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tt1226271 | The Damned United | After failing to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, England manager Alf Ramsey is replaced by Don Revie (Colm Meaney), the highly successful manager of Leeds United. Revie's replacement at Leeds is Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), the former manager of Derby County and a fierce critic of Leeds, because of their violent and physical style of play under Revie's management. Furthermore, Clough's longtime assistant, Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall), has not joined him.
The roots of Clough's conflict with Leeds are depicted as happening in a 1968 FA Cup match between Leeds, the leaders of the First Division and Derby, who were struggling near the bottom of the Second Division. Clough, assuming Revie to be a similar man to himself, as they grew up in the same part of Middlesbrough and both played for Sunderland, made many preparations for the match; come the day of the match however, Revie failed to even acknowledge Clough upon entering the Baseball Ground. Derby eventually lost 2–0. Although Clough initially blames the brutality of the Leeds players, he and Taylor recognise that their side are not good on a technical level. So they sign veteran Dave Mackay (Brian McCardie), along with several other young players. Chairman Sam Longson (Jim Broadbent) is extremely anxious about the investment, as well as the fact that Clough did not consult him before signing Mackay. However, in 1969 Derby are promoted. They once again face Leeds, only to lose 5–0. The club win their first ever League championship in 1972, meaning a European Cup campaign the following year. They go through to the semi-finals against Juventus. Unfortunately, against Longson's advice, Clough uses his best squad in the last match before the semi-final, against Leeds, purely out of pride and determination to beat Revie. They suffer injuries and Billy Bremner (Stephen Graham) sarcastically wishes Clough well for the semi-final. Juventus defeat them 3-1, and Clough publicly lambasts Longson.
Taylor then suffers a heart attack, and Clough tries to secure his position by offering his and Taylor's resignations in a protest against the chairman's unwilligness to fund further signings. To his horror, the club accepts their resignations and bans them from entering the Baseball Ground again (although Clough later sneaks in as a supporter). Derby fans' outrage raises Clough's hopes of being reinstated, and he is backed by the majority of his players as well, but former player Dave Mackay is appointed manager instead. Derby fans quickly lose interest and Clough loses all hope of getting his job back. He and Taylor are then offered jobs at Brighton & Hove Albion. They agree to take the jobs after taking an all-expenses-paid holiday in Majorca. During the holiday that summer, Clough agrees to take control of Leeds after being approached by their representatives. Taylor, however, argues the case for staying at Brighton, and after a bitter quarrel, the two go their separate ways.
Back in the storyline's "present”. Clough alienates his players in their first training session, first by telling them that they can throw away any awards they have won because they "never won any of them fairly", and then making them start with a 7-a-side game, which Bremner points out Don Revie never made them do. Clough reminds them that he is not Mr Revie and threatens a severe punishment for any player who mentions the former manager's name or methods again.
The season starts with a Charity Shield match against FA Cup winners Liverpool at Wembley, which is widely anticipated as both the final match of Liverpool manager Bill Shankly and Clough's debut as Leeds manager. Unfortunately, the event is marred when Leeds's captain, Billy Bremner gets into a fight with Kevin Keegan. Both are sent off, and in turn throw their shirts off and walk off the pitch bare-chested in defiance. Leeds lose the match on penalties, and Bremner is given a two-month suspension from football, forcing Leeds to start the season without their influential captain. As a result, Leeds suffer a horrendous start to the season and are in danger of relegation only one season after winning the title. After Bremner and the players air their grievances to the board, the club terminates Clough's contract after just 44 days - though he forces them to pay an enormous severance package. Afterwards, Clough agrees to do a final interview with Yorkshire Television, but finds Revie there to confront him, bringing the two face to face at last. Clough accuses Revie of being 'cold-hearted' and 'fundamentally dishonest', both as a person and a football manager, and Revie in turn brands Clough as 'inflexible and egocentric'. Clough brings up the incident in the 1968 FA Cup, and Revie claims to have not known who the rookie manager was at the time (a doubtful claim considering that Revie was known for meticulously researching every opponent his team faced). After the interview, Clough drives down to Brighton to patch things up with Taylor. It involves Clough literally on his knees, grovelling at Taylor's dictation, and they are reconciled.
In the film's epilogue, the audience is told that Don Revie failed as England manager, and afterwards never worked in football in his home country again, spending the rest of his career working in the Middle East, where he was accused of financial mismanagement. Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, meanwhile, reunited at the 'small, provincial club' Nottingham Forest, where they repeated their prior achievements with Derby by taking them up and winning the First Division. They then bettered both Revie and their own spell at Derby by winning two European Cups in succession, in 1979 and 1980. The film ends by branding Clough "the best manager that the English national side never had". | flashback | train | wikipedia | Chairmen Manny Cousins and Sam Longson enjoy rewarding cameo parts and the footballers themselves are picked as actors rather than surrogate footballers.Critics may carp about the odd anachronism and unconvincing physical shape of the Leeds United team in particular but it is the ego of Brian Clough which bestrides this story.
Based around David Pearce's bestselling novel 'The Damned United' (which Johnny Giles called: "fiction based on fact"), the films narrative follows the events preceding and during those fateful 44-days of management from the perspective of Cloughie (played by Michael Sheen).Sheen turns in, yet another brilliant performance as the arrogant, stubborn, distant, bitter, intelligent, yet highly flawed man who went on to become a legend of British football.
While Morgan's script keeps up the dry wit and humour, and Hooper's direction carries the colourful scenery of 1960's and 1970's Britain, the film could have spent more time centred around the other players on the pitch, more specifically Clough's second in-command in Peter Taylor and the Leeds United side of the Revie era.
I'm often rather lost by the offside rule, not too sure what actually constitutes handball and can't quite understand why a good friend can kiss a poster of George Weah and refer to the Liberian as a God. However, I can recognise what a worldwide phenomenon football has become and the massive status that the late Brian Clough held within in the sport.Clough was one heck of a character and very much of his time and this is where 'The Damned United' really succeeds.
Sheen gives an excellent performance and Clough is portrayed as a complex individual with the sort of charisma and wit, which may endear him to cinema-goers who have little knowledge of football or the man himself.However, I saw this film with a friend who is a huge soccer fan and who confessed afterwards to having certain problems with the accuracy of the story.
The film is after all based on a book by David Peace, which merges the facts with his own fiction to show what he thought might being going on behind the scenes during Clough's reign as manager of Derby County and his infamous 44 days in charge at Leeds United.
I personally didn't have such a problem with this film as I felt it really got to grips with who Clough was as a football manager and his probable motives for how he went about the job at Leeds.While the film's narrative sometimes veers confusingly back and forth between Clough's time at Derby and his short spell at Leeds, 'The Damned United' is a really enjoyable piece of entertainment full of great actors bringing to life intriguing characters.
The ultimate strength of the film is that the story manages to become more about friendship (the relationship between Brian and Peter Taylor) and the destructiveness of vanity rather than how many football matches Clough won..
, Longford), Timothy Spall (Michael Sheen), and Colm Meaney (How Harry Became a Tree) are all great actors, and their presence means that this film is worth watching even if you don't particularly like football.
I doubt however, you would be watch if you weren't a fan.Brian Clough (Sheen) brings Derby out of obscurity to the top and ends up managing his archenemy Leeds United.
The performances stand out with many well done performances by the leading cast, in particular Sheen and Spall who show a very impressive on screen relationship.The film can get confusing at times as it follows two different stories, switching frequently from Brian Clough's miraculous time at Derby County and his disappointing and shambolic time at Derby's then rivals Leeds United.
The film doesn't get involved in Clough's personal life but focuses on his career with both clubs, starting off with Clough viewed firstly as a small-time 2nd Division manager to a arrogant manager on top of the Division 1, another key issue is his close friendship with his assistant Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall) and hatred of the man who preceded him as Leeds boss, Don Revie (Colm Meaney).
The latter is a much more scabrous affair, real no-holds barred stuff and you really get inside the head of Mr Brian Howard Clough, one of football's most talented, successful and yet eccentric managers.Let me start by saying how refreshing it is to get a film on a cult UK sports hero - it seems so rare, especially with Hollywood's track record of foisting any number of baseball, American football or basketball movies on us.
Clough was a larger than life character, blessed, unlike many in the football fraternity, with real intelligence and the ability to mould a team of average players into a genuine team, raising them many times above their erstwhile standard of playing talent, taking unfashionable teams like Derby and later Nottingham Forest to improbable levels of success.
For one thing, it's well known however that in response to criticism from the Clough family and other real-life characters played in the film, notably Leeds' Irish midfield maestro Johnny Giles, the movie plays down significantly, for example,the novel's propensity to show Clough's alleged growing dependence on alcohol as well as the dynamics of his non-relationship with the Leeds squad, especially with the still-alive Giles.The movie is really about Clough's relationship with three men over the late 60's - early 70's period depicted here; his Derby County chairman Sam Longson, excellently played by Jim Broadbent, who he thinks he can wrap around his finger but in the end pushes too far once too often, his right-hand man Peter Taylor, the calming voice of reason and football talent-spotter whom he fatally fails to take with him to mighty Leeds and lastly his nemesis in football, Don Revie, his predecessor as Leeds manager and the elephant in the room that Clough can't, despite his massive arrogance-bordering personality, expunge from the minds of the Leeds team.
No problems on that score with Colm Meaney as Don Revie (apart from a lack of height!), who nails Revie's distinctive accent to a "T".The underlying theme of the young revolting against the old - Clough appears to be younger than most of his players, never mind the board members of the teams he manages, can only culminate in failure as Leeds show him the door after only 44 days when it's really the players who should have been sacked, although as all UK football fans know, Clough (sensibly combined with Taylor again) rose phoenix-like from the ashes to prosper at Nottingham in the late 70's.The football scenes disappointingly, are only average however and their artificiality is pointed up even more with real-life TV inserts from the era itself, plus again the fact that the actors playing key figures in the team like captain Billy Bremner and the afore-mentioned Giles don't remotely resemble them, takes away veracity and credibility.
I didn't get the music chosen as the soundtrack either - Fleetwood Mac's "Man of The World" and David Bowie's "Queen Bitch" hardly seem to chime in with the story and most people know that Clough himself was an avid Sinatra fan - only hinted at here.The screenplay does utilise some of his best-known sound bites and Michael Sheen has a great turn and volley, but whilst I enjoyed the film and certainly believe Clough worthy of cinematic elevation, the unreality of much of what I saw played against what could have been better.
Chronicling the rise to fame and glory of one Mr. Brian Howard Clough at Derby County, and his burning desire to 'defeat' Don Revie, who was the manager of Leeds United then, this film has all the elements of a great movie.
i don't want to tell you to much about the plot, but i can say that he becomes one of the greatest manager and his life complicates a little bit :P first thing i've done after i watched the movie was search on the internet about Brian Clough and i saw everything is truth story which makes this movie even better..
This is the third historic figure that Sheen has played in a movie and in each one he is truly outstanding and difficult to recognize because he changes so much, but he truly does justice to each character.The movie opens in 1974, the year when the English national team wasn't able to qualify for the World Cup, so highly successful Leeds United coach, Don Revie (played by Colm Meaney), seemed to be the right man for the job.
The movie continues in the present (1974) with the tense relationship Clough had with the Leeds players, while returning through flashbacks from 68 to 73 focusing on the rivalry with Revie, the arguments with Derby chairman Sam Longson (Jim Broadbent) and Clough's relationship with Taylor that help explain the present situation.The strongest thing about this movie is that it takes a different spin in the sports genre that usually focuses on overcoming adversity and turning a bunch of losers into winners.
It's another fabulous collaboration of screenwriter Peter Morgan and actor Michael Sheen following "The Queen" and "Frost/Nixon." "The Damned United" is not exactly a football movie, it tells the dramatic story of an enduring friendship against all odds, breakup and make-up, hurts and forgiveness, of two men (Brian Clough and Peter Taylor) who happened to share their love of football, both have supportive family, and their partnership in training football teams turned out to be successful for Derby County and latter European fame beyond England.Michael Sheen portrays Clough, his glibness, arrogance, and over-confidence personality certainly comes through, yet his bond with Taylor, at once fragile and solid - fragile as Clough was selfishly reaching out for fame and running after popularity in the lime light, solid as Taylor understood Clough and not stood in his way and let him be - is sensitively delivered in subtle shades.
Director Tom Hooper (of HBO series "John Adams") gave us a film that focused on Clough and Taylor - there is plenty of heart among the technical jargon, true to life football profession situations which were carefully depicted, down to the Leeds United and Derby County team members.
It is maturing the hard way in character for Clough and the test of enduring friendship with Taylor delineated.I'm hardly into football, yet the story focus and the exceptional combination of Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall in the same film - that was enough incentive for me to see "The Damned United." Give this film a chance, you just might grow to like it as the story unfurls..
The other excellent contributions come from Colm Meaney as the self-righteous Revie, genuinely unable to understand why anyone might object to his team's playing style, from Jim Broadbent as Longson, a self-important small-town businessman who has attached himself to the town's football club despite an almost total ignorance of the game, and from Timothy Spall as Clough's assistant, Peter Taylor.
So, I think that this film has given a new lease of life to football represented through the cinema.Brian Clough is the central character of 'The Damned United'.
With that knowledge in mind, Tom Hooper's film about the battered mind of Brian Clough (Michael Sheen practically getting it down pat) during his 44 days in charge of Leeds United in 1974 (after inheriting the job from his hugely successful nemesis, Don Revie), has to be taken with a little pinch of salt.
'The Damned United' was always going to be a challenging book to adapt, but perhaps with careful selected flashbacks, the screenplay could've quickly established the differing philosophies in style between Clough & Revie's sides.As for the confrontation between Clough & his players at Leeds, it bordered on caricature,listening to mocking comments behind closed doors, whereas in the book, the menace & hostility towards Clough is palpable but often veiled, a simmering resentment that Clough can feel in the empty corridors of Elland Road.TDU is a good film, entertaining, it shifts the tone & broadens the action from inside Clough's mind to be about his relationship with Peter Taylor.
With a terrific sense of the period, "The Damned United" portrays, with heart and humour, the success of British football manager Brian Clough and his co-manager Peter Taylor, played by the great Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall, respectively.
It charts Brian Clough's ill-fated move from Derby to Leeds where he comes uncharacteristically unstuck in his managerial attempts.Martin Sheen is (as always) brilliant at playing the self appointed 'greatest manager in England' and he's backed up by the equally excellent Timothy Spall and Jim Broadbent.You don't have to love, or even know much about, football to like this film.
The two actors were not only great as individuals but as a duo they worked very well together in this film.I would highly recommend this film to any football fan but even if you are not really interested in the sport 'The Damned United' is a very good piece of drama that is definitely worth a watch..
Re-created with some original footage but these are mostly related to the action on the pitch.The book is quite a bit darker (and if you've only seen the film and enjoyed it, I recommend you try the book too), there's more in-depth analysis of his relationship with the players and the Brian Clough & Peter Taylor partnership in addition to the anti-Derby board and anti-Leeds United, a must see for UK football fans..
The Damned United is a lot of things besides this, a well stocked comedy for those informed on the sport of football; a healthy buddy film running on mutual appreciation, foiling and particular homoeroticism the featured pair share plus the consistent camera work suggesting a character's detachment from the world around him.The man of the piece is a certain Brian Clough, that Middlesbrough born football manager of many-a year at Nottingham Forest and Derby County whose successes brought untold joy to an array of fans, and his infamous 44 day reign as Leeds United manager.
Some fantastic performances beside that of Sheen and clever cinematography completes the package.In addition to the main plot, the film is interspersed with segments retelling the story of Clough's management position at Derby County, the club he left to take the Leeds United role left vacant by his rival Don Revie.
Michael Sheen shines as prickly northern football manager Brian Clough in this "based on a true story" type affair adapted for the screen by writer Peter Morgan (Last king of Scotland, The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and helmed by promising new British director Tom Hooper.
From a screenplay by Peter Morgan, Academy Award winning director Tom Hooper's The Damned United is a character study of a brilliant but flawed individual and his on-again, off-again relationship with his close associate, Peter Taylor, as together they hit the heights, then plumb the depths.The film stands out for exceptional performances by Timothy Spall as the loyal Taylor, Colm Meaney as the pompous Leeds manager, Don Revie, and Jim Broadbent as Derby's rigid owner Sam Longson.
But, if there is a film written by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and starring Michael Sheen (Unthinkable, Frost/Nixon), Timothy Spall (Sweeney Todd, the Harry Potter films) and Jim Broadbent (Bullets Over Broadway, Moulin Rouge, the Harry Potter films), I will certainly fork over my nine bucks to see it.The Damned United follows the true story of Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), who was brought in to manage the Leeds United football club in 1974 replacing the team's beloved manager Don Revie (Colm Meaney).
The Damned United was a controversial book, hardly flattering to the man who, love or hate him, was one of the most fascinating and brilliant managers the English game has ever produced - ol' Big 'Ead himself, Brian Clough.This film version takes a softer approach to "The Greatest Manager England Never Had", being a warm, affectionate, funny and heart-felt portrayal of Clough and the miserable 44 days he spent as manager of Leeds United during 1974, then one of the best teams in the world and one of the most disliked; often resorting to gamesmanship that brought shame to the sport of football.
Clough, according to the film, thought he could tame them, turn them into sporting heroes, winning with flair and style that would win hearts as well as trophies.Also covered extensively is Clough and Peter Taylor's time at Derby,contrasting his success from 1968-1972, building a third-rate team into the champions of English football, with his failure at Leeds.
The man is Brian Clough, sadly no longer with us, and the film tells of how he came to manage one of the biggest teams in England at the time, Leeds United.The story begins with Brian managing Derby County who are struggling at the bottom of the second division.
The 44 days were not dealt with as extensively as they could have been.The other issues, were fairly minor ones: Timothy Spall played his role terrificly, as ever - but didn't always convince as Taylor.Also - and I will look into this, but it seemed with the rolling league table (which was an excellent means of illustrating the progress) - that at the time of the 1968 FA Cup match (which I assume to be 3rd round & in January?) Derby were in the bottom 3 - yet ended as the 68 Champions (of old Div 2) - that's a hell of a rise in less than 4 months - and I wouldn't have thought possible, if I read that correctly.Clough, Revie & Broadbent as the chairman, who I'm less familiar with - were all brilliant in their roles.Still a good film, definitely recommendable - and could well be the best football film I've seen but needed another draft.A high 6/10..
The Damned United (2009) is a biopic about Brian Clough, a former British football player and manager.
The movie starts off with showing Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) taking over the coveted position of Manager in Leeds United.
Michael Sheen is outstanding in his portrayal and the only quarry I have with the film is that though Timothy Spalls is an excellent actor he just isn't Peter Taylor, a quiet charming and handsome man.Leeds United - the most hated football team in the UK have been at the receiving end of the FA for years. |
tt2294473 | Aku no kyôten | An English teacher named Seiji Hasumi (Hideaki Itō) is loved by his students and respected by his peers. He graduates from Harvard University with an MBA, and works at Morgenstern, a European investment bank, for two years. Hasumi returns to Japan to pursue high school teaching. However, his outward charm masks his true nature. In reality, Hasumi is a sociopath who is unable to feel empathy for other human beings. Specifically, he has a severe antisocial personality disorder. Having killed both of his parents and his former tutor at the age of fourteen, Hasumi turns into a fiendishly clever killer. During his time in the States, Hasumi meets a partner in crime, an American named Dave, who thinks he shares the same "hobby" as Hasumi – killing people for fun. The two can be seen carrying buckets full of human blood, bones, and organs somewhere, giving off the notion that they committed numerous murders while working together. Hasumi eventually kills his partner by knocking him out and burning him alive inside a barrel, stating that while Dave enjoys killing for fun, Hasumi does not.
Back in Japan, Hasumi chooses to deal with problems like bullying and student sexual harassment, starting by dealing with the school cheating issue. Upon collecting all of the students' cell phones prior to their exams, Hasumi secretly uses a cell phone jammer to completely prevent any cheating during the test. The group of students that had cheated on previous exams became suspicious after none of the group's cell phones have service during the test and immediately suspect the adviser of the Radio Club, Tsurii - a loner Physics teacher. They are then confronted by Tsurii himself who clarifies that he was not responsible for the jamming. A man who regularly meets with the school to complain about students bullying his daughter, Rina, is murdered. Someone has replaced the bottles of water he kept around his house to scare off cats with kerosene, as the man is a chainsmoker the bottles soon catch fire and explode. Tsurii soon meets with the intelligent ringleader of the cheating group, Keisuke, revealing his suspicions of Hasumi. Tsurii explains he has dug into Hasumi's past and found strange details, such as at another school where Hasumi started his teaching career that later had four student suicides. During this time, however, Hasumi had bugged the room and learned of Tsurii's suspicion, and confronts him on a train, murdering him and making his death appear as a hanging suicide. Hasumi then confronts Keisuke after the announcement of Tsurii's suicide causes him to panic. Hasumi knocks Keisuke out and ties him up until the end of school, after which Hasumi tortures him into admitting that he and his friends were indeed cheating. Hasumi checks that Keisuke didn't tell others of Tsurii's suspicions, before killing him and hiding his body.
During the same time period, Hasumi is brought to the attention of a blackmail case from one of his students. A store owner, Meka, caught a female student, Miya, shoplifting but swears not to charge her for it. However, PE teacher Shibahara blackmails Miya, as he has recorded her admission of shoplifting, into giving him sexual favors or risk being charged. Hasumi, assures Miya that a blackmail and statutory rape case is more serious than shoplifting and affirms to her that she is safe from the law and no longer needs to succumb to the blackmail. Miya later meets Hasumi on the school roof, she thanks him with a hug that advances into a kiss and the two become lovers. In the meantime, Hasumi finds out about art teacher Kume's sexual relationship with a male student; he blackmails Kume into lending him his luxury apartment. Hasumi later takes Miya to the apartment and the two have sex. Hasumi presses Miya into giving him access to an online private discussion board that his students use, anonymously making claims about the murder of Rina's father, accusing delinquent student Tadenuma, who had targeted Rina online previously. After a fight breaks out at the school, Hasumi invites Tadenuma out for a drink and murders him; the students later assume that Tadenuma ran away from home.
Events have passed until Hasumi's homeroom students are staying overnight in the school, preparing an elaborate haunted house for the school cultural festival. Hasumi lures Miya to the rooftop, knocking her out and throwing her off the roof to fake her suicide; as she had grown suspicious of Tadenuma's disappearance. When another student comes to the roof looking for Miya, she finds the suicide note forged by Hasumi; he quickly kills her too. As Hasumi has no method of masking his murder of the second student, he quickly comes up with a plan. Hasumi to start a school massacre against his students for which he will frame Kume, who frequents a shooting range, by wearing his shoes throughout the killings. Throughout the massacre, Hasumi's shotgun can be seen possessed by ex-partner in crime Dave, talking to him. As the students hear the bangs of the shotgun, Hasumi tricks most of the students by using the intercom to warn them of "an intruder with a shotgun" and orders the students to proceed to the roof - which he had locked access to beforehand - and wait until help arrives. With some of the students proceeding to the stairs to the roof, another group hide inside the art room, closing it off with fire shutters and barricading the entry points. One of the students, skilled archer Kakeru, manages to escape the school far enough with his archery gear to find a man who is able to call the police. He later runs back to the school to rescue his crush Satomi, who is found trying to escape by roping out of a window of the art room and slips, breaking her ankles. Kakeru screams out her name, alerting Hasumi to their presence, who then proceeds to aim out of a window at the two students. The Kakeru readies an arrow and fires at Hasumi, but Hasumi fires as well, deflecting the arrow off-course, slaying Kakeru, and then Satomi. With the group of students still in the art room thinking they are safe, they are unaware that they did not untie the rope that Satomi had used to rappel down out of. Hasumi climbs the rope and proceeds to slay the group.
The massacre nears its end with two students who survive by dressing up two of their dead peers in their clothing and hiding inside the school as they toss the corpses down an emergency escape chute, tricking Hasumi into thinking the bodies are the last two students on his checklist attempting to escape. After the massacre at the school, Hasumi attempts to cover up his actions by making it seem like he had been handcuffed and knocked out by Kume and making it look like he committed suicide afterwards with Hasumi's shotgun, but his plans are foiled due to one of the two surviving students pointing out to the police that the school's training defibrillator records audio and contains evidence of one of the murdered students speaking his murderer's name prior to being slain by Hasumi. However, Hasumi plans to use his recently learned knowledge of Norse mythology as his legal defence by suggesting his acts to be "the will of God." The surviving student who pointed out the defibrillator exclaims that Hasumi is crazy, but the other surviving student says Hasumi is "starting the next game." It is then revealed that Miya survived after Hasumi tossed her off the school's roof and calls out Hasumi's name, ending the movie with "to be continued." | violence | train | wikipedia | As psycho-killer movies go "Lesson of the Evil" is up there with the best of them.
It's by the Japanese horror maestro Takashi Miike and is set for the most part around a school where handsome young teacher Hasami, (Hideaki Ito), has his own somewhat extreme methods of dealing with rule-breakers.
Miike's genius is to treat everything so matter- of-factly the film is almost banal to begin with before letting rip.
Although extremely violent, this isn't torture porn but a brilliant slow-burner than builds to a fairly devastating and disturbing climax.
Firstly let me say this is a film not for everyone.personally i loved it , acting was superb direction editing all spot on.
as with all films of this genre from japan and and other Asian countries it will be remade (badly i may add ) by the more popular outlets of ,lets just say western money making studios.
OK the plot is a bit of a slow burner at the start but soon picks up into an easy to follow story line (some might find the subject matter hard to stomach )but the acting is superb and the gory violence very believable at times.
From the highly prolific but also controversial Japanese director, Takashi Miike, who's made virtually all kinds of movies in his filmmaking career so far, Lesson of the Evil arrives as yet another twisted thriller but unlike Audition or Ichi the Killer, it's a mostly dull cinema whose only strength is its blood-soaked massacre that goes on throughout its third act.Based on the novel of the same name, Lesson of the Evil tells the story of a very charming high-school teacher who is loved by his students & respected by his peers.
His flamboyant personality however is only a mask that hides his true face, which ultimately surfaces when he decides to tackle the issue of bullying & bad behaviour among the student body with his own deranged plan.Written & directed by Takashi Miike, Lesson of the Evil has all the bizarre elements that one usually expects from this notorious director but the story is just all-out flat, vapid & lifeless despite all the gore content it packs in.
For the majority of its runtime, it's just one segment placed on top of another with no idea of where it's supposed to be headed until it arrives at its extended climax, where it redeems itself a little.It's in the last 30 minutes or so where the movie finds its sure footing but it's a long wait to get there.
The entire climactic segment has blood smeared through each n every frame and is possibly the only entertaining segment in the story and while it has the ability to shock & upset the newcomers, it's also fun in its own wicked manner for those who are pretty much used to this director's works.
If only it was like this from the start.On an overall scale, Lesson of the Evil is a brutal, violent & disturbing nightmare if one only takes the final act into account for the remainder of the story only turns it into a very boring thriller.
There is little joy in watching the film (though there is dark, black humour throughout) but it stands as a unique testament to infant terrible director Takashi Miike's crazy view of the world.
The setting is an elite private school in Japan where teachers and administrators discuss the prevalent problem of students cheating during exams, mostly using their cell phones.
Numerous solutions are proposed but the most radical comes from Seiji Hasumi, the charming, popular English teacher, who suggests body searches and signal jammers, but who's notions are rejected as being counterproductive to keeping the schools environment healthy.
Undeterred, Hasumi continues keeping tabs on students and learns of widespread bullying, harassment and illicit teacher student relationships.
You think he's going to turn into some kind of saviour, and the films tone seems to be heading this way, but then, and there is no fine way to describe it, Hasumi goes psycho.
He explodes into a violent killing machine during a nightly school function, exacting brutal death, wielding a shotgun, pumping bullets into anything that moves and talking to his demons to leave little doubt he is a complete loony.Knowing a bit about Takashi Miike and the reputation that precedes him, this midway shift should not be surprising (or even considered a spoiler).
LESSON is no different and if anything, the overlong period of exposition, detailing the tribulation of a small group of students at the school, seems overcooked in contrast to the rushed, extended finale, which is really where Miike displays his skills as filmmaker.
And, just when you think there might be some end in sight, Miike turns a moment of hope into a Michael Haneke moment of viewer patience testing ala FUNNY GAMES.
Another high school-themed thriller from Japan, based around extreme violence and death, and directed by maestro Takashi Miike, no less.
LESSON OF THE EVIL is no BATTLE ROYALE, however; it's nothing like an entertaining action movie, instead more of a suspense thriller along the line of CONFESSIONS.
The story sees an idealistic teacher at a school who goes out of the way to see that things with his pupils are running smoothly.
God forbid you get in his way, however....LESSON OF THE EVIL starts off deceptively slowly, although the plotting is never less than engaging.
The first hour is a slow burn, building up realistic characters surrounded by some extremely dark sub-plots where bad taste seems to be the order of the day.
And thank God for Miike for his consistently high-quality direction and film-making skill..
Some may watch the movies and try to learn from Teacher Miike.
Everything is going great till certain characters begin to look into his past that's when things really start to move.
The film covers topics such as bullying, child abuse, multiple personality disorder and builds up to one crazy second half which i will not spoil at one point it gets quite surreal and whilst being violent is not very gory.
The only problem with the film is it may drag if you are in the wrong mood and the music gets a little repetitive the only song it plays is mack the knife the original and the American version.
One of Takeshi Miike's best films; one that is far to complex to sum up briefly (and I don't do long reviews).
But I will say this; if you enjoy seeing irritating teenagers get theirs in a variety of bloody ways, this is the film for you.Claret filled, violent, creepy and funny..
Of course this isn't 100% guaranteed, and sadly Lesson of the Evil fails to deliver apart from the last 15 or so minutes.The film is slow.
I accept we need to experience the character development of the protagonist here but at times it's like watching some late night oriental drama that has nothing going for it.
True, by now I know that many Japanese, or Korean flicks start off slow and then hit you like a shovel in the face with a barrage of blood and gore, but LOTE climaxed with a series of gunshots which was OK, but just not that amazing.I expected much more from this movie as it was highly recommended to me and it cost a fair bit of money to buy.
Two things strike me in hindsight having seen "Lesson of Evil": firstly, the IMDB's detailing of the fact it barely got a general release anywhere in the world - was limited, it would seem, to the multiplexes of its country of origin (Japan) and the various fringe screenings that prop up the more obscure film festivals around the world.
Was this a result of the director, a certain Takashi Miike, holding up his hands and admitting he'd dropped the ball with this project?
Certainly, viewing "Lesson of Evil" half a decade after its production, in the wake of various world events such as the forming of the Islamic State of the Iraq and Levant, is unpleasant - one critic writing for Variety Magazine cited as to how the film left him cold after having seen it in the wake of the Anders Breivik perpetrated massacre in Norway in 2011.
Others have pulled it up for its poor attention to pace, wherein the film plods along in its depiction of a mundane high-school relations drama before inexplicably exploding into the sort of exploitation-like shock-fest one might expect Miike to lend his name to.
Unfortunately for the gore-hounds, there is some 90 minutes of uninspired backlog to sit through first...To divulge too much on what precisely it is that constitutes said shock-fest would be to spoil things, which in one sense is the problem: a dilemma is faced having seen "Lesson of Evil", and that is as to whether you view what takes up the bulk of its final reel as the perfect dizzying conclusion to a tautly made film about realistic people going about their lives, in which case you are going to reward the film generously, or whether you believe it to be gratuitous nonsense, in which case you must provide the film with a rating as lowly as possible.Annoyingly, I have sat on the fence - I was repulsed and perhaps a little offended, but I did not switch the film off in a fit of anger; the song over the film's closing credits seems to beg us to "...think about it", and I have done, and I am still unsure what to make of what I have seen.
While perhaps you could say it was similar in tone and content - flashes of raw violence in-between a lead's regimented existence - the film is not necessarily ABOUT ANYTHING in the way "American Psycho" was, and Miike has certainly not made a film with the flair or zeal of something like "Taxi Driver".The setting is an everyday Japanese high-school: small groups of kids hang out and muck around, turning first-aid classes into a bit of a laugh.
In amidst all this is Hideaki Itô, who plays English teacher Seiji Hasumi.
Things become a little more complicated around the school when a parent is adamant nobody is doing anything about a bullying problem his daughter is suffering, and rumours of an abusive relationship between a gym teacher and a female surface.
Miike has essentially made one, long drama set inside of a high-school chock full of all those day-time soap opera clichés, but decided to drop into proceedings a series of mysterious deaths which turn out to be the work of a psychopathic serial killer with rooted connections to the school and its personnel.
It is not without its moments whereby Miike demonstrates his ability as a film-maker - one particular scene, whereby a student is at the mercy of the psychopath and tied up in a darkened classroom at night, is shot to a slowly rotating fan inside of an air-vent which periodically casts light and shadow on the room thus bringing to our attention the stark nature of the life/death situation.
Many elements of Japanese school and teenage life are introduced, including sophisticated methods of cheating at exams, teacher harassment of girls and boys and bullying.
Perhaps the film should have run backwards and the early scenes be seen as explanatory but presented in the manner before us it appears sterile and uninteresting however colourful and violent..
Note: Check me out as the "Asian Movie Enthusiast" on YouTube, where I review tons of Asian movies.Lesson of the Evil (2012) (Japanese Horror) A popular high school teacher concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body in this film by Takashi Miike.
The structure of the film also makes it difficult to predict which students will survive (if any).
Needless to say, the direction is solid.Now, there may be some controversy regarding the long-sustaining finale that uses a certain kind of graphic violence against school kids.
In any case, the finale is deliciously entertaining and exciting.If one adds "Lesson of the Evil" to "Goosebumps: The Movie", "Horror Stories", "Kotsutsubo", and the final installment to the "Hellsing Ultimate" anime films, it looks like 2012 is going to be a strong year for Asian horror..
To all people that aren t morally crippled I want to say that this is not a funny movie-not in the slightest.
A serial killer , the charismatic teacher hunts down his students in a locked down school.
You can almost barely sit in your seat rooting for the students to survive-but Miike is unpredictable as alwaysActing - excellent , SUPERB cinematography (!) , intense sound and unforseeable plot.
It might just be Takashi Miike's most mainstream movie of his that I've seen, but still pretty crazy as always.Its basically a thriller comedy about a likable teacher who goes on killing students and parents making it look like a suicide.Before you watch it, you have to know what you're in for, its one of those movies that doesn't take itself seriously, its satiric for most of the time and it knows just when to be funny.
The story is pretty ridiculous, but it manages to be unexpected and thrilling, its also gory and pretty funny, it had the whole audience laughing.On the other hand, it was kind of messy like every other Takashi film, but these messy sequences and flashbacks are relieved by other scenes with interesting music choices that fit perfectly into whats going on, even adding a little humor to it, and some dance moments and funny dialogue by the students at the wrong moment.
It felt similar to the first "Scream" and reminded me in some ways to the ridiculousness in Robert Rodriguez movies.I'd recommend it to people who liked "Django Unchained", "Battle Royale", "Machete", "Videodrome", "A Clockwork Orange", or any Takashi Miike film..
Takashi Miike is one of my favourite Japanese directors, but ...
And sadly this film is a great big miss.
We're almost halfway through the film before the signature Miike violence kicks in.
It was very reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's movie 'Elephant' based on the Columbine school shootings.
The psycho teacher wanders round the school with a high powered rifle wasting his pupils one by one.
Takashi Miike one of Japan's most biggest horror movie guru is finally back with "Lesson of the Evil".
Well at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) we had the chance to see the movie.
Mr Hasumi, English teacher at a Japanese secondary school, is every teenager's dream.
After some more events Hasumi shows his true colors and starts an rampage within the school.
For the ones expected a real horror kind of movie you will be disappointed mainly because this isn't one.
But it is a typical Takashi movie it again is an reflection of things that are going down in society and all the horrors it can produce.
I am not sure if Takashi wanted to make a statement or just give us another bold and bloody movie.
After the movie develops it gets more in your face by the minute showing you what harmful products human being are to one and other.
He tries to put down at least the character Hasumi in different lights and really develops the character in the first part of the movie.
You will feel that the students really are cannon fodder as the story develops and the subplots are completely destroyed in the second part of the movie.
Although 2+ hours was abit on the long side and makes the movie drag a bit from time to time.
As I mentioned the second part of the movie is where Takashi shines again in his old ways.
You feel the tension rise as Hasumi is changing into a not so perfect and lovely character.
Hasumi comes to school and starts playing people out to each other at first in an none harmful way just to set up his master plan.
Blood goes everywhere students getting shot full in the face and Hasumi does it with a laugh.
You can say it is literally shooting skeet without remorse all the little subplots of the students are being shot down.
You can say that this is maybe one of Takashi's most straight forward movies, there isn't a deep underlying story to be found here.
The movie is in your face and focuses on the extend of the violence in the shooting.
This isn't his best work but it is a signal the master of extreme violence is back and it makes a mark!
What really dragged this movie down was the editing and how the teachers and students interactions in this film was so boring to sit through.
Plus the editing made it seem like it was made by film students with an expensive camera within their budget.
The only somewhat interesting thing between the whole teachers and students dynamics was the whole blackmailing ordeal and how the sociopath try to capitalize on it.
I personally think it should have focused in a bit more on the build up of the relationship between the teacher who is a sociopath and his partner in crime in the past.
Overall, this isn't a terrible movie but there is just way better Takashi Miike films out there.5/10.
Maybe it's just me, but it sure was hard to keep my eyes off the eye candy that was the school teacher.
I don't know where Takashi Miike got him from but I hope he gets signed to do American films.
To tell you the truth, I'm surprised they allowed a film with such student carnage to be made.
I would've given this movie a higher rating, but it was flooded with so much clichéd caricatures that it only looked like just an ultraviolent anime come to life. |
tt2109248 | Transformers: Age of Extinction | After defeating Sentinel Prime and Megatron's army in Chicago, the Autobots have gone into hiding after the government deemed all transformers as threats, and thus, began to hunt them all down. The government has thus replaced the Autobots with their own transformers using technology from the fallen transformers. Meanwhile, a mechanic, his daughter, and his daughter's boyfriend become dragged into the conflict upon discovering Optimus Prime in their possession, and all the while, a mysterious new enemy, Lockdown, sets his eyes on earth._________In the three years since the Battle of Chicago, the Transformers have become outlaws. At the behest of CIA Agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), a major campaign has been brought about to hunt down and destroy and and all Autobots or Decepticons that are still active.Unknown to several different parties, Attinger is also working with an intergalactic bounty hunter named Lockdown (Mark Ryan). Working with a mercenary team known as The Cemetery Wind (led by James Savoy (Titus Welliver)), the group manages to find the Autobot Ratchet hiding in Mexico. After wounding the former Autobot medical officer, Lockdown demands to know where Optimus Prime is. When Ratchet refuses to tell, Lockdown rips Ratchet's 'spark' from his chest, and hands it over to Savoy and his team.Meanwhile, in Paris, Texas, inventor Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) and his partner Lucas Flannery (T.J. Miller) investigate an old movie theater for mechanical pieces they can probably salvage. While going through the dilapidated auditorium, Cade is amazed to find a flat-nosed semi truck hidden amongst the debris. Stranger still, the former theater's owner has no recollection of how it got there!Cade purchases several of the theater's mechanical pieces intending to refurbish them, and the semi rig, intending to strip it down for parts. Needless to say, his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz) does not find his latest endeavor as anything more than her father shirking his responsibilities (their home is in danger of foreclosure, and Cade has been siphoning power from a neighbor). Cade still contends that his inventions and intentions will yield results, and help pay the way for Tessa to go to college.While going over the semi-truck, Cade is surprised to find that the insides of the truck still activate, even though various mechanisms should have been damaged given its damaged state. When Cade hooks up a battery to the engine, and hears a booming voice say "Calling all Autobots," the inventor is sure he's found a Transformer!Lucas claims that if they report the truck to the government, they could make $25-100,000 off of the find, which Tessa also backs up as a good idea (given that the money will pay off their debts, and give them some money she can use for going to college). However, Cade refuses, and instead wants to restore the truck, and investigate what makes it tick, confident that its alien technology can help him make his own creations work.As he attempts to fix up the truck, it violently transforms before them all, into Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen). Optimus at first thinks that Cade and the others are there to hurt him, but Cade assures Optimus that he just wants to help. Optimus then tells how he was ambushed, and sent a message to the rest of his Autobot colleagues to hide, as an unknown party wants to hunt them down.Things heat up when someone reports Cade's purchase of the semi truck, and soon, the Cemetary Wind are dispatched to Cade's property, where Savoy threatens to kill Tessa unless Cade gives them Optimus. Hearing Cade and his family is in danger, Optimus blows his cover, attempting to buy his human comrades some time to escape. In the firefight, Cade manages to grab a small drone that the Cemetary Wind guys are using.Luckily, Tessa' (secret) boyfriend Shane Dyson (Jack Reynor) just happened to be coming by in his Rally Racer, and they pile in as Savoy and his men give chase. Optimus himself takes off, but is soon accousted by a grey Lamborghini, which is Lockdown! Both battles collide in the ruins of an old factory, where Shane's rally-racing skills help them take off most of the Cemetary Wind's crew. However, when the axle breaks, the group runs for it, but not before Lockdown unleashes a flash-metal weapon, that catches Lucas, encasing him in metal, as Cade, Tessa, and Shane jump into Optimus and drive away.Optimus takes the humans to a dilapidated Gas Station, and drives off for bit, to make sure they haven't been followed. At the station, Cade is incensed that his daughter was seeing a boy behind his back (as he had forbid her to date anyone), though Shane and Tessa insist that they have known each other since high school. When Cade mentions Lucas' Irish accent, the young man mentions that he came to the states to Rally Race (and currently has Red Bull as a sponsor). However, given that his means of racing has been wrecked, he is willing to stick with Cade and Tessa, though mainly to take care of his girlfriend.After the spat, Cade manages to use some technology in the old station, and hacks into the mini-drone he grabbed during the firefight. He is able to view the imagery it has recorded, including images that show the destruction of Autobots Ratchet, and Leadfoot, by the Cemetary Wind crew.When Optimus Prime returns the next day, the group heads west towards Monument Valley, but not before stopping off at a small ATM. Using the drone, Cade attempts to have it use his ATM card, only to find that certain parties have locked his account. Needless to say, the transaction attempt is found out by Attinger, and a group of police cars quickly descend on the location looking for Cade, but the group is long gone.As they near Monument Valley, Optimus scans a passing long-nose semi truck, and his exterior turns into a flashier, more modern semi rig, complete with red flames on a blue body. Pulling up into Monument Valley, several other Autobots emerge from hiding: Hound (John Goodman), Drift (Ken Watanabe), Crosshairs (John DiMaggio), and Bumblebee.The other Autobots are wary of the humans Optimus has brought, but soften when their leader tells how they have helped him. Shortly afterwards, Cade shows the group the mini-drone's footage, and the other Autobots want to find out why they are being hunted. Cade also wishes to help them, to find out the people responsible for threatening his family.Their investigation leads them to a company named KSI, located in Chicago, Illinois. KSI is headed by future-tech wunderkind Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci), who has been working with Chinese Entrepreneur Su Yueming (Bingbing Li) and Harold Attinger, to create man-made Transformers, to eventually be used for Military use.Studying the remains of Megatron, Sentinel Prime, and numerous other pieces of alien hardware from after the Chicago war, the group has managed to synthesize a metal called "Transformium," which when given commands through a computer, can be manipulated into various shapes.KSI has already made a drone based around Bumblebee's design, named Stinger, but Joyce's major project is an even bigger drone that he has named Galvatron. However, the attempts to make Galvatron to Joyce's standards has not worked, as all prototypes have been unable to form properly from the Transformium used, and the final robot design does not meet Joyce's request to make it resemble Optimus Prime.With Bumblebee's help, Cade and Shane manage to have fake ID badges made, and Cade manages to infiltrate KSI. Using the mini-drone, Cade beams imagery back to the Autobots about what he is seeing, including a small Autobot named Brains (Reno Wilson), and the severed head of Ratchet, which is being melted down to obtain the Transformium material within him.Unfortunately, the use of Cade's ID badge is found to be fake, and he is caught by security, and taken to see Attinger. Attinger tells Cade that what he has seen is a precaution, to make sure that the world will be safe, and demands to know where Optimus Prime is. However, Cade still refuses to talk.The image of a fallen comrade's remains being mutilated sends Prime into a fury, and he leads the Autobots on a charge into KSI's facilities. Bee manages to rescue Cade from Attinger's office, and the group then breaks into the manufacturing floor, intending to destroy the works before Joshua Joyce appears. Joyce claims that what is being done is as a deterrent to any further Transformer damage, and claims that the humans "don't need" the Autobots anymore. The group does manage to free Brains from his captivity.Optimus Prime then leads the others out of the factory, only for Attinger to then accost Joyce, claiming the Autobots have pretty much declared "open war" on the humans by breaking into the factory. Attinger is able to coerce Joyce into using Stinger and Galvatron to take down the Autobots. On a highway leading out of Chicago, the two human-controlled drones transform, and attempt to take down the Autobots.Of the two, it is Galvatron who is sent after Optimus Prime, who attempts to stab Galvatron in his 'spark chamber,' but finds none. When Prime is surprised that his combatant doesn't have a spark, the human-made Transformer growls, "that is why I have no fear!"Suddenly, a volley of shots knocks Optimus Prime to the ground, and Lockdown and his ship appear. As Galvatron then drives away, Lockdown glowers over Optimus Prime, telling him that his Creators "want him back." A net is then deployed, and Optimus Prime is hoisted up into Lockdown's ship, along with a nearby vehicle.It happens that Tessa had sought refuge in the vehicle, and Cade attempts to get her out, but fails.Lockdown then has Optimus Prime put in a cage, and Optimus Prime notes several other aliens in cages. He is also informed that the ship was originally used by a group of Legendary Knights, until Lockdown converted it into his prison ship. As the ship makes it's way over Chicago, Attinger is informed of Optimus Prime's capture, and arranges for Savoy to meet on Lockdown's ship. Though a number of government agencies want to fire on the ship, Attinger uses his clout to call a cease fire, claiming he has "an asset" on the ship.As it flies low over a bridge, Cade, Shane, and the other Transformers clamber aboard. While the Autobots manage to rescue Optimus Prime, Cade and Shane find Tessa, who has seen Savoy take receipt of a silver object called "the Seed" from Lockdown, as part of the deal for capturing Optimus Prime. Cade and Shane also find their way into a strange weaponry, and Cade takes possession of a sword that opens into a laser gun.To cause a distraction, Crosshairs has the ship's docking cables deploy, causing them to attach to The Willis Tower, and stop the ship from warping into space. This allows Cade, Shane, and Tessa to scale down onto the tower with Bumblebee's help.Crosshairs soon appears in a gunship, and the group hope aboard, as several gunships from Lockdown's ship give chase.Meanwhile, having finally detached the mooring cables, Lockdown prepares to go into warp, but Prime and the others find his prison cell is actually a detachable ship, and fly away before they can go into space, with Optimus Prime certain Lockdown will be far away before he finds out what has happened.Back at KSI, it is decided that in order to continue operations, all the equipment will be moved to their Hong Kong facility. Joyce is also upset that control of Galvatron in the fight was lost at several points... let alone that the Transformer spoke (something it was not programmed to do)!The Autobots and humans regroup near a train yard, where Optimus Prime says that during his fight with Galvatron, he sensed the presence of his old nemesis: Megatron. Brains then confirms this, as he was forced to decipher functionality still present in the Decepticon's brain, which helped formulate the building of Galvatron's body (and explains why Joshua Joyce could not get the system to make Galvatron resemble Optimus Prime). Galvatron also used his knowledge to allow Joyce to build Stinger and the other drones, with plans to turn them into Galvatron's new army.Tessa soon explains about the seed she saw, and Optimus explains about how their creators used the seed, to wipe out species on planets, and harvest life-giving metal... the kind that created them, the Transformers!Drift then intercepts a communications message containing information that Joyce is going to KSI's factory in China. After finding this out, Cade calls Joyce, and relays what they have learned regarding Galvatron. Knowing Joyce is also an inventor with a heart, Cade pleads with Joyce to deactivate Galvatron before things escalate.As the police are arriving at the train yard, Cade, Tessa and Shane join the Autobots on the spaceship. But Optimus Prime states that the Autobots are going to Hong Kong to retrieve the Seed, but after that, they are done defending the humans. Cade voices out his disagreement over this to no response by Optimus Prime.It is shown that Lockdown finally realizes that his captive had escaped from him, and the transformer insists to his pilot to reverse course and head back to Earth. Lockdown grumbles about Optimus Prime taking his 'trophy case' and that the Prime shall feel Lockdown's wrath for it.Joyce then meets with Attinger and Savoy, who present him with the Seed. Joyce's plans are to detonate the seed in a region of the Mongolian desert, then harvest the results, which should give them enough Transformium to increase production for Military use. Attinger is eager for them to now ramp up production, but grows incensed when Joyce thinks they should slow down (obviously moved by Cade's premonition).Meanwhile, on the factory floor, Galvatron suddenly activates, and begins to infect the other KSI-created Transformers (of which there are over 50!).Joyce quickly has Attinger and Savoy shuffled out of the building when the alarm goes off regarding Galvatron. He then gets into a car with Yueming and an associated named Darcy (Sophia Myles), along with the seed.As the three drive away, they soon decide they need to find a place to hide the seed. As dawn rises, Darcy drives off in their car to create a diversion, while Yueming attempts to help Joyce get the seed out of the city. During their escape, Joyce texts his scientists to find out the blast radius of the seed... and is told that it has the range of a thermo-nuclear device!As Joyce takes refuge on a rooftop, the Autobots' ship approaches, and attempt to scoop up Joyce and the seed. However, Galvatron and his drones have appeared, and attempt to shoot down the ship. This causes the humans, Bumblebee, and Hound to spill out of the open gantry, as the ship spirals off into a mountainous area nearby, with Prime, Crosshairs, and Drift (along with the captured Legendary Knights aboard).As Hound and Bumblebee attempt to fight off the drones, the Cade and the others attempt to get down from the roof, only to be fired on by Savoy nearby! Cade draws Savoy off, and the two have a chase across the rooftops, before a fight in a small apartment sends Savoy out a window to his death.Attinger who has witnessed the death of Savoy, then receives a message from Lockdown. Attinger then confirms to Lockdown that Prime is nearby, and Lockdown begins his journey back to Earth.Meanwhile, Hound and Bumblebee are greatly outnumbered by the drones, and radio their situation to their friends. Optimus then takes one of the swords from the ship, and frees the other Legendary Knights who were captured aboard the ship: aka, the Dinobots! Prime promises their freedom if they will help the Autobots. With that, the 4 released beings transform, and head towards the fight!With their help, the Autobots manage to destroy the drones, but Galvatron escapes in the fight while Stinger is killed by Bumblebee. However, the mood is broken when Lockdown's ship appears, and begins to suck up anything metal! It almost ends up taking the seed and Optimus, before the Prime uses his weapons, disables its anti-gravity mechanism!Prime then follows the ship to a silo on an island off of Hong Kong, where Lockdown descends, angered and ready to destroy the bounty that took his trophies!Cade rushes off to help Optimus, but is accosted by Attinger, who is willing to kill Cade for disrupting his plans. However, in the fight nearby, Optimus notices Cade in danger, and fires on Attinger, killing him instantly! However, this move leaves Prime wide open, and Lockdown impales Optimus with his own sword!Just when it looks like the end, Bumblebee returns, with Shane and Tessa, who use a nearby tow truck and its cable to help knock Lockdown off his feet, and pull the sword from Optimus' chest. Just as it seems Lockdown is about to dispatch Cade!, the help manages to allow Optimus to finally slice Lockdown in half, killing the villainous bounty hunter.Optimus then uses Lockdown's grenade to destroy all the remaining KSI Drones, before escaping with the Yeagers and Shane, Galvatron realizes this and uses Lockdown's ship to flee, but before departing his last words are "We shall meet again Prime! For I am reborn!"In the aftermath, Optimus tells the other Autobots and his human comrades who have helped him, that there is still someone looking for him. He intends to take the seed away from Earth, and possibly try to find out who sent Lockdown after him.Using some rocket boosters in his feet, Optimus shoots out of the Atmosphere, and into space... intent to find his Creators. | suspenseful, murder, paranormal, violence, flashback, good versus evil, revenge | train | imdb | Wahlberg is always fun to watch and the main chick is cute but the last 1.5 hours is straight action and no plot and I wanted to walk out before I had a seizure.Special effects were visually pleasing, but would have been better if I cared what was going on.
I tried so hard to be interested in this flick but I found myself looking at my watch obsessively for the last hour.On the lighter side, the idea behind the plot was interesting and though provoking but poorly executed on screen.I have never written a review before, but this movie was so utterly disappointing that I felt obligated to warn humanity.
I had hopes that the age of extinction would clear some of the plot holes i saw from the dark of the moon, and after seeing the movie trailers I became somewhat excited and felt all warm inside.I brought my two boys with me, bought some overpriced pop-corns and sugar drinks to stimulate my mind so that my brain could focus and absorb the new concept of the story, hoping to satisfy my hunger for unanswered questions that left my joy decimated at the last series.I like Walhberg during action scenes, but not when he starts making lame dialogues.
I feeling a bit better now.In the end i figure this movie suits those who don't care too much about story lines and great characters and dialogues.
The whole movie has some Logan vibes to it, of course without very deep conflict and not near as much emotion.I guess people still go into the movies and watch Transformers with some kind of expectation about a surprisingly good plot or expect that Bay suddenly changes his style from brainless explosion slaughter to something deep.
this is the really the worst movie i have seen this year.Let me make this short .It is extremely boring .I wanted to get out of the theater is mid way.plot is confusing.action and graphics are excellent,but whats the point when there is no story.above average acting,repeatedly irritating jokes,unnecessary music .music is good but it is added at unnecessary places.the movie could have been wrapped up in 30 min but it almost stretched for 3 hours.older actor was definitely a better actor.you wont be able to sit throughout the film if you haven't watched the other parts,but even if you have watched the other parts it wont make much of a difference.Don't waste you time and money for this movie..
as far as mindless entertainment goes,this a pretty good film.it fill you up while are watching but leaves empty after it's over.there is some new blood injected into the series this time around.No Shia LaBeouf or Megan this time around.the characters and the actors are different.this time around we have Cade Yeager(Marl Wahlberg)and and his daughter(Nicola Pelt(whose biggest claim to fame so far has been appearing in the flop The Last Airbender,which was awful but not her fault),as the main human characters.Stanley Tucci has some very funny scenes,and Kelsey Grammar injects some gravitas into the proceedings.one problem I had with the film-it was a tad too long.they could have excised twenty to thirty minutes of the running time.that is my biggest complaint.otherwise,pretty decent.for me,Transformers: Age of Extinction is a 7/10.
The rating of the movie may please be changed to "strictly for infants" instead of "PG-13".No story, no thrill!Its just 2&1/2 hours of time waste.Why the Megatron (regenerated) robots where transforming to car and trucks?
Personally, I think this was a good move because the series needed a fresh start again, and a new storyline to pursue instead of lingering on to Sam Witwicky.First of all, it's important to say that we already know what's coming in this movie: a LOT of CGI and epic action scenes.
I've heard a lot of people say that they hated this film because the storyline sucked and that it wasn't worth their money, but in all honesty, you're not paying to see a Transformers movie for the acting or the drama.
For those who really enjoy special effects and have enjoyed any of the previous Transformers films, I'd highly recommend watching this one because I think it's one of the best out of all 4.
For those who have never seen a Transformers film, I'd still recommend giving it a go because it's a new story with new characters, and it's 3 hours of amazing special effects...so it's well worth the money to sit through the entire thing..
Can't wait for the next please go up to Number 10, I just pray you never stop making these films, truly a work of art.I watched the film and was breathtaken , wasn't expecting it to be that good, however I was wrong "I'm only human" and whoever labels this film any lower than a 8, you need to visit a doctor because all the actors performed like they were actually living th character they portrayed.
SHOWERSKnowing the reputation of the "Transformers" movie series prior to watching the fourth installment, "Transformers: Age of Extinction," could drown anyone into a disconcerting state, but the film is worse than trailers suggest.
Between the three story lines (Mark Wahlberg's family, the CIA, and the transformium scientists), the film is so bloated that it would pop like a balloon if plucked with a pin.Riveting films excuse themselves from the criticism of having longer running-times, but "Transformers: Age of Extinction" loses its audience in the second half with nebulous and confusing storyline shifts.
It is loaded with great action scenes galore, interesting characters,and what we all come mostly to watch these kinds of movies for,the Transformers robots themselves.It is also one of the best 3D movies that I have ever seen.
It easy totake shots at director Michael Bay, but he gets the last laugh, cause he is making millions off this.The effects are just as good, the battle scenes between the transformers is quite impressive.
Do they just not like robots that transform or do they really just hate Michael Bay that much that anything he touches they are ready to crap on it when they see the first trailer.So many people are saying the Turtles movie is going to be crap and that was last year before they even saw a trailer!
People said there wasn't enough focus on the robots this one is all about the robots and their technology and history.This one is better in every way the jokes are funnier, its seems more believable (it is a movie about Transforming robots don't forget), the shots are amazing, and say what you want about Michael Bay's stories but when it comes to pure action scenes he is one of the best!So when i see these 1 star reviews it's obvious that these people wanted to hate this movie before they saw it because everything they were bitching about was basically fixed.
Movie Review: "Transformers: Age of Extinction" (2014)When the Transformers movie series seems at its ultra-heights with "Dark of the Moon" (2011) witnessing a sky-jumping science-fiction-action sequence in Mid-Town Chicago lasting up to consecutive 50 minutes with a thrilling hyper-computer-generated fight scene supervised by Lucasfilm Ltd. affiliate Industrial, Light and Magic (ILM) between Optimus and double-crossing Sentinel Prime plus a classy Megatron interference to build a full triangle on south bridge, comes along "Age of Extinction" continuesly directed by Michael Bay pushing Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg as newly-introduced father-of-one inventor to become a full throttle event movie ride of an exceptional 155-Minute-Editorial additional fixed by Academy-Award-winning editor William Goldenberg, when despite brutal-rating-drops on the U.S. domestic market in Summer 2014, executive producer Steven Spielberg and director-vision-ensuring as on-set-patroling producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura have a prevailing stand-alone Transformer hit movie, especially on the ongoing home entertaining VOD market that delivers not only a throughout joy-loving supporting cast, including further-introductions, daughter-playing Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci as the scene-stealing super-entrepreneur Joshua Joyce ruling a whole facility of metal transforming alien-genes before shifts from Texas, USA to the exotic location of Shanghai, China fulfills the promise of eagerly-awaited awakenings of the dinobots in a fierce battle of clinking metals, earth-mud splashes as mechanic liquids spoiling proportions.© 2018 Felix Alexander Dausend
The transformers are finally getting some character development.The few bots that don't have much screen time I'm completely OK with.As I said before, they did a great job setting up for the next film and those few characters who needed a bit more of the spotlight will definitely be back.
I agree that tf2 is bad and mindless, tf3 is just not that good, and this movie is the BIG improvement from Michael Bay. The characters are interesting and more enjoyable to be followed.
I see reviews of people complaining about the lack of plot lines, character development and blahblahblah...C'mon peoples, this is a franchise about Alien-robots.If you want movies with depth go see one in an arty farty theater.
And as for poor acting, I thought it was okay, and I would like to point out that none of the Transformers films are known for fantastic acting either.The plot in this film is fantastic, but probably requires one to actually pay attention and read between the lines a little more than in the previous 3, and maybe that leads to poor reviews by people who are unable to do this.It's ending is probably less cheesy than previous films, and is certainly left wide open for additional films, as it leaves you with more questions about the future than any of its predecessors.
You get to see the Dinobots for one thing but best of all a new piece of the puzzle in the Transformers background is revealed and oh what a great story to continue on.Essentially if your a fan of the Transformers and enjoy action, there's simply nothing to loose.Personally I thought getting rid of some of the characters from the past 3 movies and introducing the inventor story line featuring Mark Wahlberg was a brilliant idea and adds a new story arch and a whole new group of people who bring faith back to the Autobots in the form of human goodness.It's an amazing film with my only question being: How did Optimus prime recover?
The story is simply told on the run, some people can't deal with that but if your a Transformers fan, you will not be disappointed.Don't listen to the nonsense, this is a great film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.Way to go Michael Bay, an incredible new episode in the Transformers saga..
And just when you thought 2014 is done with Action packed Hollywood movies...Michael Bay serves you special treat , which is not just tasty...its lot more spicy than u have expected...Its called Transformers: Age of Extinction ...saw it just before the world does n guess what venue was none other than IMAX, Wadala...This franchise has earlier given 3 blockbusters and rumors were in the air that there wont be any movie further released..Then there is Michael bay teamed up with "Pain and Gain" guy and directed 1st part of reboot...Excitement while entering theater was as equal as achieving something special..COOOOOOL...Movie begins just after last part of the franchise was ended , unexpectedly here humans are forced to kill Autobots by LOCKDOWN (which is not a Decepticon indeed , he describes himself as one who created transformers)...But when you got Optimus Prime by your side taking a lead to save Autobots and humans , the deadly war begins...There are so many new Bots introduced on both good and evil side , each with a unique identity, bad-ass style and Kick-ass one liners...Is this all he got for this reboot ???
Noooooo , they have introduced DINOBOTs...the coolest transformers so far and were the most discussed before the movie release...They are just awesome...This movie has been very well directed and have Bay styled Slow motion action sequences which will made u shout and whistle...Mark Wahlberg has just answered critics who questioned his replacement as main cast...Every character is well casted and have important role to play as movie goes towards end...Sound track "Battle Cry" is composed by Imagine Dragons and is as awesome as movie is...I have been rolled out and approaching to join Optimus Prime for next battle...Go for it guys...This one u don't wanna miss if u want action flick badly.
My advice, go find a copy of The Rock and enjoy a movie from a time when Michael Bay was a competent filmmaker.FINAL VERDICT: Transformers: Age of Extinction is a desperate attempt at an action movie that is unbearably long and mind-numbingly dumb..
i'd prefer to watch X-Men Days of Future Past AGAIN instead, it was way better.maybe the 3D makes it better in the way of "fun" only, there's almost no story in that film, just a new blonde actor and another main actor - Mark Wolberg - i think he saved whats left from this film.maybe the kids will love it, I'm 27 and i didn't.please don't let Michael Bay destroy more movies, all what he's doing is explosions and more explosions to cover the boring parts of his films, and even that wont work anymore and starts to bore me too..
It's hard to imagine that such movie, whose entire production budget costs as much as the US gross The Amazing Spiderman 2 has been struggling to reach, can still be so deprived of sense and wit, so much that throughout that two hours and 45 minutes it's running, you'll find yourself wondering how much longer can you still endure staring at the screen while hoping something sensible other than just mere special effects will come out and save the film from being assessed as total garbage.That being said, I still put 'Age of Extinction' on top of my Transformers movie list, mainly because it has Mark Walhberg, who proves to be a lot more sensible than Shia ever was in the last three movies.
i was really afraid to watch this movie because of the bad reviews.....but i said, oh well,lets just try it....the movie has a new cast...Mark Wahlberg will make you want to spit at Shia Labeoff....he is just so much better..the others are kinda OK....so the cast is likable and at least they do some thing.....the special effs are wonderful as well.....the Autobot cast is amazing and u do actually spend a lot of time with them.....the plot is actually pretty good.....but again.....the beginning is illogical and there are some questions but at least its more complicated than the other ones......Optimus Primes personality is dark....but its definitely logical and u think you will do the same if that happened to you, the only reason I'm giving this this 7 is the run time, it completely destroyed the fun....right at 2 hours was really fun, then the Dino bots come out....and you are like....Yay.....
The first half of the film basically features forgettable exposition which often cuts to juvenile humor from father, daughter, and a boyfriend who can drive well.The special effects are impressive in parts as with all previous Transformers movies, but with the absence of good characters let alone a fun story, it all seems inconsequential.Overall, Transformers 4 will continue to excite fans who have clearly gifted a lot of money to the previous films.
Good, enjoyable action flick!Mark Wahlberg looking tough, saving his daughter and the world.Totally not necessary to be almost three hours long though!?A sequel movie that is not afraid to make fun of itself though.
As a fan of all the Transformer Movies, I left feeling like they owed me money.Mark Wahlberg was 2nd fiddle to the every evolving Autobots and Decepticons in this one.
The movie's duration is 3 hours it's a very long film, and the story, the soundtrack and special effects are amazingTransformers age of extinction, I've seen it, and I think this is the best movie of the transformers series.
The movie's duration is 3 hours it's a very long film, and the story, the soundtrack and special effects are amazing.
I have seen him act in Reservoir Dogs and many other movies that made me want to like him.This particular film is no more than a blatant attempt to make money.The story is bad.
Horrifyingly bad effects,poor story,extremely stupid plot holes and horrible characters(except Optimus prime and Bumblebee)make a very very very bad movie.The movie is incredibly long(2 and a half hours of a Michael Bay movie is just not cool).The story telling is absolutely retarded and another huge mistake was to focus on the humans instead of the auto-bots I mean why would you focus on humans when you have huge robots.The effects are really bad for example when they're transforming it looks like the graphics of the PS2.The Dinobots that are highlighted in the trailer do absolutely nothing and they don't even say out Grimlock's name or any of the other bots names and the main purpose of them is just to be driven by the auto-bots which is horrible.Don't waste your money on this nonsensical trash.NUFF SAID!!!.
After liking 2 of the first 3 movies in the Transformers series I thought there was a possibility of adding another entertaining film to the franchise.
If your someone who wants to watch the same exact film as the other 3 and pay 10 dollars, then be my guest.+Mark Wahlberg +Effects are breathless at times..-..Too bad it becomes exhausting -The acting is some of the worst I've ever seen -Story is exactly the same, just more explosions -No surprises -Nearly 3 hours long??
The action sequences,this time around,were great.Now,I know who is fighting who due to the superb special effects in the film.The explosions felt realistic,the fight scenes did too.The Transformers,or the Autobots,were well-developed to the point you actually care about them.Some that you didn't care about were just new characters.
Unfortunately not, this film is riddled with disasters likely to leave you wondering why you had spent your time (a painstaking 165 minutes) and money.Michael Bay has been long criticized about his lack of a storyline and this installment of the Transformers franchise is no different. |
tt0366551 | Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle | The movie starts late on a Friday afternoon at the investment bank where Harold (John Cho) works. Two of Harold's co-workers talk about going out for the night to get laid. One, who is heartbroken from a breakup, says he can't go out because he has to work on a project due the next day. The other suggests giving the work to Harold because he is "a nerdy little Asian guy." When Harold is coerced into doing the work by threats of being reported to his boss for slacking off, he has to call his roommate Kumar. Kumar (Kal Penn) is at a medical school application interview. He doesn't want to become a doctor but is applying to medical school so his father will keep paying for his apartment. Harold interrupts the interview with the phone call to tell Kumar he can't party tonight because he has to work. Kumar replies--in front of the dean-- "Fuck that shit, since when has doing your work prevented you from getting high?" This line of reasoning easily changes Harold's mind, and the dean's as well. Though the dean had been on the verge of admitting Kumar before he took Harold's call, he's appalled by Kumar's bad manners and bad attitude. The dean throws Kumar out of his office (but not before Kumar spills a hot drink in his lap).Harold leaves his office where his bad day gets worse when his briefcase strap breaks and he is held up at the exit. He drives home. As he's backing into a parking spot in front of his apartment building, an Orange Ford Bronco steals the space. The group of "extreme assholes" in the Bronco tell Harold, "this is America, dude, learn how to drive" and flick him off. Harold finds another spot, many blocks away, and walks through the front door of his building to see his dream girl, Maria (Paula Garcés), waiting for the elevator. He plays in his head how he wants the next events to go: he tells Maria that she can come over his place if she isn't doing anything else that night, and she agrees. Reality sets in and he walks into the elevator with Maria and forgets to press his floor number, which makes him look like an ass. He is about to say something to Maria but chickens out and ends up jerking his mail in his hand. The elevator gets to his and Maria's floor and they go their separate ways. Maria tells him bye, to which he replies in a low voice.Harold gets into his apartment and the party begins! But first he has to chase Kumar out of his room and dispose of his nail scissors, which Kumar has been using to trim his pubes. Then they settle down and get high. Joint after joint after bong hit Harold and Kumar get blitzed out of their skulls. They see a TV news flash saying that a cheetah has escaped from the Morestown Zoo. Now they got the munchies. They talk about getting some KFC when a White Castle advertisement comes on the TV and they are focused on White Castle and nothing else. They ask their neighbors Goldstein (David Krumholtz) and Rosenberg (Eddie Kaye Thomas)--who are as stoned as Harold and Kumar--to go along, but Goldstein and Rosenberg would rather have hot dogs. On the way to Harold's car, they see the yahoos who took Harold's parking spot; the yahoos call Harold and Kumar fags.They go to where they think White Castle is, but it's not a White Castle anymore; it's a Burger Shack. They ask the drive-thru worker what happened to the White Castle. He informs them that Burger Shack bought that location 4 years earlier. He also tells them about a White Castle 45 minutes away that is open 24 hours.They head for the restaurant and are about to smoke some more but Harold being the paranoid smoker he is throws the weed out the window because Kumar gets stuck in a toll booth that isn't working. Kumar gets mad at Harold and decides to take him to Princeton to sweet talk Cindy Kim, who has a huge crush on Harold, into getting them some weed. Harold goes to a meeting of Cindy's club while Kumar goes around the college looking for anyone who has weed. He finds a huge stoner named Bradley (Dov Tiefenbach) who shows him a pound of weed. Kumar catches the fancy of two cute girls in argyle sweaters, who invite him to come up to their room later. Bradley sells a very over-priced quarter of weed to Kumar. Kumar finds Harold and they smoke a joint on a staircase, which catches the attention of a Princeton security guard. The guard chases them. They escape by hiding in the women's bathroom, where they unwillingly overhear--and oversmell--the argyle sweater girls playing a disgusting game called "battleshits." The security guards catch Bradley with his pound of weed and take him to jail.Back on the road to White Castle, Kumar stops in the middle of nowhere to take a piss. He goes into the woods and finds a random bush and starts peeing when a man (Jamie Kennedy) dressed in a suit comes out of nowhere and starts peeing next to him. When Kumar asks him what he is doing, the man starts flipping out asking him if it's his special bush and if he is "a fucking tree hugger." Meanwhile, a raccoon jumps into their car; Harold, who's working on his laptop, doesn't notice. When Kumar is done urinating he gets back into the car and drives off. The raccoon jumps into the front seat and bites Harold's neck, making him think he has rabies. He throws the raccoon out the window.They go to the hospital where they find out that Harold doesn't have rabies, but Kumar's father, a doctor, catches them before they can leave. He questions Kumar about the failed medical school interview and tells Kumar that he has one more interview tomorrow and if Kumar is anything less than perfect he will completely cut him off. Kumar then steals his father's ID card in hopes that it will get them access to the hospital's supply of medical marijuana. Kumar and Harold are then mistaken for Kumar's dad and brother and they're asked to perform emergency surgery on a man who has been shot. Kumar performs it flawlessly and asks the man if he knows how to get to White Castle; he gives them directions and off they go.Harold and Kumar see Maria leaving a movie theater. Kumar yells to Maria, but Harold doesn't want her to see him so he leans down and presses the gas pedal. Kumar loses control and the car goes down a steep hill. The car is undamaged but the tire pops. Then a tow truck picks them up. It's driven by an ugly man covered with boils and sores, Freakshow (Christopher Meloni). He takes them to his house where he tells them that he will fix their car and they can go inside and fuck his wife Liane (Malin Akerman). To their surprise his wife is HOT!! She is a freak and she wants them to fuck her at the same time, but Harold says he doesn't want his balls touching Kumar's so they ask for blow jobs. Before they get very far, Freakshow comes in and flips out to see his wife topless and the guys about to touch her breasts. Then he lightens up and asks if they want to have a foursome, which scares Harold and Kumar and they run out.They flee in the car (Freakshow fixed the tire), but they're lost, so Kumar picks up a hitchhiker, hoping that the guy will know how to get to the White Castle. The hitchhiker is Neil Patrick Harris--playing himself, more or less. Neil is tripping off X and wants to pick up some strippers so he can get laid. He's no help to them. They find a convenience store where they hope to get directions. They meet back up with the "extreme assholes," who give them more shit. They get directions from a man working at the store as the "extreme assholes" tear it apart. While they are walking back to the car, Neil takes off with it.On the way to call the police about the stolen car, Harold is arrested for getting into an altercation with a police officer while trying to cross the street. While in jail Harold sees Bradley the huge stoner, stripped down to his BVDs. Bradley's pound of weed has been confiscated and his mother takes him home. Kumar breaks into the jail and lets Harold out. Kumar catches a whiff of weed, sees Bradley's confiscated pound, and takes it. He and Harold are now running from the police. They end up in the woods where they see the cheetah that escaped from the zoo.To make sure the cheetah doesn't kill them they toke up and get the cheetah blazed. They end up riding the cheetah in hopes that it will take them to White Castle, but Harold gets knocked off and knocked out. He has a psychedelic interlude--featuring walking hamburgers, a white castle, and lots of marijuana leaves--in which he shoots the obnoxious cop who arrested him ("Bullets--my only weakness! How did you know?") and hooks up with Maria. He wakes to find that it's Kumar, not Maria, licking his face; that his laptop has been smashed; and that the cheetah took them in the wrong direction. Now Harold, who has never been as devoted to the quest as Kumar, decides to give up and go home, hamburgerless. But just then they catch sight of their neighbors Goldstein and Rosenberg scarfing down hot dogs and looking happy. Harold decides that he craves that feeling of satisfaction that comes from getting what you want--in his case, White Castle burgers.They go back to the convenience store, where they steal the "extreme" guys' Bronco. As they speed down the road a cop starts to chase them. They turn into the woods to lose the cop and come to an abrupt stop at the edge of a cliff--where, looking down, they see WHITE CASTLE!! Kumar makes a passionate speech about their whole journey and how it's not just about hamburgers any more: it's about being in America and to have any dream you want to have and their dream is to get to White Castle.Riding a hang glider they find on the roof of the Bronco, they jump off the mountain just as the sun comes up. They crash into a tree and land right in front of Whitecastle. They go in and each order 30 hamburgers, 4 orders of fries and 4 sodas--only to find out that they don't have any money. But Neil Patrick Harris sees them and gives Harold back his car key, says he is going to pay for their meals and gives Harold $200 for the "love stains" he made in the back of his car.They enjoy a huge, fabulous meal. Once they finish they decide that they are going to change their lives. Kumar will go to med school and to his interview that day. When Harold's slacker co-workers walk in, he stands up for himself and tells them he isn't going to do their work for them any more. He and Kumar leave White Castle full and changed. Harold tells Kumar he is going to ask Maria out and stop being a pussy.At home, they're getting off the elevator when Maria gets on. Kumar makes Harold go back down with her. After an awkward start, Harold spills his guts and Maria ends up making out with him and falls for him. She tells him "now you have to work on your timing;" she is going to Amsterdam and she will be back in 10 days. Harold rides the elevator back up where Kumar meets him and asks if Maria touched his penis. Harold reports that he made out with her and that she is going to Amsterdam and she will be back in 10 days. Kumar tells him that a hot chick like her in Amsterdam for 10 days is "the kiss of death" and she could come back taken. Kumar talks Harold into going to Amsterdam and it ends.Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay picks up where this movie leaves off. | cult, comedy, romantic, stupid | train | imdb | null |
tt2281159 | Contracted | In a morgue, BJ has sex with a corpse that has a biohazard symbol on the toe tag; afterward, he handles an empty test tube while washing up.
Samantha is trying to get over a recent break-up with her girlfriend, Nikki. The party's host, Alice, plies her with strong drinks, while Zain offers her drugs. After she becomes heavily inebriated, Samantha is approached by BJ, who offers her a drink. Even though she tells him that she is a lesbian, when she begins to black out, BJ takes her to his car and rapes her.
The next morning, Samantha thinks she is suffering from a bad hangover. She bickers with her mother, who struggles to accept her daughter's lesbianism and is worried that she might have relapsed into hard drug use. Alice tells Samantha that the police are searching for BJ, who Alice had never met. At the restaurant where she works, Samantha has trouble eating and is overly sensitive to noise. When she bleeds heavily from her vagina, she visits her doctor. Despite her protests that she is a lesbian who has not had sex with men for nearly a year, he is suspicious that she has contracted a sexually transmitted disease from heterosexual intercourse because of a rash that has developed in her groin.
Samantha tries to repair her relationship with Nikki, who is rude to her. Samantha is hurt to learn that Nikki had not let her know that a scholarship offer had come in the mail. Meanwhile, her symptoms continue to worsen. Her eyes turn bloodshot, her hair falls out in clumps. When she is called into the restaurant on a short-notice shift her fingernails begin to fall off. Samantha flees the restaurant and returns to her doctor, who advises her to avoid contact with other people until tests can determine the nature of her disease. Instead, Samantha visits Zain, who gives her heroin. When Alice arrives, she encourages Samantha to talk to the police about her encounter with BJ. Believing that Alice wants to isolate her from her other friends, Samantha argues with her and storms off. Zain reveals to Alice that he sold Rohypnol to BJ at the party.
Samantha stops off at home and argues violently with her mother. She abruptly leaves for her flower competition but is turned away at the door because of her appearance and the condition of her flowered plant.
Samantha turns to Nikki for consolation, but Nikki coldly rejects her and calls her sexually confused. Enraged, Samantha chokes Nikki to death. She then drives to Alice's in a rage and murders her by biting out her throat. Losing her sanity, Samantha invites Riley, a man who has had a crush on her, to Alice's house and tries to seduce him. Riley sees maggots fall out of Samantha's vagina and becomes repulsed. When he goes to the bathroom to inspect himself, he discovers Alice's body. Samantha flees the house. As she drives, she fades out of consciousness and is involved in a car crash. She emerges from the wreckage transformed fully into a zombie. Her mother, who has arrived at the scene, begs the police not to shoot Samantha. As the police caution Samantha against moving, she lunges at her screaming mother. | romantic, revenge, murder, violence, flashback | train | wikipedia | Contracted: harsh reviews so far, therefore I'll be the first to change the pace a little.I've watched horror ever since I can remember, love it, all types, slashers, zombies, ghosts and so on.
I graded this one with a 6, maybe a little more than I should, but it definitely has to be over 5, and I'll give you the reasons: 1) the plot was pretty OK, more complex than you see at others 2) characters were divert, one of that, one of this, pretty much natural people 3) dialogue: seems dumb sometimes, might be OK if you consider the nature of the situation each time 4) the ending: did not see that one coming, I for one thought it was heading to a different conclusion.I actually was drawn into it, I will not criticize the fact that it didn't rely on gore, blood or nudity, always loved diversity.
I once had a milder rash in the nether regions and that got me a direct diagnosis and a prescription.I can hear the script writers now: "If we had a doctor actually *be* a doctor, then she would have gone to a hospital, been treated and we wouldn't have the movie we made." That's right, you morons: it's called a "plot hole!" You write something else.
just rub a little lotion on your bleeding crotch-rot and you'll be OK." Now transfer this stupidity to the actions of all the rest of the characters in the movie and you've got a good idea of what you're getting into...
The plots are very predictable, as the main character, Samantha has one night stand with a mysterious and suspicious man, and afterward finds herself starting to have unexplainable physical changes that keep getting worse and worse.
"Contracted" was actually a nice surprise of a movie, and a very refreshing and innovative take on the zombie genre.The movie starts out in a fairly average manner, hinting at this being somewhat of a teenage movie, but then it does take a very nice and bizarre twist for the unexpected.The story is about Samantha (played by Najarra Townsend) who is struggling with an overly caring and protective mom (played by Caroline Williams) and also struggling with her sexuality and relationship to Nikki (played by Katie Stegeman).
And the story was really helped nicely along by some really great make-up and effects, as the three days came and went and we witness the deterioration of Samantha.But of course, everything is not all good in "Contracted".
How everyone was either blind or ignorant to what was going on, sort of added an element of stupidity to the movie, and a bad mistake from the director.That being said, then I will say that I overall enjoyed director Eric England's vision in "Contracted" and his interesting approach to the zombie genre.
Her Mother, (played by an always welcome to see Caroline Williams) cared for her well being, as well as various friends, workmates and her Doctor, but at no time did she ever listen to any of them, instead pining for her irritating, uninterested girlfriend.It seems the film makers aspired to make a gross out, body horror flick, which plays on the dangers of unsafe sex, but all they really ended up with was a monotonous mess which I am sorry I ever read the review on..
As you have seen by the movie's poster, the protagonist is indeed a female who looks terrible like the undead grabbing our attention, but the story focuses on a different plot.Samantha (Najarra Townsend) gets invited to a party despite being in the midst of a conflicting lesbian relationship and identity crisis.
Two of my favorite points of the effects are Samantha's rotting phase and the contagion which crosses Eli Roth's Cabin Fever and Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral which is way better.I could care less about the party scene though, for it looks tiresome to start the movie to as we have seen it countless times before.
However, the narrative offers a clever opening sequence for the plot and ends it with an alarmingly horrifying finale.Contracted is a good icky, bloody, and insane indie horror film.
While not all of the acting is Oscar worthy, the cast succeeds in pulling off a decent portrayal of thieeir individual characters and make them look like average people interacting and not actors playing a role.The ending is somewhat unique in that it isn't your average oh she got a disease and is case zero format.And the makeup work in this is terrific.
Knowing this simple fact, I was able to be engaged in this rather slow paced horror film, despite the obvious plot holes and loose ends...Pros: The main actress did a good job at the leading role.
I do not like glossy Hollywood film, but the premise seemed interesting enough for me to be willing to bear with it in spite of several points that would normally keep me from any hope, including the very overused, "what is this, oh my tooth just wiggled right out of my gums" in the mirror bit.But then, another friend posted beneath this trailer with a different trailer.And that movie is titled"Thanatomorphose"This friend did not say much on why he had posted it, but he's a real film buff himself.
Well it turns out that although she could plainly see how they are almost identical in themes, the differences in the social environment and differences in aesthetic made them distinct.Indeed, made it distinct that Contracted went the route of appealing to a broader audience by making the main female a part of a gaggle of 21 year old party girls (who would easily be victims in any slasher), and using the bland filming style that has become the go to in any film that wants to make a ton of money and doesn't care about artistic individuality.Though I didn't dig deep, I did at least try to find anyone else - because someone just had to see this!
The "mystery" of the film unfolds slowly, as does the deteriorating progression of the sickness, but what I liked about the film was the interaction between the characters - the girl's hostile-dependent relationship with her mother, her visit to the doctor's office ("How are you?" "Fine." - How many times have we said that at the doctor's office?), her infatuated love for her first Lesbian girlfriend, and so on.The whole time you're watching, you're thinking, "You idiot, you're sick, do something about it, stop being so self-absorbed!!!!" There are actually some serious sub-texts, in the parallel that can be seen to the early transmission of AIDS.
I read some reviews on it (actually in the middle of the movie I started getting worried about how disgusting it was going to be so I went to check) and I cam across one that "without giving away any spoilers, if you watch the whole movie, the ending is a nice surprise and it explains a lot about other movies." To be honest I wasn't surprised at all, I knew exactly where it was going and what was happening to her, but even knowing what the "surprise ending" was (it's not really a surprise at all) this was still a great movie.
The main character not doing what she should wasn't because of stupidity, as we so often see in movies like this, but because she had serious issues, which we see even before the horror really starts.
Samantha begins to think that instead of a persistent hangover this could be the workings of a malicious and potentially lethal sexually-transmitted disease, but Samantha's repulsive line of symptoms increase with great severity.Contracted unfolds with sweet unpredictability, never veering off course and becoming an epidemic/zombie film, and always retaining focus on its central character.
Townsend is the ideal lead character for this film, being a new actress who doesn't look like a complete beauty queen, but your average every-girl appearance and style that makes her relatable to the females in the audience.
In addition, Townsend delivers strong dramatic leverage during scenes that expand on her relationship conflicts with her girlfriend along with her mother, who she constantly seems at odds with.England makes the smart move to devote most of Contracted's special effects work away from the realm of CGI and technology and more towards the classic, practical-effects approach horror films sadly neglect these days.
England keeps the action controlled, the effects believable, and the descent into what mirrors an inhumane lifeform the core focus of the film.Make no mistake, Contracted is a rough sit, and thanks to the unblinking eye of how England chooses to focus on Samantha with almost every frame, we see her beginning symptoms to her later symptoms, as gross as they are, up close.
As you witness this character break down, it's hard not to feel for her as her life flits between her friends and mother and a conclusion that is emotionally struggling rather than the fast paced revolt that many zombie films carry.Much like 2014 smash 'Starry Eyes', there may be some truth in Samantha's struggle that feels like an inside reality to those living in the darker side of LA but for the rest of us, this struggle is as painful to watch unfold.
Yet if it's something a little more disgusting that most zombie fans scream for, 'Contracted' is not without its fair share of revolting nature that tidily hands it over to phase 2.As far as drama's go, Eric England has mastered the craft on his debut feature and put's this amongst other great indie movies such as 'Excision' and 'Teeth', 'Contracted' is a nail biting zombie drama that will be sure to keep your attention, even if it is the last thing you contract.> Martyn Wakefield is a writer and editor for BloodGuts UK Horror and has contributed over 250 reviews on the horror genre.
And a mother, in front of her former drug addicted daughter's deteriorating health is also acting not really helpful - those are points causing big frowns at least.In the middle, after the bad things, there is: - The side-story about a flower competition is something which I did not understand for real, because the floristic background of the main character is nowhere introduced.
The doctor to name just one, should get his license removed (although as often times with these movies, the main character seems very oblivious to some serious issues he or she is having and refuses to get help).If it comes to low budget horror that are a bit of a throwback, I'd still recommend "Starry Eyes" over this, but you could also watch both.
A young woman (Najarra Townsend) is assaulted by a stranger at a party and contracts what she thinks is a sexually-transmitted disease -- but is actually something much worse.In the early part of the film, I found it odd to see a party with people not wanting to drink.
It's not trashy, I feel it came from a good place creatively but it really does not work, the characters are bland and unlikeable asides from one guy who is way too backgrounded and it can feel like an after school special at times,You're really missing nothing by missing this movie..
cw: rape mention if you've seen the trailer or read the IMDb plot summary – 'After being drugged and raped at a party, a young woman contracts what she thinks is an STD; but, it's actually something much worse' – you already know pretty much everything there is to know about this movie.
it's possible the 'std' she contracts and her handling of the situation are symbolic of something, maybe the guilt and shame a person often feels after being raped, but if that's the case, the exploration and handling of the issue are incredibly insensitive, and this is probably not a film about a female rape victim that should have been written and directed by a man, much less Eric England while it does inspire some thought, whether intentionally or otherwise, and it could have been even less tasteful (American Sniper, The Interview), this is certainly not a movie i'd recommend to anyone i like or care for.
I can understand why there are so many poor reviews for this film, but I'm giving it a 5 purely and simply for the effort and hard work that Najarra Townsend clearly put into this movie.
Things go on to get even worse as she lashes out on those trying to help her.Now I'm a bit on the squeamish side, and a movie like this isn't particularly up my alley, but I braved it out, if you've got a weak stomach ignore, as some of it's a bit nasty, it does however reach a point where all reality is lost, she got so bad at one stage it became easier to watch.
Like "It Follows," as it is here in "Contracted," unprotected, promiscuous sex leads to unspeakable horror.I have to admit, I've been recently thinking about the nature of horror films and why it is that protagonists many times have to confront some kind of unimaginable evil.
And you think, how would we react in a horror movie situation?Those thoughts crossed my mind when I watched "It Follows," and it caught up with me again when I just finishing watching "Contracted." In the film, Samantha (Najarra Townsend) is a young waitress in Los Angeles who has a fight with her girlfriend Nikki (Katie Stegeman) and one night finds herself at a party being thrown by her best friend Alice (Alice Macdonald).At this same party, Samantha meets the smooth-talking BJ (Simon Barrett, whose face is obscured in his only major scene), and the two soon wind up in the backseat of someone's car.
That slow opening has Samantha at a party, without her girlfriend Nikki (an irritating character who added little of substance to the story) who ends up having unprotected sex against her will with a strange man.
That someone so young is writing and directing feature length films is somewhat admirable I suppose, or it would be if the end result wasn't so incredibly naive and so factually inaccurate as to almost be comedic.If you can get past the idea that a doctor would see a patient who has black infection lines running across their abdomen and who tells him they just bled "a lot" from their vagina, yet not strongly suggest they go to the hospital then you might like this film.
If I was cutting some slack I would put the characters stupidity down to the disease affecting her mind, but it's way too clear what's going on here - a young, healthy person is trying to write a script about body horror and clearly has no clue what it feels like to make a bathroom discovery such as a lump in the groin.
The character's relationships and arguments are like those of high school teens, oh god the dialogue is excruciatingly awful, and the lesbian relationship portrayed is an embarrassment to the entire LGBT community.All of this, ALL of it, I would forgive if the film had a modicum of plot advancement or even perhaps an intriguing concept as to what the sickness was or where it came from but absolutely none is offered and as the credit screen hits after the last scene, I can't imagine one person in the viewing audience wouldn't be sitting there saying "What the hell?
I gave it a high score because I think it is a very well done movie, even with a few glitches but the acting and directing deserves a lot more recognition than what some people have said on here.Najarra is lovely to start with, her acting is very good and natural.
Unfortunately, by the end of the film, I felt that I put more thought into the meaning of the movie than the script writers did, and it left me disappointed.Part of the problem I had with the film has to do with the main character, Samantha, and how her journey is presented through the film.
I think with a better written script, she would be a joy to watch.In the end, I turned off this movie feeling disappointed and let down.
After watching this 90-minute TV movie all the way through, I can safely say the dialogue and character development in this film is some of the most unrealistic writing I've ever had the misfortune of hearing/seeing.
I enjoy a good plot, special effects & acting, but in reality, you don't always get everything you want, in every horror movie you watch.
Then I saw the not really good rating and I was forced to think of this movie as a cheap horror-film, made and created by some horror fans, with lot of gore and maybe some wanna-be-deep scenes.But eventually I watched it, because the trailer wasn't that bad and somehow it actually didn't look like "one of those" movies.
Funny to say, that I didn't realize the lack of special effects until the end of the movie, because I was simply not missing them!Okay, there are some things that doesn't quite work out, like the doctor who sees the black veins on her stomach and says "oh yes, some kind of rash...
But alright, the movie couldn't continue as it does if the doctor would see that she is actually *spoiler* rotting from the inside *end of spoiler*But except for some unpolished scenes (the choking doesn't look like choking at all) I recommend this film as a decent, creepy beginning of something bigger.
I felt compelled to say something about this film due to the reviews I've read thus far
I'm pretty blown away by how many reviewers missed the general point of this movie; I mean, seriously
Despite some of the bad acting and unbelievable scenarios with regard to interactions between the main character and the doctor, etc., the short and sweet of the plot was pretty clever: 1. |
tt0759612 | Longford | The film begins during the late 1960s (during the first premiership of Harold Wilson) at the House of Lords, with Lord Longford, a regular prison visitor, presiding over a reception for a number of ex-convicts whom he had visited and corresponded with when they were incarcerated. He receives a letter from one of the most notorious criminals in Britain, the Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, who is several years into her life sentence for taking part in the murder of three children with her boyfriend, Ian Brady.
When he visits her, she asks for books but also for him to arrange for her to meet Brady. Longford is shocked and tells her that it would be in her own best interests to have no contact with Brady, as it might harm any future chances of parole. Hindley seems equally shocked at the idea that she would ever be allowed parole. Longford then begins his campaign for Hindley to be paroled, acknowledging that her trial judge had felt that rehabilitation and the chance of eventual parole would be possible for Hindley once removed from the influence of Brady.
The question remains of whether Hindley is indeed reformed — for example, in her decision to convert to Longford's own Roman Catholic faith — or whether she is merely manipulating him and feigning her rehabilitation in an attempt to bring herself closer to release. Longford visits Brady twice; on both occasions, Brady tells him that she is manipulative and that he should turn his back on her, as she is only interested in winning release from prison.
Longford, driven by his deep religious belief that all people are ultimately good, decides to continue on his course, despite heavy public, political, and family criticism and even though it turns out that Hindley has not been honest with him. His own wife even advises him to find another cause to pursue for his family's good as well as his own.
In 1986, Hindley reveals that she and Brady were responsible for two further murders. She later helps police locate the body of one of the victims.
Even as Hindley's revelations spark yet more public hostility towards Longford, for trying to win her release, he remains loyal to Hindley in public and continues to back her campaign for release. Privately, he is depicted as being affected by doubts. He is last seen visiting her in prison in the late 1990s, by which time he is frail and in his nineties. Hindley, still in her fifties, is in a declining state of health.
As the film ends and just before the credits start to roll, we are informed that Longford died in August 2001, while Hindley did not win the parole that she spent many years fighting for. She remained imprisoned until her death in November 2002. | cruelty, murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | This surely is one of the best made for TV dramas you are likely to see, superbly written and featuring a stunning performance from Jim Broadbent as Lord Longford.
I had only ever regarded Longford as an eccentric old fool until watching this film which reveals what great humanity and compassion the man had.
He finds Myra Hindley does not appear to be the monster the media built her up to be and Longford believes there may be some good in her but she is eventually shown to be as devious and manipulative as Ian Brady said she was.
Brady is portrayed by Andy Serkis in a performance of incredibly raw and shocking power and you are left in no doubt that the only place for this dangerous man is behind bars, away from the public at large.
I came away from this film feeling great admiration for this man, who may have been misled, but who only had good in his heart and did not know the meaning of hate..
The Myra Hindley/Ian Brady Moors murders of 1963, one of the most heinous crimes in England since Jack the Ripper, has been beautifully transcribed to the screen by writer Peter Morgan and Director Tom Hooper.
And though the story is basically about Longford's relationship with the incarcerated Myra Hindley, the film paints a rather complete portrait of a strange man who vacillated during his lifetime among religious beliefs and spoke out strongly for the rights of prisoners and 'unfortunates' who fall out of line with the law all the while riling against pornography and other vices.Jim Broadbent creates a wholly credible Lord Longford in this amazing performance.
Transformed physically to resemble Longford's bizarre appearance, Broadbent manages to convey the spectrum of trust, self-doubt, pity, outrage, compassion and blind religious belief in a manner few actors could match.
The remainder of the cast is equally excellent: Samantha Morton finds every nook and cranny of the enigmatic murderess Myra while Andy Serkis gives a chilling depiction of Ian Brady, her accomplice who knew how to manipulate the government and people as well as the infamously wily Myra.The story is in many ways grounded by the strong forces of Lady Longford (beautifully realized by Lindsay Duncan) and the Lady Tree of Sarah Crowden and Harold Wilson of Robert Pugh.
The common belief, supported at least in part by this film, is that manipulative Hindley played Longford for all he was worth.
But a more pragmatic (or less messianic) figure might have chosen an easier terrain on which to fight this battle.In this biopic of Longford, Jim Broadbent captures the man's physical characteristics perfectly, although the voice is still his own.
In it a transformed Jim Broadbent becomes walking-self-caricature Lord Longford, the famous, perhaps infamous, campaigner for civil rights and early release for prisoners - most notably Myra Hindley, the female murderer of five schoolchildren in Yorkshire, England in the 1960s.
Samantha Morton is Hindley, tightrope walking above potential seduction and deception of Longford as well as possibly very real repentance.
Longford himself is viewed as a man perhaps blinded by Hindley's charms who may be equally as guilty of manipulating her plight in a hobbyist fashion.
Andy Serkis encapsulates the mythical monster and the man that is Ian Brady, yet still the film as a whole carries with it the seed of forgiveness as the way forward in the judiciary and paints the heart of mob rule as blackly as perhaps the hearts of the Moors murderers in fact were.A compelling film, with no easy answers, and the showcase of some of the most magnetic acting performances ever lensed..
A TV film about the later life of the Lord Longford and his association with one of the countries most notorious murderesses: Myra Hindley.I really like these (UK) 90 minute "factions" based on recent events: The Government Inspector, A Very Social Secretary and now this.
Hits the mark totally as the crusty old ostrich whose politics, religion and beliefs remained fluid throughout his life.Myra Hindley was the most hated person in British history.
I am sure without partner in crime Ian Brady she would not have killed - but she showed little remorse when an audio tape was played of the pair of them murdering and abusing a little girl in court.
The classic upper-class silver spooner (from Eton to Oxford - the old public shool cliché) who knows nothing about working class life, no matter the evil minds that can torture little children for kicks and then bury them on moorland.
STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning A TV drama exploring the relationship between notorious 'Moors Murderer' Myra Hindley (Samantha Morton) and Lord Longford (Jim Broadbent) who campaigned for her early release, only to put her on the backburner for a few years in which he went on a crusade against pornography and for her to cruelly throw his efforts back in his face after admitting to two other murders in 1987.Being the 40th anniversary of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady's conviction for the 'Moors Murders', fresh interest has arisen in the case and TV producers want to re-create the events to fit in with the anniversary.
We've already had ITV's See No Evil, which explored Myra Hindley's relationship with Ian Brady and how they ended up being brought to trial, and this is actually something of a follow-up to that film because it sort of continues the story where Hindley's been in jail for a few years and she begins using Longford to help win her early parole, right up to her and Brady's confession to the two other murders in the late 80s.It's never easy viewing, but it's always interesting and compelling and keeps you riveted right up to the end.
I know a lot of people will disagree with me but I actually thought Andy Serkis as Ian Brady was the one off note with the film.
The film isn't about him anyway, and luckily he's only really a supporting role.Not an easy view then, but a well made one, with strong performances and compelling characters.
This is the story of Lord Longford working to try to get Myra Hindley out of prison for child murder.
The cast is first rate with Jim Broadbent outstanding as Longford the odd Lord who champions Hindley's case when everyone tells him otherwise.
Andy Serkis as Ian Brady, Hindley's lover and co-conspirator is particularly slimy and evil.
Are there people who are more good than the rest of us ?Lord Longford, upon whom this movie is based, spent a good deal of his time trying to help prisoners in England.
He eventually takes up the cause of Myra Hindley, who along with Ian Brady was convicted of torturing and murdering children children in the Manchester area of England and burying their bodies on the nearby Moors in the early 1960's.Longford, himself a convert to Catholicism, believes that Myra, having returned to her childhood Catholicism, has the right to be considered to being paroled and petitions/protests upon her behalf.
Longford seems somewhat naive in his dealing with those who are more inclined to evil than he is, but he is not naive about how egotistical humans can be.The acting and writing are superb - only wished the film had been longer so that we could understand Myra and Ian more, if that is possible..
He became notorious in England during the 1960's and 70's by calling for the release of Myra Hindley who - with her sadistic boyfriend - tortured and murdered five children during the years 1963-65.Pakenham became convinced that Hindley was a basically innocent girl who came under the evil influence of her boyfriend Ian Brady.
She totally convinced him that she was regretful of her part in the murders, and he vigorously campaigned for her parole.All the while, Hindley was communicating with Brady and it soon came to light that she was basically pulling the wool over the eyes of a gullible man - Pakenham.Disillusioned, Pakenham began to direct his efforts to the Nationwide Festival of Light which was a program of protest against commercial exploitation of sex and violence in Britain.
Even though disillusioned, Pakenham stayed in contact with Hindley until his death in 2001.Giving full credit to the superior production values, it is the acting in Longford that makes it an extreme pleasure.Jim Broadbent is Lord Longford.
I use "is" rather than "plays" because it appears that - from what I can determine - Broadbent so captured the personality and appearance of Longford that he even astounded those connected with the production who knew the real man.
He is a man who is so compassionate of his convictions that you cannot not like him even if his opinions are totally counter to your own.Samantha Morton (nominated for an Emmy for this part) is outstanding as Myra Hindley, a woman who shows a surface of innocence above layers and layers of neurosis and evil.
Viewing her interpretation of Hindley is fascinating.Andy Serkis chills you to the bone as Ian Brady.
This is a brilliant drama-documentary featuring outstanding performances from Jim Broadbent (as Lord Longford), Samantha Morton (as the infamous Myra Hindley) and Andy Serkis (as the sinister Ian Brady).Jim Broadbent excellently portrays the honest yet diffident, protector of lost causes, Lord Longford, making incredible railway pilgramages to various prisons throughout the land to see various monsters now in jail.
Longford further benefits from brilliant acting, particularly from Jim Broadbent and a deliciously ambiguous Samantha Morton.
fascinating, touching, strange, delicate exploration of details.in same measure, it is a great occasion for Jim Broadbent to show more than a silhouette but to do not exactly a character portrait but picture of a form to transform worlds.
This creed is given the ultimate test when he chooses to campaign on behalf of Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, believing she has a right to parole the same as other prisoners.
However, this film has made me want to find out more, especially about Myra Hindley, who was portrayed in this film almost like a brunette Marylin Monroe.
She captivated everybody and made them fall in love with her, possibly even Lord Longford.The performances by all the main characters were first class, especially Jim Broadbent as Lord Longford, and Samantha Morton as Myra.
Compared to Charlize Theron who, almost literally, turned herself into a monster for "Monster", Samantha Morton played Myra as a very attractive woman, but equally evil.
The way the film was made, even at the end I didn't know who was "really guilty" Brady or Myra.
Longford has to be one of the best British drama/films i have seen in a long time.
With famous faces such as Jim Broadbent, Andy Serkis and Samantha Morton.
Everything about this piece was fantastic, Jim Broadbent was perfect as Lord Longford he hit the nail on the head not only did he look like Longford but he was just spot on, his acting talents for this piece were praised when he won a BAFTA for best actor.
Anyway Andy Serkis delivered a perfect performance as Ian Brady even though he had to portray a most evil and sinister character he pulled it off perfectly, in my opinion he stole the show.
And Samantha Morton was fantastic as Myra Hindley she made you feel some what sorry for her character at points but then Andy reminded us she was an extremely evil person.
Knockout film made for HBO starring Jim Broadbent, as a retired legislator, who with his very liberal beliefs, takes on the cause to pardon a child killer played by Samantha Morton.Broadbent and Ms. Morton have never been better.
In fact, these performances are probably the best of their respective careers.Broadbent, as Lord Longford, has for years visited prisoners in jail.
The eye for an eye tooth for a tooth principle doesn't belong here.Despite public outcry and his ultimate betrayal by the Morton character, Lord Longford, who died at 95, always felt that he did the right thing by advocating Myra's pardoning.This is definitely a film promoting social consciousness.
With a man like Longford(Jim Broadbent) he's a man willing to go all the way to reach people.
Especially when he talks to prisoners the real strife is when he interviews child-killer Myra Hindley(Samantha Morton) who she and her lover Ian Brady(Andy Serkis) murdered several young kids.
Even Myra's fellow prisoners spit in her food a fact which is mentioned in a sympathetic scene involving Lady Longford .
this character study is basically about a man who believed that any criminal,no matter how evil and vile their crime,was beyond redemption.he spent the better part of his life visiting prisoners and campaigning for their release and rehabilitation.this particular movie focused mostly on his efforts to have Myra Hindley,who with her boyfriend Ian Brady,was convicted of the torture and murder of a number of children.the most shocking and vile crime England has known.the case was dubbed the moors murders,as that's where the events took place.Jim Broadbent portrays Lord Longford,and is brilliant.Samantha Morton portrays Myra Hindley and is very good,although her role is small,since this movie is not really about her.Andy Serkis portrays Ian Brady in a great,but brief performance.as for the real lord Longford,one thing you can't accuse him o is hypocrisy.he stuck to his principles,and didn't compromise.he was also a very compassionate human being.as for the movie itself,i thought it was very well done,but i just wish it had been a bit longer and in depth.the character of Lord Longford is very interesting,and it would have been interesting to learn more about him.for me,Longford,is an 8/10.
This story involves a series of crimes, the moores murders, and the two perps, Ian Brady and Myra Hendley who, acting in concert, dispatched more than five young kids in the most bestial fashion and buried them in the Lancashire moores.
Myra Hindley, whatever her motives, served some 36 years in prison.
It's the story of Longford, one of those iconoclastic British eccentrics, a member of the House of Lords, an anti-pornography crusader, a Catholic, and a fervent supporter of Myra Hindley's quest for parole.
He'd visited many prisoners before Myra and continued to visit them for the rest of his life.He was a devout man, and his faith seems to have both sustained him and served as a trap.
I saw the compassion of the man (although misguided at times) it seems that Lord Longford was always true to himself and his beliefs.Samantha Morton was so good that I was feeling sympathy for her character for some of the movie.
It was chilling.I always feel that movies can no longer surprise or shock me...so when she tells Lord Longford at the end of the movie "evil can be a spiritual experience, too", I was FLOORED!!
A disturbing yet intelligent look inside the head of Lord Frank Longford and his support of one of Britain's most sadistic and brutal child killers.
Jim Broadbent gives an outstanding performance as the eccentric Lord and allows us to feel for the vulnerable nature of his constant belief that everyone can be forgiven.Sam Morton also gives a great performance as the sympathetic but calculating moors murderess.
