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The series in books is very well written. So much so that the characters are vivid in your mind. The casting is way off in this movie. Several of my friends and I watched it and we all felt the same. | 0negative
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Car Wash is one of the best examples of the inner city African-American experience ever. Films like Car Wash, Shaft,Sparkle and others in this genre may be the only surviving document of the way we lived in those days. It is witty, gritty, and downright pretty. The soundtrack is also a classic. The band Rose Royce was assembled (much like the Monkees and the Commitments) just for the film. The soundtrack was a hit before the movie was even released. Car Wash is definitely a winner. | 1positive
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What a bunch of idiots! This was tragic and the ending makes me gag. There was enough stupidity to cover the whole world twice. I gave this a 2 instead of 1 because there were some shocking moments. Watch at your own peril because u will regret it. | 0negative
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Criminal was a good little independant film with a couple of con men doing a job. The plot twists and turns are slightly predictable, though I have to admit that I didn't forsee the ending. Well, not exactly how it ended. I saw some aspects of it coming, but not all of it.There are basically no special features on this disc. So if you pick it up or rent it, don't expect any behind-the-scenes info. You're getting nothing more than the movie itself.Nothing too special here. A decent rental, but don't bother purchasing it. You're better off with something of more substance. | 0negative
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Watched the first two seasons of White Collar on Netflix and then caught up on Amazon. Tim DeKay and Matt Bomer make a great pair. They have an undeniable "bro-mance" that makes for a good feel show. It's serious but with just enough humor to make it interesting! By all means check it out for yourself! 5 stars all the way! | 1positive
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Morrie Ryskind used to work on Marx Brothers scripts, but this one is pure eloquence. Yes there are zany Marxian type moments but everything that comes out of Powell's mouth is delightful: not one word a waste. To look at and hear Lombard act like a dunce - well thats just a rare life's pleasure! She literally and figuratively never actually aged. | 1positive
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Writer/director/star Shane Van Dyke apparently has an ego bigger than James Cameron in updating the original. Wih cheesy special effects, minimal acting talent and a preposterous script, this movie is a poor imitation.One time Oscar nominee Bruce "Willard" Davison tries hard but his role is so poorly written, he's like the title boat--he's sunk.You can laugh along so it's not a total loss! | 0negative
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or you'll dread it's stupidity. there is a strong message throughout the film about the kids being able to accept a new man in their life. Ice Cube is quite good in this role, I was impressed! However, I don't consider making faces at the camera acting. heck, i could do that. yes, I'm talking about the boy in the film. the director doesn't even let him act so how are we supposed to like him? & yes, I think this movie is a little cruel at points and I dreaded it for that. it stopped being a fun film and instead just became a dull & hated film. I give points for effort, mostly on Ice Cube's part! but this film is awful. it has nothing that stands out, the message could've been delivered better, though I do like the fact that it did have one! so it wasn't completely pointless, I just felt it could've been done in so many better ways. I thought this film was a major let down and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone ever. | 0negative
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I saw this film this past weekend and I was expecting alot from it. It has been targeted as one of those can't miss oscar hopeful films that are great. However, most movies like that fail to live up to the heightened expectations. However, Traffic was better than I expected. It is one of the only films I have ever seen that actually has a message, that actually sets out to prove a point. A film that is social commentary. Soderbergh is a great director as proven by his earlier body of work (Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Out of Sight are two of my favorites also), however Traffic is by far his best work that I've seen yet. It interweves 3 different stories all dealing with the drug trade in an ambitious and truly wonderful way. IT shows every kind of thing dealing with drugs from those who are addicts to those who are supposed to stop it. And sometimes those connections are alot blurrier than expected. I reccomend this film to everyone who loves great cinema. Just see it. | 1positive
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i bought season one on dvd and love every minute of it. i can't wait for season two. this guy is the most enjoyable,unbelievable,extraordinary magician you will ever see. they should dump all the other magicians and only keep this guy. not only that but he also has a very nice personality. now when season two comes out there is even better ones like when he pulls a woman apart. and when he saws himself in half. i don't want to say anymore. just go out and buy these. THANK YOU. | 1positive
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You purchase this at your own risk, but you have been warned by me and several others. This is just stupid -- real stupid. Acting is awful, script is awful, direction is awful. It's just plain awful. You have been warned. | 0negative
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Huge scam here. I watched the entire first season as purchased content and tonight found out the Amazon does not have season 2 available. Seriously? They will sell me a DVD. What a bunch of crap. I was pretty well sold on Amazon as my choice for streaming moveies through my television but now they want to rip me off into to buying the DVD of the second season. Amazon, get lost!! | 0negative
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This is a fair remake of the great Charlton Heston movie.. Omega Man..First 3/4 of movie was good... Last 1/4 was weak...Mr Smith's acting was fair to good.... | 1positive
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Trust me, this film is not worth your time.In the first Robocop the violence was extreme and had a wickedly dark twist to it. Even in the second film there was at least some excellent action sequences. The third film, however, is just Hollywood cashing in on a successful series!The plot is both simple and see through and the characters lack any real depth. Where before RoboCop was a lone ranger style character, who we feel sorry for due to his situation, he is now merely just another comic book hero.A lesson in how to ruin a good action/adventure film concept. | 0negative
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Did not like it maybe there was a bit to much dry humor that is for a different type of audience.Beautiful women, nicely shot but horrible one liner jokes ???nough said | 0negative
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The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a great story that is absolutely destroyed by Disney. When a movie starts out with swords and wizards in the 8th century, and then all of a sudden jumps to a kid on the school bus with Jimmy Eat World playing in the background, you know you're in for some trouble. This story is about a Sorcerer, looking for his mythological apprentice, to fight an evil that could destroy the world. The film stars action veteran Nicholas Cage. It's got a huge budget for lots of cool special effects...and Disney turns into a kids movie with a farting dog, a fantasiaesq cleaning scene, and of course a nerd who becomes a hero. It had such potential, but turned out to be such a Disney Cliché that I wanted to vomit. Sorcerer's Apprentice is another great story completely destroyed by over the top effects and garbage from the money hungry giant known as Disney! | 0negative
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Who didn't love Steven Seagal in the 90's? Good story, tons of action, and some great kick-ass fight scenes. I think this is definitely one of my favorite Seagal films. | 1positive
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The studio took a big risk with this film.They have basically abandoned the slap-stick comedy that has plagued Bond for 2 decades and created a very close and accurate portrayal of James Bond as written in the original novels from the 50s.These stories were dark, gritty and serious in tone.Of course it is safe to say that probably 95%+ of Bond fans only know James Bond from the movies, thus THEY may think this movie is off base for the character when it is actually the closest we have seen since 1962's "DR NO" when Sean Connery played a more serious Bond in the firt film.I know this is true because many critics of the film have attacked it for being very "un-Bond-like" when in fact it is almost dead on.Okay... the criticisms...1)Since this film is intended to explain how Bond earned his Double-0 license to kill, it theoretically of course pre-dates DR NO.This presents a problem for the nit-picky "Bond World Historians" since Bond's first boss "M" was a man.Also Daniel Craig appears a bit older than Sean Connery was in the first film.2) About Daniel Craig... His acting and dedication to playing this part wins you over out of respect.... BUT............. James Bond is supposed to have a "dark and cruel look".Okay.... with that stare, Craig has the cruel part down, but why couldn't they have darkened his hair a bit to at least visually match the Fleming description of Bond since they did everything else so accurately ?In the end, as I said above Daniel Craig earns your respect with his acting ability (I was NOT originally happy to hear he won the role.... I was hoping for somebody like the dark haired actor from SIN CITY---forgot his name right now).But Craig does capture the personality of the "Fleming Novel Version of Bond", even if the physical appearance is slightly off.Sidenote: I have always seen Craig as a villian for some reason, not a good guy..... but again I repeat..... he earned my respect to the point I accept him in the role.I hope they keep him on a serious side though, I don't want him to start throwing out one-liner comedy in the future.Since I am a Bond fan for over 30+ years, I for one was happy to see the studio scrap the silly humor, the "Bond Formula" that was being used in almost everyone of the last 10+ films, and the overemphasis on special effects and stunts simply for the sale of "eye candy".Finally we have a more gritty, dark and dangerous spy-vs-spy world with a tough Bond and not pretty boys grinning and smiling as they toss out one-liners like they know their lives are never in any real danger.I think the success of "24" on Fox and The Bourne Identity taught the studios a lesson..... people want the serious spy stories again and NOT the comical romps and frolics thru over-the-top CGI-land with bad guys that look like they came out of a Marvel Comic Book.Bond is Back !I hope the general viewing public is sharp enough to know or educate themselves on some Bond/Fleming history to appeciate this film for what it is. | 1positive
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When Christmas break rolls around a young woman (Emily Blunt) waits to the last minute to find a ride. A suggestion to her cell phone makes her take a look at the local kiosk where she finds a share a ride notice for someone heading her way.She meets up with the young man offering the ride (Ashton Holmes) and they head out on the road, forgetting several packages in the parking lot that would have come in useful later. Along the way the girl (that's how she's listed in the credits) offers a totally unsocial atmosphere to her benefactor.During their conversations things begin to look a bit unusual. Subtle clues point out that this young man may not be who he claims. His knowledge of where she comes from and where he is heading is lacking. His interest in her seems a bit overdone. And eventually his attempts to impress her result in them crashing the car in a snow bank in one of the worst storms that year.Stranded in the snow and lacking any food items (told you those bags left in the parking lot would have come in handy) they do their best to survive. The road he chose as a short cut turned out to be one sparsely traveled at best. The only car seen for some time was the one that ran them off the road.Cold and hungry, he sets out to find help at the gas station several miles back down the road. While he is gone, the girl begins to see things. People who aren't there, And one who is, a man wrapped in wire and struggling to walk. When she gets back to the car the young man returns and neither can find any evidence of the man she saw.The films plays on the desolate location and the sights and sounds the pair see or perhaps don't see. Are the images before them real or imagined? Or perhaps they are the ghosts of lives past who have also traveled the road.One set is a group of what appears to be monks. Upon investigation the young man finds a burned out house that still holds the remains of several men in their bunks. But the most startling image is that of a state patrolman who seems more intent on doing harm than helping.When the young man is injured, it's up to the woman to save them. Taking a phone and hoping to connect on the pole that stands along in the white wonderland, she climbs with the intent of seeking help. She does so but even this person is not safe from the patrolman.But again we are left to wonder, as he appears and disappears, is he real or not? The clues are there for all to see and you might even have the chance of putting them together to figure out the whole story. But before it happens, you'll be jolted back and forth from calm to fear, from safe to danger, in a story that chills not just because of location but because of the forces behind it as well.The acting is quite well for such a small film. It relies completely on the two leads to carry off not only the difficulties between them but the dependence on one another as well. Is he a stalker? Did he crash on purpose? And how are the people they see connected to what's going on?If you're in need of a good chill (perhaps not this winter but while in front of the fireplace of heater) then this movie is worth looking for. It offers a better scare that is more in mind than out and keeps you guessing. | 1positive
