Movieline Online

THE SHOW: With no disrespect to the gay community, admitting one is a “Trekkie” is as close as a straight person can get to coming out of the closet. There’s the shock and denial from various family members, the break-up of any “normal” romantic relationships, and the complete immersion into a subculture of society fighting for acceptance despite being dressed in really flamboyant polyester clothes. OK, gay people have better fashion sense. But the principal is the same. And with the release of the long-awaited box set of Star Trek: The Original Series (Season One) on DVD, fans of Kirk, Spock and McCoy will be forced to endure even more discrimination at the hands of bigoted sales clerks who mock them even as they zap their customized Trek Mastercards. But, oh my brothers and sisters, is it ever worth it! True, all the episodes were available previously on individual discs with much the same video quality. But Paramount has gathered up all 29 of them, slapped on a respectful 5.1 remix,...

THE FLICKS: The British film industry has always faced an uphill battle. With not enough money or marquee stars to seriously compete with Hollywood, television seemed like a more natural outlet for a country rich in theatrical tradition (remember, some guy named Shakespeare lived there?). Hence the teleplay, which had its fair share of popularity in the States as well, offered a more intimate dialogue driven medium that produced a number of breakout writers, directors and actors, who went on to international big screen success. Director Alan Clarke was not among them. That is to say, Clarke’s most influential and notable work remained on the small screen where he developed a reputation as an “actor’s director,” taking chances with inexperienced, unknown thespians and pursuing common themes of social ills and injustice. The Alan Clarke Collection is a full-blown departure for Blue Underground, a company best known for its cult horror/sci-fi/fantasy DVD releases, perhaps signaling an int...

THE FLICK: Call it the Dude, Where’s My Car effect: that curious sense of surprise that comes from watching a movie you expected to make you gag...only to find it surprisingly palatable. The Girl Next Door fits the profile to a tee, down to the internet ad campaign that interspersed Elisha Cuthbert’s photo with the words, “Dude, she’s a porn star!” Unless you were an underage pubescent with no access to cable-friendly porn, how aroused could your expectations be? But the film manages to build something genuinely sweet out of the masturbatory set-up, just like the recent juvenile jokesters of American Pie (and the even more similar Tom Cruise classic, Risky Business). Matthew Kidman (Emile Hirsh) is a straight-“A” student working toward an all-important college scholarship until it all goes out the window...literally...when he catches a glimpse of the new neighbor, Danielle (Cuthbert), stripping down to her skivvies. After a brief courtship, Matthew finds out the girl of his dreams is a...

THE FLICKS: Some movie premises are almost foolproof. As in, it would take a real wanker to screw them up. And John Wyndham’s story, “The Midwich Cuckoos,” is one of those perfect building blocks executed with equal aplomb in cinematic form by director Wolf Rilla as Village of the Damned. A classy sci-fi thriller, the film adeptly weaves a real-world feel around its single fantasy element of mysterious children born to a quaint country village all on the same day. After the population of Midwich blacks out for several hours (in a fabulously photographed introduction), all women of child-bearing age are found to be pregnant. After birth, the blonde-haired brood develop at three times the rate of a human child and quickly impose their will against anyone who oppose them (as evidenced by their glowing-grey eyes). Their mental powers are such that no one dares speak out for fear of a horrible retribution. Only professor Gordon Zellaby (George Sanders), himself the “father” of one of the ch...

THE FLICK: Frank Hopkins and his horse, Hidalgo, are a dying breed. So is their movie. An old-fashioned adventure story without any monsters, foul-language or showy special effects (well, maybe one or two), there was a time Hidalgo would have made every kid’s top-ten list. Now it stands out simply because of its simplicity. A past-his-prime cowboy slumming in a Wild West show, Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen of LOTR) accepts an invitation to an endurance race across the Middle East on the back of his famous painted Mustang, Hidalgo. The competition resents his infidel horse’s impure blood and look for every opportunity to put him out of the race. But Hopkins trudges on through sandstorms, locust swarms and a family feud between warring nobles. A bit too epic for its own good (I could have done without Hopkins Indian identity crisis), Hidalgo picks up at about the 45-minute mark with the start of the race. The film makes full use of the stunning locale – rolling dunes and worn riders silhouett...