All in all this was a great production and seriously debated whether a man like Longford should be supported or called foolish.
when crimes such as the ones hindley and Brady are committed...we want to know why.
Myra hindley and Ian Brady committed horrific acts for which they were deservedly punished.
if we apply what lord longford attempted to do with Myra hindley to our own lives, our own wrongs, the wrongs perpetrated upon us by others and learn to forgive - even if we can't forget.
Not since reading about Mary Bell have I been so moved to think and feel about so-called evil girls and women, with the cross currents between do-gooders and evil-doers so expertly explored.Of course Jim Broadbent was brilliant as Lord Longford.
But Myra Hindley was also played with incredible subtlety and power.
As for Ian Brady, I believe he intrinsically realizes that if he ever did leave the confines of prison that his life would be in danger.
Perhaps there was no getting away from it, but Broadbent's performance did indeed depict Longford as a dithering, pig-headed old man who didn't care to consider the feelings of the victims' families, nor the possibility that Myra was making a prize pratt out of him.
Nearly all of Longford's detractors are depicted as simple minded boors who only want one thing - for Hindley and Brady to rot in jail.
At one point, when Longford is being heckled for his support of Myra, he shoots a breaking-the-fourth-wall glance to camera, as if to say, 'can you believe these people!' A question he asks not of anyone in attendance, but of you, the viewer.The only character who's given more than one 'dimension' is Longford's wife, and it's also telling how the writer does so.
It is factual that Myra Hindley and Ian Brady kidnapped, tortured, molested, and murdered 5 children between the ages of 10 and 17 in the 1960s.
This movie is largely about Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, more commonly referred to as Lord Longford, played superbly by Jim Broadbent.
Lord Longford, a devout Roman Catholic, had a long running ministry to visit prisoners, and he believed that it was possible for hardened criminals to rehabilitate themselves.Lord Longford received an unlikely request for a visit from Samantha Morton as the convicted killer Myra Hindley.
In their visit she was surprised to find out that she might be eligible for parole after 18 or 20 years, and thereafter she worked hard, with his assistance, to try and make that happen.The most likely explanation for the whole story told here is that Lord Longford got taken in by Myra's ruse.
Andy Serkis is spot on as the evil Ian Brady, incarcerated in a different prison. |
tt0275230 | Blood: The Last Vampire | The year is 1966. Saya is the only remaining original
vampire, and she hunts Chiropterrans--demons who live off human blood.
Saya's a testy and demanding little bitch but apparently very valuable to
"the top." Her next assignment, as her boss David explains it to her, is
to infiltrate the U.S. Yokota Air Base's High School, which has been the
scene of several deaths in the past and is thought to be harboring at
least two Chiropterrans. Saya's cover is that of a student who will be
participating in classes for a few days.Saya's first day at Yokota High is pretty uneventful. After classes
are over and everyone has cleared out, Saya snoops around the school and
learns that blood has been spilled on the floor in the infirmary. She
suspects that the infirmary is the Chiropterrans' feeding room. The next
day is the school's Halloween party. After school lets out, the students
change into their costumes and head for the dance...all except for Sharon
and Linda, that is. Linda isn't feeling well, and Sharon thinks it's a
flare-up of Linda's anemia, so she's going to walk Linda over to the
infirmary and they will attend the party later. Saya enters the infirmary
just as Sharon and Linda are about to feed on nurse Makiho Amano. Linda
changes her form into Chiropterran, and Saya slays her with her sword.
Saya turns on Sharon and wounds her, but Sharon gets away, spilling blood
as she flees. The astonished nurse follows the trail, which leads to the
dance hall where she finds Sharon in Chiropterran form hiding under a
blanket. While Saya battles the creature, Makiho runs for help.Meanwhile, at a nearby bar, the mama-san sets the bar on fire, takes
Chiropterran form, and heads for the army base. She kills the military
guard who is escorting the Makiho back to the dance. Saya saves the
terrified nurse, and they take refuge in a military garage, but the demon
finds them. Saya, without her sword, battles the creature with a shovel
while Makiho hops in a jeep and rams through the door. David, who has been
looking for Saya and was standing outside the garage, tosses a sword to
Saya, and she chops the demon (Sharon) in half. As Saya and David take
Makiho from the jeep and lay her unconscious form gently in the grass, they see the mama-san in demon form on the roof, preparing to fly away.
David and Saya follow in the jeep. The Chiropterran tries to escape by landing
on the wing of a military jet tooling down the runway. The jeep gives chase,
and Saya slays the monster. As the Chiropterran lies dying on the runway,
Saya feeds it with a few drops of her own blood.Epilogue: Makiho attempts to describe what she saw to the military brass, but
she has little proof of anything. When she returned to the infirmary,
Linda's body was no longer there and the bloody mess had been cleaned up.
The military brass deny knowing anything about David, but they do show
Makiho a photo taken in 1892 that clearly shows Saya and has the word
"Vampire" written on it. Makiho returns to her office, wondering to
herself whether Saya is still around and still fighting demons, "just as
we humans continue to kill each other." At that moment, an announcement
comes over the radio that the Liberation Front has attacked the American
Blake base and that Yokota base personnel have been ordered to fly to Don
Hoi in North Vietnam. As the credits roll, the background shows some very
blurry photos of what looks like American forces in Vietnam.
[Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl] [Edited by m-lissa1] | cult, murder, violence | train | imdb | Using a mixture of animation cells and computer-generated backgrounds, this is an effortlessly stylized visual breakthrough that hopefully will launch future endeavors in the style.The problem with this particular film, though, is that it is far, far too short.
At just over forty minutes filmed length, the story of a strange girl called Saya that seems to be some sort of vampire slayer barely gets the ball rolling on the enigmas behind this girl, the organization she works for, and the beasts she vows to slay before fading into the end credits.
This makes you sit back, blinking at all the dazzling visual beauty that went into this well-crafted film, and wonder, 'what next?' Hopefully, there will be further adventures of Saya and the dingy, grimy world she lives in, each as well-designed as this one was, though with much more payoff.All in all, worth looking at if only to see what the future of animation might look like..
That said, "Blood: The Last Vampire" is very much like a roller coaster: Very fast, a lot of fun, but over before you know it.The first three minutes drew me into the whole story very quickly.
The CG in the film leads to some very cool effects, but as strange as this sounds, some of its realism (especially with the plane scenes) offsets the animated look.
Soon she saves the school nurse Makiho Amano from two vampires disguised of classmates and Makiho witnesses her fight against the powerful demons."Blood: The Last Vampire" is an animation of 48 minutes running time with the tormented and skilled samurai Saya.
I saw the movie "Blood: The Last Vampire" (2009) a couple of years ago and the character Saya is better developed.
Standing at 48 minutes long, Blood: The Last Vampire is cornucopia of pure violence, bad a55 combat and suspenseful monster slaying action.
It has exceedingly smooth animation combined with highly detailed artwork, appealing character designs(a far cry from the cutesy big eyed girls in most anime) and awesome fight choreography.However, look beyond the "wow factor" and there is little else that this film offers.In terms of plot, it is very straight forward and predictable with few story twists.
I do, however, applaud the decision to record a mixed language dialogue(western characters speak English, Asian characters speak Japanese) as it enhances the realism of the setting.To top it all off, The pacing of the movie in erratic and it shows in the more subdued scenes of conversation where things get really boring.
The scene with the jet taking off, for example, looked more like a piece of live footage that had been "animation-ized" after the fact.The plot was poorly developed.
Manga craftily fail to mention this on the cover and I was very let down when the movie faded out to the end titles merely 40 minutes into the film.
But I guess in doing so the enigma of the protagonist would lose out, as the script doesn't completely come out with her infliction in other than one word, or minor visual hints.Saya, a half-human, half-vampire samurai is all edge, and it looks like it doesn't take much to tick her off.
Her next assignment sees her at an American military base, where there have been some strange, grisly deaths possibly the work of vampires and the bases' school nurse finds herself stuck in the middle of it all.This is just another chapter to the story's universe, as the investigative build-up eventually breaks out the gushing blood and precise blade-work of Saya going to work (slaying) when she uncovers the suspect/s.
Watched #Blood....This is an A rated anime about a vampire works for government secret service killing the daemons which survive on human blood....The movie has badass action sequences and brilliant animation.
This film could've been on par with the Vampire Hunter D series, I am that serious but the makers try everything to ruin the experience of Blood: The Last Vampire.Saya is a vampire hunter who looks like a young adult, she is called in to an American air base in Japan to hunt and kill vampires.
An average time limit for an action show is 40 minutes per episode.Onto what I liked, the animation is really well put together and has a nice organic flow-through, the voice acting had no faults and the story, while basic, is pretty well executed.So overall I'm giving this a 7/10.
Was interesting enough that i could watch the whole thing.Now looking back i can say i'm disappointed that they left us hanging like it there was going to be a sequel.Still want my favorites and i make my friends watch it.I love it.
It's kind of like a real movie.I can't think of anything i change.They could've made more movies afterwards though.It's a must see anime.I only like real stuff but this is pretty close to being real life.Even though it gots vampires or whatever they are.Beautiful Art. The sky scenes.
Japanese animation films aren't usually the kind of thing I watch - I think some bozo at my rental firm must have confused this with the 2009 live-action version - but I decided to give it a go anyway.
Apparently Saya, a schoolgirl, is a one-of-a-kind demon hunter who is having a few issues with her taskmasters and rather reluctantly chases demons to a school on an American military airbase.The animation is a strange hybrid of CGI and hand-drawn that doesn't really work, although having said that, some scenes stand out for their impact, and there are some decent attempts at making this more than just another animation.
Like the riveting "Ghost in the Shell", "Blood" is proof that visually stimulating anime and a solid story are as good - if not better - than any live action film.The story is simple, straightforward, yet solid.
With minimal dialogue, the action speaks for itself and carries Saya's tale wonderfully.Many complain the movie is too short, and it is by general film standards, which dictate feature films should be nearly 80 minutes or more.
Maybe the animators, whose work is bold, beautiful and brilliant, ran out of funds, but I'd like to think that the story was good enough to be told in a mere 48 minutes without shoehorning garbage into the tale as useless filler that would only detract from the narrative.This is clearly one of the best anime films of all time.
Besides horror and vampire fans, it's a great movie for anyone who loves a quality driven story.
It's a great film with a wonderful story and you can watch the Animes that go along with it to complete the story and you can follow the story of Saya some more.
So please, take a breather bust out your laptop and a bowl of popcorn and watch the shows online as they have yet to be released on DVD.As for the movie, I found it quite well rounded and was pleasantly surprised when I found out that a few of the animators from the Ghost In the Shell (Stand Alone Complex) Series had drafted and backed some young guys to start this whole project up.
If you just watch this without seeing Blood+, it's just a cool little movie about vampires.
See, I'm a fan of an anime series "blood+" It's about this girl, saya, who kills these blood sucking monsters with super human strength, called....yup, thats right, kyropterines (I really butchered the spelling there, SORRY!).
no matter what the cost or BLOOD takes...-my opinion- the anime is astonishing with it's full CG cover effects, with a lush out call of great violence, though the story does seem to go off, all the blood and carnage and call of the hunt cover for a thin quick plot.*also there is now a series based of the movie called BLOOD+(it somewhat tells more to the movie, with a few alterations mixed in) although both the movie and series are a must see!.
This anime title is short: 46 minutes for the feature movie, credits included.
The IMDb page on Blood: the Last Vampire clearly states:"This was originally supposed to be a three episode OAV series, but due to a lack of time and money, only the middle segment was animated and given theatrical distribution"Given that information there should be no surprise that there was a lack of back-story, or that it was brief.
i can see great things for a television series, or at the very least a PROPER movie that doesn't leave sooo many plot threads unexamined.in the end, this is a landmark in animation, with the cgi animation not being so obtrusive that it ruins it, but rather blending with the traditional animation in a seamless, beautiful whole.
I realize there's a lot more material out there which gives you a proper background, including manga and video games, but this movie is the only thing available for the English-speaking market.We're left wondering who these people are, why and how they're involved with killing demons and what exactly the larger goal is.
The plot and characters dont fill in the promise of the early scenes i read earlier that it was ment to be a mainly visual film, however the lack of character developement and narrative dont allow the visual qualities enough room to shine.So if you want to see one of the best opening scenes in any movie animated or other then this is one to look at its pacing and mood are increadible...
The animation is very good, the scenes are well directed and the story & setting is original in its own way.
Saya is a vampire, but she is the only person with the means capable to hunt the demons that have begun to run rampant around the military airbase where the movie takes place.
The agency that Saya works for has a lead that says the demons are disguised as humans at a school, so Saya enrolls, hoping to find them before they can escape.Blood: The Last Vampire, is a very, very, very violent movie as one would imagine.
Anyway, you can watch this film if you like some good old piece of action.
Why is it then that you would go to such great length as to defend something so far from 'good anime' as Blood the last vampire was?
The girl's intentions were never explained and the 'men in black' looked like they had puppet strings connected to them so they could move and say meaningless lines to help fill in the time of the film's 48 minutes.All I hear from everyone reviewing this is how short the film was but that they still loved it.
Animation films are not good when they debut like you have to watch the next installment in order to figure out what the heck is going on.
The plot left you with no idea of why this girl was there other than to kill some vampires, vampires which I thought were going to be the sickest, smartest things on earth-they looked more like mules with big teeth who could stand for long periods of time and only speak in grunts.
There's so much better anime out there to be trying to defend something as cheesy and worthless like Blood the Last Vampire.
In fact the animation is so good that I didn't feel dissapointed after the end credits rolled out after 48 minutes, as I had to admit, it was some of the most beautiful 48 minutes I had ever seen.But the plot doesn't just hold up.
I recommend this film highly for Anime fans and to anyone else who wants a change of pace from the normal, everyday vampire story..
I'm a big fan of vampire movies in general and my husband of anime so we figured this might be a good compromise.
The imagination is an extremely powerful tool - and one that is, unfortunately, believed to be out of place within the visual images of film and TV.Blood: The Last Vampire is a classic among the likes of Akira and Ghost in the Shell.
blood: the last vampire is not only a good film if you like animation and vampires, but if you enjoy cinematography and lighting, not to mention mood and feeling.
[and as a corollary to that: i'm not sure, but i'd bet that the japanese subtitled version works the same way]) anyway, overall a very good film in general, and an amazing anime in specific.
Impressions:--------------------Overall: + action, + gore, + story, + picture, + sound, - movie lengthGore/Splatter: nice amount of "violence" and blood.Nudity: nopeFangs: Jep, look nice (I write this because I hate those vampire movies which show no fangs), no bloodsuckingCast: animated movieSoundtrack: nice one, fast and goodDVD RC1: fullscreen, good picture, 5.1 sound, uncutWho should not watch?Maybe those who don't dig the manga-style
At times I thought I was watching a live action film.Yes, this movie is about vampires, but not to the extent that you would expect.
Watch this movie if you want to see great animation and see what happens when film uses almost no story-line..
A good anime story that could make a great film.
I found myself flipping the DVD remote, trying to switch over to an all-Japanese voice track (there is none; the majority of the spoken dialogue is in English).The film's sole redemption is the animation, which is easily on the level of "Ghost in the Shell." The film uses heavy white light filters on most shots, giving an uncomfortably over lit feeling (don't worry -- that's a good thing).
The DVD transfer is also beautiful, and features stereo, 5:1, and isolated score tracks.Clocking in at around 45 minutes, "Blood" is notably brief, and the plot feels like a rough treatment (or a badly-written interactive movie).
So in fact the sound track is available in 5.1 and 2.1 and the dialogue is mixed Japanese and English.Also, the DVD says the movie is 83 minutes when in fact it is only about 48 total for the actual film.
The computer graphics and animation in this film were good and I like the idea that a vampire can only be killed by causing them to suddenly lose a large amount of blood, but that isn't enough to keep this movie afloat.
As the film is only around 50m long, there is little time to build characters, know who they are or who they work for.
And that's when the fun begins.BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE is filled with animated gore and awesome action scenes.
As a long time fan of both martial arts movies and anime I was impressed by the slick style and film noir look of Blood: The Last Vampire.
certainly not for everyone.for me,Blood,The Last Vampire(the animated movie)is a 7/10.
Blood the Last Vampire offers a decent anime fix but feels like an unfinished product.
This movie has nice looking vampires and action but very little story, build-up and development in itThis is a 3D-CGI animated movie in which, the backgrounds and everything else is photo-realistic looking, while the characters are still obvious animated ones, done in a typical Japanese anime style.
The movie is also way too short for some proper development and build-up of course.Now the story mostly doesn't make sense, simply because you don't know what and why things are happening.
Well maybe in a way we'll still know soon how much potential this movie and concept had, since a live action version of this is current in post-production.The vampires are all good and scary looking.
"Saya",the main character looks like the "Saya" from the anime series (50 episodes).
The movie is only 48 minutes long which is way too short to really develop a plot, character, etc.
Running at a bit less than 50 minutes, 'Blood: The Last Vampire' is the shortest movie I've ever seen.
In fact, I would bet that maybe five, and no more than ten, minutes are used for story and character development, with the rest of the movie being Saya hunting demons, Saya fighting demons, Saya killing demons, and demons killing other people.
The digital animation is great, and adds more awesomeness to the movie.'Blood: The Last Vampire' is really only for fans of action / horror anime, and probably no one else.
While some may argue that the story is not so much in-depth, the film is overall part of a larger storyline.If I were to show anime to someone who had never heard of japanese animation, BLOOD : THE LAST VAMPIRE would be the first I would show.
This movie could have been extremely good, but ends up extremely disappointing.The animation is probably the best I have ever seen.
"Blood: The Last Vampire," a Japanese anime with computer digitalized images (e.g. hand drawn images were later scanned and digitalized), is absolutely stunning to behold, a bit too short for normal theatrical exhibition (at a scant 45 minutes), and much too anemic in story telling and character development.
This movie has a few very good scenes and the animation throughout is great.
However, the storyline is slow (especially for a 40 mins film)and there is nothing especially creative or original about it.If you like Vampires and animation, you should take a look.
Mostly the quality of the animation is good, most characters beautiful work.
Really.BUT, if you really want to know what's going on, I suggest you watch the anime series Blood+.
It's a lot like Blood: The Last Vampire.
The characters look so different..lol..I didn't understand how they got a lot of what is on the series like Hagii, the way she has to kill with her blood, and that Lewis is Jamaican.
Blood: The Last Vampire is one of the best animated movies I've ever seen.
To conclude I give BLOOD a 10 vote because of its marvelous beauty, strong story and a kick ass character....it reminds me why I collect anime in the first place (thinking back on vampire hunter D - 1985).. |
tt0119094 | Face/Off | September 1991:In a flashback, FBI Special Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) is taking his six year old son Michael for a ride on the Griffith Park carousel in downtown Los Angeles. As they ride around, Archer runs his hand over Michael's face and smiles.Meanwhile, Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) sets up a suppressed sniper rifle on the hill overlooking the carousel. He takes aim at Archer, waits until he gets a clean shot, and fires. The bullet hits Archer in the back, and he and his son fall off the horse, leaving a noticeable bloodstain on the horse's mane. Three balloons are seen drifting away into the sky.Moments later, Archer is shown lying on his stomach, in pain, the bullet having gone cleanly through his body as bystanders rush over to him. Though bleeding, he sees Michael lying a few feet away, dead, the bullet having struck him in the head. Tears stinging his eyes, Archer crawls over and holds his dead son's body while Castor looks up from the scope of his rifle, stunned to see that he has just killed a child. The carousel horse Archer was riding on spins round and round and quickly fades out.Six Years Later:Archer is the field agent in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office and has been relentlessly pursuing Castor ever since the assassination attempt. Castor is a career terrorist, responsible for countless terrorist bombings, aircraft hijackings, and political assassinations, among other crimes. Archer looks at a wall documenting a long list of commendations given to him for his years of dedicated hard work and service, then somberly holsters his pistol and approaches his coworkers. We see that Archer carries the burden of his son's death on his shoulders at all times from his walk. He is agitated that his closest agents, Tito Blondi (Robert Wisdom), Wanda (Margaret Cho), Buzz (James Denton), and Loomis (Matt Ross) have no information on Castor's latest whereabouts.Meanwhile, Castor poses as a minister to sneak into the Los Angeles Convention Center, where he assembles and arms a big bomb called "Sinclaire". As he leaves, he cannot resist the opportunity to headbang to a choir singing the Hallelujah chorus and grope a blonde choir girl.At the FBI office, Archer finishes up a heated phone call with director Victor Lazarro (Harve Presnell). His secretary Kim Brewster (Romy Windsor) comes in to inform him that his wife Eve is on line 1 trying to call him. But simultaneously, Tito bursts in to tell Archer that Castor's brother Pollux just chartered a jet at a local airfield and paid it in cash. Archer immediately orders Tito to get an undercover agent planted on the plane. Tito is about to protest that they don't have any sign of Castor, but Archer counters Pollux "doesn't fly without big brother!" and marches out of the office, ignoring the fact that his wife is on hold.Pollux Troy (Alessandro Nivola) is shown waiting impatiently in his convertible on the tarmac of a local airfield with his cronies Leo (Tommy Flanagan) and Lars (Dana Smith). He is relieved when Castor drives up in his own car. He climbs out and walks over to Pollux, and converses as Leo and Lars change his coat and sunglasses. Pollux is annoyed that Castor is running 26 minutes behind schedule. Castor lights a cigarette and asks Pollux if he hasn't deviated from their plans. Pollux admits that he paid for the jet himself to save them time. Castor reminds him that that is for the boys to handle so they can hide their movements, but he's not going to kill Pollux for such a screw-up because he loves him too much to do such a thing. He then bends over and quickly ties Pollux's shoelaces. Castor then tempts Leo and Lars with a gold money clip of $100 bills, only to snatch them away. He and Pollux then break into grins as he advises his men to stay away from downtown on the 18th, when things are going to be a little.... "smoggy". Castor and Pollux then board the plane, where they are greeted by Winters, an undercover agent posing as a flight attendant, whom Castor quickly seduces.As the plane turns and prepares to start its takeoff roll, the pilot suddenly sees a Humvee on the runway, driving towards them. Simultaneously, Pollux looks out the window just as multiple police cars and a helicopter suddenly appear behind the jet and give chase. Castor gets up from his seat and rushes into the cockpit to take a look at the oncoming vehicle. Not to his surprise, Archer is driving the car, and Tito is riding shotgun.At that point, Winters whips out her pistol and trains it on Castor. Pollux promptly throws his briefcase at her, holds her down, and beats her senseless. Castor puts a pistol to the pilot's head and orders him to fly the plane. The plane and Archer continue to close in on each other. It looks as if Archer is on a collision course with the landing gear, but he swerves at the last second and drives past the plane, then swings a U-turn to fall in line behind the plane. Archer then floors on the gas pedal. He has pulled up alongside the wings when the cabin door suddenly opens and Castor pushes the disarmed Winters out the door, and makes Archer watch him execute her with a bullet to the back. Archer stops the Humvee and promptly jumps into the helicopter, and takes off before Tito can protest.Seeing Archer closing in, Castor puts his pistol to the pilot's head and orders him to take off. Archer promptly lowers the helicopter and rams the skids against the left wing flaps, jamming them. The pilot makes several futile attempts to pull back on the throttles, until the flaps break off completely. Trying to see what is keeping his plane on the ground, Castor peeks out the wing exit door. He raises his pistol and fires at Archer. Several bullets pierce the glass, but Archer ducks down, unharmed. Castor ducks back inside, while Archer sticks his pistol out and shoots out the left engines. Sparks issue from the engines and the engine fire alarm goes off on the pilot's control panels. Castor promptly executes the pilot, takes his seat at the controls, and quickly diverts the plane off the runway, putting it on a collision course with a hangar. Castor powers down the throttles, just seconds before the nose of the plane smashes through the glass windows in the side of the hangar and sends debris and parts flying everywhere.Archer lands the helicopter as the other police units screech to a halt around the back of the plane and officers begin taking up positions. Sparks fly as Castor whips out twin pistols, jumps out of the plane, and opens fire. One agent standing on the wing of the plane is shot dead instantly, as is a cop standing on the ground. Pollux draws a submachine gun, fires a volley at Archer, and jumps out, following Castor. Archer jumps onto the roof of a police car and fires his pistol. Tito fires a submachine gun, driving Pollux further back into the hangar. Castor then breaks cover and fires both pistols rapidly. In the exchange, Loomis is hit, a bullet shearing off part of his left ear.Castor calls out to Pollux, but Archer shoots at a water hose pipe. The bullet bursts a joint in the pipe, spraying water into Pollux's face. Pollux is driven out from cover, at which point Tito grabs him from behind and shoves him into a wooden shipping crate. Wanda then kicks him in the chest, then throws him on his stomach and handcuffs him. Meanwhile, Castor ambushes and shoots a SWAT officer at point-blank range with his pistol, then uses the officer's shotgun to shoot another agent. He then turns to see Tito and Wanda handcuffing Pollux, who cries out to Castor. Castor ignores him and rushes deeper into the hangar. A few agents haul Pollux away while Archer and a group of agents and cops rush in and split up to search for him.Deeper in the hangar, Castor hides and lies in wait. Archer enters, his pistol drawn, searching between the stacks of shipping crates. He turns his weapon when he hears the echo of Castor reloading his pistol. Archer breaks cover and finds another agent, Berkeley, in the line of fire. He shouts a warning to Berkeley, but it comes too late. Castor turns and fires, hitting Berkeley in the back and killing him instantly. Archer fires once at Castor. Castor fires his shotgun at Archer, sending Archer scrambling for cover. Castor then drops the shotgun and draws his second pistol. Another agent, Buzz (Jamie Denton), draws his pistol and breaks cover. Archer tackles him to the ground just as Castor turns on Buzz and opens fire. Archer raises his pistol and his backup revolver and fires back at Castor. They continue firing until both run out of ammunition.Archer takes cover behind a wooden shipping crate and reloads his pistol. Simultaneously, Castor reloads his pistols. Hearing the sound of clicking, he looks up to see Castor standing above him. Archer scrambles behind some crates as Castor opens fire on him again. Archer shoots a hook tying a steel pulley chain to the ground, grabs the chain, and uses it to take the high ground as he fires at Castor. Castor slides down a ramp, firing and shooting a submachine gun-wielding agent. He lands next to an active turbine.Before Castor can stand up, Archer lands next to him and jams his pistol to his neck. Castor laughs and dares Archer to shoot him because he only has one round left in his weapon. They stand up and train pistols on each other. Engaged in a Mexican standoff, Castor tries to convince Archer to turn against his fellow men and try terrorism-for-hire, though it is clear he's trying to provoke Archer. Castor takes the opportunity to brag that he has a bomb that will deliver "Hell"-A the biblical plague it deserves, though Archer believes he is bluffing. Castor also brags that he knows Archer will just drive his family crazy now that his enemy will be locked up.Asking if Archer's daughter Jamie is "ripe", Castor tries to shoot Archer, but the magazine clicks empty. He gets on his knees and breaks down, seemingly scared, but it is actually an act as we see that he is using the opportunity to secretly grab a knife from his pocket. Then he breaks into a grin and dares Archer to pull the trigger, singing, "I'm ready! Ready for the big ride, baby!" He promptly stands up, knife in his right hand. Archer kicks Castor's hand, disarming him. He then kicks Castor into the backdraft of the turbine. Archer hits a button and the turbine produces a sudden blast of hot air that sends Castor flying backwards until he hits a ventilation grate and falls motionless.Archer returns home, and we see that his family life is less than optimal. His daughter Jamie gets in trouble a lot, and his relationship with his wife Eve seems somewhat distant due to all of the time he's spent looking for Castor. Nonetheless, he assures Eve that he will petition his boss to grant him a desk job so he can spend time rebuilding their relationship.Back at the office, the employees congratulate Archer as he slowly walks into the office, looking crestfallen. His secretary gives him a bottle of champagne that has been sent by the CIA to commend Archer for stopping Castor. Archer tries to refuse it, unhappy with the fact that it says "Just for you" and does not have the names of all the agents shot dead in the shootout.Archer logs onto his computer and presses some buttons to declare the Castor Troy case closed. He is interrupted when Tito and a Special Ops agent, Hollis Miller (C.C.H Pounder), come in. Miller produces a floppy disk found in Pollux's briefcase. Archer plugs it into his computer. Graphics of an animated woman come up to the tune of suggestive music, as well as the sound of audible moaning. The words "My name is Sinclaire, and I am going to blow you AWAY!" show up on the screen. As "AWAY!" shows up, the animated woman briefly flashes into a skeleton. Schematics of "Sinclaire" show up on the screen. Archer identifies it as a biological weapon. Miller warns that the fall out would be enough to flatten much of LA, and Archer realizes Castor was not bluffing about a biblical plague.Getting more information on the bomb, though, is more difficult because Pollux will only talk about the bomb with Castor, and Castor is presumably deceased. An attempt to interrogate Pollux about the bomb schematics fails due to Pollux fooling the polygraph, and Archer refuses to take Lazarro's suggestion that he just let the matter go. Miller tells Archer that they could put an undercover agent in a prison cell with Pollux to get him to slip information, but Archer shoots that down. Miller proposes that there might be an alternate solution.Miller takes Archer out to the Walsh Institute, a private medical institution that specializes in various types of state-of-the-art surgical operations. Archer enters the recovery ward, where, to his disbelief, he sees that Castor is in a medically induced coma and is on life support. Miller assures Archer that Castor is not going anywhere, demonstrating this by stubbing out her cigarette on Castor's skin, to which Castor does not even twitch. Miller, and the institute's director Dr. Malcolm Walsh (Colm Feore), give Archer an ambitious proposal: they would like Archer to take Castor's face and voice, then go into Erewhon Prison posing as Castor to extract information on "Sinclaire" from Pollux.Dr. Walsh reveals that he is capable of performing surgeries to alter the facial appearance or voice of a person. To demonstrate, he and Miller show Archer into the observation deck for another operating room where surgeons are working on Loomis, the agent shot in the ear during the shootout with Castor in the hanger. As Dr. Walsh continues talking, lasers are shown constructing a new earlobe, that is then surgically stitched onto the stump of Loomis's original ear. Dr. Walsh explains that the surgery they propose Archer undertake to become Castor is much less permanent than what Loomis is getting. He explains the more technical details: Archer's blood type does not match Castor's but this will not be something Pollux will notice, and the height difference is easy to correct. Archer's skin and eye pigment color is also close enough to Castor's to be a reasonable match. Laser shears will be used to trim Archer's hair to Castor's length and appearance, microplugs to build up additional chest hair, an abdominoplasty that rebuilds Archer's midsection to more closely resemble Castor's. Dr. Walsh then shows Archer the true innovation: a morphogenetic template, the inside of which is modeled on Archer's skull but has an exterior modeled to resemble Castor's face, meaning he won't feel any different at all.Archer finds the whole plan insane and starts to leave, but Miller stops him, reminding him that he has chased Castor for many years. He is convinced that getting Castor's gang to talk is easier, even though Miller warns him that Castor will effectively win if the bomb blows up.Archer decides to instead first try interrogating known associates of Castor's. On the first two guys he tries to interrogate, he grills them so intensely that one of them pees in his pants. Late at night, he interrogates Castor's longtime girlfriend Sasha Hassler (Gina Gershon). She refuses to talk at first, but Archer warns her that she is on probation for previous criminal charges including harboring Castor, and gets her to talk by threatening to put her son Adam up in a foster home. She finally claims that she hasn't seen Castor in years. Archer then interrogates Sasha's brother Dietrich (Nick Cassavetes), who functions as Castor's bomb and weapons supplier. Archer tells him that the bomb has his signature written all over it. Dietrich scoffs, stating Archer has no real evidence against him. Things go sour when Dietrich decides to insult Archer by asking him about his deceased son. Archer snaps with rage, tackles Dietrich to the floor, and jams the barrel of his pistol into Dietrich's eye. Dietrich finally admits that all he knows is that the bomb goes off on the 18th.As he watches Sasha and Dietrich leave the office, Archer is met again by Tito and Miller. Archer does not want to submit to the operation without Lazarro being notified, but Miller tells him that this is actually a black bag operation, meaning that it is classified and off-the-books (no paperwork), and Archer is not allowed to tell Lazarro or Eve anything about the mission. Feeling that he has nothing to lose, Archer accepts the mission.After giving farewells to Eve and Jamie, Archer heads to the Walsh Institute and prepares for the surgery. He gives Tito his wedding ring and tells him to hold onto it for safekeeping. He asks Dr. Walsh if he can also restore the scar from the bullet wound Archer received from Castor years ago after the operation is over. Dr. Walsh agrees. Archer leaves Tito and follows Dr. Walsh to prepare for sedation.The surgery begins. Archer and Castor are both sedated, then are wheeled into the operating room on separate tables. Dr. Walsh first uses a pen to trace the area of skin to be removed from Archer's face. He then uses a special laser to run along the line and isolate the skin. A suction cup is then lowered, and pulls off the entire section of skin comprising Archer's forehead, eyelids, nose, mouth, cheeks, and chin, exposing the raw muscles. Dr. Walsh then deposits the original skin on a facial template stored in a container of water to keep it from drying out. The same process is then repeated on Castor while a technician cuts Archer's hair. Castor's face is then put on top of Archer's exposed muscles and then connected to the rest of his skin muscles. Then the blood vessels are reconnected and the surgery is completed.A few days later, Castor is back in his own hospital bed, his head wrapped up in bandages like a mummy. Meanwhile, Archer (now played by Nicolas Cage) wakes up and his bandages are unwrapped. He freaks out upon seeing Castor's face in the mirror and tries to destroy it with the base of a coat hanger. He is quickly calmed down by Miller and Tito, who administer a sedative. Archer calms down, and he asks Tito and Miller to burn his new face once he's gotten the information he needs.Archer then notices that his voice hasn't changed yet. This problem is fixed with the next part of the operation. Dr. Walsh implants a microchip in Archer's larynx, and warns him to be careful as something as mundane as a sharp blow or violent sneeze could dislodge it. Dr. Walsh then plays back a short clip from an audiotape of Castor talking normally (in which he states "Peach. I could eat a peach for hours"), and instructs Archer to repeat back the line. It takes a few tries, but eventually Archer is able to get his voice to perfectly emulate Castor's. Archer is reminded that he has six days until the bomb goes off to get information from Pollux.Meanwhile, at the LA Convention Center, the bomb's clock continues counting down.Archer is next seen being led by Tito up to the helicopter landing pad where guards from the Erehwon Prison ("Nowhere" spelled in reverse) are waiting to pick him up. Tito tells him he has two days to get Pollux to talk, after which Miller will come in to withdraw him regardless. Archer is still complaining about an itch as he adjusts to his new face. Tito helps him by massaging his cheeks with his thumbs. Two prison guards grab Archer and begin leading him to the helicopter. He gives a longing look towards Buzz, Wanda, Loomis and Tito as they see him off. A blindfold is then lowered over Archer's face.When Archer's face is unmasked again, he is shirtless and under a bright spotlight in a dimly lit room, being watched over by several guards. The prison warden, Walton (John Carroll Lynch), comes in, shines a flashlight in Archer's face, and analyzes him, telling him, "You are now the property of Erewhon Prison. A citizen of nowhere. The Geneva Convention is void here; Amnesty International doesn't know we exist. When I say your ass belongs to me, I mean exactly that." Archer's feet are then clamped tight in magnetic boots tied to a field that allows the guards to monitor the location of every prisoner 24/7.Archer is then shown in the cafeteria line, trudging along as a nature channel plays images of various landscapes 24/7 on a large TV monitor. All of the inmates stop what they are doing upon seeing Archer. Archer comes dangerously close to blowing his own cover when he's stopped by another inmate that he recognizes as Burke Hicks, whom he arrested many years ago for stalking the UN Secretary General, a crime for which Hicks has always claimed he was framed. Archer is turning around and about to talk to Pollux when another inmate, a hulky Russian named Ivan Dubov, who seeks revenge on the real Castor ever since Castor had three-way sex with his wife and sister, attacks him. Dubov gives Archer an intense beating, throwing him around, leaving Archer with a bloody nose. After a brief moment to catch his breath, Archer regains his composure, and eventually gets the upper hand, defeating Dubov with a lunch tray. He's shocked at how close he's come to becoming the very likeness of his enemy. At the end of the fight, Archer's magnetic boots are clamped to the EM field and Walton prods him in the back with a stun gun. He then warns Dubov of the consequences he will face the next time he picks a fight with someone.Back at the Walsh Institute, the real Castor is still asleep. His heart rate begins accelerating, and then he suddenly bolts upright. He is stunned to find that his face is completely wrapped in bandages. He pulls them off and discovers that the skin on his face is gone, leaving the muscle exposed. He touches the exposed muscles to verify that he is not hallucinating. Despite being in great pain, he hobbles over to the edge of the room and sees Archer's old face floating in a jar. He calls Lars and Leo on a phone in his wing and tells them to come immediately.Lars and Leo abduct Dr. Walsh and transport him to the Institute in their car. They march him to the operating room at gunpoint, where they find Castor sitting in a chair, smoking a cigarette and watching the videotape of the surgery while listening to classical music (the video itself was recorded so Dr. Walsh could undo the surgery after the mission was completed). Watching the tape finish, Castor starts clapping, finding the entire thing very impressive. Castor advances towards Dr. Walsh, who, frightened, asks Castor what he wants. Castor claps his hands several times and we see his faceless face appear reflected in Dr. Walsh's glasses to reply, "Take one goddamn guess."Back at Erehwon, Archer sits down with Pollux and successfully manages to extract information from him about the bomb. Later, he is in his cell when a guard stops by to tell him that he has a visitor. Archer is escorted to the visitor's room. Once he is in the room, the magnetic boots are activated, securing Archer's feet to the floor. He is hoping the visitor is Miller and Tito coming to release him. Instead, to his shock, in walks Castor Troy (now played by John Travolta), wearing Archer's old face and business suit, and all too happy to see that Archer is locked up in prison under his name. He likens the effect as being like looking into a mirror, only not. He is mildly annoyed about having his face cut off to disturb his coma and thrusts a newspaper article into Archer's face about a recent fire that destroyed the Walsh Institute and killed Dr. Walsh and two of his lab technicians.Hearing the news from Castor, images flash through Archer's head of Dr. Walsh, Miller and Tito tied up and gagged on the floor of the Institute as Leo and Lars douse them with jugs of gasoline. One of them then flicks a Zippo lighter and drops it in a puddle of gasoline, starting a fire that burns them alive.Castor then flashes Archer's wedding ring into Archer's face, as he casually reveals that he has killed Tito, and has destroyed any evidence that Archer could potentially use to prove who he is. Now he has plans to abuse Archer's job and even make love to Eve. Archer does not take this well and immediately tries to strangle Castor with his bare hands, but is stopped when guards rush in and restrain him. Castor thanks Walton for saving him, then departs while Archer can only resign himself to his new predicament.Upon returning to the city, Castor immediately heads for his new house. As he is driving through the neighborhood, he looks in utter disbelief at all of the nicely manicured lawns and well-kept houses. He is distracted enough that he "accidentally" overshoots his own house right in front of Eve as she is walking to her car. He backs up to the curb, and smirks as his climbs out of the car. Eve chides Castor for finally forgetting where they lived. Castor insists that she give him a break, as every house looks the same. Eve asks Castor about his "vital assignment". Castor spaces out for a moment, but finally realizes that this refers to Archer's current impersonation of him, and gives a lie about an "out-of-body experience" (which in a way is partially true). He can't help but stare at her butt as she leaves for work at the hospital.Castor goes inside and sits down at a desk in the living room, to settle himself down in his new life. He quickly finds Eve's diary in a drawer. He is somewhat stunned, upon reading a recent entry, to find that Archer hasn't had sex with Eve in over two months. Before he can dwell on the matter, he is distracted upon hearing his favorite song "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" playing from Jamie's bedroom. He heads upstairs to find Jamie talking on the phone with her boyfriend while smoking a cigarette in just her underwear and a cropped t-shirt. Castor quips, "Hmm, the plot thickens...." Jamie, angered at Castor's invasion of her privacy, tries to slam the door on him, but Castor forces his way in, itching for her hidden stash of cigarettes. He narrowly comes close to blowing his cover by calling her "Janie" until he notices her name stitched on her bed pillow and corrects himself. Jamie is confused why her "father" has taken up smoking, to which Castor explains, "You'll be seeing a lot of changes around here. Papa's got a brand new bag." He then slowly backs out of the room while singing along to the music.At Erehwon, Archer tries to come to terms with the reality that Castor has taken over his life. If anything could make him feel worse, it is when he learns that Castor has cut a "deal" with Pollux to turn state's evidence that also includes immediate release from jail.Pollux is taken to the FBI office, where Castor plays "good cop" by treating him to a gourmet meal. Castor comes into the observation room, where Wanda and Buzz offer him their condolences for Tito's death. Castor shrugs them off. There is a brief disturbance when Lazarro comes in and confronts Castor to point out that cutting a deal with a lowlife like Pollux is something the real Archer would never do. Castor dismisses him, claiming that he's trying "fresh tactics". After everyone else leaves the observation room, Castor switches off the videotape, then enters the interrogation room and turns off the microphone while reminding Pollux that he's supposed to be snitching. Pollux tells Castor that seeing Archer's face on him makes him want to cough up his tiramisu. Castor proposes that they can do better if Pollux just "confesses" to the location of the bomb, thinking he will look a lot more impressive and gain media attention that Archer will envy if he single-handedly disarms the bomb.Armed with Castor's "tip" from Pollux, the police converge on the Convention Center and hurriedly evacuate the building. Inside, Castor watches over two bomb squad technicians trying to disarm the bomb. There is one minute and 15 seconds remaining on the clock. The techs tell Castor that the codes are protected by a tamper switch that will take them several hours to bypass. Castor sternly orders them to leave. Once they are gone, he goes about disarming the bomb in dramatic flair. He bypasses the protective systems, then punches in the disarm code to deactivate the bomb with just two seconds remaining on the clock. Satisfied, he then closes the timer panel.After watching Castor being interviewed on CNN, Archer is shown sulking in his cell, clearly a broken man. At the FBI office, meanwhile, Castor revels in the glory as the other agents congratulate him for disarming the bomb. In contrast to Archer, who is known for usually darkening the mood of his victories by reminding his men of the agents killed in their gunfights, Castor is all smiles, wears his sunglasses indoors, and thanks his men for putting up with him for all the years he was an insufferable bore. Some of the agents, like Archer's partner Wanda, wonder if Castor just had surgery (which seems to strike a small chord with Castor). He is also more tender and affectionate with Eve than the real Archer is. For instance, when Castor is told by his secretary that the president and his wife are both on the phone trying to contact him, Castor asks her to put the president on hold.Desperate, Archer realizes that the only way he can stop Castor is to break out of prison, so he asks Burke Hicks about the odds of escape during exercise hour. Hicks tells him he can't escape: he can only get his boots off if he is taken down to the clinic to get shock treatment. Archer immediately notices a guard pulling out a pack of cigarettes and knowing that Castor smokes, he gets an idea. He breaks out of line, walks over to the guard, and demands a cigarette. When the guard orders him to get back in line, Archer punches him, instigating a fight with several other guards, who grab him and drag him away even as he yells to the incited inmates for someone to give him a match.Down in the clinic, Dubov is getting shock therapy in the chair, having apparently picked another fight and failed to heed Walton's warning following his earlier fight with Archer. When they are done with Dubov, they pull him out of the chair and Archer, being dragged by his shoulders, is put in the chair. He successfully manages to get Walton to light a cigarette for him. As they are securing him, Archer tells Dubov that he didn't touch Dubov's wife or sister and knows that they are waiting for him.The guards are about to put the arm restraints on Archer when Dubov suddenly clubs Walton over the back. Several guards hear the raucous and charge Dubov with batons. Dubov swiftly disarms each one of them, and Archer breaks free of the chair. A guard on the catwalk above opens fire with a submachine gun. Archer grabs a pistol and shoots him. Archer then takes cover as another guard appears and opens fire, forcing him into a corner. Dubov takes cover behind a stretcher. The guard fires at Dubov until Archer suddenly shoots him in the foot from below, and he collapses. The elevator doors open on the clinic floor and several guards appear. They open fire on Dubov and continue shooting until he shoves the gurney into them, disarming them.Seeing two more guards coming on the catwalk, Archer grabs a bottle of sulfuric acid from the medical supply cabinet and chucks it upwards. Archer then shoots the bottle in midair, causing a small explosion that knocks one guard off the catwalk and forces the other one to retreat. Archer and Dubov then jump up to the catwalk and start running. The other guard stands up, but Dubov takes the first guard's submachine gun and shoots him. Archer then climbs up a ladder, scales a wall, and jumps on another guard, tackling him, as a riot breaks out in the exercise hall.In the control room, panic breaks out as Dubov suddenly fires his submachine gun through the door. One guard fires at Archer as he runs along another catwalk, and continues firing until Dubov shoots him from behind. He then begins killing the guards in the control room until Archer arrives and orders him to stop. Archer tells the two remaining guards to leave, then sits down at the computer and starts typing in codes hoping to overload the security system. Before he can start, another guard opens fire on them, sending Archer diving for cover. Dubov fires his submachine gun and offs the guard and one other guard, and continues shooting until a third guard, who had taken cover, stabs him in the leg with a knife.Archer then frantically types codes in to disable the security system, as Dubov whips and overpowers the guard who stabbed him, then tosses him over the railing into the cafeteria. Sparks fly as Archer overloads the TV screen. Just then, a bloodied Walton appears on the cafeteria floor, raises a rifle at Dubov, and fires. Three bullets hit Dubov in his chest. Dubov flails around and falls over the edge. Archer grabs him by the barrel of his gun and tries to pull Dubov back up. However, Dubov is weakened by his wounds. His grip slips and he falls to his death. Walton fires up at Archer, but is stopped when Burke Hicks and a couple other inmates surround him and apparently beat him to death.Now safe, Archer makes his way up a stairway to the roof, only to find that the prison is an offshore oil platform in the Pacific Ocean just off the California shore. Before he can think about how he is out of luck, a helicopter appears. Archer runs and jumps off the edge of the helicopter platform as the gunner opens fire on him. Archer lands on the next deck down, and runs for the edge, only for the helicopter to show up and chase him back across the deck. He lands behind some oil cans. One shot causes a spark that lights Archer's feet on fire. Archer quickly removes his socks and does a running jump off the platform into the ocean. Archer does not surface and the helicopter pilots presume him deceased.Back at Castor's house, it is Michael's birthday. Castor is roped by Eve into going to Michael's grave. Castor watches Eve place some toys on the angel-shaped tombstone. She breaks down crying in Castor's arms. Castor appears to be ashamed of himself for his own actions. When Castor returns to his office later that day, he is told by his coworkers that Archer has escaped from prison. Suspicious, he asks to see the body. When he's told it has not been recovered, Castor realizes that Archer is alive and will be coming for him.After his jailbreak, Archer swims to shore. That night, still in his prison shirt, he steals a car from a valet parking lot, then drives over to the hospital where Eve works. He makes a call from the car phone and tries to warn Eve about Castor. However, his vocal chip causes him to speak with Castor's natural husky voice, which Eve does not recognize, instead of his real and much more nasally voice. She thinks someone is impersonating her husband and she hangs up on him. Frantic to alert someone he trusts to Castor's whereabouts, Archer calls the FBI office and asks to be put through to Lazarro, hoping to warn him, but to his dismay, he is transferred by the operator to Castor. Hearing Castor pick up the phone, Archer quickly hangs up and continues driving, switching off a radio report about the police manhunt Castor has declared on him. He then has to lower his head and make a quick right turn when he spots a police car approaching in front of him.Unable to alert any of his colleagues or his wife, Archer decides to drive to the penthouse apartment where Dietrich lives. In the apartment, Dietrich is in the middle of a phone call as he enters his apartment and is stunned, then delighted upon seeing Archer-as-Castor. He invites Archer in and takes him upstairs to the second floor of the apartment, where several of Castor's old buddies and their girlfriends are hanging out. They all are pleased to see "Castor".Archer sits down in a chair and Dietrich hands him a box containing some of Castor's regular contraband: several joints, prescription pills, a box of Chiclets, a money clip, and two gold-plated pistols (identical to the ones Castor was utilizing during the earlier shootout with Archer when they both had their original faces). He takes a moment to pick up the pistols to see how they feel and forces himself to take drug-laced water.Dietrich asks Archer what he plans to do. Archer declares that he's going to use their help to take down Castor. Castor's other accomplices point out that "Archer" is a supercop, leading Archer to disclose details about himself, like the fact that his own house security code is the same as Michael's birthday. To explain how he knows so much about himself, Archer explains that "he" sleeps with Castor's wife. As to what he plans to do once he abducts Castor, Archer claims he wants to take Castor's face....off and stick it on himself. Naturally, Castor's pals think Archer is just spouting pure gibberish.Feeling his body rejecting the drugs, Archer dismisses himself from the conversation and rushes to the bathroom. He tries to rinse his face clean, then he looks in the mirror and immediately draws one of his pistols on the reflection. Archer quickly talks himself out of his panic attack, and is interrupted by the arrival of Sasha. She glowers at him as he turns around, a slasher-style grin frozen on his face. He insists that he is not dead, at which point Sasha slaps him.Meanwhile, Castor is in his living room and in the middle of a heated phone call with Pollux. He reminds Pollux that once he is able to use Archer's job to get rid of their criminal rivals, he'll be set and get his old face back. He is interrupted by music, walks over to the window and sees Jamie's boyfriend Karl (Danny Masterson) pulling up in the driveway with Jamie in tow. As Jamie prepares to get out of the car, Karl attempts to advance on her. She turns him down, however Karl gets more insistent and more forceful in his advances. Seeing the struggle, Castor quickly hangs up the phone on Pollux. Karl has forced himself onto Jamie and is holding her down when Castor suddenly smashes the window with his foot, pulls him out of the car, and then gives him a vicious beating, before slamming his head against the roof and ordering him to apologize. After extracting an apology, Castor throws him aside one last time for good measure.Minutes later, Castor is talking to Jamie about the incident. As they talk, Castor begins to see past the exterior Jamie has put put in front of her family and sees what really is bothering her inside (something the real Archer has failed to notice): she has never come to terms with Michael's death at Castor's hands, has outwardly blamed Archer for not doing a better job in protecting their family and has mistrusted him since. As consolation, and not wanting to see Jamie get hurt, he gives her a butterfly knife for "protection", and instructs her to, if she gets attacked, stab the would-be attacker in the thigh and twist the blade so that the wound won't be able to close.Back at Dietrich's penthouse, Archer is shirtless and lying facedown on a bed, with Sasha sitting next to him. He is woken up when Sasha nibbles his shoulder, and mistakenly addresses her as Eve. Realizing she's not Eve, he bolts awake and instinctively grabs one of his pistols. Sasha takes off Archer's pants and tries to make advances on him. Archer naturally freaks out. Unbeknownst to either of them, Pollux is standing on a roof across the street watching them through binoculars. Amused to see that Archer is beginning to "enjoy" being his enemy, he phones Castor.Archer is finally able to get Sasha off him and puts on a leather jacket. She tells him to leave, recalling threats Archer made with his original face to put her son Adam up in a foster home. Upon seeing Adam, Archer is surprised to learn that Castor is Adam's biological father, something the real Castor has never had knowledge of. He immediately begins to regret threatening her, realizing that Sasha is just a single mother struggling to raise Adam to avoid a criminal life.Meanwhile, alerted to Archer's whereabouts, Castor sends an FBI SWAT team to take up positions on the rooftop across the street and train submachine guns at the windows of the penthouse.Inside, Archer learns that Adam is five years old, almost the same age his own son Michael was when he died, and also learns that Sasha has kept the fact that Adam is Castor's son a secret, fearing someone would hurt Adam to get to Castor. Sasha encourages Adam to meet his "father". Archer puts his hand on Adam's face and immediately has a flashback, recalling running his hand over Michael's face on a carousel ride just before his death. Seeing so much of Michael in Adam, Archer accidentally blurts his real son's name while hugging Adam, to Sasha's confusion. Sasha quickly grabs Adam and pulls him away from Archer, asking Archer what is wrong with him.On cue, an FBI agent across the street fires a grenade launcher. A smoke grenade suddenly crashes through the bedroom window. Archer quickly pulls Sasha and Adam to the ground as the SWAT team opens fire with submachine guns, raking the windows with bullets. The men and women gathered in the loft immediately panic. Dietrich, Aldo and the other thugs quickly grab their weapons.While taking cover behind the bed, Archer quickly grabs Adam's headset, muffling the shots so that he hears "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" playing instead. While this happens, an officer can be heard on megaphone ordering the inhabitants to surrender.In the living room, a SWAT officer smashes one of the skylights and rappels in, firing a submachine gun. Just before his feet hit the ground, Dietrich raises a shotgun and shoots him. As another agent fires a submachine gun from the roof, Archer grabs Adam and he and Sasha rush into the other room. Another SWAT officer rappels through the side window. One thug covers Archer, Adam and Sasha and fires his pistol to drive the officer back. Some other SWATs burst in through the front doors, but this thug dives to the ground and fires a submachine pistol, forcing them to retreat.Meanwhile, Dietrich uses his shotgun to shoot another SWAT officer on the second floor, sending the officer crashing through the railing. The officer lands on the lower level, dead, just feet from where Archer and Sasha have taken cover. Archer is shocked to see one of his own colleagues die in front of him. Sasha grabs the officer's submachine gun and she and Archer start to run. As several more of Castor's men burst in, Archer aims a pistol and yells at them to hold their fire. Surprisingly, the officers comply. Archer and Sasha then dive for cover as the officers fire on Dietrich. Dietrich picks them off with individual shotgun rounds. The other thugs then shoot at the officers in a vicious exchange of gunfire. An officer then rappels through a window near Archer. Archer kicks him back through the window, then when the officer swings back into the apartment, hits him across his visor, knocking him out.Dietrich then yells to Archer to hand him Adam. As Sasha exchanges submachine gun fire with a SWAT officer, Archer hands Adam over to Dietrich, who takes him to the bedroom. The officer Sasha was shooting at is eventually hit several times and falls dead. She then rushes one of the other women up the stairs to safety. Another officer starts to pursue them, but Archer raises a pistol and shoots him in the knee, knocking him down.As Adam rides the shootout out, we see a timelapse montage pass as the thugs and the SWAT officers exchange fire and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" drowns out shouting and gunfire. Officers and thugs alike are both shot dead in the furious gun battle.The montage ends when Archer grabs Adam from his hiding place just as an officer opens fire on him. Archer hands Adam over to Sasha, who rushes downstairs to the lobby. As she enters the lobby, Archer's partner Buzz, wearing a balaclava, corners them with a pistol. She promptly kicks him and disarms him. Buzz climbs to his feet and prepares to fire on Sasha, when Archer suddenly collars him, puts a pistol to his head and orders him to drop his weapon. Instinctively, Buzz complies. Archer then spins him around, pulls off his balaclava, and is stunned to recognize him. Before he can explain anything to Buzz, he hears Dietrich approaching. Buzz tries to grab Archer's pistol, but Archer swiftly disarms him and knocks him unconscious, then shoots the ground next to him just as Dietrich, who has just shot a few more SWAT officers, arrives.Just then, they hear footsteps. Archer has his pistol drawn and sees Castor stealthily walking down a flight of steps. Castor raises his pistol and aims it at Archer. Detecting Sasha moving, he aims his gun in her direction. When he draws a bead on her, Dietrich notices and quickly moves in the way just as Castor fires. The bullet hits Dietrich in the side of his neck. Clutching the wound with his right hand, he tells Sasha to run and exchanges a quick kiss on the cheek before she goes. Archer arrives, but it's too late to save Dietrich. Dietrich thanks Archer for the good times they had before he collapses and bleeds to death.Archer grabs Dietrich's submachine gun and heads into the front lobby. He gets a glimpse of Castor running through a back pathway. Archer raises his submachine gun and fires a burst at Castor, shattering several mirrors. There is a moment of silence, then in a mirror, Archer spots Castor running in the opposite direction, spins around, and fires another volley. There is complete silence as Archer drops his submachine gun and trades it for his pistol, while Castor backs up against the opposite side of the mirror panel and quips that he doesn't know which he hates wearing worse: Archer's face or his body. He offers to trade their faces back and surrender, but Archer replies "You can't give back what you've taken from me." Castor then decides to go to Plan B: kill each other.Archer and Castor each train a pistol on their reflection, trained at the other. Both men open fire simultaneously, bullets shattering the glass. Archer suddenly is thrown, a bullet hitting him in the side. The two continue to exchange fire until Loomis arrives with a Commando rifle in hand. Loomis fires on Archer, driving Archer up the stairway and sending Castor diving for cover.Up on the roof, Pollux sees Archer arrive. He climbs up onto a vent, while Archer climbs onto a rope dangling from a crane. As Pollux raises his pistol and prepares to shoot, Archer slams into him, sending Pollux flying before crashing through the skylight. Down below, Castor takes cover as Pollux and lots of glass shards come plummeting towards him. Castor looks up, sees Archer dangling, and fires several rounds, sending Archer fleeing.Castor then looks down and sees Pollux lying on the ground, dead. He immediately breaks down crying. Suddenly Loomis appears, and not knowing that he's talking to Castor, he asks him why he is shedding tears for the likes of Pollux Troy. Castor snaps with rage, raises his pistol and promptly shoots Loomis in the face. Castor then takes notice of Pollux's untied shoelaces. In brotherly fashion, he delicately reties Pollux's shoes and departs.The next morning, Castor returns to his office, dazed. He blows off his secretary as she informs him that he has made TIME Magazine's "Man of the Year" segment, then sits down in his office chair to brood about Pollux's death. Seconds later, an agitated Lazarro comes in to inform him that after the unnecessary carnage from his shootout with Archer at Dietrich's apartment, he's terminating Castor's war on crime. Lazarro fails to see a hint of anger suddenly flash across Castor's face as he queries as to how Castor happens to suddenly know so much about his own men's movements. Seeing Lazarro clutch his chest from palpitations, Castor stands up, checks to make sure no one in the office is looking, and admits to Lazarro that he'll give the taxpayers a break, but he has something he wants to confess to Lazarro, something he knows the director won't like. He promptly snarls into Lazarro's ear his true identity, then knocks Lazarro to the ground with a cut to the back of the neck. As Lazarro lies on the floor, Castor punches him in the heart hard enough that it stops completely. Collecting himself, Castor calls his secretary to tell her that Lazarro has just suffered a fatal heart attack.Archer, meanwhile, breaks into his own house, narrowly avoiding the police officers that Castor has had placed outside to watch for him, and enters as Eve is coming out of the shower. Eve naturally does not take it easily seeing her husband's worst enemy's face, but Archer is able to keep her from making any noise that could attract the attention of the police officers in the house. He explains to her the exact details of the assignment he had been sent away on, how he was given Castor's face through plastic surgery to get information about one of Castor's crimes. After telling her what has happened, he admits that while she doesn't have to believe a word he says, there is one way Eve can validate Archer's claims: Archer's blood type is O+ and Castor's blood type is AB-.When Castor comes home from work that night, he finds Eve working at her computer. He notices that she is looking tense and realizes that Archer has visited her and told her about him. Once Castor is asleep, Eve quietly and stealthily injects a needle into his left arm and draws some of his blood. She then sneaks out of the house and drives over to the hospital. Once there, she puts a couple of blood drops onto a plate and runs it through a hemoglobin test. She gasps as the results come back that say her sample is AB-, meaning she has been sleeping with Castor. Just then, Archer comes into the room, still clutching the bullet wound Castor gave him at Dietrich's apartment. Eve suddenly draws a revolver on him, saying she doesn't know who to trust. Archer realizes that she's holding his backup service weapon. Although Eve still appears skeptical of Archer's story, once he tells her the story of how they had their first kiss, she eventually realizes the truth. However, once all this is done, Archer promises to make it up to her and Jamie for all the neglect of emotions he put them through.Eve then sets forth on stitching up Archer's wound in the emergency room. Archer is aware that Lazarro has died, and also knows that the chain of succession means that he technically becomes the new acting director of the Los Angeles field office. As Castor is in Archer's place, that makes him virtually untouchable. Eve tells him that won't be the case the next day, as Castor will be at Lazarro's funeral. Archer tells Eve to get herself and Jamie away from Castor as soon as possible. Eve is not sure, as she can handle an excuse for Jamie, but she's expected to go to the funeral as well, and if Castor doesn't see her, he will be suspicious. Almost as if on cue, there is a commotion outside. Aware that Eve has snuck out, Castor has arrived with Leo and Lars and is scouring the hospital looking for Archer. Eve quickly hides Archer as Castor pulls back curtain after curtain looking for his foe. When he pulls back the curtains around Eve, to his disappointment he finds her apparently in the middle of attending to a burn patient. She makes up a story about being on-call for that night. Castor apparently accepts her story and departs with his thugs. Once out of earshot from Eve, Castor quips, "Lies, deceit, mixed messages... this is turning into a real marriage."The next day, Sasha and Archer track Castor to Lazarro's funeral, where Castor is holding Archer's wife and daughter Jamie hostage. Castor reveals that Michael's death was an accident and he was trying to kill Archer himself. However, he took it personally and advises him to either kill himself or let it go. Archer tells him no father would let go until the one responsible paid for it with his life. Castor replies neither would a brother. Sasha retorts not even a sister and gives Archer (as Castor) the gun. With Eve caught in the middle, everyone is engaged in a Mexican standoff. A gunfight then ensues in which Sasha and all of Castor's minions are killed. Having taken a bullet to save Archer, Sasha begs him not to let Adam grow up to be a criminal. Archer agrees to keep his promise to her as she dies in his arms and Eve feels sorry for her.Castor and Archer engage in both a gun battle and hand-to-hand fight, with Archer gaining the upper hand. Jamie finds a gun and shoots at Archer (as Castor), believing him to be the real Castor, and wounds him in the shoulder, allowing the real Castor to break free. He takes Jamie as his hostage and licks her face as he mentions peaches. However, she gets him to let her go by stabbing him in the leg with the balisong, ironically a trick which he taught her earlier himself. Eve comforts her as Castor makes his escape by shooting two FBI members as Archer pursues him.Castor manages to escape in a boat, pursued by Archer. After a lengthy chase both Archer and Castor's boats are destroyed and they are thrown ashore by an explosion resulting from their boats' collisions. The two engage in a final hand-to-hand confrontation which results in Archer eventually prevailing by killing Castor with a spear gun, (which leaves Castor in the same position as the statue shown earlier of Jesus on the cross) but not before Castor tries to destroy Archer's face (on himself) to prevent Archer reclaiming it.Eve is able to explain the entire situation to the FBI and successfully convince them of Archer's true identity. Archer is then taken to the hospital where a team of Washington D.C.'s finest doctors does his surgery and his face is restored, with the exception of his chest scar which served as a reminder of the loss of his son as he doesn't "need it anymore", due to Castor's death.After the restoration surgery, Archer (once again played by John Travolta) now wearing his original face and voice, comes home and hugs Eve and Jamie. Jamie apologizes for shooting him, but he tells her that she made the right decison because her bullet actually disloged the vocal microphone that turned his voice into Castor's. He is proud of the way she stood up to Castor when she stabbed him on his leg. Soon after, he brings Adam Hassler, Castor's son with Sasha, into his family, in order to fulfill his promise to her in not allowing him to grow up as criminal. Jamie acccepts him as her new brother and shows him to his new room. Eve agrees to adopt him with Sean, knowing that Michael has moved on and Adam can use a new home. | comedy, neo noir, murder, stupid, dramatic, cult, violence, flashback, good versus evil, action, romantic, tragedy, revenge | train | imdb | I recommend it to any fan of John Woo, Nicholas Cage, John Travolta and action films.
From director John Woo comes this exhilarating action movie that takes a deadly cat and mouse game to the next level!
Travolta and Cage are both extraordinarily good, and with Woo at the helm you know that you'd better hang on for dear life!
I consider John Woo to be one of the greatest action movie directors in the world,and "Face/Off" proves just that.However,the element that makes this film one of the most intense and spectacular action movies to ever come from Hollywood is the presence of two tremendously talented actors,both of whom are my favorites.Yes,when you have John Travolta and Nicholas Cage together in a movie ,the results are bound to be over the top.
John Travolta plays Sean Archer,a dedicated FBI agent who survived a murder attempt by notorious criminal Castor Troy six years ago.
However,tragically his son died instead of him and since than Archer is relentlessly chasing Troy.Nicholas Cage plays Troy,and the film begins with a spectacular chase where we see the sheer intensity generated by both these great actors,and you realize that this is not going to be just another action flick.
Troy escapes,but his younger brother Pollux Troy(played by Alessandro Nivola) falls into Archer's hands,along with a floppy that contains the blueprint for a bomb to be detonated in downtown L.A. Pollux refuses to reveal the location of the bomb and then a desperate Archer is given an option that is so spine-chilling that Archer refuses immediately.Realizing soon that he has no other choice,he decides to do what he is asked to-to exchange his face for Troy's, and what's more,to alter his entire physical attributes,so that he can go to the prison where his brother is being kept,and fool him into believing that he is Troy and get the location of the bomb from him.The plan seems to work until the moment Castor realizes what has happened,puts on Archer's face,and sets out for revenge.He fools the FBI,fools Archer's wife and sleeps with her and just when one thinks that this is too much,the real Archer escapes prison and it's payback time.
Dominique Swain as Archer's rebellious daughter looks good on screen-but that's about it.Joan Allen as his wife is not too impressive either.Gina Gershon as Troy's lover seems much more real in comparison.John Woo provides the film with a novel and flawless script,and some of the best action sequences ever filmed.This film is an absolute must for any action fan,and definitely the best Woo ever made..
FACE/OFF Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTSThis magnificent thriller represents director John Woo's triumphant return to the kind of hyperkinetic, emotionally charged film-making which made him such a hot property in the first place.
Face/Off is amazing because it mixes an outrageously cornball plot with some of the best acting in an action movie.
Cage and Travolta deserve Oscars for their performances; how Cage changed from a murdering criminal to a determined good cop in the way he did, I will never know.Another great element of this film is the action: Guns, knives, grenade launchers, AK-47s and so on!
"Face/Off" is a somewhat complicated action thriller which involves an obsessed FBI agent (John Travolta) who decides to become a comatose criminal (Nicolas Cage) by literally trading faces with him.
A movie about a hockey match, this isn't.1997's "Face/Off," the third (and to this date, most successful) American feature from Hong Kong action director John Woo, is everything a fan of Woo's Asian work could possibly hope for.
And even with this ambitious third American feature, it is vastly on par with the director's Hong Kong work and is very easily one of the best films of his career.Woo made a name for himself back in Asia as the director of hyper-stylized, hard-hitting pot-boiler action films like "The Killer" (1989) and "Hard Boiled" (1992), where he made an art form of dual-pistol-wielding gun-play and action shoot-'em-up.
Now we're at "Face/Off.""Face/Off" stars a daring and intrepid Los Angeles F.B.I. agent named Sean Archer (John Travolta), who for the last six years has been on the trail of psycho freelance terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) after he killed Archer's young son.
John Travolta and Nicolas Cage were perfectly cast as the perfect hero and perfect villain in what was one of the hottest action movies of that year.
Coldly sadistic and over-the-edge/brave and determined, you can tell who likes things best.The film's action scenes, which there are plenty of, is where "Face/Off" chiefly excels at.
The action scenes are fast and furious, the script is great, and the story is pretty good, and John Travolta and Nicholas Cage give excellent performances.
Overall this is really a pathetic movie..And it is so so so overrated in IMDB...7.3 r u kidding ?it deserves a 3.7 !1/10..I regret having watched this movie..I simply couldn't wait it to end..Thankgod i watched it in TV with the usual commercial breaks which gave me some respite.Well Face Off--------"Beep" Off. getting philosophical about an action film.
OK - the plot may not stand up in repeated viewing, but the action is superb!Travolta and Cage both have great fun playing each other - they mange to swap roles really well.
Travolta has the most fun as he gets to ham it up as Troy for most of the time, but Cage has the better role as he plays the `good guy' for most of it.
Really it's all about Cage and Travolta and Woo - nobody else really matters.Overall this may not be a great film due to the weakness of it's plot, but it is still a superb action movie.
Watching it brings out my emotions from start to finish and the action scenes were done with the style of a master director known as John Woo. Even though he has made some movies that are not that impressive, it seems that he uses the style of A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2, the emotions of The Killer and the action of Hard Boiled, and incorporates all of this to make one awesome blockbuster featuring top actors such as John Travolta and Nicholas Cage.
There's Sean Archer (John Travolta), an FBI agent/family man, and Caster Troy (Nicolas Cage).
When you first see Troy enter the prison with Archer's face and parade around in front of a chained Archer, it really makes you feel queasy.This is an extravagant and amazing action film, and the last great John Woo movie ever made before he became a commercialized Hollywood hack (no offense, Woo, but "Windtalkers" sucked).Cage and Travolta are great at playing each other--Travolta turns on the charm factor when he's imitating Cage, and Cage turns on the overwhelmed everyman as he's playing Travolta.
Bad acting really could have harmed a film like "Face/Off." Here, it only makes an already excellent action movie even better.4.5/5 stars.John Ulmer.
Sean Archer (John Travolta) is a FBI Agent, who tries to capture "Terrorist for Hired" Caster Troy (Oscar-Winner:Nicolas Cage).
Now Sean has to face his wife by telling the truth and posing as Caster to meet his dangerous criminal buddies for help.Directed by John Woo (Broken Arrow, Hard Target, The Killer) made an One of a Kind action film with an preposterous premise that actually works.
Travolta and Cage are extremely good in their roles by giving heart and soul to this excellent action movie.
It's a great movie, one of the best pure action flicks of all time, with some incredible gunfight sequences and all sorts of chemistry between the characters.
Between the over-acting of Cage and the completely over done action scenes that seem to be a Woo standard, I think this film would have sold better as a comedy.
Apparently stupid enough to believe that once again, the central people in this John Woo film can stand in front of a machine gun for as long as they like, and only come away with a few nicks and cuts.
But it`s not big guns and huge explosions and fantastic slow motion action sequences that keep us glued to the edges of our seats,it also features award-worthy acting from both Travolta and Cage,they really make you react to the personality they are taking and not to them as faces!
Not only are the action sequences and special effects literally spectacular and breath-taking, but the story-line is also entertaining.I will not spoil the contents of the movie, unlike other reviews, but I will praise John Woo for making one of the best(if not the best) action flick of the 90's.
John Travolta and Nicolas Cage display their talent beautifully, and supporting actors like Gina Gershon and Alessandro Nivola also contribute to making this is a highly enjoyable movie experience.Face/Off is A MUST for all action lovers as well as all other movie lovers.
John Woo directs his best action movie to date starring John Travolta (Pulp Fiction, Saturday Night Fever) and Nicholas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas, The Rock).
Not perfect, and several of Woo's HK films are far better, but Face/Off is probably the first (and maybe still the only) real Hong Kong style action film to be made in English with American stars.
John woo directs a film called face/off which star the academy award winner Nicolas Cage as a villain and John travolta as an FBI agent.
The scences were awesome and this is John woo and Nicolas Cage best movie.
And John Woo, his team, and of course the actors, especially the two major characters succeed on every level.The action scenes are very well-choreographed, colorful, brutal and quite realistic.
It does have a complex story, but is told in a straightforward manner that makes it easy to follow.While the film contains some very good action scenes, and an equally good amount of drama, the most entertaining aspect is watching John Travolta and Nicolas Cage play each other; the performances from the two are excellent, you genuinely believe they are in each other's skin.A must watch for anyone who likes action films that try something a little bit different..
And I have to admit: even though it didn't have the strongest start, "Face/Off" gave me a very good time thanks to the very good acting from John Travolta and Nicholas Cage and the interesting directing and camera work by John Woo.Sean Archer (Travolta) is an FBI agent who has been chasing Caster Troy (Cage) for six years.
Then there is plenty of action in the movie and often John Woo has portrayed it in a very original and spectacular way.
Face Off is one of the best action films ever made from acclaimed Hong Kong director John Woo. He's also the man behind films like Broken Arrow, Paycheck, and Windtalkers.
The movie stars John Travolta and Nicolas Cage who really get to show their acting chops playing arch enemies caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
John Travolta is fantastic as Sean Archer a determined FBI Agent and Nicolas Cage is equally impressive as his nemesis Castor Troy a psychopathic terrorist.
With plenty of action, drama, suspense, thrills, and powerhouse performances from both of it's lead actors (especially when their characters switch identities) you can't go wrong with a movie like Face Off. Even with a running time of 140 minutes the movie is never slow at least not to me.
Really, really bad acting by John Travolta and a performance by Nicholas Cage that makes me think that he felt like buying a new swimming pool when this script turned up.
In the 1997 action hit "Face/Off," John Travolta plays Sean Archer: a cop hot on the trail of criminal Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), who has just planted a bomb somewhere.
I like Nicolas Cage in action films and he didn't let me down in "Face/Off".
Either way, "Face/Off" is overall a surprisingly good action film.4/5 stars --John Ulmer.
One of the greatest action movie directors of our time, John Woo certainly needs no more labels.
The film is of course an Action Film, but it also managed to occupy the viewer's feelings and filled us with great agony about whether Sean Archer (John Travolta) will manage to get his life back from Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage).
Hmmmm.Oh, the movie itself is amazing.I did not reconsider any 1 minute of this 139 minute action packed thrill ride that kept me on the edge of my seat.Even one of my friends really liked this movie.In fact, he was the one who introduced me to it.He asked me if I wanted to watch it and I said "Yes", not knowing that the movie would turn out to be a sure Oscar nominee.John Travolta and Nicholas Cage delivered some great, and I mean GREAT, performances.Without them, the movie probably would've been good, but not as good as with John and Nicholas.Add in some humor and you have yourself a roller coaster that lasts for two and a half hours and will make you clap and applaud..
Enter John Woo's berserker, ear splitting, high octane actioner, Face/Off. Rightly sitting along side the likes of Die Hard and Predator as genre pieces that showcase how good things can be when it all comes together, Woo's movie is as much fun as you could wish to have for over two hours of explosive, fantastical, unadulterated cinema.The plot sees John Travolta's serious family man cop, Sean Archer, devote his life to catching unbalanced, maniacal bad guy Castor Troy {Nicolas Cage}.
One of the bast action film of all time great movie.
John Travolta plays an FBI agent who's son gets killed by Terrorist Nicolas Cage.
Movie Review: "Face/Off" (1997)Executive producer Michael Douglas lets Director John Woo do his third action-movie for the Hollywood machine after "Hard Target" (1993) starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and "Broken Arrow" (1995) starring John Travolta, when "Face/Off" becomes his Hollywood prime piece, with Nicolas Cage, joining in as nemesis character to ultra-hard investigating FBI detective, both supreme leads switch character along the way, one becomes the criminal the other the cop, when airport "Challenger" chases, crashing speed boat action and major stylish loft machine-gun shoot-outs still amaze after 21 years after initial release in Summer 1997.Copyright 2018 Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC.
This is an exciting action thriller starring John Travolta and Nicholas Cage, where an FBI agent undergoes a face-transplant and takes on the the identity and physical appearance of a ruthless terrorist to foul an extortion scheme.
Yet "Face/Off" is done so well that it is a near masterpiece.Sean Archer (John Travolta) is an FBI agent who has spent his career tracking the terrorist Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage).
There are two things that make this film great: an outstanding cast, and John Woo.There was a time when movie stars were stars because of their acting ability, not because of how well they sold themselves to the tabloids and the celebrity gossip magazines.
And it's also great to see Colm Feore and the always terrific CCH Pounder.Then there is John Woo. Instead of taking the easy, safe way out and making it dumb, campy fun, he's got the guts and the skill to make it an full-out action movie.
And if you think those to things don't go together, then you haven't seen FACE/OFF.Perhaps one of the two best actors at work in action films is John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, and they prove the pride of their work in this movie.
This give us a chance to see the good guy Travolta and bad guy Cage switch personalities for most of the film.What else is good about FACE/OFF is how the characters are well-developed.
Even the phase when cage is confused of his face is beautifully depicted.All i could add further is that the characters, the scenes, the superb emotions all added up for this greatest action adventure movie of my life..
Sean Archer (John Travolta), a senior FBI agent, has been tracking Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) for years.
Face Off is a spectacular Great ACtion Movie from director maestro John Woo. After many Blockbuster Hit movies in Hong Kong like Hard Boiled, The Killer, Bullet in the Head and A Better Tomorrow.
Joan Allen, one of the best actresses in the business, offers solid support, as Sean Archer's confused wife, caught in the middle of this deadly game and Gina Gershon makes a strong impression as Troy's girl and mother of his son, but this is Cage and Travolta's show all the way, and with the help of an intelligent screenplay and masterful direction, bring us one of the great action/adventure epics of the last 20 years..
If you like John Travolta and Nicolas Cage and want to see them in greats performances and want to see an exciting action Sci-Fi film then I strongly recommend that you see Face/Off today!.
This movie had a very, very predictable ending, which totally blew my rating for it, it was a good, original plot but still it didnt have that thing in movies that you like, John Travolta and Nicholas Cage did a great job in acting but i dunno, it just wasnt my favorite.
Very entertaining film, very good play by both John Travolta and Nicolas Cage.
John Woo is definetely the best director of action movies.
It kept you interested all the way through the movie and never seemed to slow down.This is perhaps Nicholas Cage's best performance of his career and also John Travolta was very good and put in a solid performance.Rating: 10/10.
Face/Off is an action-packed movie with great acting and a very intriguing plot.Six years after the murder of his son by brutal madman, Castor Troy(Cage), FBI Agent Sean Archer(Travolta) has hunted down Troy and put him in a coma.
Face/Off is an absolutely brilliant thriller by director John Woo and which has excellent acting by John Travolta and Nicolas Cage.
John Woo's face off is a stylish action film the likes of which only he can make and get away with. |
tt0118971 | The Devil's Advocate | Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) is a successful defense attorney in Gainesville, Florida. After successfully defending a high school teacher, Gettys, who is accused of molesting a young girl named Barbara (Heather Matarazzo). He is celebrating with his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) when he is approached by a representative for a New York law firm, Leamon Heath (Ruben Santiago-Hudson). The Lomaxes go to New York, and Kevin proves his expertise while picking a jury. A sharply-dressed John Milton (Al Pacino) watches him from afar. The next day, Kevin receives word that Gettys has been acquitted. More so, the jury only deliberated for 38 minutes before bringing in the verdict.Heath shows Kevin around the office, and he is distracted by Christabella (Connie Nielsen), a beautiful young lawyer. He meets Milton, and reveals part of his success is due to eavesdropping on juries while they deliberate. Milton shows Lomax the roof, which contains an infinity pool, and quizzes Lomax about his history. A job offer is implied. Heath and his wife Jackie (Tamara Tunie) takes the Lomax's to their spacious, luxurious apartment.The next day, Kevin meets the team and Pam (Debra Monk), who hands him his first case. He meets his client, Phillipe Moyez (Delroy Lindo), who practices voodoo and is on trial after being found sacrificing a goat. Kevin begins his research while Mary Ann tries to decorate the apartment. Kevin successfully defends Moyez and Milton is impressed.The Lomaxes attend a party at Managing Director Eddie Barzoon's (Jeffrey Jones) lavish apartment. Milton flirts with Mary Ann, suggesting she change her hair, and Kevin chats with Christabella. Milton brings Eddie, Heath and Kevin to his suite and tells them he wants Kevin for the high-profile murder trial of Alexander Cullen (Craig T. Nelson), a businessman accused of killing his wife, his wife's stepson, and a maid. Eddie and Heath are not happy with the decision to use Kevin as council. That night, Kevin returns to his apartment to find Mary Ann furious that she was left alone at the party.Kevin meets Alexander and convinces him that he can defend him. Mary Ann, Jackie and Eddie's wife Diana (Pamela Gray) try on expensive dresses, and Mary Ann watches as Jackie's face transforms into a demonic scowl. Kevin tries to console Mary Ann to no avail. After sadly claiming that she misses Kevin and feels lonely, Kevin suggests that they try to have a child. They begin to have sex, and Kevin imagines Mary Ann as Christabella. Mary Ann realizes something is wrong, and they stop.Kevin conducts a briefing of Alexander, and shows skill. On the way back from a fancy dinner, Kevin, Mary Ann and Kevin's mother (Judith Ivey) meet Milton. Milton tries to charm her, but she seems struck by Milton, as if she knows him from somewhere. Kevin resists the impulse to meet with Milton and hot women in his suite, but Mary Ann sees through it and gets angry. Kevin's mom tries to convince him to leave and return to Florida.Kevin begins research and interviews. He finds Eddie working late, shredding documents. Eddie tells Kevin to ignore the activities going on, and mentions Weaver at the Justice Department. Milton shows up and invites Kevin to a boxing match. On the subway, they are accosted by a punk, and Milton tells him (in perfect Spanish) to check on his girl, who is cheating on him...The night continues, with Milton partying and Kevin trying to explain himself to Mary Ann over the phone. Milton and Kevin sit with a group of beautiful women, Kevin talking with them as Milton watches with a smile. Meanwhile, Mary Ann is awakened by a noise, and finds a child in the apartment. She notices, to her horror, that the child is playing with a pile of ovaries. The next day, Kevin tells her it's a dream, but she is still freaked out. She tells Kevin that she found out that she's incapable of bearing children. He's interrupted by the phone.Alexander tells Kevin he's been unfaithful, and was having an affair with his secretary during the night of the murder. Milton wants Kevin to quit the case and take care of Mary Ann, but Kevin wants to prove himself. Milton relents.The trial starts. Kevin's strategy is to make Alexander look awful, so he can later prove Alexander was sleeping with his secretary at the time of the murder.Eddie later confronts Kevin about his promotion, and threatens to go to the Justice Department. Kevin tells Milton about the threat, and Eddie is chased by phantom joggers, then is beaten to death by homeless men who appear as demons. Mary Ann watches from her apartment window.Kevin briefs the secretary, Melissa (Laura Harrington), and in doing so figures out that she has never had sex with Cullen. He then learns about Eddie's death. He is perturbed by both the death and the secretary's lies. On the subway again, Milton tells Kevin to go with his gut. Back in the courtroom, as Milton watches, Kevin calls the secretary to the stand. She testifies, and Alexander is cleared. Upon returning home, Kevin discovers Mary has gone to a local church and is very ill.Mary Ann tells Kevin that Milton came to the apartment and talked with her for hours. Lonely and desperate, Mary Ann began to have sex with Milton, but when she told him to stop, Milton violently raped her. Kevin thinks Mary is crazy, as he had seen Milton in court. She insists that she isn't crazy and shows Kevin that her body is covered with bloody scratches. Thinking that she has done this to herself, he has her committed to a mental hospital.Later, Kevin attends Eddie's funeral, and Alexander arrives with his 14-year-old stepdaughter, Alessandra. Kevin watches as Cullen begins stroking Alessandra's skin sensually, and suddenly has a vision of Cullen as Gettys, the pedophile he had defended in Gainesville. Realizing that Cullen was having an affair with his underaged stepdaughter and that Mary Ann may not be crazy after all, Kevin leaves the church. He is met by Mitch Weaver (Vyto Ruginis), who tells him that Eddie was going to testify against Milton. He convinces Kevin only after telling him that Gettys was found with the body of ten-year-old girl in the trunk of his car. Weaver tries to cross to Kevin to talk further, but is hit by a car and killed. As this happens, Milton smirks and boils holy water with his touch.Kevin goes to visit Mary Ann in the psych ward, and his mom is there. She tells Kevin his father was a NYC waiter, and Mary Ann sees Pam as a demon. She locks the door and slits her throat while Pam looks on. Later, Kevin's mother tells him the truth about his father - it's Milton! Kevin realizes Milton has been watching and helping him all along.Kevin leaves to see Milton, and Pam reassures him. No one is on the streets as he walks through New York. Kevin confronts Milton in his office and shoots him, but it has no effect. Milton reveals that he indeed is Satan, and Christabella is his half-sister. Milton wants them to take over the firm and conceive a baby. Kevin starts negotiating the deal, and the sculptures come alive. Christabella seduces Kevin, but at the critical moment, he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head.Enraged, Milton explodes into flames. As Kevin falls to the floor, Christabella shrivels to a mummified corpse, and Milton changes to his true angelic form, which looks exactly like Kevin. Suddenly, the entire scene rewinds back to the opening scene of the movie where Kevin finds himself facing a restroom mirror in the Florida courtroom. Kevin is contemplating defending the teacher whom he knows is guilty. He also finds Mary Ann waiting for him outside the men's room as he returns to the courtroom to begin cross examination of Barbara the victim to discredit her testimony. Before he can begin, he announces to the judge and jury that he cannot proceed with the trial and quits as the legal council saying that it's the right thing. Kevin, aware of what has happened to him, realizes that by divine intervention, he has been given a second chance to do good rather then for what he is told to.As Kevin and Mary Ann leave the courthouse, he is pursued by a reporter (the same one from the restroom at the beginning) to ask him for an exclusive interview about his decision to quit the case and of being "a lawyer with a conscience". Kevin initially refuses, but when the reporter and Mary Ann both encourage him, Kevin agrees to phone him later for the exclusive.As Kevin and Mary Ann walk out of the courthouse, the reporter morphs into John Milton, who smiles and adds the closing line: "Vanity... definitely my favorite sin." | psychological, murder, paranormal, allegory, cult, intrigue, violence, thought-provoking, insanity, psychedelic, satire | train | imdb | With movies nowadays being nothing but flashy, over-the-top, masturbatory, CG-fests, "The Devil's Advocate" holds up like osmium.The cinematography is good because it's quite understated and that's a virtue in today's cinema.
At a point, It was as if I could see my jaw on the floor praising in thorough amusement the brilliance, relevance-to-our-daily-lives, deepness of message, sophistication, great portrayal, top-of-the-class creativity, marvelous acting/directing/screen writing all having come together in a movie, which called for a rating of 9 out of 10 and no less, certainly, undoubtedly.Al-Pacino's acting is to no surprise as brilliant as ever, exuding confidence, proficiency and clarity as always.
Stylish, sexy, suspenseful thriller stars Reeves as an accomplished southern lawyer who's never been beaten; he travels to New York City to take a job with powerful legal mogul Pacino, but his once ideal life is soon turned upside down as he's plunged into a surreal, demonic world of lust, temptation, and vanity.
We see the change come in Kevin as he is introduced to a world of luxury and pleasure by his boss, THE DEVIL, played by old master Al Pacino.The ending brings a new, unpredictable and great twist to the story.
The supporting cast is pretty strong, specially Jeffrey Jones who plays a senior partner in Lucifer Pacino's firm and who first arises the suspicion in Kevin/Keanu with his mysterious behaviour, and Connie Nielsen as Cristabella, an extremely hot Italian colleague who is the very symbol of temptation.
Al Pacino didn't disappoint, but his performance here counts as one of his least spectacular.This is a dark movie with elements of horror and some gore and sex thrown in for good measure.
Keanu Reeves gives the performance of a life time, he is perfectly cast opposite Charliez Theron who is also very impressive.
The best acting we get here is from Charlize Theron which is no surprise to me considering how well she has done since in films like Monster.
It does run for nearly two and a half hours but they run quicker than you can imagine and as soon as the film finishes you will be wanting to watch it all over again so you can see where everything makes sense.Al Pacino does pack a punching performance to the very end and is as crazy as ever if a little over the top at times but without him we wouldn't be talking about this film as much..
Hot-shot Floridian defense attorney Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) is head-hunted by New York's most powerful law firm, unaware that his new boss (Al Pacino) is The Devil.For The Devil's Advocate, director Taylor Hackford breathes fresh life into several well-worn satanic horror themes, skillfully weaving them into a slick, big-budget horror/thriller that delivers on many levels: it's smartly written, sexy, intelligent, and well-acted, with a particularly fine, lip-smacking performance from Pacino, who owns every scene he is in.
Above all else, though, The Devil's Advocate is thoroughly entertaining throughout.The film is perhaps a little light on scares and gore for some horror fans, but there is a genuinely creepy atmosphere to compensate, the script is gripping and imaginative enough that one soon forgets about the lack of stuff like bowel-loosening jumps and exploding heads, and to top it all, Charlize Theron and Connie Nielsen both get completely starkers.
This quote, which I like very much, sums up the point of The Devil's Advocate.In this movie skillful lawyer goes to New York to pursue career of his dreams.
Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves)is a young and successful attorney, in fact so successful that, as we are reminded time and again in the movie, he has never lost a case.
Although Keanu Reeves holds his own in this film, this piece of cinema is an Al Pacino show.Pacino must have loved playing the devil, it shows in every word, in every gesture in his performance.
I was initially dismissive of this film; it was only the ending I truly enjoyed, thanks to Al Pacino's epic speech, Keanu Reeve's epic solution, and all the epic special effects that came out of the woodwork (or stonework as the case may be).
Acting is fantastic: Al Pacino easily steals the show as the title character, while Keanu Reeves does his best to be earnest, and Charlize Theron flexes some impressive acting muscle.
Devils Advocate is probably the best Hollywood movie of the 90`s, and surely the best Hackford`s film.
Pacino plays the devil who is the head of the world's most powerful law firm located in New York City.
This was done before Keanu Reeves sold out and Pacino started doing good and bad movies, so both actors do mighty fine jobs.
The acting (Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron) was brilliant.This film is scary as hell.Favorite quotes:"It's not a dream if it's true." "Your belly's too full, your dick is sore, your eyes are bloodshot, and you're screaming for someone to help!""It's the goof of all time.
i loved this movie, the script is out of the world, the cast is great, the performance is best.I had seen some of the parts of this movie on TV.I didn't understood where the story was heading or what the story is so i was not interested in this movie but one day while surfing channels i saw some credits rolling i got excited which movie it is and then saw its name the devils advocate.Obviously i thought its not a good movie u know but decided to give it a try the scene where Keanu Reeves prosecutes the girl that scene made me go wow what a scene it was;the best prosecution i have ever heard.Then the movie went on revealing its elements one by one.I loved it so much cant describe it in words.If someone in this world haven't seen it go for it..
The law firm offered to Kevin not only a great salary but a luxurious apartment in which the couple now lives.They struggle to adapt to their new lifestyle in New York and at some point Mary Ann starts to feel unease in this new life but Kevin is assigned several cases and pays less and less attention to his wife.Then strange events start to occur and all of them seem linked to enigmatic senior board member and Kevin's boss, John Milton,played by Al Pacino...I was pleasantly surprised with this movie and I enjoyed every minute of it.The movie turns out to be something different then you expect and has a dramatic change of tone towards the end.I advise to go into this movie with the least possible knowledge of the plot.Allow yourself to be surprised.Due the course of the movie you keep wondering if the movie is gonna go one way or the other and this unpredictability makes the movie a great experience.Keanu Reeves delivers a great performance, and so does Charlize Theron.Al Pacino was the star thought, he plays once again an over the top character and displays some of the finest acting I've seen.A must-see thriller.8/10.
I can't take my eyes off them.Keanu Reeves is often mocked for his lack of expressiveness, but this time his casual manner is the perfect foil for his co-star's maniacal air of mischief.Ultimately the movie abandons all attempt at any kind of moral/legal parallel by the finale, choosing instead just to give Al space for his personalised, paraphrased riffs on Paradise Lost material, so if you're expecting consistently sensible and thought-provoking, then you're probably at the wrong gig.
Al Pacino is at his eat-the-scenery best in "Devil's Advocate." Keanu Reaves and Charlize Theron also stand out in a uniformly talented cast.
True entertainment only comes without limits.Seeing how my recent obsession with Charlize Theron has intensified in the last few weeks (may be the rather appalling effect of stress and responsibility which makes me want to elude reality), I got around to seeing the so renowned Devil's Advocate.The film as such is a fun ride and, by all means, very well done.
It is however a clever film, with some good performances from both Charlize and Pacino (who does his usual tricks to amuse everyone), but which descends into dangerous territory towards the end.
"The Devil's Advocate" is much more believable, having a law firm at the center of the story.Kevi n Lomax(Keanu Reeves) is a modern day Clarence Darrow, having never lost a case.
I must say, at first I never really wanted to see the movie after it got some pretty bad reviews, however, after going through the Keanu Reeves syndrome, I decided to watch this film, and I was glad that I did.
As for Charlize Theron, as this was one of her first films, I think she did a very good job of playing such a serious role at the age of 22.
The Devils Advocate is a good thriller with flaws from director Taylor Hackford whose admirable in making this movie about a hotshot lawyer who gets a lot more than he barged after when he learns that his new boss is Lucifer himself.
Keanu Reeves is solid as Kevin Lomax the hotshot lawyer and Al Pacino is better than ever clearly enjoying his chance to play Satan.
Overall though The Devil's Advocate is a decent thriller thats creepy with some suspense, surprises, and exceptional performances by the cast who make this overlong movie worth watching at least once..
But whatever, even if somethings were changed, I cannot say anything bad about this film, where Keanu Reeves has one of his best roles as Kevin Lomax and Charlize Theron became famous.
Becoming rich and powerful, he did not pay attention in what's happening around him, including his wife Mary Ann. His boss John Milton, seems to always know how to overcome every problem, making things for Kevin, in a way, get worst and worst.
The Devils Advocate is a film I thoroughly enjoyed even though it does have Keanu Reeves in it.
I'm not Keanu's biggest fan but loved The Matrix and Point Break and somewhat surprisingly its his performance which made me like Devils Advocate.
However Theron is the real star of the show and her mental and physical decline is harrowing to watch.One interesting part of this film is that as you watch you don't know if its going to suddenly turn into a full horror like the omen or persue the more obvious thriller route.
At times Keanu does look out of his depth in the acting department, especially next to Pacino and Theron but he carries the film well.
Pacino is fun and Charlize Theron as Reeves wife makes her mark in that huge cast.
Too much gratuitous sex and blood hiding the real horror of the theme, a poor performance from Keanu "But Don't You Think I Sound Like I'm From Georgia" Reaves, and Al Pacino hamming it up and basically playing himself.
Right to the point,this is one of the finest performances from keanu reeves and indeed Al pacino(best i consider scarface).This is one of the finest thriller movies I have ever seen.The film has a great plot with great performances and you should definitely watch this movie and you will be surprised how you didn't watch it before and haven't heard of it as much as the great movies like the shawshank redemption,forrest gump,etc.
Al Pacino is the best possible choice for his part (probably why they offered it to him 5 or 6 times) I caught this movie at 4 in the morning without any prior knowledge of what it was about, it drew me in that quickly and now i consider it a favorite of mine.If it was made with the original intent of having Brad Pitt as Kevin Lomax it would 10 of 10 without a doubt.
It seems to Kevin like she is loosing her grip on reality, but soon enough he'll find out about John Milton's true identity and the reason why he wanted Kevin as his protégé...What I like most about this movie, next to the excellent portrayal of this fine story, is the performance of Al Pacino.
Keanu Reeves is nice to watch as the hotshot lawyer and Charlize Theron's fine performance was very prominent in this movie, even though she had a smaller role.As I already said, the portrayal of the story is also very nice.
And who is better to cast as the devil than Al Pacino?Ultimately, it might not be the kind of film I'd watch more than twice, or maybe even once.
So almost two decades passed before I caught up with "Devil's Advocate" (1997), a film with plenty of sex and violence that is a savage critique of the American legal profession and a challenge to the Christian conception of the Almighty.Al Pacino plays the diabolical head of a sprawling corporate empire who gives a splendidly over-the-top performance.
Also, actors and actress have a impact on watching the film with integrating the roles of their.Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron are leading roles.
The film explains life of a successful lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves ) that his life changes after he meets rich businessman John Milton (Al Pacino).
Charlize Theron strikes a few false notes here and there, and Keanu Reeves obviously isn't the best actor in the world
But this is clearly Al Pacino's show.
Young hotshot Florida lawyer Kevin Lomax is lured to New York to work for a powerful law firm run by John Milton.
But Mary-Ann starts to see unpleasant things and all may not be quite what it seems with Milton and his all powerful operation.Starring Al Pacino {Milton}, Keanu Reeves {Kevin} and Charlize Theron {Mary-Ann} and directed by Taylor Hackford {An Officer and a Gentleman}, The Devil's Advocate is adapted from the novel written by Andrew Neiderman.
This comment is about actors and about actors only.Plot is about young lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves), who comes to New York from Florida, so he can work in the most powerful law firm in the world.
Soon, Kevin is sinking in his new cases and pays less and less attention to his wife, who feels homesick and has all sorts of bizarre thoughts connected with devil.I just love to watch performances from actors in these sort of movies.
An Oscar worthy performance.Keanu Reeves is our young lawyer and he really looks like one but this is not his role.
I never get tired of watching this performance.He has a great supporting cast here with Keanu Reeves as a lawyer that will do anything to win.
The way that temptations are shown, heaven and hell mixed at the same place and the chance of choice between good and bad actions (like the Matrix problem..."choice"), and an intelligent story that has to be seen, without distracting, to reach the top of an extremely good script, is a total pleasure to the viewer.About the Movie: Keanu Reeves plays Kevin Lomax (a name that suits well for the actor) an attorney from Florida that is well respected and who hasn't lost a case.
It is all that a young attorney would ever dream about, but things are not what they seem.Keanu Reeves gives a good performance, probably his best as of yet, as Kevin Lomax and Charlize Theron is typically good as Lomax's wife who slowly slips into schizophrenia.
OK...Here is an almost perfect movie.Keanue Reeves plays Kevin Lomax, a hot shot lawyer from Gables, Florida who is spotted by a big New York Law Firm, headed by a man named John Milton (Al Pacino).
Movies about people getting involved with the Devil are quite common, but Al Pacino's deadpan performance makes this one especially cool.
True, Keanu Reeves is a strange choice for a person who started out in Florida - especially since he still sounds like the guy from the "Bill & Ted" movies" - but he also does a good job.
Keanu Reeves isn't really the man you look up when you want good acting or diverse characters(he did do excellent work in The Gift, mind you); however, here, he manages to hand in a fairly decent performance...
Keeanu Reeves put on a great performance as an hard-nosed lawyer from Florida in "The Devil's Advocate".
So-so allegorical tale follows shallow hotshot Florida lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves), who hasn't lost a case, and his beautiful young wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) to a prestigious NY law firm.
I thought this would just be another attempt for Keanu Reeves to try and make a good movie, but I was wrong.
Reeves plays the title character Kevin Lomax well, and Al Pacino is 'divine' as the head of this law firm who really is 'you-know-who'.
Charlize Theron, who played Kevin Lomax's (Keanu Reeves) wife, doesn't do much besides scream, whine, and take her clothes off.
Keanu Reeves' performance is very good, but his accent really gets in the way.
Why does Kevin Lomax need one?I do give this movie credit for a great monologue (spoken by Al Pacino), interesting special effects (although not always the top of the line), and a surprise ending.If you're terribly bored one evening and there's nothing good on TV, this is a night's entertainment.
And people like that, who is symbolized by the Keanu Reeves character, are going to come face to face with the devil in the future!
Pacino's characther of John Milton has a member of his law firm recruit hotshot Florida defense attorney Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) to New York City to practice law for his firm, but soon does Lomax and his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) learn not only are there cases to be won, but souls to be lost.
THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997) ***Starring: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Craig T.
I think Keanu Reeves grew up a little with this performance, although, at times, he forgot the Southern accent lawyer Lomax was supposed to carry.Pacino was good in everything. |
tt0088263 | Michael Jackson: Thriller | Here is a synopsis for the full-length official music video of the song, "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. The song was released in 1983, and appears on the album, "Thriller". It was an instant hit single. The song is five minutes and twelve seconds long.The short film starts with a disclaimer, which reads:"Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult" - Michael JacksonMichael Jackson and an unnamed girl are together in a car. It's a pitch-dark at night. He's driving. They stop outside a forest, so they decide to walk together. He gives a ring to her, and she accepts it. Michael tells her that he's not like any other guy. She says that that's why she likes him. Michael insists that she doesn't understand him, that he's really different. At this moment the full moon appears from behind some night clouds. Michael feels sick and hides his face. She asks him what the trouble is, and he looks at her, his face changed with eyes like a wild animal, more longer hair and wolf-like teeth: he's become a werewolf. He cries out: "GO AWAY!" and she screams and runs for dear life. He chases her, and when he finally arrives up to her- she had tripped and stumbled down, - he's a werewolf!Action changes: suddenly, we are within a cinema, with an audience which crowds the place. Michael Jackson and his girlfriend are watching this wereworlf film. She is too terrified by it, but he is enjoying himself. While voices from the screen make me think that some guys have discovered the werewolf, Michael's girl leaves the place, giving her popcorn to him. Finally, Michael goes after her. Outside the cinema, Michael's girlfriend doesn't find it amusing that it's a horror movie. Michael is much more relaxed. We can see that the title of the film was Thriller.They walk around some dericlit streets at night, and they pass by a cemetery. Michael is kidding with his girl, singing to her that she was afraid because of the film. She replies back that she was not too afraid. He keeps on pulling her leg, dancing around. Zombies start emerging from their tombs in the cemetery.Suddenly, Michael and his girl are surrounded by gruesome zombies. The creatures close in, many of them against just the pair of them. All of a sudden, the girl realises that Michael is on their side. Michael and the zombies perform an elaborate dance routine.She runs away up to a dereclit house. She goes in and flies upstairs, closing the doors behind her. The zombies had followed her, and they have no problem in breaking into the room she has locked herself in: the walls are made of wood, so it's not a problem for the zombies to enter. They close on in her again. It looks as if she is lost forever!The situation changes again. She wakes up, and realises it has only been a strange, realistic nightmare. She is in the same room of the same house as in her dream, but there is nobody there except for her and her boyfriend. Michael tells her that everything is alright, but they must leave. She gets up and they both leave the room. While they are doing so, Michael looks at the camera to show his outter-world yellowy eyes.The film ends with a clip of all the zombies slowly returning to their tombs in the cemetery. The most gruesome zombie scowls at the camera.Michael Jackson RIP 25/06/2009 | romantic, dark | train | imdb | This short film displays the absolute highest standard in music video and no-one will ever be able to out-beat this 'King Of Pop' masterpiece!
It shows Michael turning into a zombie and dancing in the street with some spectacular choreography.
Today everybody is still doing the same thing in music video with dancing and film-based story-lines which he innovated.
Michael Jackson's album was slaying the charts, John Landis still had a lot of good will built up from his genre pic "An American Werewolf In London", (not to mention his classic comedies ANIMAL HOUSE and THE BLUES BROTHERS) and choreographer Michael Peters was creating some of the most innovative and influential pieces for music videos of that period.Not before or since has one single piece of film illuminated, exploited or underscored MJ's incredible talent or the more "otherworldly" aspects of his persona quite like THRILLER, the world's most successful (if not officially the first) long-form video, and the most fondly remembered.
'Thriller' remains the greatest of the pop music promos to have a plot, great visuals, and a tip-top song to wrap the film around.
Here he is in good form - the song is terrific, he leads the zombies in dance like no other.Ola Ray plays the girl who watches with incredulity as her sweet boyfriend (Jackson, natch) turns into a werewolf!
Then to the pulsing rhythms of the opening line 'It's close to midnight', he stomps around the graveyard with the other zombies and creatures of the night.The crowning glory of all this is the fruity voice of the great horror star Vincent Price speaking in the middle of the record.
The first music video I ever saw, Thriller, my mom told me that she took me home from the hospital and when we arrived, my sister had MTV on the TV and Thriller was playing, my mom said that I smiled.
Silly I know, but I have loved Michael Jackson since that day, the music video Thriller inspired me to dance, still I have the dance memorized to this day.
Words cannot describe the power of this song that makes you wanna sing and dance, but Michael of course had to raise the bar for MTV at the time by signing on American Werewolf in London director John Landis and directing the one, the only, Thriller.Michael and his date, Ola Ray, run out of gas in a dark, wooded area.
The scene cuts away to a movie theater where Michael and his date are actually watching this scene unfold in a movie called Thriller.
Michael and the undead perform an elaborate song and dance number together, followed by the chorus of Thriller.Thriller is arguably the best music video of all time, funny thing is people who wanna argue that is with other Michael Jackson videos, but what makes Thriller so special is the dance, the story, the effects, this at the time was the most expensive music video of it's day.
Michael of course rose that bar again with his famous music video Scream and then again with Ghosts.
John Landis truly outdid himself when he directed Michael Jackson's THRILLER as a short film.
The song itself is...excellent...add Michael JAckson dancing and you have a golden Phenomenon.
Vicent Price has his segment of bone-shivering lines...known simply as "the rap" Ola Ray does good as Michael's girl, and Michael JAckson himself...the dancing, and singing (although not during the video itself) is unmatched...10/10..
It is more than a music video (I think it is the best ever), to me it is a short 14 minutes cult-classic.
I have always liked Michael Jackson's music and I am a huge Vincent Price fan, so Thriller seemed like a perfect combination.
Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983) has to be the greatest video ever made.
You can say what you'd like about Michael Jackson, but songs like ''Bad'', ''Thriller'' and ''Billie Jean'' has stunned the pop-world.
You can say what you'd like about Michael Jackson, but songs like ''Bad'', ''Thriller'' and ''Billie Jean'' has stunned the pop-world.
But this is out of the ordinary.It is more than a music video (I think it is the best ever), to me it is a short 14 minutes cult-classic.Even better is the influences from George A.