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Carlito's Way is one of my all time favorite movies.I didn't expect this movie to be great but with Edwin Torres and Martin Bregman involved, I thought it would be good or even just ok. I thought it would at least have something to do with the original. It doesn't.Carlito is the only character from the original. You think he would be working with Pachanga and Lalin. He would be developing his friendship with David Kleinfeld. He isn't even dating Gail! He's trying to start a relationship with a totally different woman.The original implied he had relationships with other gangs but he would have primarily worked with other Latinos. Here he is working directly with a black guy and an Italian.Also Jay Hernandez just doesn't fit the role of a gangster. He doesn't seem to have the attitude or power that a top gangster would have.I knew they were trying to capitalize on the reputation of the first one with a substandard straight to video prequel. But I thought it would at least have something to do with the original besides the name and Carlito Brigante (kind of) being the same main character.Disappointing even with low expectations to begin with. | 0negative
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After the events of "Dracula Has Risen from The Grave", a store owner named Weller (Roy Kinnear) finds Dracula (Christopher Lee) dying until he turns into red powder as he decides to contain it in a bottle and wants to sell his cape and medallion. Three men such as William Hargood (Geoffrey Keen), Samuel Paxton (Peter Sallis) and Jonathan Secker (John Carson) with Lord Courtley (Ralph Bates) have a secret black mass outside of town as they preform a ritual of unholiness as Lord Courtley drinks Dracula's magic blood as he transforms into the count as he wrecks havok once more. He seeks the blood of a beautiful young woman named Alice (Linda Hayden) who is the daughter to William and her boyfriend Paul (Anthony Corlan) must save the day.Campy and cheesy yet sometimes enjoyable entry of the Hammer Dracula series is one of their weaker efforts but not as good as the last one. Here Roy Kinnear who played the daddy of Veronica Salt in Willy Wonka does a nice hammy job of acting and Lee proves he is THE dracula besides Bella as there's some nudity but not quite graphic and the violence is a little on the violent side if tame but this is chockloads of campy fun for everyone even Hammer fans.This DVD has a great uncut transfer of the movie in it's new R-rated version from the original PG rated cut version and has only one extra which is a trailer and that's just it. | 1positive
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If you like your vampires mixed with martial arts, you may enjoy VAMPIRES: THE TURNING. But it's derivative script, sloppy effects and lame acting result in a genre mix that doesn't quite gel. Colin Egglesfield plays the studly hero whose girlfriend is kidnapped by a band of vampires while vacationing in Thailand. Egglesfield encounters another group of "good" vampires who he solicits to help him find his woman. Patrick Bauchau is around as some kind of vampire bounty hunter who helps kill the vampires with crossbows. The movie's pace is not kinetic enough to generate any suspense; we've seen the fight sequences done much better in the Blade trilogy, and its climax is anti-climactic, and the ending muddled. Only for die hard vampire or martial arts fans. | 0negative
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There was a challenge in the review below to offer an essay for why 8 1/2 truly is a great film. I offer Roger Ebert's essay in his The Great Movies archive. It can be found on his website. There are some great reasons brought up on why 8 1/2 works so well and I really enjoy his observations about the movie.Criterion also makes a great dvd package.Great film, great picture quality, great extras, and a great book of essays to go with it all.This one is worth picking up, hands down. | 1positive
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The Medallion(2003) is the kind of movie that could've worked, but didn't. It was a big budget Hong Kong movie with an international appeal. The finished film had plot holes, an overkill of CGI, deleted key scenes, and an anti-climax! The humor in the film is a hit or miss affair. This could be our only chance at seeing Jackie Chan and Lee Evans in the same movie. Claire Forlani is sexy and she is one of the better female leads in a Jackie Chan movie. Chan and Evans play secret agents who chase a crime boss. This crime boss is using a child with supernatural powers so he can control the world and gain immortality! The screenwriters borrow some pages from Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981) and The Golden Child(1986). The film has a dark scene where Jackie Chan's character dies and is resurrected by a...Medallion! Anthony Wong(Hard Boiled, Black Mask) isn't given a lot of lines and he looks silly as a bad guy in fancy clothes! What's with the corny Avril Lavigne song playing during the end credits? Christy Chung was probably cast due to the fact that she speaks fluent English. Columbia-Tristar cut many key scenes from the film that explained why the authorities were going after the villain. The film's working title was Highbinders. The Medallion was a critical and commercial flop, but we can see it for almost nothing. | 0negative
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The Great Ziegfeld(released April/36)was MGMs most lavish musical picture for that time and many would argue its' most lavish ever.Based loosely on the life of Florence Ziegfeld Jr.,it traces his beginnings as a side show barker to his greatest triumphs on Broadway and to his decline and death in 1932.Of course this is Hollywood and very little is "truth" here,only similarities or suggestions of.Stars such as Fanny Brice,Will Rogers,Eddie Cantor,Bert Williams,Anna Held among so many more,were to pass through his productions,the Follies.Anna Held he married,and eventually another actress Billie Burke(played by Myrna Loy,a natural choice,by now VERY popular with audiences starring next to Powell in the Thin Man series),who many will recall as Glinda the good witch in the Wizard of Oz.The fact is Florence was quite the ladies man and he went into debt many times over during his illustrious career.He in fact left a giant debt for Billie which is the reason she had to return to work just to pay off Florence's substantial bills,when he died of pleurisy in 1932.The theatre he had built and named after himself was taken over by William Hearst who had originally loaned him the money to build it in the first place.There is no denying Ziegfeld`s great influence in the show business world,even to this day,and fewer still can match a track record of 24 years of lavish stage productions;1907 to 1932.This film does manage to capture the ``spirit`` of Ziegfeld however and MGMs pick of William Powell as Ziegfeld was a great choice.Luise Rainer plays his French wife,star Anna Held,and she got an OSCAR for her outstanding performance.In fact the picture got two more OSCARS,one for best picture and one for dance director Felix Seymour.This is also the closest any studio ever got to matching the lavishness and technical brilliance of Busby Berkeley musical numbers;any one of them could have given Berkeley a good run for his money in their design and execution.The huge sets are still breathtakingly beautiful to watch.Technically the movie is,at times,a bit scratchy and it could certainly use a good remastering.But over all it is a clear and crisp print.Extras include a featurette on the making of the film and a rare vintage newsreel from the film`s premiere.The newsreel is a real kick as for the most part it is a camera staring at an open mike and stars waltzing up to it and saying a few syllables about anticipating the films premiere.Watch for a very young Ed Sullivan waxing lyrical,looking more like a member of the mob than the entertainment columnist and radio man he was(he Walter Winchell's biggest competition at that point).This film(thankfully)is the road show version which means you are getting the top dollar $2.20-of-the-day price version as opposed to the 176 minute pared down standard version.It is a whopping 185 minutes;that`s three hours and five minutes for those in Hoboken.But those 185 minutes go by quite fast,which is a sign of a very good film.The Great Ziegfeld is an engrossing 185 minute juggernaut which does NOT fail to entertain and impress thanks to the performances of Rainer,Powell,Loy and its`great supporting cast.It`s lavish production and dance numbers are a sight to behold and they give Busby a real run for his money.This was MGM`s highest budgeted pic for the depression and a gamble,but it paid off and was a hit.You won`t find a factual biography of Ziegfeld but Powell`s resemblance and his turn as Flo give the film the impetus it needs to chug right along in grand style to the end.Recommended. | 1positive
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this movie rocks i love the entire crow series hopfeully they make more , my wife got me hooked on them | 1positive
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Viewed: 7/12Rate: 27/12: The last three words in the title Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice, what is this final? Who is this final? And for what? Danny the silly leader proclaims that the world is watching them to perform the ritual sacrifice. Yet it's only like..ten of them. Does Danny know that there are over five billion people in the world, making them so trivial in comparison? After watching Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice for a bit while, it's pretty apparent to detect in the laziness of the material. No reporters around? No mass investigation whatsoever? Where are we now? Gatlin or Hemingford? I couldn't even tell. If there are carcasses around, they will smell around the radius, and nobody seems to notice. In fact, it doesn't matter since all I saw are corn stalks. It seems that the writers saw the original and decided to take words and ideas from it. Then, they just expanded it a little bit but recycled the rest. At least, they could have showed some nudity to salvage whatever the film had left to retain the audience. On other hand, speaking of the plot, if Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice was primarily a boy meets girl movie with Micah and Lacey, I'll be fine with it. But what I saw is rubbish, all the way to the end. The Indian dude is pretty useless and sure comes to death rather too easily. How about that old lady whose house was dropped on her? I don't recall a house being held above by a machine because they usually use concrete blocks or something similar. But to keep the machine running at all times? Ah, another question I have: what is the relationship between Angela and Danny? Did she really adopt him? And why? I seem to be at a loss about that. If Garrett, the national reporter, is snooping around for a story, is it so obvious? Just take pictures of the children staring at the house and the mark on the sidings of the house. Simple. But nooo...he procures aid from his son and asks the others simple questions in a state of disbelief. He doesn't even notice that Danny has the makings of a leader of the cult. I don't know how he is a reporter after all. If the children are adopted, they don't seem to be adopted. Are we in Gatlin anyway? I don't get it. It seems that "sin" is a real popular word of usage during the film. Oh yes, don't forget "fornication" either. And there is plenty of it during the film along with sin. So is "corn." Lots of it. Yeah, real smart of the cop to put the corn stalk to the pedal of that monster harvester and then leaves the scene, only to allow the two tied-up men to escape at the last second. Why does every film do this constantly? On the positive side, the acting is kind of better than the original. But the look on Danny's face while screaming the words to people defiling(?) the corn is a bit...overboard for me. Uh...why get out of the van in the middle of the twister? Stay in the van and wait it out, fools. All in all, Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice doesn't do enough to get a rating of `1' from me. | 0negative
