sabotaged by a rivalrous uncle. The little hero finds his way into the 'circle of ...
0ur opinion: essential video:Not an ideal choice for younger kids, this hip and violent animated feature from Disney was nevertheless a huge smash in theaters and on video, and it continues to enjoy life in an acclaimed Broadway production. The story finds a lion cub, son of a king, sent into exile after his father is sabotaged by a rivalrous uncle. The little hero finds his way into the 'circle of ...
0ur opinion: essential video:Disney's 1992 animated feature is a triumph of wit and skill. The high-tech artwork and graphics look great, the characters are strong, the familiar story is nicely augmented with an interesting villain (Jafar, voiced by Jonathan Freeman), and there's an incredible hook atop the whole thing: Robin Williams's frantically hilarious vocal performance as Aladdin's genie. Even if one isn't particularly moved by the love story between the title ...
0ur opinion: :Peter Pan has a special place in the realm of classic animated Disney films: it instills an element of childlike wonder. The 1953 version of James M. Barrie's story is colorfully told and keeps on the straight and narrow of the book. Barrie's wondrous focus on child's play is the key to its longevity: kids who don't grow up, shadows that run away from their owners, pirates, a fairy, and ...
0ur opinion: :lf you concentrate on the fact that Howard the Duck was a notorious box office dud (still brought up today) and considered one of the worst films of the '80s, it's entirely possible to enjoy this special effects piffle. Howard, played by a special effect puppet, lives on a planet where ducks evolved instead of apes, but one day he's sucked into a vortex and deposited on Earth. There he ...
0ur opinion: :Despite an irritating, tacked-on voice-over narration that somebody must have thought was necessary to make sense of the story (it wasn't), Last of the Dogmen is actually a very moving and magical film. Tom Berenger plays a Montana bounty hunter who helps an anthropologist (Barbara Hershey) search for the descendants of a Cheyenne tribe who disappeared in the 1870s. What the two find in a remote mountain stretch is an ...
0ur opinion:Description:Full of boundless adventure and boisterous fun, Disney's 17th animated masterpiece is the original film classic starring 101 of the world's most lovable, huggable Dalmatians and their hilariously evil captor, Cruella De Vil! A charming London neighborhood is home to Roger and Anita, whose beloved Dalmatians, Pongo and Perdita, have become the proud parents of 15 puppies. But when Cruella and her bumbling henchmen, Horace and Jasper, unexpectedly appear, the ...
0ur opinion: :When New York theatrical producer Joseph Papp decided to bring Gilbert and Sullivan to Broadway, he added typically broad, bold strokes to make their singular operetta format meaningful to 1980s audiences. ln The Pirates of Penzance, Papp had a story that offered a mixture of potential action and comedy that was less arcane than other G&S chestnuts, which Papp's production underlined by playing up its antic conflict between its hapless, ...
0ur opinion: :When New York theatrical producer Joseph Papp decided to bring Gilbert and Sullivan to Broadway, he added typically broad, bold strokes to make their singular operetta format meaningful to 1980s audiences. ln The Pirates of Penzance, Papp had a story that offered a mixture of potential action and comedy that was less arcane than other G&S chestnuts, which Papp's production underlined by playing up its antic conflict between its hapless, ...
0ur opinion: :When New York theatrical producer Joseph Papp decided to bring Gilbert and Sullivan to Broadway, he added typically broad, bold strokes to make their singular operetta format meaningful to 1980s audiences. ln The Pirates of Penzance, Papp had a story that offered a mixture of potential action and comedy that was less arcane than other G&S chestnuts, which Papp's production underlined by playing up its antic conflict between its hapless, ...
Small and light enough for a shirt pocket, Samsung's Helix YX-M1 is a one-stop audio entertainment center with an XM radio, a digital music player, and room for 50 hours of tunes, but it comes up short on battery life.
You can say this about D.E.B.S.: director Angela Robinson’s 2005 feature isn’t very good, but it is surprisingly entertaining. The premise, which bears a passing resemblance to any number of previous films (from Heathers and Clueless to Charlie’s Angels and the Austin Powers franchise), involves a secret government agency recruiting young women as spies, based on their smarts, their ability to lie convincingly, and the fact that they look fetching in ultra-miniskirts. Four of the D.E.B.S. are then charged with collaring "criminal mastermind" Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster), who has returned to the States after hatching all manner of nefarious plots overseas. Then comes the twist: Diamond is gay, and one of our heroines, Amy Bradshaw (Sara Foster), unexpectedly finds herself falling in love with her. Out goes the espionage element; in comes the love story, and therein lies the surprise, as this burgeoning lesbian relationship is handled with unexpected sympathy, even tenderness. Sure, the acting, even by veteran grownups like Holland Taylor and Michael Clarke Duncan, is almost uniformly lame, and the script is silly; overall, the film would have to put on considerable weight to even be considered frothy. Still, D.E.B.S. isn’t a bad way to kill a couple of hours. DVD bonus features include a making-of featurette and commentary by Robinson and the cast. --Sam Graham
The teaming of Johnny Knoxville (Jackass: The Movie) and Seann William Scott (Dude, Where's My Car?) as well as the presence of the '70s-flavored car chases that were a specialty of the TV series guarantees that The Dukes of Hazzard will be even more lowbrow than the CBS TV series (1979-85) that inspired it. However, this brain-damaging comedy is more "rehash" than "remake," as good ol' Georgiaboys Luke Duke (Knoxville) and his cousin Bo (Scott) are frequently upstaged bythe General Lee, the Confederate-flagged '69 Charger that they drive, jump, race, and fly in as they smuggle moonshine for their Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson). Meanwhile, cousin Daisy Duke (Jessica Simpson) is reliably available to model her short-shorts (aka "Daisy Dukes") and awesome figure (and let's face it, Simpson's talents pretty much begin and end right there), while corrupt honcho Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds, who should know better) recruits a local NASCAR star to advance his wily scheme of converting Hazzard County into a strip mine. Director Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers) manages to mine some good-natured humor from the movie's oval-track detour and a few colorful supporting players (notably Kevin Hefferman as the Duke's pal Sheev). Otherwise, consider yourself warned: The Dukes of Hazzard is shameless Hollywood product at its most forgettable, trafficking in shameless white, rural Southern stereotypes. If you can make itto the end, there's a blooper reel to reward your endurance. --Jeff Shannon
DVD features Yes, the unrated edition of The Dukes of Hazzard has nudity... but no, it's not of Jessica Simpson, but topless sorority girls. There are also two sets--"PG-13" and "unrated"--of deleted scenes and bloopers. The four minutes of unrated deleted scenes (supplementing the 25 minutes of "PG-13" deleted scenes) include more sorority girls and a menage à trois for Johnny Knoxville . The five minutes of unrated bloopers (the same amount as the "PG-13" bloopers) feature a few more girls but mostly bad language. Featurettes discuss the Daisy Duke short shorts (and show how you can make your own), car stunts, and the making of the movie (narrated by a cast member of the original TV series). --David Horiuchi