Michael Jackson-fans have probably already seen it, but I still have got to tell them, and everyone else, about this remarkable and historic video..
Michael Jackson-fans have probably already seen it, but I still have got to tell them, and everyone else, about this remarkable and historic video..
I think music videos take away personal feelings about a particular song..
This video/short film remains on many lists as one of, if not the greatest music video of all time and it is easy to see why.
This is The King of Pop at the height of his powers before his eccentricities really took over as they have seemed to in recent years.A cohesive storyline mixes with the music and the dance as well as a vocal cameo by horror master Vincent Price creating a story like none since.
Directed by John Landis when that was a good thing with makeup effects by the great Rick Baker, it just feels like a real effort was put forth that there isn't in 99% of music videos.
Anyway, this is the best music video ever and my final word on it is that Ola Ray is beautiful and when I was a wee lad I wanted to marry her.
It would be hard to explain to anyone much under 30 just how huge a star Michael Jackson was in 1983 at the time the album "Thriller" was released.I am the same age as him,and have followed his career from its beginnings as the child prodigy in the Jackson 5 through its doldrums in the mid 70s,to megastardom in "83 and back to Planet Earth in the noughties!
When the video "Thriller" was released i was in a nightclub in London and they screened it at midnight; everyone stopped dancing,drinking or snogging to watch the most expensive music video ever made.
But, while it's a great video, it's not perfect, even though it seemed like it at the time.
When Michael Jackson is walking beside the girl after they leave the movie theatre, he sings all the verses of the song, skipping the choruses.
The best videos, like Jackson's Billie Jean and Beat It, have used visuals to serve the music, not the other way around.
Looking back on it now for the first time since its initial prominence, I was struck not by the horror trappings - quaint, but fun, and Vincent Price has never sounded so genuinely, un-camply (sic?) menacing - than its absorption of the horror film, allowing Jackson, behind genre and make-up, to give us a bravely revealing portrait of male sexuality.Because THRILLER isn't really about horror, in the way horror isn't really about horror: it is about that age-old theme, the sexual awakening of a young woman.
This is a music video and short horror film at the same time.
John Landis, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones; there's a lot of star power behind "Thriller".
A night at the movies turns into a nightmare when Michael Jackson and his date (Ola Ray) are attacked by a hoard of bloody-thirsty zombies - only "Thriller" can save them now.So, you have one of the great Michael Jackson songs, directed by John Landis, makeup by Rick Baker and narration by Vincent Price.
Add to it a dance that has now become iconic in its own right, and this is easily the greatest music video of all time.
(After thirty years, no one has come close, and the medium of "music video" is almost a dead art.) And, if Jackson was not already the King of Pop, this would have been the thing that cemented him.
Thriller is a unique film that gave way to drama in both music video and movies of the 1980's.
Michael Jackson's sense of humor, and talent became immediately evident with the break out of the song and then the dancing changed me mind.
The video's message is self-explanatory, using the story of the lyrics (a young couple watching a scary movie) as an inspiration for John Landis and Michael Jackson to pay homage to cheesy horror films.
It was the first time I had ever a music movie like this, but I will tell you that seeing on the big screen from a 35mm print in a darken theatre gives it a much better impact than seeing a cropped pan and scan version on VH1 at Halloween..
This is one of Michael Jackson's best music video's ever made.
Vincent Prices rap is totally cool and the zombies dancing with Michael is totally amazing!
No matter how you feel about Michael Jackson himself, you can't deny that this video is the most unique video of all time.
There is no other video that is even remotely close to "Thriller" The first time I saw it was when I was 6 years old and it scared me bad.
when michael turns into a werewolf is a bit of an on the-edge-of-your-seat part the first time you watch it.
if you like this then i suggest you buy 'Making Michael Jackson's Thriller' which has the film then the making of it after it.
Thriller is the GREATEST music video of all time !!!!!
Back in 1983, Michael Jackson's popularity was such that if he wanted to make a $1 million horror music video with the "American Werewolf" team and featuring the voice of Vincent Price, then that was exactly what he was going to do.
But odds are you already know all about it, as whenever there's a list of the greatest music videos of all time, this one almost invariably takes the top spot.It begins with Michael Jackson walking down a dark street with his date after their car has broken down.
Ah, all of this is just occurring in a horror movie that Michael Jackson and his date are watching.So, we're five minutes in and still no sign of the song "Thriller".
He only made three or four good songs (Thriller being at the top of the list), but damn it, I'd be lying to myself, along with everyone else, if I didn't say this is the best music video ever.
Best music video of all time an great practical effects
Michael Jackson and that Landis dude did an awesome job the zombies and the grave scene looked absolutely real and when I was 8 everytime I seen it come on TV id hide in my blankets til it was over now I watch it over and over and almost have it memorized I love this video.
John Landis brings much of his horror experience he got from his 1981 classic An American Werewolf in London to this music movie (I call it a movie because something at 14 minutes long isn't a video).
Definately, this is one of the best music movies ever made, and it's thanks to a catchy song, Vincent Price and Romero type zombie action that make this good.
I did think this song was okay so I'll give it credit but I will say there was a synth solo while Michael and the other zombies dance that to me just went on a bit too long.
Janet leaves and Michael follows but on the way home they're intercepted by zombies, made by the awesomeness of Vincent Price monologues.
They dance with Michael and Janet runs away to an abandoned house and the zombies break in like they're in Escape From New York only to find out that didn't really happen at all.
"thriller" is a boring 14 minutes, including the extremely dated werewolf transformation, the mindless Vincent Price poem (just because VP recites it doesn't mean it's not lame), and the least threatening zombies I have ever seen.
While i gotta agree that it is really spooky in that spine-tingling, juicy way, it's just always struck me as not so much terrifying as just kind of sad- less a horror than a tragedy.In one of the moments of sick irony in the MJ story ("It don't matter if you're black or white", anyone?) music fans all round the world watched in 1983 (a time when the only thing freakish about Michael was his incredible talent) with a delicious mix of horror and deep excitement as, in this video, michael strutted his stuff in three separate realities (the movie at the start, the dancing in the graveyard and the cats-eyes embrace at the end) and in each is transformed mysteriously into nightmarish figures of evil.Little did anyone know that he would spend the next two decades doing so for real.Well, here we are, 20 years later, asking questions that seem very far away indeed from the eighties: Did Jackson ply a series of children with alcohol and lure them into his bed?
Michael Jackson's "Thriller" created a whole new section of music videos which can honestly be called mini movies.
Best long-form music video of all time!.
(A very bright and shiny one, though.) He and his fellow zombies then begin what may be the most well known dance choreography of any music video.
To tell you any more would give the ending away.This is my favorite music video of all time!
This Is The Bestest Music Video AKA Short Film Ever Made.
Michael Jackson Is The King Of Pop. And This My Favorite Music Video By Him. And Is Directed By John Landis (Director Of An American Werewolf In London.) And Stars Of Course Michael Jackson Ola Ray Rick Baker (The Makeup Artist Has A Cameo As One Of The Zombies.) And Vincent Price As The Voice Of The Narration Rap. It Is A Great Film It Is Great And Scary.
Who Can Forget This Video Michael Jackson Is One Of The Greatest Artists Of All Time.
MJ Thriller Put Music Videos On the Map!.
Like he and his date, are watching a movie.It seems of themselves as Jackson's character on the screen turns into a wolf.
Wanting to do away, with his kidding, Michael starts to sing the song.We then have the late Vince Price use his monologue.
Michael Jackson and Ola Ray star in this 1983 horror music video.
The late great, Jackson not only starred in this, but helped choreograph, produce & direct with John Landis after viewing his previous film, "An American Werewolf in London." This is also a short film that pays tribute to werewolf & zombie horror flicks mixed with pop.
This is not only the best music video ever made, but definitely Jackson's best I recommend..
This is a music-video turned short-film, very well directed by John Landi - using some of the same trickery and style adopted for his 1981 comedy-horror classic, "An American Werewolf in London".Beautifully shot by Robert Paynter, a veteran British cinematographer who learnt his trade photographing British Transport Films back in the 1950s; he captures some vividly dark blues, purples and reds throughout.There are film-within-a-film games going on here, plus a surprisingly overt story about burgeoning sexuality, with Jackson's girl clearly more frightened of what is potentially to come in the bedroom than what she is seeing on the cinema screen.
Vincent Price's voice-over makes a lot more sense in the context of this film than in the song as it appears on "Thriller".
While "art" isn't precisely the word I'd use to describe Michael Jackson's 'Thriller (1983),' it is an intensely-likable hybrid of schlock horror and music, and an outrageously-campy short film that remains remarkably endearing nearly 25 years later.
When the girl becomes frightened, they both leave cinema and begin to walk home, at which point Michael begins to sing the opening lines of his latest song, "Thriller." However, when a hoard of blood-thirsty zombies emerge from the local graveyard {their entrance ghoulishly narrated by Vincent Price}, the situation begins to get interesting.It's difficult to quite put my finger on why 'Thriller' is considered one of the greatest of all music videos.
Perhaps a decent explanation for the film's popularity is the incredible amount of work that must have gone into it; nothing like it had ever been seen before, and it still remains something of an oddity in the world of music videos.
Tell me what you think.The camera comes down on Michael and his date coming out of the cinema and they start to walk to his house while singing Thriller.
After being cornered by Michael and the zombies they start to dance and sing the chorus to Thriller.
I decided to remind myself how wonderful he was by watching what is considered by many to be not only Jackson's best video (and possibly song), but the greatest music video ever made, from director John Landis (An American Werewolf in London).
The film opens with Michael and his Girl (Ola Ray) having their car breakdown, and after giving her a ring, the moon comes out and he turns into a werewolf.
We then see Michael and his Girl watching this horror film in the cinema, she is scared and walks out, and Michael soon follows her, singing the iconic song.
Soon enough the voice of Vincent Price comes on, and zombies start crawling out the earth and open coffins from the graveyard, and Michael and the Girl are obviously surrounded.
"Thriller" is probably Michael Jackson's most famous music video, possibly the most famous video from any artist.
It has his usual music video director John Landis on board again and as a nice addition horror movie legend Vincent Price narrating some verses.The song is not bad, although it is not my favorite from Jackson.
If you're interested in the history of music videos or the tragic life of Michael Jackson, it's worth the watch. |
tt1331064 | Paper Heart | Charlyne Yi embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject she doesn't fully understand: Love. Michael Cera becomes the object of her affection. Weaving together reality and fantasy, Paper Heart combines elements of documentary and traditional storytelling to bring a fresh perspective to the modern romance.Charlyne Yi does not believe in love. Or so she says. Well, at the very least, she doesn't believe in fairy-tale love or the Hollywood mythology of love, and her own experiences have turned her into another modern-day skeptic. Charlyne embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject she doesn't fully understand. As she and her good friend Nick search for answers and advice about love, Charlyne talks with friends and strangers, scientists, bikers, romance novelists, and children. They each offer diverse views on modern romance, as well as various answers to the age-old question: does true love really exist? Then, shortly after filming begins, Charlyne meets a boy after her own heart: Michael Cera. As their relationship develops on camera, her pursuit to discover the nature of love takes on a fresh new urgency. Charlyne risks losing the person she finds closest to her heart. [D-Man2010] | paranormal, psychedelic, storytelling, home movie | train | imdb | Much more so than it pretends not to be.By blending predictable, scripted and entirely acted romantic comedy elements in with what "appears" to be more standard documentary-style interviews, the viewer is left to wonder if anything they are seeing is real, and once that foundation of belief is cracked, the entire movie loses legitimacy.
Li further carries this deception into the real world, denying that she's dating Michael Cera, but then noting in other places that their relationship ended in 2009, conveniently as the movie is released.
Cera is normally a solid actor, but interesting his scenes are the ones where it's most obvious the movie has drifted from faux documentary to a clearly acted and scripted production.
It's a bit unsettling.It's not unwatchable, there's even one or two points where it's almost charming, but many viewers are going to walk away feeling a bit flat, and a bit played.You don't need to dive to find the remote to turn this movie off it it happens to show up for free on your TV.
Faux-documentary starring musician/comedian Charlyne Yi as herself questioning, "Does true love exist?" Along the way, Yi meets with that loathsome robot of an actor Michael Cera, also playing himself.
Their meeting and continuing friendship and eventual relationship becomes a center point for the documentary as the filmmaker Nicholas Jasenovec, not being played by himself but by actor Jake Johnson, tries to find out if Charlyne is finding true love.Now, already knowing that I am a Michael Cera hater, you would think that I would have instantly written off the film the moment he appears on screen.
Their evolution from acquaintances to friends to boyfriend/girlfriend is believable, which naturally benefits the film.Charlyne Yi also has nice chemistry with the strangers she encounters and questions about the matters of the heart.
It sort of clashes a bit with the delightful chemistry between the actors in many cases and makes their performances seem more contrived than real.Still, Paper Heart is a cute and enjoyable film.
Michael Cera is a SURPRISINGLY good character and Charlyne Yi is as cute as a button.
Paper Heart will be enjoyable for its target audience and may even be a good movie for adult couples to see.
And if you liked Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (I did not) or Juno (One great of '08) or just want to enjoy a cute little love story then take a chance on Paper Heart..
"Paper Heart" falls in line with the "Bruno/Borat" style of film-making, where viewers will probably be asking themselves, "How much of this is real and how much is staged?" Maybe in this case it isn't staged at all.
I personally don't know, but I have to say "Paper Heart" feels very real, which is an obvious difference to those two Sacha Baron Cohen movies.The plot has a documentary crew following around Charlyne Yi who's looking to understand the concept of love, by traveling around America and interviewing people.
Charlyne meets Michael Cera at a house party, who acts just like the characters he played in "Juno" and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist".
It does have one good line where a girl says she's in love with Chris Brown (or someone named Brown) and says to Charlyne, "At least I admit it.""Paper Heart" doesn't have any real direction, but neither does life.
She and her friend,director Nicholas Jasenovec (on camera played by actor,Jake M.Johnson,so that the real Nicholas Jasenovec can spend time behind the camera) hit the road to try and (somehow)answer her questions by interviewing anybody who is willing to talk on camera.
Along the way,we find out a little more about Charlyne Yi (besides being an actress,she's also a part time musician who actually writes & performs some of the songs in this film).
Further down the road (ouch!---bad pun---my bad!), Charlyne & Michael start to get a bit tired of being in the camera lens when they just want a little down time to be alone together.
For someone like Charlyne Yi who has never been in a romantic relationship before, the subject of love, and the dramatized account of her budding romance with Michael Cera, become the parallel stories in Paper Heart.For director Nick Jasenovec (who appears in front of the camera played by actor Jake M.
The same goes for Michael Cera, who is aware of the camera constantly poking its nose into him and his relationship with Charlyne, whether he's hamming it up for the camera, or being really perturbed by the invasion of privacy.But it is precisely the down-to-earth demeanours of both personalities, that make this film shine as we gleefully become voyeurs shadowing their every move, no thanks to the clause of having the film crew do just that, in case of missing out on any perfect moment suitable for the documentary.
Those familiar with Michael Cera and the stereotyped characters he plays, will find the same kind of appeal in Charlyne, the musician-comedian being almost a female equivalent of Cera, and the pair share some great chemistry together in their young, inexperienced courtship.
Who cares if they're faking it, as they do look adorable together, with their insecurities, hesitations and all!Then there are the flat-out documentary segments, which in truth was to me as entertaining as they were enlightening, exploring the theme of love in as wide a spectrum as possible, gunning for interviews all around America from children and their innocent perspectives, to full-blown theories from various scientific fields.
You'll find yourself adoring the puppets and landscapes (complete with moving parts, mind you!) crafted to reenact these moments, that they'll surely bring about a chuckle or two in the childish, kitschy style presented.Don't head out the door just yet when the end credits start rolling, especially if you're a fan of that insanely touching yet comedic love song performed by Charlyne Yi, and for that little stinger at the end.
I watched this movie simply because of Michael Cera, and sadly I was very disappointed.
At the end if left me wondering who ever thought that the ending was original or funny or whatever they were trying to do with it.The chemistry between the actors was natural and funny at some points, but overall I wish I would have never wasted an hour and a half of my life on this movie.
Nothing about the movie made me impressed with the actors performances, and the only time I truly enjoyed the movie was when I was listening to the interviews of those in love.
I was actually looking forward to this, it looked promising, but it's a very shallow movie, with only one bright point which is Michael Cera, who seems genuinely nice and funny person.
I Want To Know What Love Is. Charlyne Yi, star of the faux-documentary, PAPER HEART, takes a most controversial stand on The Cosmology of Love.
While watching the film you are constrained to consider how silly and weak are the reasons and justifications that most people seem to have for their 'True Love'.
PAPER HEART seems to demonstrate that most of what we suppose is 'True Love' is nothing more than heartfelt wishes which change into conviction over time.
PAPER HEART is a small, light, and engaging film, and Charlyne Yi has more than enough charm to pull off the premise, but after the film ended, it left me with the feeling that maybe Arranged Marriages were not such a bad idea.
It was filmed in a documentary style and for awhile you think it is all real.
Charlyne Yi is the star that thinks she will never fall in love or even feel it.
Michael Cera plays the guy she starts to like.
From the very beginning it was obvious to me that Charlne had some emotional issues and is a highly insecure and clumsy person.The crude and uninspiring interviews did not impress me a bit nor her awkward and most often irrelevant reactions to what was going on around her.As time went by and observing her relationship with Cera I came to realize that this girl needs some serious psychotherapy.
But thinking her relationship with this poor lad was for real I couldn't help it but feel empathy for her and pity for Cera.After watching the movie I read on Wikipedia that her relationship with Cera was all an act!
I'd have rather watched a series of uninspiring interviews with real people than her so-called relationship with Cera.All in all, the movie has absolutely nothing to say about love.
Okay so the premise of the movie is this, fiction and non-fiction content is mashed into this documentary type of film and it's about a girl Charlyne Yi doubting love.
Michael Cera plays a role in this by playing the guy that falls for Charlyne Yi during a party.
This film didn't do so well at the box office and I can tell why, the film hardly has any substance, the relationship between Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera is nothing remarkable same as the interviews which could have gone on and on if they wanted to interview more people.
The whole point of this movie is to find out if love exist, but and was charming at times though.
Charlyne Yi is a cool girl I take it, but this movie makes her look like a moron.
There's nothing wrong with not believing in love or thinking that you be in love, but I don't want to watch as you struggle with figuring out if you want to change your ways or not.I'm making the movie out to be worse than it is.
Bye Bye to movies.You cooked your goose with this one.I doubt anyone will ever watch Paper Hearts a 2nd time.How did you make this?
She doesn't seem like a personable person so that may be why.One thing I did think was a good idea was that Yi interviewed many different people about their perspectives on love.
Nick Jasenovec (Jake Johnson) is directing a documentary about performer Charlyne Yi's search for the meaning of love.
If this was all made up and acted then it was brilliant, if it was 98% true with the prodding of a film crew, then it was still brilliant.On the face of it this is a documentary about Charlyne Yi and her friend Nick the filmmaker going on a road trip to learn about love.The only thing forced seemed to be the director who is acted by Jake M.
It can sometimes feel like him and Cera are friends who probably spoke to each other at some point in the days in-between the segments we see.
I feel that there is an emotionally logical reason for all the moments in the film.Cera often plays awkward people but I have never seen him so actually nervous as he is in some moments with Yi when they are starting to get to know each other better.
First-time feature director Nicholas Jasenovec's pseudo-documentary examines the fictional relationship between comedienne Charlyne Yi ("Knocked Up," "Semi-Pro"), whose thesis is that she is incapable of love, and her real-life boyfriend, Michael Cera, who's fast becoming the festival's crowned prince.
The footage is spliced together with decidedly ho-hum celebrity interviews (Seth Rogen, Demitri Martin are featured) nonchalantly credited as "Charlyne's Friends," experts in the psychology of love, and real couples recounting the foundation of their relationships, aided by ultra low-fi reenactments by Yi featuring rag dolls and paper sets.The film is wholly indie, hitting the familiar beats and consulting that worn checklist (awkward quirky character's self-written guitar sequence--check).
The most disturbing part of this film was that it was hard not to feel that Michael Cera was acting his romantic part in this pseudo- documentary and that Charlyn was truly falling for it.
On the surface it appears as though Charlyn wants to make a documentary about how she doesn't believe in love, but sets out on a trek across country trying to find out what it means to other people.
All the while, I got the impression that the director had an agenda all his own, desiring to manipulate Charlyn into falling in love during the making of this film, Michael Cera being the catalyst.
Her stubborn refusal to admit she is in love with Michael as her supposed friend traipses her around Paris for 12 hours in her weakest frame of mind just adds to the humiliation of it all, especially considering the scene where Cera walks her around the grocery store for a half hour trying to decide what to make for her to eat, settling on a frozen cheese pizza.
She sets out to film a documentary about love and interviews those who have found it, those who have lost it and those who haven't quite gotten there yet.
It is funny and and touching and very sincere.In a nutshell: This is a movie (documentary) about a young girl who does not think she is capable of love.
And I loved Paper Heart.If you have prejudged it because of the actors, don't.
Charlene Yi a writer & comic actress co-wrote this documentary style film on the meaning of love.Nicholas Jasenovic directed & is the other co-writer.It had a short run on about 50 screens late summer 2009.Seeing it on DVD this evening, I did enjoy it BUT would have been disappointed if I saw it in a 'multi-plex'.
she travels around the country asking various peoples if they have ever found true love.Micheal Cera a promising new actor is featured as himself, he & Charlene did have a romance during the filming.
I watched this movie, thinking I'd be watching a documentary about love, moreover it doesn't hurt that Michael Cera is in it.
Michael (and Nick at times) does all the fun things, he is his usual quirky self, which also makes you wonder how real this all is.
I feel that I have wasted my time, this movie is all cute anecdotes and doesn't ask or try to go further in the question of what love is.
I feel a great let down, because I usually love Nick and Michael tremendously..
There are 3 actors in this movie, written and made by the three actors, and all the rest are "himself" or "herself", where real couples talk about their own definitions of what love is."Will I ever find love" is the theme, and Charlyne Yi as herself sets out to answer that question.
Johnson actually plays a role, as Nicholas Jasenovec who in reality is the director of this film.All in all I found it interesting, but in the end an unfulfilling "movie" experience.
And the Cera-Yi relationship part would have impressed me more if there hadn't been that nonsense puppet ending with the police bullets and the Harley.There were a few moments of humour, and some of the stories were romantic, but why was it always the women talking about how they knew it was love with the men sitting beside them with blank disinterested looks.And the wedding chapel where the pretty young oriental girl marries the old almost-dead white guy, that kiss between them seemed too fake, it was like the girl was kissing him and going at it like the groom was Brad Pitt.Essentially the subtext of this movie isn't that positive about love.
Paper Heart is a sweet romantic movie, but is not for everyone.
This spawns from mostly from the documentary sequences of Yi interviewing random people about love, with the highlights of the story told by cutout puppets.
ALso in the movie is a scripted plot between the filmmaker and Michael Cera (Both portraying themselves).
The movie follows the highs and lows of their relationship throughout the filming.I loved Paper Heart when I saw it, but it is a fairly typical Indie movie.
Paper Heart is a semi-fictional film that follows Charlyne Yi who doesn't believe in love, or so she thought.
This is until she meets Mike (Michael Cera) and falls in love with him whilst making a documentary about love with director Nicholas Jasenovec (Jake Johnson) They both search for answers to the question "Does true love really exist?" They ask, a romance novelist, children, judges, couples, strangers, scientists and bikers who share their true love stories.Charlyne is at first skeptical of her love for Michael, we see their relationship unfold on camera, her skepticism and search for the answer puts their relationship at jeopardy, however she soon realizes the answer lies within her own heart.It's a very cute, humorous and sweet documentary-style film that supports the notion of true love, although presents love and relationships as being tricky and that they require a lot of work.
This film shows the beauty of love and will truly melt your heart..
There's lots of insight and entertainment in the journey but in the end credits you see That Nick was played by an actor and so all the material with him in it is scripted, which means that the documentary we just saw was actually fiction.
For the duration of the film until the end credits roll the movie cut deeper and affected us more because we believed we were witnessing reality and so its message worked better.A few people have had issues with the trick though, although I didn't, and this has lessened or damaged the impact for them.
This is what causes the pinnacle of the movie, when she cannot tell Michael that she loves her, when it is obvious that she does.
The interviews with long-time couples kept the fact that this was supposed to be a documentary believable.
Now that I think about it, that makes sense since the move becomes reality only for Charlyne and Michael.Although Charlyne is cute and real, there are some points where I would have liked to see some real acting to keep the documentary aspect a bit more believable.
She sometimes has a look on her face of "what am I doing here" and I'm afraid it makes the movie at times lose it's momentum.The vignettes with the paper puppets (or whatever you would call them) are cute and act well to divide the plot up. |
tt0475784 | Westworld | Ford brings Lowe back in the private lab. Lowe weeps for Theresa Cullen. Ford is philosophical, Lowe gets angry but accepts to do a coverup in return for a memory wipe. Lowe goes to the computer and Theresa's apartment, he burns a private note.Maeve is in the saloon, a new blonde hooker is there instead of Clementine. Maeve wistfully remembers her homesteader life. Felix and Sylvester try to explain her memories, then she asks them to deactivate her failsafe internal explosive.William and Dolores ride on a single horse, they stop by a river with many dead bodies, killed by Natives. She tries to aid a badly wounded man. The man tells them Logan is working with the Confederados.Dolores has a memory glitch and sees herself dead. The Conferado dies.Stubbs explains Cullen was found dead, from a fall. She was in possession of data. Charlotte still seems suspicious, she says Cullen was loyal. Ford explains Cullen faked the Clementine test, Lowe should be re-instated, Hale agrees.Maeve and the techs discuss her core code. She asks about Arnold. Maeve asks to go to a higher level during a shift change. Alone, the two techs plan how to end it, to wipe Maeve's memory.Teddy Flood and MIB ride, MIB tries to explain the rules of the Game. They see several dead men. A crying injured woman blames Wyatt. A large horned figured attacks, it takes both men to kill it. Teddy remembers MIB hauling Dolores off to rape, then he slugs MIB unconscious.The techs shut down Maeve. Felix pauses before reformatting.Sizemore is training a robot to eat a human leg. Charlotte comes to see him and says Cullen was loyal. She offers him a new task.Sylvester tries to convince Felix to proceed, then Maeve awakes, angry with Sylvester. She grabs a scalpel and slices Sylvester's throat. She gets Felix to stop the bleeding.Back in Sweetwater Maeve returns to the saloon. Again she recalls the homestead MIB murder. Hector and Armistice arrive to shoot up the town. She is able to give voice commands to direct the other AI.Ford and Lowe get back to work, Ford is not worried about Hale. Lowe is still puzzled about his back story. Ford tries to explain the differences between AI and humans. Ford denies having Lowe kill anyone before but the AI Engineer has a memory flash of strangling Elsie Hughes.Dolores and William find her 'home' , another town. A peaceful town, techs train AI to dance. Lawrence's daughter appears. Gun shots and a she sees herself killing everyone. It's all an illusion or memory fragment, there is just the black church steeple. Dolores is confused about what is real. Logan appears with other riders.Hale and Sizemore walk through the robot storage area. They choose Peter Abernathy at random, she uploads some data and says to program him to be able to walk out of the park.Stubbs comes to sympathize with Lowe, Stubbs hints he knew about Lowe mist ice and Theresa but Lowe says he barely knew her. Stubbs is taken aback also asks about Elsie, Lowe says she is on vacation.Teddy has MIB bound up and demands to know about Dolores. MIB explains his own wife died from an overdose, scared of his dark side. A year before he had come to test himself and killed homesteader Maeve and her daughter but Maeve had not died and stabbed him back.Maeve is under attack in Sweetwater, the techs realize she is non responsive. A year before she had been non responsive too until Ford was able to reset her, and gave her a new role. Hazmat team closes in on her.MIB tells Teddy they have to find the maze, the woman urges Teddy to kill him. But Teddy cannot pull the trigger, the blonde stabs Teddy, dark figures approach. | murder | train | imdb | Most of it was self-explanatory, like the constant debauchery and murder for fun, but the underlying search for hidden motives and "the truth" kept the show going, up to a grand finale.Season two, however, is a bit of a letdown.
Since we now know about the two parallel plots from season one, the audience isn't fooled as easily anymore.So instead the writers set out to sidetrack us with irrelevant characters and plots who just end up dead or unresolved later on.
Towards the end, the focus on AI development and AI trying to "free" itself seems lost almost completly.If I wouldn't know better, I'd think the producers of this show were so surprised by their own success that they had no real idea of how to continue, and are now just cobbling up random ideas.Season two is not bad, but its nowhere near as unique or visionary as the first.
It was so bad it reminded me of Lost - which I stopped watching during the 3rd season.
Westworld - 2nd Season - A Complete Mess.
In 1973, the cult "Westworld" by Michael Crichton was a successful sci-fi of my generation and a sort of grandfather of other robots films, such as "The Stepford Wives", "Blade Runner" and mainly "The Terminator".In 2016, HBO released "Westworld", a promising series based on the 1973 "Westworld" but with AI.
Bernard´s shuffled recollections is awful and the motive of each lead character is weak (Maeve wants to retrieve her daughter; Man in Black to destroy the park; Dolores to go to the outside world; Hale to retrieve and transmit important information).
In the end, this season is a complete waste of time.
The 2nd season is full of nonesense like "lost" there is never ending stories..
I enjoyed Season 1 of Westworld, and was eager to see how the series developed.
In parts, it seems like the writers are punishing for watching by making a scene as boring as possible.
Well, since my longer review got deleted by mistake and don't feel like writing it again: Season 1- great.
I mean, it's all good to not put it all on the table and leave something for the viewer's brain to work out, but second season was just frustrating.
Season 2 was all about fancy technology (which seems extremely impractical), people walking around in the desert having gunfights (throw in a couple swordfights here and there) and loose plot twists most of which seemed unnecessary.
Along the way were gapping holes that I can only guess are there out of laziness and/or to lure viewers to watch former episodes in a vain attempt to fill said holes, thus trapping them in the world of the show that now exists only for its own sake, that now offers nothing of value to the viewer in exchange for their time.Like the guests, the core drive of the show is to survive, at any cost.
But I keep getting distracted while watching an episode and start doing other things.
The story is intriguing, the visuals are beautiful and the acting is incredible.The previous reviewer who said the violence is unnecessary has missed the point in my opinion.
It is there to make you feel uncomfortable, because it is that inner dark side and battle between good and evil (and more often than not the middle ground between) that is at the very epicenter of the human condition.This is what the show is often commenting on and this is what makes this show so interesting, thought provoking and ultimately entertaining.If it carries on in the same vein we will have a modern day classic on our hands..
For the second season, I guess they thought their reputation would suffice.The characters stopped behaving believably and consistently.
Season 1 is well worth a watch for the sheer production value and a great story arc.
But, season 2 descends into bumbling nonsense - too many writers, too many ideas, too many stories..
The writers have been given far too much time to ponder human existence and whether cyborgs could think for themselves - just give us a stunning series of worlds with action, adventure and dips into how cyborgs could evolve without committing too much time to this.
From one of the best sci-fi television series I've ever seen in season 1, to a messy philosophical mumbo jumbo turd, that will not entertain anyone who's not a 14 year old boy.I like philosophical challenges, like some of Star Treks early years or TNG, but this is not challenging, interesting, provoking, or even a bit entertaining.
I don't think they expected this one to make it to season two, and it shows.Frankly, it's crap.
I will not waste my time on the third season, and if you're reading this before watching season two, spare yourself.
With season two they just overdid it to the point where most people can't just watch the show and understand what the hell is going on.
Instead only people who understand what's going on now seem to be those who are ready to re-watch every episode, share ideas on the forums, draw diagrams about who did what where and when...
To be honest, having the second season in mind, I hope they cancel it..
Season 1 was OK but Season 2 was a mess of disconnected story lines.
Between the memory trails and the story line bouncing back and forth that was hard to follow and the horrible depressive music this was very disappointing.
As so many others have said, season 1 was very good, divergent stories all coming together.
Much like "True Detective", season 2 is a hot mess.
That was more interesting than any episode of season 2.
It's a total pleasure watching every second of their stellar performances.The plot - being a huge fan of sci-fi, it simply doesn't get better than that!
Season 1 was great, but I struggled to watch season 2 all the way through.
Watch the First Season and leave it that, as the ending is satisfying enough without having to slog through the complete failure of a second season and what, I am sure, will be many more seasons of steadily declining quality to come..
It is full of deep human conflicts, that is if you are open to watch it with a clear mind.Hopkins' quote from the end of episode 2 when he says "No" to "Odyssey on Red River" and explanation of his refusal feels like a statement of the production mindset.
"Odyssey on Red River" pretty much summarizes everything wrong with entertainment media nowadays, and Westworld is a real delight that shines as a great production.I don't know how to tell its greatness without spoiling the show, but unless you want a cheap ride you will glimpse at screen in between your texting; you can not not enjoy this show!.
A big lost opportunity, but when the season was rushed through I kinda expected the worst and got most of it..
I guess the writer hosts for season 2 were stuck in a bad loop....I forced myself to watch season 2 until episode 8 (none of the eight episodes was good, most of them feel like badly done fillers)...but I had enough of this crap now...game over.
I think it was a bit corny, I tried watching it 2 times and seriously I couldn't do it.
But filling the whooole season with nebulous philosophical one-liners (which btw you do not even articulate clearly enough, so to make it worse, it gets confusing) about what is real/human/mortal/evolution or not, is daring.
Season one was great, very entertaining, and kept me interested thru every episode , the story lines of the characters made me want to keep watching and see where it went and was excited to hear there was going to be a season 2.
The second season overall just feels disconected and the story is poorly told.
I was really excited to watch this show because of the premise alone: There's a theme park filled with robots called 'hosts' that are made to resemble humans in almost every way; visitors to the theme park enter a western themed world where they can do whatever they want, including raping and murdering the hosts.
Did the writers of the last season of LOST also write Season 2 of WESTWORLD?
I found the last three episodes so painful I had to push myself to watch, hoping there was some sort of breakthrough - but I just got more confused and angry.
We are swimming in great television content and I haven't the time or patience to go back and try and work it all out - goodbye Westworld..
I have watched like 3 first episode, and i have not found a single intrest thing in this season, even they corrupted entire season with just gun firing like any other western movies.
at some points it felt like the writers didn't know what to do with the story so they just made things up on the way , it was extremely slow paced and filled with unnecessary story lines that didn't make much sense from start to end .the show tried to keep some of the unexpected plot twists and time lines play , that it did so well in the first season but this time it was a miss , it just got confusing and too complicated just for the sake of being complicated, not that you can't understand it , you can piece the stories together easily enough, you just felt bored and uninterested in doing so.
the stories didn't link together that well and didn't make much sense, most of the dialogues were nothing but repetitive, boring, and a miss on trying to be wise or intelligent.
the season also chose to follow the story of Doloros , and make her the protagonist , but with such an unlikable main character it was hard to stay interested in the show.
Season 2: Long, boring, confusing mess.
Season 1 started slow in order to get all the characters introduced and storylines set.
I gave up on watching Westworld after three episodes of season 2 and went back to watching Netflix series as they are much better written with story lines that are at least understandable..
Season 2 is such a failure...One of the most overrated TV shows of all time.
Season one was not that bad, but season two is confusing, incoherent and has a very boring storyline.
Season 2 is atrocious, the script is horrendous, the acting is acceptable at best, it is confusing and mind-numbingly tedious.
Its totally lost me, it just seems like lots of groups of humans/hosts/whatever just wandering aimlessly around the park just killing and capturing, and escaping, with repeated flashbacks dropped in out of the blue.
Season 1 was great (10/10) but season 2 is for the most of the time unwatchable and I couldn't believe what is happening with the amazing TV show.
I reccommend to skip season 2 because it is huge disappointment, and complete waste of time..
I will avoid spoilers for anyone who has not seen this yet, but in setting the seen the writers/producers have created Westworld not only as a TV show, but as a series of questions for humanity to ponder.
But week after week through season two, Westworld crudely bludgeons the viewer with message after message about how men are weak/stupid/corrupt and women are strong/intelligent/smart.Look at the pairing dynamics: Dolores - strong, Teddy - weak.
But the story ended with season one.
Watching the season 2 felt like chore and for that reason unfortunately I can't recommend it to anyone and I'm not going to waste my time anymore with this series.
The gun fights between humans and hosts are so stupid in the second season, it has become difficult to watch.
Do yourself some good and don't watch series 2, it's absolute garbage.
I hope for season 3 but just because it's very hard to make it worse from here so whatever comes, can only be better..
Every single option is in its own right more entertaining than watching any episode of season 2.
I ain't sure how they did it, but what was good in season 1 was whiped out of the series to make room for pointless flashbacks and unfathomable dialogs all at 1 bmp.
The plot doesn't provide anything of true interest like in season one.
The second season is a major disappointment.
The two star rating is for the second season, the first one was an excellent 10 on 10.
The beginning was quite impressive, during the first two or three episodes the premise was pretty good and I believe the audience(especially HBO's audience) was looking forward to another great TV show.
It is poorly written, filled with terrible cliches and it becomes unwatchable starting with the second season..
Jumps all over trying to make multiple female characters relevant with no attention to plot, story telling, depth or connection.
And I was so disappointed by season 2, mystery was lost and Terminator Dolores, walking over dead bodies and shooting like killing machine made everything so disgusting, so I stopped to watch it after s2e3..
Bringing together huge names like Michael Crichton, Jonathan Nolan and Anthony Hopkins, along with a multi-million dollar budget, this show, just after a 9 episode run, looks promising enough to be the best TV show ever.
Bringing together huge names like Michael Crichton, Jonathan Nolan and Anthony Hopkins, along with a multi-million dollar budget, this show, just after a 9 episode run, looks promising enough to be the best TV show ever.
Could it break the record-breaking following achieved by Game of Thrones, could it keep blowing away our mind even after a 5 season run like Breaking Bad...I can't wait to find out..
Could it break the record-breaking following achieved by Game of Thrones, could it keep blowing away our mind even after a 5 season run like Breaking Bad...I can't wait to find out..
AND we CARED.'Westworld' had a wonderful 1st season and is now stumbling around for 8 hours trying to make the same point but so very clumsily.
if ONLY they had good writers this would have been a masterpiece.As it is (as of Episode 8, Season 2) my rating just keeps going down.
This show, Westworld was amazing if not a bit to ponderous in its first season.
it feels like work trying to sit through any further episodes.
It's like the feeling I get walking up a steep hill and trying to decide if getting to the top is worth the effort.SEASON 1 rating 8/10
Season 2 rating 2/10Series comes out to 5/10.
In season one the novelty of the idea of a park full of life like robots, excellent acting, and interesting story line made for a good show.
The asynchronous story telling of season one played a critical part in the plot and made the climax of the season all the more interesting.
Maybe the writers felt this was a hallmark of the series and wanted to build upon it, but it feels completely unnecessary this time around and is a distraction.
The interesting character growth of the robots in Season one is completely absent and the plot is nothing more than characters roaming around the park searching for contrived objects created out of thin air to give them something to do.
Probably time to get a new writing team, if the show doesn't improve over the last couple episodes I am not sure I will be sticking around for another season and may just cancel my HBO subscription until GOT comes back on..
Season one was pretty good and interesting and had in not been for so much graphical violence to would have been a great show.
Season 2 (7 episodes in so far) is Awful.
Season 1 was fresh, mysterious, had a good pace, and had interesting plots.
Season 2 just seems like a whole bunch of filler.
It went to being one of my favorite shows of all time to where I might not even finish watching the second season.
The good characters are no longer interesting.Season 2 is to Westworld what Season 6 was to Game of Thrones.
Westworld Season 1 very good, Season 2 a nonsensical mess..
Season 2 is a complete mess.
How could any producers watching this season's mess think that it's good TV?
Had to stop watching about 3 episodes into season 2.
Had to stop watching about 3 episodes into season 2.
Sometimes I have the feeling that the writers of this plot lost track of their own story.
Or at least I was until I watched it.i loved the movie when I was small and was looking forward to this for over a year and it really wasn't worth it.I think it's a mess and the fact they released a YouTube video to tell people what was happening in it shows you that Christopher Nolan isnt that good it spreads to his brother.So,I waited 18 months for season 2 and it's the same thing again.wont bother with 3rd season.
I've watched the first season of Westworld: I have no desire to watch the second.It's what I'd call a 'feelbad' show.
The first season was just OK as the writers developed the story, introduced characters and explored plot lines.
It is a poorly executed stream of consciousness that, by the end of season two, makes one feel as if she/he has carried a bag of bricks, collected along a long and winding trail, without the satisfaction of building a structure in which to house the story.
The first season was great.
The first season was great.
True failure.After that, I could only watch the second season in jumps.
Such a scrap, really.Season 1 = about 50 hours (each episode at least 5 times),
2 hours can watch.I do not know if the producers can do it in season 3, |
tt0327084 | Over the Hedge | While scavenging for food, RJ the raccoon enters the cave of Vincent the bear, who has a wagon full of human food taken from a nearby rest stop. RJ accidentally wakes Vincent from his hibernation, and in a race to escape, causes the stash to roll out onto the nearby highway and get run over. To avoid being eaten himself, RJ promises Vincent that he will completely replace the stash within the week.
RJ heads towards a recently built suburban housing development in Indiana, separated from a forest glade by a large hedge. There he discovers a pack of animals recently awoken from their hibernation, led by Verne the turtle; the others include squirrel Hammy, skunk Stella, porcupines Penny and Lou, along with their triplet sons, Spike, Bucky and Quillo; and opossum Ozzie and his daughter Heather. The animals are scared, as the development had been built during their hibernation and they fear they will be unable to forage for food in the small glade. RJ shows them the amount of food humans consume and waste and suggests they forage from the humans. Verne is hesitant but the other animals acquiesce. They make bold attempts to steal food directly from the humans, with RJ secretly guiding them to help collect the food he needs to replace Vincent's stash.
When the animals raid the trash cans of the homeowners-association chairman Gladys Sharp, she calls an animal exterminator named Dwayne LaFontant, who offers to install in her backyard an illegal, lethal trap called the Depelter Turbo. Verne sees this and tries to warn the others, but RJ insists they will be okay. Fearing for the safety of the pack, Verne attempts to return what they stole; he and RJ argue, causing a small rampage through the development and destroying the stash RJ had collected for Vincent. RJ rallies the others to raid Gladys' home directly on the night before a large party. With Stella disguised as a cat to distract Gladys' own cat, Tiger, the others enter Gladys' home and collect all the food. RJ inadvertently reveals his duplicity to the animals, just as they are discovered by Gladys who calls Dwayne. RJ escapes with the food for Vincent but leaves the other animals to be captured by Dwayne.
As RJ returns the food to Vincent, he sees Dwayne's truck drive by and impulsively uses the food to knock the truck off the road, enraging Vincent. Dwayne is knocked out while the animals get free, and Spike, Bucky and Quillo use video game skills to drive the truck back to the development. RJ pleads to be let in the truck as Vincent tries to catch him, but the others, angry at his duplicity, refuse. Verne convinces the group to forgive RJ since he came back to save them. They return the truck to the development, crashing through Gladys' home, and the animals flee into the hedge. Gladys and Dwayne converge on the animals from one side with a Weedhacker and a Cattle Prod respectively, while Vincent tries to swipe at them from the other. To escape, RJ gives Hammy a caffeinated beverage, allowing the hyperactive squirrel to move incredibly fast. Hammy is able to manipulate Dwayne into capturing Vincent, causing Vincent, Gladys, and Dwayne to be trapped by the Depelter Turbo while the animals escape. The police and animal control arrive, and Vincent is sent to the Rocky Mountains while Gladys and Dwayne are arrested for using the Turbo.
RJ and Verne apologize to each other, and RJ is brought into the group, as is Tiger, who became infatuated with Stella even after learning she was a skunk. Verne realizes they have not had a chance to forage for food until Hammy reveals that while sped up, he had been able to collect enough nuts for them all to last the year. | entertaining | train | wikipedia | It is a much stronger film than other Dreamworks titles like Madagascar and Shark Tale, and really seems like it can stand next to the likes of Shrek 1 and 2.The voice acting is all top-notch, from Willis' take no-nonsense raccoon, to the sadly missed Shandling as a neurotic turtle.
The rest of the voice cast, from Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara as parents of hedgehogs, to Wanda Sykes as a skunk, to Thomas Hayden Church as an exterminator, to Nick Nolte as Vincent the bear, all are great and well suited for their roles.
After some mediocre animation movies from Dreamworks, they hit a good one again with Over the Hedge..
This is a movie that children can also enjoy (sounds kind of odd being that animation films are usually supposed to be for kids), in addition to adults.
The same is true of most computer animated comedies these days: it is near sure to be a mix of material targeted at children and adults, feature lots of star voices and be entertaining, for the most part at least.
Over the Hedge, the latest offering from Dreamworks, does not disappoint on any of the above fronts, and proves to be one more notch in computer animations belt.The film opens on loner raccoon R.J.
R.J. then manages to stumble across a group of animals that hibernate together, Vern the turtle (Gary Shandling), Stella the skunk (Wanda Sykes), Ozzie the possum (William Shatner) and his daughter Heather (Avril Lavigne), Lou (Eugene Levy) and Penny (Catherine O'Hara) the porcupines and their brood, and Hammy the squirrel (Steve Carell).
Meanwhile, the head of the development's association, Gladys (Allison Janney) has called in an exterminator (Thomas Hayden Church) to take care of this new infestation problem.Over the Hedge is about as broad based as entertainment comes: it features lots of cute, cuddly animals who perform elaborate hijinks for kids to laugh at, while offsetting this with some more adult oriented jokes and situations for the older set.
It doesn't prove to be off-putting, the film is still more than entertaining for adults, it's just not quite as sophisticated as some that have come before.Plot-wise, Over the Hedge is about as predictable as they come: the outsider looking out for numero uno who gets his heart melted with the kindness of a new family unit he has found.
There are plenty of good jokes, gags and situations to leave most audience members laughing a good bit of the time (and in the end, isn't that what a comedy is about).Voice-wise, most of the parts are fittingly cast.
Nick Nolte is also near-perfect for a bear's growly voice and Thomas Hayden Church really fills out the exterminator.Over the Hedge probably won't go down as a great entry in computer animated history, but it does it's job well enough to be entertaining, enjoyable and funny.
Over the Hedge thus sees RJ the raccoon (Bruce Willis) scour the environment in search for goods, a mission that is facilitated when RJ comes across a mismatched family of forest creatures whom he convinces to help him gather the food he needs from the Suburbian residences just over the hedge.The film opens with RJ on a scrat-like adventure after that-one-piece-of-food and he suffers all the detours and diversion that this mission entails.
Although, Nick Nolte makes for a fine bear villain.Soon 'Over the Hedge' thankfully abandons mediocrity and completely stuns me with layered humour and an energy that it begins to apply to all aspects in the film, the hyper-active ADHD squirrel Hammy most of all.
Luckily, this is not thrown in your face and is only mentioned once since most of that would go over the kid's heads and would detract from what is actually a slap-stick comedy of animals searching for the "ultimate" food.Overall, the show-stealer is Hammy the squirrel voiced by Steve Carell.
William Shatner as Ozzie the possum is also great.Some of the funny moments, such as references to West Side Story and such, may go over some kids heads, but they definitely caused me to laugh until my sides hurt.
The film is also quite sweet, not sickly sweet, like say Troll in Central Park, but naturally sweet.And while the ending is surprisingly great, the real delight comes from the animals and the voice acting.
Like most people, I was convinced that Pixar's "Cars" was going to be the animated movie of the year and that "Over the Hedge" was just another cheap attempt with the proved formula of cute talking animals.
almost without knowing it he'll become a member of the family and will begin to have serious doubts about his plan of deceiving the gang.Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, "Over the Hedge" is a huge step forward from Dreamworks' previous animated feature, "Madagascar".
Great care was taken with the characters' design and while they look quite different from their original versions, the change was definitely for the better.The plot at its core is once again the typical story of an outcast who finds a family, but it's spiced up by the satire and wit of the original comic strip and that's what makes the movie different from others.
This balance between the comic strip's sharp social commentary and the funny and simpler slapstick comedy makes that the film can be enjoyed by both children and adults without being overtly filled with pop-culture references.
Well animated, great voice work, fun characters and a half-decent plot...what more could you want?
Well animated, great voice work, fun characters and a half-decent plot...what more could you want?
This movie is wonderful and easily is one of (or possibly my all-time) favorite animated film.
Every character from RJ, to Hammy to Ozzie was unique and this made watching each character fun and enjoyable.Most animated films focus on a few main characters in "Over the Hedge" you have about a dozen or so main characters so for DreamWorks and the writers to pull off every character being liked is quite a challenge but they did it flawlessly.
It's well crafted, well written, and has various enjoyable characters.Normally I don't understand why animation studios get a big name cast to voice their movies but in this case, I think the voice talent was amazing and actually made the film a little better.
I think everyone did a great job voicing the characters and I absolutely loved the little hedgehogs and Hammy.If DreamWorks keeps making films like "Over the Hedge" I think they could one day be bigger and better than Pixar who I still feel makes the best animated films.
But "Over the Hedge" is the closest thing I have seen to a Pixar film (outside of "Antz" which was better than "A Bug's Life) and it is a lot better than last year's Madagascar which I liked but it wasn't as great like most people raved about.
DreamWorks and Pixar are both companies that are goldmines because while "Over the Hedge" may not make $80 million its first weekend like "The Da Vinci Code," it will still make a lot of money and be playing for many weeks to come.In the end, "Over the Hedge" is probably the best animated film to be released from DreamWorks animation studios in years.
It's definitely a great film complete with great voice talent, witty and clever dialogue, likable characters and a pretty good script.
There really isn't anything to complain about with "Over the Hedge," it's a great movie that both children and adults will love and enjoy for many years to come.MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Over the Hedge" is an 8/10.
Then comes Over the Hedge a fun exciting and quite funny film based on the very popular comic strip.The story if you don't know star's RJ a raccoon with extremely large appetite and devious nature.
This is also a movie of great character actors, You have everyone from Bruce Willis to William Shatner to Wanda Sykes to Even Nick Nolte, and every part they play is played to perfection.Another great thing about this movie is just looks visually stunning, I mean everything looks so life like, and suburbia looks like well suburbia many rows of houses and small lawns.
I still think it will be a while till they get to Cars visual's but even with Shark tale and Madagascar event though they were not great films they looked and felt life like.In closing I give Over the Hedge a 9 out of 10 for being a smart fun and entertaining film that has it all and handles it with a smart attitude that I will defiantly say put's them into the league of Pixar..
Again,there are stars and has-beens such as Bruce Willis and William Shatner who provide the voices for the CGI-Characters, but it does not help the movie in any way.
Granted,on the technological side its all good and perfect,but why does every 3D-animated movie nowadays have to cater towards a pre -school audience with their (annoyed) parents?I know,I know...more mature stories don't sell that well,and have proved to be difficult to market to an audience that expects Disney-styled cuteness and morally conservative messages.
(lol)The climax near the end of the film got the biggest laugh of the night and we were still talking about it and laughing all the way home.It's great to see a family movie come out like this, I just wish Hollywood would keep these coming out!I highly recommend it if you want a good family movie or just a great laugh..
And Tim has every right to be confident, because he has crafted an exceptional animated feature film that will also make a ton-o-money!With DreamWorks backing, his experience with "Antz", and the voices of Bruce Willis, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes, Garry Shandling and others-Johnson has a film that may catch Shrek!
Never mind the "messages", this is simply one of the best and most entertaining animated movies in recent times, up there with The Incredibles and Ice Age (the first one, not the aptly-named Meltdown).
Fun when it wants to be, boring when it wants to deliver a message, Over the Hedge is no Madagascar, but is better than previous animated films.
Thank goodness the third act picks up the tempo as it lifts the film from total mediocrity and dissatisfaction into a nice, charming film that is worthy of watching more than once.Over the Hedge is about a mischievous raccoon named RJ that gets caught trying to steal food from an angry bear, and has a few days to come up with all the food after it all gets destroyed.
A little-known fact about the movie is that it is actually based off a comic strip of the same name.Kind of like what happened with Madagascar, the writing team didn't have to work much on the dialogue, since most of the humor is visual.
There is an underlying subliminal message in Over the Hedge, and it deals with America's obsession with food, big cars, and never-ending urge to fulfill its desires.Bottom Line: Decent, but really gets good towards the end, which is quite the opposite from the typical summer movie, in which the ending usually falls kind of flat.
However, this film has a great big heart, and includes positive messages from which both young and less-young alike could profit.The story is about a raccoon (whose voice is so well played by Bruce Willis that you will immediately forget whose voice you are hearing) who owes a mean-spirited bear a whole season's worth of food, and whose very life hangs in the balance.
And the animation is a lot of fun, though not particularly innovative (as this genre has advanced so quickly over the last few years).I recommend Over the Hedge to anybody looking for a thoughtful, family-oriented and heart-warming film about love, working together, nature, and honesty..
It had the best characters I have ever seen, and I can say that I enjoyed it more than any other animation movie ever.
I did not regret spending the $7 to see it.If you have not seen it, or have felt disappointed with animated films in general these last few years, I would highly recommend you watch 'Over the Hedge.' It may once again give you hope..
In its opening night, Over The Hedge made more than Doogal did in its entire run in the theaters, and after two weeks will have easily surpassed Hoodwinked.The movie itself was good, and the characters were believable and reminded me of real people even though they had a lot of shtick in their antics.
Trust me older viewers, this is something both you and your kids will like.It's sweet but not stupid, clever but not dumbed down, and it's got a great cast of characters which I think is the film's overall appeal.
These animals work great together and there charming family ties and colorful appearances make them a truly lovable bunch of critters.Go see this movie, whether you're a kid or an adult or otherwise, there's a whole lot to like..
Dreamworks managed to put together a computer-animated feature with a name cast that largely avoided the tiresome pop-cultural references that bog down the genre and make it feel like you've taken your child to "Scary Movie 8: The Cartoon!!!".
Not only do they have to compete against some truly marvelous predecessors (see SHREK, HOODWINKED, and FINDING NEMO), they also have to entertain not just kids, but adults who enjoy taking their kids to watch such films.OVER THE HEDGE has some great animation and some good voices, but we've seen these things time and again.
While the cast of "Over the Hedge" was a little surprising and mystifying the end result was remarkable.Nick Nolte looks better as a bear than the last time we saw him as a human.
No, it's still not in Toy Story's league, but doggone it they gave it the ol' college try, and I appreciate the solid effort.It helps that Bruce Willis, William Shatner, and Steve Carrell all lend their highly entertaining voices and styles to give us characters that I actually cared about (awww!) and wasn't annoyed by.
Otherwise this was totally stupid and I would not recommend it if you are the type who enjoys a NORMAL movie that has actual character development, drama, well-timed humor, good story pacing, etc.
great for all ages, a few adult jokes, but mostly family fun.This one is bound to go down as one of the great animated movies of the 21st century.100% great and absolutely hilarious.If you like Shrek, Madagascar, Toy Story, Monsters inc.
unfortunately it still can't avoid the label of being a "formulaic" movie.OVER THE HEDGE tells the story of RJ (Bruce Willis), a scavenger raccoon who lives on his own off of other people's food.
To save his life, RJ sets out to con a loving family of forest animals led by Verne the Turtle (Garry Shandling) into robbing the local humans of all their food.OVER THE HEDGE excels at infusing it's story with laugh-out-loud comedy.
Dreamworks, as always, did an extremely good job making this movie, from the animation to voice casting, I give it a 10-star rating.
When I saw the first seek peek on Over the Hedge I thought I was going to be bored,so later the day it showed I watched it and I was amazed.This is a not bad movie that I've seen,for sure I know-ed this is a bad cheesy movie but I was wrong.I loved this movie they made,it was funny,teaches a lesson,and great for families to watch.Each of these cute little critter had a memorable moment to remember that animal.Hammy for his extra fast funny mouth,RJ for his smarts and planner,and Verne for keeping a family.This was also very sad on betrayal but learns a lesson,this movie taught me life by comparing animals to us.So don't stay here,go and watch this miracles movie everybody is talking about..
I really like animated films and Over The Hedge was VERY funny.
Fun Animated Movie for Kids & Adults.
They are approached by RJ, a raccoon voiced by Bruce Willis, who has his own reasons for wanting to assist in their hunt for food.Unlike some of Dreamworks previous animated movies, this one does not have nearly as much humor aimed at adults.
Despite the few lines she is given, Avril Lavigne does a pretty good job with her first acting role.All of these components come together to make a great family movie that is great for kids and adults.
Although it is not really a genre per se, the films that fit into the world of Pixar animation with plenty for kids and adults with famous voices have historically been seen as well worth checking out.
What they are unaware of is that RJ only wants to gather food for a hungry bear (Nick Nolte) so he himself doesn't get killed.'Over The Hedge' is nowhere near other animated films like 'Shrek' and 'Toy Story' in terms of greatness.
R J, the badger voiced by Bruce Willis has made my list of favorite animated characters funny and cute.
to tell you the truth, i was expecting something more bad, but i got a big smile after watching it, its a family movie, but you can enjoy it even if you have 99 years and even if you are alone, with friends or with the family, i really recommended this film, its really nice, fun, it has a really good script, and, everyone will enjoy it!!
Garry Shandling plays the part of the straight man - or should I say, tortoise - who doesn't want anything to do with the hedge.The problem with this movie is that, in spite of all its funny moments and star-studded cast, it just isn't as memorable or in the top quality that other DreamWorks animation films are in. |
tt0119664 | Metro | Scott Roper (Eddie Murphy) is the best hostage negotiator in San Francisco. His girlfriend Veronica "Ronnie" Tate (Carmen Ejogo) is a newspaper reporter.While listening to a horse race on his car stereo, Scott is called downtown where a man named Earl (Donal Logue) is holding 17 hostages in a bank. Scott rescues the hostages by shooting Earl, though Earl's wound is non-fatal.Scott is then assigned a partner sharpshooter Kevin McCall (Michael Rapaport). That night, Scott takes his friend, Lieutenant Sam Baffert (Art Evans), to see a man named Michael Korda (Michael Wincott).Scott waits downstairs while Sam is in Korda's apartment. Sam asks Korda about a man who deals in stolen jewellery, because Sam suspects that some of the dealer's jewels came from Korda, who is a professional jewel thief. Sam's visit with Korda ends with Korda violently stabbing Sam to death in an elevator. When Scott hears a woman in the building scream at the sight of Sam's body, Scott rushes to the elevator and witnesses Sam's corpse.Scott wants revenge on Korda, but Captain Frank Solis (Denis Arndt) refuses to let Scott work the case, so Scott decides to work the case on his own.Scott and Kevin later are called to a downtown jewellery store where hostages are being held. When Scott sees that Korda is the hostage taker, Korda grabs a hostage and leaves in a truck. Scott and Kevin use Captain Solis's car to chase Korda. Korda wrecks the truck, and boards a trolley car, shoots the operator when he challenges Korda, the trolley accelerates to runaway speed, while Scott and Kevin chase the trolley car. While up close, Scott jumps onto the trolley, leaving Kevin to drive Solis's car.Scott and Kevin manage to stop the trolley car, and they chase Korda into a parking garage, where Korda tries to run Scott over with a car. Scott and Kevin still manage to apprehend Korda.During visitation at the jail with his cousin Clarence Teal (Paul Ben-Victor), Korda orders Teal to kill Ronnie as a way to seek revenge on Scott. Teal shows up at Ronnie's apartment and attacks Ronnie. Scott arrives just in time and chases Teal down the fire escape, and after a knife fight, Teal is hit and killed by a car. An angry Scott visits Korda in jail and warns him to stay away from Ronnie, showing him an autopsy picture of Teal, which enrages Korda.Some time later, Korda escapes from the jail. Soon after, he kidnaps Ronnie, luring Scott and McCall into a confrontation at an abandoned shipyard. Korda threatens to kill Ronnie by decapitating her on the cutting machine she is pinned to if Scott doesn't follow his instructions. While all of this is going on, McCall is situated atop a building outside with his sniper rifle watching the action. During the sequence, Korda prepares to run over Scott with his sports car. However, as he is charging towards Scott, Korda is shot at by McCall, causing him to miss Scott completely and crash through the front of the warehouse building. Scott then goes to free Ronnie from the cutting machine. After a shoot-out between Korda and McCall, the latter is shot once in the abdomen but survives. Scott then chases after Korda in Scott's truck, and after a lengthy battle over control of the truck, Scott leaps out of the way as Korda rams into a stack of explosive barrels and is killed in a massive explosion.The movie ends with Scott and Ronnie relaxing on their vacation at a Tahitian beach resort. | revenge, murder, violence | train | imdb | Metro appears to be a low-budget action affair, which whilst it has nothing new to offer, shows us a different side to Eddie Murphy as an actor that we hadn't seen before in his previous films.
People have in the past often compared this to Beverly Hills Cop 1, in terms of the fact that they are both your typical, run- of- the- mill cop movies, but the comparisons seem to come to an end when you compare that film to Metro, in terms of plot, character types and the fact that Eddie Murphy doesn't joke about as negotiator/cop Scott Roaper that often.
Metro plays out as a straight out action movie that isn't reliant on laughs, which in itself is no bad thing.
One of the main problems that some of the audiences had, in regards to their expectations of Metro, was by assuming that it would be something similar on the lines of Beverly Hills Cop. It has its funny moments, but these are few and far between throughout the film, as the narrative in Metro is very much serious and the standard cop thriller we'd come to expect.Overall, Metro is not a bad effort and the action sequences are well executed.
His character is a San Francisco hostage negotiator, named Scott Roper, who one day meets his worst enemy in a jewel thief (played wonderfully by Michael Wincott) who makes his job a nightmare.
"Metro" is a solid action film, with some suspense, some great stunts, and very good performances from the whole cast.
Those are really refreshing bits.Murphy's performance is quite solid, the story is what to expect from an action movie and refreshed, as I said, by the bits above..
Eddie Murphy plays a hostage negotiator in San Francisco, he lives a dangerous life, but he still thinks it´s pretty okay.
However, there are certain scenes, thrills and aspects - e.g. the ending predicament that are actually pretty good and will throw you.Eddie Murphy plays a 'wisecracking' hostage negotiator, although tbh he's very much the 'serious' Eddie Murphy for most of the film.
The female lead is a tad weak in this, and I must admit I've never ever heard of her (although I was 7 when this film came out - maybe she was big then) but she looked good - Carmen Ejogo she is.Michael Rapaport is in this as well, as an intelligent sniper who is paired up with Murphy.
The film could have been done without his character if they wanted to save whatever fee he commanded.Whoever plays Eddie Murphy and Carme Ejogo's dog is good in this though.
If you rent this movie thinking it is another Eddie Murphy action-comedy, you better think again!!!!
He's not playing Axel Foley from the BEVERLY HILLS COP movies, but he sure seems a lot like him.
And if so, at what cost?There has always seemed to me to be something of a negative bias towards post 1980s Eddie Murphy (Roper) films, it appears that no matter what, nothing that comes close to his best 80s efforts will ever be deemed worthy.
Now I'm not saying that Metro is a world beater, or even close to Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Places, but it's an accomplished thriller with classy bits of Murphy humour thrown in.
It also boasts splendid support from Michael Rapaport as Roper's intelligent partner McCall, both men playing off each other to good effect, while Michael Wincott with his gravel voice used to full effect, is impressively devilish as the bad guy of the piece.
Roper meanwhile is trying to juggle his job, his girlfriend and train a sniper to become a negotiator like him.This film was made before Nutty Porfessor but was held back because the makers realesed it was a bit of a dog by itself and decided to wait till Nutty Professor had made Murphy hot again before riding on that wave.
Wincott's villain is right out of a catalogue and is typical of the film's lack of initiative or spark.Overall, like most average cop thrillers it's worth a watch once because it is just about entertaining.
Wanting revenge for his partner's death, he's led on a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with Michael Wincott, who will not let him win easily...The main highlights of Metro are a thrilling car chase sequence and the explosive ending!
This is not the best film I have ever seen, but Wincott is immensely good as criminal Korda, displaying an almost never-ending desire to bring Roper down, even if it means double murder....Metro is a fast-paced thrilling (and funny) movie from start to finish containing many startling and cunning plots that may seem a little odd at first but smoothing out to a satisfactory conclusion.
Rapaport and Murphy work well together, and Wincott makes a good villain(as Alien: Resurrection will tell you, he makes an awesome bad guy, criminal type).
It doesn't always work, and Eddie Murphy is no substitute for a proper action star like Stallone or Mel Gibson, but at least he tries in this film.
The highlight of the film is the runaway tram scene, that is perfectly choreographed, and Michael Rapaport does a great job as Murphy's rookie partner.
Metro isn't really a movie that would make you feel you got your money's worth if you saw it at the cinema, because it doesn't have enough explosions but I just saw it on TV and the well-developed plot made it very satisfying.The street car scene is quite riveting although a bit unconvincing, with Murphy jumping back and forth from a moving car to the street car -- the criminal points a gun at him once he's made it to the street car but doesn't shoot him (even though he's just killed some other people in the car).
Of course the street car comes to a halt JUST before the street car comes to the end of its line, where it would have taken out a crowd of people who just scream, refusing to move -- so yeah unconvincing but fun.I believe this is one of Eddie Murphy's strongest performances ever but unfortunately he's in a movie that albeit very good, screams made-for-TV..
The scenario is kind of simple, Eddie's best friend got shot by some diamondthief and that of course asks for revenge...pretty stupid you say, perhaps but then you haven't counted the superb stunts (the scene with the tramway is great) and the brilliant villain that is played by Michael Wincott.
'Metro' has some of the best action sequences I have ever seen and that is why I enjoyed this movie so much.
Eddie Murphy isn't very funny in the film, but he is still good for the role and he does have his moments, but the real star is the action.
The 80's and 90's saw the momentous rise of beloved funnyman Eddie Murphy within the action comedy genre, particularly the wise cracking cop niche.
There's neat action set pieces including a showstopper set aboard a speeding trolley car, endearing bits of comedy now and then from Murphy and some savage violence that proclaims the film's hard R rating proudly.
Michael Rapaport, meanwhile, plays an unusually subdued and appealing role for him.As for that action, the best scene involved the runaway cable car.
A universe where Thomas Carter is Michael Bay, and Eddie Murphy was the star of movies just like Die Hard and The Fifth Element.
Eddie Murphy does a terrific act as Roper, a negotiator trying to deal with a sharp and malicious bad guy played by Micheal Wincott.
In 1997's crime thriller 'Metro,' Murphy plays a cop who is tasked with negotiating tough hostage situations in San Francisco.
Other than that the action scenes are pretty good and Murphy's character has chemistry with Carmen Ejogo's character(Veronica) as well as Rapaport's character.The film suffers from the odd cliché and the love interest story which is everywhere in films like this is a tad over the top but when it comes to the action and the chases and the classic formula stuff then this film doesn't have to hide in the shadows from the classics,all in all ,metro is a solid film that wont force you to burn your die hard films or anything like that but retains its interest levels for the most part.Overall rating: 7 out of 10..
Scott Roper (Eddie Murphy) is the best hostage negotiator in the San Francisco Police Department.
Scott wants revenge but Captain Frank Solis is keeping him out of the investigation.Eddie Murphy is playing a loud-mouth police detective except he's not wisecracking funny like Axel Foley.
I enjoyed Metro,, along with Michael Rapport as his sidekick,, they pack a good one , two punch,, have to love that line in the movie where Eddie thinks he get's the vehicle of his choice at the impound garage,, he's like this is my vehicle..
I couldn't stop laughing,,, Eddie Murphy plays a hostage negotiator in this one,, and his partner knows sign language which will come in handy later on in the movie,, fast paced lot's of action ,, and an evil villain for the cops to go up against,, what's not to like,, lot's of comedy and action...
San Francisco police inspector Eddie Murphy (as Scott Roper) is a brilliant hostage negotiator, which he proves in the opening minutes.
And, Thomas Carter and his crew give us some suspenseful action sequences.Metro (1/17/97) Thomas Carter ~ Eddie Murphy, Michael Wincott, Michael Rapaport, Carmen Ejogo.
And even though it was an Eddie Murphy vehicle from the Nineties, I enjoyed it far more than I should have."Metro" has an extremely basic story at it's centre: hostage negotiator Scott Roper (Murphy) incurs the wrath of jewel thief Michael Korda (Michael Wincott) who then proceeds to pursue Roper and his girlfriend (Carmen Ejogo) with murderous intent.
Throw in a clichéd car chase (well, it is set in San Fransisco) and a typically climatic face-off at the end and it's plain to see that "Metro" does nothing new for the action cop movie - something you'd expect Murphy to do, given that he plays action-cop-extraordinaire Axel Foley in the "Beverly Hills Cop" series.
But as a action film Metro is pretty decent: it has some good action, nasty villains and couple of hot chicks in it.So Murphy plays police negotiator Scott Roper, who gets into a tough situation when a jewel thief decides, that Roper is the sole cause of his ill fortuned heist.
Sorry "Beverly Hills Cop" rip-off stars Murphy as a hostage negotiator in this amazingly poor action-comedy.
In Metro Murphy plays a streetwise police negotiator in San Fransisco named Scott Roper, in fact the best negotiator on the force.
Unfortunately the stress of the job meant that Roper became introverted and shut out everything around him, including his girlfriend Ronnie who ultimately left him when he started gambling heavily as an outlet.Enter new partner Kevin McCall (Michael Rappaport), a young rookie straight from training who despite being highly skilled is raw and un-streetwise – if that were a word.Metro has two good scenes and one decent character.
The two good scenes are a long chase that takes place on the San Fransisco streets and uses their tram system to full advantage, the second such scene is a training montage that lasts maybe two minutes and allows Murphy the freedom to go a little wild by creating a made up criminal for McCall to negotiate with.The decent character I haven't touched on yet, but given that the film is about a hostage negotiator it seems fairly obvious that there need be someone for Roper to test his skills on.That someone is Michael Korda (Michael Wincott), a man with dark sunken eyes, the emaciated appearance of the undernourished and the gravelly voice of a chain smoker.
It is not the end of the world that the bad guy in a film is by far the best thing in it, but in an action comedy with not enough of either, where the bad guy in reality is the third or fourth banana it simply isn't good enough.The strength of Korda's characterisation and a fairly brutal development results in some genuine animosity between the pair, which makes the inevitable stand off near the end somewhat more bearable, even if it is laced with logic flaws and some mediocre action sequences.Ultimately Metro ended up only marginally better than A Vampire in Brooklyn, by trying to play against the 'typical' Eddie Murphy movie they managed to create a film only marginally different, but one lacking enough of anything to make it worthwhile.Final Rating – 5 / 10.
This is definitely not Eddie Murphy's best work, but it does keep you interested throughout the whole movie.
This film is compared to the action scenes of Eddie Murphy's "Beverly Hills Cop" films.
Since a long time, I have never seen Eddie Murphy act so tough, especially while he's in action.
Metro gives us a formula cop actioner which is considerably boosted by Eddie Murphy's solid screen presence coupled with the San Francisco locations.
If you're looking for laughs equal to "48 Hrs." or "Beverly Hills Cop," you won't find them here.All of that aside, Murphy DOES prove a more than adequate action hero here and the film has some great action sequences and some reasonably tense moments throughout.Not a classic, but worth a look on a slow night..
Eddie Murphy does a good job and has a decent supporting cast but 5 minutes into the movie I could see what the whole story was going to be and who was going to do it.
It proceeds to scrape along the sloping road, off its tracks, scraping metal, ramming into everything in its path.It reminded me of the car chase in "The Rock," another good action movie with a visibly larger budget but the same fun quotient as "Metro," which is "Beverly Hills Cop" meets "The Negotiator," for the most part.Action movies always have setups that pay nothing to the movie other than a character introduction.
Not in "Metro," which pays its respects to the other action movies such as "Beverly Hills Cop" that helped make Eddie Murphy what he is today.
a great eddie murphy movie, a throwback to 48 hrs and Beverly hills cop.
i am a fan of eddie murphy when he is in the right vehicle's like 'coming to America' 'the nutty professor' and 'Beverly hills cop' but sometimes he makes some very bad movies like 'pluto nash' 'boomerang' and 'meet dave'.
now metro is more like his older movies, raw, r rated action comedies, and its great, eddie murphy is very funny in this, and at times hes even quite serious, but the movie never loses its comedy, and at its core thats what this is, if i had to compare it to one eddie murphy film, it would have to be Beverly hills cop, the same sort of action and humour.
the cast are grear and the action big and loud, its a great movie and i recommend to fans of eddie murphy and action films..
Good Eddie Murphy movie.
(Spoiler)This movie is really good but before i watched it i thought that this movie would be crap and the funny Eddie Murphy from the great movie Beverly Hills Cop stars in this movie along side other good actors and actors like Michael Rapaport,Kim Miyori,Art Evans and Michael Wincott.There are heaps of great action scenes in this movie and the best one has to be the great car chase half way into the movie and the scenes in the end of the movie are great as well.Over all this movie is really good and it is worth watching and my rating is 6 out of 10..
Metro (1997): Dir: Thomas Carter / Cast: Eddie Murphy, Michael Rapaport, Michael Wincott, Carmen Ejogo, Art Evans: Absolute junk advertised as a comedy when it is really another dreary action film.
Continuing my plan to watch every Eddie Murphy movie in order, I come to Metro (1997)Plot In A Paragraph: Scott Roper a hostage negotiator for the San Francisco Police Department.Murphy gives a solid performance as Roper, I expected motor mouth, fast talking Murphy here, and I didn't get him.
The action scenes are cleverly directed and Eddie Murphy is back on his game again, Rapaport is always good and Wincott is a smart, creepy killer.
I'm also surprised to hear myself say this, but the casting of Eddie Murphy actually works here and he puts in a good, solid performance as the wisecracking negotiator who wins our hearts as the film progresses.
Although typecast as a comedian, Murphy passes nicely as an action movie hero and is supported by an above-average cast, including Michael Rapaport who plays his new partner.
However, acting honours must go to Michael Wincott, that gravelly-voiced villain who puts in a wonderful turn as the creepy bad guy here; however, he's pretty good in all of his movies.The couple of hostage scenes in this film are inventive and highly taut, and there's a great gruesome gag involving a severed ear.
Metro is set in San Francisco where Inspector Scott Roper (Eddie Murphy) works as a hostage negotiator, one night while questioning a suspect named Michael Korda (Michael Wincott) one of Roper's closest friends Lieutenant Sam Baffett (Art Evans) is brutally murdered.
The only other cast members to stand out are Michael Wincott as Korda the bad guy & he puts in an intense performance & British actress Carmen Ejogo who I thought was terrible.Metro is a throughly routine & predictable comedy cop action thriller the likes of which we have all seen before & usually better, it's not the worst of it's kind & several impressive set-piece action scenes help a lot but it's not up there with the best of it's kind.
I like Eddie and have yet to see a movie of his that was really bad.But at what point do we get better scripts and get away from standard plot arcs? |
tt0918927 | Doubt | The movie opens on a working class street in an Irish/Italian Catholic neighborhood in the Bronx, N.Y, circa 1964
The pre-title establishing shots are of a quiet church garden with statues of saints and angels, a Russian immigrant playing a zither, a boy named Jimmy (Lloyd Clay Brown) being awakened by his mother for Sunday mass and then the title, DOUBT.Jimmy races out of the house, passed the Russian man who asks him for a paper and coffee but Jimmy can't stop because he is late for church, and he's an altar boy on what looks like his first day serving mass.Jimmy makes it into the sacristy at his church and dresses into his cassock, before starting to prepare the curettes of water and wine and incense, all the things he needs to serve mass. Another altar boy, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), arrives for mass shortly thereafter. Donald is the first black student at the school. When Donald arrives, he looks at himself in the mirror and asks Jimmy if he thinks he's fat. Jimmy doesn't think so, and asks if Donald's clothes fit okay. Jimmy could care less whether anyone is fat, but Donald is body conscious and checks himself out in the mirror, unsure of himself.Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) delivers his sermon as Donald and Jimmy serve mass. The church is packed, and we learn it's 1964 as Flynn talks about President Kennedy's assassination the year before and how that event was a tragedy everyone in the nation shares so, in its way, it brought people together because they all shared that event. The hopelessness and despair it created in everyone created a permanent bond between them and a spirit of "we're in this together" that should not be ignored.Sister James (Amy Adams), a quiet young nun, sits in the pew listening intently to the sermon. She wears the archaic nun's habit: black dress, black cape, and black bonnet. As Flynn continues his sermon, he talks about a man on a cargo ship that catches fire and sinks all the while he's looking to the starts to find a constellation to guide his way home. As he talks, the camera scrolls through the church, to the very back, where more nuns sit including one who's watching all the children in church like a hawk. Spotting her prey, this nun (face unseen), rises from her pew and walks over to smack a chattering boy (Michael Roukis, as William London), in the back of the head and wake another boy who has fallen asleep. After she frightens the sleeping boy and makes him sit up straight in church, we see this nun is Sister Aloysius Bouvier (Meryl Streep).Flynn finishes his sermon by talking about the crises of faith that sometimes enter into everyone's lives and that whenever people feel lost, they should not feel alone because even the bravest and the most faithful have doubt from time to time.After mass, Flynn is back in the sacristy as Donald changes out of his cassock and gets ready to go home. He tells Flynn when he grows up, he wants to be a priest too. Flynn takes out a small toy - a little ballerina that dances when a mirrored magnet is applied to it. Donald is a very lonely boy who doesn't seem to have a lot of friends, and it's obvious he admires Flynn a lot and looks up to him. Flynn gives him the toy, obviously feeling sorry for Donald. (Throughout the movie, it is emphasized at every opportunity that Donald is struggling partly because he is the only black student in the Irish/Italian Catholic School).The next day, it's Monday in the convent and all the nuns wake up and dress for the day, in their medieval habits. The students start to file into the building and London stops Sr. James and asks her what's going to be on the math test tomorrow, and if there will be a lot of long division. Sr. James starts to turn away from him, and he reaches out and grabs her arm. Sr. Aloysius sees this (it's against the rules to ever touch a nun, as they are brides of Christ and no man should ever touch them) from her perch on stairs high above the schoolyard and she shouts, "BOY! Come smartly now and don't let me wait". Flynn says to Sr. James, "The dragon is hungry". London goes up to see Sr. Aloysius, who takes unsmiling delight in disciplining the students she is clearly the Principal of the school.Sr. James has the 8th grade class, and subjects are taught in periods. It's now history, and Sr. James is covering the New Deal and FDR, calling President Roosevelt, President Lincoln, and President Kennedy the three greatest presidents America has ever had. They're talking about FDR's "Nothing to Fear but Fear itself" speech as Sr. Aloysius enters the classroom, patrolling the rows of desk to check for any contraband, such as hair barrettes on the girls or transistor radios on the boys. She finds one boy, Conroy, with a wire running out of his ear and asks him what that is, and Conroy, a smartass, says, "I don't know, Sister. I don't know what it is." "You come with me, BOY," is Aloysius' reply, and she takes him down to her office to confiscate the radio and make him write multiplication tables over and over again.There's a shot of choir practice for the Christmas pageant everyone is enjoying listening to the students sing, except Sr. Aloysius, who just sits there, with a rock hard stoic joyless face.But, that coldness is just a front as we see in the next scene, where the nuns are all in their convent at dinner together. Sister Veronica sits next to Aloysius. Veronica is ancient, well in her 80's, and going blind. She can't find her fork to eat, so Aloysius slyly slides it over to her reach, never letting Veronica know she helped her. Aloysius takes care of Veronica like this through the whole movie, trying to make sure none of the priests or the monsignor figures out Veronica is going blind (because then she would be taken away from the convent and forced to live elsewhere). Aloysius is established as taking care of her convent and her school, with draconian measures when necessary.Sr. James chews a bit of meat that's too fatty and tries to spit it out, but Aloysius makes her put it back in her mouth and eat it anyway, so as not to waste food. She does this with just a well-placed look in James' direction.Aloysius has a bell she rings when she wants people's attention, and she rings it and asks the nuns what they thought of Flynn's sermon on Doubt yesterday. She says something must have prompted it and is suspicious of Flynn, thinking he must have done something to cause himself to have doubt, and hence that inspired his sermon. She tells all the nuns to watch him and see what they can figure out.The next day, it's lunchtime and Aloysius talks to Sr. James about London, who faked a bloody nose so he could leave early and go smoke cigarettes on the street corner. The nuns are eating chicken chow mein, and Sr. Veronica is missing her mouth and getting food on her habit and in her sleeves. Aloysius takes water and a napkin and cleans her up, being loving and caring. She tells Sr. James not to let the children fool her and that if you pay attention, you can tell when someone is deceiving you.Aloysius tells Sr. James that there is a chain of command to follow, leading all the way up to the Pope. If Sr. James sees anything out of the ordinary, or if the children do anything bad, she needs to tell Aloysius who will take it up the chain.Aloysius inspects Sr. James' classroom, throwing her cough drops out (because they are just candy by another name), and telling her to watch certain female students because she wants them to graduate as virgins, so keep them away from the boys. She also lectures Sr. James because she finds a ballpoint pen on the floor, and children are not supposed to write with them because it is bad for their penmanship. She also tells Sr. James to never open the windows and to mount a framed picture of the Pope on the wall so when she writes on the board she can look into the glass and all the kids will think she has eyes in the back of her head, because she will be able to see everything they are doing.Flynn teaches gym class and instructs the boys in basketball. He also teaches them hygiene and tells them to always have clean nails.The priests are all shown having dinner, eating lots of red meat, laughing, telling bawdy jokes and having fun. The nuns are shown at dinner, and everything is dead silent, where they drink milk and eat with perfect posture, as Aloysius likes.Sr. James uses the Pope glass trick to catch London sneaking over to talk to a girl in class, the one Aloysius said to keep away from the boys. Sr. James busts him, and the class is stunned, thinking she really does have eyes in the back of her head.Flynn calls Donald down to the rectory to see him and he leaves the class.Everyone else goes down for music/dance class, where they learn the bossa nova. Sr. James notices Flynn putting a white tee shirt into a locker during the class. Donald has not rejoined the class yet.When they all go back upstairs to the classroom, Sr. James asks Donald if he is okay, and is clearly worried about him because something does not seem right.That evening, Aloysius is doing chores in the garden, covering the roses for winter. Sr. James tells her that Donald seemed strange after coming back from seeing Flynn. Donald has only been at school for 2 months, and Aloysius asks if the other kids are picking on him, since he is the first black student at St. Nicholas' school. Sr. James says that Flynn protects this boy and has taken an unusual interest in him.Aloysius: "So, it has happened. I asked you to come to me, but I hoped you never would."Seemingly out of the blue, Aloysius assumes Flynn is molesting Donald, though words like "molesting", "sex", or "gay" are never used in the movie. It's striking, but the characters and audience know what everyone is talking about, without the subject ever being clearly defined.As Aloysius and Sr. James talk, a handyman interrupts them so they head into the convent where the cleaning woman is bringing a cat into the kitchen to catch a mouse she saw. Aloysius tells Sr. James to tell her everything she has seen.The film cuts to Flynn, at a table with all the boys, eating cookies and drinking lime soda, talking about girls and asking them out on dates, or asking them to dance. It looks like the 8th grade class of boys. One boy asks what happens if all the girls he asks to dance turn him down. "You become a priest," Flynn tells him.Sr. James tells Aloysius everything she saw: Flynn called Donald down to the rectory in the middle of class and was there for a while. He looked frightened when she next saw him. Aloysius says that she should have seen this coming because as the first black student, Donald was isolated and easy prey for Flynn. She said that her job is to outshine the fox in cleverness. Sr. James says that it's all probably nothing, and Aloysius asks her why she looks like she's seen the Devil then.Sr. James says she thinks she smelled alcohol on Donald's breath when he got back from the rectory. Aloysius says that all the priests will side with Flynn and that the nuns will have to stop him themselves. The cleaning lady walks through with the cat, holding a dead mouse in paper towels. "It takes a cat," the cleaning woman says. "Yes it does. Yes, it does," says Aloysius.The wind has been kicking up lately, making branches fall in the garden. Wind plays a role in the film from here on out with lots of shots of leaves blowing and swirling around, symbolizing the chaos swirling around the school.Conroy has been talking in class again. He is sent to the Principal's office, where a giant sign reading QUIET greets visitors. Flynn comes over to ask why Conroy is waiting for the Principal, but Aloysius comes out and quickly sends Conroy away she wants to talk to Flynn about Donald Miller. She tells Conroy to write multiplication tables 10 times and turn it in to her tomorrow.To meet with Flynn, Aloysius requires elaborate rules of protocol. She can never be in a room alone with a man, and must leave the door slightly open too. Sr. James arrives to chaperone the meeting.Aloysius has Sr. James serve tea, and Flynn wants sugar. Aloysius makes a big deal about this, as she considers it an indulgence, and she gave that up for Lent last year and forgot about it. She has to look for the sugar in a drawer, and when Flynn wants three lumps of sugar, she ridicules his sweet tooth with the same scorn she has for ballpoint pens. She also thinks Flynn's fingernails are too long. When asked if Sr. James wants sugar she says, NEVER, because Aloysius is watching her.The ruse to get Flynn into the office to talk about Young is that Aloysius wants to talk about the Christmas pageant. Flynn wants secular songs in the pageant, like Santa Claus is coming to town or Frosty the Snowman. Aloysius thinks Frosty is a pagan song advocating magic and should be banned from the airwaves. Both Sr. James and Flynn think Aloysius is crazy. Times are changing and they need to reach out to popular things to allow the children to connect with them. Aloysius says Christmas is about Christ; so all songs should be religious.Flynn gets an idea for a sermon on intolerance listening to Aloysius and he writes it in a little book with a ballpoint pen. Flynn tells Aloysius it is a new time and that something inside people has changed. He thinks they should sing songs from the radio, take the kids out for ice cream, and also take the boys camping. Flynn says religious people need to relate to the people in the working class neighborhood they are in. Aloysius says there's no way they can do that, because religious people are different, period.Getting onto what she really wanted to talk about, Aloysius brings Donald Miller up, and says they must be very careful how he will be used: can't hide him, but can't put him right up front either because either way they would make him feel self conscious as the only black child in the school. Aloysius says they must be careful not to make him feel singled out because even Flynn himself singles Donald Young out for special treatment, like that private meeting the two had last week.Aloysius plays cat and mouse with Flynn from this point out until the end of the film.She says Donald seemed strange when he returned to class after that meeting. Flynn asks if Aloysius wanted to talk about the pageant, or about Donald Miller? He then tells Aloysius he is uncomfortable. The phone rings, but Aloysius won't answer itit just rings and rings and rings, making the room more tense. She asks Flynn what happened in the rectory, and he tells her it was a private matter. He asks Aloysius what she is accusing him of. He gets up to leave, and Aloysius says Sr. James smelled alcohol on Donald's breath. Flynn tells Aloysius to let this alone because it is not what she thinks --- Mr. McGinn (caretaker) caught Donald drinking wine in the back of the church. Flynn said he wanted to handle this quietly because if anyone else knew, he would have to make Donald leave the altar boys. Sr. James is relieved, because she says this explains everything, including why Donald was acting strangely.Aloysius says it is easier to believe Flynn because Sr. James wants to believe him. She says, "these kinds of people are clever" and she means "child molester", but never says that word. Sr. James says Aloysius just doesn't like him because he's jovial, takes sugar in his tea, likes popular music, etc. She also says that she, too, likes Frosty the Snowman. Ask she says this, the light bulb overhead blows out, and Aloysius says, "You blew out my light". She also says that in Ancient Sparta, things were decided by who could yell the loudest and asks if that's what Sr. James is trying to do here.Aloysius calls Donald's mother and asks her to come in for a meeting.That next Sunday, Flynn delivers a sermon on Gossip using a metaphor of a woman on a rooftop gutting a pillow and letting the feathers fly everywhere. He says stopping gossip is like putting all the feathers back into the pillowcase impossible to do, so don't gossip. It bears false witness against neighbors, ruins reputations, and is a sin. Sr. James looks guilty. Aloysius just stares straight ahead unfazed.The next day, in the courtyard, Sr. James and Flynn watch a crow in a tree and talk about his sermon. Sr. James asks if the sermon was directed at anyone in particular knowing it was meant for Aloysius and her. Sr. James clutches a letter from home telling her that her brother in Maryland is very sick. Flynn smokes a cigarette, enjoying another thing Aloysius does not approve of. Sr. James asks Flynn if "it is true" meaning, did Flynn molest Donald Miller. She tells him she saw Flynn put Donald's undershirt into is locker. Flynn says he just left it in the sanctuary, and that he was returning it and did not want to embarrass the boy by bringing it into the classroom, so he just put it in the locker himself.Flynn says that Donald is a troubled boy that's why he drank the wine, and that Donald needs compassion. Flynn says he cares about the students and that everyone needs compassion.The next day in school, one of the girls comes up to Flynn and tells him she likes a boy. He is clearly the faculty member the kids feel comfortable coming to for help and advice. Flynn sees Donald approaching, but this time he ignores and avoids him. Donald looks hurt. William London sees that Donald isn't being protected, so he slams all of Donald's books and papers onto the floor. He also breaks the ballerina toy Flynn gave Donald. Flynn sees this and immediately comes over to help Donald pick up his things. He hugs and comforts Donald. Sr. James watches suspiciously.In history class, Sr. James tries to get Donald to tell her what was Patrick Henry's famous remark, but he does not want to talk. Another boy answers for him and Sr. James, on edge, sends him to the Principal's office for talking when he was not supposed to.Donald's mother is meeting with Sr. Aloysius, who has been listening to the transistor radio she confiscated from a student earlier in the film. She's marveled by how small radios have gotten --- proof that her anti-tech/anti-change message doesn't always apply. She tells Mrs. Miller she likes to listen to the news all day, and has always liked the news since she became addicted while her husband was in the war, and she followed news reports all day. The husband died fighting, and so she became a nun after that, and kept up with the news after that. Mrs. Miller is surprised Sr. Aloysius was married.Mrs. Miller says she knows Donald was caught drinking wine and is happy Flynn watches out for him so other boys don't pick on him. Mrs. Miller has been concerned about Donald graduating, and only wants her son to make it through June so he can go to a good high school where he will not be picked on.Mrs. Miller is late for work, so Aloysius walks with her to her job. She comes out and tells Mrs. Miller that she is worried about Flynn making advances on her son. Mrs. Miller says there is no evidence of that and that maybe Aloysius is imagining it. She does not think Flynn gave her son altar wine and does not want any trouble. She keeps repeating that she just wants Donald to make it through June and graduate with no trouble.Aloysius tells Mrs. Miller that there are men like Flynn who chase after boys, and Mrs. Miller says that maybe there are some boys that want to be caught. Without ever coming right out and saying it, she tells Aloysius she thinks Donald is gay. She tells Aloysius that Donald's father beats him because of "his nature" and not because of things he does. His father does not want a gay son, and has trouble dealing with Donald. Mrs. Miller says the reason she put Donald in private school was that the other boys were going to kill him in public school the kids don't like Donald, his own father does not like him, and Flynn was the only person ever good to Donald. She just needs Donald to make it to June and graduate. Just until June. She tells Aloysius to stop making trouble because Donald's father would kill him if Aloysius made a big deal about this if she wants to get rid of the priest, then do it, but leave her son out of it.Walking back to church, Aloysius is caught in a big gust of wind and swept up in leaves in an approaching rainstorm just as he walks into the church to up the ante in her campaign against Flynn.Flynn comes to talk to her to tell her to stop that campaign against him. He tells Aloysius she has nothing more than unfounded suspicions, while Aloysius accuses him of seducing Donald. He asks her why she says this, and she tells him that she's looked into his past and that she "knows people" at his previous parishes. Just then, the light bulb burns out overhead. Flynn says Donald's father beats him and that he needed compassion. Aloysius says she's had her eye on him since she saw him grab William London by the wrist once in the playground and she did not like that he touched the boy.Flynn asks her if she's serious, and says she is imagining things. He takes out ballpoint pen and paper and says he is going to write down everything she says in case he needs it to have her removed from the parish later.Aloysius says she called his last parish and spoke to the nuns there and they told him all about the real reason he had to leave the parish. Flynn is angry and said Aloysius broke the chain of command, because matters need to be handled by pastors, then bishops, then all the way up to the Pope, while nuns take a vow of obedience and should not break the chain of command.Aloysius asks him again if he has seduced Donald Miller. Flynn asks her if she's ever done anything wrong, and she says yes, and then she confessed it. She also says a dog that bites is a dog that bites and needs to be dealt with so it does not bite again. She keeps asking him if he gave Donald Miller altar wine to drink. He won't answer, and she tells him that she is going to leave the office now and that if he does not confess, she will not stop pushing this until the truth comes out. Flynn stops her and says that he does not want this to get out.Aloysius says that Flynn will ask for a transfer and take a leave of absence and that no more harm will come to Donald. Flynn says he has done nothing wrong and only cares about Donald. He says he will fight Aloysius, and she says, "You will lose". "Where is your compassion? he asks. "Nowhere you can get to it".She tells Flynn she has no sympathy for him, and also that he needs to cut his nails.That next Sunday, Flynn delivers his farewell sermon, stepping down from the pulpit to shake the parishioners hands and say goodbye. He says there is a wind behind everyone pushing them through life, and that now it is taking him away and that he will miss everyone. Aloysius and Sr. James are in the pews, looking stoic. Donald Miller is sad and sheds a tear. Mrs. Miller is a mix of emotions.A few weeks later, Flynn is long gone, and Sr. James is back from visiting her brother, who has now recovered. Sr. James says that Donald's heart is broken without Flynn, and asks her if she was ever able to prove what she says Flynn did.Aloysius says she is sure she did the right thing, while Sr. James says she can't sleep anymore because of all of this.Aloysius reveals instead of being disciplined, Flynn was rewarded with a PROMOTION, in an F-up/Move-up scenario: he was promoted to pastor of a larger church with a larger school. The Monsignor protected him, and instead disciplined Aloysius for breaking the line of command and talking to nuns about Flynn instead of a pastor.Aloysius admits she lied and that she never called a nun she made that up, but the lie would not have worked if Flynn had been innocent. She was sure Flynn molested boys, so she pretended she talked to a nun about him to get a reaction out of him that would prove he was guilty: and she got the reaction she expected from him.She said his resignation from this church was his confession, but Sr. James says it is wrong to lie and that Aloysius should not have done that.Aloysius says that in the pursuit of righting a wrong, there is a price, and that lie was the price they needed to pay to protect the boys of the parish.Sr. James can't believe Aloysius lied.Suddenly, Aloysius breaks down and cries. She admits that even she has doubts, "such doubts", she says.~george-venturino~ | thought-provoking, dramatic, plot twist, flashback, romantic, storytelling, queer | train | imdb | His progressive ways gnaw at Sister Aloysius and she is soon suspecting Father Flynn of inappropriate relationship with altar boys even though she is without concrete proof.The scenes between Streep and Hoffman are riveting from start to finish.
Viola Davis as a troubled boy's mother has one lengthy powerful and painful scene that begins to tie loose ends together but offers no easy solution.Writer director John Patrick Shanley does an admirable job in keeping the plot nebulous with ambivalent scenes and peripheral characters that purposefully enhance the suspense.
Today the Church is facing the scandals of pedophilia (and the way they are handled by the Catholic hierarchy).So, if we take the epoch of the sixties, we take the side of Father Flynn, a man open to modernity, empathizing with the youth, with their questions and their way of seeing the world, speaking the language of his epoch, a wonderful man suspected by a retrograde nun.Only the movie is made today, for today's viewers, and we are focused on today's issues.
There is a key scene in the movie, the discussion between Sister Aloysius and the boy's mother (wonderfully played by Viola Davis), leading to an unexpected outcome.And I think here is the doubt the movie is putting forward: more than the doubt of Sister James (is Father Flynn an abominable pedophile, beyond his openness?), more even than the doubt of Sister Aloysius (was she right in following a man without positive proofs?), there is the doubt of humanity.
We have only the souls of the principles as expressed in their dialog and in their faces.With the mighty acting duo of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep, and a more than able supporting cast and superb direction, "Doubt" has dramatic fireworks without cheap gimmicks.The final 30 seconds puts a fitting cap on the message.
The priest is played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and the nun investigating (Sister Aloysius, great name) the situation is played by Meryl Streep, the best living actress and the best actress of the year.
And, while I am a strongly opinionated person, I wouldn't have changed much of the film at all--except the very, very end when Meryl Streep's character, for the first and only time, shows some doubt and emotion.
Neither a look nor a glance spent unwisely."Doubt," Philip Seymour Hoffman's character says in the opening siloque, "can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty." With performances like Julia & Julie, Meryl Streep will soon be sweeping aside all other acting award records.
The plot twists provided all the thunder and lightning necessary to keep the attention of an audience left exhausted by the emotional battle between Aloysius and Flynn, whom the Sister perceives as a threat within the faculty of the school where she is the principal.Shockingly Shanley has added all the clichés, including thunder and lightning, to his film of "Doubt" that he so effectively stripped from his play.
This movie made me think a lot - the outcome of Flynn particularly had me wondering, and then going back in my mind hours after the film ended to ponder the little moments that may (or may not, though more-so leaning towards definitely) gave him away to Aloysius.
This isn't just bombast between two heavyweights like Hoffman and Streep, but a master's class in subtlety, tone, the way a face looks when it tries to look controlled.This is also for Streep one of her "BIG" performances- the kind where towards the very end, and you'll know the moment as it is in fact the last couple of lines she has, you just wish someone would knock an Oscar at her head and say 'hey, stop crying, you've earned it, again!- where what starts as a performance of amusing dimensions (we all know this teacher, whether or not you've gone to Catholic school, for me it was my own middle school principal Dr. Schwartz) transforms into something even trickier than Hoffman's performance, if that's possible: she's not some ruthless task-master or makes-your-blood-turn-cold type, but someone who wants to look out for her parish.
And, perhaps, for her own salvation deep down.I also shouldn't neglect to mention Amy Adams and especially Viola Davis; Adams has been around now for a little while, and has shown herself to be a wonderful actress, an innocent but easily troubled person of conscience who has a great scene when she gets tempered at a boy in class, but Davis, who mostly has character actor parts and TV work, steals her scene practically and goes head-to-head with Streep in one of those revelatory scenes that works on multiple levels.
Rarely would I say an actor who appears for 10 or 12 minutes should get an Oscar but she too, probably more than Streep, should sweep it up- it is that heartbreaking and soulful and all that and a bag of acting chips.But just so you don't think that Doubt is simply an actors film, the filmmaker, who's only previous directorial credit in film being Joe Vs the Volcano (and now, not too oddly enough, a Pulizter winner for this play), opens up the production to not feel simply stuffed into one or two rooms.
There's a thought-provoking message to be handed from this film, and the message is doubt is a more powerful weapon than certainty in the moral code; a message that director John Patrick Shanely incorporates well in this religiously-charged drama based on his award-winning play.
Set in 1964 in Bronx, New York, this film follows a story of Sister Aloysius Beavier (played by Meryl Streep), an iron-fisted principal of the Saint Nicholas Catholic School who has a wide eye for finding moral sin around every corner and believes in her fearful disciplinary style of wash the school free of sinful behavior.
After spending some quality time introducing the characters and getting them settled in, the film presents us with a short scene between Father Flynn and the young boy Donald Miller which soon sets off the plot in a desperate pursuit to crack the truth whether this Catholic priest is just a man trying to protect the boy from possible racial prejudice (keep in mind that this takes place during the Civil Rights era) or simply trying to help the lad fit in, or the horrifying pedophile Aloysius suspects he is.
When the naive Sister James (Amy Adams) raises suspicious against the progressive and charismatic Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to Sister Beauvier, believing that he might have made advances against the needy and only black student in the school, the prepotent nun begins a campaign to step the priest aside the parochial church, distrusting his explanations and without any evidence against him.
This feature is supported first by the magnificent performances of Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the lead roles, and Amy Adams and Viola Davis in the support roles; the quartet really deserved their nominations to the Oscar.
The theme doubt is justified by the awesome screenplay, with strong and witty lines, that gives powerful elements for the duel between the authoritarian Sister Beauvier that believes that she owns the absolute truth, and the supportive Father Flynn that wishes a progressive education and a welcoming church for his community.
Her acolyte, played by Amy Adams, rings untrue as well, the boss would have chewed her up and spat her out as a matter of course in her first week teaching.Philip Seymour Hoffman, and I'm also an admirer of his, was seriously miscast or perhaps it was that the layers of character and motivation in the play were absent here.The much touted doubt should have stayed with the audience.The last scene was appalling, right up there with the fifty worst endings of a film.And did I mention all the anachronisms?
I've come to admire a movie that can stick to the script with no frills and Doubt surprised me in that it kept my attention all the way through with nothing but excellent character acting and a mystery.Sr. Aloysius (Meryl Streep) plays a hard-tact nun with a strict obedience policy.
When she learns from Sr. James (Amy Adams) about a possible odd occurrence between the parish priest, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the school's first black student, Donald Miller, Sr. Aloysius embarks on a crusade to prove Father Flynn's guilt.
It's not surprise that the movie is based on a Pullitzer winning play, and most importantly, though not necessarily the best choice, it was also directed by the original writer."Doubt" has much intensity, but its uneven, there are moments that you almost suffocate because of its powerful subject matter, as lines are exchanged by the likes of some of our best actors.
Hoffman fares a little better, but he has to keep up with her, and we feel almost as if we are watching a showcase for acting, not exploring the depths and darkness of a debatable subject.There are moments when true emotions burst through, and these are mostly the responsibility of the marvelous supporting cast, as Adams and Davis show their vulnerability and sympathy to Streep's superior and implacable director.
Particularly, Streep's street scene with the child's mother will trigger hundreds of conversations as the mother pleads the case to one of the most obsessed and driven characters seen in recent movies."Doubt" is not a perfect film, but it is very good at exposing the rationale behind many of the emotional and flawed actions of humans.
Streep's and Adam's portrayals of catholic nun's feel a bit like caricatures at times but overall are sufficiently believable.The power of this film is the crevice it places the viewer in between actual proof and mere probability while never resolving all reasonable doubt.
We are forced to become the "writers" of the movie by filling in the blank ourselves as to what happened before and what will happen to the characters we saw screaming at each other.This little drama is about a nun (Meryl Streep) who seems very sure that the well-beloved priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is making sexual advances towards a child that goes to the church; the first African-American boy in the Catholic church.
When I saw John Patrick Shanley's one-act play Doubt at Playhouse in the Park about a year before this film was released, I watched Sister Aloysius, an infectiously wry, apparently cold, frigidly strict veteran nun, a woman who is startling when she raises her voice because she otherwise speaks with a dubiously low volume.
Charm that has not been lost in the story's transition between mediums is in the dialogue, where Shanley and his characters have a conscious understanding with the audience that the full extent of her suspicion, in such a setting, was only acceptable to be vocalized in so many terms.Amy Adams may have yet to maintain the caliber and intimidating capacity to be fully engulfed in the intensity of her characters as are world-class maestros Streep and Hoffman, but she is nonetheless wholly absorbing as Sister James, a very naïve but wholehearted young nun who has been a distant observer to the exchanges concerning Flynn and the student.
DOUBT succeeds on every level - from the fine transference of Patrick Shanley's play to the screen (Shanley wrote the play, the screenplay, and directs) to the atmospheric cinematography excursion through the Bronx of the mid 1960s to the detailed delineation of the characters by Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Amy Adams, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and even young Joseph Foster, to the careful editing.
The story is well known by now (the dismissal of a progressive priest by a crotchety old Catholic school principal over a false rumor and all the 'doubt ' that brings into play in every character), but multiple viewings of this film intensify the humanity of each of the characters and demonstrate just how fine a writer Shanley is.
Doubt (2008)**** (out of 4) Terrific drama/mystery set in 1964 and centers on a nun (Meryl Streep) who confronts a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) about his possible abuse of a young black boy.
Meryl Streep is a strict, righteous and determined nun; Amy Adams is innocent and believes whatever she hears; Philip Seymour Hoffman strives to withstand his innocence; while Viola Davis is a mother who wants the best for her son even if it means a surrender to the cruel reality.
Of course it wouldn't have made a red cent, so Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman were cast, two brilliant actors, and although different from the stage cast, they are both equally effective.The story is set in 1964 where the principal of a school, Sister Aloysius, suspects Father Flynn of taking an inappropriate interest in a black student, Donald.
Meryl Streep pulls in one of the best performances of the year as the tough and cocky principal that is so sure that the most loved priest of her school is something horrific.Sister Aloysius, the strict principal of the attached school, discusses a sermon with her fellow nuns.
Initially, Sister James is relieved and convinced of Father Flynn's innocence, but Sister Aloysius' belief that he has behaved inappropriately with the boy is unshakable.The thing I love about this movie is the screenplay is it's style and human nature, this film captures the morals and ethics of our conscience, how certain we can be without having any proof.
The story of doubt is very simple, a priest (Father Flynn, Phillip Seymour Hoffman) at a 1960s American parish school is accused of molesting a pupil by the principal nun(Sister Aloysius Beauvier, Meryl Streep).