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When we are young we believe that right will win. As we grow older we realize that it doesn't just happen and more often than not it doesn't. I am neither competent to evaluate the art nor the cinematography. But this story made me remember that somethings are worth fighting for. It was a great experience. | 1positive
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I tried streaming this thing earlier this evening. I don't know why. I guess it's because I bought into the whole Amazon Prime membership thing, and thought I'd take a chance on a foreign film.You know, there's a lot to be said about French cinema, and how it hasn't lost its boring roots to toss in angsty characters in long takes with stories about egos, but all of it is negative.I don't know what the heck it is about the French and their films. I just don't get it. A country with as much "culture" and history as France has, you would think would be up there creating great films filled with action and drama. But none such is the case. I'm not sure whether it's because they've lost nearly every war they've fought, or because the last Concorde when down in flames in their nation, or the fact that even though they were one of the first to make the net public but failed to progress their nation's internet any further during the 80s, it just seems like the French and their advancements always get stymied. Case in point; French cinema.So it is with this film. Laden with some sort of plot regarding U.S. business interests, I just didn't get why one woman was trying to psychologically brow beat the other, and what all the head games were about. I mean I half expected to see a lesbian affair develop out of this thing (no, it's not the reason I looked into this thing) because the film was just kind of that far out there.I don't know, if you're into ego trips about invasions of privacy combined with lots of head games, then hey, check out this film. Me, I had to wash out the bad taste with a Gregory Peck classic; "Captain Horation Hornblower". If you must stream a film from Amazon, then do that one and not this French flick. | 0negative
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This film has been mis-characterized. It is not a comedy. It shows the fairly mundane wanderings of two lost souls as the world is about to end. The funny parts were off-putting and not actually funny. My wife and I were 30 minutes into it before we finally laughed at something. I endured to the end, but I've seen this story before. Two unlikely souls find each other and find meaning. I wasn't convinced. I found myself rooting for the world to end so that I could see what the writers had in mind and how it would look. The rest of the movie was boring and not very funny. I don't know what other movie to recommend in its place. I just was expecting more from Steve Carrell. Oh and yes, everyone dies at the end. | 0negative
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Misnamed and misbegotten sequel to an okay original - stunningly stupidly written and with wildly OTT directing and music, it's unscary and has the same pathetically obvious sequel set-up ending as the first one. Only worth watching for a good performance from Jennifer Esposito - and for the luscious Jennifer Love Hewitt. | 0negative
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When he wasn't writing trashy, empty thrillers (Basic Instinct, Jade, Sliver), Joe Eszterhaz must have been reminiscing about his childhood, modulating what would eventually become Telling Lies In America, a great, tender, beautifully rendered film. Set in the early 1960s Cleveland Ohio, it is the story of Karchy Jonas (Brad Renfro), a 17-year-old son of a Hungarian mill worker (Maximilian Schell) who had been a PHD in law in the old country. Something, Karchy never fails to mention to all the authority figures in his life. All the father wants in life is for he and his son to become naturalized citizens. Duly, Karchy goes to the expensive school the old man has obviously strained to pay for where, unpopular, he bluffs about all the things there are to bluff about. He works nights at a grocery store where Diney (Calista Flockhart) also works in a pained saddened silence. He comes on to her with his obvious bluffs, the little lies that are so obvious to the worldly Diney that she pities him, or is amused by him. At night he comes home to the little house he shares with his father, looks in the mirror and desperately tries to pronounce "the" which without exception always seems to come out "da".Its fair to say that Telling Lies In America has its fair share of cliches. Those little cornets every coming of age film has to play. You have your hypocritical teacher/priest, your unattainable female Diney, her overbearing suitor Henry (Luke Wilson) and most importantly, Billy Magic (Kevin Bacon). Magic is one of those characters most filmgoers could draw from memory; the slicked back hair, the envy inducing array of lady-friends, babbling on his radio show in his all important "slanguage" while he offers his listeners some "ear conditioning" on a particularly hot day. Karchy is in awe of him. Except that the film wastes no time in exposing Magic as damaged goods. And Bacon, in some wry moments lets some of the man's bitterness show. Magic seems to like Karchy too, maybe he sees himself in the kid who can't help but showoff all the time. Or more ominously, he sees a profitable way to employ Karchy's masterful aversion to telling the truth.The director Guy Ferland gives the film a luminous, late 50s early 60s memorabilia rich look. The score by Nicholas Pixe, a trickling of organ, is stated only in the film's key scenes. It's a good sign, especially in a period film, when the direction and the music only impress in retrospect, rather then stick out and draw attention to themselves. They work in congruence with the story. The effect is that of nostalgia. Not hokey nostalgia, but the memories of growing up, with its highs and lows compressed into a hypnotic two hours. The cliches are not cliches if they're happening to and around people you know.Telling Lies in America will touch those nerve endings that responded to Barry Levinson's Diner. Even if this one isn't as witty with its dialogue or as generous with its guffaws, I like it better. I like the way Eszterhas weaves the humor of the Spanish fly episode, the familiar tale of a self-loathing bully into the story of a kid who just wants to be liked, without stepping into one saccharine puddle. Right up to it bittersweet ending, the film never hits a false note. It maybe ironic, that Karchy who is essentially a stand in for Esztherhas learns that he "doesn't have to showoff so much", has spawned the writer who would write a lot of showoffy trash. You'd think that it would take a very special film for me to forgive Showgirls. Luckily for him, this one is. | 1positive
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I love the show so much I wanted to share it with a friend. I bought this as a birthday present. I have read almost all of the books that True Blood is based on, and I appreciate them both separately. It's a great show to give a try if you haven't seen it already. | 1positive
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Maggie's small and droopy boobies aren't anything to write home about and neither is this trite movie. | 0negative
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A Scanner Darkly is a brilliant film. Originally a Novel by Phillip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report), was adapted skillfully & results in a great movie experience -- especially due to the animation / painting over the original film.I wont ruin the points of the movie -- I will say that the acting was superb by all, as was the script adaptation. It is not at all hard to follow, as some have said -- just don't leave for 5-10 min and leave it playing - pause it, it's really that simple.I'll admit, when I 1st saw the Trailers, I thought "what the heck is that movie about, what the heck is that title suppose to mean, and why the heck would they animate live film - it's probably going to be a retarded attempt to cash in on new technology, while screaming - Hey, We're the 1st ones to do this form of media... the movie's terrible, but who cares, we're the 1st, so you have to see it!!" ---- BOY WAS I WRONG.I didn't realize till after it left the theaters that it was a P.K.D. Novel, and figured, since the Producers weren't "screaming" "see it cause it's unique" -- they probably did it for a good reason (not just for show) & I should give it a chance.... and I'm here to tell you, you should too. It's NOT some Stoner movie, it's not even a "drug movie". It's a movie about what the "War On Drugs" could (and may) turn into, it's about who's right, and what's enough -- but miles away from what Minority Report was about... it's only set 7 years in the future... but is very relavent to the Political, and Societal climate of today.Anyway - it's not often I take the time to gab about good movies (or music) -- mostly I write (and warn) against Garbage (of which there is much) -- so that should say a lot.... this is a very good movie; and I was Very skeptical even when buying it ---- but extremely glad I did. I will give 1 warning (since I've referenced his other works): This is NOT an action movie. It is a Dark Comedy / Thriller I guess is the best way to describe it. It's not something you'll want to watch over and over (like when you 1st got Total Recall or Minority Report; and other such movies) but definitely worth getting & watching periodically.Anyone who says anything contrary to what I've said -- just has something against 1 or more of the actors, didn't pay attention to the film (or has ADD), or saw it expecting something totally different - and were just disappointed because of that... which is generally the case for about 1/2 the bad reviews most good (yet sometimes misunderstood) movies get.Thanks, & enjoy the flick! | 1positive
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I consider all the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movies monstrosities. I think the el cheapo sequels to Disney movies are a complete waste of a blank DVD and I HATE straight to DVD TV specials. They have many common negatives - terrible dialogue, dumb plots and cheap animation. Alpha and Omega TAKES THE CAKE. This is the first movie review I've done on Amazon because I feel so strongly about how terrible this movie was. It was not my choice, I wanted to rent Despicable Me from Redbox, but I listened to my kids and decided to give it a chance. It was the worst children's movie I have ever seen. Unrelateable characters, stupid storyline, un-entertaining dialogue and odd, out-of-place insinuations for a children's movie. It's so bad I'm feeling a little ashamed I've spent the past 5 minutes typing up a review. I guess I figured I might save some unsuspecting parent from having to endure the worst hour and fifteen minutes of time in front of the TV they will ever spend. | 0negative
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Thank you for the tape. My son had searced for Master Minds since he had rented it at the local video store several years ago. We were pleased to find it on amazon and the tape is in excellent condition. Thanks again. Billy | 1positive
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I didn't get it. This movie received all this hype and I was excited to see it. Boy was I disapointed, this movie had no point, no ending, no meaning. The story is old man meets young girl, old man and young girl party, old man leaves. That's it. Nothing happens. Save 2 hours of your life and pass on this movie. | 0negative
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Some people claim to have gotten a religious experience from watching this turkey. These must be the same people who invested with Bernie Madoff or who bought stock in AIG. This end of the world film has only about 10 minutes of special effects. There is a passenger jet crash, a subway crash that looks like it was done with miniatures, and some quickie scenes of cities being consumed with flames during the last 7 minutes. The rest of the film is a total bore. Some people HATE Michael Bay, but at least when you watch a Michael Bay film, it's not going to be boring. (Okay, Transformers 2 was a little long). | 0negative
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i love this movie, however, for some reason, someone has decided to edit all of the romantic scenes, brief nudity, etc. from the dvd version. if that isn't bad enough, they don't tell you that it has been altered from it's original content. i bought this dvd thinking i was getting the original that i loved only to get a chopped up version. rotten deal! | 0negative
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Came really quick. Haven't had time to watch yet, but look like brand new, so should be great. | 1positive
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This is an exceptionally well made film, very credible, with a great story to tell and lots of entertainment value.I highly recommend it. | 1positive
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This was one of the better movies released last year. The story was heartwarming, and the way the contestants supported each other was beautiful. It sends a much needed message to our world today that indivualism and consequent individual glory leads to dissent and conflict, whereas working together for the good of all as well as validating the other person makes everyone so much happier and contented. A real feel-good movie that all young people should be encouraged to watch. | 1positive
