Firefox (DVD) Widescreen FIREFOX is an entertaining cold war fantasy piloted by actor-director Clint Eastwood. When the Russians develop a Mach 5 jet with thought-controlled weaponry, the free world needs someone to go and steal it from them in orde...
FIREFOX is an entertaining cold war fantasy piloted by actor-director Clint Eastwood. When the Russians develop a Mach 5 jet with thought-controlled weaponry, the free world needs someone to go and steal it from them in order to maintain the balance of power. Mitch Gant (Eastwood) was once a hotshot pilot and speaks fluent Russian, so despite his mental instability (hes suffering from posttraumatic stress as a result of his experiences in Vietnam), hes the man for the job. Gant is really the only character Eastwood has played who doesnt have a problem with authority. His bosses want a job done. Theyre on the side of right, so he does it. Along the way, hes aided by some Jewish dissidents (including a scientist played by Nigel Hawthorne) who are really a lot more heroic than Gant. Essentially, Eastwood has adapted an espionage thriller by Craig Thomas into a fun action film. The jet itself is, well, neat, and the final dogfight between the two Firefox prototypes is quite thrilling. The effects were produced by John Dykstras firm, which also worked on STAR WARS, but Eastwoods own down-to-earth sensibility keeps things grounded in some kind of reality.
PG"
Director: Clint Eastwood
ACTORS: Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, David Huffman, Warren Clarke
Daydreamer (DVD)
Magicmakers Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin continue their stint as masterful children`s storytellers in DAYDREAMER. In a bedazzling mixture of live action and animation, the film retells four classic stories from Hans Christian Andersen. In THE LITTLE MERMAID, a seafarer begins an unlikely romance with a creature that is half-woman, half-fish. An insecure ruler falls prey to the influence of his followers in THE EMPEROR`S NEW CLOTHES. Also present here are THUMBELINA and THE GARDEN OF PARADISE.
Seemingly psychedelic at times, DAYDREAMER is a lighthearted and honest presentation of Andersen`s timeless fairy tales for a new generation of viewers. Coincidentally, both THUMBELINA and THE LITTLE MERMAID would be produced with large budgets for mainstream theatrical release in the 1990s. In juxtaposition with those versions, DAYDREAMER demonstrates the change in Hollywood`s production of children`s films and, if nothing else, the catchiness of the numerous jangly Bass-penned songs.NR"
Director: Jules Bass
ACTORS: Ray Bolger, Margaret Hamilton, Burl Ives, Hayley Mills, Patty Duke
Anger Management (DVD) Widescreen Special Edition ANGER MANAGEMENT, directed by Peter Segal, looks into the life of Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler), an executive assistant at a pet clothing company. The mild-mannered but overly passive Dave is in love with his gi...
ANGER MANAGEMENT, directed by Peter Segal, looks into the life of Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler), an executive assistant at a pet clothing company. The mild-mannered but overly passive Dave is in love with his girlfriend, Linda (Marisa Tomei), yet his anxious personality keeps him from taking things further, both in their relationship and in his career. However, Dave`s life takes a strange turn when he is wrongly accused of air rage on a flight and sentenced to mandatory anger management classes. Eccentric anger guru Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) becomes Dave`s therapist, but when Buddy abruptly moves in with Dave, the doctor-patient relationship takes an unusual turn.
An appropriate pairing of actors with oversized personalities, ANGER MANAGEMENT allows Nicholson to run amuck, while letting Sandler hone the mellower side of his cinematic presence. As Sandler`s Dave becomes more bewildered at his predicament, Nicholson`s Buddy teeters wildly between wise and rambunctious. Meanwhile, Tomei (who apparently gets more attractive as she gets older) shines in her role as Dave`s beloved. Of course, no mainstream Sandler movie would be complete without a number of familiar faces in supporting and cameo roles, and ANGER has them by the boatload. John Turturro steals every scene he`s in; Luiz Guzman sports some remarkably unfortunate facial hair; Heather Graham shows up as a brownie-hurling blonde bombshell; and John C. Reilly appears as a bully-turned-Buddhist-monk. And to top it all off, there are cameos by renowned angry sports figures Bobby Knight and John McEnroe, as well as the esteemed former mayor of NYC, Rudy Giuliani.
PG-13"
Director: Peter Segal
ACTORS: Jack Nicholson, Adam Sandler, Marisa Tomei, John Turturro, Luis Guzman
The Christmas That Almost Wasn`t (DVD)
As Christmas approaches, mean Mr. Prune (Rossano Brazzi) schemes to ensure that Christmas will never come again. His plan involves evicting Santa and Mrs. Claus from the North Pole for not paying their rent--but when the children of the world hear of his Prune`s evil plan, they put their heads together to keep Santa in his home forever. This U.S./Italian co-production, with songs composed by star Paul Trip, was also directed by Brazzi.G"
Director: Rossano Brazzi
ACTORS: Rossano Brazzi, Lydia Brazzi, Alberto Rabagliati, Mischa Auer, Sonny Fox
Olive, the Other Reindeer (DVD)
A small dog named Olive (Barrymore) finds out that one of Santa`s reindeer is sick. Since she thinks that All of the reindeer are needed to help out, Olive makes her way to the North Pole to help Christmas from being cancelled. A delightful adventure based on the children`s book by Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold.NR"
Director: Oscar Moore