Of course, both are right yet the film still suggests that one is wrong In a way, Doubt questions the moral fabric of Christianity as a whole whilst telling a story of true uncertainty that requires the highest amount of audience participation I have ever seen in a movie.Meryl Streep pulled off yet another magnificent performance as Sister Aloysius.
Hoffman was also great to watch as Father Flynn whilst Amy Adams was surprisingly good in her role as Sister James, she could be a dark horse in the best supporting actress academy award category.Doubt is morally complex yet devilishly simple, short yet explosive, and exceptionally acted.9/10.
John Patrick Shanley adapted his own play for the screen and directed this marvelous match-of-wits between a well-liked parish priest and the principal of the adjoining Catholic school, Sister Aloysius, who prides herself on believing she's an all-knowing, all-seeing purveyor of justice.
Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and, in a smaller but still telling role, Viola Davis give tightly-controlled, absorbing performances--often times what they do not say is just as important, and can be read on their faces.
Amy Adams plays a young nun who thinks she might have seen the priest being over friendly to the young black pupil.This leads to a clash of wills between Hoffman and Streep with accusations, gossip and rumour flying around some based on flimsy evidence such as the length of Hoffman's nails or the way he was brushed off by another student.The film is stage bound and could had done more with being opened up more.
First of all I'd like to say that it's a serious and thought provoking film, where talented actors like Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman play.
Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams all do a great job in this drama film.
Meryl Streep is Sister Aloysius and Philip Seymour Hoffman is Father Ryan in this riveting drama from John Patrick Shanley, drawing from his experience at a Catholic School in the Bronx of the 1960s.
Doubt - In this fascinating character drama, Sister Alyosius Beauvier (Meryl Streep) squares off against priest Brendan Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) in her quest for the truth concerning his questionable relationship with a black boy at their parish.
As Flynn, Philip Seymour Hoffman manages to bring enough ambiguity to the priest to make the suspicions palpable, while Amy Adams plays Sister James with her natural perkiness toned down to reflect her character's questioning conscience.
How right he is.This is a knockout film, one for the ages as Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams turn in monumental performances.
However, it does not completely escape its stage origins, as the film relies perhaps a little too heavily on words, rather than action, to get its muddied points across.Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) is the forbidding principal of a Catholic school, of which Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is the priest.
When the naive Sister James (Amy Adams) reluctantly comes to Sister Aloysius with concerns about Father Flynn's relationship with the only black child in the school (the film's set in 1964), the headmistress decides to get to the bottom of things - no matter the cost.Streep's role as the domineering, terrifying nun seems tailor made for another Oscar run - she's been nominated 15 times - but don't kid yourself; her towering performance will have you shaking in your boots if you ever attended Catholic school, and if you never did, like me, you'll be glad you didn't.
Thought provoking story and superb acting - both Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman were outstanding as was the supporting cast of Amy Adams and Viola Davis..
I would have stayed with you longer, but that wind is taking me away" The words are by author and director John Patrick Shanley, and this film, based on his play, is an inspired work by all involved.An outgoing and likable priest, Father Brendan Flynn, is observed by Sister James (Amy Adams), a teacher at the parish school, engaging in what she thinks is inappropriate behaviour towards one of her pupils.
"Doubt" centers around Meryl Streep playing an old school nun who, with the help of a younger, sweeter nun (Amy Adams), tries to discover whether or not her questions about Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour-Hoffman) having an inappropriate relationship with a trouble boy at their Catholic grade school. |
tt0281358 | A Walk to Remember | When a prank on a fellow high-school student goes wrong, popular but rebellious Landon Carter (Shane West) is threatened with expulsion. His punishment is mandatory participation in various after-school activities, such as tutoring disadvantaged children and performing in the drama club's spring musical. At these functions he is forced to interact with quiet, bookish Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore), a girl he has known for many years but to whom he has rarely ever spoken. Their differing social statures leave them worlds apart, despite their close physical proximity.When Landon has trouble learning his lines, he asks Jamie for help. She agrees to help him if he promises not to fall in love with her. Landon laughs off the strange remark, believing Jamie to be the last person with whom he would ever fall in love. After all, Landon has access to the prettiest and most popular girls in town; and between her shy demeanor and old-fashioned wardrobe, Jamie doesn't exactly fall into that category.Landon and Jamie begin practicing together at her house after school. The two form a tentative friendship, and Landon learns that Jamie has a wish list of all the things she hopes to do in her life, such as getting a tattoo and being in two places at once. One day, Jamie approaches Landon at his locker, where he is hanging out with some of his friends. When Jamie asks Landon if they are still on for practice that afternoon he smirks "In your dreams". His friends laugh and Landon's smirk falters as Jamie's face fills with betrayal and embarrassment. That afternoon Landon arrives at Jamie's house, hoping that Jamie will still agree to help him. But she refuses to open the door. When she eventually does, she sarcastically remarks that they can be "secret friends". She slams the door in his face when he agrees. Landon eventually learns the script by himself.During the play, Jamie astounds Landon and the entire audience with her beauty and voice. Landon kisses Jamie during the play, which was not in the script, and Landon tries to get close to Jamie, but she repeatedly rejects him. It is only after a mean joke played on Jamie by Landon's friends that Jamie agrees to get to know Landon after he punches out Dean and shuns Belinda (his friends who played the joke) and takes Jamie home. The two pursue a relationship. He takes her out to dinner and dances with her, something he never did for anyone else. When he discovers that Jamie has a wish list, he sets out to help her accomplish them. One memorable date had Landon taking Jamie to the state line. He excitedly positions her on the line in just the right way, and when Jamie asks him what he's doing he tells her "You're in two places at once". Her face lights up with joy, as she realizes that Landon set out to make her impossible dreams come true.Jamie finally tells Landon that she has terminal leukemia and has stopped responding to treatments. Landon gets upset at first. Jamie tells him the reason why she didn't tell him because she was moving on with her life and using the time she had left but then Landon happened and she fell in love with him. Jamie starts to break down as she says to Landon "I do not need a reason to be angry with God." and she flees.Landon goes to his doctor father's house and asks him to help Jamie. His father freaks out a bit and says that he needs to examine Jamie and know her medical history before he could do anything. Landon leaves in a huff.Landon and Jamie make up the next day. They hug and he tells her that he will be there for her. Soon, word gets out about Jamie's illness. Eric, Landon's best friend comes and tells him how sorry he is and that he didn't understand. Dean and Belinda both come and apologize.Jamie's cancer gets worse and she collapses in her father's arms. He rushes her to the hospital where he meets Landon. Landon doesn't leave Jamie's side until her father practically has to pry him away. Jamie's father sits with Jamie and tells her that "If I've kept you too close, it's because I wanted to keep you longer." Jamie tells him that she loves him and her father breaks down.The next day, Landon comes to the hospital and sees Jamie being wheeled out of there. He asks what's going on. Jamie asks him to thank his father for her. Landon asks Jamie's father what she means. He tells him that his father is going to pay for private homecare for Jamie. Landon is stunned. Late that night, Landon knocks on his father's front door. His father answers. Landon whispers "thank you." His father hugs him. With all the exhaustion and fear billowing over, Landon breaks down in tears in his dad's arms.Landon continues to fulfill various wishes on Jamie's list, such as building her a telescope so she can see a comet. Through this process, Landon and Jamie learn more about the nature of love. The movie ends with Jamie's death, but only after the couple are married in the same chapel as was Jamie's deceased mother, the event that topped Jamie's wish list. Landon himself becomes a better person through Jamie's memory, achieving the goals that he set out to do, like she did.Four years later, Landon visits Jamie's father. It is obvious that Jamie helped him to focus and become a better person. For example, he reveals he has finished college and been accepted to medical school; prior to meeting her he had no plans for life after high school. He tells Jamie's father that he is sorry he could not grant Jamie's wish to witness "a miracle" before she died. Her father says "She did. It was you". | dramatic, cult, revenge, melodrama, tragedy, romantic, prank | train | imdb | null |
tt1414382 | You Again | In 2002, Marni Olsen (Kristen Bell) is an acne-riddled high school sophomore in Ridgefield, California, with glasses and braces, making a video about how much she hates high school, and reveals how she is tormented and bullied by other children, specifically J-J the high school mean girl (Odette Yustman), who made Marni's high school life miserable. She adds that her protective older brother, Will (James Wolk), was very popular as a handsome basketball player. However, at a very important basketball game, J-J pushes the mascot (Marni), who runs into Will, resulting in a loss of the game.
Eight years later, in 2010, she is a successful public relations executive in Los Angeles, recently promoted to a job in New York. When she returns to Ridgecrest to her attend her older brother's Georgia King (Kristin Chenoweth) planned wedding, she discovers that Will is about to marry a girl named Joanna, who happens to be J-J. When Marni meets Joanna for the first time in eight years, Joanna seems not to recognize her. Marni is also upset to see that Joanna fits in very well with the family during her welcome home dinner, where we learn Joanna's parents died after high school and that she has done an ample amount of charity work. The plot thickens when Marni's mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) meets up with Joanna's aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver), Gail's former best friend who pushed her into a pool at their senior prom. Ramona is now a successful, wealthy woman who owns several hotels and a private plane.
Although Gail seems willing to put the past behind her, she still feels the need to "outdo" Ramona during their interactions together. On the other hand, Marni is unwilling to forget the things Joanna did to her in high school, unless she apologizes, and decides to try to let her brother know of Joanna's bullying past. Her attempts to get Will alone for a conversation fail. When Marni tells Joanna that she knows who she really is, it is obvious that Joanna remembers Marni. She refuses to give Marni a meaningful apology, and treats her disrespectfully, leaving Marni convinced that Joanna has not changed. Meanwhile, Gail comes to Ramona's hotel room for "closure" about anything bad between them that happened in the past. They appear to make up, but Ramona still seems not to be too fond of Gail.
One day on the street, Will and Marni's grandmother Bunny (Betty White) meet a man named Tim (Kyle Bornheimer). Joanna reveals that they have dated, and Tim appears devastated when he hears that she's marrying Will. Marni decides to bring Tim to the rehearsal dinner as part of her plan to stop the wedding. When it is time for guests to make a toast to the bride and groom, Tim unexpectedly jumps up to give his toast to Joanna. He reveals to a stunned wedding party that Joanna left him at the altar. Later, a video is presented (recovered by Marni) from their old high school time capsule. The video reveals Joanna confessing who she was in high school: an alpha-female bully, with the footage showing proof of her tormenting Marni and other students. As the video is showing her ruining Will's basketball game; Will unplugs the video projector before the video is complete and walks out, furious.
Marni is in trouble when everyone discovers that she was responsible for the video at the rehearsal dinner. Joanna's defense for pretending not to remember Marni is: "I thought we could start over." Marni is now convinced that Joanna hasn't changed, and walks away. Joanna then starts a fight with Marni, who fights back. Will walks in and witnesses the fight. He confronts Joanna, calling her a bully and a liar and then scolds Marni for starting the mess behind his back. Joanna tries to reason with Will but he doesn't care about her past and is furious that she lied to him. He calls off the wedding, much to her devastation.
Ramona and Gail argue after the rehearsal dinner, and Ramona accuses Gail of trying to ruin her life throughout high school. A fight ensues, with both of them falling into the pool. Ramona reveals that she had a grudge with Gail, even when they were best friends, because she always competed with and outdid her, culminating with Gail taking the boy that Ramona wanted to the prom. Ramona stated that Gail was already a legendary head cheerleader and prom queen, and drama was supposed to be hers, yet Gail also defeated her with the auditions. She sarcastically thanks Gail for what she did, because it motivated her to become successful in life. Gail apologizes for being insensitive, but reveals that she is proud of Ramona, and that her loving family is her accomplishment. Ramona, remorseful of her actions, reveals that she was just jealous of Gail's happy family especially that her marriages didn't work out, and feared that Gail was trying to take Joanna away from her. The two are hugging in the pool when Gail's husband, Mark (Victor Garber), shows up. At home, he says that he is disgusted with the wedding and weekend being a disaster and grounds Marni and Gail, despite protest.
Later that night, Marni finds Joanna in the kitchen wearing her wedding dress, crying and binging on junk food. She finally admits to Marni that she feels truly awful for bullying and tormenting her and feels like a terrible person, and that she loves Will and his entire family. She explained that after her parents died, she decided to reinvent herself as someone they could be proud of, and when she found out that Marni was her fiance's sister, she panicked and decided to pretend not to remember her, because she had spent so much time distancing herself from the person she was in high school that she didn't know how to apologize to her. Marni forgives her and promises to get them back together. Marni apologizes to Will for her actions, saying she was only trying to protect him.
Joanna and Will reconcile in the family's old tree house, but it collapses and injures both of them. Marni and Will's little brother, Ben (Billy Unger), loosened the screws as a part of his plan in hiding the tree house because Will was going to move it as a wedding present. They are both forced to stay at a hospital, which delays the wedding. However, Marni puts together a makeshift wedding at the hospital, with the bride and groom bandaged, but properly dressed and able to walk down the aisle. Gail has a surprise for Ramona, it's Richie Phillips (Patrick Duffy), the boy from high school that Ramona wanted to go to the prom with. Richie welcomes Ramona home and wants to be her date for the wedding, which makes Ramona very happy and they appear to start a relationship. Marni appears to start a relationship with Charlie (Sean Wing), her brother's best friend who has always been kind to her. Joanna introduces Marni's grandmother Bunny to an elderly woman, Helen Sullivan (Cloris Leachman). Unfortunately Helen and Bunny were rivals in high school when Helen stole a boy from her. Bunny gets her revenge when she cuts in on Helen's dance and takes her partner.
At the wedding reception, Marni presents her wedding gift to Will and Joanna—Hall & Oates in person performing Will and Joanna's favorite and special song, "Kiss on My List" (as the movie's couples, each share kisses—Will and Joanna, Marni and Charlie, Gail and Mark, Ramona and Richie, and Georgia forces a kiss from Tim). Everyone then joins Hall & Oates on stage. | entertaining, flashback | train | wikipedia | But if you watch it keeping in mind that is a light-hearted, fun summer comedy for the family, you will appreciate it, mainly because of the strong and hilarious female cast.
Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristen Bell and Odette Yustman all shine on-screen in their own ways, yet complement each other so well.
I was especially impressed with Kristen Bell because this is the first comedy/chick-flick I've personally seen her in, and she was really cute and funny!
If you're looking for a fun, positive family film with lots of laughs, you've found your movie..
Jamie Lee and Sigourney where great in their respective roles and the rest of the cast was good especially the young actor who played "Tim" he was great and the ending is funny.
The lead actress is the lesser known Kristen Bell (recently seen in Couples Retreat) and there are a number of cameos from the likes of Patrick Duffy and one who pops up for only a moment at the end who I guess I won't name since the cameo is uncredited and should probably come as a surprise.
Bell plays a former high school geek whose brother is suddenly getting married to the girl who made her teenage years a complete misery and whose wedding she decides she wants to break up.
The unnamed cameo at the end is a continuation on the theme, with the mystery cameo being someone Betty White's character had a falling out with in high school, so these families have a 3 generation long feud to overcome to make this marriage work.
This movie starts out on a good note showing Marni Olsen (Kristen Bell) in high school with glasses, braces, and a bad case of acne.
Her post-high school transformation is one many people would envy, but none of that matters when she finds out that her older brother is about to marry J.J., who is now known as Joanne.Marni's mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) tries to convince Marni to put the past behind her.
When Joanne throws a dish at Marni, she replies, "Ooh, kitty likes to scratch!" I don't know what other movie I've heard that phrase in, but it's probably because it has been in at least six other films.With such hackneyed verbal taunts comes a fight that fails to intrigue.
Marni discovers that his bride Joanna (Odette Yustman) is her former arch nemesis in high school who made her life a living hell.
All of this is compounded by the fact that the bride's wealthy Aunt Romona (Sigourney Weaver) flies into town and comes face to face with Marni's mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis), who it turns out has an old high school score to settle with Gail.
Marni (Kristen Bell), like many of the rest of us, had a tough time in high school.
That advice comes easily to Gail until she discovers Joanna's Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) is her own high school nemesis.Despite the happy occasion that has gathered the family together, Marni is less than thrilled.
After an awkward reunion and family dinner, Marni and her younger brother Ben decide to do what they can to derail the nuptials.Kristen Bell is a very pretty girl, and it couldn't have been easy to transform her into the unattractive high school geek that Marni was supposed to have been.
Some of the movie's best moments come, though, as the result of the past and present rivalry between Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver.
While Betty White (who portrays Marni's Grandma Bunny) is also silly, she, at least, gets away with it.BOTTOM LINE: You Again is often diverting, and has enough elements of realism in it to make you recall your own high school days (for good or for ill), but it doesn't overcome the limitations imposed on it by its script, or a story that we've all frankly heard before.
Odette Yustman/Annable, mostly remembered as being the "rescued" girl in Cloverfield) seems at ease with comedy and makes her character full of life (and of course she looks stunning).
Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis, and Kristen Bell and Odette Yustman act brilliantly opposite of each other.
To make matters worse, Joanna's aunt Romona (Sigourney Weaver) was rivals with Marni's mom Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) back in high school.
Meanwhile Joanna's aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) arrives for the wedding and Marni's mother Gail Byer (Jamie Lee Curtis) recognizes her as her high-school former friend that has become her enemy.
Although the main theme of bullying and its effect remains more interesting then the film itself, Andy Fickman has made a movie that provides light entertainment, not to be taken too seriously..
Like many of us, Marni didn't have a great time in high school because she was picked on and bullied especially by the lead cheerleader, Joanna (Odette Yustman).
Once home, Marni finds out that Will is marrying Joanna; the woman who made her life in high school a living hell.
To top all this off, Joanna's Aunt Romona (Sigourney Weaver) arrives that same evening only to find out that Marni's mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) has a history with her as well.
"You Again" is a movie about a nerdy high school chick who is bullied by the head cheerleader only to find out years later that her brother is engaged to the woman who ruined four years of her life.
I think Jamie Lee Curtis's reaction to Weaver's entrance was equally priceless.Kristen Bell is the highlight of the film.
Okay, with a cast that included Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristen Chenoweth, and Betty White with Kristen Bell as the star, I thought this movie might have some good comedic performances at least.
Don't get me wrong, there were some amusing scenes especially when Bell's brother and his fiancée who was some mean girl from their high school days do some Hall & Oates while driving or when we first see Ms. Curtis reuniting with former rival Ms. Weaver long after their teenage years.
You Again is a comedy that explores just that, where Kristin Bell's Marni, who had spent her entire high school life under the bullying radar of Joanna (Odette Yustman, last seen here in films like Unborn and Cloverfield), realizes her one time nemesis is poised to become her sister-in-law.
The likes of Betty White, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver lend gravitas to the young adult leads of Bell and Yustman, and I wonder if the careers of the latter will be as promising to live up to that of the former few.
Of note is the pairing and rivalry of Jamie Lee Curtis' Gail, Marni's mum, and Sigourney Weaver's Ramona, Joanna's aunt, that states the inter-family rivalry goes beyond one generation, and in true Romeo and Juliet fashion, the coming together of two families bring on some complications which provide an avenue for comedy as each pair want to go one up against the other.Director Andy Fickman, who has helmed a series of family friendly films for Disney such as The Game Plan and Race to Witch Mountain, continues his services here for Disney and I suppose his being chummy with Dwayne The Rock Johnson meant the one time wrestler has got to appear somewhere in the film, even as a cameo, and cranks up a surprise appearance of a singing duo toward the end which by Hollywood standards is what's expected of a romantic comedy..
Though, in promos it looked funny to watch Sigourney Weaver trying her hands in comedy after all those years but in movie it looked floozy and unbearable.
The movies are full of laugh.But it is a comedy which is full of the tragedy of youth.The heroine was so tolerant.Maybe I don't like this kind of psychology,while the actors'acting skills are excellent.And the film is very inspiring and funny.I learn that if you study hard,you really can succeed..
Apparently Joanna doesn't remember Marni from school, but then things take a drastic change and things escalate...The people acting in "You Again" were doing a good job, and they had managed to put together a really nice ensemble of people to fill out the roles.
You AgainThanks to technology adults can now friend their old high school tormenter online and then proceed to cyber-bully them, their family, and friends to death.Unfortunately, instead of confronting her former rival from the safety of her laptop, the belittled victim in this comedy does so in-person.Former high school loser Marni's (Kristen Bell) excitement over her brother's engagement quickly turns to contempt when she learns he is marrying her ex-bully Jay-Jay (Odette Yustman).Enraged even more by Jay-Jay's newfound disposition and inability to recollect her bullying ways, Marni makes it her mission to expose Jay-Jay as the bully she was.Meanwhile, the girls' moms (Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver) revive their own high school rivalry.Marred by ham-fisted performances and a superficial script, You Again is an unequivocal mess.Besides, the best form of revenge against your current or former bully is to blame them in your suicide note.
The almost laughter that was probably the highest this comedy can get is between Betty White and Cloris Leachman near the end.You Again's characters are obviously popular, but like the characters themselves, the movie gets old with the predictable story and cheesy dialogue.RazzieBuzz: Worst Actress (Kristen Bell), Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay (if they have this category).
She has a variety of mannerisms she uses to portray of geeky teen age girl to the demeanor of a successful career woman.Third, the main theme of Veronica Mars was her ability to take revenge, and this film runs with the same theme which Kristen Bell plays so well.We thoroughly enjoyed this movie.
Marni (Kristen Bell) was a loser teen bullied by mean girl cheerleader Joanna (Odette Annable).
Her mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) tells her that everyone deserves a second chance, but is immediately confronted by Joanna's aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) who was a best friend turn enemy.Kristen Bell is such a sweetheart that it could have worked better as a more simple movie.
The movies are full of laugh.But it is a comedy which is full of the tragedy of youth.The heroine was so tolerant.Maybe I don't like this kind of psychology,while the actors'acting skills are excellent.And the film is very inspiring and funny..
Now bullying and being mean is nothing to be taken lightly usually, but again, we're talking about a movie that tries to entertain its audience, nothing more nothing less.Very good cast overall, with no real weak link (unless you dislike one of the people involved of course).
The movie begins with the successful marketing director Marni (Kristen Bell) providing a marketing presentation of a flashback when she was a clumsy and unattractive high school student.
The remainder of the show drags along as we learn that Marni's mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) has a similar rivalry with Joanna's mother (Sigourney Weaver), and then Grandma Bunny (Betty White) has a story of her own.
Your again is a comedy and meaningful movie.Marni, a unconfident girl in her high school.Now she is succeful and optimitic girl in her company.
This movie is a story of a few women, especially the enemy's plot, the heroine and her high school high school is actually a lot of people to change for a period of time, especially girls, there is also the intrigue, in order to become a better yourself, a lot of people will compete, in the process, some people bad heart some people will get better, so I have two bitter rivals in the story, but if I'm Nina, I will tell my brother, all the things that she couldn't marry her, it would be a huge disaster, I believe that wicked people will not easily change the character, she did before is her nature.
At the same time, this also is a very interesting film, which in addition to plot the ups and downs, is also very funny, let people to watch the film feel very interesting, can lead to watch the person's thinking, it is said that three women a play, in a foreign country is the same, if these things happen in our own, how are we to do?
I think this movie is quite good .At the beginning ,the movie showed us the heroine's terrible high school life ,which made me burst into laughter.I think it is so funny.However,under her brother's encouragement,she began to change herself and succeed .Than,the movie showed that heroine's brother would marry a girl who ever bullied her.Finally ,she chose to forgive that girl because the bad girl began a good girl.So I know that making mistakes is not so serious ,acknowledging mistakes ,correcting them are important,and excusing is important ,too..
You Again was somewhat of a nice surprise.I think it to be a light-heart comedy, Marni, who was bullied by Joanna during high school, and now years later, Joanna is about to marry Marni's brother, Will.
Apparently Joanna doesn't remember Marni from school, but then things take a drastic change and things escalate.You Again is not just a comedy movie, it also has a deeper and nice storyline, not just intending to make you laugh.It tells us if we are not good boring not good to learn.So we should to improve, become cheerful, confident to change, can not see the shadow of the past, better than before, so I feel no need to recollect things now that we have strong enough, can protect themselves from any discourse on the behavior and hurt, they are just passers-by.
When I watched the moment that Kristen Bell knew Odette Annable who bullied her in high school would marry with James Wolk.
I don't know what do you think of the ending of the film,but,actually,I feel a little surprised.Becsuse Marni finally forgive Joanna,I mean,that is someone who ruined her life.Marni can put everything down,she is really good.
You Again (2010) is a Kristen Bell family oriented comedy about old high school rivalries being re-ignited.
It goes deep into our real life and it reminds us of our high school youth, so I think I have a lot of feelings about it.On the other hand, the reason why I gave the film a good opinion is that it tells me a truth, which is as long as you believe in yourself you can do whatever you want.
This is a film worth watching.I like Marni because she is very kind and hard.Although she was bullied by Joana,she thought it does not matter.On the contrary,she worked hard because her brother always encouraged her.Many years later,when she met Joana,she want to an apology.In the end,Joana apologized to Marni,she chose to forgive Joana.So they became good friends.As far as I am concerned,forgiveness is the greatest tolerance.What is more,people should have a second chance..
Sure you again isn't a better movie，but i think it is a good movie for us to relax.If you keep on watching,you will find it's funny and valuable.The story tells us about a young woman discovers her brother is getting married to the girl that made her life hell when she was in high school.And she thought the girl was her enemy and happened a series of contradictions ,and finally they apologize to each other and start again.What impresses me the most is a word.'Everyone has a second chance'.I think so.As one saying goes,'To err is human'.Give others a penitent chance,also give yourself a forgiving chance.Everything will be past,so they all choose forgive.I think it's the significance of the film.
I think this film is well worth seeing.One of the most impressive lines in the movie is "Everyone has own experience" from Marin"s grandma.At the end, Marni and Joanna made it up.It also tell us that we should tolerate each other,embrace past,accept past bravely and let it go......No one is perfect!.
The story is quite funny as well, you have Marni, who was bullied by Joanna during high school, and now years later, Joanna is about to marry Marni's brother, Will.
The story is quite funny as well, you have Marni, who was bullied by Joanna during high school, and now years later, Joanna is about to marry Marni's brother, Will.
The story is quite funny as well, you have Marni, who was bullied by Joanna during high school, and now years later, Joanna is about to marry Marni's brother, Will.
Kristen Bell, playing Marni, was doing a really good job in the movie.
Kristen Bell, playing Marni, was doing a really good job in the movie.
Kristen Bell, playing Marni, was doing a really good job in the movie.
But of course, actresses like Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis also always do a nice job, and they were great in their roles.
But of course, actresses like Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis also always do a nice job, and they were great in their roles.
But of course, actresses like Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis also always do a nice job, and they were great in their roles.
The movie stars Kristen Bell as Marni, a young woman and former high-school nerd who finds out her beloved brother is about to marry the marauding alpha female (Odette Yustman) who tortured her in high school.
The movie stars Kristen Bell as Marni, a young woman and former high-school nerd who finds out her beloved brother is about to marry the marauding alpha female (Odette Yustman) who tortured her in high school.
Marni's mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) has her own confrontation with a high-school rival - it's the bride's glamorous aunt, played by Sigourney Weaver.
Marni's mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) has her own confrontation with a high-school rival - it's the bride's glamorous aunt, played by Sigourney Weaver.
The movie is about Marni's brother will be marry, she returned her home, but what makes her surprise is that her future sister-in-law is her former enemy —— Joanna. |
tt0327437 | Around the World in 80 Days | A chinese man, Lau Xing (Jackie Chan), robbed and try to escape from the Bank of England. To escape from the police, he observes from a window, two police officers searching for him asking an Oriental man in the street for his identification, and says "Passport...too", he becomes, under the name "Passepartout" (pronounced Pass-par-too), a valet to Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan), a scientist trying to break the 50-mph speed barrier. After succeeding to do so, and managing to avoid the police, they head to the Royal Academy of Science. Here, Fogg is insulted by other 'brilliant minds', in particular the bombastic Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent), who believes that everything worth discovering has already been discovered and there is no need for further progress. The bank robbery is also discussed. In his blind rage, Fogg says that he's glad the bank was robbed because it is outdated and says that the thief could be in China in little over a month, which interests Lau Xing. Fogg places a bet to see if it would be possible (as his calculations said) to travel around the world in 80 days. If he won, he would become Minister of Science in Lord Kelvin's place; if not, he would tear down his lab and never invent anything again.Passepartout and Phileas retreat to Phileas's home, where he mourns on his rash decision; yet Passepartout said that to bet on something he believed in made the bet in no way foolish. Without losing a moment, they take a carriage and leave London, after crossing with Inspector Fix (Ewen Bremner), a corrupt officer who was hired to stop them from travelling around the world.They then travel to Paris, where Passepartout must evade minions sent by the murderous female soldier General Fang, out after what he stole: the Jade Buddha, which is a sign of good fortune. She had given the Buddha to Lord Kelvin in exchange for military assistance in her enterprises to conquer Lau Xing's village. Pretending to take Phileas to a convention with Thomas Edison, Passepartout leads him instead to an Art School, where Phileas meets Monique (Cécile de France), a would-be impressionist. Realizing how busy his boss is, Passepartout fights the minions using every material available: canvas, brushes, buckets of paint, etc. Meanwhile, Phileas and Monique discuss Monique's paintings of 'impossible things', such as dogs playing poker. Moments later, Phileas sees a painting of a man with wings. To make a machine that could allow men to fly was always Phileas's dream; he therefore feels touched. All of a sudden, Passepartout returns and tells his boss that they are late. The two men, accompanied by Monique, depart in a hot-air balloon.They then travel to Turkey, where they are greeted by Prince Hapi (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Here, they were entertained for some hours in a swimming pool. The Prince, having become infatuated with Monique and ordered her to stay as his seventh wife (one for each day of the week) while the men were ordered to leave. The men leave, but blackmail Prince Hapi into releasing Monique, using a prized but apparently flimsy statue of the Prince as a bargaining counter. The statue is a parody of Rodin's The Thinker made to look like the Prince. The statue is ultimately destroyed, though the three travelers escape.Lord Kelvin, hearing of all this and of the theft of the Jade Buddha, becomes angry; he is later contemptuous when he learns that Fogg has been involuntarily abetting a thief's escape. Using this as an excuse to delay Phileas, he and his aides order the British colonial authorities in India to arrest both men.In India, Passepartout sees notice of the price on his head and warns his companions. Disguised as local women, they evade the police, but are attacked by General Fang's agents. Using Inspector Fix and a sextant as weapons, Phileas and Passepartout defeat their assailants and flee to China.Guided by knowledge of China, Passepartout leads his friends to a village, where they are happily greeted. They spend several days here, during which Phileas discovers that Passepartout is in fact Lau Xing, a local warrior, and that the repeated attacks by General Fang's militia, the Black Scorpions, are part of a power struggle centred around the Jade Buddha. Phileas is disappointed by this, and more so by the revelation that Monique has known the truth for many weeks.Later, the village is attacked by the Black Scorpions. Phileas, Monique and Lau Xing are held captive. In the next morning, Lau Xing challenges the arrogant young leader of the group that has seized him to a fight. Lau Xing at first fights alone, and is defeated; moments later, he is joined by the members of the "Ten Tigers" fraternity[disambiguation needed], of whom he is one. The Tigers, though outnumbered, drive the Black Scorpions from their village and free the Westerners. The Jade Buddha is reinstated in the village's temple.Phileas now desires to continue alone, having been disappointed by his companions. He travels to San Francisco, where he is tricked out of his money. He attempts to replenish his supply with the aid of a beggar (Rob Schneider), but fails. He is recognized by Lau Xing and Monique, who have come to find him.It was in the desert that they found the Wright brothers (brothers Owen and Luke Wilson), and the 3 inventors discussed the flying machine. Taking a look at the plans (which Wilbur Wright claimed to be his silly brother's doing), Phileas found them brilliant and suggested a few mere changes (Wilbur says he was proud of his brother and had always believed in him).Lau Xing (still called Passepartout because of force of habit on the other people's part), Monique and Phileas' next stop was New York, where a massive crowd who had placed bets for or against Phileas winning, greeted them and made it impossible for them to pass and reach their ship. A policeman allowed this to be possible, by taking them through a building he called a shortcut. Here more minions awaited them, ready for one last face-off. They made arrangements with Lord Kelvin to take Lau Xing's village and tap the jade reserves underneath it, but if Phileas wins the bet, Lord Kelvin will not have the means to help them.A major battle between the three friends and General Fang and her minions started in the workshop where the statue of liberty was made, with Lau Xing using his skill to stop his enemies and the other two using luck. In the end the three friends were victorious, or so it seemed, as the minions had stalled them enough to make them lose their ship to England. Though Phileas could have gotten to the boat, he decides to miss it to help Lau Xing.Phileas felt like he had lost, but the other two said they might still make it if they caught the next ship. Phileas knew the unlikelihood of this yet chose to carry on. The old ship was owned by a sailor who had lost both his nipples in an attack by a shark. Phileas told the captain they weren't going fast enough, and after a lot of talking, he managed to convince the captain to let him build a plane out of the old wood from the ship, in exchange for a new ship and a surgery to give him new nipples.The building started and soon was over. Using the changed Wright brother's plans, Phileas built a machine that seemed to work. On it was Lau Xing (pedalling), Phileas (driving), and Monique (commenting). The machine was working fine and soon they reached London. Then, the machine began to fall apart and they had a crash-landing in front of the RAS. Lord Kelvin sends police to stop them from making it to their actual destination, the top step of the Royal Academy of Science, and the clock soon strikes noon, which is the time Phileas started.Lord Kelvin proclaims himself the victor. Several people, such as Monique, Fix, and other ministers, begin attesting to Kelvin's unfair methods and his bullying nature, but Kelvin scoffs at them. However, in the process he insults the Queen Victoria (Kathy Bates), who is nearby listening. She had found out he had sold her arsenal to Fang thanks to one of his aides. Kelvin tries to run away but is apprehended.Phileas is also lucky enough not to have lost the bet; he is one day early thanks to crossing the international date line, yet believed himself late because of an error on the part of Lau Xing. He ascends the stairs of the Academy and, there, embraces Monique, victorious in his bet. | bleak, violence, humor, sci-fi | train | imdb | null |
tt0080455 | The Blues Brothers | A prisoner is roused and escorted through Joliet Prison in Illinois. Is he on his way to the gallows? No, he's up for "standard parole". His personal items are returned to him, including a broken watch and prophylactics. The prisoner is released -- it is Jake (John Belushi). He meets his brother Elwood (Dan Akroyd). These are the Blues Brothers. Elwood has shown up in a used Plymouth police car after having traded in their old Cadillac for a microphone. Demonstrating the power of the car, with its cop tires, cop suspension, and 440 cubic-inch powerplant, Elwood convinces Jake that this is the new Bluesmobile.They go see the Penguin, head nun at the Catholic orphanage they grew up in. She explains that they need $5,000 to pay taxes, or else the orphanage will be closed.They meet up with their old friend and father figure Curtis (Cab Calloway) who advises them to "get yourself to church". They go to a Baptist church, where Reverend Cleophus James (James Brown) delivers an uplifting sermon. Jake "sees the light" realizing that he must put the Blues Brothers Band back together in order to raise the $5,000. Now they are on a mission from God.The Bluesmobile gets pulled over. Through SCMODS (State County Municipal Offender Database System), the officers learn that Elwood has numerous outstanding traffic tickets and moving violations. The police intend to impound the car, but Elwood takes off, leading to a car chase. The Blues Brothers get away (destroying a shopping mall in the process), but now the Illinois authorities are searching for them.A mystery woman (Carrie Fisher) blows up their apartment building, but they walk away from the rubble (as do the cops who were just about to apprehend them).Trying to find their old band members, who have since taken other jobs, they visit a boarding house where one of the members had previously stayed. The lady doesn't remember where he went, but at the last minute she finds a business card with "Murph and the Magictones" on it. They find Murph and the Magictones playing at a Holiday Inn lounge. Murph and the others agree to rejoin the Blues Brothers Band.Jake and Elwood visit the swanky Chez Paul restaurant, where another band member is maitre'd. The brothers behave offensively while eating a meal, tossing food and offering to buy women. Promising that they'll be back to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day at this restaurant until he joins them, the maitre'd reluctantly agrees.John Lee Hooker plays outside a soul food restaurant. Inside the restaurant, the brothers meet Matt 'Guitar' Murphy and 'Blue' Lou Marini. Matt's wife (Aretha Franklin) sings "Think", warning Matt to think about it before leaving the restaurant they own. Matt and Lou quit, and the band is complete. The band's first stop is Ray's Music Exchange. The proprietor Ray (Ray Charles) shows off the action in a keyboard, singing "Shake A Tail Feather". The band buys $1400 worth of instruments, on an I.O.U.The Blues Brother's first gig is at Bob's Country Bunker, where the Good Old Boys are scheduled to play. Passing themselves off as the Good Old Boys, the Blues Brothers manage to play both types of music (Country and Western). They earn $200, but drink $300 worth of beer. They skip out, chased by the late-arriving Good Old Boys and Bob. They get away when the pursuing truck is t-boned by cops who have spotted the Bluesmobile. The cop deadpans, "boys, you are in big trouble".The mystery woman fires a flamethrower at Jake and Elwood in a telephone booth, blowing up nearby propane tank. The brothers, still on their mission from God, emerge unscathed. In a sauna the next day, Jake and Elwood have a business meeting with promoter Maury Sline (Steve Lawrence) who agrees to book the Palace Hotel Ballroom for them tomorrow night.Proclaiming "I hate Illinois Nazis", Elwood uses the Bluesmobile to force Nazis to jump off a bridge. Now they've gained another set of enemies, who vow to find them and kill them.The word goes out on the streets -- Jake and Elwood swipe an enormous air-raid siren, strap it to the roof of the Bluesmobile, and use it as a loudspeaker to make announcements thoughout the city about the upcoming concert. They run out of gas. The local gas station is also out of gas. Elwood flirts with a chic lady (Twiggy) while waiting for the tanker truck to arrive.The Blues Brothers Band play their concert at the Palace Hotel, beginnning with "Minnie The Moocher" as they wait for Jake and Elwood to arrive. Having heard about the concert, the authorities lead by Burton Mercer (John Candy) stake out the joint, planning to apprehend them after the show. Jake and Elwood sneak past the cops and join the band. The crowd is unmoved at first but are soon cheering. The band plays so well that a producer for a major record company offers them $10,000 cash as an advance on their first recording session. Jake and Elwood accept the offer and keep $5000, asking the producer to send $1400 to Ray's Music Exchange and to give the rest to the band. The brothers take off through a trap door in the stage while the band plays on.The mystery woman confronts them in an underground tunnel, firing an automatic weapon at them. Pleading for his life, Jake removes his sunglasses for the first time in the film. She melts, smiles "oh, Jake", and kisses him. He pushes her to the ground, saying "let's go".The police begin realizing the brothers are making their escape. Jake and Elwood are in the Bluesmobile with 106 miles to get to Chicago, a full tank of gas, a half pack of cigarettes, at night, and they're wearing sunglasses. An epic car chase begins as the Blues Brothers head towards Chicago to pay the taxes. Numerous police cars tumble off an embankment, and one ends up in a truck. As they approach the city, all authorities are alerted and "the use of excessive force is approved" in their apprehension. The chase continues in Chicago, reaching speeds of 110 mph on Lower Wacker Drive. Dozens of police cars continue to pile up. Hearing chatter on the police radios, the Nazis spot the Bluesmobile and give chase. The Bluesmobile stops at the edge of a highway overpass under construction, but the Nazis tumble over the edge. Jake and Elwood arrive at Daley Plaza just in time, as their car literally falls apart.The police buildup continues absurdly, with National Guard units, helicopters, and SWAT teams getting involved. Jake and Elwood hastily make their way to the Cook County Assessor's Office, barring doors and sabotaging an elevator on the way. Hundreds of troops are in pursuit. They pay the taxes. The moment the tax receipt is handed to them they are handcuffed, surrounded by countless troops with pointed firearms.The Blues Brothers Band play their next concert in prison, beginning with "Jailhouse Rock". | comedy, cult, violence, feel-good, psychedelic, action, revenge | train | imdb | When Joliet Jake Blues (Belushi) is released from prison, his brother Elwood (Aykroyd) is there to pick him up, in-- of all things-- a used police car.
It's a fairly simple plot, told in a straightforward manner by Landis, who creates a visually stimulating and aurally satisfying movie that follows the adventures of the Brothers Blues as they travel around the good state of Illinois, seeking out the members of their former band and formulating their plan to save the orphanage.
It's a total rush of excitement, backed with a blur of real blues, served up by some of the truly legendary performers of our time, like Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway (doing his trademark `Minnie the Moocher') and John Lee Hooker.
Without question, this was a great gig for Belushi and Aykroyd, who to millions of people ARE, and will forever be, the `Blues Brothers.' And forevermore shall they be linked in the memories of anyone who has seen this movie, heard their records or caught their act on SNL.
Dan Aykroyd has gone on to have a successful and varied career in movies, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor (for `Driving Miss Daisy' in 1989), while John Belushi, of course, left us quite suddenly and way too soon, just as his career was on the rise.
A thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable movie, filled with memorable scenes and lines you'll be quoting for years to come (Aykroyd, in that `clipped' Elwood Blues delivery, to Tucker McElroy: `We'll, ah-- we'll talk to Bob--'), `The Blues Brothers' is a great film-- not in the sense of a film that should have walked away with a bagful of Oscars, but great for what it is and for the special place it holds in the history of the cinema.
that's not really surprising.2/ One of the finest car chases in cinematic history (The Italian Job and Smokey and the Bandit 2 are the only others that come close) 3/ John Belushi's own brand of comic genius throughout the movie 4/ Mulitiple memorable scenes and one liners5/ Cameos from Steven Spielberg, Twiggy, Frank Oz, etc.6/ Carrie Fisher as the psycho love interest intent on revenge.Nuff said, watch it and love it 10/10.
John Belushi and Dan Akroyd are Jake and Elwood Blues, two eccentric brothers who are "On A Mission From God".
But along the way, Jake and Elwood get into quite a bit of trouble with the police, the Illinois Nazi party, a girlfriend of one of their band members, and a girl who just seems to keep going after them and wants them dead.With great and endless cameos from great people like Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, terrific Chicago landmarks, endless hilarious jokes, The Blues Brothers is the perfect comedy that is one of the best movies of all time.
This is a movie that should be viewed by anyone who loves one or more of the following: Blues, car chases(this held the record in the number of vehicles crashed in a film, until, I believe, it's less impressive sequel), Aykroyd, Belushi, Landis and their work and comedy, all three shine.
THE BLUES BROTHERS is easily the best film collaboration with Dan ("Dry White Toast") Aykroyd, and John ("4 Fried Chickens & A Coke") Belushi.
While it gets too overly far-fetched with the action plot, there is reason to sit back and chow down on the comical hilarity and nonsense thrills that only John Landis can master perfectly into a comedy.This is such a big deal after all because it offers a walloping combination of soul tunes, car chases, special effects, and crazy characters like female assassin Carrie Fisher and Nazi leader Henry Gibson.
Alas, no more of Aretha, Ray, or Cab. We can't have everything.To top it off, the "Making Of" documentary alone, with the back story of the Blues Brothers (the characters and in real life), and the birth and making of the movie, makes the DVD worth getting.
This movie merits classic status because it showcases five giants of American popular music -- Cab Calloway, John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin.
But between the sketchy schtick and the fantastic musical guests, "The Blues Brothers" is as loaded with entertainment value as a stuffed Chicago pizza is with calories, and both are equally satisfying.The plot, so to speak, centers on "Joliet" Jake (John Belushi) & Elwood Blues' (Dan Aykroyd) attempts to raise $5,000 for back taxes on the orphanage where they were raised.
A star studded line up that can actually act and not just attract celebrity-hunters, incredible chase scenes, witty one-liners that do not border on the verge of malignance and some of the best songs ever written.After watching this film over 30 times, it honestly never fails to disappoint.John Belushi and Dan Akroyd work so well together, and really act as if they are their characters, as opposed to actors paid to be them.
And car chase scenes that would make Minis salivate, and an array of side plots that work so seamlessly with the "Mision from God".The on-screen chemistry between the band is frictionated and therefore completely accurate for anyone who has been in a group, but when the music starts, always a guaranteed classic throughout the film, then the magic of the film really happens.A film that borders genius and then creates a whole new country, and one that may be re-attempted, but never rivalled..
Having watched the Blues Brothers recently I was struck by so many great touches that make the film not only a film of its time, but a film that has great relevance even now.From the very outset, the grimyness of late 70s Industrial Chicago, and it's seedy underbelly become almost a character in their own right.Jake and Elwood Blues live out their lives either in half-way houses, or prison, both have only a small room for their meagre possessions.The fact however that despite being broke and owing all of their friends money, they still have plenty of goodwill bestowed on them by their loyal musical colleagues.The plot is that an old orphanage previously funded by the church, the church now wish to demolish, Jake and Elwood need to find $5000 to prevent the local authority granting easy planning permission to do so.Pulling in more than a few favours from their friends with help from God himself, the Blues Brothers turn in one final grand performance as free men before being hounded down by The Police, The Army, The Military Police, a group of Nazis who believe Hitler is immortal and The Good Ol' Boys as well as Bob, the owner of a bar that plays both Country and Western.The parody of course is that the Army and almost the entire state of Illinois' Police force have been called to capture two guys for breaking some john-q laws whereas a banker loses $1 billion and nary a word from either the police or the media is aimed at him, and certainly time in the cells.Summing up, an unbelievable film, with an almost unheard of quality of supporting cast including most likely the biggest female star of the time in Carrie Fisher who is literally dumped by Jake as well as Soul Music Legends James Brown, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker and Ray Charles to name a few and leave out many more greats..
stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, The Blues Brother Band, Carrie Fisher, John Candy, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, Kathleen Freeman, Twiggy, Frank Oz and Paul Reubens.Plot: Just out of prison, Jake Blues (Belushi) reunites with his brother Elwood (Aykroyd) and they realise that the church that they grew up in is going to be torn down unless they get 5 thousand dollars.
The plot could have done with some tuning up, but if you think about it, this film is kind of a setup to show the wonderful singing talents of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, Cab Calloway and even Belushi and Aykroyd.
and i wasn't a big fan of the Aretha Franklin music number in the diner - at the time of watching i had no idea what Aretha looked like and as i was watching i couldn't help but note that the women singing was doing a bad lip syncing impersonation of Aretha - only to find out - it was Aretha franklin.but for those small pitfalls - the acting and gags couldn't be better - i couldn't imaging anyone else as Jake or Elwood and there are too many good scenes to name but here are a few, in the restaurant scene (one of my favorites where Jake offers to buy the little girl ' how much for the little girl, i want to buy the little girl' classic), when the blues brothers are singing rawhide, the Nazis in the car ' I've always loved you', the end scenes where it seems all of Chicago are after Jake and Elwood and they just stand in the elevator calm as you please.All in all you know its a good movie when you continually remember little bits here and there and they make you laugh - which this movie does.
The "Blues Brothers" is a good comedy and a great musical, featuring James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Cab Calloway as "guest" musicians (i.e., not members of the BB).
Jake Blues (John Belushi) is released from prison and reunites with his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd).
They deliver top notch performances as these characters that think their a lot more threatening and suspicious than they actually are.The only thing that disappointed me was how little we learn about either Jake or Elwood throughout the film, I understand that they wanted to leave a bit of mystery to them, but I felt the story would have been far more engaging had we known more about the brothers as people prior to heading on this journey.
The Blues Brothers is a great movie that I would recommend to anyone looking for a great comedy or musical.Two brothers, Jake and Elwood Blues, must bring their old band back together in order to save the orphanage they grew up in from shutting down.Best Performance: John Belushi.
Jake Blues (John Belushi) is picked up by his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) as he's released from prison.
The music is just wonderful, with performances from the likes of John Lee Hooker (who all-too-briefly appears) to Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles alongside the likes of Brown, Cab Calloway and of course, the Blues Brothers themselves who perform with po-faced gusto and glee.
Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi lead us from one ridiculous situation to another as they proceed on their mission from God. James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, and the Blues Brothers Band fill your ears with some of the greatest rhythm and blues hits of the 50's and 60's, complete with choreography and dance that is sure to please.
At first glance, the blend of music and comedy may throw many off, but if you're willing to go back to a time when movies were movies, The Blues Brothers is quite a throwback.The film's greatest accomplishment stems from its unlimited energy and desire to have fun.
The late John Candy plays one of the cops chasing Jake & Elwood, and Twiggy appears as a customer at a gas station that Elwood hits on.Memorable moments include Jake and Elwood being attacked by the nun, Jake seeing "the light", the car chase in the mall and the Nazi car chase among the other various car chases, Carrie Fisher's various attempts to kill Jake & Elwood, the Jailhouse rock ending, the restaruant scene, and the "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" number.Did I mention that buddies John and Dan are hilarious as the deadpan brothers?
I liked the improbable car chases and I especially loved the musical numbers sung by nearly everyone in the film.John Landis, known for his excellent Animal House, directs a tale about the Blues Brothers.
They found out that the place will close if they cannot raise five thousand dollars, so the bros decide to bring back the band together while being chased by cops, Nazis, and country singers.This film is led by the impeccable charms and chemistry of Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi.
And on the way the mystery woman (Carrie Fisher) tries to kill Jake countless times and they also get slowed down in there mission by Det Burton Mercer (John Candy) who's constantly after the Blues Brothers.This film is a must buy DVD and it will make your sides spilt in that much laughter while your dancing around the hose to some great blues soundtracks.But don't worry "There on a mission from God!".
Before entering Aretha Franklin's diner, Jake and Elwood are just taking in the scene, and I gotta believe that John and Dan (the alter egos) were really enjoying themselves at that moment.As a musical comedy, I don't think anything came close during that time.
While some critics were not happy with what they considered gratuitous exploitation of R&B giants like James Brown and Ray Charles, I for one am happy that someone like John Landis captured something as "cool" as Cab Calloway performing "Minnie the Moocher" with the very accomplished Blues Brothers band.If you can't have fun with this movie, you just ain't much fun..
The 1980 film directed by John Landis starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi tells the tale of a set of brothers on a mission from God to raise money for and save the Catholic home in which they were raised.
John Landis' spin-off from the Blues Brothers Band sketches of SNL starts with Jake (the wonderful John Belushi) coming out of prison to be met by brother Elwood (energetic Dan Aykroyd) in the new Bluesmobile - a high powered ex-cop car with special features, allowing it to leap across bridges and such.
Thing is, the members of their band are all doing other things like working in burger bars, as maitre d', and so on, and need to be persuaded.The best thing about this movie is the music, and this isn't just provided by the boys and their band, but by a number of guest appearances such as those of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and best of all, the great Cab Calloway.
Other than the delightful cameos from music legends such as Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway and James Brown, the Pinto scene with the fall from the sky and the spectacular car chase(ludicrous I know but spectacular too) with the massed forces of the law and order, a country and western band and a bunch of neo-Nazis, what makes The Blues Brothers is the music, it is absolutely brilliant, and the numbers it features in are particularly rousing.
So this month, the "Secret Cinema" was...THE BLUES BROTHERSThis John Belushi/Dan Ackroyd (directed by John Landis) joint from 1980 has grown in stature since it's debut 37 years ago and watching it with fresh eyes on the big screen (and 37 years older than my 19 year old self) has certainly given me a different appreciation of this film.Rather than this being an "above average" comedy, with some pretty good car chases and crashes, this film holds up as an homage to the great Blues talents of the past.
But, for me, the highlight was seeing John Lee Hooker as a street musician and the great Cab Calloway doing "Minnie the Moocher" (hi- dee, hi-dee, hi-dee, hi), I am glad these performances have been captured for posterity.And...of course...the Blue Brothers Band is a "who's who" of Blues musicians of the time - "Blue Lou" Marini, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Matt "Guitar" Murphy were welcome sites and Ackroyd and Belushi more than held their own on the musical side of things - especially during my favorite musical number - the "Theme from Rawhide" number at the country bar.It's a good thing the music is good for the plot of this film is flimsy (at best) really just put together to get from musical number to musical number, populated with some fun cameos: John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Artie Gibson (as a Nazi!), Kathleen Freeman, Frank Oz and even Steven Spielberg all get in on the fun, trying hard to keep up with Ackroyd and Belushi in their prime.Complementing this is some of the "funnest" auto chases and crashes in movie cinema history.
Big time.After musician Jake Blues (Belushi) is released from prison, and he and his brother Elwood (Aykroyd) visit one of the nuns (Kathleen Freeman) who raised them.
Jake Blues (John Belushi), just out from prison, puts together his old band to save the Catholic home where he and brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) were raised.Somehow, this film never got watched by me until now (2015).
The duo's main trait is the music, and Landis knew this well, so the film is filled not only with the brothers' interpretations of R&B classics, but also the ones by real R&B legends such as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Cab Calloway among others.As expected, the performances by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd are of an excellent quality.
While the Blues brothers are certainly the focus of the story, the vast array of guest stars that appear through the film deliver terrific performances when singing (Ray Charles, James Brown), acting (John Candy, Carrie Fisher) or both (Cab Calloway).
The Blues Brothers is the perfect movie for anyone who loves slapstick comedy, blues music, cars crashing and the combination of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.
They get their band together, play a lot of tunes with lots of old Soul & Blues legends making cameos (e.g. Aretha Franklin & James Brown) and we all get to join in.Along the way there's police car chases, Nazis, rednecks and a scorned ex-fiancée.It's genuinely funny without being like something from a TV show, it's a genuine fun movie. |
tt0065462 | Beneath the Planet of the Apes | Following the events of Planet of the Apes, time-displaced astronaut Taylor (Charlton Heston) and the mute Nova (Linda Harrison) are riding on horseback through the desert of the Forbidden Zone. Without warning, fire shoots up from the ground and deep chasms open. Confused by the strange phenomenon, Taylor investigates a cliff wall and disappears before Nova's eyes.
Elsewhere in the Forbidden Zone, a second spaceship has crash landed after being sent to search for Taylor and his crew. Like Taylor's ship, it has traveled into Earth's distant future. However, surviving astronaut Brent (James Franciscus) believes he has traveled to another planet. He encounters Nova and notices she is wearing Taylor's dog tags. Hoping Taylor is still alive, he rides with her to Ape City, where he is shocked to discover the simian civilization. He observes the gorilla General Ursus (James Gregory) leading a rally calling for the apes to conquer the Forbidden Zone and use it as a potential food source, against the objections of the orangutan Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans). Brent is wounded by a gorilla soldier and taken by Nova to the home of the chimpanzees Cornelius (David Watson) and Zira (Kim Hunter), who treat his wound and tell him of their time with Taylor. The humans hide when Dr. Zaius arrives and announces that he will accompany Ursus on the invasion of the Forbidden Zone.
Attempting to flee the city, Brent and Nova are captured by gorillas. Ursus orders they be used for target practice, but Zira helps them escape. They hide in a cave which Brent soon discovers is the ruins of the Queensboro Plaza station of the New York City Subway, making him realize that he has traveled through time to Earth's post-apocalyptic future. After following a humming sound deeper into the underground tunnels, Brent begins to hear voices telling him to kill Nova. Entering the remains of St. Patrick's Cathedral, he finds a population of telepathic humans who worship an ancient nuclear bomb.
Brent and Nova are captured and telepathically interrogated, and Brent reveals the apes are marching on the Forbidden Zone. The telepaths attempt to repel the apes by projecting illusions of fire and other horrors, as they had done to Taylor and Nova. Dr. Zaius sees through the illusions, however, and leads the ape army to the ruined city. With the apes closing in, the telepaths plan to detonate their "Divine Bomb" as a last resort. They hold a religious ceremony, at the height of which they remove their masks to reveal that they are in fact still-intelligent humans who are descended from survivors of the nuclear wars. The nuclear fallout has mutated them by removing layers of their skin, but greatly increased their psychic abilities.
Brent is separated from Nova and taken to a cell, where he finds Taylor. The mutant Ongaro (Don Pedro Colley) uses his telepathic powers to force Brent and Taylor to fight each other to the death. Nova escapes her guard and runs to the cell, screaming her first word: "Taylor!" This breaks Ongaro's concentration, freeing Brent and Taylor from his control. They then overpower and kill him. Brent describes the bomb the mutants worship and Taylor recognizes it as a "doomsday bomb", capable of destroying the planet, marked with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega on its casing.
The apes invade the subterranean city, killing Nova and making their way to the cathedral. They are confronted by Méndez (Paul Richards), who raises the bomb into activation position before being gunned down. Brent and Taylor attempt to stop Ursus from accidentally setting off the weapon, but Taylor is shot. Brent manages to kill Ursus before being shot dead by the gorillas. The mortally wounded Taylor pleads with Dr. Zaius for help, but Zaius refuses, saying that man is only capable of destruction. In his last moment, Taylor brings his hand down on the activation switch, triggering the bomb. As the scene whites out, an ending narration says "In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe, lies a medium-sized star, and one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead." | murder, allegory, anti war, violence, cult, flashback, good versus evil, action, satire, suspenseful | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0970866 | Little Fockers | Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and his wife Pam (Teri Polo) are having a typical busy morning getting their two kids ready to go to school. At work Greg gets a visit from Andi Garcia (Jessica Alba), a former nurse, now working with a company that makes a male enhancement drug called Sustengo. Andi tries to convince Greg to become the spokesperson of the drug by telling him he will have a higher salary. Greg says he will think about it and takes Andi's card.Meanwhile Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) and his wife, Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner), talk about how Dr. Bob, their former son-in-law, cheated on their daughter. Dina is going to visit their daughter and is leaving Jack by himself.Jack suffers a minor heart attack but manages to call 911 and he survives.Back at the Focker household, the family is in the middle of dinner when Jack calls Greg informing him of his heart attack and appointing him as the new head of the family, the "Godfocker". Jack also tells Greg not to tell anyone since he wants to keep it a secret from his wife and daughter. As soon as he hangs up Greg feels empowered and asks Pam to set up a tour for The Early Human School, a private school they were considering sending their children to.Two weeks later Jack and Dina visit them. During dinner, as Greg is carving the turkey, his son's pet lizard startles him, causing him to cut his finger splattering blood all over his guests. Soon after, Kevin (Owen Wilson) shows up heartbroken after having been dumped by his girlfriend. Pam offers him a place to stay but he and Greg assure her he's fine sleeping at the shelter where he volunteers.The next day, Pam wakes up sick so she asks Jack to go with Greg to the tour at the Early Human School. There they mistake Jack and Greg for a homosexual couple.Greg decides to take Andis proposal to be the spokesperson for Sustengo. He agrees to give a speech about it at a hotel. Greg tells Pam about it and asks her not to tell her dad. Their daughter overhears and tells Jack daddy is meeting up at a hotel with Andi, the person who gives daddy his boners. Jack is alarmed thinking Greg is having an affair with Andi.That night Jack follows Greg while on his way to the hotel. At the metro, Greg confronts him asking Jack if he is following him. Jack says he is getting some organic milk and is forced to get off a few stops before Greg. At the hotel, the presentation goes great and Greg is congratulated by many. Greg and Andi are photographed together. When Jack returns home from following Greg, he finds Sustengo samples in a bag and decides to take one. When Greg comes home he finds Jack sitting on the couch waiting for him. Greg notices Jack has a boner and asks him if he took a Sustengo. Jack says he did and that he has had the boner for over 4 hours. Greg is alarmed and tells Jack he must get an adrenaline shot as soon as possible. Jack asks Greg to do it at home as he refuses to go to the emergency room in that state. As Greg gives jack the adrenaline shot, his son walks in and screams at the sight.Jack googles Andi Garcia and finds a picture of her and Greg on her webpage. Jack is sure they are having an affair.Greg had been planning to throw the twins a birthday party in the backyard of a new house he was building, but his contractor had dug a giant hole in it so having the party there was impossible. Kevin suggests having the party at his house since it is much bigger.Greg, Pam, Jack, and Dina take the twins for an evaluation at the Early Human School. The girl does well, but the boy does not. Jack suggests the girl takes after Pam and the boy takes after Greg. The boy falls off the rock wall after having asked Greg for permission. They take him to the hospital since he has broken his arm. There Jack tells Pam she should divorce Greg and marry Kevin. Greg and Jack argue loudly and as he leaves, Greg tells Dina about Jacks heart attack.Greg decides not to go home and goes to the house he is currently building. While he is there Andi shows up with Chinese food and drinks. Andi gets drunk and forcefully kisses and hugs Greg, but Greg resists and asks her to leave. Jack has come by to apologize but when he sees Andi and Greg embracing he leaves convinced that they are having an affair. Andi throws Gregs phone in the pit in the backyard and as Greg is down there trying to get it she dives in causing them both to pass out.The next day, the twins birthday party is being hosted at Kevin's house. Greg shows up and the family is reunited. When he tries to apologize to Jack for arguing with him the night before, Jack punches Greg and the two start fighting. As they are fighting Greg tells Jack nothing happened between him and Andi. The two get distracted when Mr. Jinx, Jack's cat, begins to eat Greg's son's lizard. Jack begins to have a heart attack but Greg aids him and the ambulance soon comes. As he is getting into the ambulance, Jack tells Greg he believes him and that he is now the "Gregfocker".Greg, Pam, Pam's parents, and Greg's parents are sitting together talking and getting along, but when Greg's parents mention they are planning on moving down the block, Pam's parents also decide to move so Greg and Pam start freaking out. | comedy, humor | train | imdb | null |
tt0479500 | Nancy Drew | Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) and her father, Carson (Tate Donovan), move from River Heights for a few months and rent a house in Los Angeles, due to it being the home of the murdered movie star, Dehlia Draycott. Despite the mystery, Nancy's father has forbidden her from further sleuthing and encourages her to focus on high school and being normal. Nancy struggles to fit in at her new school, only befriending a boy named Corky (Josh Flitter), and realizes that the sleuthing world is the only place she fits in causing her to decide to solve the Draycott mystery. She traces Draycott's disappearance to having had a child and giving it up for adoption in privacy, and learns that a "Jane Brighton" (Rachael Leigh Cook) is Draycott's sole beneficiary of a will that has since disappeared. Nancy receives a threatening phone call telling her to get off the case, and contacts her father's business associate, Dashiel Biedermeyer (Barry Bostwick), the lawyer of the Draycott estate, to assist her with the case.Meanwhile, as an early birthday present, Nancy's father presents her with the blue Roadster she left back at home in River Heights and along side it came her boyfriend, Ned (Max Thieriot), who understands her persistence in sleuthing and finds himself assisting Nancy with the Draycott mystery. Corky becomes jealous of Nancy and Ned's close relationship and tries his best to get Nancy's attention. The trio spend numerous hours together, also discovering an underground passageway to the neighbor's basement, which is rented by Leshing (Marshall Bell), the groundskeeper to the Draycott estate.One afternoon, a tearful Jane arrives on Nancy's doorstep and announces that her daughter has been taken away from her. She knows that none of the charges of misconduct are true, and reveals that after Nancy's initial visit, a man showed up on her doorstep to threaten her. Nancy demands that her father take up Jane's case; he agrees, and Jane stays with them. While watching Dehlia Draycott movie, Nancy realizes that Draycott must have hidden her revised will in a prop from one of her movies.Nancy discovers the will in a Chinatown antique shop and as she walks back to her car she calls her father and brags that she's found the evidence to stop the bad guys and will take them down! Silly girl! Not a moment later a rag full of Chloroform is slapped on her mouth and the powerful drugging fumes knock Nancy bonkers in her nasal tubes and swiftly put her down for the count! She's out! Nancy's whisked away inside an SUV, her clock completely cleaned! Nancy comes to in an abandoned theater but manages to escape when the thugs who drugged her underestimate how long the Chloroform will keep her out. Nancy and the thugs get into a car chase in which Nancy crashes and winds up in the emergency room. Her father, along with Biedermeyer, arrives and demands to know what is going on. She admits to her secret sleuthing and explains about Draycott's hidden will. Biedermeyer offers them a ride home so he can sign a business deal with Mr. Drew. Nancy discovers that Biedermeyer is the one who was disinherited by Dehlia's will (signing his papers with a large "Z") and concludes that he is Dehlia Draycott's supposed love, and jumps out of the moving car. Nancy manages to make it all the way home and is caught by Biedermeyer, who threatens to "squeeze it out of her." Nancy asks him as to why he killed Dehlia, and he replies with saying that Dehlia went a bit crazy after her reappearance, that Jane is not his daughter, but Leshing's, and demands the will. Nancy kicks Biedermyer in the shin and escapes, but is once again cornered by Biedermeyer and his henchmen. Leshing arrives via the secret passageway and knocks the henchmen unconscious. The will is restored to its rightful owner. Jane is able to get back her daughter and converts the Draycott mansion into a home for single mothers, and the Drews return to River Heights. As Nancy watches a video sent by Jane and her new Draycott Home for Single Mothers she is a bit sad that the mystery is over. She goes outside to see Ned adjusting her car. They talk and they both lean in for a kiss. Right after she gets a phone call for a new mystery in Scotland. And she is just as cheerful as ever. | prank, murder, flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt1748227 | The Collection | The film opens with a series of television broadcasts that make clear the Collector has become a serial killer and the focus of a massive police manhunt. As in the first film, the Collector kills all victims but one, whom he kidnaps. Arkin (Josh Stewart), returning from the first film, is the most recent known victim. Elena Peters (Emma Fitzpatrick) is taken by her friends to a secret party at an undisclosed location. Elena witnesses her boyfriend, who bailed on their date the same night, with another woman. She gets upset, breaks his nose, and leaves the crowded dance floor to enter an isolated room. There, she discovers a red trunk and opens it to find a severely injured Arkin. Arkin grabs Elena and they both dodge a steel spear that shoots from the wall which initiates a series of deadly traps. First, a large rotating mechanism with blades darts through the dance floor, shredding hundreds of people. Meanwhile, Elena, frightened, runs from the room and steps on a trip wire, initiating thin swords to fling out of a hallway, hitting people in the chest and neck. Finally, a small room locks shut with two steel bar barriers, and the Collector is spotted standing on a crate panel shaft in the ceiling. The ceiling lowers completely on the last victims, including her friend Missy, slowly squishing them to death as Elena watches them in horror. The Collector quickly finds and captures Elena, while Arkin escapes by taking a body as a protective shield and jumping out of a high window, landing on a car and breaking his arm in the process.At the hospital, Arkin is arrested by the police and put under constant surveillance due to his known criminal record. He is approached by Lucello, the right-hand man of Elena's wealthy father (Christopher McDonald). Lucello has hired a team of mercenaries to hunt the Collector down and save Elena before she is killed. Lucello implies that if Arkin leads them to the Collector's hideout, he will save Arkin from his criminal record.While previously being kidnapped by the Collector, Arkin had marked the turns in their journey on his arm with a series of cuts. He is able to lead the mercenary group to the Collector's base--an abandoned hotel in a desolate part of town. When Arkin refuses to go inside, Lucello double-crosses him and forces him at gunpoint to guide them through the hotel. Meanwhile, Elena uses her bra to push through a hole in the red trunk, enabling her to grip the latch and escape from inside. The Collector re-enters the room and notices her escape, so he lets loose several spiders, hoping this will reveal her hidden location. However, Elena is able to escape while the Collector is distracted by the surveillance alarms triggered by the team of mercenaries.Upon entering the hotel, the team is attacked by people with half-faced masks stapled to their head, whom the Collector had captured and driven insane with drugs, forcing the team to shoot them. Arkin takes the opportunity to escape from Lucello. At this point, the movie jumps among 3 groups: Elena trying to find an exit, Arkin trying to escape, and the mercenary team led by Lucello trying to find Elena. While wandering the hotel, all three encounter live humans being experimented upon and human body parts re-arranged to resemble insects. Arkin narrowly escapes the Collector several times but is unable to find an exit. Members of the mercenary team are killed or captured one by one. Elena finds a room full of make-up and a prisoner named Abby who claims to be the Collector's "favorite" and is reluctant to break his rules. When Abby notices Elena adjusting her hearing aid she panics, claiming that Elena isn't strong enough for the collection and that she wasn't supposed to escape. Elena and Abby are separated when the Collector finds them.Eventually, Elena, Lucello and Arkin reunite and rescue Paz from a trap, all other members of the team having been killed. They find Abby, who asks to escape with them. The group finds a room with a small window that they cannot escape through, but they see two homeless men outside. When the men are unable to hear their shouts, Arkin shoots one of them. He fires a second shot when police arrive, causing the SWAT team to surround the building. Abby betrays the group's location to the Collector, but dies when she steps on a board of nails and falls back into an iron maiden-like trap, which mechanically folds with her inside. Enraged by this, the Collector attacks the group with a pair of dogs and kidnaps Elena. Lucello, pinned to the ground with another iron maiden trap approaching from above, tells the group to save Elena and leave him. They find her strapped to an autopsy table. When they approach, they are trapped in a cage that falls from above. The Collector makes it apparent by displaying and flashing a lighter that he is going to burn down the building, but Arkin manages to open the cage by having Elena re-break his arm so that he can reach the latch.The group escapes and finds an exit door to the building--it is jammed from the outside. The Collector kills Paz and easily beats Arkin in a fist-fight since the latter has only one functional arm. As the Collector is about to kill Arkin and Elena, Lucello appears, having survived his trap by using one of the dog corpses. He fights the Collector in a knife fight but loses; however, as a final act, he holds the Collector in place so that Arkin can get the upper hand, Arkin savagely beats the Collector before throwing his body down a chute onto a pile of body parts covered in gasoline and lighting it on fire.As the building is burning down, the fire department hears Elena's screams and opens the door from the outside, allowing Elena and Arkin, the last survivors, to escape. However, Arkin finds the Collector's burned mask inside Arkin's trunk with no corpse. Some time later, Arkin manages to track down the Collector's house by searching for every registered entomologist nearby. Arkin confronts the Collector and, before killing him, says he will torture the Collector as he tortured Arkin. The Collector attacks Arkin, but is forced into his red box and desperately clings onto the sides as Arkin slams the box shut. | brainwashing, revenge, murder, violence, flashback | train | imdb | A sequel to "The Collector", the story is about a serial killer who uses elaborate contraptions to kill groups of people but he always seems to take one away alive, and bring one of his "collection" to his next murder scene.
So they head off to The Collector's house of horrors to find her...The film is pretty much non-stop action, violence, and gore.
So here is something new for me -- Watching a horror movie sequel, not knowing it's a sequel, and it being good enough that I want to see the original.
'THE COLLECTION': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)Sequel to the 2009 grisly slasher film 'THE COLLECTOR' once again written by horror meisters Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton and directed by Dunstan.
This installment has the survivor from the original film (Josh Stewart) leading a team of mercenaries into the warehouse of a deranged serial killer, he just escaped from, in order to rescue the daughter of a successful businessman.
The film begins with Arkin (Stewart), the hero from the first film, escaping his captor 'The Collector' (played by stuntman Randall Archer this time) at a club where he brutally murders dozens of people.
He makes his way to a hospital where he's approached by a man named Lucello (Lee Tergesen) who wants Arkin to lead him and a team of mercenaries in to the killer's lair (a booby trapped warehouse) in order to rescue Elena.
No matter what anyone says, this is a real horror movie its not all about the scary moment, movies like this are what makes it exciting!.Lets start with saying that I'm the biggest SAW fan and this is like another piece of heaven to me, people who don't agree or those kind of movies aren't their type, they shouldn't review and downgrade it.
It was really exciting and fun, and as expected like the first part, smart, mysterious and best of all gore!, there's no limit and you don't know what to expect next.This movie is a bomb and any fan of Saw or movies like it will enjoy this one, i almost jumped of my seat from excitement it just had that feeling, since Saw ended, and when i watched the collection i had the same thrilling feeling back which was AMAZING.All in all it's actually a great movie with a good storyline, i recommend you and all horror and gore fans to watch it.10/10 for sure!!.
I feel this film truly has all of the above down to a science.In The Collection, the psychopath killer is interesting & the contraptions he uses to trap, mutilated and/or kill his captives are certainly engaging.
"You're not strong enough, you're never gonna make it." Arkin (Stewart) escapes from The Collector's house and is going to the hospital trying to recover, before he can get there he is once again abducted and is forced to help a wealthy man rescue his daughter from yet another booby trapped house.
Once they find the building's location and enter, we, the audience, endure nothing more than a combo of Saw II, and Cube, with only some occasional visual flares and good set designs, and cute Emma Fitzpatrick as one of the leads in film's favour.Idea of the torturer injecting his victims with enough drugs to turn them into wired killers themselves was unusual' but overall the film ranges from cruel and sadistic one minute, to boring the next, and it climaxes with a routine "victim-becomes-the-killer" ending, and its brief 82-minutes runtime seems much longer than it is.Filmed in Jan./ Feb 2011, unreleased until Dec. 2012, and it's easy to see why.
I guess I just expect more out of a movie, but unfortunately some other people seem to have severely lower expectations.This film spits in the face of common sense, logic, good acting, worthwhile plot development, character development and almost every other facet of worthwhile movie making.
Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.The much abused thief turned reluctant hero Arkin (Josh Stewart, returning from the first movie) has made it back to the real world, but a man named Lucello (Lee Tergesen) blackmails him into joining in an operation ordered by Mr. Peters (Christopher McDonald), whose daughter Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick) is the latest person to be abducted by the monstrous Collector (Randall Archer, replacing Juan Fernandez).
"The Collection" is a sequence of "The Collector" and another stupid, gruesome and sick movie of this violent and sadistic sub-genre of horror based on traps and torture.
Now this has some funny moments too, it does look good (on Blu Ray), but it also almost plays more like an action movie than a straight horror movie.That's not necessarily a bad thing.
The Collection (2012)** (out of 4) Arkin (Josh Stewart), the survivor from THE COLLECTOR, is forced into the warehouse of the killer by a group of professional hunters so that they can rescue a girl (Emma Fitzpatrick) who has been kidnapped.
I thought THE COLLECTOR was an entertaining, if flawed, movie that managed to have a few good things going for it.
THE COLLECTION is certainly very flawed and has a bit of "been there, done that" but at the same time it's still a little better than most of the horror films from this year.
Three years after "The Collector" comes its sequel, "The Collection." It begins with one of the most gruesome (and most creative!) mass - murder scenes that I have ever seen shot on film.
And the question I was left with by the previous film ("The Collector," 2009) is still the most egregious omission — how on earth does our bad guy have time to invade a house or building and set all these things up?!
I knew bad things were afoot when we spot our horrible machinist lurking above, but
I didn't expect THAT.Even with almost no speaking lines, Randall Archer deserves credit for terrific physical acting throughout — not to mention some the best (worst?) crazy-evil eyes in horror film history.
An over the top gruesome gore galore fest that makes most other horror films look like a Disney movie.
When Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick) is abducted by the sadistic serial killer known as 'The Collector' (Randall Archer), her wealthy father (Christopher McDonald) hires a team of mercenaries to locate the psycho's hideout, an abandoned hotel, to try and rescue the girl.
Helping the team in their task is the only known survivor of the mask-wearing murderer, professional burglar Arkin (Josh Stewart).The Collection, the sequel to gory 2009 horror The Collector, doesn't make a whole lot of sense, with a million and one plot-holes and characters who make the dumbest of decisions—but I don't care, 'cos it delivered precisely what I wanted from a film by the writer of the Feast sequels, the latter entries in the Saw series and Piranha 3DD: namely, tons of gore!It's not long into the film that the nastiness begins, with an outrageously splattery sequence in a nightclub that sees an entire room of ravers reduced to a mass of messy body parts by several ingenious mechanical contraptions (like the Saw films, the killer is a dab hand at building the most complex of booby-traps and presumably has an endless supply of cash to fund his sick hobby).From this moment on, The Collection is a gore-hound's dream, delivering one sickening scene after another, the camera lingering on every disgusting detail.
OK, how to make a torture porn film: First, get a handful of terrible actors, and add them first.secondly, get a ludicrous, idiotic script full of sleaze, gore, torture, implausible plots twist and turns and even more torture and then throw that into the mix!third, Get a hack director who doesn't know how to make a horror movie ( and shouldn't be making horror films anyway) and throw that into the cooking pan!
The CollectionWhen collecting, it's important not to store your matchbooks next to your antique gas can and golden age comic book collections.Luckily, the accumulator in this horror movie only likes to amass organic items.Former captive - and only person to escape the homicidal Collector (Randall Archer) - Arkin (Josh Stewart) is hired by the father (Christopher McDonald) of the madman's most recent kidnap victim (Erin Way) to show his squad of hired killers (Lee Tergesen, Shannon Kane, Andre Royo) where his daughter is being kept.But when Arkin is tricked into re-entering the labyrinthine interior of The Collector's abandoned booby-trapped hotel, he finds himself facing off with the masked torturer once again.Revealing more about the sadistic stockpiler and his nightmarish mélange of human prey, The Collection expands on the lore and also maintains the gore.However, the problem with collecting humans are all of the weirdos that attend the conventions.Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca.
It was a rather fulfilling piece of horror.Watching The Collection in the theater left me somewhat bewildered because I thought of the original film as something that was fortunate enough to go to theaters simply because the "right people" were attached to it (namely Marcus Dunstan, who returns as director and co-writer here alongside longtime companion Patrick Melton).
But I've been proved wrong before.Our story picks up where the original film left off; we are greeted again by the likes of Arkin (Josh Stewart), who was taken captive by the ominous "Collector" (Randall Archer), a man with a leather masked who has committed several homicides across a sleepy town, at the end of the first film.
Her father's friend is Lucello (Lee Tergesen) assumes she has been kidnapped (or "taken," seeing as we just got that sequel out of the way), and informs Arkin that if he agrees to lead them to "The Collector's" torture chamber, where he takes all his victims to perform grisly acts of sadism on them, that Lucello and his mercenary team could take him out accordingly.
Arkin accepts, but is soon forced to go along with the search-and-destroy mission of the masked figure, and the modest group goes into his lair to find him and get Elena to safety.Perhaps it's because my inner sadistic side was unleashed or the fact that I've seen almost nothing but horror-schlock like House at the End of the Street or the abysmal Devil Inside this year, I was satisfied during many of the gory, gruesome escapades that took place during the The Collection.
It gets repetitive, but some sequences are so entertaining and excessive that you feel you should have respect for what you just saw.Dunstan knows what he is doing with a camera in his hand, and does his best to stray from the unnecessary sequel vibe by inviting in new ideas that "The Collector" does with his victims and how he keeps them held in this ramshackle building with no sunlight or fresh air.
As a slasher figure, "The Collector" isn't wholly memorable, but like Jigsaw of the Saw franchise, he does what a gun can't do, which is give one the long, endless pleasure of sadistic torture had by bear traps, pliers, cockroaches, machetes, knives, injections, poison, or simple trappings in dark, cramped chests.Starring: Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Lee Tergesen, and Christopher McDonald.
Truth is, it wasn't a spectacular movie, but it did entertain with its house of horrors death traps that were elaborate in the vein of the Final Destination series.But, like that series, witty ways of dispatching people is not enough to keep a franchise enjoyable.
"The Collection" is, if anything, even more like the "Saw" movies than its predecessor, "The Collector", was.That movie also involved gruesome traps laid by a homicidal maniac, though they were set up in the house of the innocent victims, and thus weren't anywhere near as creative as the average "Saw" execution device."The Collection" takes the action out of suburbia and into a run-down hotel where the killer apparently hangs his hat...
Reluctantly willing to help, Arkin finds himself once again involved in a deadly game of survival, only this time the game is on the Collector's own turf.After enjoying The Collector, I was looking forward to watching this sequel and while it's not as good as the first film I still found that it was worth the watch.
The Collection doesn't do that, and after such an intense start, it keeps the pace up pretty well.Gore fans should enjoy this one too, as that has been ramped up from the first one.All in all, while The Collection isn't a cinematic masterpiece (and at least is doesn't pretend to be either), it's still a good movie to watch.
I think what honestly kept me watching the film was the excellent acting from Emma Fitzpatrick and the interesting traps aligned inside his personal lair.
Apparently our Elena has a moneyed father who's hired mercenaries to get her back, and our mystery man Arkin (Josh Stewart) is the only possible key; he must lead them to the killer's lair.Those of you who have read this far like this kind of movie, probably.
The characters are stupid, the killer is stupid, and there is no story like whatsoever.After starting as a possible good movie, all the potential is lost because of the illogical sequence of events that follow.
And all the traps did remind me a few times of Saw. It do picks in towards The Collection with Arkin (Josh Stewart) escaping from the nasty killer.
Overall, I thought this was a cool and worthy sequel; in enough ways it was similar to the original: lots of gore, cool interesting traps, some tense and suspenseful scenes, pretty good atmosphere, they definitely upped the blood and creep factor (there is a substantial amount of neat, very weird stuff in his "lair" - in some ways reminded me of the recent Silent Hill 2 or The Cell).
Christopher McDonald isn't really in the film to do anything except show up at the beginning and end for his paycheck.Plot: Imagine a world where a sadist can live out their fantasies without consequence and with endless amounts of money and time to build insanely crazy ways to torture and kill people.
THE COLLECTION, a sequel to the torture porn flick THE COLLECTOR, is a mild step up from the first and a little more entertaining - if you can call watching people getting killed in increasingly gruesome ways entertaining.The story sees the return of Arkin, the erstwhile hero of the first movie, as he manages to escape from the clutches of the devious killer only to find himself forced at gunpoint to undertake a new, even more dangerous job: he's forced to lead a team into the collector's home, a long-abandoned hotel, to rescue a kidnapped girl.What follows is decidedly more action-orientated than the first film, and on a bigger scale.
I watched it as a one off, and not sure how the first film affected the plot of this movie.The Collection is a gruesome series of trap-based murders, akin to the 'Saw' franchise.
There is no denying it's influence on this film, as several people find themselves trapped in a warehouse of a serial killer known as "The Collector." An escaped victim of a mass slaughter, an former convict who had a run in with the killer in the past (watch the previous film to find out about that), and a band of soldiers/mercenaries looking for the main character.
I know you don't watch something like this for the plot, but this film is pretty absurd throughout its short run time.
The Collection (2012), sequel to 2009's The Collector, is actually better than the first movie.
I'm not going to try and convince you that "The Collection"- the sequel to the underrated home-invasion thriller "The Collector"- is anything outside of exploitative "horror porn" for gore-hounds and fans of the original film.
A man (Josh Stewart) who escaped from the vicious grips of the serial killer known as "The Collector" is blackmailed to rescue an innocent girl from the killer's booby-trapped warehouse.The finest thing about this film was the score from Charlie Clouser.
I'm watching the collection, saw the first one it was really good, if you like horror/gore, Not much of a story line as neither film Quite fills you in on who or why this dude is killing these people other than fun,but this mug is sick and twisted,, so if that's your style then watch these flicks...the collection is a pretty good the acting is pretty good, while not superb it wasn't cheesy with no feeling, It's gory once again, and pretty suspenseful, the roles themselves were a little bit interesting, it does keep your attention, because you really want to know why this crazy fool is doing this , i personally liked it, but if thriller gore isn't your thing then you probably wont like it, either way i give it 6 starts.
In this segment, think: Saw II meets Aliens, but only hell's depth worse.I would be happy the charismatic thief from the original, Arkin (Josh Stewart) returned
if he wasn't so dumbed down here and shares his unearthly ability to outwit someone completely prepared for victims with the new hero(ine) of the hopefully only-two-installment franchise, Elena (played very plainly by Emma Fitzpatrick.) Together, they quickly and absolutely absurdly come up with ingenious ways to survive the undocumented super-human Collector's every move.I've seen ten men's share of terrible horror sequels, and while this isn't the absolute worse, it does rank high of awful horror film franchise's #2's #2.
and it has so many dangerous traps and kills that it will keep anyone watching even if they are not a horror fan.what i mean is this film is definitely NOT boring,it never gets boring because so many things are happening.
In The Collection, most of the suspense is unfortunetaly replaced with an action-like vibe while the "main characters" try to rescue a girl from the Collector's mansion of atrocity.Apart from that difference with the first movie, this sequel is still a disturbingly awesome horror film. |
tt2980592 | The Guest | Still struggling over the loss of their oldest son, Caleb, to the war in Afghanistan, the Peterson family Mr. and Mrs. Peterson and their children Luke and Anna are unexpectedly visited by David Collins, a former soldier who claims to have been a friend of Caleb's, and is there to fulfill his promise to Caleb to help take care of the family. David is polite, warm and friendly toward the family, and Mrs. Peterson offers to let him stay as long as he needs to.While staying with the family, David hears of Mr. Peterson's troubles at work, and witnesses Luke return home with a black eye. With Luke's help, he follows the students that attacked Luke to a bar, then humiliates them in a fight, using his knowledge of the law to convince the bartender not to tell anyone. David then goes to a party with a reluctant Anna, at which he saves her friend Kristen from her ex-boyfriend and has sex with her, also inquiring about where to buy guns from Anna's friend Craig. On their way home, Anna offers to make David a mix CD.David teaches Luke some self-defense and gives him his butterfly knife. When he goes to buy the guns from Craig and his friend, he kills them both before leaving with the guns, as well as two grenades. An increasingly suspicious Anna calls the military base to ask about David; this alerts a private corporation headed by Major Carver, who considers the matter of great importance and assembles a team of special forces before departing to find David. The base tells Anna that David died a week ago in a fire. Anna is distraught upon hearing that Craig has been killed and her boyfriend Zeke has been blamed for it, and asks Luke to do some research on the numbers David has called on his "burner" phone. It is also revealed that Mr. Peterson's boss and girlfriend are both dead as well, making him the new regional manager.At school, one of the students who David attacked at the bar calls Luke a "faggot"; Luke attacks him and both land in the principal's office. David arrives with Mrs. Peterson and convinces the principal to let Luke off with a month of after-school detention getting prepared for the homecoming dance. Luke tells David in confidence that Anna is suspicious and that he knows David must have killed everyone who has turned up dead in the last few days, but claims he doesn't care "'cause we're friends", and reveals that Anna may also have told Kristen about him. While David helps Mrs. Peterson with the laundry, Major Carver's team attack the house and attempt to kill David, who deftly kills everyone except Carver, and kills Mrs. Peterson after apologizing to her. While driving away, he crashes into Mr. Peterson's car, then kills him as well after apologizing again.Major Carver picks up Anna and informs her that her parents are dead and that David is really a former test subject for a military health program; his mental condition has been "programmed" to, if he believes his identity compromised, kill everyone who could possibly know about it. David kills Kristen and blows up the restaurant she works at with the grenades, then heads for the school to take care of Luke. Carver and Anna also head for the school, set up as a haunted house for the Halloween dance. When Carver and Anna attempt to help Luke escape, David announces his presence by playing Anna's mix CD, then killing Luke's supervising teacher and Carver when the four try to exit the building. Anna shoots David with Carver's gun, but David stabs her in the leg and attempts to choke her; Luke rescues her by stabbing David with his own butterfly knife twice. As he seemingly dies, David tells Luke that he did the right thing and gives him a thumbs-up.While sitting in an ambulance outside the now-burning school, Anna and Luke overhear the conversation between the firefighters: they found only two corpses with their teeth pulled off. Anna witness a firefighter enter the building and then leave; the leaving firefighter appears to Anna to be David, who has seemingly survived. | comedy, revenge, suspenseful, murder, violence | train | imdb | null |
tt1452628 | Vanishing on 7th Street | We are at a luxurious cinema in Detroit. One of the employees, Paul (John Leguizamo) is carrying a small torch in his helmet, as if he were a miner. He flirts with the girl (Jordan Trovillion) at the concession and returns to the projector room to change reels. All of a sudden, the power goes out. When the emergency lights come on after a few seconds, everyone in the theater but Paul has disappeared. In the attached mall, he runs into another survivor (P.J. Edwards), but he disappears as well when his flashlight goes out. Everyone's clothes, glasses, shoes, etc., are left behind, but there is no clue as to what happened to the bodies.Rosemary (Thandie Newton) is using a light to look around a recently deserted hospital. No one answers her cries for help. She hears soft moans and goes to see who it might be. Illuminated by the lights above the operating table that are connected to emergency power, she sees a man (Hugh Maguire) who was being operated on when the lights went out. His chest is open and it's obvious the anesthesia has worn off. At that moment, the lights go off again and before the emergency power kicks in, he disappears.Luke (Hayden Christensen) wakes up surrounded by candles he lit in anticipation of a night of passion with his girlfriend Paige. The apartment is bright from the morning sun. He realizes she never came home and leaves for work without noticing anything strange. He picks up a newspaper at the foyer hall of his building realizes it's yesterday's issue. He doesn't look up until he steps on somebody's glasses and abandoned clothes. A plane falls to the ground in the distance causing a commotion to which nobody reacts. He runs to his office but no one is there. He hears a noise and goes into the editing room of Action News, it's deserted but he is able to playback the broadcast from the night before when the blackout happened. He sees his girlfriend literally fade away on tape. The power goes out and as the darkness descends, he sees shadowy outlines of people. They appear to be coming after him so he runs to his office and rips the blinds down flooding the room with sunlight. The shadows fade away. He opens a desk drawer and pulls out a photo of his daughter and his wife Anna as the scene fades to black.72 HOURS LATER (3 DAYS)
Luke is running through the darkened streets of the city with a flashlight in his hand and smaller lights strung around his neck. He's hopping in and out of abandoned cars trying to find one that will start. Frustrated, he rests for a moment in the last car. He hears someone yelling and locks the door. A man arrives and begs to be let in the car. His lighter is quickly running out of fluid. As the flame dies, he is claimed by whatever it is that lurks in the darkness. Luke gets out of the car, frisks the man's clothes for supplies and continues his hunt. Unnoticed by Luke, a small girl with a pink flashlight silently watches him as he makes his way through the streets.Luke finally finds a truck that, although it won't start, it still has some juice. With a jump, he could get it running. Just then, he hears music. He moves towards the sound and see's Sonny's, a bar that still has lights and power. Luke enters the bar to see that, like the rest of the city, it's deserted. He looks around and finds a generator in the basement. As he comes back upstairs, a young boy greets him with a loaded shotgun. James (Jacob Latimore) is scared but keeps the gun pointed at Luke. When Luke calls his bluff, James fires a shot in the wall behind him. Luke and James start talking about the situation. James's mother is a bartender at Sonny's and he's waiting for her to return from the church down the street. Someone came by and told her there was power there and other people. It's been a while and she hasn't returned. He's waiting for the sun to come up to go look for her. Luke says that may never happen. He's noticed that the days are getting shorter and shorter. We then find out that, even though it's pitch black outside, it's actually 11:00 AM. Just then, Rosemary arrives. She is freaking out because she can't find her baby. After she left the hospital, she went home to find her nanny and baby had disappeared like everyone else but she's convinced his father took him.They hear someone yelling outside. After arguing about whether or not they should go, Luke takes a flashlight to investigate. He sees Paul lying on the bench at a bus shelter. It was the first of many solar powered shelters the city was planning on implementing. As Luke gets ready to drag Paul back to Sonny's, his flashlight dies. He decides to go for it, grabs Paul and runs like hell. The shadows get close and almost grab them when Luke falls down and hurts his ankle but Rosemary opens the door to the bar and enough light shines into the street to keep the darkness at bay.Paul (John Leguizamo) says that his light went off, and that he was hit by something. He felt himself being taken someplace when his light came back on and he woke up in the street. He dragged himself to the bus shelter and started calling for help.Over the course of the film, it's revealed that the reason they're still around is because they were still lit when the power first went out. Paul by his headlamp, Rosemary was lighting her cigarette and Luke fell asleep with a dozen or so candles lit around him.They begin to argue about what might have caused this phenomenon and various ideas are tossed around when Paul begins to tell the true story of the lost colony on the island of Roanoke. According to Wikipedia - "The Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island in Dare County, present-day North Carolina, United States, was a late 16th-century attempt by Queen Elizabeth I to establish a permanent English settlement. Colonists thrived for years until one day, a supply ship landed there to find the group of colonists had disappeared without a trace." Paul says the word "Croatoan" had been carved into a tree. This was the name of a native American tribe the colonists had butted heads with during their time on the island. He's insinuating that there may not be a reason as to why this happened or maybe it's because we pissed someone or something off and we're being "reset". Paul also states the reason they are still there is simply because they are aware they "exist". As the argument heats up, the lights start to flicker so everyone goes to check on the generator. It's failing and they only have a short time left before it goes out. They notice a locked door next to the generator and James says he was told that's where you go when things get bad. They assume it's an old bomb shelter. Suddenly, Paul collapses and they drag him to the pool table and put ice and cold clothes on his head.Since they know the generator is failing, Luke is determined to leave the bar. He reveals that while he was at the news studio, a live transmission came through from a Chicago reporter, (Neal Huff), who says he heard his brother who died eight years ago calling him from the darkness. He says that the people in the shadows can trick you, and advises everybody to trust only the light they are holding. He also tells anyone who can see this to come to Chicago and find him. Luke thinks they should all go to Chicago and he wants to push the truck he found to the bar and use the generator to give it the extra juice it needs to start. Rosemary says that Paul needs to go to the hospital and she doesn't want to leave until she finds her baby. Although James doesn't want to leave without his mom, Luke tells him they'll stop by the church on the way. James agrees and eventually, they convince Rosemary.Luke and Rosemary put some lights around their necks and bodies and go after the truck. Before she leaves Rosemary puts a glow stick necklace around James's neck.Paul is in a lot of pain and asks James turns the juke box back on so he can hear one last song. He does it and then goes to the bathroom to get a cold compress for Paul. The lights go out for a couple of seconds.When they come back on, Paul is still on the pool table but James doesn't respond when he calls for him. He gets up to go look for him and finds the bathroom empty. The door to the basement is open so he goes down there and sees the bomb shelter door is unlocked and open.Outside, Rosemary keeps on reminiscing about her lost daughter. Her flashlight flickers and goes out. She mentions that she just put new batteries in it. Luke says he's noticed that, with the exception of solar powered energy, the electricity that still exists seems to be getting weaker and weaker and requires much more power. She and Luke almost make it to the truck when all of their lights go out. The darkness moves in to take them when the little girl reappears. She shines her flashlight on them and gives them enough time to make it to the truck. Luke tries to go after the girl, but his injured ankle causes him to fall down. Rosemary turns on the lights of a car, which saves them both from the dark. They start to push the truck back to Sonny's but they need more light.Back at the bar, Paul enters the shelter door. He hears James calling to him from the other end and moves towards his voice. He runs down a huge corridor lit by round lights. He reaches the door at the end only to find it opens to a brick wall. He collapses on the floor and watches the lights go off one by one and as the darkness takes him, it's revealed that he's actually still on the pool table upstairs. As soon as Paul disappears, the lights flicker again and it's revealed that James, with his glowing necklace is still in the bathroom. He brings water back for Paul but finds only his clothes.Luke tries to make a torch using a metal rod, cloth and some gas from a nearby vehicle. Rosemary says it will burn too quickly and, while they still have a little light, they should try to find something else to use. They are right by a methadone clinic where Rosemary used to be a patient and she knows they have alcohol there. She finds the alcohol and they fix the torch. Rosemary hears the sound of a crying baby. She drops her last glow stick and takes off. Luke chases after her but it's too late. She's running towards a baby stroller in a circle of bright light. As soon as Rosemary reaches it and realizes the stroller is empty, the lights go off. Her empty clothes fall to the ground while Luke watches helplessly.Luke makes it back to Sonny's with the truck. He and James are able to hook it up to the generator and get it running. They drive a short distance and Luke gets out to move a car out of the way. He tells James to move to the driver's seat and keep his foot on the gas or the truck will stall. While Luke it moving the car, James sees light coming from the church where his mom is supposed to be. Disregarding Luke's instructions, he jumps out of the truck and takes off for the church. Luke barely makes it back to the truck to prevent it from stalling. Inside the church, James sees a circle of candles on the floor, with a lump of clothing in the middle. He calls out for his mother but when he reaches it, no one is there. He hears his mother calling him from the surrounding darkness. James doesn't want to go to her but the candles are blowing out and the shadows are moving in. Luke crashes the car into the church and the headlights push the darkness back once again. He gets out to go to James. With no one holding the gas, the truck dies and the headlights go out. Luke is caught in the middle, trying to run after James and he is taken. James stays with the remaining candles, until they all vanish. repeating over and over "I am James. I exist".The sun comes up. James wakes up in the church surrounded by unlit candles. The little girl walks up and tells him her name is Briana and that he is in her bed. She says that the things he saw at the church - which he took for his mother's - are hers. Briana and James leave the church, and they see a horse eating some apples. Both James and Briana leave Detroit on the horse.When night arrives, they have reached the outskirts, and they are on the road out. | paranormal, flashback | train | imdb | This movie is really mysterious and starts with great promise - people disappearing in the darkness - well, this is frightening.
An unexplained blackout plunges the city of Detroit into total darkness, and by the time the sun rises, only a few people remain-surrounded by heaps of empty clothing, abandoned cars and lengthening shadows.
-- (C) MagnoliaI hate to use something from RUBBER, a film I loathed, but it fits so well here: VANISHING uses the plot of "no reason," a plot that raises many questions but doesn't answer them by the time the credits roll.
Yes, as human beings, we often want to make sense of events that occur, especially in films, yet we need to realize things in life just happen.
Jacob Latimore, the kid actor, plays quite an annoying character at first, which shouldn't be a surprise, but I got to eventually warm up to him in the middle point of the film.Overall, VANISHING impressed me.
Although I was surprised by one event close to the end which I wont ruin by revealing here.Unless you have some reason to watch this film I wouldn't waste the time.
'VANISHING ON 7TH STREET': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Brad Anderson directs this apocalyptic horror film about an unknown darkness falling on mankind and devouring everything in it's path.
Christensen stars as a TV anchorman named Luke, Leguizamo co-stars as a movie theater projectionist named Paul, Newton also co-stars as a mother desperately looking for her lost child and Latimore plays a young boy first camped out in the bar hopelessly waiting for his mom to return.The film is interesting at first but none of it's puzzling questions are really answered.
Not a complete waste of time for horror and suspense thriller fans but ultimately forgettable.Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aotBOLCP-Yg. Better than its getting credit for.
But, I didn't get a chance to write down the name of the thing allegedly leaving the message, and so haven't followed up on it yet.The feeling I had watching the movie was that I was watching one of the writers of The Outer Limits' short stories put into a feature-length film.
The plot have been described many times before but here it is again in a view sentences: During an evening in a crowded city, pretty much everyone seem to vanish during a blackout, seemingly taken by some things lurking in the darkness or the shadows themselves.
But those who are too lazy or uninspired to come up with on theories and answers about the movie and especially the movie's ending (he, the whole "Roanoke"-case was never solved as well) should avoid this one like the group in the movie avoid dark corners!.
The acting was pretty good too and the meaning that popped up in the end was decent as well.A one star review to this movie just isn't cool.
A ten is not acceptable unless you only liked the films darkness and storyline and completely avoided the bad execution.I think that the best way the director and the writer could have fixed this was to show what went on when the survivors (Hayden Christensen, The black chick from Riddick, John Leguizamo (not sure if that's spelled right) and some kid) were learning about what was going on with the whole darkness thing.
For example, I'd like to think that the idea of using candles or making torches would occur to me before the start of the movie's third act.Christensen, Newton, and Leguizamo did a pretty good job considering the plot and script, but the kid was an example of bad casting.
I was very interested in watching Vanishing on 7th Street, because director Brad Anderson's previous filmography includes the excellent films Session 9 and The Machinist, which besides of both being mature and intelligent movies from the fantastic genre, did not necessarily rely on supernatural elements in order to provoke an impact on the spectator.
However, I think that this movie's main fail comes from there...the emphasis on the fantastic aspect leaves aside the human element, which ends up feeling like a nuisance for not being well integrated...something which is exacerbated by the poor performances.The first 20 minutes from Vanishing on 7th Street are pretty good, because they raise the situation with the correct grade of reservation in order to create curiosity in us.
On the positive side, I liked the audio design, Lucas Vidal's music and Anderson's direction style.In conclusion, I think Vanishing on 7th Street deserves a slight recommendation because of its concept, a few good moments of suspense, the atmosphere and the fact that it generally did not bore me.
I totally think the idea was a cool one, and think that if a Stephen King had worked on the script and a brighter, fresh low budget director had gotten his hands on the project and had showed it some love and compassion, this film would have been a very creepy and memorable movie.
This small band of bickering survivors find their way to a bar, which has a generator that keeps the lights running as well as food and drink.When night falls the darkness is coming for them especially as the lights begin to flicker and one by one they are in danger of disappearing.The film is less of a horror film more of an eerie psychological thriller that leaves a lot of things unexplained.
Realising that it's the shadows themselves that are making people disappear, James and Luke are soon joined by fellow survivors nurse Rosemary (Thandie Newton) and conspiracy-theorist film projectionist Paul (John Leguizamo) who has been injured by the shadows.
But as the bar's power begins to fade, their dwindling light sources are the only things keeping the darkness at bay
Once you gotten over the irony of Anakin Skywalker playing a character called Luke, "Vanishing On 7th Street" is actually a disappointing waste of a good concept.
Not to mention inconsistent – nearly everyone we see disappears the second the lights go out and yet when our heroes are dashing through the streets to safety, the shadows kindly take their time and allow them to escape, as though the darkness is toying with them.
The effects are also pretty poor but at least they do what is required of them, which is more than can be said for Anakin.Yet despite all these problems, the movie might have been a success if screenwriter Anthony Jaswinski hadn't given up on the idea halfway through the film.
A better leading man, tighter script work and a bit more thought would have turned "Vanishing On 7th Street" into an alright atmospheric chiller of a movie but as it is, I can't really recommend it.
This movie was awesome, original, and had a great start, I loved it and actually jumped in some scenes (that says a lot these days, with the brainless trash out there).1: The effects: plenty good enough.2: The story ORIGINAL 3: Great camera work 4: NOT ONE DUMB ZOMBIE IN SIGHT!
5: Great to have movies from the first person perspective and no stupid brain-dead soldiers running around blowing things up.6: Just seems any movie that has a 'church' or some religious undertones gets slated, too many motor-mouth narrow minded atheists out there, I'm no Christain but I do have an open mind, if you have an IQ in the double digits this movie isn't for you, best stick with Iron Man or Hell Boy.Vanishing on 7th Street was worth every minute, I love a movie that keeps you guessing..
Hayden Christensen is the main culprit, but even generally good actors like Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo give poor performances thanks to the miserable script.
The characters spend all the film freaking out, attempting to destroy valuable equipment, running around in the dark screaming, arguing and basically doing every last thing that you'd avoid doing in a situation like theirs.
Cast are by the numbers wasted due to being hamstrung by the plot's attempt at blending chills with deeper thought, rendering the characterisations as unfleshed, while the ending feels like a cheat of unfinished business.Personally I'm glad I didn't pay at the cinema to see it, but with that comes the fact that in my darkened living room the other night I enjoyed it to a point.
Although, I did have to watch it more than once to really feel it.John Leguizamo,Hayden Christensen, and Thandie Newton are the only ones left when some sort of dark force takes everyone in the city.
Leguizamo also gives, hands down the best performance of all the three adult actors playing a man not fully happy with his lonely existence making him more accessible to be taken by the shadows.Three people along with a boy, trapped in a bar that has the only one light source in the city, trying to figure out what's going on, and attempting to find a new light source in a desperate attempt to see if their love ones still exist.
Vanishing on 7th StreetAn excellent Sci-Fi thriller yet with many questions that have no answers to certain questions a viewer may pose and the ambiguous message behind the story makes this movie a ''what should not be done in film making''.Now, as for answers on why everyone on earth vanished except a select group and why they have survived has yet to be explained only to have a hint from a newspaper cut-out mentioning the nuclear war possibility that Luke Ryder (Hayden Christensen) finds on the bar's wall that even as the story develops the characters give it a try in order to explain it like , the extraterrestrial phenomenon or the innuendo on the rapture and finally the CROATOAN hypothesis..
I mean if I'm to pay $15 to see a movie, as a client, I need to have my money's worth such to be entitled to have a story that can make me go further than just having seen a film...
The fact the film doesn't look for naive solutions and an easy finale works in its favour, though I think it should have ended a couple of minutes earlier, at the church.There is something to be said about the arbitrary nature of its premises, like why does solar power work and batteries or electricity don't, or how do you explain the sun, but in such a story you can accept such stuff.
These four people must ponder such questions as why this has happened and why it's the four of them that are left, in addition to struggling to survive.Anderson creates such spooky atmosphere and tension that it's a shame that the film doesn't work better than it does.
This viewer would agree with others that it does feel like an unfinished script, and it leaves people wanting to know what comes next.
Vanishing on 7th Street (2010)I thought this was very decent.I actually liked the plot of the movie, with darkness that tries to find you and you vanish.I wasn't really on edge of your the seat however there were some really good tense moment that I really enjoyed.But nothing in this movie was scary or creepy but some-how I could not stop watching.I didn't think the movie was that bad at all but I thought worth a watch, Until very the ending, Which I kind of fell flat..
Ending leaves you angry for having watched the movie wondering whats going on, then leaves you completely in limbo....kind of like the characters ha ha.
It starts out good enough and as a viewer I really wanted to get into this movie but the story is so flat it makes it really hard.
There is very little character and story development and about forty minutes into the movie I became really frustrated with the "try-hard suspense" scene after scene with absolutely no climax.