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Execrably written and plotted, execrably acted, good special effects, superb sound.This movie will go down as the otherwise commendable director Spielberg's bomb. How could he have lent his name and expertise to this turkey? Execrably plotted (one operable car in a world of vehicles disabled by electromagnetic pulse, yeah, sure); execrably acted (yet another screaming young female kid a la E.T. and Jurassic Park, and shallow older brother); execrably starred (Tom Cruise sleepwalking with no depth or believability). OK special effects. Superlative sound and I do mean that. One benefits from a really world-class, potent system to hear everything on that soundtrack, low impactful powerful bass effects and interesting sounds throughout, for example, when the aliens' spacecrafts "bellow" a la a great ocean liner's foghorn. The sound effects do shine. The rest, argh! It was painfully bad. Rent do not buy, this turkey. The classic 1953 version shines by comparison imaginatively and even (for the time) special effects. | 0negative
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i would highly recommend this item to any person who enjoys the animated but realistic views of this great adventure. many of the polls suggest the top 5 episodes are indeed at the top of their game. now if only my brother will purchase this item i sent info.to. | 1positive
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I watched this DVD just because I have watched Initial D (the same car racing / drifting gerne) animation. I watched it just because I wanted to know how it could be shot with real people. To my disappointment, I found it was a very useless theme. There is no actual reason for this drifting/racing. I guess that is a teenage thing -- anger. I believe a lot of 1-star had been giving to this film and I am not going to eleborate any more.I found it has a real bad influence to anyone who loves cars and those who always wanted to race. Even though the main character, Sean, never really injured in the movie, all his opponents died! Right, they all died. If anyone has a clear mind, Sean is just on the border and he could be the next one in line.Last 2 words -- Drive Safely. | 0negative
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Like everyone else here, I love this show. Not as in "I love Italian food"; I mean I REALLY love it, and it has become something very special in my DVD collection. So, apart from everything nice other people have said about this show, what is it that makes it so loveable to me? I think it is the huge, warm heart that beats beneath its whacky, cartoon-like surface, the spirituality almost, the uplifting message that shines through in every episode, without there actually BEING a message. This show is about someone who decides to start doing the right thing and even though he goes about it so clumsily, the reward for his goodness always comes (albeit often from a very unexpected angle)and thus it inspires viewers who have any sort of life left in them to do the same. There seem to be some similarities to the Coen Brothers' "Raising Arizona", with the white-trash theme, the colourful, sun drenched exterior shots, the general off-beat look and feel of the show. And like that wonderful film, the main characters may do stupid, dum, crazy and illegal things, but they still have a base goodness to them. Oh, and did I mention the show is hysterically funny, amazingly original - with almost no episode ending the way you'd expect- and has a killer cast? Just start watching if you aren't already. And if, like me, you live in Holland, don't wait for the networks to finally give us this gem on tv - get the Box set and have the greatest sitcom marathon ever. | 1positive
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I thought this movie was going to be funny but it was one of those movies where the jokes and acting just didn't do it for me. It was trying to be overly funny. I really like J. Hill and all of his movies but I thought this was his worst. C. Tatum I just don't like as an actor especially when he is trying to be funny. | 0negative
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While She Was Out is a movie about how necessity can provide one with strength. Della (Kim Basinger) is a normal mom with two kids. She is on the timid side in her marriage, with a husband that is abusive and controlling. When Della goes for some last minute Christmas shopping, she ends up getting four thugs mad at her. From there, a stressful game of cat and mouse begins that will keep you nervous for the rest of the film.As you can image, for a woman to be chased down by four young guys that are determined to harm her would be frightening enough for anyone. But the odds do not deter Della who just wants to get home and be with her kids. It becomes a battle between self-preservation and hunters on the chase.Once the thugs begin to chase Della, she aggravates us a little because she seems to be trying to get away at a snail's pace but this only makes it more suspenseful. After evading the thugs from the mall, she ends up crashing her vehicle in a new home development surrounded by dense woods, escaping only with a toolbox. Of course the thugs don't give up easy and chase her. Although Della looks a little silly running away carrying this little red toolbox there is nothing funny in the way she uses it to defend herself. Although Della is mostly timid, once she is aggravated the banshee in her comes out.While She Was Out is good film to watch if you want to raise your blood pressure, as good thrillers are supposed to do. The movie shows us just how true the expression "there is nothing more vicious than a mother that wants to defend her kids" really is. If you like thrillers or are a fan of Kim Basinger, it might be worth checking this one out. | 1positive
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I like Pixar. I think they consistently make good movies -- good in terms of narration, character building, and animation. The Incredibles is one of my favorite movies, and I thoroughly enjoyed Finding Nemo and Toy Story 2. I wanted to like Wall-E and I waited to be blown away.Now even I think that the Pixar hype has gone to a silly level. With Wall-E, I can see that the hype appears to be going to Pixar's head -- which any creative mind can tell you is a death warrant. It's not a death knell for Pixar's profits, not yet; but in trying to keep up with the hype, Pixar must be finding it more and more difficult to keep pumping out the same quality material -- overthinking its creative endeavors, as it were. I feel that this happened with Wall-E: it simply became overwrought.What are the critics gabbing about? This movie is NOT the best movie of 2008. It's not the best of anything, with the exception of its animation -- which does not, can not, make a movie succeed all on its own. In fact, what this movie ultimately reminded me of was a Pixar television special that was about 68 minutes too long.The basic plot is that humankind has "made too much trash" (killed the Earth with their blasted industry and consumerism, those cads) and has blasted off into space to hang out on a spaceship, teeing off and drinking slushies. Meanwhile, down on Earth, little Wall-E units work hard every day to clean up the trash. Let's zoom through 700 years to the present day. That's when we meet our intrepid hero, an adorable Wall-E robot -- arguably, the last of his kind. Apparently, he's been working for centuries (one of several "um, what?" moments), fixing himself with spare parts. Over the centuries, he has developed individuality and a personality; he is friends with an adorable cockroach and collects interesting junk in a trailer. He happens to meet a probe called "Eve" who has been sent to Earth by the star-bound humans for a secret purpose. He falls in love with her. They have an adventure. Will Eve return his affection by the end?!So is there more than that? Well, uh, technically... no. It's a love story between two robots and yet another preachy narrative about how humans suck at taking care of the environment. Oh, Wall-E is cute and instantly lovable, absolutely. The intermittent slapstick is laugh out loud, and the animation glitters. The problem is that it's an incredibly basic story with incredibly basic characters and yet another obnoxious "save the environment!" theme. I was bored out of my mind most of the time.What Wall-E really reminds me of is Studio Ghibli films, which I suppose shouldn't be a surprise, thanks to Mr. Lasater's closeness with Hayao Miyazaki. There's a quiet, understated, delicious kind of joy, optimism, and simplicity about Ghibli films -- most characters are inherently good and cheerful, and everyday life is infused with magic. Wall-E attempts to capture this same pleasant spirit and fails miserably, veering into hateful saccharine territory instead.The problem is that the characters in Wall-E have been dumbed down. Whereas Ghibli's characters generally tend to be complex and flawed -- heck, just as the characters of The Incredibles and Finding Nemo were complex and flawed -- Wall-E's characters seem just... stupid. Obnoxiously stupid, obnoxiously one-sided, optimistic only because they are incapable of feeling anything else. When human beings of the future see Wall-E -- this filthy, antiquated little machine -- they show no surprise at him and ask no questions about his appearance or why he's there. Wall-E simply bumbles from one mishap to another, unwittingly teaching little "life lessons" (ugh) to random people and robots, none of whom seem capable of thinking on their own. It's like a series of bubbly Pixar shorts, plot be darned. Heck, there is only one "villain" to surmount -- and it's not a particularly impressive one!Add to this some heinous dialogue ("Get ready to have some kids!") and some very blah character designs for the humans (all of the fatties look alike, even those of different races... whatever happened to the fantastic character designs in previous Pixar films?), and you have a very shiny, very bland movie.Am I really supposed to believe that human beings don't ask questions in the future and that they lose all of their intelligence? That consumerism blinds them all and that they all turn into miniature Jabba the Hutts? Yes, I know it's supposed to be a light-hearted judgment at Americans and consumerism in general. How very cutting-edge of them! This has only been the judgment thrown at Americans for at least twenty years.My favorite silly moment in this very short-sighted movie is the future portraying the humans' return to Earth, which is shown during the credits. A utopia featuring a green and flourishing Earth is seen. Humans are seen fishing with the help of robots, farming, etc... but no factories building said robots are shown, no energy sources for the robots, no houses for the people. Is Pixar serious? With technology comes waste. Heck, with human life comes waste. So it has been ever since the first human set foot on this Earth, so it will ever be. Anyone showing otherwise is painfully short-sighted and ignorant.Enough of this mindless eco-babble already! We all want and need nature and we need to take care of it, but we all want luxuries and need technology, too. There should be a happy medium; there probably never will be. Hey, I have an idea to chew on -- where would Pixar be without the trucks and planes shipping its movies to movie theaters all over the world? Or the cars and SUVs that its animators drive to work every day? Or the movie-goers who drove to theaters to watch Wall-E, the trucks that delivered that popcorn they so blithely bought? This is arm-chair preaching. It will affect nothing. It only feeds into the same well-oiled machine it hypocritically decries.Here's another thought. Who did they make this movie for? If it's for kids, it's too long and boring for them. If it's for adults, it's too simple. Commercials seemed made to appeal to the younger crowd, which was misleading. I'm honestly shocked people DO like it to such an incredible degree.All this movie is is a heavy-handed morality tale related in a series of frustrating Pixar shorts, headed by a cute little robot who simply can't carry the weight of it. Some movies, like Ghibli films mentioned beforehand, manage to teach these themes without effort. After watching My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, you want to see pristine forests; you want to make sure the rivers are clean. My Neighbor Totoro inspired the Japanese to set aside a special reserve of pristine forests and it didn't have to beat anyone over the head with Captain Planet theology to do it.I don't need or want lots of action or explosions or shiny things. All the Ghibli films I've seen and enjoyed do not rely on heavy-handed plots, for example; they rely on delicate, delicious character development. That's why most of them succeed where Wall-E fails; Wall-E is just not that complex. It offers nothing that hasn't been seen before. It goes from point A to point B to point C, character unchanging, simply adorable -- as though cuteness and slapstick could carry a 98-minute long movie!I hope Pixar moves forward and makes something a little more substantial next time, hopefully with the deep characterization I loved in Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. | 0negative
