DAVID CRONENBERG A DIRECTOR LOOKS AT VIOLENT AMERICA by Brad Balfour Now transformed from a horror genre master (Rabid, The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome) to a full-blown, critically acclaimed and analyzed auteur, Toronto-based director David Cronenberg finally has made A History of Violence – the film that may be the Oscar-garnering capper of his career. With Cronenberg having … Continue reading
The Dick Cavett Show John & Yoko Collection (Shout! Factory-2005) It’s 1971 and John Lennon is now thirtysomething. His life, finally, is getting interesting. Always on the cutting edge, this time he is on the verge of getting his peacenik ass thrown out of the United States, and not just because he is inflicting Yoko … Continue reading
The Brady Bunch The Complete Fourth Season 1972-1973 (Paramount Home Video-2005) Something suddenly came up, all right – it’s Season Four of The Bunch, just to boogie with you. The gang makes a group leap into adolescence, and the vibe is even more incestuous now that we have the maternal great-grandmother running off to Vegas with the … Continue reading
PRIME (2005) Starring Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, Bryan Greenberg, Jon Abrahams, Adriana Biasi, David Younger, Palmer Brown, Zac Orth, Annie Parisse, Aubrey Dollar, Jerry Adler, Doris Belack, Ato Essandoh, David Anzuelo, Naomi Aborn, John Rothman, Jonathan Roumie, Tag O’Mordha, Madhur Jaffrey, Gil Deeble, Jason McDonald and Lotte Mandel. Screenplay by Ben Younger. Directed by Ben … Continue reading
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ADAM AND EVE (2005) Starring Cameron Douglas, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Chad Lindberg, Jake Hoffman, Brian Klugman, Branden Williams, Courtney Peldon, China Jesusita Shavers, Terri Garber, George Dzundza, Alan Havey and Mike Elling. Screenplay by Justin Kanew. Directed by Jeff Kanew. Distributed by Lightning Entertainment. 91 minutes. Rated R. Once upon a time, National Lampoon was a … Continue reading
The Frank Sinatra Show High Hopes (MVD-2005) The old and true adage that “it’s Frank Sinatra’s world – we just live in it” is best illustrated during his Rat Pack years, from the very late fifties until the early sixties. Here you see the Chairman of the Board in his glorious, power-pipe action, during one … Continue reading
Various Artists-So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross (J Records) After the tragic death earlier this year of one of the greatest soul voices of his generation, it is nice to see a tribute to this consummate artist and spine-tingly good singer who pretty much defined the quiet storm and smooth jazz genres. The lineup … Continue reading
Tristan Prettyman – Twentythree (Virgin) Who knew? It turns out that there is a burgeoning folk and rock subgenre coming out of the Southern California surf scene. First there was Jewel (who, granted, was a transplant), then Switchfoot, a group that values hanging ten as much as Christian Rock. Then came the surprise success of pro … Continue reading
NEW ORDER – ITEM (A COLLECTION and NEW ORDER STORY) (2005) Starring Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Gillian Gilbert, Stephen Morris, Ian Curtis, Tony Wilson, Bono, Arthur Baker, John Barnes, Rob Gretton, Quincy Jones, John Robie, Jon Savage, Peter Saville, Neil Tennant, Pete Tong and the voice of Jenny Seagrove. Screenplay by Pascal Laugier. Directed by … Continue reading
ATOM EGOYAN FINDING THE TRUTH IN DIRECTING by Brad Balfour For Canadian director Atom Egoyan creating Where the Truth Lies offered a challenge of constructing something that was almost a genre film but not quite. Wrestling with musician/composer Rupert Holmes’ novel of the same name, Egoyan takes a story that plays on the conventions of the classic … Continue reading
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