Although I did like the very very very small surprise ending (I'm making that sound a lot more interesting then what it actually is).If you decide to watch this movie expect it to be the worst movie you've ever seen, because that might be the only way that this bore ends up surprising you a little....by being the second worst.
Yes, there are unfortunately way worse movies out there but that is the only positive thing I can say about Vanishing On 7th Street: Could have been OK if the story actually went somewhere...
A movie like "Vanishing on 7th street" has two things that can work for it: firstly it has to be character driven, building upon the relationships of the people stuck within its dark premise.
It is a waste of time.A movie projection operator played by John Leguizamo finds himself suddenly plunged into darkness during his job.
When the lights come on, the people in the movie theater, and apparently, the world, have vanished, leaving nothing behind but their clothes.
it looks like an awful CGI but beside that it continue in a good way telling stories of how it happen and what they where doing when it happens.The good thing the idea even been a not original is exploited in a good way and try to make a good movie out of it.
Even the Acting was a good bit with Hayden doing of the bad hero, Thandie Newton has a mid acting in some parts is good but in others you want to see her dead and John Leguizamo could be more used but is only a middle actor.The mid thing the environment is a good way to show darkness but the Monsters or Shadows was design in a bad way.The bad thing The Ending When i saw it i was please don't happen that please.
1) Ignore all the bad reviews 2) Get some popcorn and some beers in 3) Turn of lights (this is a must) 4) Watch and become involved in this excellent movie - its a real escape from the 'real world' and isn't that why we watch movies???End of...Kind of, but also watch 'They' how that film is not a cult classic I don't know.I've been watching horrors and thrillers since 1980 - this is in my top 10, easy.Enjoy..
This movie was an absolute waste of time - People disappearing and leaving no clues, just clothing.
Literally every single thing in this film was awful, the actors' performances, the story line, the script, the special effects, the concept.
Personally I love movies with story like this one, everyone is gone and no one knows why and what is happening.
Etc. the only thing that was given in the film was when, Leguizamo character Paul, mentioned that he believed this was like when a computer reboots and earth was erasing its inhabitants to start over, but the question still remained!
I have been confused since the beginning but I knew I'll be getting answers by the end which did not happen.I guess who made it this way just wanted to spice things up and it came out totally jumped up.The confusion I have had for 90 minutes, asking myself the same question I have been asking from the beginning "what's going on" ended up with me asking "what's the point?"To be honest the acting performance was nice, somehow I believe the scenario was disappointing for them too..
there is no explanation or reason give in the movie for all the nonsense that takes place and quite frankly its a waste of time to watch the film.
The film focuses on four such survivors.For most of its running time, "Vanishing" functions as a conventional horror movie, content to simply watch as our heroes struggle to avoid shadows and stay within Earth's last few dwindling pockets of light.
"Spoiler Alert!" This review contains spoilers.This movie looks pretty much like "I am legend", 'though it is not as exciting or does not have Will Smith in it, but it is about the same thing, a sort of trying to survive when there are so few people left.
9. The ending, oh my God, the ending : why would two kids ride a horse towards (hopefully) Chicago, when darkness is coming, or is it "working" only in the city ?If you want my advice, don't watch this movie, unless you're curios about it because, guess what, you won't be feeling in any way better after seeing it..
To me this is a great way to tell the story because you can relate and feel what the characters in the movie felt, they didn't know why it happened or have any explanation and we as the audience were able to take a walk in their shoes, not all mysteries can be explained.The musical score in the background was repetitive and after a few times of it looping it lost it's spooky factor.
With most psychological thrillers or horror films like this, creepy/odd things happen & then in the end, an explanation is given for what happened & why.
Finally, expect the usual problem of characters acting stupidly in this movie - when someone is in need of a light source & is desperate, FIRE come to mind especially when surrounded by alcohol in a bar & there is tons of fuel at their disposal from the cars in the streets - too bad no one could take that mental leap.____________________________________________________________**SPOILER WARNING NOW - DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED**Just to be clear, the idea that it's a reboot or some Adam/Eve scenario which I saw some people trying to sell as answers is NOT an explanation - that is just a potential reason for what happened but still doesn't answer anything about how it happened.
Nothing much is happening throughout the entire movie, except for a small group of people trying to cling to every single source of light in a world of impending darkness, and with the darkness comes something else...With names like John Leguizamo and Hayden Christensen on the list, you would believe yourself in for a somewhat good movie. |
tt0074464 | Eleanor and Franklin | Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Mrs. Roosevelt by her long-time friend Joseph Lash, the first 2-part, 4-hour installment of "Eleanor and Franklin" traces the early lives and relationship of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt to the point of his election as 32nd president of the United States in 1932. A treasure not to be missed by anyone appreciating American history, this 1976 TV miniseries epitomizes the very best in production quality, directorial mastery, writing, and above all the acting of its cast. The 1977 second installment, titled "Eleanor and Franklin: the White House Years," details their time in the White House, covering both the Great Depression and World War II, and is equally as good.Though some of the historical accuracy is now in doubt, the story of the Roosevelts is told here as it was known in 1976. It dramatizes brutally the austere childhood of Eleanor Roosevelt, including the devastation of her mother's early death and her father's death only two years later, though it ignored the embarrassing details of her aunts' affairs and her uncles' alcoholishm. It frankly addresses the emotional heartache that FDR's affair with Lucy Mercer had on Eleanor and its consequences on her subsequent career and their marriage. It deals with FDR's paralysis from polio in 1921 with a compassionate understanding and insight into the maturity he gained from the experience that led to his return to public life. Most affectingly, it details the triangulated relationship between FDR, Eleanor, and his mother Sara, and the devastating effect that Sara's dominance had on the marriage between Eleanor and Franklin.In the annals of biographical acting performances, those of Edward Hermann as Franklin, Jane Alexander as Eleanor, and Rosemary Murphy as Sara stand as benchmarks for empathetic realism. Hermann portrays Franklin as a lonely man whose bravado and cheerful humor mask his own insecurity. Alexander projects the core sadness of Eleanor's life: her childhood as an orphan and her perpetual fear of abandonment by those whom she loved. Murphy, who dominates this first installment entirely (but is underutilized in the second), portrays Sara as a Victorian matriach who is desperately afraid of losing control of her family, and not shy about gettting her way by holding the purse strings.One wonders, though, in light of newly uncovered evidence, whether the dynamics of this triangulated relationship were depicted correctly. We now know that Eleanor had a rich life of friendships with women who were openly lesbian -- with the knowledge and acceptance of Sara and Franklin -- though none of these women appear or are even mentioned in either installment of this miniseries. We now know that Sara was a staunch ally of Eleanor during the marital crisis involving Lucy Mercer -- though the miniseries portrays the relationship of the two women as repeatedly contentious: "Yes, Mama!" We now know that, just prior to his affliction with polio, FDR was censured by the U.S. Senate for his involvement in the sting that exposed a homosexual ring within the U.S. Navy at Newport, R.I. -- though the miniseries completely ignores this critical event in Roosevelt's life.Despite some of these critical omissions, "Eleanor and Franklin" is essential viewing for anyone interested in understanding the history of the Roosevelts -- from the Old New York brilliance of their 1880s childhoods to the funeral train carrying President Roosevelt's body from Warm Springs to Washington in 1945. It is an important piece of history, and eminently poignant, that the orphaned Eleanor was given away by her uncle at her wedding to her fifth cousin, Franklin, on St. Patrick's Day 1905. That uncle was the current president at the time, Theodore Roosevelt. That event, more than any other, harkened the onset of the twentieth century: the passing of the torch from one U.S. president at the beginning of the century to the president who defended the republic from both economic collapse and fascistic tyranny. In the age of Obama with its hold on our hopeful imagination, one wonders what event we will view in the lens of history as the onset of the twenty-first century. | romantic, depressing | train | imdb | null |
tt0067541 | Wake in Fright | This film, an Australian masterpiece and my favourite was lost for 30 years, but has recently been remastered and released to the public. A more nihilistic view of Australia has never been filmed.
John Grant is bonded by the New South Wales Education Department to teach at the lonely outback trainstop of Tiboonda. Desolate and isolated as Australia can be, on holiday after a beer with publican "Charlie", he must overnight in "The Yabba" (a thinly disguised Broken Hill) before travelling onto his girlfriend and the beaches of Sydney. However the local policeman, Jock Crawford introduces John to the hellish nature of outback pubs, gambling at two-up and the unrelenting heat. Jock explains to John that one of his few duties is to sort out the suicides. Losing all his money and stranded in town, every one he meets has the same paralysing greeting - "New to the Yabba?".
The unedifying, ugly, alcoholic, racist and misogynist nature of 70's outback life is soon apparent to John. His brief meeting with "Doc" during a drunken two-up game presages further developments.
When broke he meets Tim who continues to encourage John to drink incessantly. A boozy evening results in a furtive sexual liaison with Tim's daughter Jeanette, completed when John vomits midway through the act. Jack Thompson's character Dick asks "Whats wrong with him - rather talk to a sheila than drink?" Doc turns up at Tim's house, and the alcohol-fuelled debauchery continues. Dick, Doc and half the Yabba have had their way with Jeanette.
Drunk to unconsciousness, John awakes the next day in Doc's donga (outback shack without amenities) to be fed beer and fried kangaroo. Doc admits to being an alcoholic doctor of medicine - couldn't survive in Sydney, but "out here no-one cares". Doc reveals his sexual appetite is met only by Jeanette - if she was a bloke, she wouldn't be known as a "slut".
Then "the boys" from Tim's party the night before arrive to take John on a kangaroo hunting/shooting trip. Australia does not get more ugly than this. Doc cuts off the roo's testicles, and they adjourn to a local (outback) pub for more grog before setting out to spotlight the roos after dark. The hunting scenes are real, many kangaroos are killed, one having his throat slit on camera by the boys, then John also gets his chance; in these politically correct times such scenes would never be released.Near dawn, they return to the pub, and in a drunken rampage destroy the joint. John ends up back at Doc's donga, and a homosexual encounter is implied. John, full of self-loathing, in the heat whilst hungover wanders into the Yabba with a loaded gun. He runs into Jock, who encourages him to have yet another beer! John attempts to hitch out of town, but after giving away has last dollar, returns again to his personal hell in the Yabba. John ends up back in the donga, pointing his rifle at his temple - and subsequently awakes in hospital.Jock presents John with a statement for him to sign about his "accidental" shooting, Doc takes him from hospital to station, and John returns to teaching at the desolate Tiboonda. On the train, he gratefully accepts a beer..... At Tiboonda, Charlie welcomes John home with "Djava good holiday"?...... | violence, psychedelic | train | imdb | null |
tt0445620 | Paradise Now | Paradise Now follows Palestinian childhood friends Said and Khaled who live in Nablus and have been recruited for suicide attacks in Tel Aviv. It focuses on what would be their last days together.
Their handlers from an unidentified resistance group tell them the attack will take place the next day. The pair record videos glorifying God and their cause, and bid their unknowing families and loved ones goodbye, while trying to behave normally to avoid arousing suspicion. The next day, they shave off their hair and beards and don suits in order to look like Israelis. Their cover story is that they are going to a wedding.
An explosive belt is attached to each man; the handlers are the only ones with the keys needed to remove the belts without detonating them. The men are instructed to detonate the bombs at the same place, a military check point in Israel, with a time interval of 15 minutes so that the second bomb will kill police arriving after the first blast.
They cross the Israeli border, but have to flee from guards. Khaled returns to their handlers, who have fled by the time Said arrives. The handlers remove Khaled's explosive belt and issue a search for Said. Khaled believes he is the best person to find Said since he knows him well, and he is given until the end of that day to find him.
After Said escapes from the guards, he approaches an Israeli settlement. At one point, he considers detonating the bomb on a commercial bus, but he decides not to when he sees a child on board. Eventually, Said reveals his reason for taking part in the suicide bombing. While in a car with Suha, a woman he has fallen in love with — who plays the role of the doubter or the men's conscience — he explains that his father was an ameel (a "collaborator," or Palestinian working for the Israelis), who was executed for his actions. He blames the Israelis for taking advantage of his father's weakness.
Khaled eventually finds Said, who is still wearing the belt and about to detonate it while lying on his father's grave. They return to the handlers, and Said convinces them that the attack need not be canceled, because he is ready for it. They both travel to Tel Aviv. Influenced by Suha, who discovered their plan, Khaled cancels his suicide attack. Khaled tries to convince Said to back off as well. However Said manages to shake Khaled by pretending to agree.
The film ends with a long shot of Said sitting on a bus carrying Israeli soldiers, slowly zooming in on his eyes, and then suddenly cuts to white. | revenge, murder | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0069372 | The Thing with Two Heads | A car pulls into a pathway and up to a vast mansion. A driver gets out and walks to the boot to get out a wheelchair. An Orderly comes out to open a rear door. Dr. Maxwell Kirshner (Ray Milland) is helped out of the car and put in a wheelchair. He gets wheeled up the steps and into the mansion.Kirshner asks if his experiment has been a success. He is told by the orderly that it has been. He is wheeled down the stairs into a basement where we see the experiment is in fact a two headed gorilla (Rick Baker) that Dr. Kirshner has in fact made. The experiment is to determine whether another head can survive on one single body. Dr Kirshner has done this because he hasn't got much longer to live and wants to transplant his still living head from his lifeless body and onto a another donor so that he may continue living and get back to working as the world's most successful surgeon. He approaches the bars of the cage that hold his new creature, even when told not to but he is unafraid. He says that the creature understands him and therefore will not hurt him.Dr Kirshner returns to his hospital institute to over look an operation done by his close friend and associate doctor named Phillip Desmond (Roger Perry). An onlooker asks why during the operation why he cant see more blood. He is told that both patients are hooked up to individual heart and lung machines and the blood is easily passed through plastic tubing all the time during the operation. Dr Kirshner returns back to the basement and his two headed gorilla to remove one of the heads from its body. A cage is opened to allow them to get inside from their original cage. The cage has no bottom layer so they use a table to place the cage on. Kirshner orders his assistants to sedate his creature but plans go awry when the creature is upset about the needle and knocks both the cage off of the table and Dr. Kirshner out of his wheelchair, hurting him severely. It then proceeds to smash up the lab and escapes. Kirshner tells the assistant to get the creature back as he doesn't have much time left to live. The creature runs away and into a supermarket where the assistants chase after it. The gorilla is found eating a banana in the fruit section of the supermarket. Kirshner hires a new doctor to help his friend with the transplant. Little does he realize that the new doctor is an African American and Kirshner hates African Americans. He is a bigot and a racist. He tells the new doctor that his services that were about to start are now no longer required because he doesn't want an African American doctor working anywhere near him or with him. He tells the African American doctor that he will be remembursed for his time and the original duration that he was supposed to be working for. The African American doctor whose name is Dr. Fred Williams (Don Marshall) takes great offence to this. Dr. Desmond sticks up for Dr. Williams saying whether he is African American or not, he is a damn good doctor.This disgusts Kirshner and he wheels himself out of the office. He returns once again back to the basement where he successfully removes the 2nd head of the creature. He calls his friend Dr Desmond and Desmond rushes over. He tells him he is ready for his own transplant to a healthy donor. Desmond is not sure about it until Kirshner tells him that the head that is now on the gorilla is in fact the 2nd head he put on. He had successfully removed the original gorillas head and replaced it with the 2nd transplanted one. Meanwhile on death row the convicts are told that if they donated their bodies to science, it will stop them getting the electric chair. One convict is lead to the chair which turns out to be an African American himself, a very big African American named Jack Moss (Roosevelt "Rosey" Gier). Just as they sit him in the chair, he decides to volunteer for the science experiment because he is innocent of the crime he was supposed to have committed and therefore he believes that in 30 days he will have freed himself of the accusation. The police, including Sergeant Hacker (Roger Gentry), escort Jack to the transplant center for this experiment they have been told about. The doctors are surprised to see a large African American being brought before them for this experiment knowing full well that when Kirshner wakes up, he isn't going to like what he sees. However the doctors work around the clock to transplant Dr Kirshner's head onto Jack's body.After the operation Kirshner wakes up and Desmond tells him that the operation was a success. Kirshner says he can feel the breath in his new lungs and that he can move his arm. Desmond tells him that they had no other choice but to transplant his head onto the African American's body. Kirshner says to Desmond "is this part of a joke?" Desmond tells him that he would not have lived another day if they hadn't of operated when they did.At that moment, Jack awakes and is freaked out by the fact that Kirshner's head is on his body. Kirshner tells him to shut up and rest so they can recuperate the energy to test drive his new body and try out his surgical procedures to become the world's greatest doctor again. Jack gets angry and try to get up from the table but Kirshner cries out for someone to sedate the Jack of the body, which Desmond does. Kirshner exhausted, tells Desmond that he couldn't control the Jack side of the body, he can only control the body if Jack is sedated or asleep. Kirshner is worried that Jack could harm his half of the body.Desmond tells him that he will keep the Jack side heavily sedated all the time while Kirshner regains the power to move the body. Leaving Kirshner to rest, Desmond meets up with Dr. Williams again and tells him he needs his help. Williams is reluctant at first because of Dr Kirshner but Desmond reassures him that his beliefs are not the same as Dr. Kirshner's and that his help is very much needed. Although Williams still doesn't know what has been asked of him, he is told by Desmond to go home and get some things together. Williams asks when he will find out what is going on in the room that is keeping Jack and Kirshner. Desmond tells him that he will find out in good time.Meanwhile a nurse (Britt Nilsson) comes to administer a sedation to Jack's side of the body. Jack tricks the nurse and wakes up, giving her the sedation needle instead by stabbing it into her bum. He tricks one of the cops outside the door to come in and knocks him unconscious. Grabbing the cops gun, he beats up the other cop and runs out of the building taking Williams with him/them. Williams drives the car under gunpoint by Jack and Desmond chases after them. Jack asks Williams if he can get rid of Kirshner's head off of his body. He tells Williams that if he won't help him then, as he will kill Kirshner and remove his head himself. Williams warns him that if he did that, he would be killing himself also. He also tells him that Kirshner's head can only be removed surgically if he wants a safe procedure.The police chase after Jack, Kirshner and Williams. Jack takes over driving and accidentally crashes the car and causes a flat tire. Williams sits with Kirshner and Jack beneath a tree and asks why Jack was on Death Row. Jack tells him that he was framed for a stick up that went wrong, a friend of his used a gun that Jack owned to knock off a store and he shot a cop. As the gun was Jack's and his prints were on the gun. Knowing that Jack was arrested for the murder, his friend ran away and Jack took the fall. Kirshner then tries to appeal to Williams by offering him the accolade of the transplant. Williams sees through his ploy and tells him that he insulted him and therefore would not accept his offer as it would mean that he would have to take off Jack's head from the body.All three of them run up a hill and find a motocross track. Jack watches as a motocross rider falls off his bike and Jack takes it and rides off round the motocross track with Kirshner and Williams riding also. Several bikes crash after seeing the two headed horror and soon the police are hot on their trail. Kirshner screams to Jack that he will get them all killed. Jack snaps back that he will get them out of this mess. Kirshner doesn't believe him and the bikes speeds towards a gap, a very deep gap which Jack easily jumps. The police cars chasing them, crash one after the other, some even land on each other. Luckily the cars are wrecked yet the cops are not injured.Jack rides the bike to his wife's house. Lila (Chelsea Brown) isn't that pleased to see him because of Kirshner's head is on his body. Jack asks his wife to kiss him, she almost does but is put off from the intimate moment by Kirshner's head. With a degree of sexual chemistry she then asks if he has two of everything meaning does he have two genitals. Jack laughs at this. Jack lays down to rest and Jack's wife Lila says she is gonna get dinner. Jack asks her to stay and he feels some sexual energy towards her. She is put off about this. Jack tells her that if Kirshner's head is putting her off that he will cover it with a pillow case. That doesn't change her mind and she walks off. Jack turns to Kirshner and tells him for interrupting his sexual activity that he has got to go.While Jack is sleeping Kirshner finds out that he can control the body almost fully. Kirshner is very happy about this. Jack, Kirshner, Williams and Lila sit down for dinner. Jack offers some to Kirshner who tells him he doesn't eat that kind of food. Lila says to Kirshner "What's the matter baby, dont you like soul food?". Kirshner replies with a bigot remark of "What's for pudding? Watermelon?" Jack tells Kirshner not to worry about the food as he is eating it not Kirshner. Lila strikes up a cigarette to which Kirshner asks for a cigarette. Lila gives him one and the smoke ends up coming out of Jack's mouth while he is eating. Disgusted by this, Jack takes the cigarette out of Kirshner's mouth and tells him not to smoke while he is eating. Lila asks what it will take to take Kirshner's head from Jack's body. Kirshner tells her that without a specially crafted surgical team, it is impossible to do the operation and both of them will die. Williams tells Kirshner that he is dead wrong about that, as the removal procedure is easily done without the aid of the surgical team.Williams drives to a medical warehouse to get what he needs for the operation. Frightened by what Williams has told him, Kirshner manages to take over Jack's body and starts playing around with his face. Jack asks him to stop it and Kirshner knocks out Jack by punching him in the face and then knocks over Williams too. Cornered by William, Kirshner calls Desmond for help in removing Jack's head so that he may live. Kirshner manages to get away and drives back to the basement in Kirshner's house, where he made and removed the gorilla's head. Before Kirshner can sedate Jack, Williams comes in and stops Kirshner. Williams then calls Desmond to get over to Kirshners' house as soon as possible. Desmond arrives with a nurse and an associate who find Kirshner detached head lying on the utensil table hooked up to a heart and lung machine which has his blood constantly pumping through the plastic tubes to keep him alive for a while. Kirshner calls to Desmond and begs for him to bring him another body.The film ends with Lila, Jack and Williams driving down the highway singing Oh Happy Day. They turn to each other and smile, they got rid of Kirshner and won the day. | blaxploitation | train | imdb | The head of a dying white bigot (Ray Milland) is transplanted onto the body of a black convict on death row (Rosey Grier).*.
The head of a white bigoted doctor (sadly Ray Milland) is attached to the body of a wrongly convicted black man (Rosey Grier) on Death Row. Unfortunately, Grier's head is still attached.
It escapes from a hospital and tries to clear Grier's name while Milland's head tries to take control of the body.Totally ridiculous AIP movie which bears a more than passing resemblance to 1971's "Incredible Two-Headed Transplant".
With the exception of Milland the acting is lousy and the script has howlers that you just can't believe (ex: when Grier's girlfriend first sees him with Milland's head she says, "Honey, I know you don't like answering questions, but HOW did this happen?").
I've seen movies far worse than this offering about a white bigot's head transplanted to a soul brother's body.
Yes, every scene with the "creature" either looks like Rosey Grier with a plastic head on him or Ray Milland uncomfortably close for close-ups.
The chase scene of 14 police cars chasing the two headed man on a motor bike(which last over 15 minutes) is the centerpiece of the film and sets the mood, pace, and credibility of the film.
Everything is here: a no-talent Football star actor (Rosey Grier), Pre-"Smokey and the Bandit" car chases, motorcycles, blaxploitation cliches galore, cheap monsters, no budget, beyond-bad dialogue, a director who thought he was moving up and out of the porno industry, and, of course, the great Ray Milland, star of the incomparable 1970's classic "Frogs".
Classic scenes: Convicted convict Grier comes out of anesthesia and expresses suprise and dismay at finding Ray Milland's head attached to his body.
Grier: "What did you guys do to me?" Milland, sounding petulent: "We transplanted my head onto your body--now shut up!"Grier and Milland (the two heads on Rosey's body, remember) show up at Grier's girlfriend's apartment in search of refuge from the cops: Grier: (noticing his gal's shock at seeing his 2-headed condition) "Don't worry baby, I won't hurt you." Girlfriend (looking unsure): "You get into more s***."The whole film is like this.
Ray Milland (yes, the same Ray Milland who won a Best Actor Oscar for his excellent turn in 1945's THE LOST WEEKEND) is a brilliant-but-racist brain surgeon who is dying, but has perfected a way to live on through head-transplants.
Someone out there decides to teach him a lesson by placing his bigoted noggin on the body of a black convict (former professional football star Rosey Grier).
Try not to laugh watching Grier running around or riding on a motorcycle with a ridiculous-looking fake dummy-head planted on his shoulders.Not to be confused with THE INCREDIBLE TWO HEADED TRANSPLANT (1971) or Andy Milligan's THE MAN WITH TWO HEADS (1972).Score: 5 out of 10 (Though a MUST for camp aficionados!).
This movie pairs Ray Milland as a bigoted doctor who is dying of cancer who has his head transplanted on to the body of wrongly confused death row inmate Rosey Grier.
And, like every great work of art, "The Thing With Two Heads" helps us understand our human condition and question our role in the universe.How could The Academy have overlooked Rosey Grier's performance in this film?
In fact as I gave my friend the plot of the movie I began to laugh as I explained it.I only saw this movie once and for it to stick with me as being a riot for 33 years speaks volumes.I say too bad more movies that the whole family can watch together can't say as much.Rosie Grier and Ray Milland were a great team in this flick, check it out.
But how to find another compatible body for Dr. Kirshner?The Trash "The Thing with Two Heads" is a stupid, racist, cheesy but also very funny dark comedy.
It is a movie that was created, most likely, when some filmmaker friends got drunk one night and started throwing the most absurd ideas they could conjure out on the table.To many, seeing a Hollywood legend (and legitimately great actor) like Ray Milland "reduced" to starring in schlock like this, X-THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES and FROGS in his later years must be sad, but I don't agree.
I can picture him sitting with his agent and saying, "Hey, I won my Oscar, I'm getting older, I might as well have some fun." While Milland and "Rosey" Grier are far from Abbott & Costello or even Martin & Lewis, the two have a certain odd chemistry that works well, especially since their characters are supposed to be from completely different backgrounds.
Grier is no actor, but that actually works in Milland's favor as virtually his entire performance is from the neck up.The movie does work as a bizarre allegory for racial relations but mostly it works as a goof.
It barrels along at a break-neck pace with subplots involving everything from a two-headed gorilla escaping and going on a rampage to or our hero(s) infiltrating a BMX bike race while being chased by what appears to be the entire LA police department.If you're looking for logic or intelligence keep looking.
If you're looking for a silly good time, THE THING WITH TWO HEADS will do the trick admirably!.
The con, Jack Moss, is also innocent of the crime he's on death row for and intends to use the additional 30 days to prove this, regardless of the fact there's the cranky head of an old racist scientist breathing down his ear.
It's interesting to see how the rich white bigot(Miland) reacts when he learns his head was transplanted onto the body of a black man (Grier).
The heads must "co-exist" on the body until Miland's head adapts and gains control.I guess you can say Transplant Hysteria was all the rage in the 70's and 80's (Max Headroom).If you are a fan of "B cinema", you may like this, but it's not a B-Movie at it's best..
Less straightforward than one might expect for a tale about a racist surgeon whose head is transplanted onto an African American man's body, the vast majority of 'The Thing With Two Heads' is actually played straight (not as a comedy), nor does the surgeon gradually overcome his prejudices as one might expect.
As mentioned, the comedy angle does not take off until rather late in the piece (around halfway in) and it is furthermore a good thirty minutes before the transplant takes place with the film going into glorious detail regarding its head grafting pseudoscience and how host bodies need to learn to accept newly transplanted heads before the original heads can be removed and so on.
It is really only as the comedy angle starts to warm up that the film loses its way with prolonged racing and chase scenes when the better moments are the ones in which the Thing interacts with others, including the African American's girlfriend, curious if he has two of anything else (!).
The Thing With Two Heads is one of those drive-in fodder camp films that is spectacularly bad it ought to be seen and seen again for the sheer scope of audacity the producers had in making this.
So that might not matter with gorillas, but when Milland is hours from death they have to grab the first body available.Which turns out to be Roosevelt Grier on death row and who also says he's innocent.
Nevertheless he's going to take this second chance to prove he's innocent.Most hilariously bad scene in the film is Grier and Milland stealing a motocross bike and wrecking a race and demolishing 14 police cars in the process.
Marshall is really enjoying Milland's predicament, so much so he's agreed to help Grier prove he's innocent.The Thing With Two Heads has to be seen to be believed..
In THE THING WITH TWO HEADS, Ray Milland (X: THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES, FROGS) is Maxwell Kirshner, the irascible, bigoted head of the Kirshner Transplant Foundation.
First of all, the two men, Ray Milland and Rosey Grier, look like they are sleeping in the same bed and got stuck.
A vehemently racist surgeon- dying from an inoperable heart condition- hires a black doctor as his predecessor...not knowing he was black.When he finds out, he tries to fire the doctor, but the doctor insists on fulfilling his contractual obligations.The dying surgeon wants to prolong his life, by transplanting his head, onto someone else's body- so that his genius can live on.The plan is to get someone from death row to agree to the procedure instead of being executed.And, in some sort of case of divine irony, the only volunteer is a black inmate- on death row for a crime he claims he did not commit.His time is about up...and he wants to use the extra time to prove his innocence.Now, you have a racist white guy's head on a black dude's body...with the plan being to, eventually, cut the black dude's head off, so that the white guy can have his body.The white doctors don't feel qualified to do the job, so they turn to the black doctor for help with the final procedure (ie getting a black dude to cut a black dude's head off a black dude's body so a racist white guy can have it...).But before they have a chance to, the black dude (who still has the most control over his body) escapes- taking the black doctor hostage in the process.Now they are on the lam...with both the black dude and racist white guy's head trying to convince the doctor to amputate the other.As you can tell, this is the blaxploitation version of The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant from the year before.
Particularly in the last bit when the white actor takes control of the body and is driving/walking around.Before that, there's a humorously long dirtbike vs cop cars chase scene in which they crash 14 cop cars (though it seems like a lot more).And the ending all goes down very abruptly.It would have been nice if they had wrapped up the whole he was innocent angle.
But it get's the idea across pretty clearly in an almost light-hearted way.But you are happy to see him get f*cked over in the end.A fun little film of the it's so bad it's good kind.5.5 out of 10..
Almost camp with an anti racism message and a police car chase sequence that reminds you of those Hal Needham/Burt Reynolds films of the 1970s.The early scenes has a remarkable performance by a two headed gorilla.
A 7 time Oscar winner (4 more than Daniel Day Lewis!)However the film features more than just future Oscar talent as it also stars former Best Actor Oscar winner and no stranger to schlock films, Ray Milland as a brilliant surgeon now affected by arthritis and cancer with just days to live.Milland is also a racist and in order to save his live with experimental surgery they transplant his head on the body of a convict on death row.Unsurprisingly Milland is not too happy with the result.
It fails as horror as it's too laughable.It maybe works as a social commentary but it needed zipping up a bit and cut down in length.It sort of meanders and gets a bit dull, even with the prolonged chase sequences.Some of the effects are very good although when both Milland and Rosey Grier try to be together then you can guess one is behind the other.It is campy but the film should had been more of a hoot..
Exactly halfway through the movie the "Thing" wakes up and escapes from the transplant center.As far as I can tell, the black guy didn't know what was going to be done to him and the white guy didn't know they were going to use a black guy, yet neither is surprised at what has happened.
Ray Milland and Rosie Grier on the motorcycle is the funniest scene ever in a movie.
If you only see one really bad, entertaining movie the year make it "The Thing With Two Heads"..
Should be required viewing along with Airplane, Buffalo 66, Anchorman, Napoleon Dynamite, Team America World Police, Sideways, Bad Santa, Windy City Heat, Zoolander, Kingpin, Best In Show, Meet The Parents, Office Space, Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me, This Is Spinal Tap, Raising Arizona, Dr. Strangelove, Kentucy Fried Movie, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Life Of Brian, Meaning Of Life, Vacation, Used Cars, After Hours, Caddyshack, Ed Wood, The Rutles All You Need Is Cash, The Jerk, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, There's Something About Mary, And Now for Something Completely Different, Fletch, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Hot Shots, Hot Shots Part Deux, Scary Movie 3, Heaven Can Wait, American Psycho, Sixteen Candles, Pee Wees Big Adventure, Top Secret, A Fish Called Wanda, The Naked Gun, Naked Gun 33 1/3, The King Of Comedy, Crumb, The Man With Two Brains, Real Life, High Anxiety, Pink Panther, A Shot In The Dark, Pink Panther Strikes Again, Return Of The Pink Panther, Revenge of the Pink Panther, Bad News Bears, Young Frankenstein, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Blazing Saddles, The Producers, Tommy Boy, The World According To Garp, The Survivors, The Big Lebowski, Dirty Work, Beavis And Butt-Head Do America, Better Off Dead, Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Accidental Tourist, Young Doctors In Love, Bottle Rocket, Johnny Dangerously, Wallace & Gromit in The Wrong Trousers, Wallace & Gromit in A Close Shave, & Kung Pow: Enter the Fist..
The movie starts with a rich doctor named Kirshner (Milland) who's developed a way to transplant the head of another creature, in this case an ape on to another's body and it survives.
The word goes out, and a death row inmate decides to "donate his body to medical science." Jack (Grier) claims he's innocent, but is brought over and put under for the procedure.
In a chase that never seems to end Jack finally gets away from the cops and the brothers decide to get rid of the white mans head.
One thing leads to another and Kirshner ends up with his head ready to be transplanted again while Jack, Marshal, and his girl take off for freedom.
The effects are so bad you can't help but laugh, especially at Milland's head on Grier's body throughout much of the film as they run, ride and elude police.
And the story, Racist white guy gets his head put on black man's body?
Milland's a good actor so I'm surprised he did some of these low budget yarns, somewhat like "Frogs." The rest of the cast did their job, Grier was amusing nothing bad to say just a silly film all together.
This film is bundled on a DVD with THE INCREDIBLE 2-HEADED TRANSPLANT and while they are both very bad, perhaps THE THING WITH TWO HEADS is a bit worse--though this is like comparing cholera to cancer--they're both quite nasty!!
And, sadly, it really does none of these genres very well.It begins with a rich racist doctor (Ray Milland) announcing that he's dying and only has a couple weeks to live.
It begins with Grier/Milland AND a Black doctor jumping on the back of a mountain bike in a race.
But, if you are a bad movie fan, you actually might like it because it's THAT bad--so bad you will laugh along with it--particularly since the film never really takes itself very seriously..
The millionaire's health deteriorates rapidly, and doctors are forced to transplant his head onto the only available candidate; a large black man from the local prison's death row.
By 1972, roles were proving more difficult to come by, which may explain his involvement in this much derided film.Much of the unease this film seems to have caused revolves around Kirshner's blatant racism – and the fact that his experiments result in his head being transplanted onto the body of a black man.
The film then seems not to know what to do with the twosome, so a car chase ensues, Dukes of Hazzard-style, which goes on far, far too long.In the end, as Moss says, 'he's got to go', and the spare head is removed and Kirshner is last found abandoned, still plugged into the life-sustaining machinery, pleading with his minions to 'find me another body
please.'.
Well now, Milland 27 years after taking home the gold for that classic can be escorted out with the "Boobie Prize" with the audience singing "Somebody Stole His Head!" And it ends up on the body of football legend Rosey Grier!
Just because an educated doctor can do miracles with an ape with two heads (a sight that has to be seen to be believed!) doesn't mean that he's a good guy, and in this case, Milland is despicable.
Grier is an innocent black man on death row who agrees to donate his body to science rather than be electrocuted, and wakes up after the operation to find him snuggling cheek to cheek next to this racist jerk.
A rich but racist man is dying and hatches an elaborate scheme for transplanting his head onto another man's body.His health deteriorates rapidly, and doctors are forced to transplant his head onto the only available candidate: a black man from death row....Total garbage from beginning to end, but one cannot help but love a good car crash movie.
Especially when it features two actors who are out of their comfort zone for more or less the whole duration of the movie.This is blaxploitation/Grindhouse at it's finest, and to top the whole thing off, we get the most hilarious police chase ever seen, a man riding a scrambler with a plastic head on his shoulders, a joy to behold.It's a wonder that any of these actors managed to keep a straight face when making this.
White racist's head transplanted on to black convict's shoulder - say no more. |
tt0072156 | Shriek of the Mutilated | A very brief pre-credits sequence shows an execution beside a pool, where a young blindfolded woman is decapitated by a man while two other complicit individuals watch.At a university, Dr. Ernst Prell (Alan Brock) lectures a small group of four students, Keith (Michael Harris), Karen (Jennifer Stock), Lynn (Darcy Brown), and Tom (Jack Neubeck). Prell gives them a presenation on the Yeti, displaying slides with representations of what the unknown beast might look like based on descriptions of supposed eyewitnesses. Prell is planning an expedition with the four graduate students to Boot Island, where his associate Dr. Karl Werner (Tawm Ellis) lives. Werner has told Prell that he suspects a yeti lurks in the woods around his estate, and Prell intends to capture evidence proving the creature's existence. Prell seems particularly interested in Keith, and takes him to dinner at an exclusive restaurant, where he orders a meal for them that isn't on the menu, a special dish called "gin sung".The other students go to a party where they meet a former student of Prell's, Spencer Ste. Clair (Tom Grail). Spencer starts drinking, much to the objection of his wife (Luci Brandt), and when he overhears the students talking about the expedition with Prell, Spencer causes a scene at the party. He becomes hysterical, recounting his own experience on one of Prell's expeditions 8 years prior. Spencer and Prell were the only ones to survive, the others presumably killed by the yeti, which Spencer says attacked him and left him for dead. The people at the party don't take Spencer's story seriously, and he and his wife leave. When they return to their apartment, Spencer's wife breaks his bottle of liquor, causing Spencer to attack her with an electric carving knife. He cuts her throat and then gets into the bathtub, fully clothed, drinking beer. Before she dies, Spencer's wife drags herself into the bathroom with a toaster, which she plugs in and tosses into the bathtub, electrocuting Spencer.Prell and the four students travel by van to Werner's estate, a six hour journey. When they arrive, they meet Werner and his servant, Laughing Crow (Ivan Agar). Werner claims to have had a near encounter with the beast, which he says he hears howling in the woods around the house. He says he smelled a foul odor and heard a very loud heartbeat when the yeti was near. Laughing Crow frightens Karen when she discovers him chopping wood for a fire, and Karen seems particularly sensitive to the potential danger they may encounter. After Prell shows them a map of the island, they plan a route and retire for the evening. That night, Karen hears a strange snarling sound off in the distance.The next day they set out for their destination, some caves where Prell hypothesizes that the yeti may be using for a lair. Before they reach it, they stop to rest and Tom goes off on his own with a rifle, claiming to have seen deer nearby. Prell tells the others he will go ahead to the caves to see if he can see any sign of the yeti. Tom finds a dilapidated barn, where the yeti suddenly appears, leaping onto him and slashing him to death with its claws. When Tom does not return, the others search for him but return to the house at dark.The next morning, the search party resumes but Lynn oversleeps and the others leave without her. During the search, Karen finds Tom's bloody severed leg. Just as they are returning to the house, Lynn decides to explore the greenhouse, but when she goes inside she screams and goes running back out, dashing off into the woods where the yeti follows and kills her. The others find her body and bring it back, storing it in the greenhouse.Prell devises a plan to use Tom's severed leg as bait for the Yeti. Karen is horrified, but Keith still trusts Prell and they go ahead as planned. Prell claims to have been attacked by the Yeti before he could obtain any photos or evidence of it, and they decide to use Lynn's body as bait this time. Karen refuses and keeps telling Keith she wants to leave, but Keith is furious that she does not want to follow Prell's plan. Later she goes into the greenhouse and attempts to move Lynn's body so they can't use her as bait, but instead she finds Tom's body in there. She passes out.When she comes to, she's in bed and the others tell her she simply dreamed finding Tom's body. Eventually she relents and agrees to help get photos of the Yeti using Lynn as bait, but she insists if it doesn't work they all must leave. Prell agrees. The plan almost works, but the Yeti rushes them and nearly grabs Karen. While she is taken back to the house, Keith and Prell rush into the woods after the Yeti. Keith is mystified when he discovers audio speakers wired into the trees, broadcasting the ominous heartbeat of the Yeti. Back at the house, Laughing Crow is playing the heartbeat into the loudspeaker system. Someone knocks Keith unconscious. When he comes to, he goes into the house with a shotgun and confronts Prell and Werner, but Laughing Crow knocks him unconscious again using a large bone. While Werner is distracted making a phone call, Keith comes to again and steals the van, knocking Prell unconscious in the driveway. He drives to the bridge, detouring to hide the van when he notices an oncoming procession of vehicles, apparently headed to Werner's estate.Karen is recovering from the shock of the Yeti attack in her room when she hears the sound it makes outside. When she looks out the window, she sees it running across the grounds toward her window, and it starts to climb right into the room. Panicked, Karen runs through the house with the Yeti after her, growing more and more terrified. Finally she hides in a bathroom and locks the door, but she can't escape. She discovers Laughing Crow inside one of the cabinets, wearing strange face paint and clothing. He emerges with a knife and approaches her threateningly, until Karen lies down on the floor and suffers a heart attack. The Yeti carries her body downstairs and removes its own costume, revealing Werner inside. Prell and Werner congratulate each other on the job they did obtaining their latest "sacrifice".Keith returns to the house with a policeman he managed to flag down, but the cop turns on him and reveals himself to be an ally of Prell and Werner. A diverse group of people have gathered at the estate for this event, which Prell encourages Keith to be a part of. They are a cult of cannibals who come from all walks of life, each of them hosting this festival year after year. The last time Prell hosted was the incident with Spencer Ste. Clair; Prell hoped to induct him into the group, but he "didn't work out", and they left him alive to carry the legend of the Yeti back with him, which allows the cannibals the means to collect victims unnoticed. Prell has the same hopes for Keith, who has already tasted and enjoyed the special "gin sung" dish made of human flesh. At first Keith is resistant, but he is faced with the difficult choice of either being killed by the group or eating Karen's body, and the last shot of the film is Keith drooling over the idea. | violence, cult | train | imdb | SHRIEK truly is the one.Four college students are invited by a professor to go to a secluded island to investigate reports of a killer Yeti/Abominable Snowman.
He jumps into the bathtub fully clothed and cracks open a beer, when his still-alive wife crawls in the room, throws in a toaster that isn't even plugged in and electrocutes him!The four students decide to go anyway and are attacked and killed by an awful white creature that looks more like THE SHAGGY DOG than a Yeti.
If you can get past the premise of a killer yeti dwelling in some guy's back yard, this isn't THAT bad of a movie.
Indeed it has all the markings of a good bad movie, including incredible dialogue, cheesy makeup (the yeti looks like a fluffy half man ape wearing fuzzy cowboy chaps and I believe if you stop frame the scenes, he is wearing white tennis shoes!).
I'm sorry to say I saw this one back in the 70's at a Drive In.We all laughed at it for months.We tried to determine if it was filmed in someones back yard and what the total budget was.The canniblism aspect was a good spin though.This movie was very good for laughs and comments like " Hey who's idea was it to watch this one?"I think it ranks right up there with Plan 9 ,Microwave Massacre and even Ishtar.Make sure you drink heavily when you watch it.It makes it easier.I do recommend it.Do not spend more than 2 bucks if possible.I would also recommend that you do not watch this one on a first date.Wait till at least the third,and it may even just be your last..
Well, take four studious grad students desiring to impress their professor on a weekend jaunt to "Boot" Island(Heaven knows where that is...but by the looks of the area I would say Upstate New York), a professor intent on finding the Yetti(in New York no less), and a mixture of cheap special effects, implausible situations, horrendous acting, and a lively tune called Popcorn and you have the makings of a great film ...right?
In between porno projects, the Findlays found time to dabble in horror like the infamous 1976 release Snuff and their Yeti movie Shriek Of The Mutilated, with Michaeldirecting and editing and Roberta on camera duties.
Which thrills Dr Prell no end, as it proves the Yeti exists, and he uses the classmates' bodies as bait, much to the horror of young Karen who screams her disapproval to anyone within earshot: "You're a madman!" and a thousand variations on that theme.Of course, something more sinister is at work, and the revelation upon revelation in the final ten minutes add up to one of the nuttiest endings I can remember from ANY horror movie, Seventies or otherwise.
Be glad it's NOT one of the Findlays' porn efforts, or you'd see them raise more than an eyebrow.To cap an extraordinary career, Michael Findlay's death was like a bad B movie ending: on his way to demonstrate his new 3 D camera, he was decapitated by a helicopter's blades (and don't you wish his 3-D camera was rolling at the time).
A film so awful that even the biggest bad movie lovers would run for their lives as soon as they see the opening credits.
who together with Dr. Prell likes to run around in the woods dressed up in white gorilla suites scaring and killing the students in their care; and many many more..
Featuring one of the all time great movie lines in "Mr. Henshaw, white meat or dark?" Worth it alone to see the oddball Spencer Sinclair being electrocuted in his bath tub after slashing his girlfriend's throat with a bread-cutting knife.
The gay subtext of the relationship between the professor, the owner of the island which the Yeti inhabits, and is mute Indian "man servant" is enough to keep you scratching your head.What other movie contains an impromptu musical interlude with lyrics like "he'll turn your threesome into a twosome...
I often watch movies I loved back then when I was a kid, and am usually disappointed at how bad they are.....certainly not the wondrous films I remembered.
So I figure, if my friends and I thought this movie was horrid back then, I can only imagine how bad it would be these days to watch, LoL.Anyway, was just fooling around on the internet tonight and thought of it........so I had to look it up.
Thought I'd post this if any of you are interested....or thinking about watching this piece of garbage, LoL.For those of you that have seen this atrocity, I'll leave you with these words, which I still remember (and laugh about) all these years later.....WHITE MEAT OR DARK?!?!?!
If you can get past the "Popcorn" scene without gagging, the rest of the film is filled with stolen pieces of classical music (including that horror movie favorite tension-setter "Dies Irae") that don't fit the action or situations at all.Too bad, because the first murder scene was kind of promising, if unintentionally funny; double homicide with electric knife and toaster in the bath tub!
Just a note of warning: The Retromedia DVD of "Shriek of the Mutilated" is missing one of the highlights of the movie...the use of the '70s syntho-pop instrumental hit "Popcorn" during the party scene early in the movie.
Amateurish, but unrelentingly bizarre horror movie about a group of graduate students who travel to the Pacific Northwest in search of the Abominable Snowman, who ends up looking suspiciously like the Shaggy D.A.
Shriek of the Mutilated lacks the stark cinematography and morbid poetic sensibility of the earlier Findlay films, the Flesh trilogy and The Ultimate Degenerate, but fans of the couple will recognize other familiar ingredients: the melodramatic violence, stock classical music, and, most charmingly, bitter monologues as a cheap way of furthering the plot.A movie like this, it goes without saying, isn't suited to all tastes; but admirers of the Findlays, plus anybody who likes or can stomach the work of Don Dohler or Andy Milligan, are probably going to want to see this sometime.
Dull spots and porn film production values notwithstanding, Shriek of the Mutilated does contain some wild ideas.As other reviewers have noted, the rotten music playing during the party scene isn't original to the movie and was added for the Retromedia release.
Still, the movie made for good fun as my friends and I took great pleasure in predicting which of the students would fall next or how bad the next cannibal joke would be.
4) The Yeti runs down a long warehouse aisle to a loading dock to attack one of the students in the middle of the woods, then cuts to the actual attack, where he falls like he'd been pushed over.This movie cried out for the MST3K treatment, but alas, it was not to be..
This movie, bad acting and all, is a wonderful gem that I searched for for 17 years, after having seen it at age 11.
There are some memorable moments...Dr Prell using some of the bigfoot victims' body parts as "bait" ("Keith, I want you to listen to me closely...this can never be of any use to Tom anymore.") to the unforgettable ending, when Laughing Crow raises an electric knife and says,"Mr Henshaw...white meat or dark?" Not to mention the toaster in the bathtub scene.
This is not a top-quality film - it is campy and b-rated but a heck-of-a-lot better than the description and poster shows it to be.Students are lead to an island by their professor in search of the yeti but the student uncover more.
This movie is almost unwatchable, and sorely needs an MST3K or Rifftrax treatment to help you through it.For anyone looking for a good-bad Yeti movie, I heartily recommend the made-for-TV "Snowbeast", which I picked up on DVD at a dollar store.
After following the supposedly REAL case of the Yeti corpse found in the U.S.A. I decided to watch some Bigfoot related movies like "Night of the Demon" and this one, "Shriek of the Mutilated".
After watching both, I could only ask myself: Why all the killer Yeti movies are CRAP?!.Even "Night of the Demon" is a fun exploitation trash but "Shriek..." is plain bad, terrible and a demonstration of incompetent film making.I regularly recommend bad movies in the style of this one, but in this case, my advice will only be: stay away from it!
Unperturbed by the gruesome failure of a previous such mission some years earlier,the peculiarly motivated Sasquatch hunter Professor Prell is planning a new field trip with an assorted group of students.The bickering group of students find themselves on a field trip in darkest Boot Island,staying at the residence of another mysteriously motivated character Dr Waring...with the laugh inducing monster outside!"Shriek of the Mutilated" is amazing in its badness.It offers woeful acting,amateurish gore and most laughably unconvincing Sasquatch ever put to film.Add also a gruesome cannibal cult and you have memorable Z-gade horror trash,which remains a highly entertaining if comparatively rare film that should be sought by fans of cheap exploitation cinema..
I've seen the flick probably a half dozen times, but it's one of those horror movies you just want to watch over and over.
The biggest disappointment on the DVD release of this movie is that the original film featured the song Popcorn by Hot Butter.
The first half is loooong, tedious, badly acted and boring (with the exception of the electric knife/toaster double murder, a scene most likely never to be repeated again in the history of horror/trash cinema).
But, once these crazy college kids get up into the mountains with their obviously looney professor to search for the legendary Yeti (who, surprisingly, looks a helluva lot like a guy in a big, white snowman costume), this thing kicks into full throttle and takes you on the ride of your life (well, it takes you on some kinda ride, maybe a ride down to the corner 7-11, at least.
In the climax, they try to stab a guy to death with dinner forks (in a freaky scene that is, for this kind of drivel, surprisingly well-shot from an overhead camera.) I remember watching the first half hour or so of this as a child on Creature Feature Theatre, hosted by Crematia Mortem, (or was it Friday Fright Night, hosted by the wise-cracking, unseen narrator who also owned the Chrysler dealership downtown?)--you know, back before Time Warner cable obliterated the cool local TV stations that aired scary/cheesy movies every Friday and Saturday night (thanks to channel 5 and KCMO 62, I got to witness such schlock cinema classics as "Tourist Trap," "Squirm," and "The Giant Spider Invasion" at an early age, and I've never been quite right since.) The mute Indian rocks, the long-haired eccentric guy who ends up being the Yeti rocks, that nerdy-cute chic with the glasses whose corpse ends up getting used as bait rocks (the front of the DVD has one of the best and most oblique tag lines ever: "A corpse is used as bait in the trap of terror!") -- hell, what can I say?
A professor leads a group of stupid college students in search of the Yeti, but they don't find what they expect, and people start dying.
When I asked every one of my "horror movie addict" friends if they had ever seen a film about a bigfoot that is actually a professor dressed in a costume that eats his students one by one...they all looked at me as if I were slightly crazy and said, "No, but it sounds good!" (Actually, I had the title wrong, as I'd thought it was called "Screech of the Mutilated")...anyway, a fantastic bit of schlock!
With unintentionally wacky dialog, ham-handed performances, and its superb "shock" ending, Shriek of the Mutilated should have a rightful place in bad movie history.
Shriek of the Mutilated (1974) * (out of 4) Director Michael Findlay tries to go mainstream with this film about a group of students who go out looking for the Yeti.
For those who have not read the plot summary, the film is about a cult of cannibals who have a guy dressed in a fake bigfoot costume to scare people away from the island where they hold their feasts.
**Contains Spoilers**Granted, the song "Popcorn" has been replaced on the soundtrack--a loss to lovers of fine music everywhere--and the acting, production values and cheat storyline aren't any better; but the DVD represents the most complete version of this film to be seen in decades.
Restored gore highlights include the electric-knife murder (to the extent that the bargain-basement filmmakers could shoot such a scene to begin with); a pre-credits decapitation that seems to have been tacked on just for cheap laffs; a longer shot of one character's torn-off leg; the mass stabbing of another character by hungry cannibals; and the most over-the-top villain, Laughing Crow, making stew with veggies and a human head.Having suffered for years with the censored TV print released on VHS in the mid-1980s, I found the recent DVD release to be a cause for celebration.
Fred, Shaggy, Velma, and Daphne head off to Boot Island with their professor, Doctor Prell, to attempt to photograph or, dare to dream, capture a yeti.
What he's doing in America, in an area where there is no snow, well, that's not really important unless you try to take this film at face value, and hopefully you won't.I smiled throughout most of this movie because it's just one of those flicks that is so bad you think it's good, or good enough to watch for laughs.
Elderly college anthropology professor Ernest Prell (stiffly played by former 30's bit actor Alan Brock) and four obnoxiously hip students journey to the remote Pacific coast sandbar of Boot Island to confirm whether stories about an Abominable Snowman inhabiting the woods have any basis in fact.
In an absolutely awful would-be shocking twist ending the yeti proves to be a hoax, a ruse concocted by closet cannibals Prell, Werner and Laughing Crow to lure unsuspecting suckers to the island so they can kill and devour them.Any movie which features Hot Butter's insufferably interminable fluke hit instrumental "Popcorn" playing in its irritating entirety at a college frat party early in the action can't possibly be any good.
An unbalanced professor leads a gaggle of not-so-bright college students off on a field trip to find the yeti.Stumbled upon this odious mess as a teenager back in the days when late night weekend TV aired horror films that you had never heard of (and in this case, wish you had never heard of).
From there, it is just a matter of time before the "yeti" makes its appearance and figuring out which of the students will be the first to go.The film has uneventful stretches and the writing is ludicrous.
All except for Keith, who, being teacher's pet, goes with Dr. Prell to an exclusive restaurant and samples an even more exclusive dish which Prell claims is called gin sung.At the party, the other three receive some good old-fashioned doomsaying from college janitor Spencer Ste. Claire, who, it turns out, is a former student of Prell's and went with Prell on his last excursion to Boot Island several years before.
Keith, coming to, confronts them and discovers they're members of a Satan-worshiping cannibal cult that uses the Yeti costumes as a theatrical excuse to lure potential victims (i.e. Prell's students) to Boot Island to eat them.
It's so bad it's good, and the final scene is a laugh riot.Note: The film is also noteworthy for using an early version of the song Popcorn by Hot Butter, during the party scene at the beginning.
In fact, the producers of the movie commissioned a poster that reveals the film's big secret right in the tag line, "A frenzied hunt for a hideous beast uncovers an evil cannibal cult, and death is the devil's blessing!"The movie is a total 70s time capsule, littered with severed bloody limbs, as four groovy college kids accompany their professor to an isolated estate where Yeti sightings have occurred.
In a Scooby Doo plot development, the Yeti turns out to be a ruse: it's the professor and his evil cohorts posing as the Yeti, and they are part of an international cult of cannibals who lure kids into becoming victims, especially one in particular who they want to frighten to death as part of their ritual.You will enjoy the movie a lot more knowing this twist is coming, as the Yeti looks really fake and the fact that it's SUPPOSED to be fake in the story somewhat excuses this.
The acting is straight out of an early John Waters film, which the entire movie greatly resembles.I know a lot of people will tell you "Shriek Of The Mutilated" is a bad film, but they're missing the point here.
Sexploitation director Michael Findlay turns his dubious talents to the horror genre, telling the tale of four college kids who accompany their professor, Dr. Ernst Prell (Alan Brock), on a field trip to Boot Island where they attempt to prove the existence of a yeti.The film opens with Prell conducting a lecture on yetis, showing his students some sketches of the legendary beast, presumably rendered by a shortsighted, artistically challenged, right-handed eight-year-old holding his pencil with his left hand (OK, that's a bit harsh, perhaps, but I wouldn't use them).
Keith returns to the house with a local sheriff (who also turns out to be part of the cult) just as dinner is about to be served
With a ridiculous plot, terrible acting and minimal hokey gore, the wonderfully titled Shriek of the Mutilated is utterly inept and not in the least bit horrifying, yet the whole affair possesses a unique bats**t-crazy quality that makes it a fair amount of fun if really bad B-movies are your thing. |
tt0362225 | Ne le dis à personne | The novel and movie have significant differences. The novel takes place in the U.S., while the movie takes place in Paris. The following is the movie version.The movie opens with a nighttime dinner scene at a country home with many of the main characters in the movie. It is revealed that the main character, Alex Beck, has been in medical school for nine years. What appears to be the following day Alex and his wife Margot drive to a secluded lake, Lake Charmaine, where they have childhood memories and a carved heart with their initials, M+A, on a tree near the lake. There, Margot uses Alex's pocketknife to add an additional hash mark to the many already present below the heart.Thereafter they disrobe and romantically swim naked in the lake. After nightfall they end up snuggling together on a wooden raft in the center of the lake. After having a little argument about the cold relationship he has with his sister Anne, Margot comments she will "butt out" and swims back to the shore to check on the dog that was left in the car. Alex then hears Margot's cry for help, swims to shore, and is knocked unconscious as he attempts to exit the water using the ladder on the dock. He is last seen falling back into the water.The next scene is eight years later when we see Alex arriving at the hospital where he works as a practicing pediatrician. While attending to a young girl and her parents Alex hears a commotion in the admission section and rushes to the scene. There he finds a thug-looking man named Bruno holding his son in his arms and demanding to see Alex. Alex is the only person there who Bruno will trust with his hemophiliac son who had fallen off the couch. Alex provides Bruno assurance and carries Bruno's son into the emergency room.Alex meets his friend Helene, who is his sister's lover and domestic partner, for lunch in her restaurant, where he reads in a newspaper that two male bodies were uncovered near the Lake Charmaine. In his lunch conversation with Helene they discuss his plans to meet with Margot's mother in what has been a yearly meeting with her for the past eight years on the anniversary of Margot's murder. Alex also promises to stop by Helene's apartment after his visit with Margot's mother.Alex stops and talks with Bruno on his way back to the hospital. Bruno provides Alex with his phone number on a card and offers Alex cash. Alex declines the cash to which Bruno suggests a DVD player or plasma TV. Alex refuses the gifts and tells Bruno he will update him when his son comes out of surgery.When Alex returns to his office, he notices a new email message with the subject M+A followed by a row of about thirty slash marks (M+A///////////////////////////). He counts the slash marks and then opens the email. The email contains a link and the message with the words "open link," "anniversary," and "6:15 p.m." Alex attempts to immediately open the link, but it doesnt open. While Alex is still contemplating the email, he receives a message from his secretary that a police sergeant would like to speak to him.In the next scene Alex has arrived at his sister's home where she is practicing jumping with her horse. They then meet with the police sergeant to discuss the case of the two men that were found buried near the lake. The discussion reveals several interesting points. The two men were found near where Margot was killed, but not on the family's property. A baseball bat was found buried with the two victims containing type B positive blood, the same blood type as Alex. And, even though Alex was cleared of his wife's murder and even though the murder was later attributed to a serial killer by the name of Serton, the police still proclaimed being puzzled by Alex's claim that he had been knocked unconscious into the water, yet was later found on the dock. Alex then submits to a blood DNA test. A nurse also shows up to take his blood.That night he has several drinks while out walking his dog Nina. At home he stares at the email message on his computer screen and recalls the days with his wife including his childhood memories, his wedding, and her funeral where she was cremated.The next day he is anxious all day for the email he is expecting at 6:15 p.m. on the apparent day of the anniversary of Margot's death. When he opens the link at 6:15, he observes that it is a web camera located at a shopping mall focused on a pair of escalators. While he is watching, he sees a woman who looks like Margot walk into the frame, turn to the camera, look at him, and slowly speak to the camera though Alex can only see her speak. She then turns around and walks off. Alex also receives a second email that contains the messages: "Same time + 2 hrs," "Username: Concert, Password: Olympia," and "Tell no one. They are watching."Alex thereafter visits Margot's mother and father where he confronts Margot's father regarding how positive he was when he identified his daughter's body after the murder. Out of this conversation we learn that Margot's father was a captain in the police force at the time and that Alex never viewed or identified his wife. Margot's father is irritated by all of Alex's probing questions and eventually asks him to leave.As promised at lunch the previous day Alex stops at Helene's apartment. While there, he tells Helene of the emails he has received and shows her the link to the web camera. In the discussion Alex mentions that the web camera must be located outside of France because it was dark in Paris while the web camera still depicted daylight.While Alex is visiting Helene, Alex's sister Anna is participating in an equestrian meet sponsored by Gilbert Neuville in honor of his son who was an equestrian jumping champion who died eight years ago in 1997. When Anne shows up at Helene's apartment, she announces that she placed second, is very tired, and is going to bed. Helene whispers to Alex that she and Anne had had a little fight, that Anne was suspicious of Helene having an affair with a woman at work.When Alex returns home, he again stares at his computer screen displaying the web camera at the shopping mall. Meanwhile two men at some unknown location are viewing and discussing the same two emails that Alex has received. One of them is knowledgeable of computers and states that the emails are anonymous and that the accounts are created at the time the emails are sent. He further states that he is tied into both of Alex's computers so that he would know when Alex goes on line. The other man, later identified as Bernard, states that he thinks he knows enough already.The next morning several policemen are awaiting Alex when he arrives at the hospital. One of them is Captain Levkowitch who invites Alex to the police station where it would be more convenient to talk. At the police station Alex is asked about a woman named Juliette Langlois and is shown three photos of Margot bruised and beaten. Alex acknowledges that Juliette is his wife's middle name and that Langlois is the street where she lived growing up. Alex denies ever beating his wife and denies ever seeing the photos. Alex is next seen in a car with a high-powered woman attorney name Elysabeth Feldman, who was hired by Helene. Although Alex has never seen the photos that the police had in their possession, Alex told Elysabeth that while he was doing his residency in Bordeaux, Margot had been in an automobile accident with her girlfriend, Charlotte.That afternoon Alex goes to visit Margot's old girlfriend Charlotte, a photographer, who he hasn't communicated with since his wife's death. Charlotte admonishes Alex for not staying in touch but Alex tells her that he just wasn't up to it. Alex then asks Charlotte about the automobile accident and the photos. Charlotte explains that there was no accident, that one day Margot showed up bruised and asked her to claim that she was in an accident with her, should Alex ever ask. She assured Alex that Margot had never lied to him regarding anything else.When Alex returns to his apartment, he searches through boxes of Margot's stuff and finds her daily planner-calendar for 1997. In there he finds an appointment noted by the initials PF. When he calls the phone number, a woman answers the phone for a lawyer by the name of Pierre Ferrault, who is not in the office.In the meantime Captain Levkowitch and his partner meet Margot's parents at their residence. Levkowitch shows the same three photos to Margot's mother that he had shown to Alex and inquires about Alex. Eventually Margot's father asks his wife to leave the room while he discusses further details. In that discussion Levkowitch and his partner make a case for Alex having murdered Margot for the 200,000-pound life insurance policy. In the conversation they disclose that the photos were from a safe deposit box under the name of Juliette Langlois and that the key was in the pocket of one of the men found at the lake.Alex later meets up with Helene where they discuss the possibility of the police attempting to shake him up with the apparent emails from Margot. That evening the two of them attempt to open the web mail account with the username and password provided in the previous email. They are both unsuccessful, but discover that Alex's computer was actively being linked to another computer.In the mean time, Bernard and a woman thug await Charlotte in her studio. When she returns from being out, they terrorize her and torture her regarding the whereabouts of Margot. After they receive a call that Helene has left Alex's apartment. Bernard shoots Charlotte and the two leave.In the mean time Alex has taken his dog Nina for a walk. While thinking about the emails he has received, he gets an idea and runs with Nina to an Internet boutique several blocks away. The clerk will not allow Alex to enter with Nina, so he ties Nina to a bike rack and enters by himself. Another man, who arrived about the same time, allows Alex to go first and a minute or so later takes a seat at the computer to his right. Alex first enters the username "Concert" and password "Olympia" but then changes it to "U2" and "1995." The email account is valid and Alex finally gets to read the message he has been after. The message is to meet at a park near the bandstand the following afternoon at 5 p.m.The next morning on the way to work Alex stops by the morgue to talk with the coroner regarding Margot's file and photos of her autopsy. He is told by the coroner that the records are not filed there and that he would have to formally request them, which he does.In the mean time, the police have arrived at Charlotte's studio presumably called there by her associate. Her associate tells the police that when he had left work the day before, Charlotte was with a gentleman by the name of Alex Beck. The police immediately send a team of officers to Alex's apartment where they find some gloves in a trash can in the alley and a handgun taped to the backside of a desk.Alex is next seen at work working with a patient when he receives a call from Helene's attorney, Elysabeth Feldman. She informs Alex of Charlotte's murder, that the police are on their way to the hospital, that she will meet him there as well, and to sit tight and not say anything. Alex checks out the hallways and exits where he sees police on their way. He then leaves the building through a window in his office, jumps to the roof of a van below, and then runs down the street pursued by the police. After a harrowing chase scene, Alex hides in a dumpster and calls Bruno. After another chase Bruno and his associates create a distraction and get Alex into his black Chevy Tahoe.After losing Alex in the chase, Captain Levkowitch stops by his mother's place to drop off some groceries. There he speaks with his partner and admits to being the one who called Alex's attorney, Elysabeth Feldman. In his conversation Levkowitch goes through a list of reasons why he doesn't think Alex would have murdered Charlotte including hiding the murder weapon in his apartment behind a desk, his stopping at the coroner's office on the way to work, and even going to work at all. While his partner cautions him about the consequence of doing something that would re-open the murder case of the serial killer Serton, Levkowitch counters that he just wants to get to the truth.Next, Alex and Bruno together go to the office of Pierre Ferrault where Alex questions Ferrault regarding his connection to Margot. Ferrault informs Alex that he had represented a man name Helio Gonzales who had been accused of killing Philippe Neuville, the son of the wealthy and well known Gilbert Neuville. Philippe and Helio had been seen together the night of Philippe's murder and Margot came forward as his alibi for the time of the murder. Margot had originally claimed that she had been professionally counseling Helio, but because no one was expected to believe that she would have been working at 11:00 p.m., Margot eventually admitted that she had had a two-month affair with Helio.Alex, Bruno, and Bruno's associate next track down Helio. Although Helio is a jerk and enjoys humiliating Alex about having sex with his wife, Alex bluffs Helio telling him that he was with his wife the night Philippe was murdered and could thereby invalidate Helio's alibi and land Helio in jail. Helio falls for the bluff and confirms that he did not have an affair, simply went along with what Margot told him to say, and that she got him released from murder charges.At 5 p.m. Alex shows up in at the park and waits on a bench near the bandstand as instructed in the email. However, unknown to Alex there are four men and a woman (including Bernard, the woman, and the man who sat next to Alex at the Internet boutique the previous evening) staking out the park from within and from a van parked near the entrance. The group initially mistake a woman with stroller and child for Margot. As Margot approaches Alex from behind, she sees a man talking on a walkie-talkie and hesitates to approach Alex any further. She then decides to abort the meeting and leaves through one of the gates. Because the gang of thugs had been concentrating on the woman with the stroller, they miss Margot leaving through the gate. Alex catches a glimpse of Margot leaving and attempts to catch up with her, but as he exits the gate, Bernard gives the go-ahead to take him captive. The four remaining thugs kidnap him in the van, hold him down, and begin to torture him for information. When the van stops at the next cross street, Bruno and his associate hijack the van and kill two of Alex's kidnappers, rescue Alex, and flee the scene in Bruno's black Chevy Tahoe.In the meantime, Captain Levkowitch is parked at the morgue where he has obtained a copy of the autopsy report. While he is sitting in his car reading it and taking notes, he receives a call on his radio that Alex has purchased a ticket for a flight to Buenos Aires at 10:30 p.m.Around this same time Bernard, the leader of the other four thugs, meets with his boss, Gilbert Neuville at Gilbert's home. At their meeting, Gilbert describes his attachment to his son, who he says, "rots underground, while she may still be alive." He then states that he "cannot accept that."At the airport Margot is awaiting her flight. When she hears her boarding call, she stands and catches a glimpse of the televised news. The news flash indicates the murder of Charlotte Bertaud and the escape of suspect Alex Beck. Margot then proceeds to boarding where she changes her mind and leaves. In the meantime Captain Levkowitch and his partner learn from a clerk at flight check-in that the seat adjacent to Alex Beck was reserved by a woman named Caroline Perreire and that the tickets were purchased only five minutes apart. When they run to the appropriate gate which was starting to board passengers, they discover that neither Alex nor Caroline Perreire have boarded.Alex, who is now at Brunos apartment, has no success in being contacted by Margot on the computer at Brunos apartment. He does, however call his attorney, Elysabeth Feldman, and tell her that he can prove he didn't kill Charlotte. In the meantime, Captain Levkowitch meets Helene walking home from work with Alex's dog. He tells her that he is probably the only one who thinks Alex is innocent and asks for her help in locating him. In their conversation he tells her that Margot's photos had been removed from the autopsy report and that according to the report, Margot was a heroin addict. Helen then begins to examine the report.When Helene arrives home, she is greeted by a kiss from Anne who then follows her into the bathroom where Helene showers. While Helene showers, Anne tells Helene that she is the one who took the photos of Margot and that it was Philippe Neuville who had beaten her. Helene steps from the shower and a brief argument ensues. The phone then rings. The call is from Elysabeth Feldman who wants a photo of Alex's dog to establish Alex's alibi. When Elysabeth Feldman receives the photo of Nina, she provides it to the DA with statements establishing that Alex was at the Internet boutique at the time of Charlotte's murder and calls for the DA to do a press release that Alex is only wanted for questioning.The following day Alex shows up at Helene's where Anne apologizes for all of the problems she has caused him by not telling anyone about the photos. Also present are Captain Levkowitch and his partner who apologize as well and provide Alex a copy of the autopsy report. Alex reads the report and recognizes that the dead woman was much taller than Margot. He has a few more words with everyone and then leaves the apartment. Captain Levkowitch and his partner ride down the elevator with Alex and continue to ask more questions as they also share some of their information. While they are talking in front of the apartment, a bouquet of flowers like those that grow near the lake are delivered to the apartment for Alex Beck in care of Helene.Next, with the flowers in the back seat of his car Alex drives to Margot's parents' house. The front door is slightly open, so Alex enters. When inside, he hears Margot's father tell him that he is in the kitchen. As Alex walks into the kitchen Margot's father pulls a gun on him from behind, frisks him, and then tells him to have a seat in the living room. He pours himself a stiff drink and proceeds to provide an account to Alex. As Margot's father tells the story the audience is provided scenes to accompany the story.Two months before the event at Lake Charmaine, a boy from the children's trust came to Margot distressed and told her he had been molested by Philippe Neuville. This prompted Margot to invite Philippe to her home in the country where she confronted him. The plan was for Margot to extract a confession for her father who was waiting outside. However, when confronted, Philippe violently retaliated and was beating Margot mercilessly when Margot's father entered the house with a shotgun. He immediately became enraged and shot Philippe with both barrels.As Margots father continues to tell the story, the scene changes to another location where the police are listening to the story via a wire worn by Alex. At a point in the story, the wire gets static and the police can no longer hear the story continue. When the signal becomes clear again, we learn that Margot's father then disposed of the body to implicate a kid named Helio Gonzales who lived at the home of the childrens' trust. Margot, however, would not accept Helio taking the wrap for something he didn't do, so she provided an alibi to get him off. Then, to protect herself Margot placed the photos taken by Anne in a safe deposit box and contacted Gilbert Neuville to warn him that she was holding incriminating evidence against Philippe.Margot's father then tells Alex that Neuville had half of the police force and politicians on his payroll including him. He also knew how Neuville would respond to Margot and thereafter tapped Neuville's phones where he later learned that Neuville had hired two men to kill Margot and retrieve the evidence. To outwit Neuville, he then paid one of the two men to help him with a different plan. He then staged Margot's death by using the body of a drug user that had been stabbed. He then mutilated her face so that no one could know it wasn't Margot. He further staged the scene to appear like that of a wanted serial killer.In brief, he dragged Alex from the lake, loaded Margot's body into his car, killed both men hired by Neuville, and buried them around 100 meters away. He also told Margot that Alex had died so that Margot would leave and not return. He then sent her by air to Spain and has not contacted her since. He claimed his only mistake was that he forgot to remove the safe deposit box key from the man who had taken it from Margot's purse.When Alex asked Margot's father why he didnt seek help from the authorities, Margot's father claimed that he had already crossed the line. He then provided Alex an envelope containing the details of all the crooked matters he had had with Neuville. He then began to discuss Alex's father, who had also worked as a trainer at the stables.Six months earlier Alex's father had also discovered that Philippe had been molesting kids and had demanded that Margot's father type up a complaint. However, when Gilbert Neuville read the complaint, he simply tore it up and then had Alex's father killed in a staged hunting accident. At this point, Margot's father puts down the gun. Enraged by the story, Alex picks up the gun, aims it at Margot's father, and begins to squeeze the trigger. Apparently regaining his senses, Alex leaves the house where he is greeted by a swat team and Captain Levkowitch. As Alex closes the door behind him, we hear a shot. Alex then hands over the envelope to the police, removes the wire from under his shirt, and walks off.In the next scene, Gilbert Neuville is placed under arrest while attending the jumping show in his son's honor. As he is being escorted away, a rider falls on a fourth jump of a tight series.We next see Alex on his way to Lake Charmaine. As he drives along he has a flashback of the story provided by Margot's father. We again see the scene where Margot's father searches Alex. We then see and hear what transpired when the voice on the wire was drowned out with static. We see that Margot's father had deliberately turned up the volume of static on the TV to suppress the conversation. He then very quietly tells Alex that he knows he is wearing a wire and will tell him what really happened. Instead of Margots father shooting Philippe as before, we again see Philippe punching and kicking Margot, but then leaving through a door. We then see Margot struggling to pull herself to her feet, grabbing several shells from a box in a drawer, inserting the shells into a shotgun, following Philippe out through the same door, and then when he turns around, she shoots him twice. Later we see Margot's father arrive at the scene.At Lake Charmaine, Alex stands before the tree containing the heart, their initials, and hash marks. As he stands there, Margot walks up behind him. When he hears her footsteps, he drops to his knees and begins to cry. Margot walks up behind him and the camera pans upwards. The movie ends with the two of them as children, kissing, holding hands and sitting down on the pier together. | violence, mystery, murder, atmospheric, flashback | train | imdb | If you thought Jack Bauer had bad days wait till you meet Dr. Alex Beck (played superbly by Francois Cluzet) the film starts with him along with his wife spending sometime by a lake when she and then he are attacked, she is murdered and he is put into a coma.
Then things start to turn, when two bodies are discovered buried near the lake and certain evidence suggest a link to Alex and the unsolved case of his murdered wife, suddenly it looks like he is in the frame, again.
At 2hrs 11mins this isn't by any means a short film but it is handled so well by director Guillaume Canet that not once did I even notice the time, from the moment the story hooks you it never lets go right up to the end.
This film for me had everything, a brilliant script, a seasoned cast, twists and turns, Jeff Buckley's 'lilac wine' used to amazing effect (you will know what I mean when you see it) stunning cinematography, complex subplots that never once get too confusing, it truly is one of the most enjoyable and intelligent films I've seen for a long time..
Nevertheless, Cluzet is very much his own man, and is as good, if not better, than the Hoffman of, say, 'Marathon Man', which inevitably comes to mind as one watches Cluzet taking to his heels in the breathless, breathtaking chase sequence.Although Cluzet carries the movie, the rest of the cast, which contains a number of very distinguished French actors, is first-rate.The plot is full of twists and turns, and the story-telling full of time-jumps, so you really need to concentrate.
While he may not have seemed to be up to much then, judging from this stunning adaptation of Harlan Coben's novel of the same name, he certainly is now.Tell No-one is the story of Dr. Alexander Beck, a man who gets an email from his wife.
The email instructs him to "tell no-one" and with nobody to turn to, Beck throws himself into a desperate search for the woman he loved and lost.What follows is arguably a typical array of thriller conventions: the secrets, the lies, and the inevitable betrayals, but what sets this movie apart is its pacing.
The combination of these factors give Tell No-one a freshness and intelligence that a lot of modern thrillers are lacking.The quality of the acting (especially from Cluzet) and the dialogue, no doubt helped by Coben's writing, keeps the story believable as everyman Beck races ever closer to the truth, and to round it off, the score is great too, with clever use of familiar tracks to help keep the audience somewhat comfortable as Beck's search becomes more and more dangerous.Tell No-one may sound like another average thriller, but its pacing and finesse place it head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd..
The mystery increases when Alex receives an e-mail showing Margot older and alive.I am a big fan of French cinema, but "Ne le Dis à Personne" is an awesome thriller and superseded my expectations.
Canet always stays close, very close to his characters and their feelings, and his storyline/plot and gives the audience an excellent humanistic suspense
The film exists by itself, and doesn't need to be compared to the novel (that I read and liked), because it's transposed in another culture, with different rhythms, variations in the original characters **** SPOILERS*****(thanks Mr. Canet for making the psychopath "fingers" killer
a woman !
You have to stay with the picture as it goes along- at times you may get so confused you'll want to give up- but if you can give yourself just a bit to the twists and paranoia, it's very rewarding.It's in very simple terms about Alex (Dustin Hoffman look-alike François Cluzet) and his wife Margot (stunning-looking Marie-Josee Croze), who one night go skinny dipping and...
And the cast is uniformly terrific; saying that Clement is like Dustin Hoffman isn't just as comparison in looks, as he's really got the stuff to lead this film as someone you want to stick with 100% (if not the Cary Grant type, then certainly Jimmy Stewart); Cruze, for her moments on screen, is gorgeous and sad and happy and all those things that make up a mysterious character; Kristen Scott Thomas- yes, Kristin Scott Thomas speaks French- is amazing for her time as a supporting character.
At the time of her murder, Beck was with her but he too was severely beaten and remained unconscious for several days after the incident when he suddenly discovers she may still be alive .Excellent thriller in which nothing is the way it seems , the atmosphere is already tense and the twists and turns are the best part of this movie.
The closest it comes to that, is by explaining how the doctor and his wife were friends since childhood, and how they never cheated, thus providing a relative cop-out of "oh look, its true love at it's best"In the end I came away from the film unconvinced either way in regards to the plot cohesiveness, and to whether it was overall trite and contrived, or poignant and well crafted, so I decided to check out some of the negative reviews to see if they could sway me, and in the end...
Most of the criticisms from people show they are just as undecided as I, and deal simply with PROBABILITY factors and not much else in an attempt to make sense out of a story which remained unconvincing to some viewers merely because it does not FIT into what we would consider ideal of any one genre, be it action, mystery, or drama, and in terms of the plot twists and turns unlike in most mystery films, nothing really SCREAMS in your face as being downright moronic or impossible, thus it is difficult to find a worthy culprit.In reality this movie presents truly one of the most cohesive forms of a Mystery movie I have seen, and where most of the criticisms focus on "what would the characters realistically do or not do" and explain certain actions and motivations as being stupid or nonsensical, in reality you CANNOT over estimate the stupidness of any human being in a traumatic situation.
That doesn't even amount to circumstantial evidence against him since they didn't even bother to first question him as to whether he had an alibi which in fact he DID.The entire complex plot was in the end revealed during the last 10 minutes of the film, and like the doctors father in law, you might want a shot of strong alcohol while hearing it out.
It is really a LOT of probabilities, motivations, and facts to sift through, but I will tell you in the end you can criticize the BELIEVABILITY of all of it, but it really does all hold out, and none of it is a direct slap in the face of logic, and another important little twist to keep track of if you will, is that the film clearly allows you to realize, what the father in law SAYS is not necessarily the truth, and thus everything he presents, in itself is self serving to him, and very open ended to ones imagination.The end result is one both as straight forward as you'd expect, yet underwhelming given the overall buildup and complexity, and in the end since we weren't really given much character depth, many of us can not help to be unconvinced and undecided, and seeking for answers and justification for our overall dissatisfaction with a film that required so much of our attention.
Well, "Tell No One" has one scene (I won't say which, but it's in the middle of the film) that made me get up and do that, and when a movie makes me do this, well, that's a very good sign.The mystery is great until you find out what really happened.
Tell No One (2006)An intense, constantly evolving ambush of suspicion, including an epic footchase in the center of the movie and a couple final twists that will rock you at the end.The leading character, Alexandre, is central throughout, played with drawn poker-face by Francois Cluzet.
...atrociously constructed and written french wanna-be thriller, incompetently directed and horribly paced with too many characters throwing information at the viewer left and right, a much advertised ''on foot chase'' which is actually a man crossing a road, plot holes as big as Mount Everest, bad score with some pop interludes in all the wrong places, cop-out ending where one of the main characters explains the whole plot which isn't even a plot and defies all logic, reason and inspiration....
A spicy, intriguing, modern film noir built around two mysterious murders.As in many foreign movies there is a focus on story, character or mood and less of an emphasis on the typical Hollywood style enhancements such as special effects, humor and gratuitous action and sex.
The plot spreads its wings and gets more mysterious, suspenseful and interesting, spawning the audience with a potent desire to attain knowledge of the truth.As in a typical film noir recipe the story is conveniently and nicely packaged at the end, as was the case here, but in a good one from this genre, an audience whom excited from the intense intriguing build up and can not wait for the moment of pleasure when the plot unfolds and reveals itself, requires a satisfying release.After doing a good job drawing us in with intrigue and suspense and therefore creating an intense buildup it concluded in such an overly complex, convoluted, and contrived way, by introducing new characters (which really doesn't work at the end), making very minor characters crucial, and implementing stories and sub-plots that overlap each other, all within a few minutes, that it became much too much.
It does a particularly good job and building and maintaining tension, moving at a steady pace and with the plot developments timed for maximum effect.Despite the relatively long running length for a thriller, 'Tell No One' never goes through any dull patches.
Tell Every One. Tell No One does to French cinema what the Infernal Affairs Trilogy did to Hong Kong cinema, make a Hollywood style thriller with elements of that nation's own cinema, and do it well.Based on an American thriller novel, the film tells the story of Dr. Alex Beck (François Cluzet), a pediastian from France.
He has to do it on the run from the police who thinks Alex is a murderer, and a group of assassins wanting information about Margot.Tell No One is a very fast paced, interesting thriller, filled with twists and keeps you guessing.
Excellent film-making by director Guillaume Canet, and starring François Cluzet as a man who supposedly loses his Wife to a serial killer while they are visiting their childhood swimming lake.
TELL NO ONE is a sensational thriller directed by Guillaume Canet, a European film star who adapted this film from a novel by Master Of Suspense, Harlan Coben.
In adaptation of Harlan Coben's novel, Tell No One tells the story of a man, who 8 years after losing his wife, receives an e-mail from her, and the case of her murder is reopened and the truth starts to reveal itself.Tell No One is Coben's most recognized and praised novel and so it was only a matter of time before it was turned into a film, and what a great adaptation has been made.Francois Cluzet stars as Alex Beck, the troubled doctor who lost the love of his life 8 years ago and has struggled with the mystery of her death ever since.
Recent movie history has established this combination as a 10 - 1 disaster, as with 'Bonfire of The Vanities' and The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love', but the dense plot of the original and its jaw-dropping pace remain intact.Dr. Alex Beck (Cluzet), quiet and dedicated paediatrician, mourns the mysterious murder of his wife.
And there is a mutual moment of revelation for both us and the beleaguered Doctor Alexandre Beck (Francois Cluzet) played to U2's 'With or Without You' which sent a small shiver racing down my spine.I read Coben's book a couple of year's ago, and I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not.
As far as I can recall, the film stays fairly loyal to the book, although I'm pretty sure the creepy female assassin changed sex somewhere during the transition from page to screen.Francois Cluzot, who initially looks too old for the part, quickly grows into the part of a doctor who begins receiving emails from the wife whose murder he has been suspected of for 8 years.
The fact that it was based on a Harlan Cohen book is telling, because rather than being a French film (strong on psychology and character), it's more like a John Grisham-esquire roller-coaster ride by numbers with ludicrous plot twists, flashbacks that update previous flashbacks, a predictable villain (as soon as his name is mentioned you think 'hmm, he'll be the bad guy!') and sets of mysterious stereotyped characters who seem to inhabit different movies.
By the end I was laughing hysterically at the unevenness of the film's tone (the scenes where the lead character is being helped by two streetwise shady characters are unintentionally hilarious), the utterly baffling plot, the absurd coincidences and strokes of good fortune (e.g. guessing the password for an email account) AND yawning uncontrollably (thought I must have misread the 1hr 50min running time as it seemed to drag on for 3 hours 50 minutes)..
Furthermore, once the mystery has unfolded, it all actually makes perfectly good sense, unlike quite a fair lot of other films that end with a ridiculous explanation for everything which spoils the whole movie.
Unlike the title of the movie, I am going to tel everyone about this wild ride of a movie with more twists than licorice or a braid; a real treat for the brain.From the seemingly quiet life of a childhood-friends-turn-husband-and-wife couple comes tragedy, doubt, lies, violence and an unsolved mystery that will lead to a wild goose-chase with many interrelated interesting characters until the pieces of the elaborate puzzle are painstakingly discovered.With a fine actor at the helm, François Cluzet (who won the Cesear for his performance), and a writer / director that know how to tell a story, Guillaume Canet (who won for directing and was nominated for adapting Coben's novel) this movie starts a little slowly but soon draws you in full force in this web (like the enigmatic webcam image that may be a setup, a game, a sick joke or inconclusive evidence that Alex's wife is still alive
) From splendid editing (including necessary non-obstructive flashbacks) to a strong supporting cast, this film keeps up an alluring pace as the viewer's mind is likewise pacing in this race against time for the truth.
Led to believe his wife may still be alive, Beck is chased by the police who suspect him of a string of recent murders and a mysterious group of henchmen who are framing him.I hate trying to review titles like Tell No One. The strength of the movie is dependent on the twists and turns the plot makes yet its impossible to discuss them without ruining the movie for parties interested.
I personally think he looks a bit like Dustin Hoffman so during a lot of the chase sequences I was reminded of Marathon Man (1976) in a good way.For those of you who care, there's a fair amount of nudity which is stereotypical of modern French cinema.
Eight years after this incident, Alex suddenly starts receiving mysterious e-mails from anonymous sources and a complex mystery follows.When I watched the film, I did it without having the knowledge that it is based on an American crime novel.
In many more ways than just one this is the perfect thriller, with an indescribably tense and captivating plot, a fascinating cast of characters, impeccably staged action footage and stunts, stellar acting performances from everyone involved and solid & surefooted leadership from a talented young director who clearly knows what he wants!
Guillaume Canet writes, directs and appears in 'Tell No One' from Harlan Coben's novel, a dizzyingly complex thriller that will keep you guessing right to the end.
And, both are really good films.François Cluzet is a doctor whose wife was apparently murdered eight years ago.
The young Guillaume Canet, the screen-writer and director, says in an interview in the accompanying DVD that he was attracted to the novel 'Tell No One' by the American author Harlan Coben more because it was a powerful love story than because it was a thriller.
While not a big fan of the overall directing, I really appreciate this type of story and suspense.The acting was excellent led by Francois Cluzet as Dr. Beck who is suspected, if never accused, of murdering his wife eight years ago.
Based on the 2002 American novel of the same name by author Harlan Coben, Tell No One opens as two longtime lovers -- a pediatrician named Alex Beck (François Cluzet) and his beloved wife Margot (Marie-Josée Croze) -- visit the French countryside for a romantic getaway.
One of the better thrillers out in the last couple of years, Tell No One involves the death of a doctor's wife and the subsequent investigation into whether the doctor murdered her.Plot twists and turns make this interesting, but it's the cast of characters that really makes the film.
When he receives an email showing real-time video of his wife, alive and well, he must uncover the truth about what happened eight years ago.While Beck is clearly the main character, Tell No One is almost an ensemble mystery.
In the end all the lies twists and turns in this thriller come out.I have to say I love mysterious movies that keep me in suspense-- someone returning from the dead is always great. |
tt1666186 | Vampires Suck | Becca Crane (Jenn Proske) moves to Sporks to live with her clueless father, Sheriff Frank (Diedrich Bader), after her mother starts an affair with Tiger Woods. Meanwhile, a killing spree targeting random locals is attributed to the Canadians, but the real perpetrators are a group of vampires, who are commonly confused with the Black Eyed Peas. Becca quickly befriends many students at her new high school, including Jennifer (Anneliese van der Pol). She is also intrigued by the mysterious and aloof Edward Sullen (Matt Lanter), who perplexes her during their time in the biology class, despite thinking she smells of tuna.
Later, when Becca is nearly struck by a van in the school parking lot, Edward stops the vehicle by thrusting another student in the van's way. He later refuses to explain this act to Becca and warns her against befriending him. After much research, she tells Edward that she knows what he is, but reaches the wrong conclusion that he is a Jonas Brother. Edward corrects her, saying he is a vampire but that he only consumes animal blood. He also states he is a killer, but despite this, Becca agrees to go to prom with Edward. Later, Becca and Edward kiss passionately in her room; Becca, wanting to have sex with Edward, then attempts to seduce him, but he abstains.
On Becca's birthday, Edward introduces Becca to his vampire family. While unwrapping a gift, Becca gets a paper cut, after which a vampire runs at her. Edward flings her back, further injuring her, and then does the same to Jeremiah. Realizing the danger that he and his family pose to Becca, Edward rides her out to the woods. He then proceeds to break up with Becca, who throws a temper tantrum after he leaves. After the fit, she is attacked by three nomadic vampires, but Edward intervenes and saves her.
Edward's departure leaves Becca heartbroken for months, but she is comforted by her deepening friendship with her childhood friend Jacob White (Christopher N. Riggi). When Becca is accosted in the woods by the nomadic vampires again, Jacob transforms into a Chihuahua as his werewolf pack arrives to save her. Meanwhile, Edward has moved to Rio de Janeiro and is now dating Lady Gaga to get over losing Becca. He is later informed by his sister that, with her gift of prophecy, she has seen Becca kill herself. Edward becomes depressed and decides to provoke the "Zolturi", a powerful vampire coven, into killing him by exposing himself in the sunlight in front of humans, thus exposing the existence of vampires. His sister has another vision of Becca's survival as he leaves, but she is unable to warn him.
Edward's sister arrives at Becca's house in her Porsche 911, and tells her she has to save Edward by showing him she is still alive. Jacob appears and demands that Becca choose between him and Edward, but just before she announces her decision, he is distracted by a cat and runs off to chase it. Upon arriving at the prom, Becca is caught between the warring factions of Edward fangirls and Jacob fangirls. She is unable to reach Edward before he exposes himself, figuratively and literally. However, twilight occurs, followed by a new moon and an eclipse, concealing Edward's vampiric nature as Becca gets him to safety. After a fight between him and the Zolturi leader, Daro (Ken Jeong), Edward is forced to turn Becca into a vampire or he will be killed horribly. He agrees to do so only on the condition that she marry him, which she accepts.
The film concludes with Edward being struck in the head by the Jacob fangirls' leader. Edward survives the blow, and the girl is attacked by the newly vampirized Becca. | good versus evil, revenge, murder, romantic, entertaining | train | wikipedia | Normally, I don't review movies on here, but when I read everyone else slamming this movie, I thought maybe they should get the perspective of someone who enjoyed it.As a non-Twilight fan (haven't read the books and don't wish to for reasons to numerous to mention), I was determined to see this movie at the time when I wanted to tease a Twi-hard that I personally got to know from my disability social group about it.
She refused to see this movie simply because they make fun of Twilight and Buffy, which motivated me even further.First off, yes, there were a lot of corny sex jokes, fart jokes, pop culture and celebrity references that many reviewers said wore out their welcome with projects like Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans.
And for the aforementioned crimes that this literary atrocity committed, the Twilight saga got the bashing and ridicule it so richly deserved.So if you disliked it the first time because it made you think of the unfunny torture you experienced after flops like the Scary Movie franchise after the first movie, Disaster Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie, Superhero Movie, and so on, I challenge you to watch this again when it comes out on DVD, and think about what the "Twilight" saga has done to the worlds of both literature and cinema.
Meanwhile, Becca's friends contend with their own romantic issues – all of which collide at the prom.VAMPIRES SUCK will surprise many people because it's an improvement over the previous spoof films directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer have been churning out for the past couple of years.
I don't know if this counts as something good but I really think the film manages to create a decent storyline from the first two TWILIGHT films.Overall, the film is still bad because it's rarely funny, although I will admit I laughed at some bits that took a jab at the TWILIGHT series.
Being directed by the directors/writers of films such as the Scary Movie films, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, etc., I knew that Vampires Suck won't be good at all, and just when I was getting tired of these kind of films, I didn't need it to.
Let's just put it at that - One of the greatest film endings of all time...I think this is the second best spoof movie that I have seen (Spaceballs) being the first.
It's no great cinematic achievement, but for a devoted Twilight hater such as myself, it was worth a chuckle or two.Sure, "Vampires Suck" meets many of the same pitfalls other parody movies do.
But, so help me if I didn't find myself laughing at the way the film mercilessly mocks everything laughable about the Twilight movies, a series that, let's face it, lends itself pretty easily to parody.
In fact, all "Vampires Suck" really had to do was recreate the first two Twilight films pretty much scene-for-scene, tweaking here and there to make the scenes only slightly more ridiculous than the originals.
This film holds a mirror up to pretty much everything laughable about the series that proves that a wildly successful book/movie franchise does not necessarily need a "plot": the rabidity of its fan base; the shameless parade of shirtless males; the idea that teenage Stephanie Meyer
er, I mean, Bella, would be the object of every hot guy's lust despite being a mopy sourpuss with no trace of a personality; the insistence that Robert Pattinson is "sexy".
However, since like I said the movie is pretty much just a re-creation of the original Twilight movies, many of the jokes are best appreciated having actually seen them.
So you'll probably like this movie if you are not a Twilight fan, but have actually seen the movies because A) you were dragged there by a girl whose pants you really, REALLY wanted to get into, B) you were stoned, walked into the wrong theater, and failed to realize that it wasn't The Hangover until it was too late, or C) you are self-loathing and willingly subjected yourself to them out of morbid curiosity (like me).So if you hate Twilight and everything it stands for, take a break from your violent (yet strangely erotic) fantasies about Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner and go see "Vampires Suck".
Unfortunately, I could count the amount of times I laughed on one hand.The film was full of cheap gimmicks, badly written lines that were not even close to being funny and actually, much like the Twilight films themselves, terribly structured with mass chunks of uneventful time filling.
These two hacks throw in dated pop culture references and steal the work of others, and seem to get away with calling it comedy.It is funny to note then that their first movie in two years, Vampires Suck, is a parody riffing on the Twilight series.
The duo gleefully crib from Twilight and New Moon, providing us with the tale of new girl Becca (Jenn Proske) who falls in love with the vampire Edward (Matt Lanter), and all the problems that come with their newfound romance.My immediate question, before even beginning to try and discuss this waste of time, is why did Friedberg and Seltzer ever think it was a good idea to make a parody of the Twilight series?
I guess it was money, but who would knowingly believe Twilight fans would rush out to see a movie bashing their beloved franchise much less the haters who would not be caught dead seeing the film as it is?
I had the good fortune of not having to see this movie in a theatre, but I can imagine the film's showings are silent enough that the filmgoers can hear the projector whirling more than they can hear anyone laughing.I will give credit however in the fact that unlike their previous atrocities and crimes against cinema-goers all over the world, Vampires Suck does not deviate from its riffing of the Twilight.
Despite being a lot more balanced than any of their brethren, Vampires Suck is still an awful and truly unfunny film that only further proves the point that Friedberg and Seltzer need to stop making movies.
In any matter, I found it fun because of how well crafted I actually thought it was and how many times it made me laugh because of how funny the movie managed to be by working off the films' it mocks cheesiness areas.Like some have already reviewed saying, this is an improvement in many ways.
I wouldn't have watched this if not for a friend who wanted to catch a comedy together, though I must admit I'm still pretty intrigued and amazed at how writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Adam Seltzer managed to continue get money thrown at them to make terrible, unfunny comedies such as sub par works like Meet the Spartans, Disaster Movie, Epic Movie and Date Movie, the last which to me was mildly amusing.
Gone are the days of the Zucker brothers, and now we're stuck with low-brow efforts like what Friedberg and Seltzer continuously dish out, setting their sights at whatever's popular genre at the moment.And that of course is the phenomenon we call Twilight, where it's already three films old, and taking its cue from the Harry Potter franchise, decided to split its last book into two films, done squarely for profits.
There are plenty of sight gags, innuendos, and just plain badly designed scenes that don't flow from one to another, making it look like a series of school children skits that got strung together, hammering wooden pegs into rounded holes, and jokes that's 99% bad, you'll find more pleasure from experiencing long nails clawed against a chalkboard.Even more curious is the demographics out to support / watch this film.
It's really uncanny watching her ham up the Bella spoof, but do note that I'm not praising her performance either as she's just carbon-copying what another actress had done, although pitch perfect.I did laugh out loud here and there, but it's laughing at the film in how it got away with the stupidest of jokes and the absurdity at who this project could have been green lit by a Hollywood studio (says a lot, doesn't it?) I hope Friedberg and Seltzer either learn from the best in the comedic business, or quit filmmaking altogether.
Lets be honest..almost every movie-fan that's watched epic cinematic failures like Meet the Spartans , Epic Movie etc are going to think Vampires Suck should be avoided at all costs.They couldn't be more wrong.
The movie doesn't suffer from attempts at poking fun of 10-15 different movies at once and maybe thats why it works this once.They just focus on just making fun of two movies in the Twilight series and I think they did a pretty damn good job of it.
I have no idea why I went to see this movie when the makers of this movie Friedberg and Seltzer keep making awful movies.I think the reason is because i wanted to give them a chance but this movie was an epic fail.One thing I realized is that Meet the Spartans and Epic Movie are both in the IMDb bottom 100 and I wont be surprised if this one makes the cut to the bottom 100.The only scene I liked was the BEP part and thats all.I feel like I got ripped off.It was so lame!
this movie was terrible.the unfunniest childish spoof movie i have ever seen.i feel sorry for the movie industry releasing this rubbish to the paying public.it was so bad it just came annoying after a while.I'm not a lover of the twilight movies myself,but breaking it up into a spoof movie just didn't work on every level.the movie fell on its knees from the opening titles.most people have seen the twilight movies so i don't need to go into detail and tell you this movie was trying to rip it to pieces and trying to be funny at the same time oops.nothing worked the one liners the jokes the gimmicky actors all fell dead.it was that bad it was embarrassing.even a prisoner on death row banged up 24/7 given a chance to watch this movie would run a mile.stay away from this movie at all costs people.
seriously awful movie thought the main actress doing Bella is really great honestly but the movie sucks big time and failed to make me laugh but in one particular scene i don't even know why but i felt like really embarrassed while watching and seriously they made me respect the twilight movies a lot better cause they prove that there can be worse than twilight i remember me an my mom watching scary movies and laughing our guts out without losing respect of the actors or movie ,but i just couldn't even finish vampire sucks cause it was pretty lame and even not that funny BASICALLY a waste of time people.
this film is absolutely rubbish it doesn't make sense the humour is rubbish and it doesn't feel like a comedy there is litrally one line that made me slightly laugh that,s it.i have seen many other spoof movies that are a lot better this one really does let people who enjoy spoofs down.
I started watching this movie with the same mind frame as most future viewers: "Oh God, this is going to be like Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, with the potty humor and endless pop culture references.." I was pleasantly surprised.
To you long suffering people, Vampires Suck is probably as good (and as close to getting) as a hug from Stephanie Meyer who then goes on to beg for her devil writing before going on to promise that she will rewrite the entire series.Yes. There are some bad jokes.
If the viewer likes this type of joke and sees the movie with low expectations, he or she will probably enjoy "Vampire Sucks".
Being quite a fan of the Twilight saga, having seen the films Twilight, and Twilight: New Moon (still haven't seen Eclipse).It was okay, in my opinion better than the scary movie series, epic movie, disaster movie, and the other spoofs of films the directors of this film has made.It's quite funny to see how every character in the film is copied right off Twilight, with only minor changes in name, (some names not even changed), and the extreme over-playing of the original characters characteristics.
It's not a masterpiece, but it's undoubtedly the best film if you should choose from the scary movie series, or as far as I know any other films made by James Friedberg and Aron Seltzer.I've seen Twilight, and I knew what Vampires Sucks made fun of, but my friend, who hadn't seen any of the Twilight films also found the film entertaining.
As the punch line says, "From the guys who couldn't sit through another vampire movie!", I guess I am another addition to that list of guys.To all the guys out there who truly do not like the Twilight Saga, I recommend you watch Vampires Suck and get some justice done to yourself.
I laughed at least 15-20 times during the movie (: The movie, as you can see from the title, parodies vampires and other things that are used in the entertaining industry and are fully orientated to the insecure and impressionable teenage girls and bore the other regular people to death.I don't know why people in this site don't like spoofs, but I think some of them are really funny(especially Scary Movies) and in my opinion deserve more than the user rating given by the people here.
The viewer understands parody and satire.If you understand parody, and are familiar with the Twilight series (as in you've at least seen the movies or read the books), then this film does a wonderful job as parody of the original source material.
This movie, "Vampires Suck", was just so bad, that you don't have to love the Twilight Saga to hate it.
The reason I think Vampires Suck works, while other spoofs like "Epic Movie" and "Superhero Movie" don't, is that there is an equal amount of hatred, if not more, than there is love for the series.
The obvious and cheap jokes seen in the trailer like Jacob's buddies being a bunch of gay men and Jacob taking off his shirt every 15 minutes because "it's in his contract" just isn't funny.On top of the jokes from "Twilight" not being funny, Friedberg and Seltzer try to throw as many pop culture references into the film as possible during it's painful 80 minute run time.
Please people stop funding stupidity.In the end, one would ask is "Vampires Suck" the worst film Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer have done so far?
My advise to anyone that want's to see the film is watch funniest home videos and imagine a bunch of pop culture references in the background, I think that's how they wrote the script.These guys got their start as writers on Scary Movie and I think they have destroyed and legacy the Wayans brothers or Leslie Nelson left in the parody genre that these guys made famous.
'VAMPIRES SUCK': A Half a Star (Out of Five) Another spoof movie from writers / directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, this one parodies 'THE TWILIGHT SAGA' (specifically the first two films).
Apart from the acting (which was OK, a high for the directors' films; Ken Jeong was sadly wasted, however), the production design was also not bad, it looked as if they borrowed sets from the original two movies.So, I can say, that if you really want to see it, see it if you hate "Twilight" down to your bone.
By no means is this movie great art, but those of us watching had a few good laughs at this skewering of the Twilight saga.
If you liked them, you'll have your fun with this spoof.I want you to know, that you have to see the movies "Twilight" and "New Moon" first, before you watch this one.
It makes you realize how good of an actress Stewart is, to be able to play the same note again and again and make it convincing, but it is a delight to see it mocked too.Many of the scenes are nearly exact replicas of the originals, and you can tell that the cast had fun getting the details right.It definitely started to drag at the end but hey if you want an hour's worth of Twilight recovery, it's definitely worth it.BTW if you like this and want to see more, see Colt Ford's video for "Chicken & Biscuits".I was surprised at the low ratings for this movie here, reading the reviews, it sounds like some people didn't even realize that it was a parody.
It just adds to the idea that Friedberg and Setzer must be the least funny people ever to attempt to write.The plot is basically just the first two Twilight films summed up into 80 some minutes with horrible spoof cutaways thrown into each scene.
If you've seen a "the movie", then you have a pretty good idea of what "Vampires suck" is going to be like.
Vampires Suck is a parody based on the Twilight film franchise.
The only small positive from this film I could give was Jenn Proske's performance as she did a good job parodying Kristen Stewart's awkward performance as Bella Swan in the Twilight films.Vampires Suck is supposed to be a comedy and I can honestly say I never laughed once through the entire 82 minutes.
Because though Vampires Suck is a terrible film, its still a better movie than any of the Twilight movies.
But now Friderberg Zeltser and done, perhaps, his best parody since Scary Movie - Vampires Suck (write the name in the original, because I do not know what will be the definitive translation of Russian distributors) In this film, the subject of jokes has become the most, now polar Twilight series .