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This movie, which was considered terribly trendy and profound when first released, doesn't date well at all. The story of a fashion photographer who thinks he's witnessed a murder in a park is much less than meets the eye.There are holes in the plot as big as the Grand Canyon -- for example, when the photog returns to the park, thinking he may find a body there, he doesn't take a camera with him! And when he drops in on a rock concert, the audience is sitting absolutely still, like so many statues -- this is supposed to tell us something about alienation, or whatever.The film seems interminable, but it finally does end --- with the famous tennis scene, which is played by mimes, without rackets or a ball (insert joke here). Like the rest of the movie, it's pretentious hooey.The commentary track is almost as bad. There is a great deal of talk about illusion vs. reality, and Antonioni's use of color, and whether the script is politically correct, and the artist's function in society, and on, and on, and on.The sequence that gives the film its name -- the blow up of pictures taken of what may have been a killing -- is skillfully done, but, like almost everything else in this movie, it goes on too long.Viewed now, this film, which caused such a sensation in its day, is a huge disappointment.In fairness, I should note that the young Vanessa Redgrave is wonderful, but she can't carry the whole movie. | 0negative
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I have to say Car Wash and it's Rose Royce soundtrack goes so well together that it fits pefectly into putting a little dip in your hip and a little glide in your stride, like the radio man says 'I know ya gonna dig this' and dig it you will.There were scenes with Danny DeVito that were cut from the theatrical version that showed up later on tv screenings, pity but they are not here, however Car Wash is a breezy day in the life of people who go through the motions of the daily grind with some funny, some touching and some downright outta sight scenes that will have you taking a raincheck to come back for a repeated viewing.I love Car Wash, it's a good movie for those who get it, love the whole soundtrack too. | 1positive
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Hillary Swank (Margaret Fitzgerald), who proved her athleticism in her first major role, The Next Karate Kid, demonstrated it again, pummeling a heavy bag with a power left on which I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end. She's very convincing in this movie - both as a young woman from humble beginnings who wants to make a better life for herself, and as a boxer. In Million Dollar Baby, she returns to the visceral emotional range that left us so deeply moved in Boy's Don't Cry.Clint Eastwood (Frankie Dunn), who has proved himself repeatedly, has perhaps turned in the best performance of his career. At times irascible, intellectual, mournful, instructive, reflective, passionate - in every manifestation, he reaches you. He was brilliant.And Morgan Freeman is, well, Morgan Freeman. As the narrator of the story, and an actor within it, he lends a soft-spoken touch that ameliorates some of the film's darker elements. He also lent the film a certain amount of boxing sagacity, as he spoke in non-technical and sometimes quasi-technical terms of the basics of boxing.This film ain't no Rocky. It has an intelligence and compassion that Rocky (and virtually every boxing film ever made, save perhaps Raging Bull) couldn't think to have. Beyond that, it actually has better fight sequences. More often than in most boxing films - certainly the very poor choreography of the Rocky fight sequences - the punches looked and felt real, or as real as "fake" can make them.Margaret introduces herself to Frankie after a fight and asks him to train her. He turns her down flat, saying that he doesn't train girls. Given her pluckiness, she appears at his gym the next day, punching a heavy bag with all of the skill, style and fluidity of Pinocchio. Finally he agrees to train her ("finally" takes a while, and watching it come to fruition, the subtle changes in Eastwood's character, is a real treat to watch), and soon she is ready for her first fight.Here's the only similarity to Rocky: she turns out to be a natural, with a wicked left hook and overhand right (at least that I could see) and is knocking out all of her opponents in the first round. Some might think that this is, perhaps, a bit much. However, in the sport of women's boxing, such a thing isn't uncommon. PLEASE don't think that I'm saying women are not good boxers or don't have the same abilities that men do. It's simply that the increasing popularity of the sport hasn't quite yet led to the kind of talent that exists in men's boxing (although, frankly, talent on that side isn't exactly at it's apex). Her superiority over lesser opponents isn't unheard of.There's so much more I want to say about this film, because from this point forward it moved from being one of the best films of the year - purely on the strength of the writing, and the performances of Swank and Eastwood in particular - to one of the best films I've seen in several years. I'm so grateful that reviewers didn't give away the ending. I'll just say that the ending is layered with surprises, and that it's been a very, very long time that I haven't seen a single cell phone being used (how annoying is that, even with all of the polite requests and warnings?), and also seen so many in the theater remain in their seats long after the movie ended.It's a brilliant, brilliant film, the kind that makes me want to go back and change the number of stars I've given most movies that I've reviewed, simply so that this 5 star review means more. I recently gave Sideways, Closer, and Finding Neverland 5 stars, and while they are all very, very worthy films - I'd like to give this one six. | 1positive
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More poseur than performer, a bit lame. My advice is look up Derren Brown ,if you really want the real thing. | 0negative
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OK, so this film was produced on a low budget and managed to make a disproportionate amount of money. That doesn't mean it is any good. I bought it because I enjoy suspenseful movies, believed the hype, and I can now say I have learned by the experience! It is SO slow, SO tedious and the dialog demonstrates the value of having a good script-writer by its banality. It does create a certain tension, but my recommendation is rent this when you have REALLY reached the bottom of the barrel. I watched my copy once and wondered why, so I left it a few months and tried to watch it again. I failed. | 0negative
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Does not follow the books but is still a great Show, and if you had the misfortune of reading the Twilight series you will soon forget the Epic Fail of Breaking dawn. And if you read the books you will see were Stephanie Meyers got her so called dream from. Meyers you FAIL! Harris is a great writer and story teller, READ THE BOOKS YOU WILL LOVE THEM | 1positive
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Really, don't waste your money. I understood this was a B movie, but it's more like a Z movie. Ugh. Waste of time and money. | 0negative
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I would like to start out by saying the majority of Mr. Scott's films are works of art (e.g., Gladiator). I managed to see (Uncut, on TV) The Director's Cut version of "Bladerunner", and the original version of "Bladerunner", uncut as well. Being quite frank, THE ORIGINAL WAS DEFINITELY BETTER THAN THE CUT. The director's cut was best left unmade. The narration helped to understand the storyline, and the happy ending should have been left in. Seriously, WHO CARES if it was bad? It gave a good idea on how the movie SHOULD have ended. | 0negative
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I was really looking forward to this documentary especially since the one review that it has was 5 stars, however, it begins with a very low budget scene that does not relate to the documentary very well. The documentary was of an average quality -- nothing really new within the interviews. I believe that their was a lot of potential for this documentary since it is based on such an interesting subject, however, the documentary falls very short and does not provide any significant speakers or statements. | 0negative
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FeedThis DVD is not for the faint at heart. While it was very disturbing in many aspects, again, Alex O'Loughlin, did a supurb job of interpreting the character of Michael. | 1positive
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....from ultimate practical joker Ashton Kutcher and the folks at MTV. For everyone who has ever wanted to see the stars yanked back to earth! Don't miss this one! | 1positive
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I gave this movie 2 stars; but if it wasn't for the decent special effects, I would have given it 1 star. Why? Because of all the false teaching regarding Creation and the End of the World. Aliens did not put us on Earth; aliens will not save any of us when it is destroyed. Jesus is the beginning and the end; the Almighty, the Creator. There is much evidence from the Bible that Jesus will return soon. Unfortunately, movies like Knowing and 2012 are spreading lies about the End and other matters.Read what the Bible says about the End. Make no mistake; you will know when it happens, and you will know that God is bringing the End (it will not be some natural or man-made disaster). Take a moment and read 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, and Revelation 6:14-17. View my profile; visit my website. May God have mercy on your soul while it is still the day of salvation. | 0negative
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Washington Irving's tale "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" continues to thrive and gets another new treatment. But after Irving's masterful tale, and Tim Burton's gorgeous and brilliant take on the story with his 1999 movie with Johnny Depp, what was left to do?. Well, after seeing this movie, you realize that there isn't anything left to do and this latest stab at the legend is near or at the bottom of the barrel. The Sleepy Hollow story and the Headless Horseman and all that has always been one of my top favorite stories and favorite Halloween time story. It's just wonderful. But this movie really makes a mockery of the whole thing. It's like this movie was trying to be an R rated film, but ended up feeling like a made for Hallmark movie trying to be a slasher film. I was hoping for another fun new look at the story, but this movie was just a big disappointment when I watched it when it first premiered on TV last Halloween. I know the version shown last Halloween was edited, but from the looks of things, it didn't seem like it needed much of it. I mean, how much of an R rated horror film could it of been when it was shown on The Fox Family Channel?!. There is nothing new here, and the filmmakers basically made a sloppy film that is nothing more than a bunch of cardboard kids getting slashed by a ridiculous looking Headless Horseman. What is the plot of the movie?. Well, there isn't a whole lot of it. Kevin Zegers stars as Ian Cranston(Ichabod Crane?), who learns that he is part of the Ichabod Crane family line. He and his family live in Sleepy Hollow, and Ian is the typical good kid who has the hots for the hot cheerleader(Kaley Cuoco) who is already taken, and is being pushed by his overbearing dad(Judge Reinhold). But thanks to a weird local(Stacey Keach), Ian finds out about his ancestry, and learns that the Headless Horseman has returned to take more heads. The end part of the movie takes place during the school's haunted hayride. That part was kind of cool, but as with everything else with this movie, it was not used to it's fullest potential. The whole Crane family line thing is okay, and I guess it makes sense in the modern world. But the script is so lazily and uneffectingly written, that it never makes a strong case. The characters are stereotypical cliches, and you don't care for a single one of them. Why would you?. Zegers is appealing as Ian, but it is Stacey Keach, with his hammy performance, that will end up being the only memorable one here. Backstreet Boy Nick Carter starts as Cuoco's jock/jerk/bully boyfriend. I would say that Carter should stick to singing, but I guess he shouldn't even do that. Carter's character isn't a character at all. He's just a walking, talking cliche of every high school jock/bully ever seen in a movie or TV show. I have always gotten the impression that Carter himself is kind of a hothead jerk in real life, but he can't even bring it to life on the screen. Plus, he looked horrible. Bad casting. Then there is Judge Reinhold. Don't get me wrong, I really like Judge. I always have. But he is so horribly misscast here. The father role is another cliche. He's the football coach at the high school who pushes and pushes Ian to do this and be like this and all that. The problem is that Judge has always seemed like a nice, soft kind of guy. This is a role and persona that does not fit him in any way, shape, or form. He has such a soft, whispery kind of voice, that when he gets mad and gives Ian all of his talks, it's more laughable than anything else. He can't do it. The Horseman himself is a complete joke. Why such the large pumpkin head?. Not only is that completely stupid looking, but he is dressed like some medievil jester. The whole appearance is incredibly foolish looking, and has no sense of fear or terror at all. The kills are silly and cartoonish, and none of the suspense scenes have any suspense in them. The whole movie is like a live action episode of Scooby Doo, minus the good parts. "The Hollow" is a hollow movie indeed. Bad acting, bad casting, and a script with no heart, depth, terror, or mystery. Just a vanilla teen flick. So, is there anything to like about it?. Not much. Besides the fun of Stacey Keach's hammy overacting and Kaley Cucoco in her cheerleading uniform(hubba hubba), there is nothing here to reccommend. This movie ends up being a major trick instead of a treat. | 0negative
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Well this was an enjoyable movie, the 1st episode ends with two guys kissing. Ruins the movie! I was very disappointed and wish I had read more reviews before wasting an hour of my time. | 0negative
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I saw this movie a few years back, the thing that stands out the most is the scenes with both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels. I can see why Rian Johnson decided to cast both actors together again for his Sci-Fi masterpiece, Looper. This movie is paced well, well directed and well acted. The more things I see Joseph Gordon-Levitt in, I like him. Writer director Scott Frank does a really good job of setting up the characters and making the viewer empathize with them. On Blu-Ray this movie looks as crisp as its winter setting. The supplemental features are a little on the light side, but at a cheap price this is well worth the buy and a welcome addition to my video library. | 1positive
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Yes folks this is a Zombie, Comedy, Road Movie with a love interest bags of laughs (you will split your sides - ho ho) and it is great fun. I will give you the basic synopsis. Two Zombies realise that they cannot only still speak but seem to have the ability of free thought, fear and sarcasm too. Mike Kellerman (Michael McKiddy) starts to remember when he was alive and things become clearer when he finds an engagement ring! Yes he was and realises he still is in love - bless. Only problem is he doesn't look his best, he has been dead for three years and apart from the obvious odour issues he has some noticeable bullet holes and his arm keeps falling off.But help comes in the unlikely looking Brent Guthrie (Ross Kidder), a fellow sentient Zombie, who suggests that they ought to deliver the ring anyway just to put the record straight. This they decide to do and start their road trip with a great old guy Cliff and an adopted Zombie called `Cheese' who seems to respond to doggy commands rather than the usual human banter. Like all good road trips they only have one rule and this is? No eating humans - typical.The sub plot comes in an evil drugs company who want them dead or experimented on or both, either way they really need to put some space between each other but it aint gonna be easy as they is some bad bottomed mother fornicator types.This is a film I thought was going to be trashy and the only saving grace being able to fritter away an hour and a half, and I was way off the mark. It is a genre bender in the talking, thinking Zombie angle, but it really works. They are very aware of their situation and take it with acceptance, humour pathos and lots of cod psychology. There is also a load of real humour, the laugh out loud stuff and not the gross arm eating stuff either. I laughed on more than one occasion and better still I was rooting for these guys. Because no matter how bad thing got they kept on trying and there was real warmth coming from the performances.I think that is why it worked so well, we do have chemistry between all the main players, that and the evil sub plot and the lost love all just combined to make a very enjoyable film indeed. There is a lot of the gore you would expect but it is far from gratuitous. Not just for Zombie fans, not just for comedy fans but for one hundred per cent Zom - Com fans - you know it makes sense. | 1positive
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This is a one on one interview with the Hammond organ master Rhoda Scott. If you are a fan of Rhoda then you are sure to enjoy this film. It's basically a quick overview of her entire musical life. | 1positive
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The movie is a victim of poor writing. It has not held up over the years very well, but is a quite stilted and two-dimensional 1940s "battle of the sexes" movie. (Ah do declare! Ladies can be doctors and lawyers! Zounds!) The movie would have been worth seeing if Tracy had decked Kip and divorced Amanda...... Good acting, certainly, but I found myself glancing at my watch throughout. (The fact that the writers had obviously never been in a courtroom added to my displeasure). | 0negative
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Kung Pow: Enter The Fist? Oh, bruddah! As if it needed a review. I mean, Toungie, Moon-Yu the Cow, MASTER "BETTY" PAIN?!?!?!? Please don't buy this wanna-be martial arts movie. | 0negative
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The kind of "documentary" where almost every archaeological discovery happens at night because that's the best time to dig up artifacts and prowl around in churches. Thank god the local drunk had keys. Spookiness helps with mystery solving apparently, just ask the Scooby Doo crew. With ridiculous clues to the supposed location of the tomb of Mary Magdalene found in what looks like modern bottles and written on new looking paper with bright red ink in grammatically incorrect French, this documentary tries to be both treasure hunt and mystery. Too bad much of the data they present as facts has been debunked many times over (The Priory Of Sion) or is just plain wrong. Other discoveries don't really add up to much, though much is made of them. So ultimately this documentary comes off not as a voyage of discovery so much as a voyage of crap undertaken by a ship of con artists and as real as the Blair Witch Project. Too bad it's not as entertaining. | 0negative
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Though this Wes Craven remake is not going to be terribly memorable, it is far from poor. The Hills Have Eyes gives us a little bit of everything that a modern horror film can provide - some scares, lots of blood, gore, and a variety of disturbing images and scenes. Some might be too disturbing, as I found it difficult to watch a deformed human creature raping a young teenage girl (the scene isn't presented in detail, but there's enough shown to reveal it's occuring).Unlike some horror films, I think this tries to prove some points. The points it might make are not what this movie is all about (it's the horror entertainment obviously) and they will have little impact given the amount of gruesomeness this film pours over itself by finish. The beginning credits show old video and photos of nuclear tests in the United States desert, and their unfortunate effects on any humans who still resided in the area. It is becuase of these tests, they not only grew deformed, but many turned into savage beasts who will not just kill anyone who comes across their territory, but slaughter them...and sometimes eat them too.The movies focuses around a typical bickering family, headed for a vacation in San Diego, half of whom aren't that excited about. Dad - Big Bob Carter (Ted Levine) - decides to take the scenic route through the desert. At a gas station in the middle of nowhere, the owner provides him with directions claiming to be a shortcut, but in turn is a setup. After a road accident on this back road, the family is stranded. Bob and his son-in-law Doug Bukowski (Aaron Stanford) split up and walk the road looking for help. As night falls, the creatures from the hills begin to move in, and this is when the first (and probably) most horrific scene of the movie takes place.After the deaths of several family members (much to my surprise who some were) Doug sets out for revenge and to get his baby daughter back who has been kidnapped. He ventures out into the old towns where nuclear testing used to take place. Many of the creatures are living in the towns, including those who have caused the disturbing and graphic trauma to this family. Doug finds himself in a climactic showdown with some of these creatures, and the result is a very bloody, and graphically violent scene. Normally when a camera would pull away in a film, it doesn't happen here. All kinds of weapons and tools are shoved into necks, faces and heads.What begins as some scares in the first 30 minutes, quickly turns into disturbing imagery and concluding with all out blood and gore. The violence at the end is almost a welcome sight I must say, as the creatures probably deserved it after what they did earlier. Hills Have Eyes may be a bit too much for many to handle, so approach this cautiously, and stay off desert roads and leave nuclear experiments alone.Acting - 3.5Charcaters - 3Gore - 4.5Scares - 3.5Story - 2Overall - 3.5 | 1positive
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Simply one funny movie. Barry Bostwick and Karen Black own every scene they're in. Forget "CSI" and "Criminal Minds", this is how cops and serial killers operate in the real world. And if you think you know what's going on, you're probably right but it's still a fun journey. | 1positive
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I spent over $800 on the VHS videos from Columbia House two decades ago. I spent less than $140 for the complete DVD set and discovered more treasures, rare filmed interviews, bonus extras and high-quality transfers that are far superior to what I have been watching the past 20 years.The retail price keep lowering over the months but by now it's beyond affordable. I recommend you grab this season box set today.I also suggest you buy "The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic" because the 800 plus page book is a P-E-R-F-E-C-T companion to the DVD box set. Before or after you watch an episode, you can use the book to uncover the in-jokes, bloopers and trivia that make viewing these episodes fun. Watching the shows is one thing, knowing the behind-the-scenes stuff is even more fun. Both are available on Amazon. | 1positive
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I just finished watching this film--luckily--before buying it. I will say this, the movie does have its pros as well as its cons, but I feel that the cons outweigh the pros. For any hardcore fantasy film lover like me, I would recommend you see this movie before buying it. I, personally, felt it was worth seeing at least once. Let me make a list of the pros and cons without giving too much away:Pros: The film has a really good soundtrack. The music is very mysterious and dark, giving this hollow tale a bit more dimension. The beginning credits were animated and very well-sylized, and sets the audience up for a good ride, which, unfortunately, never takes off (the animation combined with the music gave me the same feeling I got when seeing the end credits for A Series of Unfortunate Events--If you see it, you'll understand what I'm talking about). Some of the film's visuals were also quite impressive, such as some of the long shots of the campground where the freaks live. Another positive aspect of this film is the casting of John C. Reilly as the vampire Larten Crepsley. When I saw the trailer for this film, I thought he looked a bit miscast, but I was very wrong. He was probably the saving grace of this movie and was the only character keeping the plot afloat. He plays his role with just the right amount of wit, charm, and sympathy; I wish he would have been used more, since he was the only seemingly three-dimensional character in the film. The special-effects were also well-done (except for the speed-racing colors they used on the vampires when they run at the speed of light), especially when the freaks are showcasing their abilities or deformities.Cons: I felt there were too many for me to thoroughly enjoy this film. For one thing, I think everyone else, minus John C. Reilly, was miscast. Then again, I have not read the books on which this movie is based, but I have friends who are quite fond of the books and feel that the darkness, the foreboding, and the melancholy from the story, were not translated well onscreen. I would have to agree. I have passed by the covers of the books in my nearest bookstore, and I felt the cover art revealed a darkness and severity that lacked in this film adaptation. The directing is a little off when it comes to the characters. For one thing, the protagonist is as dull as a plank of wood (his animated counterpart in the beginning credits was more entertaining and convincing; they did him too much justice). He delivers his lines so unconvincingly that we, the audience, wonder if he cares about anything or anyone. His parents, on the other hand, seem too lively and caricatures of real parents. When they find out **spoiler** he dies, their faces show no signs of mourning or regret, or doubt **spoiler end**. They were caricatures while they're son was anything but that. In that sense, the film felt unstable. If it were left up to me, I would have cast either a better protagonist and antagonist, or I would have decided to stray from the book and cast college-age young adults to play them with better acting skills. That way, the stakes would seem more important, and, overall, severe. I am a big fan of a realistic approach to fantasy work, as can be seen in some of the latest Harry Potter films. It makes the world real to the audience, and gets them more involved. Sadly, this film did not achieve that. My guess is that the director wanted to make the protagonist and antagonist seem like real teens by making them use the word "man" and "like" every other sentence, but it only made them seem a little dumb and incapable of pursuing their intricate destinies. In fact, in trying to make them seem real, they came across as rather lame and empty-headed. I actually feel, however, that Josh Hutcherson did a better acting job than the main guy; but then again, he's had more acting experience and has showcased better acting skills in prior films.Maybe I'm not one to give a valid opinion on this film since I have not read the books and, therefore, cannot compare. However, I do judge this movie as a fantasy film lover who wishes justice would be made to outstanding and iconic works of fiction. I feel filmmakers are at a constant rush to cough out the next big hit, that they forget to make a solid, worthwhile film. Yes, people will pay to see it, but they will not stand the test of time, unfortunately. While watching this movie, I felt myself reworking the tone and plot in my head to make a better film. In my head, I created a masterpiece, but I could not say the same for the crap I was watching onscreen. If they do decide to continue with the Cirque du Freak series, which I strongly hope they do, I hope a new director takes hold of it and truly understands the appeal of this story, which can really be a classic, but only if approached with the right mindset. Instead of watering it down, I say the filmmakers take a chance and make something truly dark, foreboding, and severe. | 0negative