Vampires Suck is another uneven movie spoof from Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. |
tt0110604 | Mute Witness | Moscow, 1993. In an old cinema studio building, an American producer is filming a low budget slasher film. The director, Andy Clark (Evan Richards), is working with his girlfriend, Karen Hughes (Fay Ripley), as his assistant, and his girlfriend's sister, Billy Hughes (Marina Zudina), as his FX make-up artist. Billy is a very pretty young blonde girl, but she doesn't have the physical ability to speak, not even to utter the merest sound. But she isn't deaf.Beside those three, all the rest of the crew is Russian. Among them, Lyosha (Sergei Karlenkov), the young and handsome assistant cameraman, is trying to flirt with Billy, under the amused eye of his friend Arkadi (Igor Volkov), one the light engineers. All the cast is also Russian. One of the female actress, who is supposed to have been stabbed to death, is overacting her part and breaks several props on the set. It is almost closing time in the studio, and there is no time to fix the props, so Andy decides it is time to go home.On the parking lot, Andy and Karen reminds Billy she is invited for dinner in their apartment. Then Billy remembers she forgot to take a mask she has to fix, and goes back in the building, while all the other cars are leaving.Back in her workshop, Billy doesn't find her mask, but, through her window, sees the janitor (Nikolai Pastukhov) ready to close and lock the main gate of the compound. She hits the bars of the window to attract his attention, but doesn't succeed. She rushes downstairs, only to find the doors of the building already locked. Billy telephones her sister. She can communicate with her sister by tapping on the microphone of the handset. Billy tells her what happened. After she hung up, Billy rushes downstairs, because she heard some voices coming from one of the sets.Without being noticed, she enters the set, where Lyosha is filming a porn movie. A plump naked blonde woman is having sex with a half-dressed man wearing a mask. Billy is both slightly embarrassed and amused. But she stops being amused when the masked man pulls a huge knife and starts stabbing the woman, and eventually kills her. The two men are making what is called a «snuff movie», which is a movie where people are really killed. In the underground world, such movies are supposed to be sold to very rich people for a very high price.Billy starts running out of the set, but she knocks a hatstand down, sending a diskette under a wooden wardrobe. Lyosha, who heard the noise made by the falling hatstand, starts running after Billy. Billy hides behind a vending machine in a long corridor. While Lyosha is searching one the rooms that opens on the corridor, Billy steals the key of the emergency door at the end of the corridor. But she doesn't have time to open the emergency door, because Lyosha is back in the corridor. Billy hides in one of the rooms opening on the corridor.Going from room to room, she reaches an out-of-order elevator and starts climbing down the shaft of the elevator using the emergency ladder. Meanwhile Arkadi meets his friend Lyosha in the corridor. We then understand that Arkadi is the masked man who killed the poor woman.Billy has the key to the emergency door between her teeth but she drops it. It falls down into the cabin, at the bottom of the shaft. Billy climbs down the shaft and looks inside the cabin through the chicken wire on the roof. She sees that the cabin door is wide open, and that the key is not inside the cabin, but just outside near the door, on the landing of the basement level. Arkadi and Lyosha walk in, carrying large plastic bags, which they push under the cabin into the bottom of the shaft. The key drops with the bags.When they are gone, Billy goes under the cabin to find her key. She not only finds her key, but also discovers that, inside the bags, are the remains of the poor murdered woman. She starts running back toward the emergency door, but she is spotted by Lyosha and Arkadi. Nevertheless, she reaches the emergency door, which she opens.But, before she can lock it back, Lyosha violently pushes it open and Billy falls from the outside emergency gallery down onto a huge pile of used film boxes.Before Lyosha can kill Billy, Karen, Andy and the janitor find her. While Andy and the janitor go get a doctor, Lyosha holds Billy's hands to prevent her explaining what happened to her sister. He pretends she mustn't move or she could get paralyzed.Slightly later, inside the set where the woman was murdered, two uniformed policemen are questioning Billy with Karen's help. But Lyosha and Arkadi explain to the policemen it was a «fake murder», and show them a fake prop knife with a retractable blade and a pouch of fake blood attached to it. They even give one of their films to the policemen. Then they all go down in the basement to look at the plastic bag in the bottom of the elevator shaft. But there is nothing but rubbish in the bags, and Billy, Karen, Andy and the two policemen leave the studio.Patrolling the basement, the janitor finds a skull burning in the incinerator, but he is killed by Arkadi. Meanwhile, Karen, Andy and Billy are eating in a restaurant. And Karen still believes her sister is telling the truth, even against all the «proofs» that were given to her.In the yard of the studio compound, Lyosha and Arkadi are waiting for their Big Boss, called «The Reaper» (Sir Alec Guiness), who comes in a black limousine, surrounded by other cars, full of his bodyguards. The Reaper tells them they won't get paid until they kill Billy.Andy, whose father is a high level politician, calls the US ambassador's secretary, Mr Lovett (Stephen Bouser), who immediately meets Alexander Larsen (Oleg Yankovsky), a high-rank police officer, who is acting as an undercover detective to track the activities of the criminal organization led by The Reaper.Meanwhile, Billy is back in her apartment, where she can communicate with her sister through a computer which translates what she types into synthetic spoken language.Meanwhile, Larsen and Lovett are watching the film that was given to the policemen by Arkadi and Lyosha. Actually, it is not the snuff movie made by Lyosha, but the movie made by Andy, in which the stupid actress is breaking half of the set. Later in the night, Lovett calls Andy to give him «the good news».Before going to bed, Karen calls her sister to check that she is okay. While they are speaking, someone rings the doorbell in Billy's apartment. It is Arkadi who tries to get in Billy's apartment, but she succeeds in slamming the door in his face. Unfortunately, Arkadi starts unscrewing the lock of the door with a power drill.When she heard the noise, Karen immediately took the decision to go to her sister's place, so Billy can't call her back. Billy tries to call the police through the operator, but the operator doesn't understand what the synthetic voice machine says. When she eventually gets someone who speaks good English, Arkadi has succeeded in entering Billy's apartment, and he tears the telephone cord off. Billy has taken a big knife from her kitchen and she tries to keep Arkadi away from her. They fight all around the apartment, breaking things, and eventually Billy crashes a big vase on Arkadi's head.Billy locks herself in the bathroom while Lyosha walks in her apartment. Arkadi tries to smash the bathroom door open, and when he eventually succeeds, it is to fall into the bathtub full of water. Billy throws the electric hair-drier in the bathtub and Arkadi dies from electrocution.She tries to rush out of her apartment, but Lyosha catches her. He wants her to tell him where is an important diskette he is looking for (Actually, it is the diskette we saw going under the big wardrobe, when Billy knocked the hatstand down on the set). He gives a pen to Billy to write it down, but she drives the pen violently into Lyosha's leg. But, before he can do anything back to Billy, he is knocked out by Larsen, who takes rapidly Billy out of the apartment, and into his car. Larsen's car is followed by Wartschuk's car. Wartschuk (Alexander Piatov) is The Reaper's right-hand man, the only one of his assistants he really trusts.Very shortly after Larsen and Billy's departure, Karen and Andy enter the apartment. They find the apartment trashed and Arkadi's corpse in the bathtub. Afraid of Lyosha, they lock themselves in one of the bedroom. Two fake policemen, sent by Wartschuk, walk into the apartment, kill Lyosha, take Andy and Karen out of the locked bedroom, and start asking them about the missing diskette;Meanwhile, in his car, Larsen explains to Billy that the missing diskette contains very important data about The Reaper's criminal organization. Billy suddenly remembers where the diskette is, but when she hears Larsen talking in Russian to Wartschuk into a walkie-talkie, she gets suspicious about him. To force him to stop the car, she hits him in his private parts and then ties his hand on the steering-wheel with the handcuffs she found in the glove compartment. She gets out of the car, and starts running toward Wartschuk's car. But she hesitates, stops and comes back into Larsen's car, who drives away just before Wartschuk's henchman catches her.Meanwhile, the two fake policemen are still trying to get Andy and Karen to tell them about the missing diskette. One of the policemen puts his gun on Andy's head, but, very discreetly, Karen pulls the rug from under his feet, The policeman falls down and inadvertently shoots his gun and kills his colleague. Then Karen knocks the fallen policeman out by hitting him on the head with the telephone handset, then finishes him by crashing an armchair on his head.Meanwhile, Larsen and Billy have reached the studio building. Billy frees Larsen and they walk inside the building, and lock the doors from the inside. Outside the building, Wartschuk parks on the yard surrounded by other cars full of gunmen. Andy and Karen park in the street near the compound and enters it by going over the wall.Inside the building, Larsen finds the diskette under the wardrobe, but Wartschuk walks in and Larsen, playing his part as an undercover agent, first pretends to be on Wartschuk's side against Billy, but then hits Wartschuk on the head with the butt of his gun.Meanwhile, Andy and Karen succeeds in entering the building, but before going in, they see The Reaper's car driving in the compound. Once inside, they see Larsen bringing Billy out of the building at gunpoint. The Reaper orders Larsen to shoot her, which he does. Billy falls on the ground, covered with blood. Satisfied, The Reaper orders all his gunmen to drive out of the compound.When Larsen walks back inside the building, Karen punches him very hard and then walks out to her dead sister, only to find out she is NOT dead and has only used one of her FX gadgets to pretend she was shot and covered with fake blood. Inside the building, Andy tries to shoot Larsen with Larsen's gun, only to discover it is loaded with blank cartridges.Larsen and Andy walk out to meet Billy, and we understand that Billy has fallen in love with Larsen. Larsen puts Wartschuk, gagged and all tied up, in his car. But something in Wartschuk's frightened expression worries Billy, who, not been able to talk, reads faces better than other people. She makes Larsen come out of the car, just before the car explodes, killing Wartschuk, but not Larsen. | cult, comedy, murder, violence, flashback | train | imdb | What makes it so totally different from the usual thriller/horror, apart from its Moscow setting, the Russians are played by real Russians actors, even the American mute woman - excellent casting idea, because she acts brilliantly.
This is the perfect example of a would-be great film that's merely recommendable thanks to an awful finish.Billy Hughes (Marina Zudina) is the make-up artist for a cheesy slasher flick being filmed in Russia.
After a fairly amusing opening scene and an effective set-up of the characters, Mute Witness kicks into full throttle quickly.
In Moscow, the clumsy director Andy Clarke (Evan Richards) is making a slasher movie in a studio set with Russian and American cast and crew.
However, the janitor locks her in the studio alone and Billy cannot find a way out.When Billy sees light in the studio, she accidentally witnesses the Russians Arkadi (Igor Volkov) and Lyosha (Sergej Karlenkov) making a porn snuff movie and brutally killing a woman.
Further, the powerful Russian mafia chases her believing that Billy has a diskette with evidences against the mobsters.I saw "Mute Witness" eighteen years ago and I loved this film.
Yesterday I saw it again, now on DVD, and it still is a great film that combines thriller and horror with black humor in a plot with many twists.
There are a number of thrillers that focus on a certain disability - blindness is more common (Blind Terror, Wait Until Dark, Cat o'Nine Tails to name a handful), but the implications of having a mute lead in a thriller such as this are well portrayed, and actually integral to the plot as the fact that the lead character can't speak is often the reason why she finds herself in dangerous situations that would be easy for anyone else to get out of.
Our mute witness is Billy Hughes, a make-up artist working on a horror film production at a studio in Moscow.
She finds herself locked in after hours one night, and after attempting to phone her sister for help, she stumbles upon what at first appears to be the making of an illicit sex flick, but soon turns out to be a snuff movie!
She tries to convince the authorities of what she's seen, but finds that no one believes her story...Recently Hostel made the headlines for showing snuff movie making in a foreign country, but this film did it first and actually does a better job.
It's maybe not quite as nasty as Eli Roth's opus, but the gore is more effective, and since director Anthony Waller (who went on to direct one of my favourite modern thrillers with 'The Guilty') implements a good sense of humour into the proceedings, Mute Witness is both sufficiently gory and fun to watch.
The acting isn't bad for a B-movie, with young performers Marina Zudina, Fay Ripley and Evan Richards delivering good performances.
Billy Hughes is a mute young lady working for make-up on a cheap horror picture being filmed in Moscow by an American director.
The performances by the cast were all fine, especially the nail biting turns by Oleg Yankovsky and Igor Volkov as the Russian murderers.This riveting feature that's mostly made up of unknowns, is way better than your average dark thriller.
The film is still very good mind you and is much better than a lot of large budget thrillers.It isn't scary but it is very thrilling.
Like many of Hitch's heroes, our doe-eyed mute witness has innocently stumbled into something truly horrific -- and we are taken on quite a ride with her, at turns identifying totally and feeling her fear, at turns watching in thrilling suspense as she is placed further in jeopardy.The filmmakers have put in a lot of tender care in working this out.
The shock, fear, horror and helplessness are also brought out well by characters in the film.The well written situations n twists,fast camera movements, slick editing and superb direction makes it an excellent suspense thriller.
This film actually switches between the genres - horror and suspense thriller leaving the viewer clueless and tensed.
It's a pity that it all went wrong in the second half of the movie.Billy Hughes is a mute make-up artist who works on an American slasher movie that's being shot in Moscow.
Now she has to try to escape from the murderers (Russian people who work in her film crew), to stay alive and to convince the authorities that the murder that she witnessed is real.I like to watch good thrillers and I'm a fan of European movies, because most of the time they pay more attention to the character development and the story.
Movies like Psycho and Blair Witch, while being great in suspense (both with great build ups) are spoiled by the fact that we know all about the best scenes and at least the plot before we see them.
I didn't really know much about the film at the time I decided to watch it, but I felt like watching a thriller movie.It is a good thing I caught this film.
Anyhow, I think very highly of this film, not only as an indie thriller, but just as an overall excellent movie..
Billy Hughes, a mute makeup artist working on a slasher film being shot in Moscow, is locked in the studio after hours.
While there she witnesses a brutal murder, and must first escape capture at that time, then keep from being killed before convincing authorities of what she's seen.Critical reception has been mostly positive and the film currently holds a rating of 80% "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes, based upon 20 reviews.
Variety gave the film a mostly positive review, remarking that while the movie can be "entirely plot-driven, neglecting to develop intriguing characterizations", its "suspense is so chilling, its narrative so disciplined and its style so pleasurable, they jointly triumph over the other deficiencies." The review from the New Yorker was more mixed and they wrote that the director's "technique is impressive; the film falls flat only when he attempts to make the frightening funny.
But the plot takes some nice twists and turns, the tension builds a good head of steam, and the tawdriness never lets up." Personally, I think the film is a bit over-rated.
I don't mind a nude scene in its place or a little blood letting but many of todays so called horror and suspense movies have absolutely nothing to offer except some weird competition to see who can be more creative (grosser) at removing body parts.
This is a very good surprise,this horror low budget movie.The influences are definitely European,and Dario Argento's fans should relish with that:the cinematography and the direction recall such works as "suspiria" and "l'ucello della piume de cristallo" with a simpler script and less showing off.The mute heroine will make old cinema buffs think of Dorothy MCGuire's part in "the spiral staircase"(Robert Siodmak,1946),but this latter movie was hitchcockian to the core whereas this one ,I say it again,is more "argentoesque":the scene in which the baddie tries to force open the frightened girl flat was in the two mentioned movies.The comic relief (the people above who cannot sleep because of the "noise" ) might be an allusion to HG Clouzot's "les diaboliques".This is an action-packed story,using the settings with intelligence and dexterity.And very honest,at that:Russians speak Russian and thus are credible.This adds to the suspense because there are actually three languages:Russian ,English,and the heroine's one who can only communicate by looks and gestures.To top it all,there's a superb cameo for sir Alec Guiness -the only star of the movie,at least in western Europe and America-,who appears billed as "mystery guest star" in the credits.All psychological suspense afficionados must see this overlooked gem..
And a pity it is, because the idea is not bad: set in Moscow, a mute "American" girl (beautiful Martina Zudina is actually a Moscow-born Russian, so she was conveniently rendered mute so her accent would not give her away) working as a film production assistant witnesses a "snuff" crime committed in a studio lot, and she is chased for the rest of the film.
The appealing Russian actress Marina Zudina plays Billy Hughes, an American makeup effects artist working on a slasher film being shot in Moscow.
There's a real joy in seeing the "special guest star" who pops up in two scenes as criminal mastermind The Reaper.Even with its flaws, "Mute Witness" is so damn good during its better portions that it still comes recommended.Eight out of 10..
Billy, a mute make up artist (played very well by Marina Zudina, a beautiful Russian actress) accidentally witnesses a porno shoot there, done after hours, that soon turns into a real murder.
Mute Witness begins strongly with a simple but intense set-up that has a mute American make-up girl accidentally getting locked in the decrepit Russian film studio in which she is working on a US film being directed by her brother-in-law.
While trying to find her way out she inadvertently witnesses the filming of a snuff movie and subsequently finds herself hunted through the deserted studio's dimly-lit corridors.
All of this is well paced and filmed the murder scene, like Hitchcock's famous shower scene, cleverly uses the viewer's imagination to provide the gory details and the film manages to create an increasingly claustrophobic atmosphere as the heroine's avenues of escape are systematically reduced.Unfortunately, it can't sustain this level of tension for long, and once the plot is opened out things start to unravel.
For some unfathomable reason, writer/director Anthony Waller decides to introduce a 'comedy' element in the guise of the heroine's film director brother-in-law, and the whole thing nearly falls apart completely as he and his wife (the heroine's sister) are given increasingly larger amounts of screen time.The story grows a little confused as it widens from a lady-in-peril thriller to more of a conspiracy plot involving a shadowy figure called The Reaper (Alec Guinness in a cameo he filmed about nine years before the rest of the film was shot!) and police complicity in the snuff trade, and by its climax, Waller has thrown in so many twists and red herrings to try and disguise some glaring plot holes that you're left deflated by thinking about what could have been..
Writer/director Anthony Waller builds an effective setpiece early on (reminiscent of the 'museum scene' in "Dressed to Kill"), where Billy (Maria Sudina), a mute makeup artist on a low-budget movie, witnesses what appears to be a snuff film, and proceeds to get chased through the building by the perpetrators, always keeping one move ahead.
This is very complex and well-done, but sadly, it's the high point of "Mute Witness." After that, the film becomes a labyrinth of plot twists that even the director can't keep track of (though you'll be one step ahead of each), made all the more confusing because of some very, VERY thick Russian accents (oftentimes I couldn't tell if it was Russian or just very broken English the characters were speaking--subtitles please!), and two American filmmakers who bring an awkward sitcom quality to the proceedings.
I like movies that don't deliver what is expected, but I dislike it when movies emphasize style over character, which "Mute Witness" does seemingly every five minutes in the last act--Waller has apparently watched too many Dario Argento films.
I really cannot believe that it didn't gain much more popularity when it was released, especially when the main contenders at the time were the usual Wes Craven sequels and copycat horrors, Mute Witness has all the style, suspense and quickfire plot twists of a Hitchcock/DePalma movie, coupled with some very sharp black comedy and a great plot.
It never promises to be any more than a good popcorn-and-hot-dog movie, but it is difficult not to just enjoy the film for what it is.The plot centres on Billie Hughes - a mute girl working on the set of a horror film being made in a Russian factory.
As the main character is mute, she cannot make a noise - something which is a blessing at some stages of the movie, and a curse in others.The director seems to have studied his Hitchcock very well, Even the opening scene is a tongue-in-cheek nod to both Hitchcock's "Psycho" as well as fairly generic slasher movie scenes.While the acting can be hammy at times, the whole film does hold it together, not only throwing in a couple of excellent scenes that put you right on the edge of your seat, but a few neat little questions about how the film is going to end.All in all, a hugely overlooked, well-paced and action packed psycho-thriller which I would recommend for any jaded viewer looking for something a little different from the usual Freddy/Jason/Scream/Michael Myers/Damien regurgitation's at hallowe'en..
The fact that the main character is mute is used throughout the story in a very believable way.She sees a murder (for a snuff-movie) and decides to run but is chased (this takes quite some time).
The story is about a girl who works for a film company and who gets to be the accidental witness of a murder while it's being filmed for a snuff-movie.
An intense thriller about a mute movie make-up artist who witnesses a snuff film being made when she is working late in the studio one night.
The plot is simple: Mute woman accidentally witnesses a killing in a snuff film one day, late at night in a big old film studio, something nobody was ever meant to see.
The whole 5-minute 'snuff' scene was very unpleasant, and the movie's violence should have been toned down a little, to fully perfect the wonderful 'old-fashioned thriller'-feeling to it all.
From the movie-within-a-movie opening scene to the ending's last surprise, there is not too much that hasn't been done before in Mute Witness.
But the story just never turned the interesting corner.The acting in the movie was actually okay, but the actors and actresses had very little to work with in terms of storyline and direction.I was surprised to see Alec Guineness making a short appearance in a movie of this type.
Starring a cast of unknowns (except an extremely brief cameo by Sir Alec Guiness whose scenes were purportedly filmed eight years prior to the actual filming of this movie), it told the story of a mute make-up artist, Billie, who is working on a film on location in Russia produced and directed by her sister's boyfriend Andy.
MUTE WITNESS is the kind of film that demands a scrutiny of viewing similar to the most intricate, clever thriller because as much as it is a convoluted thriller, it's one that pays its dues to movies like WAIT UNTIL DARK and the best of Hitchcock in its choice of camera cuts, deadpan humor, Americans reacting in foreign countries where they are powerless, and nail-biting suspense until it seems something must snap.
Here, in "Mute Witness", we find a prime example of this.*Scene spoiler* In the first 5-10 minutes, the film opens to a very Hitchcockian scene of a pretty blonde lady in her apartment, with the radio on.
- It conveys a central subject matter (that of the difference between a 'movie screen death' and a 'snuff film death', an issue which is elaborated on later in the film), and finally, it introduces the viewer to the characters, all as silently as possible.The plot of Mute Witness centres around Billy Hughes, an American special effects make-up artist who is working on the set of the film, being shot in a large warehouse in Moscow.
After the end of an evening's filming, Billy inadvertently finds herself locked in the warehouse by accident, and in her attempt to escape, is witness to two of the crew making what first appears to be a porno film, but turns out to be a snuff movie.
- At the end, the twists keep coming at a rapid-fire speed, and the climax of the film is, appropriately, as tense as the first half.There are several things that really make the movie work.
The actress that plays Billy, Natasha Zudina, does a wonderful job in the film, with an engaging on-screen prescence, and a brilliant performance, and finally, the direction as a whole, but most particularly in the first half of the film, which truly is a study in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense/thriller film techniques.As I have already said, though, the let-downs in the film are from some terrible comic relief moments that really do not need to be added.
Her overacting drive the director nuts and his funny reaction tell us, the viewers, that Mute Witness is not a typically horror movie.The main character, the mute American make-up artist Billy Hughes, is played by the beautiful yet talented Russian actress Marina Zudina.
The film written and directed entirely by Anthony Waller is a tense, action-packed thriller with black comedy aspects and horror influences.
Mute Witness handles about the vicious topic of `snuff'-movies and is effectively set in Russia.
The acting in Mute Witness isn't great, but the leading actress (who's Russian herself) looks really cute.
~Spoiler~ Mute Witness is a brilliant suspense film that is completely undermined by the last 30 minutes.
In the film, a mute girl, Billy Hughes, accidentally witnesses a snuff film being made and the killers must eliminate her at all costs.
She calls her sister, then witnesses a murder taking place in the studio by two of the people working in the film and decides to fled.
You can sense that first-time director Anthony Waller (who went on to make the lamented but largely enjoyable B-movie AN American WEREWOLF IN Paris) wants to make something above the run-of-the-mill horror film despite the small budget, striving to create something worthwhile in terms of suspense and atmosphere.
The Hitchcock comparison applies directly to the good use of a "gimmick" - the main character and "witness" being Mute; well acted by a Russian actress as an American. |
tt2109184 | Paranormal Activity 4 | On October 9, 2006, Kristi Rey and her husband Daniel are killed by her demon-possessed sister Katie, who then abducts Kristi's one-year-old son, Hunter. Text states that Katie and Hunter's whereabouts remained unknown.
Now 5 years later, in November 2011, Alex Nelson (Kathryn Newton) lives in suburban Henderson, Nevada with her father Doug, mother Holly, and little brother Wyatt. Alex and her boyfriend, Ben, discover their new neighbor's son, Robbie, hiding in their family tree house. The next day, Robbie's mother falls ill and is taken to the hospital, leaving Robbie, in the care of the family. As Robbie is unpacking his stuff, he says that his teddy bear is "100 years" old. Also, he has a "100 year old" fork.
Alex is skyping with her boyfriend, Ben, when she hears the front door open. When she leaves the web cam in the room, Robbie darts past the screen. One night while Alex is sleeping, Ben's computer starts recording, and he sees Robbie getting into the bed with her. The next day, she goes to the kid's playhouse, and Wyatt starts telling her about Toby, Robbie's friend. They turn their Xbox Kinect system, and Alex films herself with it. When Alex talks to Robbie, behind him, there's a green blur that rushes past the screen.
The next day, Alex shows her dad, but he thinks it's a joke. Alex and Ben set up cameras all over the house. On night #3, Robbie and Wyatt are running through the house like maniacs. The next day, Alex is in the kitchen, making a sandwich, and a basketball starts dribbling down the stairs. While in her bedroom, she starts hearing strange noises and a loud bang from downstairs. When Alex investigates, she finds a trail of toys that leads to a closet. Suddenly a toy train turns on behind her and spooks Alex. She finds Robbie, who runs away from her saying, "He does not like you filming us," as a chandelier falls and almost kills her.
On night #6, Alex sees a lot of cars parked outside Robbie's house, and goes to check it out but runs back home after being caught by a strange woman in a black gown. The next day while Wyatt is playing in the house, chairs start moving by themselves and stop him in his tracks. Wyatt pushes his bike off-screen only for it to appear to be pushed by invisible force back to him. Alex and Ben are in the living room when the hear a very loud thud from upstairs. When they go to the boy's closet, Wyatt reveals a green symbol on his back and tells them, "I had to meet him".
Alex and Ben learn the symbol is from a witches' coven, one that would unleash a demon to possess a young boy. They read further to learn to complete the possession ritual, Wyatt would need to spill the blood of a virgin. Ben jokes with Alex about her virginity to spook her. The next day, the boys suddenly leave, and go to Robbie's house. Alex follows the boys there, where Katie (from the original film), presumably Robbie's mother, has returned from the hospital appearing well and normal.
In the next scene, while Holly is in the kitchen cutting vegetables, the knife she was using vanishes into thin air. Later, Wyatt explains to Alex that Katie knew that Robbie and he were both adopted, and that Wyatt's real name is "Hunter." Katie told Wyatt his old family wants him back. The next night, Wyatt goes downstairs and argues with Toby saying, "My name's not Hunter." While Wyatt is taking a bath, Holly goes downstairs for a few minutes. When Holly answers a phone call, Wyatt gets pulled under the water by Toby. When he rises, he appears to be in a trance. Later that night, Holly gives Alex some sleeping pills, because she's been "having trouble sleeping." While Alex is asleep, Wyatt makes the blanket fly off the bed, and levitates her in mid-air.
On night #12, a possessed Katie is seen sneaking around, and Alex's garage door starts opening and closing. Alex hears the garage door open, so she goes to closes it. It mysteriously opens again, and, when Alex goes under it, the door crashes down, locking itself, and almost kills her. During this, Katie enters the house and goes upstairs to Wyatt's room, where she tells him that she'll wait until he is "ready." The family's car turns on by itself and begins spewing exhaust, but Alex escapes by breaking into the car and crashing through the garage door. Alex attempts to show her parents the footage of this incident, but the footage has been mysteriously erased. Alex tries explaining what happened, but her parents think she's gone crazy.
The next night, Doug is downstairs watching TV on the couch, and hears a creak in the kitchen. He investigates for a moment, and seconds after he shuts down his computer, and the knife that had vanished falls right in between him and the camera. This convinces Doug to believe Alex. Alex and Doug go to dinner to talk about the strange events. While they are gone, Holly is violently thrown against the ceiling and drops to the floor, dying upon impact. Katie drags her body away. Ben comes over, goes inside and looks for Alex, but no one is home. He hears a bang upstairs and attempts to leave a message on Alex's laptop. Katie appears suddenly and kills Ben by snapping his neck.
Alex and Doug arrive home and Doug goes next door believing he saw Holly and Wyatt. As he goes to investigate, Alex calls Ben's phone and hears it ringing in the closet. She finds Ben's body and is suddenly knocked down by a force, presumably Toby. She flees to Katie's home, and searches for Doug but cannot find him. Instead, Alex finds Doug screaming being dragged down the hall and out of sight. She continues to search for Doug, when she hears Wyatt's voice off-screen. Suddenly, Katie runs towards the camera shrieking like a demon. Alex escapes from Katie by jumping through a window and finds Wyatt in the yard. Wyatt refuses to leave and looks behind Alex. When Alex looks up, she sees dozens of witches running towards her. As she turns around, Katie lunges at her. The camera falls to the ground and the screen cuts to black. | cult, murder | train | wikipedia | At first, 80% of the movie was completely pointless, and i'm not even mentioning the fact about absence of shocking moments, even "traditional paranormal activity jump scares" were left out.
It just bothers me how they don't keep the movie exciting enough for the Paranormal Activity fans, how would they like to have the people come back to watch the movie again?
It has become an unintentional October ritual that I decorate the house for Halloween, watch a few horror films, and, since 2009, see the latest installment of the Paranormal Activity franchise.
The characters are a tad more tolerable, and some sequences, including the end, have a bit more life in them, but when the moments examine the paranormal inactivity of it all, it becomes totally vanilla.After two films we finally reconnect with Katie from the original film, this time, living on an upper-middle class suburban block with Hunter from the second film.
When Katie is taken to the hospital for unknown reasons, Robbie (Brady Allen), who already loves to venture into the neighbors' backyard and hang out in the treehouse, is sent to be cared for at Alex's home for the next few days.Robbie immediately strikes up an unsettling friendship with Wyatt, and it isn't long before Alex and her goofy boyfriend become victim to the paranormal activity occurring in the household.
These films have gotten to be achingly predictable, and it feels like every year since 2010, I've gone on a lunch-date with a person whose intentions I like, but personality and charm I've come to loathe.I think besides the nifty camera-work, what elevates Paranormal Activity 4 from the monotony and the drabness of the previous installment, is the fact that we have at least marginally tolerable characters to watch as well.
Just another sidenote; the last fifteen minutes of this film did not scar me for life, much like its predecessor's.Paranormal Activity 4 is effective in rustling up scare-attempt after scare-attempt on a basic level, yet shortchanges the larger questions that would offer insight to Katie's family if explored.
Considering audiences seem to be tiring from the bang-and-scare features the found footage genre has inspired, it would be a pity to see this franchise die before it can fully clean up its messy tracks.Starring: Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively, Katie Featherston, Brady Allen, Aiden Lovekamp, Stephen Dunham, and Alexondra Lee. Directed by: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman..
The truth of crap not worth movie, not really expecting anything good but this time it made sense to the movie at all, arguments and history are the same, the end of the third repeats.If you want to vote your money go see it because I personally do not recommend.Seriously the director doesn't have imagination , the effects in the movie looks old , and the noise in the movie is the only thing that its "scary"...if you now what i meanAnd the story in the movie, please have another ..
Paranormal Activity 4,,,,, well fellow movie goers this movie was a huge disappointment, first it starts out confusing they introduce characters that have nothing to do with the rest of the series, there are no big scares or out of control haunting 's like the rest of the series there are a few minor jumps at the end, the acting is horrible in this one.
by the tine you reach the end your left with more questions than answers, if you have seen the other 3 then you can understand some of the movie the rest is just so confusing you have no clue who the 2 main character's are supposed to be and what exactly they have to do with the movie,,, my final rating is 2 stars out of a possible 5 this movie was doomed from the start,, very disappointed,, do not recommend paying to see this film....
I really DID forget this was a horror movie and laughed the whole way through with one scene where I did jump, but more so because I knew what was coming and the suspense of waiting for it to happen was what threw me off - not really my idea of a scare.Another good thing I will say about this besides that it's a comedy is that it can be watched without having watched the second and third one!
Despite only finding at best mixed reviews, I had high hopes for this film as a fan of the series; the original Paranormal Activity was a refreshing change from what had become a stale and repetitive phase of horror films.
The cliff-hanger ending reassured me that the fourth Paranormal Activity would answer the fairly basic questions which are the only reasons that we feel the need to watch every film in this series.
Especially now that the demon has control of a Human body (Katie) and all of Hunters family is dead so there is no one to stop it or try to save him.Overall, this film was hugely disappointing, failing completely to recover from the slump of story line and structure, which the third film saw.
This film was extremely gimmicky; almost as though the company made it like a filler to give the writers more time to come up with a better story, but still wanted to make another couple of bucks by milking the franchise at the same time.
A friend asked me, "have you seen Paranormal Activity 4?" But how ironic in that he said, he gave me to understand that it is not a good movie and so it was.
Anyway, this particular film is basically just a teenage girl Skyping with her boyfriend the whole time and maybe like 2 scary things happen in the whole movie, but you've been waiting for it so much that it's anticlimactic when it finally happens.
This is mostly to do with the build up being so utterly dire that by the end I just didn't care , which is a shame as it could have worked better if any sort of effort had been put into the other 83 minutes.I walked away from this film disappointed and bemused at the series' slip in quality and how it seems to be going the way of many horror franchises before it, in the sense of taking a fresh and alternative attempt to scare people and then slowly becoming utterly predictable.
For those of you who have seen all the films you know that its not going to cover new ground but you are still expecting a decent continuation and contribution from a franchise that you like.
After attending a special preview screening of the whole film (the directors informed us it wasn't the completely polished movie yet- still a little editing to be done) the audience reacted very positively towards it.//Plot- The film takes place five years after Paranormal Activity 2, which ended with Katie kidnapping Hunter.
After Robbies mum goes to the hospital Alice's mother takes Robbie in, which leads to weird occurrences in their house//Look, in all honesty, there are a whole host of better horror movies to watch out there, but i am writing for those who WANT to see this movie on its own merits not any one seeking out a mind-blowing plot with incredible character development!...okay?!
(...me!) So all in all, if you have never seen any of the previous films and you go to see this one (for some strange reason?!) you will have had a decent movie outing with jumpy moments and will probably want to watch the others after!
Which I think I enjoyed the most out of four.This one is got to be the worst movie of series so far,no were near as good 1 or 3, even worse them PA 2 (Which I did not like)The scare scene in this movie really tame down from 3rd movie, none them were really affecting at all, the ended it to quick and moved on to the next scene, like nothing happened, that how it feels thought out the whole movie, some of the scare were so bad that was almost funny.
The only parts I really enjoyed were last 2 or (3 max) minutes of the end, there are some good enjoyable scene to watch, which some may find scary.The acting was really decent of from the whole cast,4 out of 10, Worse in the series by FAR!.
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) * 1/2 (out of 4) The first film was a masterpiece, the second boring, the third had a good story but no scares and I think this fourth one really puts the nail in the coffin.
I'm sure the film will make a lot of money on its opening weekend but I doubt word of mouth will be too strong so if they do plan future installments I hope they actually come up with a new and different story and quit trying to connect everything together.
I went to see this film last night (day of release) in reasonable anticipation as admittedly I do enjoy going to watch Paranormal Activity films.
Overall this film is just one too many in the series, the first hour is a complete waste of time following the story of a 12 year old and her perverted 'friend'.
Overall in my opinion watching this film was a complete and utter waste of time and money, it didn't scare me at all at any point and the whole plot and story line was completely stupid and boring.
The family's daughter and her boyfriend start sensing weird things going on in the house, so they start an investigation by setting up web-cameras to watch over the house.I was looking forward to this movie, basically because the first three movies were fun times.
It has some hilarious lines and it is really self-aware, which is good because when you've come as far as a fourth movie, it's hard to take it seriously.Paranormal Activity 4 is overall a pretty fun time.
It was a complete waste of 86 minutes and objects rapidly moving toward a camera at the very end of a movie were hardly "scary." I skipped the second iteration and against my better judgment, saw the third one and now the fourth.
Perhaps if people stop wasting their money to see this crap from the same studio that duped the public out of $33.7 million on the opening weekend of The Devil Inside, they'll put some time and effort into making a real horror movie.There was so much potential that could have been explored.
it's like the even-numbered ones in this series are doomed to suck(this is not as bad as the second one, though, in spite of multiple cameras, since there are no wasted angles, in part because of those we follow, and their amount)) Alex(Newton, girly but not annoying, our lead and pretty sympathetic...
There were very very long period of complete boredom, I mean really it went for ages without anything really happening, I believe that if they made a contest around the states for any new idea to add to "Paranormal" you would have got something 100% better than this pathetic movie.Waste of time and money.Tara Hamdi (Abu Dhabi).
Alex's parents decide to be good people and let Robbie stay in their house for a few days until his mom gets back from the hospital.However, strange incidents suddenly start to occur after Robbie moves in and Alex begins to suspect that there is more to Robbie than there appears to be.++++++++++++++++++**My Opinion** OK, let me say this...I REALLY didn't like this movie.The plot is practically non-existent in this movie.
When i saw part one i gave up on the Paranormal series.But still i came so far that i was lured into a trap, and watched part 3 which was absolutely fantastic.For a long time i waited for a 'found footage' movie where they actually made something more happen then a bump and a cheap boo, while 90 % of the flick existed out of boring family issues and all that other lame stuff.
Now for teenage guys, this is going to be a good change as Ms. Alex (Kathryn Newton) is a very pretty sight, but for those wanting more back story on Katie, well you're out of luck for most of the movie.
Viewers like me who know how to determine when scary things will happen, are good at putting two and two together, and can't stand plot holes are going to want to skip this film, as it may be boring.
I cant wait to know if they will be a fifth movie because they are still so much things that need to be revealed.Overall a great movie, Scarier than the past ones, great plot,Cons : The ending was a little rough, and rushed but so far they always ended their movies the same way so it wasn't a surprise.Great Halloween movie if your a fan of supernatural!..
I saw it for the first time as a rental, and when I began watching it I feared I had come across a dud but as the day progressed I watched it bit by bit and began to like it.I agree it is short on scares compared to the first three, but it makes up for it in telling a good story.
Not to mention, this film is pretty much starved of scary or frightening moments.Entertainment Value: 4* - I will admit I expected more after seeing Paranormal Activity 3, which I happened to enjoy.
Paranormal Activity was terrible horror film I've seen in recent times with no script , no direction and of course with no scary scenes at all.After 5 years , Katie along with Hunter moves in a neighborhood where a regular family gets affected by their paranoid behavior.
On top of it , I simply felt that there were no actual scenes that will break your sweats and a chill will run down your spine like PA 3.Overall , a very boring ghost movie which was simply a waste of time.
Why read a review about the fourth movie in a horror series that uses the same gimmick (found footage) each time?
The acting was good and humorous, the child actors were suitably creepy and there was another stand out creepy performance from the face of Paranormal Activity Katie (who gets more air time this time and the film is that much better for it.) Definitely go and see it in the cinema with a group of friends and a full theatre and you'll have a good night!.
the ending once again leaves puzzles unsolved but thats what leaves you wanting more, i guess everyone who dislikes these kind of movies can call these their guilty pleasure, because you know its going to be bad, but you want to see what happens, but this film feels almost fake, if you ask me.
but what i liked was the change of scares, there were less slamming of doors and more violent activity, i guess the reason i liked this one is because i expected it to be bad, not that is was, but i had high hopes for 3 and was extremely disappointed, mostly because of the false commercials that didn't show any of it in the actual film.
OK, so there is a story here, which attempts to uncover the whereabouts of Hunter, the child taken at the end of "Paranormal Activity 2", but it's pretty weak, and really shouldn't be focused on at all if you are planning to see this movie and well, enjoy it.
So, in the end, if you are planning on seeing this movie, probably the most important thing to be aware of is that this is one which falls under the category of, the more you disregard the stories gaping plot holes, the more you will enjoy the film (up to a point, I guess).Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I.
We'll just say this from the get-go – this fourth addition to the surprisingly durable horror franchise is frightfully dull, and we'd advise even fans of the earlier movies to steer clear.All franchises run out of new ideas after some time, but it seemed after 'Paranormal Activity 3' that directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman had somehow found a way to breathe new life into the series by exploring the genesis of the hauntings.
And so here we have the latest installment of the Paranormal Activity series, but unfortunately, this fourth one isn't as good as the other three.With this latest film we have fast-forwarded 5 years from the events that happened in Paranormal Activity 2 (this 4th film isn't a direct sequel to the 3rd movie) and we see what has become of baby Hunter and his "adopted" mother.
It's still worth watching though, especially if you like the Paranormal Activity films..
And that is a shame, because I enjoyed the three previous films and I like to think that this story has an ending instead of it turning into a meaningless pile of bad or mediocre sequels.My disappointment aside, it's not all crap.
This feels like a Paranormal Activity movie, even if it is the worst of the series.
When I watch a horror film, I want be scared and feel my heart jumping like it's the end of the world.
If you're expecting more than that from a Paranormal Activity movie, you're paying for the wrong ticket.7 out of 10P.S. THERE IS A SCENE AFTER THE END CREDITS (which is after the Paramount animation)!P.P.S. First review on IMDb. Hope you liked it!.
Just like the third movie, Paranormal Activity 4 doesn't offer anything new and the lead chick's acting isn't really good.
Write a clear path for where the franchise is going because these movies are individual films that have very little to do with each other and all end the same exact way!.
Because I freaking hate paranormal activity, I liked the last film as it was the only one with actual effort put into it but the others were complete crap. |
tt0416320 | Match Point | Chris Wilton, a recently retired tennis professional, is taken on as an instructor at an upmarket club in London. He strikes up a friendship with a wealthy pupil, Tom Hewett, after discovering their common affinity for opera. Tom's older sister, Chloe, is smitten with Chris and the two begin dating. During a family gathering, Chris meets Tom's American fiancée, Nola Rice, and they are instantly attracted to each other. Tom's mother, Eleanor, does not approve of her son's relationship with Nola, a struggling actress, which is a source of tension in the family. Chloe encourages her father, Alec, to give Chris a job as an executive in one of his companies; he begins to be accepted into the family and marriage is discussed.
During a storm, after having her choice of profession attacked by Eleanor, Nola leaves the house to be alone. Chris follows Nola outside and confesses his feelings for her, and they passionately have sex in a wheat-field. Feeling guilty, Nola treats this as an accident; Chris, however, wants an ongoing clandestine relationship. Chris and Chloe marry, but Tom ends his relationship with Nola.
Chloe, to her distress, does not become pregnant immediately. Chris vainly tries to track down Nola, but meets her by chance some time later at the Tate Modern. He discreetly asks for her number and they begin an affair. While Chris is spending time with his wife's family, Nola calls to inform him that she is pregnant. Panicked, Chris asks her to get an abortion, but she refuses, saying that she wants to raise the child with him. Chris becomes distant from Chloe, who suspects he is having an affair, which he denies. Nola urges Chris to divorce his wife, and he feels trapped and finds himself lying to Chloe as well as to Nola. Nola confronts him at his work and he just barely escapes public detection.
Soon after, Chris takes a shotgun from his father-in-law's home and carries it to his office in a tennis bag. On leaving, he calls Nola on her mobile to tell her he has good news for her. He goes to Nola's building and gains entry into the apartment of her neighbor, Mrs. Eastby. He shoots and kills her, then stages a burglary by ransacking the room and stealing some jewelry and drugs. As Nola returns he shoots her in the stairwell. He then takes a taxi to the theater to watch a musical with Chloe. Scotland Yard investigates the crime and concludes it was committed by a drug addict stealing money. The following day, the murder is in the news. Chris returns the shotgun and he and Chloe announce that she is pregnant with Chris' child.
Detective Mike Banner invites Chris for an interview in relation to the murder. Beforehand, Chris throws Mrs. Eastby's jewelry and drugs into the river, but by chance her ring bounces on the railing and falls to the pavement. At the police station, Chris lies about his relationship with Nola, but Banner surprises him with her diary, in which he is featured extensively. He confesses his affair to Banner but denies any link to the murder, and appeals to the detectives not to involve him any more in their investigation, as news of the affair may well end his marriage just as he and his wife are expecting a baby.
Later one night, Chris sees apparitions of Nola and Mrs. Eastby, who tell him to be ready for the consequences of his actions. He replies that his crimes, though wrong, had been "necessary", and that he is able to suppress his guilt. At the same time, Banner dreams that Chris committed the murders. His theory is discredited by his partner, Dowd, who informs him that a drug peddler found murdered on the streets had Mrs. Eastby's ring in his pocket. Banner and Dowd consider the case closed and abandon any further investigation.
Chloe gives birth to a baby boy named Terrence, and his uncle blesses him not with greatness, but luck, which his father (Chris) has in spades, since he was able to avoid being punished for his crimes. | romantic, boring, murder, plot twist, clever | train | wikipedia | Match Point draws its audience in quietly and slowly at first, defining its territory as a smart, hip, and sophisticated character study early on (in no way unexpected for Mr. Allen), but then it takes an irreversibly sinister turn as one man threatens to bring everybody we have grown to love and respect down with him.
...and what a great stroke of luck it is to have sat through Woody Allen's latest, "Match Point." Fans of Woody could sense his comeback in the tragedy half of his last effort, "Melinda and Melinda." It was far more compelling than the comedy half, and the philosophical ideas it brought up were the best Woody Allen had given us in a long while.
This film, free of all the typical Allen shtick, and full of noirish twists and surprises, is every bit as good as Robert Altman's "The Player" or "Gosford Park," and like those two films, it's the best kind of return to form you could hope for from a past master.Chris Wilton (played moderately well by Johnathan Rhys Myers, who comes across as a more handsome Joquin Phoenix) is a failed tennis pro from Ireland who gets a plum job at a snobbish country club in London where he meets up with Tom (an appropriately British Matthew Goode), woos his sister, Chloe (an adorable Emily Mortimer), and has an affair with Tom's flighty fiancée, a struggling American actress named Nola (a ravishing Scarlett Johansson).
The film starts off like a more refined version of last year's tawdry affair, "Closer," with Allen exploring the love lives of semi-bored, over-educated filthy rich Brits who when not hopping in and out of each other's beds are hob-nobbing at the opera, the latest art exhibit, or lounging around their lavish estates reading and drinking.
Don't get me wrong, I think Melinda and Melinda is a good movie, but 'Match' is more fulfilling.Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays Chris Wilton, a former tennis pro turned tennis teacher who is of Irish lower class.
Though this performance may not be as good as her performance in Lost in Translation, its still good enough to get her an Academy Award Nomination.Match Point starts off as a drama and works its way into being a very tense psychological thriller, and Woody Allen shows he is still in top form by trying something daring, and pulling it off.
The best way to see this film is without knowing too much about it as I did and you will come away from it declaring that Woody Allen is still alive and kicking and still able to make a masterpiece even after all these years..
But finally Allen has returned to the game with a subtle but perfectly done thriller which allows him to reinvent himself and discover new terrain like a brand new filmmaker.Match Point offers a simple but powerful message that luck plays a huge part in everyday life which to a major extent is true.
As a failure, Chris finds luck with Chloe's rich family willing to set him up with whatever he desires.The film is very similar to Woody's 1989 masterpiece Crimes and Misdemeanors and it takes similar turns.
That the performances by the actors involved, particularly the three main leads are top notch (Jonathan Rhys-Myers, Emily Mortimer, and Scarlett Johnasson in one of her best) brings full blood and flesh to Woody's strong skeleton of a film.The story starts slow.
For some it might not even 'feel' like a Woody Allen movie, that at times it's a little 'slick'.
Emily Mortimer and Matthew Goode did as much as they could with their one dimensional characters which was to be charming and sweet.Woody Allen has done some less than great movies in recent years, but now he just seems to be going through the motions.
The critics who are giving this movie over the top great reviews should watch "Crimes and Misdemeanors" to see what a masterpiece by Woody Allen is really like..
I guess the young hot cast and new location doesn't seem like the usual Woody Allen film, even though he used young hot talents before.
A problematic film for long-time Woody Allen fans.Essentially, this is the Hallmark card version of Crimes and Misdemeanors (via An American Tragedy, A Place in the Sun, Room at the Top and many others) which provides as much sustenance as gorging on angel-food cake.
The rest of the cast consist of reliable British actors who have severely underwritten and badly observed parts (Brian Cox's monotone father tends to grate, as does the ludicrously plummy brother and sister) or distracting cameos by well known TV performers who have seemingly wrangled themselves a bit of immortality by being in a Woody film.London itself is reduced to a cardboard cutout Manhattan-like island where people always bump into each other (whether it be in Mayfair shopping for Casmere jumpers or casually hanging out at the Tate Modern), and every move made includes the incorporation of some major landmark in the background.
If Woody had decided to pay homage to Rene Clair's wonderful surrealist film 'Paris Qi Dort' (about a man who lives at the top of the Eiffel Tower) by having his main character find a great flat inside Big Ben, I wouldn't have been any less convinced.As for the dialogue, the less said the better.
And I would have found it a much better film if it hadn't been a murder film, which is cheap to resort to for making a point.I like Woody Allen's work (even when he plays the same neurotic character over and over again), but every time he tries to make a serious crime film, this happens.
The performances were varied: Jonathan Rhys Meyers seemed like a more annoying, stupider Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson played the femme fatale character better than any other actress her age could have, though the film's tone was off, and she became less convincing as her character was supposed to be more sympathetic.
Unfortunately, the screenplay is bad enough that it is difficult to recognize these things.A few final notes: Woody Allen is not Ingmar Bergman, despite what he seems to think (if you see the movie, you'll know which scene I'm talking about).
I once read that K Hepburn was described as delivering every emotion "from a to b", well JRM does not get to B and "a" is only explored with the minimum of effort, I think JRM (main actor) delivered his lines as though he was sitting on the loo reading them to himself; its a lovely whimsy of what London and Britain might be like to some people, but "Pappa" does not get you jobs or wealth in London any more.It is a dreadful film, dreadful acting, they all must have been needing cash very badly.
Just to be clear - I like Woody Allen films and being originally from London, was really looking forward to this movie.
The main problem with this film is the unconvincing central performance of Jonathan Rhys Meyers - and you would have thought a director of Allen's stature could have coaxed a better performance than this.
Scarlett Johansson and Emily Mortimer are good but wasted next to Meyers who seems to be trying to be the kind of Englishmen Americans imagine rather than going for any veracity.The plot itself works in that disjointed way Hollywood deals with time and has some merit with the final scenes at least raisng the interest but the changes in tone make the film inconsistent - an odd mix of uptight stage play and supposed thriller.If you want a dark treatment of relationships over time you would be much better off going for Closer.Disappointing..
The fact that a tennis pro with the looks of Ryhs Meyers would love opera and succeed in the City is laughable and makes the characters played by Rock Hudson in the Sirk movies positively neorealistic!
I have never written a comment on a movie site before because I'm a great believer in the personal relationship between a piece of cinema and a viewer.But having seen Match Point last night, I'm here to express a kind of horror I never thought I would get from a Woody Allen movieI knew there would be no comedy, but I did not expect to see every single rule in the world of dialogue-driven drama to be trampled on in such a crass, juvenile, my-first-film-studies- project kind of way.Woody Allen expresses emotion, creates suspense, exudes meaning he DOES NOT SPELL THEM OUT!I couldn't believe I was hearing lines such as 'I'm so anxious'.
And more importantly, people know what they'd do in this kind of predicament precisely because this situation is so common be nasty to her and she'll just go back to America again - there are plenty of ways to let your mistress down, and that does NOT include going for the shot gun!There was no great love between the two characters (the sex scenes are so old man's fantasy in the rain, ripping her top off, baby lotion and blindfolded by a tie for god's sake), no tension (if you didn't see Scarlet would get pregnant, you should be ashamed of yourself) and the incidental characters worked as nothing more than warm props unthinkable in Woody Allen films where the small characters always make the big picture.The film is called Match Point.
and then just to make the clanger even worse, it is mentioned later that the clichéd intellectual upper class father just happened to have a very interesting conversation with him about said ostentatious author.what are you doing, woody Allen, placing such a terrible actor in the centre of the film?
Seriousness does not equate to good drama.I love Woody - or used to - but haven't liked a movie of his since Crimes And Misdemeanors, which, not coincidentally, is the very film Woody reheats and waters down to make the tepid Match Point.
Crimes had a humorous subplot to balance the dark narrative, a story that wasn't completely predictable, three-dimensional characters and, above all, good acting (the supporting cast in both films was very good, but the leads in Match Point were shockingly bad, especially Ms. Johanssen).If you want to see Match Point, rent Crimes & Misdemeanors.
My only thought is that it can only be getting votes from people who would love to come to England and think this is what it is really like over here.Woody Allen should stick to playing his saxophone and watch his old classics on VHS.
the only saving grace was the performance by emily mortimer....i was shocked by jonathan rhys meyers acting...and i can only blame the director because i've seen some of his other films and really enjoyed his performances...he showed absolutely NO EMOTION and it was hard to imagine anyone falling for him...or even liking him....maybe that's why emily mortimer's character had to constantly repeat in the film "everbody likes you"....if i'd seen the movie in a theater...i probably would have walked out midway...although i would have missed the best part....the ending!.
I just returned from a disappointing viewing of the new Woody Allen movie Match Point, said to be "his best film in years." If this is true, I have not been missing much.
I am actually a big fan of Woody's best work, such as Broadway Danny Rose, Manhattan, and A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, but in Match Point Allen reveals that he has nothing to say and nothing to do but pile cliché upon cliché in a pitifully poor script and do laughable imitations of countless dopey domestic melodramas from past decades.
How come the critics cannot see that "match point" is a very poor and pale copy of his previous but utterly brilliant masterpiece "crimes and misdemeanors" (simply one of the best movie ever made by the way!)or that he even "borrowed" from others like Antony Minghella's "the talented Mr Ripley"?
In the same way and time, I had the impression that he needed to "introduce" an unusually new character for him: London.As for the comic side, I'll cite Trainspotting again, because Woody chose its Ewen Bremner to give us one of the few tiny (and great) spots of comicity in Match Point.Enjoy the film - and good luck!.
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers give brilliant performances in Woody Allen's new film Match Point..
It's a very well done movie.So in conclusion, I can definitely see where this movie is getting its buzz from not only because of the performances but the fact that Woody Allen has finally left his rich New York comedy setting and moved to London to make an engaging thriller.
In the ironic twist of fate at the end of the movie, something similar happens, although not related to a tennis match.Mr. Allen has gathered an interesting cast of mainly English actors that do good work under his direction.
Anyone who laments the fact that Alfred Hitchcock is no longer alive to make thrillers can rest easy---the Woodman is on the case."Match Point" is a ghoulishly entertaining movie that threatens to become a rip-off of "An American Tragedy" mixed with "Crime and Punishment," until Woody jerks the film in a totally different direction and makes it utterly original.For about the first twenty minutes of the film, I was thinking how ironic it was that Allen's best movie in a long time (and even in the first twenty minutes you can tell it is indeed going to be that) should also be his most unoriginal.
However, once the protagonist (for want of a better word) sets out to plan the "perfect" murder, inspired by "Crime and Punishment" (which you see him reading early on in the film), the movie becomes an anything-can-happen nailbiter, and had me on the edge of my seat.Scarlet Johannsson is remarkable as an emotionally unstable love interest; Allen uses her sultry good looks to perfect effect, and he includes her in some of the most erotic moments he's ever filmed.
This doesn't even seem like an Allen film at first glance, but many of his recurring themes are here, and his usual knack for writing such strong characters with such believable motives adds much to the suspense and effectiveness of the film overall.A true stunner of a movie, easily one of the best of the year.Grade: A.
It is extraordinary that a film maker as skilled and experienced as Woody Allen has after 36 years and some 40 movies as writer/director, made his Masterpiece.
I went to see this film knowing the ending after being told by a friend, I didn't expect much as I have never been a huge Allen fan, but this blew me away, the way it was written was original and engaging, the music 'clicked' perfectly with the scenes and the cinematography and every performance was top notch and some performances such as Johanssons were the best I had seen from that actor.
Match Point is Woody Allen trying something different with a great plot and script and a wonderful casting.I'm biased, OK.
I've been a Woody Allen fan for years, although I haven't liked all his movies.
In his late films I was missing the mood I loved about Crimes and Misdemeanors or Husbands and Wives, and Match Point recovers it in some way, even though it's a completely different movie.Another difference is the location.
Woody Allen shoots his first film in London, I spent the day watching him direct, it was a great experience.
When Nola gets pregnant and presses him, he balances the financial advantages of his marriage but he has to take a decision in his life and choose the woman he wants for his companion.The great director Woody Allen moved his landscape from Manhattan to London to present a totally different movie, actually a film-noir.
Even if you do not like Woody Allen's films, see "Match Point" that you probably will like it.
In what is his best work since "Crimes and Misdemeanors", and belonging in the same high class as "Manhattan" and "Annie Hall", "Match Point" has Mr. Allen exploring these same relationship topics within his newly discovered Britain setting.With the recurring theme of luck (the word is used at least 11 times in the script), the film takes Chris, a former Irish tennis pro ("Bend it Like Beckham" coach Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) and tosses him into the upper crust of the British elite.
A good if not great Woody Allen film.
Along with Interiors(in a way), Match Point seems to be one of Woody Allen's most divisive films and that's understandable.
Overall, interesting film and a good one(at its best even very good), but not great, Woody Allen has done better.
I think many reviewers have already gone through the sheer absurdity of the "plot" , the wooden performances (and even Scarlett Johansson isn't really shining here), clichéd London scenes, cops that look like something out of Monty Python, but I just have two things to say to Woody Allen 1) when you were married to your leading ladies you made far better movies and 2) you may admire Almodóvar but you certainly ain't him, please stick to what you know best.
"Match Point" is Woody's most commercial film, and he defined him as his best.
I hope for better film from Woody Allen next time..
After a bundle of embarrassing movies, Woody Allen hits it out of the park with what is my opinion his best film, period.
In fact, it doesn't feel like Woody at all, which I daresay is great praise for the master film maker, proving he still has "it".A masterful performance from Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who plays a truly less than likable character to say the least, yet captures the audience and draws one into his twisted life.
In 'Match Point' Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Alexander and Bend It Like Beckham) plays Chris Wilton, a former tennis pro who wants more out of life.
Match Point is a fitting title to the story it tells and Woody Allen has certainly served up a film everyone will enjoy.. |
tt0048347 | The Man with the Golden Arm | In the late 1940s, Frankie Majcinek (Frank Sinatra), who is known as Frankie Machine, returns to Chicago's South Side, which is mostly inhabited by Polish Americans, after serving a six-month sentence at a federal narcotics hospital. The denizens of Antek's Tug `n' Maul Tavern, Frankie's favorite bar, are pleased to see Frankie, especially his best friend, "lost dog finder" Sparrow (Arnold Stang). Although Frankie's former drug supplier, "Nifty" Louie Fomorowski (Darren McGavin), offers Frankie a free "fix, Frankie refuses and vows to Sparrow that he has kicked narcotics for good and intends to become a drummer for a big-name band.Frankie proudly shows off the drums he was given at the hospital, and after sending Sparrow to find him some new clothes, goes to the rooming house where he lives with his wheelchair-bound wife Zosch (Eleanor Parker). The neurotic Zosch, determined to keep Frankie with her by whatever means necessary, has manipulated him for three years by playing on his guilt over causing the accident that injured her while he was driving drunk. Zosch is dubious about his plans to become a musician and urges him to return to dealing poker for Zero Schwiefka (Robert Strauss). Frankie's consistent method of dealing has earned him a city-wide reputation as "the man with the golden arm," but Frankie is determined to improve his life so that he is not tempted to return to drugs.Frankie calls Harry Lane (Will Wright), a musical agent referred to him by his doctor at the narcotics hospital, and makes an appointment to see him. After Sparrow returns with a "borrowed" suit for Frankie to wear, they stop at Antek's for a drink and there run into Schwiefka. Frankie announces his intention to quit dealing, and the angry Schwiefka notifies "Cousin" Kvorka (Harold 'Tommy' Hart), a local beat policeman, that Frankie and Sparrow shoplifted a suit. Kvorka takes the pair to police captain "Record Head" Bednar (Emile Meyer), who wearily ignores Frankie's protests that he has a job interview and insists that he be locked up. Schwiefka then offers to bail out Frankie and Sparrow if Frankie returns to deal for him, and Frankie is forced to accept. Disturbed by a jailed junkie's tormented plea for a fix, Frankie returns home, where Zosch is pleased that he is going back to dealing cards.That night, Louie's taunts about Frankie's shaking hand unnerve the dealer and he leaves to visit the Safari Club, a nearby strip bar where Frankie's former sweetheart, Molly Novotny (Kim Novak), works as a b-girl. Although Molly and Frankie are still in love, Frankie's guilt over causing Zosch's paralysis have kept them apart. Frankie tries to tell Molly that she should leave her current boyfriend, the chiseling, alcoholic Drunky John (John Conte), but Molly states that she needs someone to stave off her deep-seated loneliness. Soon after, Frankie has an interview with Lane, who promises to call him with an audition for a band, but warns him that if he backslides even once, Lane will no longer sponsor him. Despite Frankie's happiness, Zosch nags at him that he is being unrealistic in striving for a better life. A week passes without word from Lane, and Frankie sinks into depression, until one afternoon, Frankie runs into Louie and, succumbing to temptation, accompanies Louie to his apartment for a fix and Frankie is hooked again. Later, after yet another quarrel with Zosch, Frankie storms down to Antek's. There he meets Molly, who encourages him to call Lane, telling him that Lane probably lost his phone number. Molly proves to be correct, and Lane arranges for Frankie to audition for Shorty Rogers' band on the coming Monday. Frankie then pleads with Molly to let him practice playing his drums in her room, as the spiteful Zosch has forbidden him to do so at their place. Although she is reluctant to encourage Frankie's hopes of building a future for the two of them, Molly agrees. After bragging that he has quit Schwiefka and joined the musicians' union, Frankie promises Molly that he is going to kick drugs again, and that after he has made some money and can send Zosch to a clinic, they will be together.Meanwhile, Schwiefka and Louie search for Frankie, as they have used Frankie's reputation to lure two big-time gamblers, Markette (George E. Stone) and Williams (George Mathews), to play in Schwiefka's poker game. After Zosch urges Frankie to deal the big game and tears up his musicians' union card, Frankie seeks refuge at Antek's, where Louie offers him some of the profits if he will deal for Markette and Williams. Desperately needing the money, Frankie agrees, and again gives in when Louie tempts him with another fix.Frankie then goes to the Safari Club, where a disappointed Molly berates him for getting high. When Frankie gets in a fight with John, Molly hurriedly leaves the neighborhood without telling Frankie where she is going. Later, Frankie deals the game for Markette and Williams, and with his skill easily wins. After dealing all night, an exhausted Frankie insists on leaving, but when he arrives home, he is suddenly overwhelmed by the need for a fix and rushes back to Schwiefka's. Louie refuses to give Frankie any drugs unless he resumes dealing, because Markette and Williams have begun to win. The game continues, and soon it is early Monday morning. Louie promises Frankie that if he cheats and wins, he will give him a fix, but Frankie, weary from his long hours of dealing, becomes careless, and Williams spots his card-palming and beats him. After Louie then refuses to give Frankie any drugs, Frankie knocks him out and searches his apartment, to no avail. Frankie then goes to his audition but cannot play competently due to his withdrawal symptoms.Meanwhile, Louie regains consciousness and goes to the rooming house to exact his revenge upon Frankie. Instead, Louie accidentally enters the room as Zosch is walking and deduces that she has been pretending to be paralyzed. When Louie threatens to reveal her secret, the hysterical Zosch pushes him down the stairwell to his death. Frankie, not knowing of Louie's death but fearing that he is after him, runs away and finds Molly, whom he begs for help. Molly then learns from John that Frankie is Bednar's main suspect. Molly then agrees to help Frankie quit drugs cold turkey, so that he can go to the police sober and withstand questioning to prove his innocence.After an agonizing few days, during which Frankie suffers great torment, he is free of his craving. John sees Frankie in Molly's apartment, however, and alerts Bednar. Frankie leaves before Bednar arrives, and Molly takes the police captain to Zosch's, where Frankie is telling her that he is going away with Molly. Just as a terrified Zosch gets up from her wheelchair to chase after Frankie, Bednar and Molly arrive, and they all realize that Zosch must have killed Louie. Before Bednar can arrest her, Zosch runs out to the fire escape and falls to street below. Frankie rushes to the street, where Zosch lays dying, and holds her as she tells him she loves him. After Zosch dies, Frankie and Molly slowly walk off together, leaving their old life behind. | tragedy, romantic | train | imdb | null |
tt0497137 | Ssa-i-bo-geu-ji-man-gwen-chan-a | While working in a radio assembly factory, Cha Young-goon (Su-jeong Lim) loses touch with reality, opens her wrist with a knife, inserts a power-cord and plugs herself into a wall outlet. As this scene unfolds we are brought up-to-date on her story with rapid cuts to her mother's interview with a psychiatric hospital doctor. Naturally the doctor is trying to determine the roots of Young-goon's psychosis, but the interview with Mom hints that this may be a family problem; Mom seems none too stable herself. Back in the factory Young-goon is lying on the floor, still in her chair, and we can see from her right foot that the shock has brought her inner battery up to full strength. Her toes light up to show her state of charge. As all of this is going on we see production credits as circuit board labels, uniform name tags, and other text scattered around the film.The opening credits covered we then see Young-goon being wheeled around the hospital by what appears to be one of the staff. Other patients are pointed out by this "staff member" with many of the other patient's issues being covered. The "staff-member" however, turns out to be another patient who makes up stories to replace the memories she's lost due to amnesia. At this point we are introduced to Park Il-soon (Rain) who is the reigning ping-pong champion. He wears masks, and believes he is capable of stealing other patient's personality traits.A story develops as Park Il-soon seeks to overcome his anti-social tendencies by helping other patients with their problems. In the process he steals one patient's apologetic attitude, another's singing voice, and Young-goon's sympathy (a sin for a cyborg) so she can kill the "white 'uns" who took her granny away. We discover that the "white 'uns" are hospital doctors and nurses.As the movie progresses we get to delve into the mental state of a number of the patients. A girl who can yodel Alpine songs, but can only view the world through a hand mirror. Another who can fly while lying prone and rubbing her magic socks together. A man who walks backward so no one can sneak up on him. Park Il-soon also steals Young-goon's sympathy so she can kill the "white 'uns." With ll-soon's help she has a successful hallucination of killing off the entire hospital staff.In reality she has stopped eating for fear food will gum up her inner (cyborg) workings. Park ll-soon figures this out and fits her with a rice-megatron so she can convert food to electricity. Having fitted her with this device he successfully gets her to start eating again to the delight of staff and patient population. Park Il-soon has his own issues, thinking he'll shrink into a dot unless he constantly brushes his teeth. The teeth, you see, are the last thing to go.Toward the end Park Il-soon has helped a number of other patients with his ability to steal personality traits.At the conclusion he and Young-goon interpret a vision she's had of her granny telling her the meaning of Young-goon's existence. Since Young-goon could not actually hear granny she and Park ll-sun figure out the message via lip reading. Young-goon's purpose, it is determined, is to explode (she's a nuclear bomb), but she requires a billion volts to pull this off. The two of them figure out that lighting is the best way to accomplish this.Out in a thunderstorm the two of them have a picnic under a tent. They are going to use Young-goon's radio antenna to harness the lightening required to detonate her. The antenna is attached to a wheeled intravenous stand. Unknown to Young-goon, Park ll-soon has attached a wine bottle cork to the top of the antenna to prevent any actual electrocution. A fierce wind kicks up blowing away the tent and we find the two sitting on the tarp, each clinging to the intravenous stand awaiting a lightning strike. They decide to remove their wet socks and later all of their clothes as they are wet. As morning breaks we see the two of them, making love on the tarp watching a rainbow develop on the horizon as the credits roll. | insanity, psychedelic, romantic, flashback | train | imdb | Granted, Cyborg is a far different film from all of Park's other works, and especially in the world of romantic comedies falls into the really freaking weird category, but I found it to be really entertaining.
Young Goon(brilliantly played by Lim Soo Jung)is a patient who thinks she's a cyborg, having a strong dislike towards doctors(because they took away her grandmother when she was young)and not eating food for fear that her robot-body would break down.
It's not your average blockbuster, I don't even know if foreigners would like this movie,seeing as that Lim Soo Jung and Rain are not famous in the western world.(although Rain was named one of the 100most influential people by Time Magazine last year) But in a world where the film industry is running out of ideas, this film is definitely outstanding, unlike the average cliché Korean love stories filled with Cinderella stories and triangular relationships.
Ill try to somehow review this in short although im one of the persons who is mindblowed by this movie.Sure im biased to like Chan-wook Parks movies since i could laugh at about any scene with his simple but spot on dialogues and tiny hints of humor.
So beware if you aren't interested in any of the psychological, spiritual or philosophical thoughts that the movie is offering, because it is packed full.Cha Young-goon, the main character played by Su-jeong Lim is experiencing a big trauma in her youth and - perhaps - copes by 'becoming' a cyborg (You could guess her inspiration comes from her grandma - the rat) and with it comes some guidelines, the Sins.
It doesn't matter that the ending is abrupt, if you feel like me, you want to watch it again and again to pick up on things you missed and to go through the emotions all over again.I will have to be bold and say that although Oldboy is not far behind, this is the best from Chan-wook Park and hence one of the best movies period..
There are ways to do romantic comedies, just as their are ways of doing sincere dark comedies set in mental hospitals, and Chan-Wook Park goes to fantastic and unexpected lengths of subverting expectations with truly nutty- and this may be the nuttiest movie to come out of Korea this, uh, month- ideas and visuals being explored, while never skimping on making these people to care about.
Indeed, as I thought more about it, what Park goes for is almost experimental; what would it be like to have as the pivotal character of a movie the person in the loony bin who is near unresponsive to other people and who won't eat any food?
At first we're plunged into her mind-set: she's a cyborg, after all, and she marks up her energy levels by her toes lighting up, and takes in such energy by licking batteries as opposed to regular consumption.But she also has a troubled past, though more-so in the memories of her grandmother, whom she was closest with, and who we see in flashbacks was tossed away into a sanitarium, as Young-Goon was eventually, instead of actually dealing with them as real fellow family members.
It's Park's funniest film, loaded with his bravura sense of style that is brutally self-conscious with the camera (lots of wonderful usages of color from greens to reds to whites and blues and so on, 360' pans, high-flying shots, a great split-screen involving two characters in two separate solitary rooms connected by two cups and a string) as well as with very assured direction.
To see someone make films like 'Cyborg' or Oldboy is to see someone who doesn't mind obviously flashy moments, because there are just as many moments that are more intimate in connection between the characters.But as I said, it's a very funny movie, with the various character in the mental hospital veritable caricatures: there's one guy who got tossed in by apologizing to everyone involved in an accident he wasn't involved in, and one fat woman who when not stealing Young-Goon's food is trying to get static electricity going from rubbing her feet, and random characters doing wacky things in the halls behind main characters talking.
This makes up the emotional tie between the two main characters, and the struggle to compromise a mental state that can't be fixed and a more pragmatic goal- eating food- leads to a real emotional highlight.Only the denouement, or what could be considered that perhaps, as there's a nuke/bomb element thrown in with outdoor rain scenes that feel real unnecessary (albeit there's a tremendous final shot for the film), and little bits involving the supporting characters that could be left out (what's with the guy that won't stop yelling?).
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK is definitely a radical departure, although it does retain Park's visual quirkiness.Young-goon has Cher-like hair, and wide, innocent eyes; we instantly fall in love with her.
The main point about the movie I need to say is, that it fails to say anything about mental illness, or create a characters that you care about.This story has to be one of the weirdest things I've seen in years...but weird isn't enough.
The characters are cute and quirky and played with gusto by the cast, but, try as i might, i could not bring myself to care for any.SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE was a misstep, indicating perhaps that Park was overindulging himself a little bit, but it still managed to showcase some of the director's unique flare and in the wake of an impressive filmography, was readily forgiven.
Despite boosting one of Korea's most successful idol Rain in his first feature outing, and director Park Chan-Wook of Sympathy of Lady Vengeance fame, fans in Korea were less than impressed with I'm a Cyborg, But that's Okay.The 'problem' with this movie is that it does not fall into the cookie cutter of Korean melodrama of soapy tales with dying protagonist of unrequited love.
Il-Sun (Rain), a mental institution mate who steals personality traits from other patients, is secretly in love with her.Using fanatical and violent characters is nothing new in director Park Chan-wook's movies, and what the movie has to offer is really out of this world.
In a way, this is apart of the film's overall downfall the sweet and somewhat humorous look at a budding romance using psychological problems as a backdrop.In a sense, you have to admire what the director, Chan-wook Park, has done here and that's if I've read into it correctly.
There is a brief back-story to do with Young-goon's grandmother being taken away but I don't think it acts as a dramatic enough catalyst for her eating disorder to begin.So rather than include scenes that suggest an in depth study, the film spends most of its time having Young-goon shooting up the hospital asylum they're all staying at as well as throwing in other such dream sequences to do with socks that enable you to fly.
The film is a love story at the end of the day about one individual who thinks they're a robot but is actually anorexic and someone else who believes they can steal people's souls when really they're probably crying out for attention.Park is able to get that attention with Young, and is able to act out 'repairing' her which pays reference to whatever's imaginatively inside her; his belief of being able to 'take' souls is played into being able to 'fix' gears and cogs but it's the fact he believes he has actual access to people's insides that counts here.
Director Park Chan Wook creates a colourful world surrounding some unique characters and as always it is done with beauty and sensitivity only this time without the heavy and dark story lines of his earlier work, ie; the vengeance trilogy.
There is a balance between the surreal happenings and the sad moments that bring you back to reality.Young Goon(Lim Soo Jung)thinks she's a cyborg and is trying to find her purpose in life.
Her childhood misfortunes - watching her grandmother being taken away by doctors and her mother being a bit secretly deranged - have lead to this desire to find her correct path, or in her terms; what she was built for.When she gets shut a way in a hospital, under the instructions of her mother to keep her cyborg-nature a secret, she finds herself unintentionally befriending fellow patient Il Soon (Rain) and as he finds out about her secret worries he tries to help her come to terms with it all.it is a love story but from the outset not a straight forward one.
The movie is set in a mental institution and introduces us to a lot unique characters: a shy man who is always excusing himself, a man who believes his wife is made of fur, a fat woman who thinks she can fly, a strange couple that sings along to traditional Swiss songs by yodelling and so on.
Young-Goon believes she is a cyborg that needs to be recharged to gain enough power to realize her plans which is dangerous for people around her and especially for herself.In the mental institution, she meets Il-Soon who is hospitalized for kleptomania stemming from schizophrenia.
But the young man soon has to develop further plans to protect the love of her life when she starts to believe that she is in fact a nuke bomb that requires a bolt of lightning to detonate and bring the end to the world.While the story lacks direction and feels fluffy at times, this fact isn't important as the movie is about something completely different.
The movie surely has some lengths and I think the film should have spend some more time on the supporting characters instead of the main story that only truly develops in the last third of the movie.
Director Park Chan-Wook who is known for completely different movies like "Oldboy" created a truly courageous and unexpected gem that may one day be hailed as a classic.
I've seen Lady V, Old Boy, Three Extremes and now this.I think i've made my decision, this director isn't actually any good.The movies all look good, but don't have good stories really, these movies are weak in every aspect and all the way through watching all these movies i can't shrug the feeling that these movies are only here to make a bit of money and then run.If you like this type of Asian film (Park Chan-Wook, Pang Brothers) this may be up your street, but for me it had no soul.
A strange and at first glance difficult movie to follow, but it pays off, being visually stunning and very colorful with a captivating story.A girl is admitted to an asylum because she thinks she is a cyborg and refuses to eat because she'll become ill if she does.
Inevitably she creates connections with other patients, especially with a young man who gains her affection and he, through his 'visionary madness', does everything to help her overcome her problem.What sets this movie apart is that it is done in such a way that we can literally see and understand the madness of the characters who, in spite of this madness, never cease to be human beings as sensitive or even more than the 'normal ones'.
Park Chan-Wook's incredibly strange romantic art-house film narrates the romance and carnage that follows when a woman who fantasises that she is a cyborg meets a paranoid man in a mental institution who believes that he is steadily transforming into a single dot.
'I'm a Cyborg' is one of the most entertaining films I've seen in a long time, with a perfectly weird combination of comedy, romance, sci-fi, and something I like to call asylum drama, which places it in an entirely new genre of its own.
Being set in a mental hospital often means that you'll see some crazy stuff in a film, and that's certainly the case here: not only do you experience the 'madness' of all the patients, you see most of the movie from Young-oon's perspective, meaning you spend the whole film with a 'cyborg'.
The film takes place in a mental asylum where a patient falls in love with the 'cyborg'.
She ends up eventually falling in love with another man who thinks he can steal people souls.There are some really funny moments like when the woman tries to talk to a vending machine.
But hey, we all have our own unique likes and dislikes.If you sit down to watch "I'm a cyborg", do not expect to be laughing until you are out of breath, but do be prepared to be taken into a unique and quirky world within the confines of the mental institute and in the minds of those within the walls here.I give it a 6/10 rating because the movie was good entertainment, despite its somewhat odd story.
South-Korean director Chan-wook directs an original story about friendship and love in a mental asylum.Cha Young-goon (played by Im Su-jeong) develops a mental illness after her schizophrenic grandmother is interned and separated from her.
When interned, Cha meets Park Il-soon (played by Rain) a ping-pong player antisocial guy that steals other people's souls, who takes an immediate interest in her.What makes this film so especial is that the movie offers the reality both as the insane see it, from their subjective point of view, but also as what it is, that is from an objective point of view.
It could have been really easy to present the insane as pathologically aggressive and nasty, as most movies about madness do, or like loonies without feelings or real human heart, but the script deviates from the obvious and presents a surreal world that is full of magic, pain, suffering and happiness, in which different people with a different pathology are able to tick and connect to a deep human level.All the characters are treated with empathy, tenderness, warmth, naivety and a great sense of humor.
Romance is just another piece in the puzzle, the one that gives its magic to the story, the redemptive element of Cha's survival; it develops piano piano, but is not cheesy but wonderfully quirky and special.All cast members are good in their respective roles, and the main actors, Im an Rain (and the actress who plays the food-obsessed lady) are believable in their portray of their fragile but complex characters.My main critique to the movie is its pacing, that is sometimes a bit too slow, and the cohesion among all the insane in the asylum, which is obvious in some parts of the movie, but it is not well explained or shown at times.
On the other hand, what you have here is a visually memorable if somewhat slight mind trip of a film, not without its problems from a storytelling angle.The story deals with a young woman, believing herself to be a cyborg, gets checked into a mental institution.
I'M A CYBORG BUT THAT'S OK is an offbeat romantic comedy from director Park-Chan Wook, the man responsible for some of the darkest visions in modern cinema (OLDBOY and SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE to name but two titles).
The main characters on the film are all insane, this is never in doubt and there is no pretense that they are misunderstood or that it is all societies fault, this in itself is unusual for a film dealing with insane people.The film is reminiscent of the sort of thing Tim Burton sometimes produces, bright and airy with occasionally spectacular visuals and strange, quirky humour.The cast all play their roles well with the two leads especially delivering good performances.There are lots of funny moments as we are introduced to the various inhabitants of the asylum and get to see their delusions played out as Park Il-sun uses his delusion to steal their restraint and as the film progresses we see a merging of delusions to allow for stranger and stranger visual effects.This is a romantic comedy but the romance part sometimes falls a little flat given the emotionally damaged nature of the protagonists, but the comedy is always present and keeps the film moving as we develop some sympathy for the various lunatics.A good, fun film, if you are expecting something like the Vengeance films you will be disappointed but it you just want a little dose of humour and imagination this is a good one to watch..
A cute love story about Young-Goon and Il-Sun. I honestly believe that this movie is one of the gems of Korean cinema...
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK runs along similar lines, having its two lead characters patients of a psychiatric ward, but therein lies some structure of a story about love, reaching out, and in making sense of life (not to mention the movie as well).Directed by Park Chan-wook who gave us his famous Vengeance trilogy (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance), it's a very big leap from that trilogy, into something more fantastical, light hearted, bright, and may I say, at times nonsensical as well.
Crazy!Chan-Wook Park is the director with his unique style in film language.
It's a film full of interesting characters and great performances, but the two that stood out were Su-jeong Lim as Cha Young-goon and Rain as Park Il-sun.
Saibogujiman kwenchana is just not OK, it's really good movie, though it's not like there is much happening during film, movie basically tells us tale of woman who has mental illness and thinks that she's cyborg, in mental home there's man who fells for her and helps her with her problem.
It is not about sex; it is, instead, a story of care and compassion for one's fellow human being.I predict that in the coming decades this will be seen as Park Chan- wook's finest film. |
tt0079073 | Dracula | A great storm rages, and the lunatics at Seward Sanitarium in Whitby are restless. Lucy Seward [Kate Nelligan] goes to help her father Jack [Donald Pleasance] while the sickly Mina Van Helsing [Jan Francis], who is staying with the Sewards, remains in bed. Mina is awakened by the storm and sees a runaway ship. She races down to the beach and comes upon an injured man (Dracula, of course). The next day, Jonathan Harker [Trevor Eve] salvages Dracula's cargo and has Milo Renfield [Tony Haygarth] deliver it to Carfax Abbey where Dracula is staying.Some nights later, the Sewards hold a dinner party and invite Count Dracula [Frank Langella]. Mina is not feeling well, but Lucy and the Count hit it off. Later that night, Dracula comes to Mina's bedroom. The next morning, Mina dies. Seward sends for her father, Doctor Abraham Van Helsing [Laurence Olivier]. Van Helsing arrives just after Mina's burial and, because Seward must pick Van Helsing up at the station, Lucy alone accepts an invitation to dine with Dracula.That night, Mina kills a baby.The next evening, Dracula pays his respects to Mina's grave and meets Van Helsing. Dracula comes to Lucy that night and 'mates' with her. Knowing that Mina is vampire, Van Helsing and Seward track her down and destroy her. Dracula confronts Van Helsing who determines that Dracula casts no reflection in a mirror and thus is the vampire. The next day, while Lucy is held in a sanitarium cell for her own protection, Harker and Van Helsing search out Dracula's coffin at Carfax. But it is empty! During daylight hours? "After my rest, my need is only to stay in darkness," Dracula admits. Harker visits Lucy in her cell only to discover that she is turning vampire. Dracula enters the sanitarium, kills Renfield, and escapes with Lucy.Dracula and Lucy, pursued by Harker, Seward and Van Helsing, begin a wild dash for the shipyard. Although Harker's car suffers axle damage and they must walk, they arrive at the dock just as Dracula's ship clears the harbor. Harker and Van Helsing snatch a boat and catch up with the vessel. They find Lucy and Dracula asleep in their coffin. Van Helsing attempts to stake Dracula, but Dracula awakens in time to stake Van Helsing instead. Just before he dies, Van Helsing hooks a cargo winch in Dracula's back and hoists him up out of the hold into the sun. Dracula is destroyed by the light, and Lucy is released. But Dracula's cape suddenly takes flight, and Lucy smiles. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl.] | gothic | train | imdb | null |
tt1684226 | The Normal Heart | It's 1981 and Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo), an openly gay writer, attends the birthday party of his friend Craig Donner (Jonathan Groff) at a beach house in Fire Island. The atmosphere is hedonistic with lots of drinking, dancing and hot hard bodies everywhere. While playing in the surf Craig starts coughing and collapses, but says he's just a little light-headed. Later, when blowing out his candles, Craig appears breathless and keeps coughing.On the bus back to New York, Ned reads an article about a rare form of cancer that's affecting the gay community. He visits Dr Emma Brookner (Julia Roberts), who is trying to identify the cause of the disease that's killing her patients. She asks Ned to try and persuade gay men to stop having sex, as she's convinced that's how it's spread. When Ned is preparing to leave, Craig is carried into the office by his boyfriend, Bruce Niles (Taylor Kitch), and their friend Micky Marcus (Joe Mantello). He is convulsing violently and foaming at the mouth. Craig subsequently dies.Ned organises a meeting of the gay community at his home to hear Dr Brookner talk about the disease. She is met with derision from all sides. Nobody takes her seriously and she leaves in frustration. Ned approaches Felix Turner (Matt Bomer), a gay reporter at the New York Times, to enlist his help, but he's unsuccessful. He and a group of friends try fundraising, but no one is interested. Ned asks his lawyer brother, Ben Weeks (Alfred Molina), to provide free legal advice to his friends, to which he reluctantly agrees.Ned visits Dr Brookner at a local hospital and is shocked by the conditions and lack of care her patients are receiving. The staff are scared and won't go near the patients without full protective gear. The patients' food is left outside their door until Dr Brookner can take it to them herself.Ned invites Felix to his apartment for dinner and they end up in bed together.It's 1982 and Ned, Bruce, Mickey, and several other friends including Tommy Boatwright (Jim Parsons) establish a community organisation called Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC). They select Bruce as their President.As time goes on more friends get sick and die. There are more faces with lesions.Ned asks Felix to move in with him and Felix accepts.Ned keeps writing articles about the AIDS epidemic and during a TV interview he accuses the government of a conspiracy to kill gay men. This doesn't go down well with the other members of GMHC. In another TV interview he accuses the mayor of being gay and is pulled off the air.Ned asks Ben to join the Board of Directors, but he refuses, as he doesn't agree with Ned's lifestyle. They have a blazing argument that culminates in Ned saying he won't speak to Ben again until he accepts him for who he is.Ned invites a NBC film crew to the new GMHC headquarters, which shocks and angers Bruce, who is still in the closet at work. He and Ned exchange blows and Bruce throws the video camera out of the window when the cameraman continues to film him.Ned and Felix go to their beach house for the weekend and, after a discussion about whether they would stay if the other got sick, Felix shows Ned a lesion on the sole of his foot.Ned has dinner with Dr Brookner and she tells him how she contracted polio as a child and was bedridden for much of her childhood. She uses a motorised wheelchair and tells Ned she doesn't practice walking enough, so Ned insists she try. He puts on some music and she stands up out of her wheelchair, gets up on her crutches and they "dance" for a brief moment to Johnny Mathis.The GMHC arrange a meeting with the mayor, who doesn't show up and his substitute, Hiram Keebler (Denis O'Hare), is 90 minutes late. The meeting does not go well, with Ned losing his temper and throwing papers at Hiram.It's 1983 and Tommy receives a call that his friend Nick has died. At the funeral he talks about his Rolodex and how he saves the cards of the friends who have died bound in a rubber band in a drawer. He says he had 5 cards the year before and now he has 50.Felix continues to get sicker. His body is covered in lesions and he looks emaciated. Ned cares for him to the best of his ability.Micky has a meltdown at GMHC headquarters. His job is under threat and he is frustrated by the lack of answers from the medical community, the lack of support from the government, and he fears for the future.Tommy takes a weeping Micky home and Bruce and Ned go to a bar, where Bruce tells Ned that his boyfriend Albert (Finn Wittrock) is dead. He tells Ned that Albert wanted to see his mother in Phoenix before he died. The pilot refused to fly and Bruce refused to leave the plane, so they had to find another pilot who agreed to fly the plane. Albert became confused and disorientated during the flight and died at the hospital shortly after landing in Phoenix. The doctors refused to examine Albert's body and the undertaker wouldn't take the body without a death certificate so, eventually, an orderly put Albert's body in a garbage bag and put him in the alley for a payment of $50. Bruce and Albert's distraught mother put Albert in the back of her car and they found someone to cremate him for $3,000.Felix is now in the hospital and Ned is attempting to remain positive, despite the reality of the situation.Dr Brookner gives a presentation to a group of government officials who refuse her application for funding. She loses her temper and berates them for their inaction while more people continue to die.Ned receives an invitation to the Whitehouse where he meets with John Bruno (Corey Stoll), Advisor to the President. Bruno is only interested in whether heterosexuals can contract AIDS. When Ned says he doesn't have that information Bruno ends the meeting.Ned goes home to Felix where the two argue, culminating in Ned throwing groceries at Felix, then breaking down in tears and burying his head in his lap.Back at GMHC headquarters, Bruce reads Ned a letter from the Board, who are tired of Ned's aggressive approach and have voted him out as a Director. Ned goes to pack up his belongings and gives a very moving speech asking them not to shut him out, but the group turn away from him and leave the room.Felix goes to see Ben to write a will leaving everything to Ned. He collapses on the street outside Ben's office and Ned rushes to be by his side in the hospital. Dr Brookner performs a faux marriage ceremony at Felix's bedside. He dies soon after.The phone rings in Tommy's office and he adds Felix's Rolodex card to the bundle in his drawer.Ned attends the 1984 Gay Week at Yale where gay couples, both male and female, dance together in a candlelit room. Ned weeps silently as he watches them.As the film ends we're told that President Ronald Reagan mentioned AIDS publicly for the first time on 17 September 1985, vowing to make AIDS research a "top priority". However, Reagan's proposed federal budget for 1986 actually called for an 11% reduction in AIDS spending. By the end of 1986 there were 24,559 reported deaths.Since the epidemic began in 1981 over 36 million people worldwide have died from AIDS and more than 6,000 people are newly infected every day with HIV. | sentimental, flashback | train | imdb | The Normal Heart is powerful emotional film about the early days of the AIDS crisis.
The film is well-acted particularly by Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Alfred Molina and Julia Roberts.
Heart-rending, gut-wrenching adaptation by Larry Kramer of his own successful play about the foundation and formation in 1982 of the Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York City in the wake of what was then-called the Gay Cancer (now HIV/AIDS).
Dramatization of events, with Mark Ruffalo's screenwriter Ned Weeks substituting for Kramer, is necessarily a no-holds-barred examination of gay sex in the '80s and its consequences, with the gay community themselves their own worst enemy (by being asked to abstain in the wake of more information on the disease, they felt oppressed as a modern culture and rebelled).
Performances from Ruffalo, Julia Roberts, Alfred Molina, Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons and the entire cast are superlative..
Also well played was Julia Roberts depiction of Dr. Emma Brookner (Dr. Linda Laubenstein in real life who's unfunded research helped so many), Jim Parsons warm loving portrayal of character Tommy Boatwright who was the heart of the movie and showed the warmth and caring of most gay men I've known, and Taylor Kitsch portrayal of Bruce Niles which showed the reality of Gay men of that era, who feared having their sexual identity out in the public eye with all the negative consequences (harassment, job discrimination, loss of family) of that.This is a story that people definitely need to see, to understand how this disease spread unchecked for so long.
If not for the efforts of men like Ned Weeks and the Gay Activist Alliance's efforts get funding for research when no public official would even acknowledge there was a problem, who know how many more people have died and would be dying today.
The movie was brought alive by amazing actors (especially Matt Bomer<3) I really do hope that this movie is taken seriously and gets more attention due to the fact that more people need to know about AIDs awareness and because discrimination and segregation still happens within the gay community which I find absolutely disgusting.
The Normal Heart is about how the gay community, especially the gay men, were suffering from the AIDS virus as well as the prejudices and ostracism of the public's reaction to the epidemic and who it affected.
Just watched the HBO original movie the "Normal Heart" which is based on a Tony award winning play from real life AIDS activist Larry Kramer, and I must say that director Ryan Murphy took this film to life's edge showing that love and life ends in the tragic and sad deaths of gay men.
Set in New York city during the early to mid 80's at the very early stages of HIV/AIDS in fact the film shows the first deaths and early cases of gay men getting an unknown disease some called even a gay men's cancer plague.
After death after death a newspaper reporter Ned Weeks(in a super performance from Mark Ruffalo)starts to become an activist and fight for the rights of gay men and he faces a big climb from the political and medical community who both seem in denial of gay men's rights and they have no clue on how to treat the disease.
Ned sees the pain and toll that it takes as his lover Felix(Matt Bomer)falls to defeat in the end from this new mysterious killer of gay men.
Lots of lip service from those who had the power to actually help but little action whereas in the Gay community shown in this film...the average person came up to the bat and fought with everything they had to save those they loved.
A scene towards the end of the movie between Mark Ruffalo and Matt Bomer has particularly stayed with me and really pulled at the heart strings.
The entire cast performed stunningly and authentically portrayed the horrors of this time that I appreciate greatly; indeed, this film is not simply about AIDS and the group's fight with the government and with raising awareness within their own community, but addresses multiple problems we have encountered and fought and neglected as well.
I feel a great sense of sadness for all those lost over all of these years, but what is most on my mind is Mark Ruffalo's tour De force performance as Ned Weeks.Although a fictionalized character based on Larry Kramer, Mark made this part his own, while still keeping the aspects of Kramer's real persona.
They were working men of all races and incomes who because of their financial circumstances, lack of insurance etc died quickly and with little notice outside their friends and family, if they were lucky enough to have a family that accepted them (remember this was 1981 not 2014).This film brought back a lot of sadness and regrets for me, I wanted to hug Ned Weeks and tell him that things do get better in the future.
It's not often that a performance affects me, but Ruffalo's did, not because he was playing a fictionalized version of a real person, but because he was playing a little bit of a lot of different men, who at the time thought the promised land had finally arrived for gay men and only to see it turn into a Holocast right before their eyes.I hope that Mark is nominated and wins an Emmy for his performance, because he deserves it..
I was hit by the two well written and well acted monologues of the movie : one is performed by Mark Ruffalo, a gay activist in the movie and the other one by Joe Mantello, an associate of his.
This perfect movie made from a rewritten Larry Kramer script, .is authentic and powerful in showing both the personalities and a community affected in the early days of the AIDS Crisis in New York.
The Normal Heart is a work of fiction bought to life as a TV movie by the same writer who penned the stage version in 1985 Larry Kramer, add to the mix TV director Ryan Murphy of Glee and American Horror Story fame and the two bring forth a film version of the play.Summer of 1981, Ned Weeks is a loud opinionated outspoken New York writer who arrives at Fire Island to celebrate the birthday of his long-time friend Mike's partner Craig.
From the meeting, Ned and a few friends form a Community Group calling themselves Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) where they help other men who are suffering or know of others suffering with a call centre and general advice
The performances from this TV movie are outstanding, Ned Weeks is a man you loathe due to his arrogance and loud mouth but he is played brilliantly by Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind) Matt Bomer's (White Collar, In Time) transformation has to be seen to be believed as his body slowly deteriorates within the three years the film takes place over.
'The Normal Heart' depicts the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City (among gay people) between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, played by Mark Ruffalo (in a career best performance), the founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group.
I was expecting a movie something like the sad and terrible story and performances displayed in "And the Band Played On", but this film felt a little rushed and stitched together.
The Normal Heart felt well- meaning and earnest and some of the performances were excellent but sometimes the film felt slightly soulless and had the look and feel of a group of actors reciting lines -- or shouting them at the top of their lungs..
Featuring a top-tier cast and great writing, this artfully created film follows the story of Ned Weeks, a man at the forefront of AIDS activism in New York, focusing on the struggle to be taken seriously following the sexual revolution.The cast of The Normal Heart are extremely capable and fill out their roles perfectly; the characters come alive on screen and portray their 3-dimensional, flawed nature as well as the challenges of "gay politics".
The film follows Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo) a writer who comes head first with the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980's.
She isn't one of her normal characters and her scenes with Ruffalo are gold.I would add this along with Prayers For Bobby as two films that not only the gay male community but humanity need to see.
Kramer also wrote the screenplay (he was a screenwriter before he was an activist, and he got an Oscar nomination for adapting D H Lawrence's Women in Love for Ken Russell in 1969); Ryan Murphy directed; and Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Julia Roberts, Alfred Molina and others star.It's essentially an autobiographical account of Kramer's experiences as a vocal and belligerent activist at the beginning of the AIDS crisis in New York in the early 1980s.
Meanwhile as the straight community acts with indifference, all around them friends and loved ones die and more begin to get sick.Kramers main protagonist Ned Weeks (Ruffalo at his finest ever)loosely based on Kramer himself is the voice of sanity in the newly formed Gay Men's Health Crisis, while its first president Bruce Niles (Taylor Kitsch based on real activist Paul Popham) is more concerned about sending out invitations to a fund raiser with the word 'Gay' on them than he is with forcing the inactive major Ed Koch to attend a meeting with their group.
I found his role quite touching.As for the film in general, great performances from many of the cast, excellent script and an emotional true to life story make this film a must see.Fantastic for a TV movie 9/10.Peace & Love xxx.
While this movie reminded me of the miniseries Angels in America and the documentary Sex Positive, it certainly comes out as one of the best films concerning gay topics in a long time (apart from Pride, which is probably one of my favorite pictures about homosexuals ever).
Mark Ruffalo is excellent as Julia Roberts the polo riddled doctor who despite all her effort didn't get any support from the government The dark years of the early 80's when the gay community was left to it's on devices to try and save our dying friends and lovers As the white house scene says since they thoughts AIDS is 'only' killing gays nothing was done-and the main thing of the movie which they didn't elaborate further that the US secretly experimented with viruses that kills gays-one day the truth might come out that this is the real cause and not some silly story about the green monkeys.
I recall at time thinking why is so little being done about this.Mark Ruffalo did an admirable job in the lead role as writer, Ned Weeks and Julia Roberts was incredible as the polio stricken, plain spoken doctor who was so frustrated watching all these men die.
The last film I watch in 2014 is Ryan Murphy's much hyped HBO TV movie, a sob-fest chronicles the life of a gay activist Ned Weeks (Ruffalo) during the inception of HIV epidemic in the 80s.
Prominently, the film is inundated with poignant speeches and melodramatic moments, each of the main cast dominates their spotlight in staunch virtuosity, starting from supporting actors, Bomer as Felix Turner, a Times journalist and Ned's boyfriend, a too- good-to-be-true prince charming for Kramer in real life (he takes the initiative while Ned is clearly oblivious of him after a hookup in the darkness, oh gosh, how can anyone forget someone as yummy as Bomer, even in the pitch black, it is pure baloney!), is utterly heartbreaking to watch in his startling physical transformation as a HIV patient in his last days, likened to Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto in DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (2013, 7/10), the weight-loss trick works again, moreover, Bomer hits the perfect note when facing Ruffalo in their intimate time, up to their final wedding scenes, it can easily strikes one's soft spot.
'THE NORMAL HEART': Four Stars (Out of Five)Made for HBO TV movie about a gay writer (and activist) attempting to inform the world about the HIV-AIDS epidemic, during it's onset in the early 1980s.
The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Taylor Kitsch, Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Joe Mantello, Jonathan Groff (of 'GLEE' fame), Alfred Molina and Julia Roberts.
During this time the HIV-AIDS disease was becoming a crisis, especially among gay people.
Any compassionate person should be able to sympathize with the gay community, especially at this time, because (like this movie shows) it did seem like they were abandoned by society and left to die off; from a brutal disease that most people (unaffected by it) weren't willing to learn about.
This is the only way they have to let off steam.THE NORMAL HEART is an angry movie; based on a Broadway hit first performed over thirty years ago, it suggest that comparatively little has been done to combat the AIDS virus since it was brought to public attention.
The film focuses on the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo), the gay Jewish- American founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group.
The film is more like and opera than a play, with extended monologues by the polio stricken Dr Emma Brookner (a magnificent Julia Roberts), the agonizing anger of Mickey Marcus (Joe Mantello in an unforgettable performance), the active but cautious Bruce Niles (Taylor Kitsch proving he can handle major roles in drama), the cautious reporter Felix Turner (Matt Bomer in a career making role) as he gradually succumbs to Aids in the arms of his lover Ned Weeks, the standard bearer Tommy Boatwright (Jim Parsons), and smaller but equally impressive roles played by Alfred Molina, Jonathan Groff, Denis O'Hare, Danielle Ferland and on and on.But it is the towering performance by Mark Ruffalo who manages to bring the audience into the heart of the film.
Ryan Murphy directs a film version of an off-Broadway play of the mid 80s from Larry Kramer who knows of what he speaks (and a Broadway Tony winning revival a few years ago), as he also helped/founded many AIDS groups.
His main character Ned seemed to be a voice in a time where this type of voice was not listed to, given a platform, even shunned against to try to bring attention to what was happening to gay men at the beginning of the AIDS crisis.
Julia Roberts as Emma was to show the very, very few people in the medical profession who 'tried' at that time only to get ignored (shunned, treated ignorantly, etc.) as well, and she was quite New York 80s in her portrayal which made her performance quite believable.It's hard not to compare this to the other films about the early days of AIDS, but this is a different tale, and should be seen as such.
Again where the film breakdown is in this ending, which I think was more "contemporary" (2014) than taking the hard line of Ned and his 'beating himself up' for not being more of an advocate to 'save' his lover.Let me also add that Jim Parson's role as Tommy is another great performance as someone caught in the middle.
The fact that a gay man, Ryan Murphy, directed The Normal Heart and that the film starred several known gay actors like Matt Bomer and Jim Parsons also added to the reality of what I was seeing.
These people aren't just playing at being gay or being affected by the issues highlighted in the film – these men are living in a world directly affected and shaped by the events taking place in the story and that somehow packed a significantly greater punch.I couldn't watch The Normal Heart in one sitting.
What left me the most destroyed after watching this film was the relationship between Ned and his one true love, Felix Turner – played by the beautiful Matt Bomer.
The Normal Heart is another important film about the AIDS epidemic back in the 1980's just like And The Band Played On.The story provides the drama of the events that transpired during the onset of the HIV virus and AIDS disease particularly in New York City.It takes a look at the nation's sexual politics wherein LGBT community aren't respected and the actions taken by the gay activists in exposing the truth behind the disease which at that time was classified as simply gay-related and the non-action taken by the government as well as the nation's attitude of denial towards it.This is an excellent film as the viewer takes a look on what really happened during that time in history.Also,we get to see the romance between gay couple Ned Weeks and Felix Turner and how the former fought for the truth regarding AIDS and how the latter journeyed towards death because of it.The cast also provided an amazing performance from Mark Ruffalo,Matt Bomer,Julia Roberts,Alfred Molina and many others.Overall,it is one solid film about the early years of AIDS epidemic..
Featuring Julia Roberts as a wheelchair bound doctor fighting to discover what is killing gay men, this also casts many actors, best known for their stage roles, a few who have moved onto the big or small screens, but put their hearts in contributing to this outstanding film version of the controversial play.
Although I do appreciate Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Julia Roberts, Alfred Molina and Jonathan Groff as great actors but I'm afraid this isn't one of the best works they acted in.I'm really dissapointed that I didn't find this enjoyable to watch, I am really interested in what history taught us and the fact how aids back then, wasn't treatable as it is now.
The story of the onset of the AIDS/HIV epidemic, as seen through the eyes of a group of gay men in New York. |
tt0102744 | Quigley Down Under | Tom Selleck plays Matthew Quigley, a cowboy and rifleman from America with a keen eye and a specially modified rifle with which he can shoot accurately at extraordinary distances. Quigley's weapon of choice is a 1874 Sharps Buffalo Rifle. He answers an advertisement that asks for men with a special talent in long distance shooting with four words: "M. Quigley 900 yards." When he arrives in Australia, he is met by employees of the man who hired him, Elliot Marston (Alan Rickman). Quigley tries to prevent the men from forcing "Crazy Cora" (Laura San Giacomo) onto their wagon and beats the men until they learn that Quigley is the individual they were sent to pick up. Quigley is eventually taken to Marston's Station in the Western Australian outback. She continually calls Quigley "Roy", much to his resentment.Marston is a gentleman infatuated with stories of quick-draw gunslingers from the American Old West, believing he was born on the wrong continent. He continually practices with a pistol and fancies himself as a quick draw with a pistol. He is amazed that Quigley has actually been to Dodge City. He pays Quigley 50 gold coins for coming to Australia. Marston asks for a demonstration of Quigley's shooting talent.Quigley describes the weapon he produces as a Sharps rifle with a 34 inch long barrel, four more than normal. It has been modified to shoot a .45 caliber, 110 grain metal cartridge with a 540 grain paper patch bullet. It has a double set trigger and a Vernier sight marked up to 1200 yards, but "This one shoots a mite further."Quigley demonstrates his ability with his rifle, shooting a bucket in rapid succession three times at around 1200 yards. When Marston offers Quigley a pistol, he replies, "I've never had much use for one."Marston wants Quigley to his sharpshooting skills to help eradicate the native Indigenous Aborigines. Quigley finds the idea abhorrent and the two men are quickly headed for a showdown.Quigley refuses Marston's offer and the two fight. Quigley throws Marston out of his house through a glass door and then again through a window. Marston's Aborigine servant knocks Quigley over the head and Marston's men first beat Quigley badly. Two cowboys drive him and Cora two days into the Australian Outback and dump them with no water and virtually no chance of survival. Quigley tempts them with the word "Gold", and kills one man with a knife and the second with a long distance shot from his rifle. They walk a long distance when he and Cora are rescued by Aborigines. Cora reveals that she is from Texas. When her home was attacked by Comanches she hid in the root cellar. To prevent her crying infant son Roy from revealing their hiding place, she covered the baby's mouth and unintentionally suffocated him. Upon returning home, her husband Roy found their dead son. He buried the baby, drove Cora to Galveston, Texas and put her alone on the first ship leaving, which happened to be bound for Australia.Recovering, they witness an attack by Marston's men on the Aborigines who rescued them. Quigley kills two of them, the Aborigines kill one, and the fourth escapes. They capture a single horse. The next day they encounter six of Marston's men driving a group of Aborigines towards and over a cliff. Quigley kills two more of the men, and Cora finds an orphaned baby alive among the dead. Caring for the baby helps Cora overcome her tragic past and she slowly begins to recognize Quigley as his real self and stop calling him Roy.Quigley rides alone to a nearby town leaving Cora and the infant Aborigine in the desert with food and water. In town he obtains a new reloader from a town member who is only too ready to help when he learns Quigley is intending to kill Marston. Marston's men recognize Quigley's horse and attack him, cornering him in a burning building. Escaping through a skylight, Quigley kills all but one of Marston's men, who he sends back to Marston to tell him that Quigley is coming for him. In the desert, Dingos circle Cora and the crying infant, preparing to attack. She at first attempts to shush the infant, as she had done to her son Roy. Then she grabs the weapons left her by Quigley and kills several of the dogs.Quigley brings Cora and the baby to the town, where Cora gives the baby to Aborigines in the town. Quigley leaves Cora with the towns people and rides to Marston's ranch where he first confronts Marston's men from a distance. Marston gradually loses more and more men to Quigley until he Quigley is captured. Marston relishes stories of the American west and insists on in a quickdraw contest with Quigley. Quigley faces down Marston and two of his men, shooting all three before they can get off a single shot. He tells the dying Marston, "Just because I said I never had much use for one doesn't mean I don't know how to use it." The Aborigine servants abandon Marstons station, walking off into the Outback.With the bodies of Marston and his men still lying in the dirt, a British Major and his company arrive at the Station, confronting Quigley, who is still bleeding from a gunshot wound to his thigh. The hostile British major Ashley Pitt (Chris Haywood) is ready to shoot Quigley where he stands for numerous crimes when hundreds of Aborigines appear on the mountains nearby, surrounding the Major and his forces. Lowering their weapons, the Major and his troops retreat without a word.Quigley returns to the port city where he arrived and is reunited with Cora who is wearing the red dress he bought for her. They book passage for America. She greets him by his real name and the movie ends with their embrace and kiss. | good versus evil, revenge, murder, violence | train | imdb | Matthew Quigley, a stoic rifleman arrives in Australia in the 1860s a world far away from his home Wyoming
He is answering an ad from a British landowner who will use his talents as an expert marksman
But things don't go according to plan and, at supper, and after we hear these words, "Nobody knocks me out of my own house," Elliott Marston becomes his arch enemy
Quigley's arrival sets the tone of the motion picture perfectly, coming into a fight with an evil plantation owner before he has even set foot on Australian soil where some genuinely funny moments happened especially when he met Crazy Cora right off the ship
After a showy display of his talents (continuously hitting a bucket at about a thousand yards) Quigley discovers to his horror that he has been hired for sniping Aborigines encouraged by the local authorities
Tom Selleck is excellent in the role of a cowboy, exuding natural charm, cool spirit and dignity
He perfectly suited to the role of the finest sharp shooter hero with a moral
There is a moment when he teaches local Aborigines a secret, and it hits the correct note...Alan Rickman is perfect as Marston, the arrogant, clever bad baron who thinks himself the fastest six-gun
Laura San Giacomo believes Quigley to be a man she once loved and whose name is Roy
She has her own tragic past as obviously her romance between Quigley and herself
San Giacomo proves to be a lovable heroine
Director Simon Wincer creates outstanding scenery with the desolate Australian landscapes....