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If you want to save time and get your project done instead of spinning out on your learning curve,you should definitely get this.Jim shows how to do in a single session things that took me days to figure out when I first used Power Point.I have used several products from Jim Edwards and have never been unsatisfied.A lot of authors out there will tell you what to do and why to do it.Jim Edwards is a master at telling (and showing) exactly how to do something in the quickest and easiest manner. | 1positive
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Another excellent episode in the season 2 series!!Can't wait for the next one.Too bad it's ending for the season so soon.... | 1positive
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A KNIGHTS TALE is the best movie I have seen in a long time. It has great music, great action scenes, great charcters and its very funny! And for the ladies there is a very cute guy! So I say you should go see this movie as soon as possible! | 1positive
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As a Viet Nam veteran, this movie had a tremendous impact on me when I first saw it. Each time I watch it, I am totally engrossed by not only the subject matter, but in the finest performances I have seen, by not only Robert DiNiro, but also Kathy Baker and Ed Harris. This is a tender, yet gut wrenching story of a Viet Nam vet, DiNiro, who returns home to help another vet, Ed Harris, finally come to terms with their tragically entwined past. In the process he meets and falls in love with his friends sister, played by Kathy Baker, in a masterful and understated performance which lends credibility to the adage that sometimes less is more. I truly feel that this movie, and all it's stars, should have at least been nominated for Academy Awards. A truly gripping and realistic drama. | 1positive
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The movie to me is spectacular.Great story line, great songs, lots of comedic scenes.Downside is DVD description states movie is dubbed. Movie is not dubbed and the only option available is Hindi with English Subtitles.Saw this on Netflix and there is a full dub movie out there, this DVD is not it.Enjoy. | 1positive
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Seriously, this was awful on every level. Action sequences were boring, contrived and brought nothing 'new' to action movies. No plot to speak of whatsoever, and I don't care that it's a "video game movie", frankly, the video game had more plot than the movie!I saw it on a bit of a lark (and was urged on by a positive review by Harry Knowles at aint-it-cool-news, whose opinion I will never mistake for valuable again), figuring it would be a fun/silly shoot-em-up type of action movie. Dreck, filth, garbage.Mortal Kombat the movie was at least decent. Doom was more like Mortal Kombat: Annihilation - just an awful mess.IN fact, I am only writing this because I hope that I will gain some karma in life by saving you from seeing it. The worst thing to me is trying to guess how it's averaging 3 stars (at the time of reading this). I cannot for the life of me imagine what might make someone say as positive a comment as "yeah, it was OK, I guess." THAT would be too much praise for this waste of celluloid.Double-shame to Karl Urban - you were Eomer!Anyhow, don't see it. | 0negative
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This was one of the most depressing movies I have ever watched. It doesn't have a happy ending like "Pride and Prejudice". This is not a family friendly movie either. One of the characters finding her husband in bed with another man and being "raped by her husband". If you are looking for a movie that makes you feel good at the end do not watch this one. | 0negative
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quite the actor and multi-media man, DL shines. Great direction as well - this is a film not to be missed full of independent spirit and raw emotion... | 1positive
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Why didn't they have Shaka fighting the Spartans at Thermopylae?Such a scene would have been more consistant with any truth than this absurd account.The trouble is that mythical accounts such as this become part of "real history" seamlessly due to the fact that no one reads anymore.Shaka (Chaka) was an important man; he was not a noble man. Quite the opposite - he was a very successful mass murderer who, had he been white, would have been properly villified. He never fought any white people and had contact with only a few white MEN whose real characters have been entirely fictionalized in this absurd account.Shaka had no contact with Muslims or with slave traders (featuring Southern US accents no less).Perhaps the most disturbing feature of this wretched movie is its subliminal undertone of anti-American messages. Americans had nothing to do with the history of Natal or Zululand. Why then the American accent for "Wild Coast Slavers" who never existed anyway?The Zulus eventually (long after Shaka's brother Dingane had murdered him) had their troubles with the whites but they were either British or Dutch Boers; not Americans. It also must be stated that a state of continual tribal warfare existed in Southern Africa in the early 19th century.If you want fantasy I suggest you buy star wars, not this totally made up "history". No doubt this will be introduced into our decaying government school system as part of "black history" ughhh! | 0negative
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I bought this because I thought these two were great as a radio program. This had a lot of profanity. | 0negative
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This is a movie to watch if you love period pieces and want to get the full meaning of Thanksgiving. | 1positive
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Okay, it was bound to happen, right? After all the gnashing of teeth about the lost of American jobs to other countries, after all the India-China bashing as the symbol of those loses and after all the strident, if fruitless, lambasting of those facts by every yahoo politician and cretin-like labor bureaucrat we were bound to get out of Hollywood (or Bollywood, for that matter) a comedic take on this phenomenon. And, given the political ethos of these times, a little `lesson' in multi-culturalism to boot.It may be unfair to lay the vagaries of the world labor market and the current phase of capitalist "globalization" on a simple film, and I won't, at least not much because this was actually an entertaining film on its own terms, but its subtext (nice weasel word, right?) does fit in rather nicely about the state of the still fervent "outsourcing" strategy that virtually every large corporation in America (and elsewhere) has hit upon in order tot reduce (and reduce significantly) their wage bills, particularly administrative costs and the price of unskilled and semi-skilled labor.A quick sketch of the plot is in order. An American telemarketing corporation in order to cut those high administrative costs fires it's American-centered order-taking staff and out sources to the highly skilled but cheap wage Indian labor market. A middle level executive, the star of the film, Josh Hamilton, is called upon to bring the Indians up to speed and the twists and turns of the plot turn around the struggle to get the Indians to conform to the Taylor productivity speed up system well-known in American business circles. The faults and follies of this transformation drive the, sometimes understated, comedy of the film. Along the way, naturally, said executive gets an up close and personal lesson in multiculturalism from a very fetching Indian love interest.But here is the point for our purposes-in the end, and I am really giving nothing away here, the Indian employees in their turn are fired so that the corporation can set up shop in the even cheaper Chinese labor market. In short, the race to the bottom continues on its merry way unabated. It is that unabated condition that I will finish up with. I've mentioned those cretin-like labor bureaucrats above who have "belly-ached" about the flight of jobs to other countries without lifting finger one to organize labor internationally to drive wages up and make the flight of jobs out much less attractive . Hell, they haven't, at least since the great wave of industrial unionism led by the CIO drives of the 1930's, done anything to organize labor in the cheap-labor American south or, and here is the real crime, Wal-mart. This is hardly the end of the discussion. Let's leave it at this for now- organize globally and think locally. Thinking the other way around gets us no place- American, Indian or Chinese. | 1positive
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Cinemascope is one of those long lost great film ideas. Started in the early 1950s it allowed people to see a wider part of the screen as it would virtually wrap around the audience giving them an almost 3d effect.With the advent of multiplexes in the 70s and 80s and smaller screen sizes made Cinemasope obsolete. Many of these films were never released in their widescreen versions because VHS did not fully support widescreen showings of films.DVD obviosly changed all that and it's nice to see this film back in its full widescreen mormat.Because this was only the second or third film to use Cinemascope it is fairly short on plot and focuses more on showing the beautiful images of the Florida reef - so that people would get the full effect of the process (the closest thing we have today are IMAX features.)The plot that exists is fine however - even if it is a traditional boy meets girl from the wrong social circle and spends the rest of the movie trying to win her heart and overcome the social obstacles that have been put in place.The highlight of the movie is the beautiful underwater footage of the reef and the fish - in some ways this is close to a Discovery Channel feature.The director manages to edit the film in a way that it never seems to be boring and the restoration process has left the colars sharp and crisp.This is a great example of a long lost cinema style. | 1positive
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Two young men fall in love , get torn apart and have to go through a terrible ordeal and separtion before they're allowed to be together again. First part of the film is 'current', the second part is more mythical and silly. It's a Spanish film but there is extremely little dialogue. The film is unnecessarily long, in my opinion. It's a gay film and if you're hoping to have some good looks at hot 'bits', this is not the film. The directors other film, Broken Sky, is strikingly similar and quite boring too. | 0negative
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I never thought I'd see a movie so bad that it makes "Plan Nine from Outer Space" look like "Avatar", but here it is. A comedy that isn't funny, a relationship picture that makes all relationships look like inexpensive financial transactions, a buddy flick if your friends are people who should be left gagged in a ditch with alligators. Everyone associated with this movie should have their SAG cards burned in public, and the so called "writers and producers" should be forced to make documentaries in Waziristan on a $1 a day budget. No need to talk about whoever directed this mess, it has no apparent direction.Perhaps the worst movie I've ever seen in my life, and I watch a lot of movies. The only reason I'm giving it one star is because I can't give it no stars. | 0negative
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I guess there is a reason for this being the first review on Amazon for this movie. It wasn't that good. Don't get me wrong, I get the plot. It is about a group of people fighting for a native tribe that are lied too in-order to force them off their land so a dam can be built. You know small man against big corporation and the small man wins but with sacrifices. The acting is not that impressive. I am glad I bought this in a movie pack so it was not that expensive. | 0negative
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Where do I begin? Oh wait, this is for Flash to work out. Best Childhood memory as far as movies, ever. SKYHAWKS.....DDDDDIIIIIIIVVVVVEEEE. BTW, Blu ray looks legit (not breathtaking). | 1positive