Selleck represents, as did John Wayne, the decent and noble side of America, and there is no doubt that this is a man given to stand up and do the right thing no matter where he is, Wyoming or Fremantle.This aside, Quigley succeeds most as a light romance amidst the traditional shoot em up scenario.
When presented with their first parting, Quigley leaves Cora and the Aborigine baby in the cave and though assuring her he will return for her he rides away, without stopping to look back.This is mere oversight on his part and it leads to the most moving scene in the film, one which never fails to bring a tear to my eye - when they are again about to be parted she asks him "I'll never see you again, Will I".
Unlike most "modern" westerns, this one is unburdened by the usual Hollywood flaws: overproduction, overacting and a massive cast of big names demanding their share of "face time." Selleck & San Giacomo do a masterful job of creating honest, three-dimensional characters facing a truly evil antagonist -- a part played with fiendish perfection by the superb Alan Rickman.
Literally!That's not to say that Quigley is not a mythical character in the movie but no more so than Wild Bill Hickcok, Wyatt Earp or Bat Masterson came to be, usually for only one incident in their lives.This is a 5 star Western if there ever was one.
It's a really good movie!Tom Selleck does a great job as Matthew Quigley.
"Crazy Cora" is a cheerful rendition to lady-pokes everywhere in Western cinema, and one who keeps calling "Roy" all the time, plus Tom Selleck shows us what a true cowboy should be like.
Kudos to the Aborigines for actually knowing how to survive in such a place.So, add this with a hero (Selleck) who comes from Wyoming answering a somewhat vague ad from our urbane villain (Alan Rickman) who is a station (ranch) owner in the outback.
The Sharps rifle is one of the stars, too.And to some of our reviewers who think this shooting is a bit unbelievable, there are a handful of people who can shoot some long distances with just iron sights.I have seen them.If you like westerns you will like Quigley..
It's a great homage to the classic westerns of the past, with all the best elements combined in a fun movie about one man's fight against an evil land baron who (unknown to the hero) wanted to hire him to kill the local Aborigines, not the dingos as the hero originally thought.
Alan Rickman is great as the bad guy, one of those characters you love to hate, and the beautiful Laura San Giacomo is a perfect western girl, whose (thankfully) is not the kind who becomes kidnapped and must be rescued.
I was weaned on westerns and so after a while you get numb by the vast amount of bad ones done over the years.I always thought a `twist'gives a western something more,a `hook'if you will.This IS such a flick.It is also fair to say I am NOT a huge Tom Selleck fan.That being said I think this has become one of my top 5 favorite westerns ever and top 10 movies of all time.The hook is the Outback and this twist is right on target.The Aborigine are the Indians and we have the evil land owner in Alan Rickman and the `Lady'in Laura San Giacomo.In Lieu of the Mexican Army we have the English.A interesting Rifle to rival a artillery piece or Gattling gun for interest.
Fine vast action theme music and a down hill chase via horseback that is a classic.It had to be well shoot and filmed and it was.The ending had a `mystical'setting not seen in westerns but a staple of the Aborigine mystique if you will.
The movie also serves to bring light to the shameful treating of the Aborigine in Australia that climaxed only in the last 20 years.A dirty secret only hinted at of the policy in force until the late 1960s of removing Aboriginal children from their families.A touching scene with Laura San Giacomo and a small Aborigine child hammer this home on no uncertain terms.This film works on so many levels it should be recognized as a Aborigine in Australia `message' film set to western theme.I cannot say enough and recommend this film to everyone.You will not be sorry..
Yet, the film features two American characters, played by Tom Selleck and Laura San Giacomo.
Meanhile, Alan Rickman, who was good at this sort of thing, plays the hated, despicable villain.The movie is appealing because it has a good mixture of action (and that is mixed, too, not just the same kind of fistfights or gun battles), romance, nice scenery and a little comedy thrown in.
Warning: this a rough film in parts with a couple of harrowing scenes, such as people being pushed off cliffs, Selleck brutally beaten several times and wild vicious dingoes threatening San Giacamo and a little baby, but the action never goes on too long.All in all, I found it one of the more memorable westerns I've watched.
Tom plays the title character, Matthew Quigley, an American cowboy come to the land down under at Alan Rickman's invitation.
However, project-wise, I don't see anything else impressive on it, with the possible exception of "D.A.R.Y.L." So this film, 'Quigley,' is one of those rare great pairings of actors, directors and screenplay that just makes for a fun time at the movies, and one that holds up for future generations (which, alas, "D.A.R.Y.L" does not).Great locations, cinematography, acting (somebody give Lara San Giacomo a job, please)...
Plot sees Selleck as Matthew Quigley, a Wyoming cowboy and sharp shooting rifleman who answers an advertisement to go to Western Australia as a hired sharp shooter.
The sad thing about Quigley Down Under is that had this been done thirty years earlier the film would have warranted a major release the way a John Wayne or a James Stewart western would have had.
Alan Rickman is an especially loathsome villain, he makes his Sheriff of Nottingham in Kevin Costner's Robin Hood film look like a Girl Scout.And the aborigines do learn to appreciate Selleck and the payback he exacts.
They come through for him at critical times in the film.Tom Selleck is a perfectly cast western hero, the kind I used to spend Saturday afternoon's watching..
But what ultimately gets it a top rating is that it is creative, with an original story line and some great, creative music.From the opening scene of Selleck packing, the movie gets your interest and keeps it.The acting is very genuine, and the relationships are believable.
Tom Selleck, Alan Rickman and Laura San Giacomo all give outstanding performances and the story and directing are top flight, making this a movie that has lasting appeal.
One cannot help falling in love with her in this movie, which makes Quigley's astonishing restraint all the more honorable.Mention should be made of Alan Rickman in a quintessential role for his dry sarcasm.
The part fits him like a glove.All the acting is impeccable, including the aborigines, such as Gnarnayarrahe Waitairie, Paul Gurrumurruwuy Wunungmurra, Dorothy Warnggarrknga, and especially Cory Tjapaltjarri!The Sharps rifle, which is still produced in reproductions, is also quite impressive.If you enjoy this movie, you may also like Monte Walsh, in which Selleck also plays a humane cowboy.
He does not ever disappoint, and he certainly didn't her in a film I have ignored up to now.I have to say that Tom Selleck and Laura San Giacomo were also interesting, though Selleck pretty much belongs in the western character he played.
Tom Selleck is the reigning king of Westerns, and this movie, while set in Australia, has the good guy/bad guy code down pat.
(As a cowboy action shooter, I can attest to the large following of "the legendary Sharps.") Tom Selleck and Sam Elliot have no competition as today's reigning western box-office kings, partly because they honestly care about the American West (and the American Western.) The fact that "Quigley" is a down-under western bothers us not at all.For some years after its release, there were persistent rumors of a sequel, possibly "Quigley in Africa." What a pity that it never panned out.Meanwhile, the movie's famous "bucket shot" (something around a quarter mile on film) has become a staple of Winter Range, the national championship of cowboy action shooting--at rather reduced distances..
But if you're looking for a good, old-fashioned Western movie with an indestructible (and gorgeous) hero, a strong and interesting heroine, a dastardly villain, and enough action to fill a dozen Saturday matinees, this one's for you.I adore Selleck, so this film already had that point in its favor, but I was surprised to see than Laura San Giacomo could actually act.
One of Selleck's better efforts, ably supported by Rickman and San Giacomo.Interplay between their characters carries the plot, aided by sweeping Outback scenery and effective appearances by Aboriginal performers.
An excellent film and perfect for Selleck who appears to cherish the somewhat off-beat setting and story, this time in Australia, for a western.
John Wayne would be right at home in this one...Top Notch performances by Tom Sellick, Laura San Giacomo, and my absolute favorite bad-guy, Alan Rickman.The Best scenery I've ever seen in a Western.A Must-see..
Quigley played by Tom Selleck, thought he was being hired to exterminate the local wildlife from the cattle ranch of Elliott Marston, deviously played by Alan Rickman.
That prospect sickens Quigley, he and Marston have a falling-out, and Quigley winds up on the Australian wild lands, beaten-up, no water, and a half-loco lady, who keeps calling him by another name.Selleck is able to give the role a fantastic reason for watching the film over several times, because it seems to fit him so well.
Marston represents the complete opposite of those guidelines, and the two eventually end up in the confrontation that stamps movies of the western genre.Selleck and Rickman do very well in their parts, and Laura San Giacomo plays the loco lady that Quigley has to take under his arm, as if he does not have enough to deal with.
It's mostly already been said: Selleck very good, Rickman even better and San Giacomo effective, the Sharps best of all.
Along the way, Quigley battles with the Australian army, Rickman and his desperadoes, San Giacoma's mental illness, the Australian desert, and anyone wanting to collect off his wanted poster, in a story so well written that a rather innocuous statement at the beginning of the film becomes not only one of his best lines in the movie, but also the haunting last line delivered to Rickman near the end.
I like to watch when Tom Selleck is picking off the enemy from a distance and we get to see them get thrown right off their saddles and into the dust.Quigley Down Under is one of the movies that got me hooked on the Western genre and it remains today as one of my favorite movies..
Tom Selleck plays a decent man who is asked to do an indecent job by an Australian rancher--Alan Rickman, one of the best "heavies" in the movies since Basil Rathbone's turn in the Adenture of Robin Hood.Had this movie been done in the 50s, I very well could see Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper playing this part.
I bought Quigley Down Under on DVD and watched it many times for its beautiful photography and to see Tom Selleck play the role he was built for.
This is a film called "Quigley Down Under." A Western to be sure, but one set in Australia.
Intriguing plot, good acting, takes you to a place you have never visited before, plot twists, great villain, outstanding cinematography.Tom Selleck is weak in many of his chosen roles, but he excels in a Western.The director also directed the highly acclaimed Lonesome Dove series; no surprise there.Does anyone out there wince a little at the terrible aim that all of the villain's minions are afflicted with?
Sharpshooter Matt Quigley (Tom Selleck) travels from Wyoming to Western Australia hired by ranch baron Elliot Marston (Alan Rickman).
Quigley and Crazy Cora are left to die in the desert.This is an old fashion western out in the Australian outback.
Well, maybe Eastwood.Laura San Giacomo works beautifully as the films female love interest and comedy relief, since neither Rickman or Selleck offer us much in that way.
As for Quigley, he's just a cowboy and Tom Selleck is just a cowboy actor, so there is no major problem there.I wouldn't say that this is a memorable film, but it is not every day that you see a western in Australia, and it does make a difference.
Put that together with a great musical score, a fabulous performance by Tom Selleck, spectacular scenes with thousands of Aboríginials, a remarkable rifle that shoots from a great distance and you have one of the best westerns ever made.
the score is rousing good fun that lets you no your watching a western.now the cast was great with tom at his best as the tall man in the saddle and allen rickman again playing the villain with evil spitting venom.
This is a different kind of Western, featuring Tom Selleck as an American cowboy in Australia, Laura San Giacomo as a mentally challenged and emotionally shattered woman Selleck must save, and Alan Rickman as the villain.This is a general crowd-pleaser as it paces the suspense and action slowly enough to make the movie enjoyable, yet with enough action to keep most people interested.
The gentle romantic sub-plot helps smooth the rough edges, and Selleck's ironic wit acts as a cushion to those sometimes gritty scenes wherein the action can get a bit rough.This film also lends a hand at showing the world that the Australian Aboriginies were (and still are) treated pretty much the same as the Native Americans were.I enjoyed this one, though there are Westerns out there I like more, but this has a great deal of original creativity, which makes it a must see for fans of the American western, regardless of the fact that this is set in Australia.It rates a 7.8/10 from...the Fiend :..
The weakest link in the cast is Laura San Giacomo, but that's largely the fault of the script and not her acting.In summary, if you like traditional westerns (or just like Tom Selleck, as my wife does), this is a film you should see..
What is true, is the Sharps buffalo rifle really existed.Sure, Quigley is a variation of the American Western set in Australia, one of the few places you can transplant the genre to, believably.
Tom Selleck at his best and Alan Rickman as glorious as ever great setting good music score what not to like.
Starring Tom Selleck as Quigley, he brings the American West to the outback.Along the way, he meets Crazy Cora, played by Laura San Giacomo (later famous for Just Shoot Me with David Spade), a woman who mistakes him for her husband.
Also, Alan Rickman stars as the unethical Aussie rancher, Elliot Marston, who hires, then quickly fires Quigley.The story was great, as well as the acting from Selleck and Rickman.
Quigley (Tom Selleck) is an expert long range marksman who has been recruited ostensibly to shoot dingoes, but, as he finds out after his first night with Mr. Marsden (Alan Rickman), his real targets are to be local Aboriginies.
Having been dumped to die in the outback along with Crazy Cora, Quigley finally makes his way back to Marston's ranch for a showdown.This unusual Australian western benefits from a number of things.
And, three, the three principals - Tom Selleck as Quigley, Alan Rickman as Marston, and Laura San Giacomo as Cora - are perfectly cast.This film is thoroughly enjoyable..
QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER is a straightforward Australian western starring journeyman hero Tom Selleck as an American gunslinger who arrives in the rural outback in order to take a new job working for rich landowner Alan Rickman.
Marston is simply an evil person who deserved his initial trouncing by Quigley, thus setting up the eventual final showdown.The early appearance by Crazy Cora (Laura San Giacomo) makes one wonder what her eventual role in the film might be, and it turns out to be a good one.
Great mostly due to the incredible scenery, Tom Selleck stands up with veteran films actors like Alan Rickman and Laura San Giacomo and holds his own. |
tt2137286 | Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess | Flora, Fauna and Merryweather appear and introduce Sofia, an eight-year-old girl living in the village with her mother, Miranda who is a shoemaker. One day, Miranda and Sofia are called for a shoe fitting by King Roland II of Enchancia. It's love at first sight for Roland and Miranda. They soon marry, making Miranda the new Queen of Enchancia and Sofia the kingdom's second princess. Upon arriving at the castle, Sofia meets her new father, Baileywick the castle steward, Cedric the royal sorcerer and her new older siblings, Princess Amber and Prince James, the royal twins. Sofia is warmly welcomed by everyone at the castle except Amber and Cedric. At the dinner table, Roland tells his new daughter that there will be a royal ball in honor of her royal debut, stating that it's the best way to let everyone know that Princess Sofia has arrived.
After Sofia sees her new room, she has second thoughts and laments in song about her insecurities and her belief that she's not ready to be a princess, because she knows being royal has huge responsibilities and she knows she has no experience when it comes to fulfilling them. She finds her mother and tells her about her uneasy feelings and that she would rather not have a royal ball because she doesn't know how to dance and doesn't want to let anyone down. Miranda assures her she'll be fine. Roland comes out of the shadows and gives Sofia a beautiful necklace that he says is special and tells her she must promise to never take it off. Sofia happily accepts the gift and gives him her word to wear it always and never let it out of her sight. On the way back to bed, Sofia bumps into Cedric, who recognizes her new necklace.
The next day, Sofia, James, and Amber take a flying coach to the Royal Preparatory Academy. There she meets the headmistresses. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. Sofia asks them to teach her how to be a true princess by the day of her royal debut ball. While giving her a tour of the school, they tell her that becoming a true princess is something that takes time. Everyone takes an instant shine to Sofia, making Amber jealous and prompting her to convince James to give Sofia a ride on the Enchanted Swing Set. James does so which makes everyone's smiles vanish. The swing ride sends Sofia sailing through the air and then into a fountain with a splash. Despite really being upset, Sofia laughs it off and walks away soaking wet. Sofia stumbles across a baby bird who has fallen out of its nest and helps it return to its mother. Her interaction with the mother bird and her baby shows how lonely she feels now that she's a princess and misses the days when it was just her and her mother. Just then, Sofia's necklace begins to glow and she unexpectedly hears the birds say "Thank you."
After returning home, Cedric intercepts Sofia and takes her to his workshop where he reveals to her that her necklace is the Amulet of Avalor, an magical necklace that can grant the wearer a blessing or a curse depending on a deed, for better or worse. He asks her to let him take a look at it, but she refuses because she promised her father she would never take it off and was taught by her mother that when she makes a promise, she must keep it, no matter what. Unbeknownst to her, Cedric wants to steal the amulet and use its power to seize control of the kingdom.
The next morning, Sofia meets Clover, Mia, Robin and Whatnaught and discovers that she can understand what they're saying. Remembering what Cedric said about her amulet and helping that baby bird, she realizes the amulet has given her the power to talk to animals which Clover is delighted to hear. Clover reveals the reason woodland creatures have always helped princesses is because they want food and Sofia, who's happy to finally have new friends, obliges. Now confident, Sofia now dedicates herself to becoming the best princess ever both to fulfill her responsibilities as one and to prove herself to everyone. However, Sofia remains distant from James and Amber because of the stunt they pulled and she no longer trusts anyone and feels that she's on her own. When she comes home the day before the royal ball, she finds her friends Ruby and Jade waiting for her. During the visit, James comes over to apologize for the trick he and Amber played on her and offers to make it up to her by helping her prepare for her ball which she accepts. He also tells her about Professor Popov's dance class the next day, unaware that Amber is spying on them.
Sofia arrives at dance class but before she can take some dance shoes, Amber comes by and hands her a special pair, saying they can help her dance better. Sofia steps forward to receive her dance lessons, but just a few minutes later the shoes start making her dance oddly and out of control. Sofia realizes the shoes are trick shoes because of the glow they are giving off and stops long enough to notice Amber sneering at her. It's at this moment that Sofia realizes that Amber tricked her just before she's sent crashing to the ground. She gets back up and gives Amber a hateful glare that helps James realize who gave Sofia those trick shoes. When the trio return to the coach, Amber states that she must have grabbed them by mistake, but Sofia doesn't buy this and angrily ignores her, because she knows Amber gave them to her on purpose to ruin her dance lesson.
When she gets back home, she asks Cedric for a dancing spell. He gives her a spell but as soon as she leaves Cedric reveals the spell is actually a sleeping spell, and after it's cast he plans to blackmail Sofia into handing over the amulet. Meanwhile, James angrily confronts Amber about the trick shoe incident, knowing that Amber deliberately gave Sofia those shoes to ruin Sofia's royal ball. Then, after angrily telling Amber that he likes Sofia more than her, he storms out of the room, leaving his twin guilty and upset. Amber tries to call him back but her gown gets caught under one of the legs of her vanity chair and gets ripped. When she goes looking for the maids she hears them in Sofia's room calling her "the prettiest princess in the palace", which makes her run back into her room in tears.
At the ball, Sofia arrives in a sparkling gown and everyone is amazed by how beautiful she looks. She casts the spell Cedric gave her and, to her horror, everyone falls asleep, even Cedric. Thinking she must have said the spell wrong and that she's all alone, Sofia breaks down and cries.
When a tear drops on the amulet, it begins to glow and Cinderella appears. She explains to Sofia that whenever she is in trouble, her amulet will summon a Princess like herself to help. Cinderella reveals that Amber is still awake and can help out, but Sofia is still angry at Amber for all the nasty things she's done to her. However, through a song, Cinderella encourages Sofia to give her another chance, as Sofia may leave the castle someday. Sofia decides to take Cinderella's advice, but when she turns to thank Cinderella, she has vanished. Sofia goes to Amber and takes her to the ballroom.
After seeing what has happened, Amber apologizes to Sofia for her behavior and admits her jealousy. Sofia finally forgives her and the two of them reconcile and finally bond as true sisters. Together they infiltrate Cedric's workshop to figure out how to undo the sleeping spell and awaken everyone once again. But they end up running into Wormwood, Cedric's raven companion. After the woodland critters put Wormwood back in his cage and trick him into revealing where the counter spell book is, the group finds the counter spell, Sofia sewed Amber's gown and Amber gives her a dance lesson.
Sofia casts the counter-spell and the ball proceeds as if nothing has happened with Sofia dancing with her father, now calling him "Dad" instead of "Your Majesty" for the first time. The dance soon develops with the whole family dancing together, having finally become a true family. | fantasy | train | imdb | null |
tt0195234 | Saving Grace | The first scene shows Matthew Stewart digging a grave for Grace Trevethyn's husband, John (Bill Weston), who has committed suicide. His now widow, Grace (Brenda Blethyn), an English woman living on a beautiful large estate, learns, upon his death, that John's debts had mounted to the point that her assets (home, car, garden) will soon be repossessed. The postman (Bill Hallet) keeps on bringing her more threatening letters from banks, credit cards... and he also tells all the townspeople about her problems. One of John and Grace's friends, Dr. Martin Bamford (Martin Clunes) tells her that everybody knew more or less that John was doing something fishy financially, but nobody wanted to interfere in his business. With desperation, Grace realises that all commercial schemes by her late husband were failures, and that they even had a secret account in Sweden, but with nothing in it.With no assets of note and no source of income, she watches helplessly as the process begins, and when her high-tech state-of-the-art lawnmower is taken away by some movers (led by Johnny Bamford), she must fire her gardener, Matthew Stewart (Craig Ferguson), to whom she is close. When she stumbles upon the fact that Matthew is not having much success growing some weed plants in the fields of the local vicarage because of the lack of sunlight and heat, feeling awful about having fired him, she suggests that he move his plants to her greenhouse.The plants begin to grow impressively, and Grace, quite innocently, asks Matthew what the plants are worth. The news that they are illegal marijuana plants that are quite valuable on the open market gives Grace an idea, one that might just save her from having her estate repossessed by the bank. Mass production of marijuana plants begins in Grace's greenhouse. Matthew's girlfriend, hard-working fishing boat captain Nicky Tristan (Valerie Edmond) wants no part of the plan. She wants Matthew to grow up, settle down and start taking responsibility for his own life. Some of the locals suspect what is going on, but, compassionately, stay out of Grace's way. In fact, some of them have the notion of watching the neon lights coming from the conservatory every night, as though it was some kind of show.Of course, somebody will have to go to London to line up a buyer for the marijuana. Matthew, a marijuana user and a man in his thirties is the logical candidate, but unbeknownst to him, his girlfriend is pregnant. Knowing of the pregnancy, and not wanting Matthew to leave the side of his girl, Grace insists that she be the one to go to London. Her escapade into the lowest depths of the London drug subculture is hilarious, and at first it looks like she is going to fail. However, suave and savvy Jacques Chevalier (Tchéky Karyo, more handsome than ever) eventually contacts her. He smooth-talks her into doing business.Authorities become aware of the drugs on her estate because of the flying saucer-like lights which the greenhouse now emits. Local police officer Sgt. Alfred Mabely (Ken Campbell) has let things be, as he thought she was cultivating just a small quanitity of weed for her own personal use and that she needed it to cope with all the debts and stress. But when he realises that it's a huge quantity, he has to get involved and investigate the matter.Grace has little choice but to destroy her own inventory. However, as the marijuana plants are not completely dry, they produce such a huge quantity of smoke that Grace, Matthew, the posh visiting ladies (Phillida Law, Linda Kerr Scott, Denise Coffey) who didn't wait for Grace to appear to make themselves some tea, and even the police officers -including Mabely - get high. The scene leaves with everybody jumping, dancing and caressing happily in the garden while naked.In a strange twist of fate, however, Grace writes a book describing her remarkable experience called The Joint Venture. The novel becomes a best seller, and, suddenly, her financial worries are over. She has to travel again to London to receive an award won by her novel, while all the townsfolk look at her on TV. Now we come to realise that Grace and Jacques are a couple, that he has left London for her small town and he strongly denies to some journalists that he ever got involved with any kind of drug. | cult, comedy | train | imdb | null |
tt0113253 | Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers | On October 31, 1989, Michael Myers and his niece Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) have been abducted by a mysterious stranger in black at the Haddonfield Police Station. Six years later, teenage Jamie (J. C. Brandy) has been impregnated and her baby is born on Halloween Eve. The baby is taken away by the "Man in Black" who appears to be the leader of a Druid-like cult. Later, a midwife (Susan Swift) helps Jamie escape with her baby and is soon killed by Michael (George P. Wilbur). Jamie and her baby flee in a stolen pickup. Stopping briefly at a deserted bus station, Jamie makes a call to a Haddonfield radio station to warn them that Michael is about to return home, only to be ignored by the radio D.J. Barry Simms (Leo Geter) who is doing a broadcast on the Haddonfield murders.Meanwhile, a frail Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence), now retired and recovering from a stroke, is visited by his friend Dr. Terence Wynn (Mitch Ryan), the chief administrator of Smith's Grove Sanitarium where Michael had been incarcerated as a boy, who asks Loomis to return to Smith's Grove. During their conversation they overhear Jamie's plea for help on a local radio station. Later, Jamie drives back on the road followed by Michael, who causes her to crash into an old barn. Michael kills Jamie by impaling her on a corn thresher, but finds that Jamie's baby is not in the truck.Back in Haddonfield, Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd), whom Laurie Strode babysat in the first film, now lives in a boarding house run by Mrs. Blankenship (Janice Knickrehm), a mysterious old woman. The family living in the Myers house across the street are relatives of the Strode family: Kara Strode (Marianne Hagan), her six-year-old son Danny (Devin Gardner), her teenage brother, Tim (Keith Bogart), caring mother Debra (Kim Darby) and abusive father John (Bradford English). Ever since seeing Michael Myers as a child, Tommy has been obsessed with finding the truth behind his motives. He finds Jamie's baby at the bus station, takes him into his care and names him Stephen. Tommy runs into Dr. Loomis and tells him that the Strode family living in the Myers house. The two believe Michael has returned to Haddonfield.After Dr. Loomis tells her that she is living in Michael's home, Debra calls John to tell him she wants to leave Haddonfield but is killed by Michael. Later, Kara returns home to find Danny in his room with Tommy, whom he had met while on his way home. The three go to the boarding house, where Tommy reveals that he believes Michael has been inflicted with the curse of Thorn by a Druid-inspired cult. Thorn is an ancient Druid symbol that represented a demon that spread sickness and caused destruction. To prevent this, one child from each tribe was chosen to bear the curse of Thorn to offer a blood sacrifice of its next of kin on the night of Samhain (Halloween). When the corresponding Thorn constellation appears, Michael appears. The curse explains why Michael is out to kill his family and also accounts for his superhuman abilities. Tommy believes that Steven will be Michael's final sacrifice.While Tommy goes out to look for Dr. Loomis at a party at the Haddonfield Junior College, Mrs. Blankenship reveals to Kara that she was babysitting Michael the night he killed his sister, and that Danny hears the "voice" (from the "Man in Black") telling him to kill just like Michael did, indicating that Danny also possesses the power of Thorn. Meanwhile, Michael kills John and Tim Strode, Tim's girlfriend Beth (Mariah O'Brien), and Barry Simms. After Tommy returns home with Dr. Loomis, the "Man in Black" finally reveals himself to be Dr. Wynn. The "Cult of Thorn" take Kara, Danny, Steven, and Michael to Smith's Grove. There, Loomis confronts Dr. Wynn who credits Loomis for first recognizing the evil power of Thorn inside Michael, which Wynn wants to control and study, and that Jamie's baby represents the dawn of a new age. Loomis is then knocked unconscious by a staff member.Tommy finds Kara locked in a room in the maximum security ward and frees her. In one of the main hallways, they see Wynn and a team of scientists walk into an operating room to perform an unknown procedure. Tommy and Kara sneak into the adjoining room where they find Danny and Steven. Michael, angry at being exploited by Wynn and his staff, walks into the operating room with a surgical machete and murders them all. Tommy, Kara, and the kids run with Michael in hot pursuit, and hide in a high-tech laboratory. Inside the lab, Kara notices tanks containing human fetuses with a chart of runes and scientific letter codes connected together by the Thorn symbol, suggesting that the cult of scientists have been exploiting the evil power of Thorn for the benefit of medical science. It is implied that they have been trying to clone pure evil using the desired genes that Michael possess by impregnating their female patients to replicate Thorn in its most powerful form. Steven is the result of this experiment tested on Jamie.Michael breaks into the room. Tommy injects him with a corrosive liquid and beats him into unconsciousness with a lead pipe. As Dr. Loomis, Tommy, Kara, Danny, and Steven are about to escape, Loomis tells them to go on without him because he has "a little business" to attend to. Back inside the building, Michael's mask is found lying on the floor of the lab room as the screams of Dr. Loomis can be heard in the background, leaving his fate ambiguous. | insanity, cult, horror, murder, violence | train | imdb | The film had a really REALLY bad director who didnt give a flip about the series, from what I heard treated Donald bad, and wouldnt let Danielle Harris come back as Jamie.
cinematography: Billy Dicksonit's rare to find a film of any genre or of any era that both critics and fans alike just totally got wrong by plain sh*****g on it - but THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS is one of them; i honestly have no idea why the critics hated this so much, and have even less of an idea why the fans still (generally) strongly dislike it to this day ..
Joe Chappelle (the film's director) has had to suffer downright disgrace over this picture, very very wrongly so, and even though I'm not crazy enough to think he's just going to somehow stumble on this random user-review of mine, I'm going to pretend that he will for the sake of things, and so, I'll say: Joe, listen, you've been badly wronged my good man by the 'world of film', and you deserve vindication as much as anybody, and this slasher of yours is genuinely frightening and bad-ass; part 6 is definitely the best of the sequels, besides maybe part two (which I do love), and is most definitely better than parts four, five, seven and eight.First of all, not even Carpenter managed to shoot his original 1978 classic in the actual autumn, and, frankly, it shows, for much of HALLOWEEN (1978) is green; THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS, however, was actually shot in the autumn, and it really does help create a creepy, colorful atmosphere that all the other films of the original series lack - basically, the cinematography here, by Billy Dickson and Chappelle, is fantastic, and really does seem to take full advantage of the fact they actually shot this the right time of the year; the look of the picture is just lush and looks totally right, and it lends itself to the horror so well, and the overall mise-en-scene as well ...
actually, ironically, place a lid on the Illuminati/cult stuff here, and actually keep it all contained; I mean, this theatrical cut basically just shows Michael vaguely being influenced and manipulated by an evil cult of high society that basically sacrifices babies to old gods - like, why is this some sort of big problem in the context of the sixth installment of a slasher franchise?
Carpenter himself only really a t t e m p t e d to like capture some sort of dark, evil, existential, supernatural killing-machine with the original portrayal of Michael Myers, and I just think it's a flawed film anyway, the '78 film ..
I did not like the person they got to play Jamie I think that they should have gotten the original person to play her.I even liked the way it ended it made sense since the guy who played Dr.Loomis died in real life.It is definitely not better than the origanal.but I even liked the 5th movie..
Pay no attention to the other negative comments on this site, 'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' is a great film and worth seeing.
Personally, I think the poorest (excluding the obviously naff 'Halloween III: Season of the Witch')film in the franchise is 'Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'.
They're not movies they're magnets that attract Halloween fans with high hopes for a good sequel.
This movie tries to explain why Michael Myers kills something that is pure evil needs no explanation.
I mean, surely if she disappeared along with Michael at the end of the last film, he would have killed her then, wouldn't he.Anyway, there are far greater aspects in the film to cover up for this little plot hole, such as the amount of scares and clever deaths.
However, Halloween Resurrection wasn't a bad film, despite Busta Rhymes terrible performance.I just hope they finish off things with the 9th installment, and that they tie up loose ends, such as what happens with the baby.
Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers is one of the best ones in the series.
I did not enjoy our hero Michael Myers taking the backseat in this sequal, but i did enjoy seeing what tommy doyle was like after the events in the first film.
There's also some nonsense about Tommy Doyle (from the first Halloween movie), a baby, a man in black, and a cult called Thorn.It's really hard to fathom how the Halloween series went from the atmospheric brilliance of the original film to the Gawd-awful mess called Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.
Add to that mostly bad acting, unlikable characters, silly dialogue, terrible music, and a complete lack of logic, and you've reached the absolute nadir of the Halloween series.Watching Paul Rudd in Halloween 6, it's hard to imagine he would go on to have the career he has.
Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd), whom Laurie Strode babysat in the first film, is obsessed with Michael Myers.
There's a suggestion of genetic manipulation, which has no business in "Halloween." Myers turns on the cult for no reasons, signaling the film's transformation into a chase-and-slash flick.The acting and characters are terrible too.
The gore is exaggerated, including an exploding head."Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers" was a troubled production, with daily rewrites, extensive reshoots and re-editing.
In case anyone's still bothering to count: here we have the SIXTH episode in the wacky adventures of mass murderer Michael Myers and the good people of Haddonfield; Illinois apparently STILL don't realize that the white-masked dude can't possibly be killed.
Unlike part five, which was a really awful film, "The Curse of Michael Myers" isn't overly talkative or irritatingly dull and Joe Chapelle's directing is surprisingly solid.
The Strode family has moved into the Myers home, they think it's safe until Michael returns back to Haddonfield and so does Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance).
Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd) whom was one of the child survivors of the original "Halloween" has an obsession with Michael Myers over the years as he learns the history of the Myers family as now he joins with Dr. Loomis and Kara Strode (Marianne Hagan) to stop the mysterious man-in-black and Michael Myers.A disappointing and disjointed sequel of the franchise that doesn't measure up to the original and most of the sequels especially the much maglined "Halloween III: Season of the Witch".
The subplot behind Michael is very silly but interesting but still the movie is pretty bad but not as bad as "Resurrection".This was Donald Pleasance's last film, R.I.P. Mr. Pleasance for you were such a great actor..
Unfortunately for her, Jamie has been kept in the basement of Smith's Grove Sanitarium (the facility that has housed Michael during his stints in and out of custody) by the likes of an underground Druid cult that seeks to somehow restore the once great night of Halloween to its former glory.
Oddly enough, Tommy Doyle—one of the children from the original Halloween that Laurie babysat "the night he came home"—has become obsessed with the persistent rumors about Michael and has rented a room across the street from the Myers house to keep tabs on its residents, one of whom is a kid with the same penchant for murder that Michael himself demonstrated so many years ago.Loomis is back, too.
"Halloween 6" doesn't contain any real scares and is a far cry from the magnificent original, but let's face facts: horror movies almost never spawn good sequels!
The sixth installment to the Halloween franchise brings Michael Myers back to Haddonfield to kill Jamie's offspring.
Halloween 5 ended with lots of mystery and intrigue and, even more so than the first four films, was begging for a sequel to continue the story.Thus production began many years later and on September 29th, 1995, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers was released.
It brings back Tommy Doyle, the boy that Laurie Strode babysat in the first Halloween and it ups the gore to levels never yet seen in a Halloween film.But Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is also the worst film in the series.
The last 15 minutes of The Curse of Michael Myers is so badly edited and put together it almost feels like the filmmakers just gave up and never finished their film.Other than Paul Rudd and Donald Pleasance (who isn't even utilized enough), the only other merit to this film is the fact that, unlike part five, the Myers house is actually the Myers house.
This film at least brought back the original house, which turned out to be the scariest thing in the movie.Although slightly enjoyable for the first hour, with uncharacteristically great murders, and a little bit of nudity thrown in for good measure, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is a big mess that is a complete waste of time.
Sadness for Donald Pleasance, who's great career ended on such a poor and utterly terrible note.Film Rating: 36%Breakdown (How Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers scored 36%):Production Design: 5 out of 10 Cinematography: 3 out of 10 Re-playability: 4 out of 10 Originality: 3 out of 10 Costumes: 3 out of 10 Directing: 3 out of 10 Editing: 3 out of 10 Acting: 5 out of 10 Music: 5 out of 10 Script: 2 out of 10Read more of my reviews at www.fullmetalreviews.blogspot.com.
Right off the bat I'd like to state that I like all of the Halloween movies that have to do with Michael Myers.
Halloween 6: The Curse of Micheal Myers (1996)Director: Joe Chapelle (Phantoms)**out of****ReviewAfter the 6 year wait from the ambiguous, hated by most, loved by some ending of 5 I finally got to see it, being I was only 11 at the time I unfortunately did not take the pen to paper for my first impression (which was positive if I remember correctly), but alas, I'm now 22 and I can clearly see the movies flaws, as well as good intentions and the bad (producers?).The movie opens with 15 year old Jamie (now played by the 25 year old looking J.C. Brandy) screaming in labor while a MTV like montage of blood soaked carnage is shown and the soundtrack is filmed with screamed filled horrors of the past.
I really wanted to like this movie, I like its look, sound and gore, but content wise it's an embarrassment to the series and in film-making in general.
and I want it on DVD I have got a copy of it.but it is useless it is not that clear.so it better to be released on DVD because the halloween fans are waiting for it.I am hoping that it should be released some time this year or next year.they should have not cut the scenes just because Donald pleasence had died.
Michael stalks them one by one.Directed by Joe Chappelle (Phantoms) made an unusual, interesting sequel to the Halloween movies.
For the original theatrical version (*** 1/2 out of *****).The Producer's Cut of "Halloween 6" is a much better film, although the video quality of bootleg version is a mixed bag at best.
The story begins when Jamie (J.C Brandy) had a baby and she had to save it from the murderous brother Michael (George.P.Wilbur) and then she got killed in a barn close to Haddonfield.Now, a family had moved into the Myers' residence called the Strodes, these were relatives who adopted Laurie when she was a child.A grandmother, mother, father, girl and two boys were living in the house together.They were being watched by a man who lived across the road from the unwary family and he could remember last seeing Michael on October 31, 1978.
After the horrible HALLOWEEN 5,fans at least wanted another one because of that cliffhanger ending.So director Joe Chappelle and writer Daniel Farrands teamed up to make the ultimate come back for Michael and give insight on the man behind the mask.
I have both this version and the Producer's Cut and I think the PC version is better because it explains more about Michael and the Thorn cult, which by the way is a real cult that happens every so often on Halloween night.
I loved the new direction the film took with the story instead of just Michael Myers wanting to kill his family.
The whole idea about a curse and a man in black was kind of dumb and seemed not like the Halloween movies I used to love.
It would seem like a good idea having Tommy all grown-up after the event in the first film but instead it was a desperate attempt to write-up another sequel.
Overall there was a good lot of gore, a fair few jumps and a better looking Myers mask but it still doesn't make up for the cheesy storyline.A good Halloween fan should watch this, otherwise avoid at all costs!.
Halloween the Curse of Michael Myers was one of the last movies I critiqued before I left movie reviewing for good.
A horrible film upon all acounts, Halloween 6: the Curse of Michael Myers is abysmal in every aspect imaginable including plot, direction, acting, suspense, etc.
I haven't seen all of the Halloween films, but this one was definitely worth watching.Some people may complain that their favorite actor was missing, and that the director really must have hated the franchise, but I feel that Joe Chappelle did a good job of keeping the story moving.
Out of all the Halloween films, Halloween: The Curse of Micheal Myers is the most violent, brutal and goriest out the series and that's why I love it.Since this was supposed to be the final chapter in Halloween, the tag line says on the UK video box "the only thing more terrifying than how it started is how it ends!" they wanted to make it more violent than before and explain Halloween 5's moments.Micheal is also more meaner in this one, breaking a man's neck around, axing a woman in the head, killing everyone in surgery, crushing a man's skull through a barred door, impaling a nurse through a spike, stabbing a woman in bed and so on.This may not have much of the suspense but it makes up for that with the gore..
Thank God we got Halloween H2O after this, which in my opinion, is the best Michael Myers movie of all time.
But even still, "Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers" -- even today -- is so bad, it's shocking.
I guess everyone is to blame, because aside from the actors and the visual effects guys, it seems nobody put in the effort to deliver a decent flick.The bottom line, though, is that no matter how you cut it, slice it, dice it or electrocute it until it's head explodes, "Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers" was never a good film.
Towards the end, the movie stops making sense, stops trying to push a plot and simply tries to find a way to kill the characters and end the film before anything else is lost.
Save for some good visuals and decent characters, "The Curse Of Michael Myers" is just about as bad as it gets.
Halloween 6 had alot of great gruesome killings...Good acting and a better plot than most Halloween movies.This had alot of suspense,and deserves so much more..The intro is great,theres no 60 minute waiting for gore (like H20)This starts off right,and ends even better...Look at Michaels mask...Dark,scary and mystic..Look at the mask in H20,his eyes are so visible,the mast looks terrible...This film was third best...it was EXCELLENT!
Halloween:The Curse Of Michael Myers is probably the best sequel out of all of the Halloween flicks.
Jamie, serial killer Michael Myers' niece, bears a baby who is then taken by the Man In Black from the conclusion of Halloween 5.
Jamie's baby is found and rescued by Tommy Doyle, one of the kids Jamie Lee babysat in the original film, and Myers arrives in Haddonfield and begins to kill off the Strode clan living in his old house.
PopCultureThoughts.Com. Although it's a slight improvement over the last few entries in the series, "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" is, at best, well-directed dreck.
So those three things exist, which makes this film just above Halloween III, but it's still the worst sequel made with Michael involved..
Halloween 6 gives equal time to both it's slasher franchise and the bizare add-on story of the secret of Michael Myers.
Yes It was chilling and only a few scenes that were scary i don't know something about this Halloween film seemed not right.TheActing was a bit dull but Donald pleasance as usual was great and he sadly passed away a few months after the movie came out, The man in black and thorn plot was explained and worked out nicely.And Michael finally kills his "little niece" finally with machine farmery, George P Wilbur was Michael Again so that was good...an fairly good Halloween film.Halloween 6 Is My sixth favorite Halloween film.
This film tries to explain something that doesn't needs any explanation : the origin of Michael Myers.
Anyways..."The Curse Of Michael Myers" is a mediocre horror film, and all this whole Thorn thing is stupid.
Anyways, just watch this film if you are a big fan of the "Halloween" series.
Director Joe Chappelle (perhaps the one man on this earth most reviled by Halloween fans) felt the need to cut most of the story in favor of explicit gore, and thus the resulting film was confusing, to say the least.Also, there's a lot more Donald Pleasence in the Producer's Cut. Mr.
Donald has some great moments in the Producer's Cut, however, particularly when talking with Mrs. Strode about Michael Myers.The bottom line is that had the movie been released in this form (before Chappelle decided to order those ill-fated reshoots), it could have been the best Halloween since the original.
The Producer's Cut IS the original version of the film...edited together before Joe Chappelle decided to throw away a good deal of the script, rewrite it himself, and order reshoots...which ultimately destroyed this otherwise great movie.
by the end of halloween the curse of michael myers you might not even be alive to watch the credits.. |
tt1959490 | Noah | A prelude tells the beginning of the Book of Genesis. In the beginning, there was nothing. Then God created the world as well as man and woman. After Adam and Eve created sin, they had three sons - Cain, Abel, and Seth. After Cain killed Abel, he took refuge under the eyes of fallen angels called the Watchers, giant multi-armed stone golems. The Watchers helped Cain and his descendants build an industrialized civilization, but the wickedness of man spread throughout the world. Only the descendants of Seth would be left to restore mankind.The story begins with Noah shown as a young boy, standing on a hill with his father Lamech . Lamech is about to give him a precious heirloom - the skin of the original serpent from Eden, which has been passed down for many generations. Suddenly, a large crowd approaches, led by a young king named Tubal-Cain (Ray Winstone), who wants to make that hill into a mine. Seeing Lamech, Tubal-Cain kills him and takes the serpent's skin, while Noah runs.Many years pass. The adult Noah (now played by Russell Crowe) is living with his wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly) and his three sons, Shem (Douglas Booth), Ham (Logan Lerman), and Japheth, when he sees a small miracle: a drop of water hits the ground and a flower grows instantly. That night he has a dream where he sees the mountain his grandfather Methuselah lives on, and water covering the Earth. He realizes that the Creator is trying to send him a message. He and his family journey to see Methuselah and seek guidance. Along the way, they find a group of recently killed humans, and among them, a girl that is wounded but still alive, named Ila (Emma Watson), and they adopt her. Some of Tubal-Cain's men find then chase Noah and his family, but cease pursuit as they are afraid to enter a dark region inhabited by the Watchers.It is recounted that the Watchers are friends of Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins) because he had once defended and saved them. They came to Earth to help the humans, but after learning from them, the humans tried to enslave and kill them. Attempting to flee, Methuselah aided their escape by fighting waves of human soldiers with a burning sword wielding tremendous power. One of them, Magog (Mark Margolis) rescues Noah and his family from the other Watchers, who distrust all humanity, telling Noah that he senses that Noah is a good man, like his father.Noah speaks with Methuselah and receives a seed passed down from the Garden of Eden. He plants the seed on a plain, and a great spring erupts from the earth - extending out as a great network of streams in all directions - and an entire forest grows around its source within moments. The miracle convinces the Watchers that Noah is chosen by the creator. Noah asks for their aid in the building of an ark, and they agree to help in the undertaking.Roughly eight years pass. As the Ark nears completion, animals are seen following the streams from across the land to the source of the great spring and begin arriving to the ark. They enter and settle into the ark and are put into a deep sleep by incense that Noah and his family prepare and dispense throughout the mighty vessel. Meanwhile, the surrounding lands have been running short on food sources and the humans, led by Tubal-Cain, are becoming exceedingly ravenous for flesh. A horde of about 200 men, led by self-declared king Tubal-Cain, approaches the Ark and threatens to storm it, but the Watchers force him to turn back.Noah realizes that his three sons need wives, and that Ila cannot serve because she is barren. He disguises himself and goes into the human camp in order to find three women, and take them into the ark. At the human camp, he sees humans being traded and apparently slaughtered for food, living in feral, crowded and filthy conditions. Stunned by the wickedness of Tubal-Cain's followers, Noah gives up the effort, becoming convinced that the Creator wishes for the entire human race to come to an end. Later in the forest near the camp, Methuselah blesses Ila and her barrenness is cured.Shortly before the rains start to pour, Ham decides to go to the camp himself and find a woman. He falls into a pit filled with the dead and encounters a frightened young girl named Na'el. She is willing to go with him, but as they run back to the ark, her foot gets caught in an animal trap. Noah comes to help but sees the human horde coming to raid the ark, so he forces Ham to leave her behind and save himself. Seconds later, the human horde reaches her and tramples her to death as it passes. All of Noah's family boards the ark except Methuselah, who chooses to die in the flood. As the ark is launched, all the Watchers sacrifice themselves fighting the endless human waves. As they die, they return to their original forms and are spirited skyward as their Creator forgives them. As the flood waters pour toward the ark and his remaining soldiers drown, a wounded Tubal-Cain seizes the opportunity to survive and crawls up a pathway to a high point of the ark, hacking his way inside the vessel where he is eventually found by Ham. The wicked old king plays on Ham's anger toward Noah for allowing Na'el to die. Outside, the family listens to the dying screams of those outside the ark. His family implores him to let some of them in, as they "have room," only for a weary Noah to reply that there is no room for them - that their fate was sealed.Ila wakes up, feeling ill, and goes to Naameh who deduces that she is with child. At this exact moment, the rains stop completely. Ila says it is because the Creator smiles upon the unborn child. Naameh, Shem, and Ila inform Noah of Ila's good fortune, but the patriarch rationalizes that the Creator's wish to destroy humanity also extends to his own family, who he initially thought would simply die of old age once the flood waters recede. He tells the family that if the child is a boy then he will replace their youngest as the last man, but if a girl is born, he will kill the child upon her birth, much to Ila's horror - believing this to be a test for him by the Creator of his faith and resolve to carry out the undertaking to completion. Not truly willing to do such a thing so much as feeling it is a duty to the Creator, a tearful Noah climbs to the top of the ark and asks for the Creator's counsel. Finding no answer, Noah resolves to do as he told his family. Meanwhile, Tubal-Cain finds aid from the naive Ham (eventually acquiring the boy's help in a plot to kill Noah) and Naameh makes one final, unsuccessful attempt to dissuade her husband.Many months pass. Ila, now near the end of her pregnancy, and Shem build a small raft to escape Noah's plot to kill their child. Noah discovers their plan and burns the raft. The shock causes Ila to go into labor. With Naameh's assistance, the terrified young girl gives birth to twin girls. Hearing the babes' cries, Noah pursues Ila to the top of the vessel. As Ila pleads for a moment to sing to the crying infants to pacify them before they die, Noah hears the song he once sang to Ila when young and frightened - then looks upon the girls and decides not to carry out the unspeakable task.Tubal-Cain has seemingly manipulated Ham into believing killing Noah is just and will be for the sake of Ila and Shem's offspring as well as vengeance for Na'el, so Ham lures Noah to the tail end of the ark on the pretense that the animals have awoken and have begun cannibalizing each other. As Noah and Tubal-Cain engage in a brutal fight, the Ark hits a mountain and Tubal-Cain is thrown through the shattered wall of the vessel, being greatly injured. As the king rises and attempts to finish off a similarly-injured Noah, a repentant Ham stabs Tubal-Cain in the ribcage, killing him.As the rest of the family begins making a new life for themselves on newly discovered land as the flood recedes, Ham decides it is time for him to leave, still angry at Noah for what happened to Na'el. Noah, believing he'd failed God, imbibes of wine and becomes a drunkard, living in a cave separate from his family. One day Ham finds his father lying naked and unconscious. He walks away, leaving Shem and Japheth to cover their father with a blanket. Ila confronts Noah on allowing his grandchildren to survive, telling him that perhaps it was the intent of the Creator to give him the choice of whether mankind should be saved or not. When she asks why he didn't kill the babies, Noah reveals he could feel nothing but love for the babies upon seeing them - allowing him to see the goodness in mankind. Noah decides to rejoin his family. He and Naameh reconcile in her garden and she forgives him.Later, the family stands atop a cliff face and Noah blesses them all as the beginning of a new human race. They watch as the Creator sends a rainbow from the sky, covering all of the Earth, signaling his promise to never destroy mankind again. | good versus evil, violence, psychedelic, murder, storytelling | train | imdb | That said, I was curious to watch it because I found it hard to believe that Darren Aronofsky would churn out a blockbuster without something of interest in it.The film wastes no time with adding flesh to the basic bones of the story and, if you're looking to get upset by the presence of fallen angel rock monsters, then the film serves them up to you right at the front.
I guess if you came to see a bible story then this may upset you since the bible does not mention these creatures, but for me coming to a film, I really don't care what characters it creates or devices it uses as long as they work.
As per the story, the message comes of the destruction of man and Noah along with his family and rock monsters, get to building an ark for the animals which will be saved to repopulate the world.
It plays it straight and sets it up and there are points where you are not sure who is the "good guy" here since Tubal-cain is really just trying to survive death, likewise the obsession of Noah of ending man's time on Earth and only leaving animals.
It doesn't work though because it doesn't go harder on this and instead of drawing us into the madness of his obsession and the terrible things he therefore stands by and watches, the film actually feels plodding and not entirely sure of itself throughout these aspects.
Some of the scenery and shots featuring animals were really cool, I found myself wishing for more (that is, more time spent on animals...and a closer look at different species as imagined by the creators of this film).Ray Winstone is a distinguished actor but I found his portrayal at times creepy, at times laughable, overall weak (how much of this was due to direction and/or other factors...not sure, when it comes to this film I didn't get a sense either way).
Naturally, when people see a film about a great flood, titled Noah, the automatic assumption is that it's a re-telling of the biblical story.
I believe most people who watch this film will recognise that something is deeply "wrong" in it's portrayal, but they're less likely to realise that the fundamental reason is because the director has flooded (pun intended) his movie with imagery and references based not in Christian theology, but Gnostic mysticism.
But as soon as I finish this review, I'll be dusting off my Magnavox for a quick game of Wipeout just to complete the sensation of time-travel.Acting: This film sports a strong cast with some of my favourite actors and most of them discharge their duties as well as might be expected given the script they're stuck with.
Actually Noah was nowhere near as bad as heard, and while very flawed and by far the worst film of Darren Aronofsky(with his others ranging from very good to outstanding) it did have some impressive things.
Douglas Booth is rather bland and too pretty-boy-model-like while Logan Lerman came across as wooden and forced, Ham could easily have been the character we related to but for that to happen I think the film could have expanded much more on his character arc and situation.
The story is also a bit of a weird one, and one that leaves more questions than answers, in a sense that it does feel like it doesn't quite know what it wants to be, there's some sci-fi, some action-epic and some character-driven study(which takes up the last act), all three of which with uneven results.
Noah is nowhere near as bad as a lot of the negative reviews have said and the stick it gets for not being close to the Bible is on the unfair side- in all fairness though Noah was advertised in a way that was suggestive that it was an adaptation of the biblical story when really it is the bare bones- but it does have a lot of flaws and could have been better considering how much talent was on board.
'Noah" is an imagining of the biblical story (not a reimagining because the Bible really doesn't have much to say about the flood story that people really want to know--he mechanics of it).My goal was to go into the theater considering this film to be separate work from the book (as I do with all films).
There was no real reason to use the title "Noah." I expected this movie to be an attempt to make a new and edgy adaptation of the biblical story of Noah that reflects current social conflicts.
People should stop to consider who they should adopt as role models and when people treat environmentalism as a religion bad things will surely happen but we're ordered to take the side of environmentalism and not to question it In the hands of a lesser director NOAH would have sunk at the box office but thankfully we are talking about Aronofsky .
If you truly believe one man built a boat and put a pair OF EVERY KIND OF ANIMAL on it while god flooded the entire world(something impossible even today, much less thousands of years ago) then yes this movie is not for you.
This movie actually treats the bible with more respect than it deserves and for those with an open mind this is about the best possible telling of the nonsensical Noah story..
Especially when the king of the land(Winstone at his most vile, representing the wickedness of our species) shows up with his army, threatening that if that boat is the only safe place, they will board it one way or another.Causing controversy from before anyone had watched it, this is a non-literal update-for-our-times take on the Bible story, that nevertheless seeks to engage with the same, genuinely universal, values – honestly, everything added here is not only critical to even make it a feature length drama(such as adding a present, physical form to the evil that is being drowned out, as it were), it serves to flesh out what was already there.
Not only are we beyond rescuing, the storm that will come will deliver water sorely needed to reinvigorate nature.This has everything we've come to expect from Aronofsky: solid production values in every aspect, with a solid, and nicely limited(so that there is room for them all to represent some element endemic to us Homo Sapiens, and this is very much a character study of our titular protagonist, and an examination of humanity) cast, a compelling Clint Mansell score, and, of course, amazing(and all with a distinct purpose, artistically) visuals(the desperation of a dying breed is one of the images that will stick with you, something that is in everything Darren has helmed), employing techniques not often seen in the mainstream, including silhouette(such as a brief and stunning extrapolation of Cain) and time-lapse photography(the construction process itself).
But when you see the final result of this dreary mess, maybe there's an actual serious reason that it hadn't been tackled before.Most people (myself included) are only going to watch this flick for the infamous "flood scene." But the movie tries so hard to be "something different" it wouldn't off came as a surprise if that scene didn't even come.
The "2 of every animal" stuff fills about 2 minutes of the flick, while the rest is like some tacky soap opera, crossed with a poor mans "Lord of the rings." Russell Crowe plays Noah, so that he can tick off another larger than life role from his check-book.
And Why do I feel like I'm drunk watching this thing?What would of maybe worked better as a family movie with some sort of important lesson (Please don't sin kids/Be bad kids) has instead been turned into a dark fairy tale that attempts to please everyone.
The Stories a shambles, Crowes "bad-ass" Noah is dislikeable, and the films overall poor special effects and over the top "everything" will leave most people bewildered when its all done..
The story of Noah lasts but a few pages in the bible, meaning Aronofsky had to creatively fill some space to produce a 2-plus hour film.Russell Crowe makes a fine Noah.
On the basis of being a "so bad it's good" movie, this one provides unintentional humor that makes it worth sitting through the whole mess.First, don't expect a coherent story, secular or biblical.
This is my first review on IMDb as I like to make my own mind up about a film and don't really read other peoples opinion but I felt so ripped off with this Movie I decided to type my thoughts.
One other big change that might upset purists is what's done to Noah and his family; the film contrives a huge drama out of their legacy, going so far as pushing them to odd and amoral directions that truly challenge our notion of what could have happened in this ancient story.All that being said, I felt the liberties with the story were warranted, because the film methodically creates many long threads of conflict and entwines them into one big braid of a plot that gives it momentum and drives the characters to their most logical directions.
On the contrary while the movie does highlight what is good about religion, at the end Russel Crowe's Noah goes into a state that warns of the dangers of religious fundamentalism and what such people are capable of doing.
He is the grandson of Methuselah (where did they pull that out of?); you know, the guy who lived 900 and some years (good old Anthony Hopkins) and apparently was some sort of conduit to God. Crowe/Noah builds the Ark, a giant box rather than the stereotypical ship with the little house on top that schoolchildren are used to.
The only reason I went to see "NOAH" and the only reason was it was directed by Darren Aronosky who's past work I loved Pi, The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain I was expecting with Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson to be captivated once again.
It ought not to be possible to make a dull movie out of the story of Noah and the Ark, but Darren Aronofsky has managed to do just that.
Jennifer Connelly looks very modern as Mrs Noah, and their sons, like the Giants and the Wicked People, seem to belong more to Middle Earth than to the time before Abraham.
Go watch this movie to see a beautiful film directed by an amazing director and let your imagination take you to a place where the world in flooded and you get to sit and watch front row center..
It had a lot of unexpected turns which I really enjoyed and I have an urge to read this segment from the bible now.So for a conclusion I will say this: The directing was great, acting was great (except for Douglas Booth, geez), soundtrack was amazing, cinematography was brilliant, visual effects was really good and the fact that they built that ark for real still shocks me.
Noah (2014) Director: Darren AronofskyConsidering that the Noah's Ark story is a fairly popular one and concise in its narration, I was quite interested in what Aronofsky was going to spin.Honestly, this movie didn't work for me.
For a Bible-believing Christian to get the most out of this movie you need to understand that up front.What the director has done with this beloved Biblical survival story is quite liberal to say the least (not that the source text gives us that much detail to start with).
If it makes you feel any better just think of the movie more as a Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy story that just happens to have some biblical names and a lot of animals in an ark rather than faithful adaptation of the more familiar Noah story.
You can even imagine that the story takes place on another planet or in a parallel universe if that makes you feel better.Once you get all that out of the way you can sit back and enjoy what the movie really has to offer.
Yeah, the story is really good, at least the parts that we all know so well—the flood, the feeling of starting over, the human angst, or even the idea that there was another (evil) civilization before the flood which is now lost.Director Darren Aronofsky is of course a creative force with a lot of admirers, and his films are always at least interesting.
He took a lot of money here and used some innovative special effects, and he tried to take a slim story (Noah and the Ark) and make it an over-long epic movie, which is daring enough.But it's not enough to spend a lot on special effects.
(If it looks like Iceland, it's because it is.) His wife is Jennifer Connelly, who is given lines of script to read that make her superfluous (like she'll offer a good suggestion and Crowe, as Noah, says no, let's do it this way instead).
With the help of The Watchers, fallen angels turned to stone for defying God for helping man, they build the Ark. But the king of men, Tubal-Cain (Ray Winstone) wants the Ark for himself and prepares for battle to take it.Noah is Aronofsky's biggest scale movie to date and it is allows for epic entertainment whilst allowing an auteur like him to keep his artistic integrity.
This is a more complex view of religion and God's will than in movies like God's Not Dead which is as subtle as a sledgehammer and only has one viewpoint.Besides the obvious religious themes Noah also tackles environmentalism as man recklessly mines and rips the land, stripping it bare for resources, killing any struggling animal for meat and leaving nothing but ash.
Mansell continues to supply excellent music and provides an epic score.Aronofsky easily steps up to large scale production, giving us a large battle in the middle of the film, moments of violence and works well with CGI, mixing it with the large set for the Ark. Aronofsky gives us some beautiful visuals, with the angels having a golden glow, visions of the Garden of Eden and the Watchers have a classic slow-mo look to them as they move with a jerky motion.Noah is not a film for everyone as the fundamental audiences of both the religious and atheist will dismiss the film as propaganda for and against religion, but it is a film that fans of Aronofsky will enjoy and it is a great addition to his filmography.Noah is not only Russell Crowe's second film about religious redemption and punishment, it is also his second film he gets to sing.
What was Russell Crowe thinking of choosing to appear in this garbage?Taking away the religious aspect of it and arguing whether its true or not (lol) and treating it purely as a fantasy movie I still don't see who could have liked it.Terrible storyline.Within 5 minutes I was hating it and nothing changed.What was it with the stone men, they look like something out of a movie 30 years ago.
With the CGI that was used throughout the movie, I thought a clear colorful rainbow could have be added into a scene but I guess the director/producer may have thought that a Biblical rainbow may offend a certain community that uses the rainbow for their cause.Post-modernism in full swing: a) Towards the end, Noah's daughter-in-law preached to him that his decision to love instead of obeying God sets the new direction for this new world.
This movie did none of those things.Some of the additions to the story were: It made mention of "watchers", supernatural beings (angels) who watched over Noah and his family.
Quickie Review:Noah is a new epic that is based on the biblical story, and helmed by director Darren Aronofsky.
Noah must now build an ark with his family to save the innocent (all wildlife other than mankind).I'll start off with some things that I did like about this movie.
Didn't like it.More like the Hobbit meets Transformers,i mean walking rock creatures and men battling each other as if on the cliffs of Mordor.I was waiting for Gandalf to appear,but instead settled for Russel Crowe.You cannot tell me this is one of Russel Crows stellar performances.While the movie does have a good cast much is left to be desired.That being said it was not so much the actors fault as much as the script itself digital effects and just a bad script.If your watching for any historical biblical facts this is not the movie either.I don't believe the bible mentioning anything about cannibalism and famine during the time the ark was built.If its battle sequences your after stick with Gladiator the script to that movie was more realistic than the story of Noah.If its talking rocks and battle scenes that depict the end of the world then this might be the movie for you..
For a non-believer (in this particular version of the story of the world) - don't waste your time.If you just want to see a bad movie, watch this one.
If you want to learn anything about the Biblical story of Noah and the great flood, read the Bible or watch ANY other movie on this subject.Amazingly, my wife has made it through the entire movie with me, but somehow, I feel the movie had nothing to do with that..
In this film, the story of Noah is portrayed realistically.I implore you to go see this movie, but you must watch it with an open mind..
But if you take it for what it is you get an entertaining movie.Perhaps the most glaring departure are the large rock-like creatures that eventually protect Noah, his family, and the Ark as the bad people attempt to overrun it. |
tt0343737 | The Good Shepherd | A photograph and an audio recording on reel-to-reel tape are dropped off anonymously at the home of Edward Wilson (Matt Damon), a senior CIA officer, after the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba fails due to an undisclosed leak. While riding to work on the bus, Edward is approached by a young boy who asks if Edward has change for a dollar. Upon arriving at work, Edward's assistant checks the serial number of the dollar against a long list of serial numbers assigned to various code names and confirms that Edward has been given a dollar from "Cardinal". The movie then flashes back to 1939.
In 1939 Edward is at Yale University and is invited to join Skull and Bones, a secret society. He is compelled to disclose a secret as part of his initiation: he reveals that as a young boy in 1925 he discovered the suicide note left by his father, Thomas (Timothy Hutton), although he says he never read it. After the ceremony, a fraternity brother tells him that Edward's father, an admiral, was to be chosen as Secretary of the Navy, until his loyalties were questioned. Afterwards Edward is recruited by an FBI agent Sam Murach (Alec Baldwin), who claims that Edward's poetry professor, Dr. Fredericks (Michael Gambon), is a Nazi spy, asking Edward to expose his professor's background as well as implying that the Professor is homosexual: Edward's actions result in Dr. Fredericks' forced resignation from the university.
Edward begins a relationship with a deaf student named Laura (Tammy Blanchard), but while on Deer Island, Edward meets and is later aggressively seduced by Margaret 'Clover' Russell (Angelina Jolie), his friend's sister. General Bill Sullivan (Robert De Niro) asks Edward to join the OSS, offering him a post in London.
Later while Edward and Laura are at the beach, Clover's brother, John, privately reveals that Clover is pregnant with Edward's child and asks him to "do what is expected." Laura, an able lip-reader, sees and walks away. Edward marries Clover. At the wedding reception Edward accepts an offer of a position in the London OSS office from General Sullivan, requiring him to be in England in one week, leaving his newlywed wife. In London he meets his former professor Dr. Fredericks, who is actually a British intelligence operative who had sought to infiltrate a Nazi organization while at Yale, causing the American authorities to suspect that he was a Nazi spy. Despite this, Fredericks recognized Edward's gifts and recommended that he be trained in counter-espionage in London.
An intelligence officer in the British SOE, Arch Cummings (Billy Crudup), tells Edward that Fredericks' indiscriminate homosexual relationships pose a security risk; Edward is asked to deal with his mentor, but Fredericks refuses the chivalrous suggestion to protect himself by returning to teaching. He says he will understand if Wilson wants to "tie his shoe" (a signal to watchers that the meeting went badly). Edward delays, prompting Fredericks to kneel down and tie Edward's shoe for him. As their meeting ends, he advises Wilson to "quit... while you still have a soul", leaves, and is brutally killed, his body being dumped into the Thames.
The time shifts to post-war Berlin, where the Allies and the Soviets, in a race for technological superiority, are trying to recruit as many German scientists as possible. Edward encounters his Soviet counterpart, codenamed "Ulysses", who praises Edward. They plan an exchange of scientists — the Soviets asking for German Nazi and Slavic scientists, while the Americans seek Jewish scientists.
Edward is assisted by an interpreter, Hanna Schiller (Martina Gedeck), who wears what appears to be a hearing aid. After Edward learns from his son during a rare phone call home that Clover is having an affair, he accepts Hanna's invitation to dinner at her home, and sleeps with her. While they are making love, Edward realizes that Hanna can hear without the use of her hearing aid, exposing her as a Soviet operative. She is killed and Ulysses is notified by her hearing aid being planted in his teapot.
After six years in London, Edward returns home to a distant Clover, who now prefers to be called Margaret. Edward presents his son with a miniature model ship inside a glass watch-casing. Margaret explains that her brother was killed in the war; she also confesses that she previously had a brief relationship with another man. When she asks if he had any relationships, Edward replies that "it was a mistake." General Sullivan approaches Wilson again to help form a new foreign intelligence organization - the CIA - where Wilson will work with his former colleague, Richard Hayes (Lee Pace), under Phillip Allen (William Hurt). Edward accepts, hiding the details of his position from everyone but Clover/Margaret.
Edward's first assignment deals with coffee in Central America where the Russians are trying to gain influence. Edward spots Ulysses in the background of footage of the country's leader, but doesn't disclose this. Another agent is sent covertly as a representative of the Mayan Coffee Company; Edward warns him not to wear his Yale class ring. Edward arranges for airplanes to fly over and release locusts during a public event where the Russians (including Ulysses) are present in order to intimidate the Central American leader. Edward later receives a can of Mayan Coffee presumably from Ulysses, containing a severed finger, and Yale class ring, evidently of the American agent. Wilson and Clover go to a Christmas party with their son, who wets himself, out of a heightened state of fear resulting from his fragmented awareness that his father is involved in dark secrets. At the party General Sullivan reveals to Edward that Phillip Allen was going to be on the Mayan coffee company's board of directors, prompting Edward to ask Sam Murach to check on Phillip's finances.
A Russian requesting asylum and claiming to be high-ranking KGB man Valentin Mironov, who knows Ulysses, is interviewed by Edward. Edward is fully convinced of his honesty. While attending the theater with Mironov and Cummings, Edward encounters his former sweetheart, Laura. They leave the theater separately, meet at a restaurant and rekindle their old romance.
Sometime later, Margaret anonymously receives photos of Laura and Edward getting into a taxi together and kissing. A distraught Margaret confronts him. Edward ends the relationship with Laura by returning her jeweled crucifix, which he had kept from their college romance days.
Then a Russian defector appears, claiming that he is the real Valentin Mironov, and that the other man actually is Yuri Modin, a KGB operative working for Ulysses. Edward does not believe him, and agents beat and torture the man, and administer liquid LSD because of its alleged truth serum properties. Despite the combined effects of drugs and torture, the second defector insists that he is the true Mironov. He further ridicules his interrogators for their need to believe in the myth of Soviet power which he calls a "great show" and "painted rust". Realising that he will never be believed, the defector hurls himself through the window to the pavement several stories below. The first man claiming to be Valentin Mironov, who has watched the entire ordeal together with Edward, then offers to take LSD to prove his innocence, but Edward doesn't think it's necessary.
Edward visits his son, Edward Jr., at Yale, where he has also joined the Skull and Bones society and has been approached for recruitment by the CIA. Margaret pleads with Edward to persuade their son not to accept, but Edward Jr. joins anyway, believing it will bring him closer to his loving, but distant, father. This widens the rift between Edward and Margaret. Later Edward Jr. overhears Edward and Hays discuss the upcoming Bay of Pigs invasion; Wilson suspects that Edward Jr. may have overheard the conversation and warns his son to be silent. Margaret moves to her mother's home in Arizona.
The film returns to the recording dropped off at the beginning of the movie. After analysis of clues such as the ceiling fan's brand name and the church bells and other sounds heard on the tape, CIA specialists deduce that the photograph may have been taken in Leopoldville, in the Congo. Edward goes there and finds the room. He realizes that the photograph and tape are of his son Edward Jr. when he sees the model ship in the glass watch-casing on the nightstand; its blurred image was the one object in the photo that the CIA team was unable to identify. Ulysses is there and plays Edward an unedited version of the tape, revealing Edward Jr. repeating to his lover, a Soviet spy named Miriam, the classified information he overheard his father discussing. Thus the Cubans and Soviets learned of the upcoming CIA landing at the Bay of Pigs. Ulysses encourages Edward to spy for the Soviets in exchange for them protecting his son. Edward is non-committal, however; he confronts his son, who says that he is in love with the woman and plans to marry her. His son refuses to believe that she is an intelligence agent.
Edward exposes Valentin as Soviet spy Yuri Modin after finding evidence of his true identity in a book given to him by Arch Cummings, who is thus exposed as a co-conspirator. Cummings flees to the USSR. After meeting Ulysses in a museum and refusing to betray his country, Edward explains that as the Soviets have won in Cuba it is not necessary to hurt his son. Ulysses notes of Edward Jr.'s fiancée: "neither of us can be sure about her", and asks Edward, "You want her to be part of your family, don't you?" Later, Ulysses' aide asks him for change to purchase his daughter a souvenir from the gift shop. Edward asks how much it is, and hands him a one dollar bill, commenting that a cardinal rule of democracy is generosity, thus confirming that the aide is Edward's defector in place.
Edward and Margaret arrive separately in the Congo for Edward Jr.'s wedding. His fiancée Miriam travels on a small plane to the ceremony but mid-flight is thrown out of the plane. When she fails to arrive at the church, Edward informs a worried Edward Jr. that she is dead. Edward denies any responsibility when Edward Jr. asks; but is visibly affected when his son reveals that Miriam was pregnant.
Edward meets with fellow Skull and Bones classmate Hayes (loosely based on Richard Helms) at the new CIA headquarters still under construction. Hayes tells him that Allen is resigning under a cloud of financial improprieties (after receiving copies of the Swiss accounts delivered in a chocolate box), and that the President has asked him to be the new Director. The President has directed him to do some "housecleaning" and he tells Edward that he needs someone he can trust, saying, "after all, we're still brothers" and that Edward is the "CIA's heart and soul". He then tells Edward he will be the first head of counter-intelligence. Edward notes the inscription on the new marble wall of the CIA lobby: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32)".
Edward is then shown pulling from his home safe the suicide note that his father, Thomas, had left and in which his father's words, only now read by Edward, reveal that he had betrayed his country. He left loving words for his wife and son, particularly urging the latter to grow up to be a good man, husband and father and to live a life of decency and truth. Realizing he had done none of those things, Edward sadly burns the note.
The film ends with Edward leaving his old office and moving to his new wing in the CIA. | violence, intrigue, historical, murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0434409 | V for Vendetta | "Remember, remember the fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot."The film opens with a recitation of these words as a flashback sequence brings us to early 1600's England. Guy Fawkes is captured and executed for his attempt to blow up Parliament, a plan he hoped would restore Catholic rule to a Protestant throne.In the near future, in Great Britain, a young woman named Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) is shown preparing to go out for the night while she watches a TV program hosted by Lewis Prothero (Roger Allam), the proclaimed 'Voice of London' and a firm supporter of the fascist Norsefire Party that has replaced the old government. A mysterious figure dressed in black mirrors Evey's actions as he too watches the program from his own home. Prothero reveals that the government is based around religion and faith, reciting the mantra 'Strength through unity. Unity through faith'. Disease, violence and war (blamed primarily on the 'former' United States), and the fear and resentment of particular groups within the country including homosexuals, Muslims, and immigrants fueled the dramatic change and put the current leader, Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt), in command.Evey shuts off the program and heads out the door. As she walks into an alley, she is stopped by a few men who scold her for being out past curfew. When they become physical she pulls out a can of mace but they then reveal themselves to be members of the Norsefire secret police; 'Fingermen', and threaten Evey with sedition. She pleads for mercy before the men grab hold of her with the intent to rape her. The cloaked figure in black appears in the alley, wearing a Fawkes mask and hat, and quickly dispatches the Fingermen before introducing himself to Evey as 'V' (Hugo Weaving). Showing a penchant for theatrics with an impressive play on words, he invites Evey to accompany him to a nearby rooftop to watch a performance of his. There, they have a clear view of The Old Bailey and V explains that he's there to commemorate a special day in history, one he intends to use as a symbol against the tyranny that has replaced Lady Justice with a false idol. As Big Ben tolls midnight, the fifth of November, V recites the centuries-old adage before conducting the finale to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture which plays over the loudspeakers throughout the streets of London. At the moment of crescendo, The Old Bailey explodes in a brilliant display. V laughs hysterically while Evey can only watch in horror.Following the explosion, a congregation of Norsefire's elite meets in a secret conference with Adam Sutler, his face projected on a large screen. Included are Inspector Eric Finch (Stephen Rea) of the police, Roger Dascomb (Ben Miles) of television broadcasting, Brian Etheridge (Eddie Marsan) of the auditory surveillance system, Peter Creedy (Tim Pigott-Smith) of the secret police, and Conrad Heyer (Guy Henry) of the CCTV. Effectively and respectively, they make up the nose, mouth, ears, fingers, and eyes of the government, with Sutler sitting at the brain. Sutler decrees that the destruction of The Old Bailey is to be announced as an impromptu demolition project to make way for a new building while an investigation ensues to find out who the man in the Fawkes mask is. While V's remains a mystery, Evey's identity is quickly discovered thanks to video surveillance and Sutler demands her capture and interrogation.The next morning Evey, working as an assistant within the broadcasting station, jokes with security guard Fred (Andy Rashleigh) before delivering an unmarked package to the costume department. As her supervisor opens it and discovers black cloaks and Fawkes masks, V walks into the lobby of the station with a bomb strapped to his chest. Inspector Finch and his partner Dominic Stone (Rupert Graves) hurry to the station in order to apprehend Evey while V disengages the elevators and forces most of the station to evacuate. As Evey nervously walks through the crowd towards the stairs, she catches sight of Finch and Dominic backed by supporting officers. She runs and hides in a nearby office while V orders the television crew to run a video on the emergency broadcast system, allowing his message to play on every TV in London. He addresses the general populous and introduces the fact that there is something wrong with the country. He encourages people to speak about the truths of cruelty and injustice and put away the fear that, he explains quite frankly, put them in this situation in the first place. V admits to blowing up the Old Bailey, explaining that he sought to end oppression where freedom should stand and invites all of London to join him in one year in front of Parliament where he promises to give them a fifth of November that will never be forgot.As the broadcast ends, Dascomb grabs a small video camera and follows the police to the studio where they manage to break down the door. Heavy fog obscures the room and a dark figure runs towards the police. They shoot the man, who is wearing a Fawkes mask, but discover that he's an employee who explains that everyone in the room was given the costumes to wear. Finch orders everyone on the ground as he and the other officers go to the control room where V left his bomb wired to the control system. Dascomb attempts to disarm the bomb and is successful. Two men in Fawkes masks fall out of an elevator at the other end of the floor in front of two officers and the first figure screams that the other is 'him'. However, as one officer pulls off the mask to find it's Fred, the real V stands behind them and dispatches the officers with hidden knives. Fred passes out. V goes to leave but is stopped by Dominic who fails to see Evey sneak up behind him. She taps his shoulder and maces him before he blindly hits her with his gun, rendering her unconscious. V knocks Dominic out and stops to contemplate Evey.A bruised but alive Dominic watches the surveillance tapes later on with Finch who watches as V looks at Evey. He comments that Evey is with him now, for better or worse. Meanwhile, footage of the police raid on the station is broadcast with claims that the terrorist was presumably shot and killed, much to the disbelief of one bespectacled girl (Billie Cook).Evey wakes up in a bed that is not her own and follows the sound of music coming from an old jukebox inside an enclosed foyer. V appears behind her and explains that, since she saved him but was unconscious, he made to decision to carry her to his lair, the Shadow Gallery, a place filled with various bits of art and culture that had previously been confiscated by Norsefire. Evey thanks him and asks to be released but V tells her she must stay here until his goal to destroy Parliament is completed in a year's time, otherwise she would be quickly captured and forced to give information about V. Naturally upset by her forced containment, Evey runs to her room. Much later, Evey concedes to leave her room and she finds V in the kitchen cooking eggs. He serves her and pours her tea while acknowledging his sincerity in the video he sent across London. He plans to destroy Parliament, not just to bring down a building, but to instill a very powerful idea in the British people and to impress that their government should be afraid of them, instead of the other way around.Some time later we see Prothero showering in his home while watching one of his own broadcasts, repeating every word with vigor as he denounces the terrorist as a coward. V silently enters his loft with Evey's ID card and confronts Prothero as he comes out of the shower. When V addresses him as commander, Prothero suddenly recognizes him. Later, Finch and other officers investigate Prothero's loft where his body lies on the bathroom tiles, vomit beside him and a rose across his chest. During research, Finch finds out that Prothero was a very wealthy man well before his broadcasting show and used to be a commanding officer at Larkhill, a now abandoned government facility.Back in the Shadow Gallery, after a play bout with a suit of armor, V invites Evey to watch The Count of Monte Cristo with him, a film about love and revenge. After the film, Evey catches a glimpse of the news where the death of Prothero is announced. Suspicious, Evey questions V who admits that he killed Prothero and plans to kill others for justice, though Evey doesn't understand his motives. Shaken by this, she resolves to escape V's lair. To do so, she offers her assistance and some back story to her life. She explains that her parents both protested the government following the death of her little brother due to a deadly virus leak at his school. She was young but remembers the riots and protests and how her parents were taken from her in the middle of the night, black bags forced over their heads. She was sent to a juvenile detention center but never forgot the lessons her parents taught her. Inspired by this, V agrees to let her help and comes up with a plan for his next victim.Bishop Anthony Lilliman (John Standing) walks through his church and is met by a page who tells him his latest 'guest' has arrived but is older than expected. Lilliman walks to his room where Evey, dressed as a young girl, is waiting for him. While V scales the rooftops, Evey attempts to warn Lilliman of the danger he's in, but the bishop thinks that her story is part of an act and tries to have sex with her, forcing her down on the bed. She manages to kick him off her, resulting in a slew of un-priestly curses from him, before V enters the room. Evey apologizes and runs off before V assaults Lilliman, promising no mercy. A nearby surveillance van picks up the audio conversation between Lilliman and V and calls dispatch. Finch arrives shortly to find Lilliman dead, also having vomited and with a rose on his body, before Creedy arrives with his own special force. He puts Finch under surveillance, claiming that the extra precautions are needed since a couple of respected party members have been slain and argues that Finch put a hold on his investigations surrounding the terrorist's link with the victims.Evey finds sanctuary with her boss, Gordon Deitritch (Stephen Fry), whom she had been going to see the night she met V. He allows her to stay with him and, as a sign of trust, shows her a hidden room behind his wine cabinet. There, he reveals a copy of the Koran amid photographs of homoerotic scenes with muscular men. He admits to being, like her, a fugitive and explains that he hides his true self in plain sight on television and by entertaining young women like Evey within the privacy of his home. The next morning, he coincidentally makes Evey the same breakfast V served her while she was in the Shadow Gallery. Gordon finds the coincidence funny and quips that only the things that matter most should be considered with such humor.Finch continues his investigation unabated with Dominic and focuses his attention on Larkhill, the records of which prove to be stubborn in revealing much information. He does find that Lilliman was also stationed there as a priest for enemies of the state that were confined there. Out of the list of high ranking officials left alive, Finch finds just one; a woman who worked as a chemist, although her name is unavailable. He then goes to see a coroner named Delia Surridge (Sinéad Cusack) and presents her with the flower that he found on Lilliman. Delia recognizes the flower as a scarlet carson, thought to be extinct, but admits that she can't offer any other information. When Finch returns to headquarters, Dominic informs him that he's found out who the mystery woman is; Delia. Shocked, having just seen her, Finch leaves, hoping he's not too late.Delia wakes in her bed and speaks to the shadows in her room, asking if he's come to kill her. V appears and responds yes, to Delia's relief. She converses with V, admitting fault in what happened to him but defending her intentions, which were for the best. Though V tells her he cannot allow her to live, he reveals to have given her a quick injection while she slept, providing an easy and painless death. Delia apologizes and succumbs peacefully moments before Finch arrives to find her in bed with a scarlet carson in her hand and a small red notebook on her bedside table.Finch presents the notebook to Sutler who dismisses the contents as either propaganda written by the terrorist or the ravings of a delusional ex-party member. Sutler advises Finch to forget about the journal, but Finch can't help but recall what he read. The notebook was a diary of Delia's and chronicled her start at Larkhill 20 years prior as a medicinal chemist. She writes how she tested virulent drugs on vagrants and deviants of society who she found herself despising because of their pathetic disposition. She mentioned working alongside both Prothero and Lilliman. All tests on subjects proved fatal except in the case of one man who resided in room five. In his case, though he had a near complete loss of memory, he developed quick reflexes and strength. On November fifth, the laboratory where she worked exploded violently and, as she escaped the compound, saw the man from room five, horribly burnt and roaring in anger.Evey, meanwhile, shares an evening with Gordon as he shows her the premiere of a new show he wrote that morning and uncensored by the department. She gulps her champagne as she watches Gordon welcome Chancellor Sutler (an actor impersonator, as the real Sutler watches from his own home) to his studio while armed soldiers hold shotguns towards the audience, prompting them to applaud. Sutler is offered a glass of warm milk in reference to the real Sutler's habit of drinking one every night (we see this is indeed true). A hilarious skit ensues as an actor dressed as V ties Sutler's shoelaces together while he calmly assures everyone that the terrorist has been neutralized. Upon discovering V trying to blend in the studio band, Sutler stumbles on his feet and a comedic chase progresses across the stage to the sound of Yakety Sax. Finally, Sutler grabs hold of V and removes his mask to reveal another Sutler copy who says that he's the real one. They both order the soldiers to open fire and are shot down while the audience laughs and the real Sutler breaks his glass in fury.While Evey is worried that Gordon will face severe repercussions, he is optimistic and tells her not to fret. However, that night, Evey awakes to glass breaking as Gordon rushes into her room, telling her to hide. She gets under her bed (mirroring the scenario when her parents were taken from her) as the bedroom door is broken down. Creedy enters with soldiers and they beat and restrain Gordon, placing a black bag over his head and taking him away. Evey manages to climb out the window down to the back yard, but she is apprehended and black-bagged just before she can escape. When the bag is removed, she finds herself in an interrogation room with a government official hidden in darkness asking her about the location of the terrorist. When she is unable to answer, she is 'processed'. Her head is shaven and she is tortured and given rotten food while kept in a small cell. One day, she hears a rustle from inside one of the side walls and discovers a small note written on toilet paper. She uses the light coming from under the door to read the note from a woman named Valerie who tells a brief story of her life and how she wound up confined. Valerie (young - Imogen Poots older - Natasha Wightman) describes how she first fell in love with a girl in her class named Sarah (Laura Greenwood) and when she was disowned by her parents for being a lesbian. She met the love of her life, Ruth (Mary Stockley), while acting in a film and they moved to London together as America's war worsened and the government began to change. Fear and persecution against anyone unworthy in Sutler's mind, including homosexuals and Muslims, led to their detainment. Ruth was taken away shortly before Valerie was. She ends her note by offering some solace in the fact that, while her life may be taken, she will still retain her integrity as a human being and tells the reader that, though she does not know them, she loves them.Tearfully inspired, Evey is once again brought to the interrogation room where she refuses to cooperate, despite threats of death. She is returned to her cell to await execution. An official arrives and asks Evey to give just one bit of information to save her life, but Evey says she'd rather die. The man then tells her that she now has no fear and is completely free before leaving. Confused, Evey gets to her feet and walks out the open door. She goes down a corridor and turns a corner to see that she is in none other than the Shadow Gallery. V appears before her and explains that he was the one to bring her here and that Gordon was unfortunately executed once the police found the hidden room behind the wine cabinet. V tells her that, while her imprisonment was a farce, it was to bring out in Evey what V experienced; to allow her to let go of fear and hate and realize that there's something more important than even her life. Evey angrily retorts, claiming the inability to feel anything anymore and collapses to the ground, short of breath. V catches her and comforts her, asking her to remember the atrocities committed against her and her family and recall what she felt when she said she'd rather die than give in. But Evey begs to be let outside, feeling faint. V takes her to the roof where it is raining. Before he can cover her with a blanket, Evey steps out into the rain and raises her arms, laughing in a moment of pure release, just as V once did.Back in the Gallery, Evey tells V that she can no longer stay with him and, now that she fears nothing, will return to the outside world to take her chances. She motions to give V the note she found, thinking he wrote it, but he shows her a shrine surrounded by scarlet carsons with Valerie's photo above it. He tells Evey that the note was delivered to him as it was to her and that Valerie died in Larkhill where he was also kept. He maintains his vindication that what was done to him must be repaid. Evey approaches V and thanks him before agreeing to his request to visit one last time before the fifth. She then leaves. V returns to his room and removes his mask, throwing it against the vanity mirror and breaking down in tears.At an elite meeting with the party members, Sutler reminds them that their inadequacies are mounting, especially those of Creedy, in the attempt to apprehend and stop the terrorist. He issues stricter curfews and harsher surveillance on civilians who, he is angered to hear, converse regularly about the terrorist and how they believe he is still alive.Finch is contacted by a mysterious man named William Rookwood who promises to give him invaluable information regarding his investigation. Intrigued and having come to his own predispositions about the shady goings on of the government, Finch goes out to meet him in a secluded lot. Rookwood tells him of the origins of Adam Sutler who came into his own by starting his own party that gained recognition by divulging in tests for biological weapons in the name of national security. From the blood of one of their victims (namely, V, which explains his determination for retribution; he feels to blame) they were able to procure a deadly virus that they secretly released, with strategic precision, within their own country; inside a school, a tube station, and a water-treatment plant for maximum effect. Naturally, when the public panicked and went in search of a savior, the very party that released the virus is the one to magically provide a cure. In return, they gained power, using fear and scapegoats out of political extremists to justify their cause and to blame the initial virus on. Rookwood then advises Finch to put surveillance on Creedy so that Rookwood may feel confident to show himself again and prove all he's said to the inspector. Finch hesitantly agrees. However, he is infuriated later when he discovers that the character of Rookwood has actually been dead quite some time; it was V in disguise all along. Finch goes back to his previous investigation while Creedy remains under supervision.V visits Creedy in his home, playing loud music so that their conversation cannot be taped and offers Creedy a proposition. He tells him that, once he destroys Parliament, Sutler will have no use for Creedy and will offer him up as someone to blame. If Creedy gives Sutler to V, Creedy's position will be suddenly promoted and he will have V to deal with as he chooses.As the fifth of November nears, thousands of crates are delivered throughout London, including to Finch. He opens the box to discover a costume with a black cloak, hat, and Fawkes mask. The little bespectacled girl seen earlier proudly wears her costume on the streets but Sutler decrees that anyone seen wearing them will be arrested on site. Finch speaks with Dominic in private, speculating that what follows will be what V wanted all along; complete and utter chaos. Everything is part of a plan; a grand scheme that was put into effect before the government had even fully formed, even before Larkhill. And when someone does something stupid, everything will fall apart. This speculation is metaphorically shown as die falling into place within a large arrangement that V sets up on the floor of his gallery, all while citizens across London begin to riot. The bespectacled girl is shot down by a fingerman in her costume and, though he displays his Norsefire badge to enraged adults, he is mercilessly beaten.The Norsefire party convenes for the last time in front of Sutler where he fumes over their inability to capture the terrorist. He proclaims that, should anything happen to Parliament, the only thing that will change will be that he reads Creedy's resignation the following morning instead of the newspaper. He then demands, amid claims that record arrests are being made, that the citizens of the nation need to be reminded of why they need the government.Evey returns to the Shadow Gallery on the eve of the fifth where V is musing over his music. He admits that he never expected to see her again and asks her to dance. She asks to see his face, since she still knows nearly nothing about him, but he affirms that the face he has is not who he really is. He then says he has something to give her and leads her out of the gallery to an abandoned subway tunne beneath the building. There sits a train filled with explosives which V says will course along its track straight to Parliament, as long as Evey decides it should. V says that the decision to move forward should be the people's to make, not his. He will, meanwhile, go meet his fate. Evey begs him to stay, kissing him, but he solemnly refuses and disappears down the tunnel.While V heads to a dark section underground to meet Creedy with his most trusted soldiers, Sutler gives a speech on the emergency broadcast system throughout London, urging people to stay in their homes and vowing swift justice against anyone caught outside past curfew. However, each room and venue the speech plays to is void of an audience. V appears to Creedy who has held his end of the bargain; Sutler, bound and black-bagged on his knees. V places a scarlet carson in Sutler's lapel before Creedy shoots him in the head. Creedy then demands that V remove his mask. When V refuses, Creedy orders his men to open fire. V is hit by a barrage of bullets but composes himself. He rushes forward with his knives, killing each soldier before they can reload. Creedy shoots V multiple times, wondering aloud why he won't die, before V tells him that beneath his mask is more than flesh; "there's an idea, and ideas are bullet-proof". V puts his hands around Creedy's neck and breaks it swiftly before staggering back down the tunnel. He removes a large metal chest plate, having saved himself from immediate death, but continues to bleed profusely from other wounds.Evey waits for him back by the train, contemplating what he told her, as he returns, collapsing to the ground. She takes him in her arms and he tells her that he 'is done and finished' before confessing to having fallen in love with her after so many years of living with nothing but revenge as the reason for his existence. Evey tells him she doesn't want him to die, to which he says that that's the most beautiful thing she could have given him, before dying.Meanwhile, armed guards surround Parliament but cannot get in touch with anyone of authority. Soon, they see a massive mob of people walking towards them, all clad in Fawkes costumes. Without a voice to give orders, they are forced to put down their weapons and allow the people to walk past them. Finch finds his way into the subway and discovers Evey at the controls to the train. She had placed V on a bench inside the train, arms crossed and covered in roses. She tells Finch that the country needs more than a building now; it needs hope, as she pulls the lever and steps out of the train. As the car moves forward, she leads Finch to the roof where they have a clear view of Parliament. In front of them, and all the people convened, Parliament explodes in a radiant display to Tchaikovsky's Overture. Finch asks who V was. Evey says that he was her brother, father, mother, and friend. "He was you, and he was me. He was all of us", setting in her words that V represented the whole country, finally strong enough to take back its freedom. The citizens in front of Parliament remove their masks, revealing Gordon, Ruth, Valerie, the bespectacled girl, and all those who dreamed of freedom and finally received it. | dark, suspenseful, neo noir, murder, avant garde, historical, mystery, thought-provoking, cult, violence, flashback, good versus evil, action, satire, philosophical, romantic, brainwashing, revenge, inspiring, queer | train | imdb | null |
tt0050675 | The Man Who Turned to Stone | The title and credits are shown over a picture of a man carrying a woman. We open at night with a truck pulling up to the La Salle Detention Home for Girls. A dormitory room contains over a dozen beds occupied by sleeping women. We zoom in on one sobbing woman. Tracy (Jean Willes) tries to comfort her. Big Marge Collins (Tina Carver) tells her its just one big party. A scream outside the dormitory wakes the rest of the women. Marge says, "They're at it again." She adds, "There will be somebody dead in the morning." Eric (Friedrich von Ledebur) carries a screaming woman to the main house. He climbs the stairs to the second floor. He enters an attic room used as a "treatment facility." Dr. Murdock (Victor Jory) directs Eric to place the girl in the tub of water.The next day Marge brings one of the girls to the Dispensary with her. Mrs. Ford (Ann Doran) asks what's wrong with her. Anna Sherman (Barbara Wilson) tells her she can't keep her food down. Marge is having a bandage on her leg changed by Dr. Freneau (George Lynn). Anna is sent to the infirmary and Marge is sent to an isolation cottage, more for insubordination and her smart mouth, than some concern about her infection.Tracy has a job working for Carol Adams (Charlotte Austin). Carol is the Social Welfare representative and has only been on the job a few months. Tracy handles clerical tasks for Carol. Tracy asks if the screams the night before kept her awake. Carol heard nothing and thinks Tracy is exaggerating. Tracy tells her, "I'll bet you a box of girl scout cookies that somebody died last night." Carol calls Mrs. Ford and asks if anyone died. She is told Angie Collins had a heart attack and died. Tracy casually comments that a review of the death records would be interesting reading. Carol agrees to look at them. She finds the records in Mrs. Ford's office and asks Dr. Myer (Victor Varconi) if the records, or death certificates, are available chronologically. He asks her if she has permission from either Dr. Murdock or Mrs. Ford. Mrs. Ford enters the office. She dislikes and resents Carol Adams and tells her so. She tells her to stay in her own department and mind her own business. A movie was scheduled for the inmates, and Carol returns to the dining hall to start it.Mrs. Ford reports Carol's snooping to Dr. Murdock and the rest of the "medical staff." Murdock asks Mrs. Ford, "But you don't think she suspects anything?" "Not yet," is Mrs. Ford's reply. They fill the tub and Eric goes to the infirmary to collect another victim. This time it is Anna Sherman. When Eric gets to the treatment room he is already showing signs of the peculiar condition he shares with the others. His face is a translucent gray and white like marble. Myer and Freneau place Anna in the tub. Dr. Cooper (Paul Cavanagh) objects and is pushed aside by Murdock. Myer applies an electrical headband to the top of Anna's head. The apparatus transfers Anna's life force into Eric. Eric resumes his normal, but menacing appearance. The movie is over and the girls return to their dorm rooms. They find Anna's body hanging above her bed and scream. They call a matron. Tracy tells Carol that Anna just wasn't the suicidal type.A coroner's inquest conducted at the main house shows Anna died of a severed spinal cord consistent with hanging. Death is deemed self-inflicted by hanging. During questioning, Carol tells the coroner she doesn't believe she was suicidal. Dr. Murdock questions Carol about conditions at the facility. Carol agrees there is no physical abuse reported. She is then questioned about her credentials. Murdock next questions Dr. Jess Rogers (William Hudson). He is a psychiatrist for the State Department of Mental Health. He agrees that a credentialed psychiatrist would probably have noticed signs consistent with suicidal tendencies.The next day Carol packs her belongings from her office. She assumes she will be let go when Dr. Rogers arrives to take over her duties. Rogers asks her to stay and help him with the mental evaluation of the inmates. She asks, "Weren't you sent here to whitewash the prison administration?" Rogers tells her he was sent to get the truth. Carol agrees to stay and to help. Rogers goes to see Murdock in his office. Murdock is absent, but Cooper shows him in and casually mentions a painting on the wall is a Rembrandt. He says it was purchased in the 1800s, but then quickly corrects himself. This is the first clue that the medical staff is older than they appear. Murdock arrives and apologizes to Rogers for involving him at the inquest. Rogers tells Murdock that Miss Adams is to remain and work with him to find out whats going on. Murdock registers only mild surprise at the announcement.Carol, Rogers, and Tracy begin their investigation. They question one inmate and she tells them the medical staff came about two years earlier. "That's when all the funny business started," she adds. She recounts the mysterious deaths. Mrs. Ford reports to Murdock that the Rogers team has interviewed seventeen inmates and has the names of eleven girls whove died under mysterious circumstances. Rogers and Carol go to see Marge in the Isolation Cottage. Marge concurs that Anna did not commit suicide. She was screaming and only Marge would have heard. Everyone else was at the movies.The next part of the investigation, a review of the death records, is stymied by a "mysterious fire" involving the file room. Rogers asks Murdock for a complete history of all the employees. He also wants tissue samples of Anna Sherman examined and a full autopsy to be performed. Murdock disagrees and objects strongly. Against Murdocks orders, Rogers goes to the morgue to perform the autopsy himself. The medical staff runs down to the morgue to stop him. Rogers takes a tissue sample and examines it under a microscope. The medical staff confronts Rogers, so he lies to Murdock. He tells them she was alive when she hanged herself, supporting the coroner's conclusion it was suicide. Later with Carol he tells her that she was in fact dead, but he can't prove it with tissue samples alone. He does note that Cooper was not with the others during his autopsy. He thinks there is animosity between Cooper and his colleagues. Carol admits to being afraid and concerned for Dr. Rogers' safety. Rogers goes to see Cooper. While talking he hears a heartbeat. He tells Cooper it is his. Cooper tells Rogers to leave the facility, to get as far away as possible and to take Carol Adams with him. Cooper wants to tell Rogers the story but he can't. Cooper tells Rogers he has written it out, but he won't understand or believe it. If he should die or disappear, Rogers will find instructions in his mail. To convince Rogers, Cooper takes a pair of scissors and pounds them into his stone-like hand.Cooper meets with the medical staff. They inform Cooper they won't "renew" him because, "You're continued existence is a menace to the project." Cooper is visibly turning to marble. A heartbeat sound gets louder. "220 years is too long for any man to live," Cooper observes. He admits to the group that he sent the whole story out, but he won't tell them who got his notes. They suspect either Rogers or Carol got his notes.Rogers got instructions in the mail. A diary can be found under a large rock by the cliffs near the prison grounds. Rogers takes a crowbar and leaves the facility. His departure is quickly reported by the guard to Murdock. Eric follows Rogers, but falls holding his chest, we hear his pounding heart. Eric's treatments sustain him for shorter periods, something that worries the other medical staff members. Eric spies on Rogers retrieving the diary from a box under a rock. Rogers starts to read the diary. Cooper explains he was born in England in 1733. In the 1780s a group met in Paris and worked with a scientist on a project to prolong life. Rogers is interrupted by Eric approaching. He escapes and Eric falls over a cliff. Eric gets up to an audible beating heart and resumes his search for Rogers. Rogers continues to read the journal. It explains the process. The transfer of bioelectric energy from one person to another, results in the donor's death. They discovered the best source of life is young women of child bearing age. The medical staff's current goal is to synthesize the life force.Eric goes on a rampage. He assaults a colleague then breaks into the dorms and roughs up some girls. He bolts. Rogers continues to read the journal. A section covers side effects. The stone-like shell appears when the person is close to death. Rogers hides the journal in a sign board by the side of a road. He walks back to the facility when Carol fails to arrive at their arranged time. Eric goes to the Isolation Cottage for Marge. The matron tries to stop Eric and she is killed. Eric picks up Marge and carries her outside and back to the main house. In the attic treatment room, Eric chokes Murdock until he agrees to one more renewal treatment using Marge as the donor. The process completed, Marge is dead, and Murdock gives Eric a sedative to keep him quiet. Rogers tells Carol and Tracy the story. When Carol tries to telephone the State Police she is told only Dr. Murdock can approve the call and he's out on the grounds. Rogers decides to go up to the attic room and stop them. He enters the house but finds the attic room locked. He kicks the door in. He finds Eric waiting for him and chases him downstairs. Murdock and Mrs. Ford find Eric but Rogers hid before they got into the house. He leaves the house and returns to Tracy and Carol. Murdock arms Myer and Freneau and tells them to bring back Rogers, Tracy, and Carol. They get to the switchboard, and Rogers and Tracy put in a call to the State Police. Before they can complete their call, Myer puts a bullet into the switchboard. Mrs. Ford injects Carol with a sedative. Rogers re-enters the house and goes to the basement. He finds Cooper, dead, and like stone. He also finds one of the dead girls. He shuts off the water supply to the house and pulls the fuses to the attic room. Eric is sent to get a sedated Carol. He catches Rogers, and drags both Carol and Rogers to the attic treatment room. To placate Eric, Murdock and Mrs. Ford tell him they are renewing him, but they lie to him. This gives Rogers a chance to crawl away. Rogers pours a chemical into the bath to neutralize the copper sulfate solution in the tub. Eric collapses. They put Rogers in the transference chair. They plan to make Rogers like themselves. Rogers tells them he neutralized the solution with sodium salts. Mrs. Ford empties the tub, but there is no water to refill it. Freneau goes to the basement to reinstall the fuses and turn the water main back on. They refill the tub and have electricity. Freneau manages to start a fire in the basement. The inmates join Tracy in a rescue operation at the main house. Rogers fights with Murdock. Several shots are fired and Rogers regains control of the gun. He orders Mrs. Ford and Murdock to free Carol. Murdock and Mrs. Ford stay in the burning attic to complete their notes. The house is now fully engulfed in flames. The girls return to their dorms. We close with Rogers and Carol walking away, with the burning house in the background. | murder | train | imdb | The jacket promo includes a statement claiming, "Weird scientists murder young girls to prolong life." Ah well, it turns out the jacket is far more exciting than the film.
Young inmates of a women's minimum security prison continue to die of "heart failure." This becomes a little too obvious and the handsome young corrections psychiatrist, William Hudson as Dr. Rogers, is called in to investigate.
The good doctor finds out that Dr. Murdock (Victory Jory) and the rest of the prison staff are all over 200 years old and must renew themselves from time to time with new life energy.
It has been determined that young females are the best sources of this new energy, thus Murdock and his confederates have placed themselves in charge of a women's prison.
All ends happily, however, after Dr. Rogers saves his lady love, the kind-hearted social worker Carol, played by Charlotte Austin, from Murdock's murderous clutches.
Not even the presence of that fine character actor Victor Jory, (a fine player for many years who never received the acclaim he deserved), could lift this one very high, but even with its limitations it is enjoyable to fans of this type of film.
This 1957 movie from Columbia has an interesting premise...several scientists, who are over 200 years old, are running a girl's "reform school" so they can obtain energy from the young women to sustain their unnaturally long lives.This is a typical low budget 1950's picture...cheap sets and no big name actors.
William Hudson, most famous for playing the cheating husband in the class sci-fi thriller, "Attack of the 50 ft Woman", portrays Dr. Jess Rogers, who has been sent to the reform school to investigate several mysterious deaths of young women at the school.
Charlotte Austin plays Carol Adams, an idealistic social worker at the school who starts to suspect foul play when so many healthy young woman suddenly die of "heart failure".
Several of the "girls" at the school look like they are being played by actresses who are way too long in the tooth to be teenagers or young woman.
When the 200 year old scientists are ready for a transfusion they start to turn to stone, hence the title of the movie.
The make-up used to show the scientists turning to stone is not at all scary, actually it's laughable.I liked this movie and thought it was fun.
Man Who Turned to Stone, The (1957) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Low key Columbia horror film about a 200+ year-old doctor who keeps himself alive by having his assistants kill off girls at a detention center.