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First of all, let me correct an earlier (deleted)review in which I stated this movie did not have "CC", close captioning. Even though the box does not mention it (for whatever weird reason), this movie does have it.Now, as to the movie. So what would you do if you had just fled for your life, having just seen something horrible and deadly, you made it to a house with electricity and possible phone service; so what would you do? I'd turn on the TV or radio to try and find out what I just saw! I sure wouldn't go make peanut butter sandwiches!Tom Cruise was the wrong man for this movie. Sorry. A 40 year old Mel Gibson would have been great, or maybe Harrison Ford.The script was poor, with many puzzling comments. And how did these martians survive on Mars with no human blood?The best part was the end were you saw Gene Barry and Ann Robinson from the original (and better, MUCH better) film. | 0negative
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Many moons ago, my parents let my sister and I watched "Diamonds are Forever" on TV. I'm sure my sister and I would have preferred a Disney movie at the time, but even at our age, it was pretty impressive when Sean Connery got his Mustang up on two wheels. Between that fateful starry night and now, I have ended up seeing almost every James Bond movie. To me, taking James Bond back to the basics--literally, back to square one--might have seemed a daunting task, as the 007 franchise had been waning in recent years (for a myriad of reasons) and the idea of a "prequel", if you will, may have been rather risky.Fortunately, this fined-tuned Bond is what a lot of fans have been clamoring for, and new addition Daniel Craig brings James into the 21st century with thuggish aplomb. Curt, compact and arrogant, he's a secret agent who isn't above making big mistakes; his own ego often times his worst enemy. James attempts to infiltrate a terrorist organization, and within the first ten minutes the film has globe-trotted so far across the map that you may be wondering who all these villains are and what their place in the story actually is (the movie opens curiously in black-and-white, with a confrontation and also with a flashback!). Judi Dench's "M" really lets James have it for 'needlessly' killing a bomber whom they hoped to interrogate, but she has a change of heart (indeed, quite a number of them) after Bond becomes involved in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro with terrorist-operative Le Chiffre, a real poker-face (and asthmatic!) with a bloody tear duct. Watching him made me realize he was the weakest villain of all time. I heard the book was more interesting with an equally fantastic history of him. I also thought Mads Mikkelsen was miscast. Lambert Wilson probably would have been a much better choice."Casino Royale" is packed with thrills; it looks terrific and has many moments of action, romance, macho violence, and even beauty. The one thing it does lack is humor, but we may get more of that next round. | 1positive
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hey i like these type of movies people call them camcorder movies read who made the movie before you buy these black movies | 1positive
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"He came for revenge...he found redemption" is the tag-line for this movie. I won't spoil the film, but as far as that tag-line goes...not really. And that is my main problem with this film. It had no idea what it was trying to say. It leads you in the direction of God and redemption, completely ignores it, and pays you off with...well, I can't say without putting spoilers in the review. I'll just say, the ending should have been different, considering the actions and words of the characters. At the same time I was afraid that this would be a movie that over preachy, and it was not.The plot, briefly, is typical Western fare. A preacher is killed, the son goes off and comes back years later for revenge.Cinematically, this feels like a Halmark or Disney channel made-for-T.V. movie. Having grown up on the films of Sergio Leone, I have a love of Westerns where you can feel the grit. Where you can smell the stink coming off the actors on the screen. In "Shadowheart", everyone has perfectly shampooed hair and bright clean clothes. Even after a fight, characters have perfectly and artistically applied dirt and blood to their clothes. The most hilarious is the main character's glued on mustache when he returns to town, to let you know he's a "tough guy".The writing and acting, for the most part, is fairly dreadful. The "bad guys" are the most hilarious of caricatures. Black Bart meets Yosemite Sam. The Navajo are portrayed as both the "noble savage" and as the "magical healers". Two stereotypes for the price of one. The railroad surveyors are hilarious anachronisms.The only saving grace for this movie is that, in spite of its relatively safe PG-13 approach to filming and story, there is a surprising amount of darkness to the film. This is what actually drew me in to the story and kept me from turning it off after 10 minutes. Still, given all of countless great westerns that exist, I would put this film way down the list of movies in that genre that should be seen. It wasn't entirely dreadful. 2.5 stars, rounding down. | 0negative
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If I could give no stars for this movie, I would. This movie has to be one of the worst I've ever managed to sit through. In fact, I barely managed to sit through it. I guess, I kept hoping a plot would actually appear. The only movie I ever seen that was worse than this one (that I actually managed to see the whole thing) was the Batman & Robin movie with George Clooney.I wanted to watch it because of good marks that Hollywood and the critics gave it and sat down thinking this would be a great and moving movie. But I found it utterly boring and struggled to watch it to the end. The actors are usually wonderful in what they do(LOVED SJ in Girl With the Pearl Earring), but even they need something to work with. Bill Murray is one of my favorites, but this was clearly not the venue for him.If the plot was about how hopeless and boring and meaningless life can be, then making a movie that was hopeless and boring and meaningless is not the way to go. Tell a story, you silly people!!!! This was a complete waste of time and film and the critics who love it so much need to seriously sit back and take stock of what makes a good plot and good characters and why we go to movies in the first place. Of course, a movie can have deeper meaning to it (and should), but that should never get in the way of the story. This story was ever so much about Hollywood patting itself on the back for being so cool and trendy and uber-intelligent, similar in some ways to another movie "I Heart Huckabees."To each their own, I guess, but if you like a movie with some action, some comedy, some pathos, some drama, and doesn't exist solely to take itself seriously...give this one a pass. The popcorn was more interesting. | 0negative
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Plain and simple: Once you are able to ignore the canned laughter, this show is pure comic brilliance. | 1positive
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This movie is just as simple and entertaining to me. It didnt drag the story for a long time and it was romantic in every angle you can think of, at least to me. Matthew and Amy were just as funny and sweet, wonder why they never mention his name or depict him in any of these Men Magazines like GQ and them? I will highly recommend it to anyone | 1positive
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I had not seen this movie for more than 10 years so seeing it on HD was like seeing it for the first time - great cast, awesome soundtrack especially if you like operatic rock from the likes of Meatloaf (he does not show up in the soundtrack, rather some of the songs bear a striking resemblance to a number of the Meatloaf/Steadman songs). Great to see Willem Dafoe in another oddball villain role, over the top, and Rick Moranis plays the doofus manager as only Moranis could. The video quality was superb and when coupled with great sound, made for a movie that really rocked, in an "old school" sort of way. | 1positive
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I'm going to make this review as straight-forward as possible. It might be asking to much to hope that most people will judge it based on its content, and not on whether or not they agree with the ratings I've chosen. It's probably safe to assume that a large number of readers will already know what they think of these films, in which case I'd suggest you read this review to get another's opinion. If you haven't seen either of these films, however, I guarantee you that you'll have a good idea of which of these movies you'll be most likely to enjoy.This review will concern two movies -- THE WOODSMAN andHard Candy-- both of which focus exclusively on the very thorny, very divisive topic of child molestation/pedophilia.Before I get into the films themselves, I'd like to make one thing crystal clear: there is nothing funny about child molestation. It is a horrible crime, and there are no scenarios in which it is acceptable in any way, shape, or form. As a survivor of child molestation, I have a first-hand understanding of the kinds of repercussions caused by this incredibly heinous act. And please don't misunderstand. I do NOT say this to garner pity or sympathy, nor do I seek to represent myself as the voice of all molestation victims everywhere. Hardly. It has taken me a long time to get to the point where I can say this with simple acknowledgement, as a way of framing my opinions with a basic and necessary fact that has colored my experiences with love, sex, romance, and relationships my entire life.My opinion, in a nutshell: THE WOODSMAN is a good film, because it manages to get the audience to sympathize with the pedophile. HARD CANDY is a horrible film for the exact same reason. How can this be? It's because the first film is about forgiveness and redemption, and the second film is about unadulterated hate and vengeance. Speaking as someone who use to embrace hate, I can tell you that HARD CANDY's philosophies -- popular and easily digestible though they may be -- are counterproductive and destructive. Older and wiser now, THE WOODSMAN's philosophies may be much harder to stomach, but they are the way the world is, or rather, should be.HARD CANDY is a disgusting film. The talentedEllen Pageplays Hayley Stark, a girl who is being pursued by Jeff, our resident pedophile. After Jeff conives to get Hayley back to his house, it becomes clear that Hayley is not your typical 14-year-old. From this point on, Hayley tortures Jeff relentlessly while they engage in repetitive and predictable dialogue about his crimes. Hayley appears to have the wits of a Harvard grad and the strength and agility of a quarterback, because she ensares and releases and ensares Jeff in a series of elaborate torments without breaking a sweat. This movie is very, very much a revenge fantasy, and that is all it is.When I was young, and lying in bed, I used to imagine similar fantasies, and all they did was prolong my own recovery process. I've heard dozens of different explanations for the film's premise and goals, but the end game is this: this movie is obviously about turning the tables. Unfortunately, when you turn the tables, what you get is a young girl who behaves with the confident viciousness of a child molester, and a child molester who flails about, as confused, hurt, and distraught as a child. Jeff is a horrible person, which is why I was so disturbed to find myself kind of wishing he would win out over the insufferably pompous and stone-hearted Hayley. This movie contains no subtlety, no surprises, and nothing beyond its surface level viciousness.THE WOODSMAN, on the other hand, shows the consequences of such viciousness. Kevin Bacon plays Walter, a convicted child molester who is desperately trying to be a normal person. Unlike HARD CANDY's endless rants, this film has very little dialogue, but world's more heart and wisdom. Walter is a damaged man, but he knows he's damaged, and the movie explores the possibility that people can change, can finally deserve forgiveness. There are a few very difficult scenes in THE WOODSMAN -- scenes I found myself gritting my teeth at -- but they provided very clear answers. How can anyone change if they cannot forgive themselves? And how can anyone forgive themselves if the world refuses to forgive them, too?As someone who struggled with forgiveness, trust me, I understand the desire to label such people with easy monikers like "monster" or "sicko," but I also know that those kinds of labels are just another way of avoiding the agonizing calculus of penance divided by resentment. Actually, one of the labels I used -- sicko -- is fairly apt, because this film shows how Walter is less a villain who uses his urges to destroy than he is another human being who is destroyed by something he longs to be rid of. In spite of the film's probative pace, it's quiet stance, the movie feels remarkably short (when it was done, it felt like thirty minutes had passed, instead of ninety), and although I felt like it could have gone into a bit more depth with some of its questions, it did do exactly what it set out to do, no more and no less.I give HARD CANDY one star, THE WOODSMAN four. If you're wondering which one you might enjoy, ask yourself the following question: which philosophy do you most agree with..."An eye for an eye..." (HARD CANDY)"...makes the whole world blind." (THE WOODSMAN) | 0negative
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