While "The Man Who Turned to Stone" may at first look like just another schlocky horror film but it turns out to be highly original and well worth watching!The story is set at a women's reformatory.
Can he get to the heart of things before evil Dr. Murdock (Victor Jory) or his minions stop him?What I really liked about the movie is that they managed to make a ridiculous story idea seem plausible.
A motley crew of 240 year old plus crustaceans, led by suave but diabolical doctor Victor Jory, are hanging out at a reform school for teenage girls, who are really in their upper twenties and early thirties.
However, the ruse will soon be up because Miss Goody Two Shoes prison psychologist Charlotte Austin and prison psychiatrist William Hudson, (he being the nasty hubby of poor, dear Allison Hayes in the fifties cult classic "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman") are both determined to put an end to the chicanery that is going on.
As much a B-mystery movie as it is a B-horror movie, "The Man Who Turned To Stone" celebrates a silly script, leaden pacing and granite-like performances except for Jory, and Ann Doran as 1957s foreshadowing of Nurse Ratchet.
A minor low-brow effort with little to redeem itself, "The Man Who Turned To Stone" is a cheapie quickie that somehow managed to do respectable box office by virtue of an enticing ad campaign and, much more importantly, a generous television advertising budget at a time when such products rarely got the sort of dollars this one (and its packaged co-feature "Zombies of Mora Tau") received.
I know, because in my city it was the television ads flowing out of Buffalo that immeasurably hyped our box office at the Downtown Theatre in Hamilton.Almost instantly forgettable, "The Man Who Turned To Stone" is a minor, 71 minute artifact that should really have been on the lower half of the double bill package given it's "Zombies of Mora Tau" that displays most of the life..
A feature that is often a part of movies that focus on this idea is the central perpetrator killing off living people in order to achieve their aim of immortality, and that's basically what we have with this film.
The Man Who Turned to Stone was clearly shot on a budget and is very much a 1950's 'B' picture, but in spite of that this film showcases some good ideas and the plot, while completely lacking in suspense, is at least interesting enough to keep the audience entertained for the duration; although that duration is only seventy two minutes.
The scientists are currently residing over a women's prison, and the prisoners are starting to wonder why so many of their number is disappearing...The script written by Bernard Gordon has its fair number of plot holes, inconsistencies and illogical events; but you have to expect that sort of thing from a fifties B-movie.
However, despite all the film's flaws; The Man Who Turned to Stone is at least a fun timewaster and doesn't outstay its welcome..
Perhaps I've seen way too many overblown and pretentious would-be cult movies lately, but I really enjoyed "The Man Who Turned to Stone" a lot and therefore I reward it with a rating higher than it probably deserves
The plot of this modest '50s production – courtesy of the legendary Sam Katzman – is definitely interesting and compelling, albeit highly unoriginal and full of holes and illogicalness.
Although close to getting caught the alchemists must continue their treatments, otherwise their skins literally petrify
The central idea is quite derivative, as the quest for immortality at the expense of innocent people is an often recurring horror movie theme, but the "turning to stone" aspect is a nifty little gimmick.
The film also features the cool sub plot about one of the scientist group members – Eric – being a lot less resistant and in need of receiving the treatment more frequently than the others.
The filming location is very unconvincing, as the place doesn't look like a prison but merely resembles a campus college or an all-girls summer camp.
The actor who depicts Eric, Friedrich von Ledebur, is menacing enough and the film never once bored me throughout its (short) running time of 70 minutes..
A detention center for women is experiencing an unusually high rate of random heart attack deaths by healthy young female inmates.
It turns out that the newest staff of eccentric middle-agers now running the prison are actually centuries-old people who kidnap the girls, and then drain their life forces in order to keep themselves from aging further.
Deaths are occurring far too frequently at a detention home for young women, and some staff are suspicious.
Among those who get involved are the sincere psychiatrist Dr. Jess Rogers (William Hudson) and social worker Carol Adams (Charlotte Austin).
It turns out that the evil heads of the prison - including Dr. Murdock (Victor Jory) and his associate Mrs. Ford (Ann Doran) - are cruelly, selfishly helping themselves to the bodies of the ladies for some fiendish purpose.As written, by Bernard Gordon, and directed, by Laszlo Kardos, "The Man Who Turned to Stone" is a routine B movie, no more and no less, and reasonably amusing and entertaining.
It seems the head of the school Dr. Murdock (Victor Jory) and associates are hundreds of years old and need to siphon the energy from young girls to stay alive.
Staff member Carol Adams (Charlotte Austin) and Dr. Rogers (William Hudson) try to find out what's going on.Pretty laughable.
(Some Spoilers) Another insane attempt to create eternal life in what's called the "Germaine Cellular Theory" created by a bunch of 18th Century scientists who've managed to live some 240, from the early 1700's to 1957, years because of it.Lead by the top man Dr. Murdock, Victor Jory, this bunch of eternal life enthusiasts have been using the LaSalle Home for Troubled Young Women, which their in charge of, inmates for their secret and fiendish experiments in prolonging their miserable, in adding nothing positive to the world at large, and empty lives.
The girls at the home are perfect in Dr. Murdocks experiments in that their both young and child-bearing which is the perfect combination in giving him and his cohorts the boost that they need in adding a few more years of life inside their stone cold and unfeeling bodies.After about a dozen young women ended up dead in the two years that Dr. Murdock has been running the detention home the state sends both social worker Carol Adams, Charlotte Austin, and state appointed psychiatrist Dr. Jess Rogers, William Hudson, to check out the place and see exactly what's going on there.
The only problem that both Miss.Adams and Dr. Rogers have is getting the vital information out to the police before they themselves end up dead in Dr. Murdock's eternal life experiments.The inevitable weak-link in Dr. Mrdock's chain, or gang of 230 year-old madmen and women, is his tall and mindless Frankenstein-like attendant Eric, Friedrich Von Ledebur.
Eric is an early experiment by Dr. Murdock that went wrong and is only tolerated by him and his cohorts, Dr. Myer Dr. Freneau & Mrs. Ford, in him being used as a guinea pig, as well as keeping the rebellious young women inmates in line, in future experiments in life expectancy.Eric who's quickly deteriorating,by turning into the newest member of Mount Rushmore, soon becomes a liability to the Murdock gang who try to do away with him, like they did with Dr. Cooper, by not revitalizing him, through a sulfur electronic bath, with the life force of one of the young woman at the detention home.
Knowing, in his hard rock head, that he's being thrown to the wolves, or left for dead, Eric turns on his masters and at the same time gives both Carol Miss.
Adams and Dr. Rogers, who are slated to be experimented on, the cover that they need to both make their escape and at the same time get in touch with the outside world by calling the state troopers for help.With the fuse box blowing out, with Dr. Rogers help, in the basement the entire detention home is set on fire as hundreds of inmates, angry young women, break out and head for Dr. Murdock's laboratory seeking revenge for what he did to them and their dead friends.
"Small Town Girl" director László Kardos' superficial horror chiller "The Man Who Turned to Stone" qualifies as nonsense from fade-in to fade-out.
They have survived for 200 years and the secret of their longevity lies in renewing the life energy in themselves by draining it away from helpless, young women.
Dr. Murdock (Victory Jory of "The Green Archer") and his associates, including Dr. Freneau (George Lynn of "The Werewolf"), Dr. Cooper (Paul Cavanagh of "The Scarlet Coat"), Dr. Myer (Victor Varconi of "The Hitler Gang"), Mrs. Ford (Ann Doran of "The Crimson Key"), and Eric (Frederick Ledebur of "The Blue Max") conduct unethical, illegal experiments on young ladies to keep themselves alive, but the poor girls perish each time.Writing under the pseudonym of Raymond T.
"The Man Who Turned to Stone" is nothing like Gordon's better known scripts, among them: "The Battle of the Bulge," "Circus World," "Custer of the West," and "55 Days in Peking." Instead, this half-baked, lackluster horror effort recalls his work on "Zombies of Mora Tau" and "Earth Vs. Flying Saucers." Unfortunately, Gordon doesn't provide any back history for the villains and their success at maintaining a low profile after two centuries.Somehow, Dr. Murdock and his accomplices have taken over the administration at LaSalle Detention Home For Girls.
A young, idealistic social worker, Carol Adams (Charlotte Austin of "Gorilla At Large"), looks into the mysterious disappearances after her conspiracy theory inmate secretary Tracey (Jean Willes of "Ocean's Eleven") brings up the issue.
Things go awry for Murdock and company when they kill a young inmate, Anna Sherman (Barbara Wilson of "Teenage Doll"), to renew Eric's life energy, and then they hang Anna's body from the rafters of her dormitory while the rest of the girls are out watching a movie in another building.
If a girl hangs herself, it's a plot." Nevertheless, Tracy argues that Anna was not suicide inclined since she had a year to serve on her sentence, a baby awaiting her in the free world, and plans.At the inquest, Miss Adams questions the coroner's findings.
Murdock and the others ostracize Cooper, and he dies by literally turning to stone.
Cooper's journal contains the complete and infamous exploits of Dr. Murdock and company.The villains in "The Man Who Turned to Stone" aren't very smart.
Aside from the outdoor scenes where Dr. Rodgers uncovers Cooper's hidden journal, "The Man Who Turned to Stone" occurs largely inside the women's reformatory.
The horror here lies primarily in Eric lurching about the premises looking for women for Murdock's experiments.
Although the prison is called a Detention Home for Girls, all of the girls look far too old to pass as teenagers.
Victor Jory and Ann Doran were fine actors, although they both appeared in some pretty low-grade stuff over the years.
However, when William Hudson and Tina Carver are in the cast, you can count on lots of unintentional laughs.Dr. Murdock (Jory) and Mrs. Ford (Doran) are among the creepy administrators of a girls' reformatory.
What he uncovers is an ongoing cycle of rejuvenation of the old guys who run the place (most of them are around 200 years old), and of course the bodies of young women are needed for the process to continue.
(Funny how no one ever needs young male bodies
but whatever.) The end of the movie has Dr. Rogers saving his new girlfriend Carol Adams (Charlotte Austin) while the evil reformatory staff perish in a fire.Hudson is actually pretty good, and it is unusual to see him as a good guy.
However, it's always fun to watch Tina Carver (here she plays a reformatory inmate), because
well, no one can scream quite like she does.
The movie's premise isn't really that original, and the sets are pretty cheap (the inmates' life forces are sucked out while they're immersed in a stainless steel tank) but the film has a certain weird charm to it.
More of a horror movie set in a "girl's home" than a science fiction movie, with definite exploitation elements, "Man" seems to be built around the scenes where "Eric" grabs the young women and carries them off to the upstairs lab to be tied up, gagged, and drained of their "bioenergies".You'd think a movie with several scenes like that would be cheaply thrilling and maybe a guilty pleasure, but you'd be wrong.
The "girls" all seem to be in their late 20's and 30s (I know, it's really hard to get teenagers to look and act believably for extended lengths of movie time) and a couple of them are OK, but none of them are there for any reason but to be kidnapped and victimized.There's one nicely underplayed scene where the scientist/torturers decide withhold the bioelectric treatments from one of their number for reasons that aren't completely clear.
The actor playing the dying scientist manages a dignified and believable farewell and you can see how interesting the film might have been if the director and screenwriter had the wherewithal to explore the group dynamics and interplay of a group of 200+ year old bioelectric vampires.To top it off, the hero "wins" because one of the scientists accidentally drops a candle into a box of rags while changing the fuses or something and within seconds the whole building is engulfed.
Ever.Victor Jory is decent in this - you can see even here why the man could continue to get work in films over the years.Not good, not all that bad, "Man Who Turned To Stone" is just...there.
Every tedious B movie cliché is present, from a women's prison setting to lame dialog (so bad it sounds like it was written by an elementary school student) and truly wretched acting from a cast of some professionals and some not so professional.
He is revealed to be two centuries old and Victor Jory's mad doctor Murdock is researching a way to keep him alive.
These young ladies are purposely incorrectly diagnosed with heart conditions to explain their sudden "death by natural causes", but when von Ledebur begins to get more desperate, he begins to break into the woman's dormitory to collect a human guinea pig for the experiment.It's up to Charlotte Austin's assistant (hired obviously against the will of Jory and Doran to ensure the inmate's continued mental well being) and handsome doctor William Hudson to expose the evil goings on here, and this leads to a fiery showdown.
People running a reformatory are actually centuries old people draining the life out of their charges...if they miss a a treatment they turn to stone...a doctor and the daughter of the governor investigate.Okay but way too talky horror science fiction story.
Its the sort of thing thats been done to death before and since---and it kind of works this time but the pacing is so slack any tension is washed out....Not bad- but more something to induce sleep...Watching the film I kept thinking that perhaps had the film been cut down by 15 minutes it might have played better. |
tt0084522 | Porky's | The radio-alarm clock starts, and the radio DJ (Don Daynard) says the typical good morning stuff. Edward "Pee Wee" Morris (Dan Monahan) wakes up after an interrupted morning glory, especially because his mother (Ilse Earl) enters without knocking first. He picks up from under his matress his hidden schedule, and goes to Angel High School by car. Ted Jarvis, called Jarvis (Art Hindle) is appaled that Pee Wee has no other option than Wendy (Kaki Hunter) to lose his virginity to. Wendy is considered a kind of loose girl, so she is probably envied by plenty of girls who would like to do as she does but won't dare so. Rumours run rampant. Wendy tells freshman Mindy (Jill Whitlow) to ask Meat (Tony Ganios) why he's got such a nickname. Meat alleges he doesn't know; Mindy wants to see for herself whether it's because he's got a big dick, but his friends dissuade him, because he'll be expelled for good if there is reason for suspension again.The gang takes eggs to throw them to strongman Tim (Cyril O'Reilly). Coach Beulah Balbricker (Nancy Parsons) terrifies both her junior male colleague coaches and students, and she is very strict about not allowing any sexual pass to her female students. Some students have created glory halls in the girls' locker room to see them naked, having a shower, etc...This time, they have missed the action. A blonde (Cathy Garpershak) wraps herself in a towel and Balbricker turns the lights off.Mickey (Roger Wilson) goes to Cherry Forever (Susan Clark)'s trailer park home. All the gang goes to visit this girl. All the boys have to get naked and be inspected before the sexual act to prove they are clean. Steve (Rod Ball), Pee Wee, Tommy (Wyatt Knight) and Frank Bell (Jack Mulcahy), stand in line for Cherry to inspect them, and she makes derogatory comments about some of them. Cherry loves for a minute with Billy (Mark Herrier) and Tommy (Wyatt Knight). It's all a prank, while the happy boys are waiting stark naked. Cherry makes sexual noises and moans, while Billy makes pretend he's having sex with her. Tommy is talking to a drunk man, and they will pretend that he is her husband and has macheted Tommy. Tommy leaves full of blood stains, and then the "husband" appears with the machete. All the naked boys run away naked. As soon as they leave the home, they realise it's all a prank, and come back in indignation.Two cops (Julian Byrd and Bill Fuller) watch one of the runaway boys, Pee Wee, who has not realised that it was all a practical joke because he ran to the main road immediately. The cops take him to the café where everybody is laughing their asses off. One of the cops tells a motorbike rider not to drink beer while driving.Pee Wee is even more adamant to lose his virginity. Wendy teases Pee Wee with a trophy, an elephant-sized condom. Balbricker sees them and take the two students away. Honeywell (Kim Cattrall) is a gymnast / cheerleader who loves teasing the two young coaches, Brackett (Boyd Gaines) and Warren (Doug McGrath) mercilessly.That night, the boys go to a strip joint called Porky's, where a midget (Peter Conrad) is using some women as Santa Claus' reindeer and country music resounds. One of the customers crosses the line with one of the strippers (Pat Lee) and the bouncers (Cash Spadard, Cash Baron and Roger Womack) put him out.Pee Wee and his friends try to negotiate the price, but for 100 dollars, they can only have three girls for half an hour. Porky (Chuck Mitchell) tells the boys to go to a dark room through a door. All the customers know that there's a prank involved in that. Porky pulls a lever and the five boys fall into the swamp. They enter Porky's mad as hell again. The patrons mock the five boys. Porky has the support of all his customers. There is an attempt for another brawl outside, but the teenagers end up in the swamp again. At that moment, a deputy (Gary Maas) and Sheriff Wallace (Alex Karras) appear with a nightstick. Wallace gives the boys a fine for having broken blinkers - some which he has broken himself with his bat. They have to pay him on the spot, but the Sheriff decides to go easy on them, as the boys are first-time offenders. Wallace tells them to go back to their county and never come back.A waitress (Joanne Marsic) brings hot-dogs and the five think about taking action. Mickey wants revenge, but the police officer tells him not to mess with Porky, because he's just a dangerous man who will stop kidding around and become serious if they mess with him. The coaches have to stop students from getting too rough while playing up, and Cavanaugh (Wayne Maunder) gets suspended because of dirty play. Brian Schwartz (Scott Colomby) and Jimmy fight in the grass. When questioned how he learned to fight like that, Brian says that you have to fend for yourself when you are a Jewish boy, so that he learned how to box when he was younger. Pee Wee tries to tell Brian that Billy is a troubled young person.There is a telephone prank. Pee Wee asks the waitress whether Michael Hunt is around, so she ends up saying through the loudspeaker system if anybody has seen "My Cunt". Everybody cracks up. Pee Wee is there to get the laughter of everybody, even Wendy, who was fooled by him.Billy gets drunk and insults the cops. Their friends try to hide the fact that he's drunk, pretending that he's diabetic. One of them also tells the cops that he's been dumped by his girlfriend, and that he got drunk to forget. That makes the cops leave away.Mickey appears with blood in his face - he's tried to take his own back onto Porky. He drives away so as not to be taken to hospital. His friends are worried they have to babysit him. Cavanaugh tells one of the coaches about the fight. Miss Balbricker tells Miss Honeywell not to mess with boys, but she refuses to listen, and insults the female coach. She threatens to have Honeywell thrown out because of gross misconduct. Honeywell and the coach hide in the boys' locker room, and she gets turned on. She jumps on top of him. Honeywell and the youngest of the coaches fuck in the boys' locker room. She shouts as if she were an ambulance, and everybody laughs about it, except for Balbricker. The coach tries to calm her down but it's too late, as all the school knows about it - she screams again, this time resounding as a police car. The coach puts a dirty sock onto Honeywell's mouth so that he can finish off. The other young coach cracks up. The young coach appears in the gym as though nothing had really happened, but the senior coach tells him not to get too attached to Angel High School.The boys go back to look at the naked girls in the girls' locker room behind the pipes, through the peepholes. Through his hole, the only thing that Pee Wee can see is Nola, a fat girl. The rest tell Pee Wee to keep quiet. Pee Wee tries to change sides, but nobody would change their place. He can't resist his frustration and he shouts "Goddamit, will you move it, you fat ass?", betraying their position. All the girls get restless. They wrap themselves in blankets. They discover the boys and talk to them, teasing them. Some of the girls stay behind and tell them to get closer. Tommy puts his tongue through the hole, and a girl puts soap onto it. He ups the bet and puts his dick through the hole, so the girls back up a little bit. Suddenly, Miss Balbricker appears because of some other girls, but Tommy thinks that it's a sexy girl. Miss Balbricker picks Tommy by the penis and pulls.Mr. Carter (Eric Christmas), the high school headmaster, is appalled by Tommy's behaviour. While the men can't stop cracking up, Balbricker leaves in outrage. He wanted Carter to hold a naked police line-up situation so that she could identify the dick of the offending student - Mr. Cavanaugh appears once again to embarrass his son and hit him, but this time, he doesn't back down with the support of his friends.At a prom dance, Mickey appears with a bloodied face again. It was Porky. The plan to pull their revenge on Porky begins. They allure Porky and his men to the small bridge which they had rigged. When Porky and his men step on it, they fall to the disgusting swamp. The boys blow up the whole place after having demolished much of it with a towing truck. When the sheriff appears, the boys run away and blow the bridges up. The sheriff's car gets stuck in a falling bridge which wasn't completely blown up because the dynamite device didn't work properly. Porky's car goes after the boys' car. The boys stop when they arrive at the high school band meeting point. At that moment, Porky and the sheriff are out of line. Porky tries to convince the local police officers to produce the offending boys to him, but that will be exactly the same as admitting that minors - the boys were 16 and 17 - were in a non-allowed place, but the sheriff is too dumb to shut up. Ted does to Porky's the same that Porky did to Tommy's car the first time. He damages the radiator, smashes a light, blows a tyre, shoots the boot. Porky puts his hand in his brother's mouth until he promises not to visit Ted's county again. They have to push their car back to their county.All the boys rejoice and they give Brian a hero welcome - he had to come back to his county by the river. Pee Wee is the only unhappy one, because he's still a virgin. One of the gang calls out for Wendy.Wendy and Pee Wee go away together to the school bus, where Pee Wee asks for a rubber to shag Wendy. He tells everybody to shut up. He has to ask for a second one, because the first one was too big. Beulah Balbricker charges against Tommy, because she wants the see the mole in Tommy's penis. Ted takes Balbricker away. Pee Wee shouts like Tarzan of the Apes to celebrate that he's not a virgin anymore. Wendy takes him inside for more.One of the boys looks at the camera and says "Jeez", while shrugging his shoulders. | revenge, cult, prank | train | imdb | Porky's is the original teen sex comedy.I had the great pleasure of seeing Porky's in a late night showing on opening day in March 1982 in a theater packed to the gills with 18-25 year olds (although I was 30).
I hurt for 3 days from laughing so hard.There is a portion of the movie, beginning close to the 1 hour mark that is the absolute funniest 14 minutes ever put on film.
The first pathetic sequel (The Next Day) lacked humor, the second sequel (Porky's Revenge) had 30-year-olds playing teenagers and they had long-since lost their youthful charm..
Are some people unable to laugh at juvenile pranks, or were they on the receiving end of them when they were in high school?If you had fun growing up, you will probably like this film.
Four, fantastic.I got more laughs than this out of "Porky's", but since I went in expecting them to reach the lowest common denominator, I got just what I came in looking for.Who doesn't know the story, o connoisseurs of lowbrow humor?
Of course it is, but this isn't the best movie for family video night (then again, it depends on the family).I won't spoil any of the gags for you but I can tell you the biggest ones depend, separately, on eggs, oversized condoms, holes in the girls' showers and a prank call to the local diner.
On the other hand, if you are laid back, easy going, don't have to have an uplifting and moral story line, and appreciate comedy (often sexy and somewhat raw), you are going to love this movie.
The producer and director very obviously made this movie for the simple purpose of providing the audience with a lot of very funny comedy.
After they are ripped-off by the bar's obese owner and his brother, a corrupt sheriff, the friends decide to take revenge.Porky's was one of the first American teenage sex comedies to be a major hit at the box office, but I find its success rather perplexing.
As a coming-of-age story, I think the film works well enough: the nostalgic setting and strong sense of camaraderie is certainly appealing, while the bitter feud between the teens and the Everglades rednecks, and a subplot that deals realistically with the issues of racism and family violence adds drama to proceedings.
I do, however, find the film's raunchy antics nowhere near as funny as its characters, and director Bob Clark, obviously think they are.The 'Mike Hunt' telephone gag which has the teens in stitches isn't that hilarious, or original, having been conceived in the mid '70s by pranksters John Elmo and Jim Davidson; the repeated jokes about penises soon become very tedious; and as much as I enjoy seeing a young Kim Cattrall without her kecks on, her 'Lassie' scene is embarrassingly bad and far too drawn out.
I've never met anyone in my life who didn't love "Porky's" (in real life, that is, because on the Internet you always encounter people with different opinions) and that is probably just because this is an irresistibly energetic and out-and-out funny 80's teen comedy!
The essence of juvenile & vulgar comedies lies here within this film, and arguably also "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Animal House", but definitely not in the lame and uninspired nowadays flicks such as "American Pie".
Needless to say "Porky's" is a sex comedy chock-full of gratuitous T & A (and enough wool to knit a sweater with
) and crude insinuations, but if this movie is too offensive for you already, you better sing up in a convent straight away.
This was the biggest box office hit for the versatile writer/director Bob Clark, who directed pleasant comedies like this as well as creepy horror movies like "Black Christmas" and "Dead of Night".
you guys do realize it's taking place 30 years before it was made, right?It's not the funniest movie you'll ever see, except for a few truly hysterical scenes, but you have to love the way it captures the fun irresponsibility of high school.
Porky's, the 1981 sex comedy, was popular among teenagers, and maybe some teens today might like it, who knows?
That is what porky's suffers from, it's just not funny, it's just a bunch of horny teens doing nasty things and trying to outwit some sleazy night club owner.
The subject would come up over a game of quarters orsomething.Porky's isn't brilliant and maybe deserves a lot of socio-criticaldissection, but I just thought it was funny at the time.
I don't know itdeserves film-critic attack - wasn't it low-budget and lucky to getsome mainstream distribution?Anyway, my memories of Porky's made American Pie a lot morefunnier, too.
Funny movie, as long as you go into it with an open mind and realize "This ain't suppose to be Shakespeare".The concept is raw and a bit sophomoric (s) but, it is a great mindless movie to sit back, have a beer and some chips and kill a couple of mindless hours.Like Caddy Shack, it is a movie worth seeing only the first in the series.
I think what made the Pie films better was that the writers seemed to make more of an effort to develop the main characters and I think for that reason it made it easier to identify with them.In Porky's rather than giving us characters we can identify with or relate to the writers give us characters that, at best we are unable to connect with, and at worst are going to end up hating.
The writing is also very uneven whereby it starts out as a bunch of high school kids wanting to lose their virginity and then that concept is all but abandoned in place of gaining revenge against ol Porky himself.
second, I have seen all the Porky's movies multiple times.
Porky's is an absolute joy to watch full with extremely funny gags and wonderfully rude set pieces including "that" legendary shower scene which has to be seen to be believed.
I was too young to see the film in the theaters when it first came around, but I can imagine the entire audience rolling out of their seats with laughter through virtually every scene.Any fan of American Pie owes it to themselves to see what started it all, and in many ways delivers far more.
For a film comedy, this may be one of the all-time sleaziest movies ever made.
Even more ludicrous and insulting is that it's about high school-age kids (who all look about 25 years old in this film)!When you are young, stupid and devoid of morals, this is a "cool" movie.
This all done in a very not-sexy, not-funny (or fun for that matter) generic way.There are other films of the same time that were not misogynistic, one dimensional and mean-spirited (see The Last American Virgin, Fast Times At Ridgemount High and The Party Animal).
Actually I don't think they gave it any thought.If you are emotionally-stunted to that of a 9 year-old you may like this (because you don't know any better) and for those who believe that everything made in Canada is funny (If SCTV is a 10 then this is -8)..
I don't have a problem with low-brow, gross-out humor, but I expect a movie to have at least one redeeming quality - a likable character, an unpredictable plot, good one-liners, or, at the very least, funny jokes.
If you want a hilarious comedy centered around horny young people doing dumb things and trying to get laid - compare and contrast Animal House, released only four years before.
I don't think this movie was made to be a brilliant piece of film history...the kids are hilarious...its high school antics is it only a good movie if there is blood and guts, sex or major star...this movie has so many silly parts to it, so there is a bit of nudity bit deal..at least you don't see pee wee shooting anyone..You can watch this movie knowing that there is one person in your life that is characterized in this film...laugh and have fun with it...
Porkys is the original base comedy teen film and does it oh so well.
From Porky's pig pen, the holy grail of sex to the howling PE teacher (a young Kim Catrall)the classic comedic moments just keep coming, the moral of the story (anti-anti-semitism) seems as if it may have been levered in as an after thought to give the film more depth but this could just be the film ageing.
Of course when you watch a comedy multiple times the comedy level goes down and I have seen this a few times over the decades...I would rate it as a 6 now but it deserves an 8 for "what it used to be" a very funny movie with some unique scenes..Quite enjoyable even after all this time...
I am actually starting to hate "us" too (at least those who encouraged meaningless, shallow people to produce movies like "Porkys").
I have resigned myself to the fact that I have to waddle through movies that are such simple minded nonsense because most movies goers want to be told what is funny and they would laugh at animal cruelty if there was sexual humiliation involved.One last story before I go: When I was really depressed in my life once, I turned on the TV and this channel was showing these Porkys series back to back.
I realized that no matter how bad things got in my life, at least I could say that I would neither subject another human to such mean spirited humiliation and juvenile hijinks nor lower myself to support such productions.Anyone involved in the making of this movie should be disemboweled, boiled, kicked in the face, and then spat upon..
I mean, there's comedy that is raunchy, but funny ("American Pie", "There's Something About Mary", "Kingpin"), and then there's brainless, unclever, and predictable "Porky's".In the theater I clearly remember watching the film and chuckling and laughing here and there...but not nearly as much as the characters on the screen were laughing.
A movie from the very uneven Bob Clark, the director who gave us the wonderful "A Christmas Story" and the horrid "Baby Geniuses" ..."Porky's" is a sexist, juvenile, lame excuse for a comedy.
Having thought about it, I really can't say it more elegantly than that and get my comments past the censors.Since I'm forced by the IMDb system to include at least 4 lines of commentary, and with due respect for all the fine teenage-sex-loving people who thought this was a wonderful film, let me add that when I was at K-Mart today combing the video shelves for a quality film to buy for my kids, I came real dang close to pulling a copy of Porky's off the shelf, toting it over to the checkout counter, shoving it in the checkout boy's face, and yelling, "YOU CARRY FIVE COPIES OF THIS S*** AND YOU DON'T HAVE EVEN ONE SINGLE COPY OF 'DRIVING MISS DAISY'??!?
It may be partly the fact that it almost 20 years old but still, I found it to be one of the most basic teen comedies I can remember seeing.I any of the cast went onto be stars then I certainly have never seen them.
The humor in this is way beyond any young comedy i've ever seen, sure Scary Movie and such like are funny but this is pure humor, not ripping off or following the ideas of someone else, this film is original, with the best cast to do the amazing side splitting comedy justice.
As the film starts with a group of teens about sex, there are other conflicts on the way, such as bigotry between two students, parental abuse from one of the guys, and revenge on a fat owner name Porky who doesn't know that the kids are underage.
I saw American Pie and i found it more with joy to watch because of the love of the characters and how funny the situations were.
My boyfriend and I were at a DVD store the other day and he saw the big special edition of "Porky's" and was like "I loved this movie so much, isn't it so funny?" and I just looked at him and was like "Ummm, I never saw it" and he just looked at me like my hair fell out.
So throughout the movie one of the boys keeps going back to get revenge and finally they all just do it together for the ultimate revenge tactic.Porky's did have a few funny scenes, like the "love" scene between the coach and Honeywell, played by a very young Kim Catrell, her screaming was so hilarious.
Over all, I wouldn't say that Porky's is at all a bad film, it has it's moments here and there, but I'd rather stick with other teen sex comedies, but this one is worth a look if you're into them.4/10.
i'm almost ashamed to admit it,but i loved this movie.it's sick and demented,offensive and political incorrect.but its a riot.it's set in Florida in 1954.it's basically about a bunch of horn dog teenagers trying to lose their virginity.but there's a lot more going on than just that.there's a lot of double entondres(not sure if that's the right spelling or not)here and lots of sexual innuendo and and also sex without any innuendo needed.this is low brow cinema at it's finest.i can see why it's classic though.
It also takes care to provide mild social commentary by having its characters stand up for a put-upon member of the Jewish community.Though some gags eventually grow repetitive or outstay their welcome, its best moments are the following: the scene with the prostitute played by Susan Clark, the numerous clashes with the obese female teacher (especially the shower scene and its aftermath in the headmaster's office) and the climactic demolition of Porky's red-neck establishment..
Now the cast maybe not big time stars but I will pick this over any teen movies that came out of the 80s thats why we need more movies like this but some kids love the breakfast club.
Back at school the boys plan to peek at the girls as they shower and a young male sports coach tries to find out why an attractive female coach is nicknamed 'Lassie'.If you don't like puerile humour then you'd best avoid this as it contains numerous gags about sex and genitalia.
I found the whole movie funny from start to end, Yes some these Joke can ready rude at times.
One guy, pee wee (Dan Monahan) the laughing butt of his friends, wants so desperately to get laid, one classic hoax scene near the start of the movie, has him scared out of his wits, running down a highway, naked.
Porky's kicked off the teen-sex comedy sub-genre that led to so many classic 80s movies and the recent American Pie series.
There's the infamous "Lassie" scene, in which a young, hot and bare-bottomed Kim Cattrall demonstrates why she's nicknamed after the world's most famous canine.Unlike a lot of raunch comedies which try to excuse their excessive crudeness by throwing in some sort of socially redeeming subject matter, writer/director BOB CLARK handles the semi-serious aspects of the movie with surprising ease, smoothly fitting them into the rest of the story.If you haven't seen PORKY'S, then check it out.
:)Anyway, we found this movie quite funny and brutal, and, why deny it, that's what we are looking for when watching a film on TV, don't we?
Now, I saw American Pie and thought it was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time.
Porky's is a great comedy full of laughs and humorous pranks.
Now 23 years after its release, PORKY'S remains the best movie in the teen sexy comedy genre ever.
Because I heard so many good things about it, I continued to watch, waiting for something funny to happen.Very misogynistic and mean-spirited, this movie has few redeeming qualities.
porky's is a funny and entertaining movie.
When the evil proprietor, Porky himself, takes their money and humiliates the guys, it's revenge time.The movie moves along at a nice leisurely pace, but things are NEVER boring.
Now this movie hasnt dated at all.its still very funny much better than a guy who makes out with a pie.theres nudity of both sexes.not the tame stuff you get nowadays where the cast show reluctance to show anything.the film has many classic scenes and its story has a plot.unlike pie..
When I first saw the ads for this film in the theater, I thought it looked like yet another absurd, stupid, juvenile comedy.Then the producers made the astute move of airing commercials showing brief interviews of people leaving the theater after having just seen this movie.
There isn't any character development or a through plot line -- going to the strip club Porky's is only representative of two major scenes in the movie.
The entire high school-aged fantasy of boys getting spy on the girls' showers owes its birth to this film, the hilarity as the new gym coach learns why the attractive young girls' coach is nicknamed "Lassie," and of course that ultimate revenge against the powers that be, in this case Porky and his redneck sheriff brother, who try and stop kids from having fun.
It can be watched one scene at a time -- there's nothing gluing it all together.Bob Clark's film has a carefree and reckless attitude that resembles that of his characters, but as admirable as that is -- and a rare find in a movie indeed, especially comedy -- there's no doubt that "Porky's" avoids being the kind of coming-of-age film it could have been.
A bit overrated but still a very funny teen sex comedy.
Watching the movie, I could only wonder how much fun they must have had filming it.
Still one of the funniest high school comedy movies of all time.
Every scene in the movie had the characters laughing like "fat albert and the gang." Did I miss something? |
tt0116075 | The Dentist | Dr. Alan Feinstone has everything. A beautiful wife, a nice house, a job as a dentist, a popular reputation and is obsessed with order and cleanliness. However, everything changes, on the day of his wedding anniversary; he spies his wife Brooke having sex with their filthy poolman, Matt. Feinstone waits for them to finish, retrieves his handgun (a .380 Walther PPK) and then follows Matt in his car.He is led to Paula Roberts's house, a friend of Brooke's. Hiding the gun behind his back, he quickly makes up a story about inviting Paula to a surprise party for Brooke. He then sneaks into her backyard in time to see Paula invite Matt inside. Paula's dog, a rottweiler, emerges from the yard and attacks Feinstone. He shoots the dog through the head in self defense and proceeds to drive to work.At his dental practice, Feinstone's first patient of the day is young Jody Sanders, there for his very first dental appointment. Feinstone begins to clean Jody's teeth. Everything goes smoothly at first, until he imagines that Jody's teeth are brown and rotten. His dental pick slips, stabbing Jody in the gums. Jody's mother picks up her crying, bleeding child and leaves angrily.As Feinstone sees his second patient, beauty queen April Reign, Detective Gibbs investigates the death of Paula's dog. He suspects the perpetrator was the burglar who has been robbing houses in the neighborhood, though that criminal has never used a gun before.Alone with April, Feinstone sedates her with nitrous oxide so that he can fill a cavity in one of her molars. As she drifts off into unconsciousness, Feinstone imagines that she has transformed into his wife. He begins kissing and fondling his "wife" on the dental chair, then begins to choke her. April starts to cough and half-wakes up from the gas. Feinstone snaps out of his trance and quickly re-buttons April's blouse and finishes removing her pantyhose. Hiding the pantyhose behind a counter, Feinstone helps the still-coughing April into the arms of her manager, Steve Landers (Mark Ruffalo). He leads them out claiming April is dizzy from the nitrous oxide. Steve returns a few minutes later and furiously punches Feinstone hard in the mouth presumably after what April told Steve about her encounter with Feinstone. They leave angrily, threatening a lawsuit for sexual and physical assault on their way out. Feinstone decides to end the day early and sends his staff and patients home. Especially disappointed is Sarah, a teenager who desperately wants to get her braces removed. Candy, Feinstone's friendly office manager, tells her that she'll have to wait until tomorrow.Later that night, Brooke meets Feinstone at his practice. He reveals his new Italian opera-themed patient room. He encourages Brooke to try out the room's dental chair and clean her teeth. When she does, Feinstone binds her to the chair with a scarf and sedates her with nitrous oxide. With operatic music blaring in the background, he begins to pull out Brooke's teeth and cuts out her tongue.Investigating the burglaries, Detective Gibbs and his partner Detective Sunshine arrive at Feinstone's door the next morning to ask him some questions. As they speak, Brookestill alive, but sedatedlies on a pool chair with a bikini on to distract Matt in the backyard while Matt cleans the pool with a scoop. Just as the policemen leave, Matt finds what seems to be a severed tongue in his net. He lifts Brooke's hat from her face to alert her of this discovery. She moans, reaches for him and displays her mutilated mouth; all her teeth are missing and her tongue is completely cut. Feinstone emerges from the house with a kitchen knife and stabs Matt to death.Waiting for Feinstone when he arrives at his practice are Sarah and Paula. Feinstone sees Paula first, much to Sarah's disappointment. When Paula's conversation turns to how good a job Matt does for her, Feinstone asks for a dental drill and begins overly-aggressively drilling her tooth. As her tooth is destroyed, his assistant, Jessica, questions what he is doing. Feinstone snaps out of his trance and asks Jessica to finish up. Instead, Jessica whispers to Paula to leave. When Feinstone discovers that Paula has left, he fires Jessica on the spot. She pulls out April's pantyhose from the previous day and threatens to expose Feinstone. Grabbing the hose from her hands, Feinstone wraps them around Jessica's neck and strangles her to death.At the police station, Detective Sunshine discovers that the bullet pulled from Paula's dog's murder scene only matches one gun in the area: the Walther PPK owned by Feinstone. He and Detective Gibbs drive to the Feinstone house to question him further. Near the pool, they discover Matt's body. They quickly break into the house and find the mutilated Brooke, tied to the bed but still alive.Meanwhile, IRS agent Marvin Goldblum, using Feinstone's tax problems as leverage, extorts a free dental exam and tries to extort a payoff from the doctor. This does not go over well with Feinstone. He inserts a retractor into Marvin's mouth and cracks his jaw wide open. He then uses a dental drill to slice into Marvin's tongue. Later, Feinstone's other assistant, Karen, finds Marvin still in the dental chair. The doctor grabs her and inserts a needle full of air into her jugular. The air bubble travels into her brain and kills her.As the flirtatious Candy leaves for lunch with dental equipment salesman Matthew Zeigler, Sarah finally gets called back to have her braces removed. Feinstone removes them and shows Sarah her smile in the mirror. As with Jody, he imagines her teeth brown and rotting. He pulls out his gun and aims it at her forehead. Sarah slams the exam light into Feinstone's head and escapes. She hides in one of the dental rooms, where Sarah finds the blood-soaked Marvin, who attacks Feinstone, but Feinstone recaptures her. Hysterical, Sarah promises to brush her teeth three times a day and to never eat candy. This satisfies the doctor and he leaves. The two detectives arrive, but they are a little too late.They follow him to a university where the doctor teaches dentistry classes. There, Feinstone at gunpoint manically instructs all of his students to pull all of the teeth out of all their patients. His vision warps again and he sees all of the people he has mostly killed or mutilated over the past few days, including Matt. He shoots Matt, who turns out to be a dental student. The detectives burst into the room, but Feinstone uses a hostage to escape. Eventually, he wanders into an auditorium where an opera singer is practicing. Enchanted, he watches her from behind. When he reaches out to touch her, she transforms into Brooke, who laughs at Feinstone. Defeated, he gets on his knees and is arrested by the detectives.In the final scene, we see Feinstone in a psychiatric hospital. He is carted off to his regular dental appointment, when his toothless wife Brooke begins to work violently on his mouth. | cruelty, murder, violence, insanity, suspenseful, sadist | train | imdb | After witnessing his wife (Linda Hoffman) engaging in sexual acts with the pool boy, the already somewhat unstable dentist Dr. Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) completely snaps which means deep trouble for his patients.This delightful semi-original and entertaining horror flick from director Brian Yuzna was a welcome change of pace from the usual horror twaddle that was passed out in the late Nineties.
Although The Dentist' is intended to be a cheesy, fun little film, Yuzna ensures that the movie delivers the shocks and thrills that many more serious movies attempt to dispense.
The Dentist' suffers, on occasion, from dragging but unlike the much inferior 1998 sequel, there are only sporadic uninteresting moments, and in general the movie follows itself nicely.Corbin Bernsen was very convincing in the role of the sadistic, deranged and perfectionist Dr. Alan Feinstone.
While many actors may have trouble portraying a cleanliness obsessed psycho without it coming off as too cheesy or ridiculous, Bernsen seems to truly fit the personality of the character he attempts to portray and thus makes the film all that more enjoyable.
Had The Dentist' not been intended to be a fun, almost comical, horror movie, Bernsen's performance would probably have been much more powerful.
Sadly, the rest of the cast (including a pre-fame Mark Ruffalo) failed to put in very good performances and although the movie was not really damaged by this, stronger performances could have added more credibility to the flick.The Dentist' is not a horror film that is meant to be taken seriously but is certainly enjoyable, particularly (I would presume) for fans of cheesy horror.
The universal fear of dental pain will be amplified after just one viewing of this gorefest!Corbin Bernsen (he of L.A. LAW fame) isn't bad as Dr. Allen Feinstone, a wealthy dentist whose nympho wife is having an affair behind his back with the pool boy.
he wasn't demented at the start, only after he caught his precious wife with Matt (Michael Stadvec) the pool boy.Then he used his dental powers to torture his patients, and his wife, in revenge.Really gory, especially if you don't like dentists anyway, and really hot when Linda Hoffman was on screen.It was a fun experience..
Director Brian Yuzna has had an uneven career in the horror genre, creating masterpieces such as "Return of the Living Dead 3" or "Bride of Re-Animator", but at the same time he has done awful movies such as "Faust: Love for the Damned" or the mediocre "Progeny".
It tells the story of Dr. Alan Feinstone (played superbly by Corbin Bernsen), a successful dentist who one day discovers that his perfect life is not really as perfect as he thought when he discovers that his beautiful wife (Linda Hoffman)has an affair with the pool boy.
Yuzna manages to give the movie the exact amount of suspense but adds a good dose of dark humor that really helps the movie.Most of the success of the premise is in Bernsen's performance as Feinstone.
While his part is quite small, he makes a great job with it.With a dentist as killer, gory scenes are expected, and Brian Yuzna delivers great SFX in the correct amount.
Corbin Bernsen was a good choice for the role since he has lots of experience playing psychologically "off" characters and he completely sold the obsessive compulsive aspects of the dentist.For me the pacing of the movie was just right.
Doctor Feinstone is a dentist.He has a beautiful wife and a huge house with a pool.Suddenly he discovers that his wife is making out with the pool attendant-he realises that behind everything clean,there is decay.He starts to torture his patients...Corbin Bernsen is brilliant as the deranged dentist-he is completely believable.There is surprisingly little gore but the scenes of dental torture are quite nasty and grotesque.Highly recommended."The Dentist 2" is also worth checking out!.
The clever thing about the movie is that it plays with our fears and The Dentist is therefore quite unsettling.The humor of the film is somehow hidden and may not be recognized by everyone.
But if you're a fan of weird and strange entertainment and teeth getting drilled to dust this is just the film you were looking for.If you read the comment and feel somehow attracted by this kind of entertainment, give it a try!My rating: 4/10 (maybe a little too weird for my taste).
(I could only dream of working in an office like that!) Fear and pain are the main reasons people don't like going to the dentist, so that's why this is the perfect setting for a horror movie.
If you want a dental/psycho double feature, watch this along with "Little Shop of Horrors." This was a kinda cheesy, really gory, very creepy flick.
Tooth torture has been done before (see The Marathan Man for example), but this brings the terror into suburbia.The plot revolves around a dentist, Dr. Alan Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen), who descends into madness.
Also featured playing a cop, is the ever welcome Ken Foree.Now I believe this movie would not work without the absolutely fantastic performance from Corbin Bernsen.
Having really only seen him in LA Law before, I was blown away by his acting.The sequel The Dentist 2 is also worth watching, but slightly under par compared to the original.TTKK's Bottomline - A fun movie with some scenes that will make you cringe, capped (pun intended) by a great performance from Bernsen.
Some people don't like this movie because they can't see the humor of Corbin Bernsen's role in this dark comedy.
Because of his delusional thoughts, he turns a boy's teeth to crust (which is one of several extremely uncomfortable dental gore scenes in the movie).
This movie was very enjoyable, though you'll only like it if: - you hate going to the dentist but aren't afraid of a movie where one of them goes beserk - you love horror moviesI particularly liked the fact that some care was given to explaining the brute actions of the main character.
Who has ever seen a movie that has a dentist (Spoiler) pull out all his cheating wife's teeth and cut out her tongue with no anesthetic?
I'm really surprised that a horror movie about dentistry didn't turn up until 1996, as going to the dentist is almost a primal fear - it's running away from a tiger for the modern world.
The acting, while B-class, is actually quite impressive; with Corbin Bernsen taking the lead role and doing a good job of convincing the audience that he really is a man on the edge.
I felt myself enough adult,and educated,to watch this,and after I finished the first watch,I don't know why but today I've seen this again.It was maybe the 4-th time I've watched this,but this film still works very well.This is a real 90-s,USA-classic,a must see for all drama,and horror-crime-thriller interested person.It was award winner,but this is not as well know movie as some others.With only 2-and a half million as budget,this was low budget,but all of the main creators put passion to this.Corbin Brensen keeps the eye of the viewer,but I also loved the others,all of them in this film.You have enough reasons to see this movie,do not miss the opportunity.9/10.
To add insult to injury, it is poorly acted, and the script is laughable.The concept of a killer dentist could make for a fun movie, but this film is the opposite.
After my wisdom tooth is removed, I decided to see a horror movie about teeth called The Dentist (1996), but I actually watched it last two weeks.
After catching his wife cheating on him with the pool guy, a disturbed dentist (Corbin Bernsen) goes on a murderous rampage.
The plot: a mentally unbalanced dentist goes on a rampage after discovering his wife's infidelity.Brian Yuzna, Dennis Paoli, and Stuart Gordon are primarily known by their fans for their splatter comedies and Lovecraft adaptations.
Much like Larry Drake taking the titular role in the silly, over-the-top slasher Dr. Giggles, I was somewhat surprised that Corbin Bernsen would star in such a cheesy horror movie.
If you ever plan on visiting the dentist again, I recommend not watching this movie.Corbin Bernsen provides an engaging, enjoyable portrayal of Dr. Allen Feinstone.
If you're into poorly done horror comedies in the likes of Dusk until Dawn 2, this film could be for you.As a dentist myself, I work with patients daily to allay their dental fears.
Wow, I don't think I've seen so many bad shot-types since "William and Kate:The Movie" but it all added to the camp fun of it all.As for the story and film itself, it was hugely entertaining, with an exciting finale, and some funny/inexpensive death scenes.
However, it passed the time and it had a somewhat good acting by Corbin Berson as the dentist who in the blink of an eye snaps and starts out just doing rather inappropriate things like getting fresh with a patient who is under gas, but soon turns to murder and graphic teeth pulling as he goes further and further down the path of madness.
The story really isn't that bad, Corbin Bersen's character's motivations do make a lot more sense than in most horror movies.I've seen worse acting, directing, script, etc.
Plotting revenge on the offending couple is merely the start of a gruesome regime of dental terror.So it looks cheap and Corbin Bernsen in the lead role of Feinstone is hardly a top performer, but as horror pictures go, The Dentist certainly hits a nerve {ahem!}.
Corbin Bernsen gives a surprisingly non-lackluster performance as a crazed dentist who I guess tries to kill people but he only works on their teeth so it's not really working out.
But the film is saved by great camera shots, a decent pacing and a very memorable performance by Corbin Bernsen.The film starts with Dr. Alan Feinstone a successful dentist who's got it all until things start going downhill for him.
when he gets to work his stress and problems start affecting him at work.he has visions when he does a little boy's teeth and hurts the boy in the process thinking he has rotten teeth.Later the day he has a plan to get revenge on his wife he does an oral surgery by yanking all of her teeth out her mouth and removes her tongue in the process.The pool boy realize what's going on and is killed in the process and now Dr Fienstone has gone to the other side of insanity and will kill anyone who has rotten teeth or gets in his way.The plot overall is very flat and dull.This type of plot has been done in so many films if your a fan of horror film you get tired of it.but in this film it fits perfectly but then again you could care less.As for character development it's very weak.these characters are so flat and dull, by the end of the film whoever or not dies you could care less.The protagonist Dr. Feinstone is the only developed character in the whole film.
You understand he's a neat freak and has a short temper and wants things to be done in order, making his character not very likable.But as the film progress the level of insatiny evolves into him from thinking about killing his pool boy and wife it's the anger and revenge he wants from those who can't stand him.In a way you understand what he is going through and you can't blame for going insane.as for the acting it's very poor.though Corbin Bersen is on top of game as he gives the standout performance as Dr. Feinstone.It's the Range he pulls off in this film and stealing the show from the other actors.to be honest he never breaks character he knows how perfectly portray the insane doctor.with his visions of rotten teeth to his anger moments as he yells at people and showing no remorse of his actions as he overall takes this performance home.as for the rest of the actors I can't say much as everyone gives a bad performance and everyone acts if there reading off the script.Overall this film is not bad worth renting but not buying..
"The Dentist" is a really enjoyable film whenever it stays inside the dentist's office.**SPOILERS**Talking to a patient, Dr. Alan Feinstone, (Corbin Bernsen) recalls an incident of his past, starting from when he caught his wife Brooke Feinstone, (Linda Hoffman) having an affair behind his back.
This is still recommended for those looking for a really good creep-out film, while those with an extreme fear of dentists might be advised to skip it.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Graphic Language and sex scenes.
But really, the fact that we would even want to know background about the characters is evidence to how good it is, and the bulk of the film is solid enough that any small lapses in tension can be forgiven.It's strange, after years of being accustomed to movie gore, to suddenly want to cover my eyes at the sight of blood.
A film destined to make you brush your teeth more carefully, "The Dentist" is a highly entertaining B-flick with several gruesomely gory scenes, a story refreshingly free from horror clichés (20 year-old Miss America contestants playing teenagers, people walking alone into dark rooms, etc), and a wonderfully unhinged performance by Corbin Bernsen in the lead.
The story follows Bernsen's successful but unstable, perfectionist dentist Dr. Feinstone, who snaps completely when he finds his wife performing fellatio on the pool guy.
Which makes it a perfect subject for a horror movie, really.Dr. Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) has been a successful dentist for several years now, but when he catches his wife cheating on him with the poolguy he snaps, and he brings his anger and frustration to his work.
I love horror movies, but I especially liked this one because of the fact that everyone visits the dentist, but they'd have to think twice about them after seeing this!!!
The acting is fine, with excellent casting of Corbin Bernsen as the perfectionistic dentist who freaks out and tortures his patients.
An insane dentist spots his wife having an affair with a swimming pool maintenance man and takes out his revenge on various patients.The plot is weak and the horror elements are few and far between, but the beautiful effects in the scenes of teeth extraction are worth a watch.This film is in the style of the 1980s US video-only horror flick.
If you thought nothing could scare you because you knew the teeth of your classmates and listened to stories about real - life - dentists, go and watch this movie.
When Dr. Feinstone, brilliantly and realistically acted by Corbin Bernsen, finds out that his wife has an affair with the pool-boy, he lets his frustration out on his patients.
Throughout the entire one and a half hours I sat on the edge of my seat, hoping that the patient wouldn't be tortured by Dr. Feinstone.This is the best horror/slasher movie I've seen to this date.
This is a great horror movie, but don't watch it if you have a dentist appointment soon.
This movie can be howlingly funny and then tremendously difficult to watch in the very same scene, but for those of you who don't mind a little gore, this film really delivers.
The schlockiest, most unbelievable script ever written (yes, I'm exaggerating) turns into a gratuitously unpleasant horror film in the hands of Brian Yuzna, who makes it look AND sound like a cheap direct-to-video outing (which, of course, is exactly what it is).
Everyone is entitled to their opinion-but I gotta say that if one feels like the aforementioned about this film then they must not have seen many movies...Bernsen does a good job with the mediocre script and shallow character he has, but there's too many other problems.
A dentist (Corbin Bernsen) goes mad when he discovers his wife is cheating on him with the pool boy.
Feinstone has gone off the deep end and is definitely not going to let anybody stand in his way of cleanliness.Honestly, as silly as this movie sounds, I did have a lot of fun watching The Dentist.
Short little summary is this: Dr. Alan Feinstone, a guy who has a sexy wife, nice house, and is a great dentist everyone loves.
During this film, you'll probably think about your own dentist a few times.
Linda Hoffman goes through an excruciating transformation from a beautiful woman to something much worse, while it's good to see DAWN OF THE DEAD's Ken Foree back on screen again, even if it is only in the wasted role of a detective.THE DENTIST is a creative, imaginative film which never takes itself too seriously.
It isn't too long before she discovers that Alan is nuts, and she has to find a way to escape his evil dental plans.The Dentist is a very good horror movie with quite a few comedic moments.
Basically Dr. Alan Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) is a renowned dentist with a big house and beautiful wife Brooke (Linda Hoffman), but his world and sanity is to be destroyed when he sees his wife having an affair with their pool cleaner.
But the most brutal procedure he has yet to perform - on his wife.If you don't like the dentist to begin with (which I don't), some of the torture scenes in this movie may make you feel uncomfortable, I know I cringed a couple of times.
The finale in the dentist office between a young girl getting her braces removed, and Dr. Feinstone was pretty well executed, and the ending to the film was clever too.
The Dentist starts on the morning of Dr. Alan Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) & his wife Brooke's (Linda Hoffman) wedding anniversary.
Alan also begins to take drugs as he completely loses it & goes homicidal starting with his adulterous wife & pool cleaner...Directed by Brian Yuzna I thought The Dentist was a good film & tried something a bit different. |
tt1054487 | Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder | The Planet Express crew visits Amy's parents, Leo and Inez, who are destroying the "old" Mars Vegas and constructing a more extravagant one. A group of eco-feminists (calling themselves "eco-feministas") led by Frida Waterfall protest the destruction of the environment, leading to an accident that leaves Frida's necklace lodged inside Fry's brain. The destruction upsets Leela, but Leo has bribed Professor Farnsworth to rubber stamp the project as environmentally friendly. Leela saves a Martian muck leech, the last of its species, from the site.
In New Mars Vegas, Fry starts to go mad when he cannot stop hearing the thoughts of everyone around him. He meets Hutch, a transient who advises Fry to wear a tin foil hat to keep others' thoughts out of his head. Hutch warns Fry never to reveal his powers and to beware the "Dark Ones".
While golfing with the crew, Leo reveals plans to build the universe's largest miniature golf course, destroying 12% of the Milky Way in the process. Farnsworth and the crew survey the site and discover an asteroid in a violet dwarf star system teeming with primordial life. Despite this, Farnsworth approves Leo’s project. Disgusted, Leela joins the eco-feminists, who begin sabotaging the project.
Hutch introduces Fry to the "Legion of Mad Fellows", a secret society of tin-foil-hat-wearing telepaths led by the Number 9 man. No. 9 tells Fry a story of two species that worked together to survive, until one broke the cycle and caused an "evolutionary arms race", both species evolving to defeat the other. One became the extinct "Encyclopods" who evolved to preserve the DNA of endangered species so they could be restored should they become extinct. The other became the "Dark Ones", who want to destroy all life. Fry learns that the violet dwarf is the only surviving egg of the Encyclopods. Due to a resurgence in the life-giving force "Chi", the Encyclopod will soon be reborn. As Fry is immune to the Dark Ones' psionic powers he alone can save it from Leo Wong's plans to turn it into a golf course, and from the Dark Ones, who have evolved to the point that no one knows what they look like.
To end the sabotage, Leo enlists Zapp Brannigan and Kif Kroker, who in turn hire Bender to track down the eco-feministas. Fry infiltrates Leo's empire as a security guard. Amy is angered by her father's sexist jokes and joins Leela, while Bender bugs Fry's phone in case he communicates with Leela. Fry runs into Frida and has her take a message of support to Leela, but an unseen Dark One murders Frida.
Farnsworth prepares to close Planet Express; with their delivery team missing they cannot continue. Leo Wong hires them to put up a fence around the construction site. Farnsworth cancels the closing and goes with Zoidberg and Hermes to do the job. They are captured by the eco-feminists, who commandeer the Planet Express ship. When the eco-feministas suspect Fry of murdering Frida, Fry and Leela arrange a rendezvous. They are ambushed by the Nimbus, which was tipped off by Bender. The eco-feministas are sent to prison.
At a Legion meeting, No. 9 explains that Fry must stop the implosion of the violet dwarf and thwart the Dark One who is sure to be present. Though no one knows the Dark One's form, its mind cannot be read, allowing Fry to identify it. No. 9 gives Fry the Omega Device, which can temporarily disable the Dark One at close range.
Bender frees the eco-feministas from prison in order to uphold his record for most crimes committed at once. Hermes, Zoidberg, Scruffy, and a repentant Farnsworth rescue them.
At the ceremony, Fry cannot locate an unreadable mind; he concludes that he himself (having an unreadable mind) must be the Dark One. The eco-feministas disrupt the ceremony, but Fry convinces Leela to let him proceed. Fry activates the Omega Device, which creates a small dome around the two that appears to have no effect. Leela's leech falls to the ground and reveals itself as the final Dark One. The violet dwarf system forms a giant sperm and flies into the star, creating an Encyclopod embryo which quickly matures, taking the form of a giant manta ray-like creature. The Dark One kills Hutch, whose dying act is to pull Frida's necklace out of Fry's forehead, causing Fry to lose his telepathy. The Encyclopod kills the Dark One. No. 9 convinces the Encyclopod to preserve the Dark One's DNA, but Zoidberg eats the remains before it can. The Encyclopod preserves Hutch's DNA before leaving.
Zapp attempts to apprehend the escaped prisoners, but the crew of the Planet Express ship and the Eco-feminists escape along with Kif. Fry and Leela profess their love for each other as the Nimbus chases the Planet Express ship toward a wormhole, which the Professor warns could take them trillions of light years away. Everyone agrees to go for it. Fry and Leela kiss as the ship enters the wormhole.
=== Ending ===
The ending refers to the uncertain future of the show. The makers were not sure if the show would return to TV, so if it did not, it is implied that the ship was in fact taken trillions of light years away. The show was picked up by Comedy Central, and it is revealed in the next episode "Rebirth" that the wormhole sent the ship directly back to Earth. | cult, comedy, boring, stupid | train | wikipedia | It's been fun, but sadly, all good things must come to an end.While "Into the Wild Green Yonder" isn't the strongest of the four films, it certainly offers up laughs and plenty of the clever, over the top sci-fi concepts that the series is famous for.
The characters we all know and love are once again brought to life by the wonderful cast, and we get a couple of bonus cameos here thanks to Penn Jillette, Snoop Dogg, and Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane.As with the other 3 DVD Futurama movies, the story is a tad messy, jumping from plot thread to plot thread, with each episode only vaguely maintaining a semblance of continuity until everything is tied up neatly at the end.
That said, the overarching story in this outing is actually very clever, and the ending is spectacular and well designed.The story ties up some loose ends, but also leaves us on an ambiguous note, perhaps hinting at a future series of DVD movies, or a theatrical film, or, hopefully, an entire new season to grace our TV screens.
Futurama really is such a "Meh" show and their attempt at revitalizing it with wall to wall feature movies really did it no favors in my eyes.In a generic plot featuring all your usual favorites this essentially feature length episode alike the others has it's moments and there are laughs to be had but considerably too few.
It's like The Simpsons, but without the overwhelming charm and fantastic characters.If you like Futurama you'll likely enjoy this, otherwise hop skip and jump over it.The Good:There are a few laughs to be hadThe Bad:Not as funny as it should beThings I Learnt From This Movie:Tin foil hats are a growth industryKansas is unfamiliar with evolutionYou can't sue the militaryFeminism angle wasn't satire, it really does seem to have gone that way.
At the ending of Into the Wild Green Yonder (the fourth and last DVD belonging to the resurrection of the extraordinary TV programme Futurama),there is a naughty reference to the possible continuation of the series; but,considering that the destiny of a continuation is on the air,the suspense is on the fans (like me) and on the creators from the series...will the sales from the DVDs justify the making of another analog collection ?
or are the rumors of the return of the series to Comedy Central or Cartoon Network real ?.Nobody knows it (or says it),but I hope that Into the Wild Green Yonder is not the last time we will ever see Futurama because,although the other movies were entertaining but nothing special,this one resulted to be brilliant,and it has filled me with even more enthusiasm to see Futurama continuing.My main complain with the three previous movies was their fractured screenplays,which seemed to have been composed by two or three stories joined on a forced way to get the 90-minutes running time,without paying too much attention to the flow or structure.On Into the Wild Green Yonder,that problem completely disappears because it presents a solid story which is perfectly structured and which flows completely naturally,until getting to a very satisfactory conclusion.And,besides of that,this film is very funny.The story from this movie seems simple on its shape but it hides a complexity which is full of interesting ideas and audacious sci-fi concepts.The animation is perfect and it is much more polished than in the previous films.I do not know if the casual spectators will like this movie as much as me,but I am sure that the other fans of Futurama will also like this film very much.The only fail I found on this movie is that some dialogs feel a little bit forced.Into the Wild Green Yonder is a brilliant animation film,which may not be at the same level of the series,but which deserves a very enthusiastic recommendation.I truly hope Futurama will continue..
Indeed, Not only is it (In my honest opinion) the best of the Futurama movies, but one of the best animated Movies I've seen these past couple of years.This one truly has everything a die hard Futurama Fan could ever hope for, everything about it is superb, the jokes (especially the really awesome Bender one-liners we all love), the music, the animation, everything.
and it keeps you watching and anticipating from start to finish.This movie really sums up the great elements that made Futurama what it is, and it goes to show that Canceling the TV Series was a big mistake..
I agree the 2nd movie was the best of the 4.I will always love and hold dear Futurama, certain episodes stand out, the romantic sentimental, never to forget Frys dog, or the holophone episode, or the message Fry wrote in space.
Oh, and Zap of course, (moreso than Kif).The episodes that appeal the least to me are the lengthy plot related Nibbler time twisting episodes, and the other overly story arced episodes that introduce new characters too often, which is the category in which I would place these movies.I have to say that the Wong family has always been consistently boring material for me, and I know, others too.I guess 90 minutes has that problem, in that there is a necessity to create a drama rather than a subsection of throwaway laughs and The Simpsons movie suffered from a similar fault.
Marginally better than "The Beast With a Billion Backs" this, for a big Futurama fan, was a big let down.Though Bender's big score was a watchable piece the latest two movies were a bore.
Ya ever notice how most people who take the effort to log are the ones who want to criticize or even hate on something?People who laughed wildly and were genuinely happy with the product seem much less likely to worry about it afterwards.For the record, my family and I have every Futurama episode and movie on DVD.
Direct-to-DVD movie; Genre: Sci-Fi, Animated Comedy; Content Rating: Unrated (contains adult content & animated violence); Available: DVD and Blu-Ray; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 – 4); After 4 hugely rewarding seasons on the Fox Network (not that they knew it) and 3 DVD movies, Matt Groening and David X Cohen's cancelled, cult sci-fi saga "Futurama" comes to a rollicking close with "Into the Wild Green Yonder".
"Yonder" is the epic finale we've been waiting for and I'm thrilled to report it delivers.As always, "Futurama's" focus is still its unique cast of characters and their conflicting motives, but "Yonder" is a bigger, funnier, more epic ending, worthy of the vast, detailed universe this series created.
Where "Beast" was an ambitious and sharp story it still felt disjointed and episodic, where "Yonder" is the first film to feel like a real theatrical release movie from start to finish.
Amy Wong's (Lauren Tom) dad is building a new casino on Mars, but his plans to put in a massive mini-golf park threaten the endangered species of the entire galaxy which raises the ire of eco-femenistas (led by radio genius Phil Hendrie in duel role as a female member of the show's Waterfall hippie family and her brother) as well as a secret society Fry gets involved with when an accident leaves him with the ability to read minds.
With Leela joining the femenists, Fry in a double-cross to save the universe and Bender dodging the mob and joining up with Zapp Brannigan (again West), the characters spend the movie away from or at odds with each other.
Cohen and co-writer Ken Keeler have scripted a clever chess game where each story and each motive weaves together beautifully, all building to a finale that finds that perfect balance between being a thrilling sci-fi adventure and a satisfying character conflict for our 3 unlikely heroes."Yonder" is also the funniest movie of the 4 and at times more laugh-out-loud than the series.
The fourth (and, at time of writing, final) Futurama movie is the one that cements the standard for the collection of DVD's by making a majority of the four.
Here they are fragmented and it doesn't work as well.The look of the film is as good as the usual Futurama standard and I enjoyed the different things they did with the titles, credits etc.
Overall Wild Green Yonder is a solid film that, like the others, will mostly please fans without being good enough to win over casual viewers.
The writing was entirely over-the-top in the first movie, and by the third and fourth movie I was falling asleep and trying to figure out if I even cared about the various plots.Futurama the TV series was always "fresh", not just overusing the character stereotypes that developed.
'Into The Wild Green Yonder' is the 4th movie in the very popular Futurama movie series.Just like the television show and the first 3 movies, 'Into the Wild Green Yonder' is filled with lots of crude and suggestive humor.Most of it is funny, as you'd expect.The movie is also surprisingly sexist.The main targets in the movie are woman.Not just woman, but feminists.If you were a feminist trying to struggle for the right to vote, then you will be shocked and appalled by this movie.Just try not to overreact and form a feminist group in order to cancel the TV show and find every copy of this movie and burn them.As entertaining this movie may be, it does lack the certain spark the first 3 movies had.My favorite movie in the series is 'Bender's Game', and this film isn't near to being as good.Still, I found 'Into the 'Wild Green Yonder' to be a funny and entertaining movie that fans of the show and movies will enjoy.If you don't like the show, then you can bite my shiny metal ass..
i found this final Futurama movie to be very well done in all aspects.the story was great.the writing,and the dialogue were first rate.the jokes were funny.there's just enough action.there was also a lot of suspense and the movie really hummed along at a great pace.when it ended,i was disappointed.i wanted it too keep going.and even if you're not familiar with all the characters,you should be able to follow the story fairly easily.on top of everything else,there's also a good message that's not pounded home with a sledge hammer.anyway,when you add it all up,it's a really enjoyable experience.for me,Futurama:Into The Wild Green Yonder is a 10/10.
Now I've Seen The Futurama Movies Here Is How I Rate Them: Bender's Game Bender's Big Score The Beast With A Billion Backs Into The Wild Green Yonder This Is Good For A Skit In "Play School" But Not As A Full Length Movie About Futurama.
None of the characters behave as they did during the entire series run, the love story between Fry and Lela is thrown in at the last second as an after thought, they include cameo appearances by popular guest characters merely to reinvigorate the sentimental juices of their audience and hope they don't notice the crap they are piddling, the story jumps from one pointless arc to another(the first half of the movie revolved around the robot mafia yet they disappear half way in and apparently had nothing to do with what was really happening).
I have seen all Futurama episodes and all 4 direct to DVD movies, Futurama used to be my favourite animated cartoon not anymore this is so bad it spoils the whole franchise for me (kinda like South Park season 12) the plots of all 4 movies were extremely random and nonsensical, but this is just an atrocity, the first time that the can-it-be-more-annoying feminists entered the stage I knew this would suck...
now, since this is likely the last output of the Futurama franchise, why is the MAIN theme of the series, Fry's and Leela's relationship treated in 1-2 minutes and not even finally resolved!?!
This is the last in a series of 4 movies from the Futurama franchise, Matt Groening has said this will almost certainly be the final movie (I know that a figure of 4 was mentioned in various commentaries in the 3 previous films but this is definitely the last of the series) but they may explore the franchise further in other ways, possibly online.The movie starts in deep space with some reference to DNA then we get the typical Futurama episode (although they start on Mars Vegas as opposed to normally being in New New York) with the little message being written in one of the alien language fonts they use so much so thats the 1st thing for geeks to decode.The plot revolved around Amy Wongs family having just demolished Mars Vegas to build a bigger better one, after an accident involving campaigning feminists Fry becomes a telepath and he discovers that a foil hat filters them out.
Fry should win (4 aces) but Bender has 5 Kings (so should be instantly disqualified for cheating surely?) and tries to flee with his squeeze but they are left digging shallow graves (to those wondering why there are 2 moons thats Phobos & Deimos because the film is set on Mars) but both obviously survive.Leo Wong (Amys father) sets out his plans for the Universes biggest miniature golf course stating he will destroy 12% of The Milky Way to build the whole course.
The fact that this is most of the plot of Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy (who did it far better and much funnier in 1979) goes to show the lack of creativity in these films.The body of Spiro T Agnew is killed and action finally returns to Earth (30 minutes into the movie) where the head of Nixon orders the hunting down of the feminist activists and Leela who has now joined them.
Bender sells out Leela for money (by bugging Fry's phone) and Fry joins Wongs as a security guard to smash the system from within.Planet Express Ship is hijacked by the feminists and we finally discover who "The Dark Ones" are.
It's an awful end to a generally awful series of films and Fox really should have left Futurama the way is was as it'd gone out on a high..
Actually, the only other TV Show that I can think of that does it is Family Guy. Anyway, this movie is funny, just like most of the episodes from the series.In this movie, Fry is the last hope for the universe's survival.
(WARNING CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS) Overall i think that ITWGY was a great way to end the futurama series, many plot points are wrapped up , but there is the possibility of a continuation.
I think that the way fry and Leela banded together at the end along with the rest of the cast to start a new adventure was a great way to end the movie, and quite possibly the whole series.The ending was very well formulated and sweet, but without being to corny or melodramatic.
It wasn't as funny and intelligent as the first films, but still damned good and funny, considering that it's they're fourth movie.Basically its about Amy Wongs billionaire father who plans to build a giant mini-golf course across the universe, therefore destroying 10% of all the undeveloped life that exist.
Looking at all four movies it's difficult to decide which is the most disappointing, but I think it's this.Like the other three movies, Wild Green Yonder is confusing and more interested in cramming zany ideas into a rambling plot than being funny, but at least the others had an *actual* ending.Presumably the main problems come from trying to make WGY (and the other movies) a story as both one movie and three episodes.
Family guy did this better, and after the terrible first movies the writers should have looked there.I was thrilled when I heard there was going to be more Futurama, now I'm hoping it's over..
Fry would be smart enough to know this film was a lifesaver for the Futurama series.What's the plot you might ask?
Wonderful.I thought this plot was much better than the other Futurama films, especially since it takes place mostly in the universe.
Also, there's a big complex plot much better than some squid trying to make everyone happy on Earth and the Universe, and Bender going back in time.
Fun to watch.So, I recommend this, especially if you hated the other movies of Futurama, you should give this film a try.
This is the last of four Futurama direct to DVD movies.The plot is that Amy's father plans to create a gigantic miniature golf course that will destroy a newly evolved planet.
While I enjoyed this, and the other three films, I think 'Futurama' is better suited to the half hour format; while it didn't drag it the plot did feel a bit stretched and an early sub-plot felt as if it was there to pad out the main story.The main story covers Leo Wong's attempt to built the galaxy's largest miniature golf course which will involve the destruction of several planets and the extinction of several species.
This means he can't tell Leela that he is on her side.I laughed several times and was never bored but I do wish things had been better explained; why did getting Freda's feminist symbol embedded in his head cause Fry to be able to read minds and why were the only people protesting a small group of feminists when the issue was about conservation not gender politics?
This is the fourth film, and questionably the last (at least at present) time to see the characters from Matt Groening's second most (if not more) popular show Futurama.
The film ends with the Planet Express being chased by Zapp, and instead of surrendering, they are deciding whether or not to go into a wormhole ahead of them, this is when Fry and Leela finally say they love each other, and they do go in.
And like at the start of Bender's Big Score the end uses some phrases that can be interpreted for the futurama universe and in ours with the professor saying "We may never return". |
tt0060107 | Andrey Rublev | Note: The following synopsis refers to the original, 205 minute version of the film.
Andrei Rublev is divided into eight chapters, with a prologue and an epilogue only loosely related to the main film. The main film charts the life of the great icon painter through several episodes of his life. The background is 15th century Russia, a turbulent period characterized by fighting between rival princes and the Tatar invasions.
The film's prologue shows the preparations for a hot air balloon ride. The balloon is tethered to the spire of a church next to a river, with a man named Yefim (Nikolay Glazkov) attempting to make the flight by use of a harness roped beneath the balloon. At the very moment of his attempt an ignorant mob arrive from the river and attempt to thwart the flight, putting a firebrand into the face of one of the men on the ground assisting Yefim. In spite of this the balloon is successfully released and Yefim is overwhelmed and delighted by the view from above and the sensation of flying, but he can not prevent a crash landing shortly after. He is the first of several creative characters, representing the daring escapist, whose hopes are easily crushed. After the crash, a horse is seen rolling on its back by a pond, a symbol of life – one of many horses in the movie.
I. The Jester (Summer 1400)
Andrei (Anatoly Solonitsyn), Daniil (Nikolai Grinko) and Kirill (Ivan Lapikov) are wandering monks and religious icon painters, looking for work. The three represent different creative characters. Andrei is the observer, a humanist who searches for the good in people and wants to inspire and not frighten. Daniil is withdrawn and resigned, and not as bent on creativity as on self-realization. Kirill lacks talent as a painter, yet still strives to achieve prominence. He is jealous, self-righteous, very intelligent and perceptive. The three have just left the Andronikov Monastery, where they have lived for many years, heading to Moscow. During a heavy rain shower they seek shelter in a barn, where a group of villagers is being entertained by a jester (Rolan Bykov). The jester, or skomorokh, is a bitterly sarcastic enemy of the state and the Church, who earns a living with his scathing and obscene social commentary and by making fun of the Boyars. He ridicules the monks as they come in, and after some time Kirill leaves unnoticed. Shortly, a group of soldiers arrive to arrest the skomorokh, whom they take outside, knock unconscious and take away, also smashing his musical instrument. As the rain has stopped the three monks thank the villagers for allowing them to shelter and continue on their way. As they walk on the heavy rain starts again.
II. Theophanes the Greek (Summer–Winter–Spring–Summer 1405–1406)
Kirill arrives at the workshop of Theophanes the Greek (Nikolai Sergeyev), a prominent and well-recognized master painter, who is working on a new icon of Jesus Christ. Theophanes is portrayed as a complex character: an established artist, humanistic and God-fearing in his views yet somewhat cynical, regarding his art more as a craft and a chore in his disillusion with other people. His young apprentices have all run away to the town square, where a wrongly convicted criminal is about to be tortured and executed. Kirill talks to Theophanes, and the artist, impressed by the monk's understanding and erudition, invites him to work as his apprentice on the decoration of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow. Kirill refuses at first, but then accepts the offer on the condition that Theophanes will personally come to the Andronikov Monastery and invite Kirill to work with him in front of all the fraternity and Andrei Rublev, who according to Theophanes' comments has some fame as an icon painter in the outside world.
A short while later at the Andronikov Monastery, a messenger arrives from Moscow to ask Andrei for his assistance in decorating the Annunciation Cathedral with Theophanes the Greek. Both Daniil and Kirill are agitated by the recognition that Andrei receives. Daniil refuses to accompany Andrei and reproaches him for accepting Theophanes’ offer without considering his fellows, but soon repents of his temper and tearfully wishes Andrei well when the younger monk comes to say goodbye to his friend. Kirill is jealous of Andrei and in a fit of anger, decides to leave the monastery for the secular world, throwing accusations of greed in the face of his fellow monks, who also dismiss him. Kirill stumbles out of the monastery into the snowy countryside and is pursued by his dog, but Kirill savagely beats it with his walking stick and leaves it for dead. Andrei leaves for Moscow with his young apprentice Foma (Mikhail Kononov). Foma is another creative character, representing the light-hearted and practical-minded commercial artist. Still he seems to be contemplative enough to get along with Andrei.
III. The Passion According to Andrei (1406)
While walking in the woods, Andrei and Foma have a conversation about Foma’s faults, especially lying. Foma confesses to taking honey from the bee garden, after Andrei notices his cassock is tacky, and smears mud on his face to soothe a bee sting. While Foma has talent as an artist, he is less concerned with the deeper meaning of his work and more concerned with practical aspects of the job, like perfecting his azure, a colour which in painting was often considered unstable to mix. They encounter Theophanes in the forest, and the old master sends Foma away. As he leaves, the apprentice finds a dead swan and pokes at it with a stick. We cut to banks of a stream where Andrei and Theophanes are arguing about religion, while Foma cleans his master's paint brushes. Theophanes argues that the ignorance of the Russian people is due to stupidity, while Andrei says that he doesn’t understand how he can be a painter and maintain such views. This section contains a reenactment of Christ's Crucifixion on a snow-covered hillside which plays out as Andrei recounts the story and expresses his belief that the men who crucified Jesus were obeying God's will and loved him.
IV. The Feast (1408)
Camping for the night on a riverbank, Andrei and Foma are collecting firewood for their group when Andrei hears the distant sounds of celebration further upstream in the woods. Going to investigate he encounters a large group of naked pagans, who are conducting a torch lit ritual for Midsummer. Andrei is intrigued and excited by the behaviour of the pagans but is caught spying on a couple making love, is tied to the crossbeam of a hut in a mockery of Jesus' crucifixion and is threatened with drowning in the morning. A woman named Marfa (Nelly Snegina), dressed only in a fur coat approaches Andrei. After explaining that her people are persecuted for their beliefs she drops her coat, kisses Andrei and then unties him. Andrei runs away, and is lost in the dense woods, scratching his face. The next morning Andrei returns to his group, including Daniil, and as they leave on their boats a group of soldiers appear on the riverbank chasing after several of the pagans including Marfa. Her partner is captured but she makes her naked escape by swimming into the river past Andrei’s boat. He and his fellow monks look away in shame.
V. The Last Judgment (Summer 1408)
Andrei and Daniil are working on the decoration of a church in Vladimir. Although they have been there for several months the walls are still white and bare as Andrei is doubting himself. A messenger arrives with word from the furious Bishop to say they have until the Autumn to finish the job. On a nearby road in the middle of a field of flowers Andrei confides to Daniil that the task disgusts him and that he is unable to paint a subject such as the Last Judgement as he doesn’t want to terrify people into submission. He comes to the conclusion that he has lost the ease of mind that an artist needs for his work. Foma, impatient and ambitious, resigns and leaves Andrei's group to take up the offer of painting a smaller, less prestigious, church. Stone carvers and decorators of Andrei's party have also been working on the Grand Prince's mansion. The Prince wants the work to be done again more in line with his tastes but the workers already have another job, at the mansion of the Grand Prince's brother, and refuse. On a path through the woods soldiers accost the artisans on the orders of the Grand Prince and gouge their eyes out, so that they cannot replicate their work. Back at the church Andrei is dismayed by the news of their fate and angrily throws paint and smears it on one of the walls. Sergei (Vladimir Titov) one of the young apprentices who escaped the attack unharmed reads a random section of the bible aloud, at Daniil's request, concerning women. Durochka (Irma Raush) (whose name identifies her as a holy fool or Yurodivy), wanders in out of the rain and is upset by the sight of the paint on the wall. Her feeble-mindedness and innocence leads Andrei to the idea to paint a feast.
VI. The Raid (Autumn 1408)
While the Grand Prince is away in Lithuania, his power-hungry younger brother forms an allegiance with a group of Tatars and raids Vladimir. We see flashbacks of the Grand Prince and his brother attending a religious service in the church, and see the rivalry and animosity between them. The invasion of the combined armed forces on horseback and the resulting carnage is shown in great detail. The city is burned, the citizens are murdered and women raped and killed. One scene shows a horse falling from a flight of stairs and being stabbed by a spear. Another shows a cow being set on fire. Foma narrowly escapes being killed in the city and escapes into the nearby countryside, but as he is crossing a river he is shot in the back with an arrow and killed. The Tatars force their way into the barricaded church, now fully decorated with Andrei's paintings, where the majority of the citizens have taken refuge. The Tatars show no mercy and massacre the people inside and burn all the painted wooden altarpieces. Andrei saves Durochka from being raped by killing a Tatar with an axe. The Bishop's messenger is cruelly tortured to make him reveal the location of the city's gold, which he refuses to do. After being repeatedly burned, he has liquid metal from a melted crucifix poured into his mouth and is dragged away tied to a horse. In the aftermath only Andrei and Durochka are left alive in the church. Andrei imagines a conversation with the dead Theophanes the Greek, lamenting the loss of his work and the evil of mankind, while Durochka distractedly plaits the hair of a dead woman. Andrei decides to give up painting and takes a vow of silence to atone for killing another man.
VII. The Silence (Winter 1412)
Andrei is once again at the Andronikov Monastery as famine and war grip the country. He no longer paints and never speaks, and keeps Durochka with him as a fellow companion in silence. Several refugees discuss the problems in their respective home towns, and one man talks in a broken voice of his escape from Vladimir. He is recognised by a younger monk as the long absent Kirill. He has suffered during his time away from the monastery and begs the father superior to allow him to return. His wish is granted but he is instructed to copy out the holy scriptures fifteen times in penance. A group of Tatars stops at the monastery while travelling through the region, much to the concern of Andrei and Kirill who experienced their brutality first hand. Durochka is too simple minded to remember what the Tatars did and is fascinated by one of the soldier's shining breastplate. The group taunt and play with her, but the soldier takes a liking to her, putting his horned helmet on her head and dressing her as a bride, finally deciding to take her away with him as his eighth, and only Russian, wife. Andrei attempts to stop her from leaving, but she is determined and rides away with the Tatars. Kirill talks to Andrei for the first time since they both left the monastery, and he assures him that Durochka won't be in any danger, as harming a holy fool is considered bad luck, and she will be let go. Andrei continues his menial work of carrying large hot stones from a fire with tongs to heat water for the monastery, but drops the stone in the snow.
VIII. The Bell (Spring–Summer–Winter–Spring 1423–1424)
Andrei’s life turns around as he witnesses the casting of a bell for the Grand Prince. Boriska (Nikolai Burlyayev) is the young son of a bellmaker; all his family have died of a plague that has ravaged the area. He tells the Prince's men that he is the only one who possesses his father's secret, delivered at the death bed, of casting a bronze bell and persuades them to take him with them as he is the only person left alive who can make it successfully. Boriska is put in charge of the project and frequently contradicts and challenges the instincts of his co-workers when choosing the location of the pit, the selection of the proper clay, the building of the mold, the firing of the furnaces and finally the hoisting of the bell. Even Boriska expresses doubts that he will succeed in making the bell ring. The process of making the bell grows into a huge, expensive endeavour with many hundreds of workers and Boriska makes several risky decisions, guided only by his instincts. As the furnaces are opened and the molten metal pours into the mould, he privately asks God for help. Andrei silently watches Boriska during the casting, and the younger man notices him too.
During the bell-making, the skomorokh from the first sequence makes a reappearance amongst the crowds who have come to watch the bell being raised up and he threatens to kill Andrei, whom he mistakes for the man who denounced him years earlier and therefore led to his arrest, torture and prison sentence. Kirill intervenes on behalf of the silent Andrei and later privately confesses that his sinful envy of Andrei’s talent dissipated once he heard Andrei had abandoned painting and that it was he, Kirill, who had denounced the skomorokh. Kirill then criticises Andrei for allowing his God-given talent for painting to go to waste and pleads with him to resume his artistry, to no response.
As the bell-making nears completion, Boriska’s confidence slowly transforms into a stunned, detached disbelief that he’s succeeded at the task. The work crew takes over as Boriska makes several attempts to fade into the background of the activity. Once the bell has been hoisted into its tower the Grand Prince and his entourage arrive for the inaugural ceremony as the bell is blessed by the priests. As the bell is prepared to be rung the royal entourage is overhead discussing their doubts that it will. It is revealed that Boriska and the work crew know if the bell fails to ring the Grand Prince will have them all beheaded. (It is also overheard that the Grand Prince had his brother, who raided Vladimir in The Raid sequence, beheaded.) There is a quiet, agonizing tension as the foreman slowly coaxes the bell's clapper back and forth, nudging it closer to the lip of the bell with each swing. A pan across the assembly reveals white-robed Durochka, leading a horse (preceded by a child, presumably hers) as she walks through the crowd. At the critical moment the bell rings perfectly, and she smiles. After the ceremony, Andrei finds Boriska collapsed on the ground, sobbing. He admits his father never told him the secret of casting a bell. Andrei comforts him, breaking his vow of silence and telling the boy that they should carry on their work together: “You’ll cast bells. I’ll paint icons.” Andrei sees Durochka, the boy, and the horse walk off across a muddy field in the distance.
The epilogue is the only part of the film in colour and shows time-aged, but still vibrant, details of several of Andrei Rublev’s actual icons. The icons are shown in the following order: Enthroned Christ, Twelve Apostles, The Annunciation, Twelve Apostles, Jesus entering Jerusalem, Birth of Christ, Enthroned Christ, Transfiguration of Jesus, Resurrection of Lazarus, The Annunciation, Resurrection of Lazarus, Birth of Christ, Trinity, Archangel Michael, Paul the Apostle, The Redeemer. The final scene crossfades from the icons and shows four horses standing by a river in the rain. | cruelty, murder, allegory, violence, atmospheric, flashback, romantic | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0354623 | Hellraiser: Hellworld | The film introduces a circle of youths who are addicted to playing Hellworld, an online computer game based on the Hellraiser series. The film opens at the funeral of Adam, one of their friends who was obsessed with the game and ultimately committed suicide after becoming too immersed in the game. The remaining five friends blame themselves for not having prevented Adam's suicide.
Two years later, they attend a private Hellworld Party at an old mansion after receiving invites through the game. Mike, Derrick and Allison are enthusiastic about the party, while Chelsea reluctantly accompanies them. Jake, who is still very much distressed by Adam's death, only agrees to show up after a female Hellworld player with whom he has struck up an online friendship asks him to attend so they can meet. The quintet are cordially welcomed by the middle-aged party host, who offers them drinks, shows them around the mansion (allegedly a former convent and asylum also built by Philip Lemarchand), and provides them with cell phones to communicate with other guests.
As the party progresses, Allison, Derrick and Mike find themselves trapped in separate parts of the house, and are gruesomely killed by the Host, Pinhead, or Cenobite minions Chatterer II and Bound. Jake and Chelsea become mysteriously invisible to other party guests, and are stalked by the Host and the Cenobites.
Holing herself up in the attic, Chelsea finds items belonging to Adam, and discovers that the host is his father, who blames his son's friends for not helping break his addiction. Chelsea and Jake try to flee, only to discover that they have been buried alive and are receiving messages from the host via cell phones in their respective caskets. The Host informs them that they are just coming out of a hallucination induced by a powerful psychedelic he exposed them to upon their arrival, and that the events they have been experiencing have been the result of hypnotic suggestion and their own guilty consciences. Before leaving, he lets Chelsea know that Allison, Derrick, and Mike have all perished in their respective caskets, and that only she and Jake remain alive. Chelsea begins to slip into another hallucination when she is abruptly pulled above ground by police and paramedics, who say they were informed by a phone call from Chelsea's telephone. Looking towards the house, Chelsea sees Adam standing in the window.
Later, the Host sits in a bedroom, going through a suitcase containing Adam's possessions. He finds and opens the actual Lament Configuration, which summons the real Cenobites. Pinhead praises Adam's ingenuity and mocks the Host's disbelief before Chatterer and Bound tear him to pieces.
Jake and Chelsea are shown driving into the sunrise, when they receive a mysterious phone call from the Host, who suddenly appears in the back seat. The two almost crash the car but are able to stop it. The last scene shows the police entering the bedroom in which the Host opened the box, the walls blood-smeared and the box lying on the floor. | good versus evil, revenge, neo noir, murder, violence | train | wikipedia | Lines of dialogue like this:"You been away from the dark realm a while, Chels, how'd it feel playin' again?""Just like any other ultra-violent twenty-four hour wildly popular and yet utterly purposeless embraced-by-the-masses Internet role-playing game."It's one of those lines of dialogue that they always put into movies like Hellraiser 8 that are impossible to avoid sounding like they were written and re-written and rehearsed and re- rehearsed and then finally they just give up trying to make it sound natural after 30 or 40 takes and, exasperated, just drop the best bad take into the movie.
His friends later mourn that they all knew what was happening to him but still kept playing Hellworld, although if you watch the making-of featurettes on the DVD, Director Rick Bota refers to Hellworld as "a website, or video game." It's kind of an ominous sign when even the director doesn't know what his movie is about.
If you thought Jigsaw had some time on his hands to come up with some incredibly complex machines of torture, wait until you see the plot that is hatched by the Host (played by Lance Henriksen, who wastes his talent completely in this movie).
Also don't miss the making-of featurette on the DVD, in which you can witness Pinhead eating a piece of pizza and, my favorite, Khary Payton, one of the actors in the film, makes the following mysterious analogy "Horror movies are like roller coasters, you know, they're not gonna win Oscars or that kind of thing, but they're just a lot of fun."I don't know, Khary, have you ridden Xtreme at Magic Mountain in Southern California?
The problem, you see, is the following: the first half of the series (yes, even the 4th installment which most people dislike) were monster-movies - a mysterious box, a couple of evil looking beings that came with it, and a lot of unlucky people who came in contact with them - while "Inferno" and the rest have been turned into mind game movies, where people see things which may, or may not, be related to the box...What we have in "Hellworld" is a genuine mediocre teen slasher: 5 young people, who were once dedicated players of the Internet based game "Hellworld" but are taking it cooler since the suicide of their fellow player, get invited to a big party.
It could have used more deaths though.I have to mention two positive things about the movie: Lace (hey, it doesn't matter if it's a brilliant masterpiece or Z-class production when Lance is in it!) and the fact that everybody was familiar with the Hellraiser mythology (the main character Chelsea even mentions that cenobites could never attack her because she would never open the box...
I love the original hellraisers and i just keep hoping that they make at least 1 more decent sequel but thats looking unlikely.Having said that i've seen worse films but its seems to have gone down the the traditional slasher film a bit too much.
This movie is about fans of the series (like you and I) and one exciting night in their lives that goes bad.FWIW, Pinhead and the Cenobites are not *AT ALL* demoted to Freddy Kruger analogues spewing one-liners for their comedic effect, as others have posted here previously.
But the gore is *definitely* there, and Hellworld accomplishes it in an interesting and fun (there's that word again) way.You might be able to call some of the shots along the way, but I can almost guarantee you won't call the final twist.Being the avid Hellraiser fan that I am, I bought this movie the day it came out and watched it.
Five teenagers hooked on Hellworld, an internet game based on the horrific world of the Cenobites, are invited to an exclusive rave party for avid fans of all things Pinhead, where their host, played by Lance Henriksen, has 'such sights to show them', pitching them into a nightmare world where they come face-to-face with their darkest fears.Doug Bradley continues to pay the bills as Pinhead in yet another lousy Hellraiser sequel.
With the exception of the final scene, every time Pinhead and his pals appear, it's in someone's imagination.The insulting script is a complete mess, the direction is uninspired, the acting is poor (even Lance Henriksen is bad), and virtually all of the characters are unlikeable.
Usually I think people just haven't given a movie a real chance when they give it 1star out of 10, but this movie do not deserve anything but the worst possible rating.This shows a total lack of respect for Doug Bradley and Lance Henriksen and anything associated with Clive Barker and Hellraiser.
Of course by the end of the film, it's explained why this is the case, but by that point you've wasted roughly 90 minutes of your time watching a pointless story trying to cash in on the Saw "torture porn" genre.Overall the acting is sub-par; probably even worse than you'd expect from a low budget horror flick.
None of them are integral to the world of Hellraiser, although they might feature the trappings in a kind of "Pinhead Presents" fashion.Hellworld is in fact literally festooned with Lemarchant cubes and the like, but it's a thin veneer covering the reality of one of the worst conceived, plot-hole ridden c-movies ever made.
It was Pinhead, the leather-clad Black Pope of Hell's Labyrinth, played with ghastly grandeur by thespian Doug Bradley, the symbol of the brilliantly macabre Hellraiser series.However, with the release of Hellraiser: Hellworld, the third direct-to-video sequel directed by Rick Bota (whose previous entries, Hellseeker and Deader, actually gave me fleeting moments of hope for the Hellraiser series), not only has Pinhead caved (and this is a level of caving that no one could ever imagine, a level even worse than the one he stooped to in Hell on Earth), but the whole idea and principle of the series has caved to a point of extreme embarrassment.In the "real world," Pinhead, the Cenobites, the Labyrinth, Leviathan, and the Lament Configuration are nothing more than instruments in "Hellworld," the hottest internet game to sweep the gamer and hacker world (which is kind of a sad commentary on the gaming world).
Five gamers in particular Chelsea (Katheryn Winnick), Allison (Anna Tolputt), Derrick (Khary Payton), Mike (Henry Cavill), and Jake (Christopher Jacot) have been invited to a "Hellworld" party, hosted by a peculiar man (Lance Henriksen, who just seems to be looking for work nowadays, which is just depressing) who knows all about Hell and more.
It's pretty rare that you notice how bad the lead actress is in a straight to video horror sequel.But sadly, that's one of the smaller problems of this movie.Hellraiser use to be one of those rare horror films that had a real mythology to it.
No, pinhead is almost never the main bad guy in these films, but he always gets his say and often oddly ends up saving the day.With all the changes this movie almost seems like it is a spoof of the horror gener.
Hellrasier: Hellworld is director Rick Bota's third and, thankfully, final entry, and he bows out with his most atrocious Hellraiser film yet, having succeeded in turning the world of Cenobites, sadism and the quest for the ultimate pleasure into a running joke of slasher clichés, with an obligatory, blink-and- you'll-miss-it cameo by Pinhead (Doug Bradley) to loosely tie into Barker's mythology and allowing production company Dimension to retain the rights to the series in the process.Two years after they buried a close friend who became obsessed with playing online game Hellworld (based on Hellraiser) and committed suicide, five friends - Chelsea (Katheryn Winnick), Jake (Christopher Jacot), Derrick (Khary Payton), Mike (Henry Cavill) and Allison (Anna Tolputt) - receive an invitation to attend a private Hellworld party held at an old mansion.
Some of this is obviously rushed, but the photography, setting, and some parts of the story work well.***** Hellraiser: Hellworld (9/6/05) Rick Bota ~ Katheryn Winnick, Christopher Jacot, Lance Henriksen, Henry Cavill.
I have no idea if the Hellworld game is an MMORPG, and I do not think Lance has any plan to show them the truth about cenobites (although he does display a very impressive museum of cenobite-related artifacts and torture devices.)While this movie is not great by any means (it has a bunch of stupid kids getting killed, but is not a slasher, so it does not hold my interest), it has two things going for it: one, it actually has almost nothing to do with video games, despite the way the movie appears.
Rick Bota delivers his 3rd movie in the Hellraiser franchise and whilst it's a lot better then the awful Hellraiser 7 (Deader) it's still not as good as his original entry Hellraiser 6 (Hellseeker).The acting for the most part is good, Lance Henrikson is reliable as always and the rest of the characters are humorous enough to be likable slasher victims.The story is the weak part, it's a far cry from Hellseeker and leaves you waiting till the end before it provides some originality.
The story of "Hellraiser:Hellworld" revolves around a group of teens who receive invitations through a Hellraiser website to attend a Hellworld party.They then find themselves in a huge mansion party with plenty of sex and booze.The party is hosted by the Lance Henriksen character.Then one by one the gang start to die at the hands of Pinhead and the Cenobites at the urging of the host,who apparently has a hidden score to settle with each of the teens."Hellraiser:Hellworld" is a crappy teen slasher flick with little bit of gore and sex thrown in.The characters are obnoxious and stupid and the action moves at snail's pace.Pinhead is used sparingly and his dialogue sucks.The direction by Rick Bota is uninspired and the script by Joel Soisson is extremely predictable.Like "Hellraiser:Deader","Hellword" is beyond bad and even Henriksen's great performance can't save the film.3 out of 10..
The plot does, however, have a little more about it than you would expect, and if you ignore the fact that none of the lead characters look or act like the sort of people that would become obsessed by an online game called 'Hellworld', the plot of them going to a heavy metal 'Hellworld' party at some old house is easy enough to buy into.Lance Henriksen sums up much of the film with the line "it's like something out of a bad horror movie".
Director Rick Bota returns to the Hellraiser franchise for a third time, bringing with him another twist-ending chapter that departs from the original themes only slightly, but which maintains enough Cenobite screen time and gore to please most fans.While not the intelligent man's horror film of Hellraiser 7: Deader, Bota's previous installment, Hellworld is ultimately redeemed by its ending and the creepy performance of Lance Henricksen, always a welcome if gnarled face in films of this type.The story assumes that the Hellraiser mythos complete with Lament Configuration, Pinhead and Cenobites has seeped into popular culture and attained a cult status within the clove cigarette, rave club crowd of present day.
Acknowledging the poseur lifestyle adopted by these neopreppies, Hellworld pokes fun by in a scene were our leads ooh and ah while looking at torture devices, pickled baby carcasses and other horror scenery, but whine like children when stuck with a tiny pin.The film opens at a funeral for Adam, one of a group of teens (portrayed by bland twenty-something actors with perfect bone structure, of course) who we're told were addicted to the online Hellworld role-playing game; Adam, it seems, had taken things too far in his game play, and wound up dead.
Fans who have read plot summaries that talk about a Hellraiser website or hackers being the focus of the film need not fear: there is not a single cyber Cenobite to be had; this is not Pinhead meets Tron, thank God. We never actually see the online game at all, and it's just a plot device to get the characters into the film's real setting, a haunted house.Two years after the funeral, another Hellworld website pops up, granting site guests invitations to a Hellraiser inspired rave party.
The newer films are different than the first two, but in some ways they are better, more contemporary and still chilling.It's not the best of the series, but Hellraiser 8: Hellworld is better than its tag line and promos suggest, and still a top notch horror film that features a great ending and thankfully!
With idea stolen from Fredie's new nightmare, big boobed main characters and "virtual lament box??" (what's up with that) and poor acting this is for sure one of the worst hell raisers and one of the worse horror movies i have seen ( and i have seen a lot of them trust me on that people).
I don't no what to say.The story is quit good.Also Henrikson who opens the box is a great scene.Watch it,you will like it.What else to say?Oh yes.So pinhead has a knife and thats why i loved the movie so much!It's different then the hooks and the chains.It is also quit gory.My feelins about hellraiser is fresh again!I cannot wait till the 9th hellraiser.Also pinhead is very cool.Cooler than inferno..
It is not completely without redeeming merits but the bad outweighs the good significantly and it's abysmal as a 'Hellraiser' film and very bad as a film on its own.Not much to recommend it, but Lance Henriksen does bring menace to the main villain and Doug Bradley still has it as Pinhead.Katheryn Winnick does her best and is serviceable and it begins sort of intriguingly.On the other hand, once again like all the sequels since 'Inferno' Pinhead and the Cenobites are very poorly used, merely being thrown in to try and remind us that the film is part of the franchise and serve no point to the story.
I thought last was really bad but this one even worse one in the whole series (No I won't counting in the Revelations as not going bother with it all )Gamers playing a MMORPG based on the "Hellraiser" franchise find their lives endangered after being invited to a rave whose host intends to show them the truth behind the Cenobite mythos.I found first half of hour of movie was just a waste of time, were nothing really happens, I Don't mind slow start, at least give us something to chew on for a bit but nothing.Then the teens are getting killed in this movie , some of the death scene are bloody but in a way they looked really cheap.the effect were not that good at all, However did seem have a bit more bloody moment in this movie then last few sequels (Which dose not make good Hellrasier movie)The acting ( If you can call it that) from all teens.
The gore is limited compared to Hellraiser 1,2,3,and 4.A big twist is how the movie ends, with Pinhead only given 2 minutes total screen time throughout the whole movie just like Inferno,Hellseeker and Deader.
I feel so embarrass watching it.Brief: Four friends win a ticket on the Hellworld.com to enter the house of the Hellraiser.This movie fails so bad that it can't even be call a horror.
I think they do it well, and Pinhead, the Cenobites the puzzle box, everything about the Hellraiser mythos makes this movie a lot better than other modern horror movies that have sucked..
i enjoyed this eighth and final(so far)movie in the Hellraiser series of movies.like the majority with the Hellraiser name,that's the only connection to the series,the name.however,i did enjoy it.at least they something interesting with the movie.not necessarily original,but a refreshing change form number four on.i found myself immersed in the story at times,and there was actually some suspense here.having Lance Henrikson in the cast didn't hurt matters any.he can usually be counted on to give a decent performance,even in a real crap movie(which this one is not).Rick Bota,who directed the two previous movies in the series,helmed this installment.as much i was entertained by this one,i really hope they don't make anymore sequels.eight in the series is enough.or too many,depending on your point of view.
Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005) ** (out of 4) The eighth and so far final entry in the HELLRAISER series has good old Pinhead (Doug Bradley) back and this time he's given more screenplay and gets to mix it up with Lance Henriksen.
HELLRAISER: HELLWORLD certainly isn't a good movie but it's about what you'd expect from a film like this.
At the end of the day, you feel dumber having watched the film, but at least you got some cheap and cheesy b-horror amusement out of a cash-in flick with the "Hellraiser" name slapped on it.In all honesty, "Hellraiser: Hellworld" is hardly the worst thing to happen to the "Hellraiser" series.
Lance Henriksen sums it up himself the best stating at one point: "You feel like your in a bad horror movie?" Hell, yeah.
A bunch of cool style kids (punk girl, heroine, jerky guy, hero, and black guy) play a computer game and win a chance to go to a lame as hell (get it????) party run by Lance Henriksen who starts killing the kids off one by one because he blames them for the death of his son who poured gasoline on his body because Rick Botard wanted him to be in a Hellraiser sequel.
If there was any justice in the world, Doug Bradley and Lance Henriksen would get better movie gigs, Rick Bota would stick to directing bad TV movies and Clive Barker would come to his senses and force them to remove his name from this garbage.The sad truth is the Hellraiser franchise has been deader than Uncle Frank for over a decade, but Dimension are determined to hammer more nails into the coffin until they have rung the last cent out of it. |
tt1403981 | Remember Me | The movie opens with an 11-year-old girl and her mother standing by the subway waiting for it to arrive. Two men come and shove the mother, stealing her purse. The men climb on the subway and the woman and her daughter stay off. Just before the subway leaves one of the men shoots the mother. The young girl screams. We then see Sgt. Neil Craig run in and hug the young girl and we discover that this policeman is the girls father (Chris Cooper)The next scene opens by showing a very unkempt apartment. We see Tyler (Robert Pattinson) on the porch smoking, and drinking. Tyler gets a call and quickly puts on a suit and runs out the door. He goes to a graveyard where his father (Pierce Brosnan) his mother (Lena Olin) and his sister (Ruby Jerins) are laying stones on a grave. The grave belongs to a Michael Hawkins. They go to a coffee shop and his mother remarks that Michael would have liked to know they still went to the coffee shop. The coffee shop was Michael and Tyler's special place. Tyler's sister Caroline begins to talk about an art exhibit she has when her father rudely interrupts her to ask for the sugar. Tyler yells at his father and runs out of the coffee shop. Before leaving he moves the sugar away from his father.We see Tyler walking with his roommate Aidan (Tate Ellington). Aidan suggests selling a kit to girls who have one night stands. We learn that Tyler had a one-night stand the night before. Aidan tells Tyler to call the kit S.L.U.T. Tyler laughs at him but is obviously depressed. Aidan convinces Tyler to go out for "just one drink!" Tyler and Aidan party at the bar and leave completely drunk with two girls from Miami. Tyler sees a fight going on and he runs in to break it up. Tyler begins to smack one guy repeatedly, very violently. Aidan follows him to try to stop him and in the struggle Tyler hits one of the Miami girls in the nose. The police come and break up the fight and the other Miami girl tells the police that Tyler and Aidan are innocent. The police set them free and Tyler thinks that only two of the people involved should be arrested. He yells at the policeman (the same policeman we saw before played by Chris Cooper) that he's supposed to give a shit. The policeman tells him to go home. Tyler ends up hitting the policeman and the policeman slaps his face hard against the police car. Tyler and Aidan both go to jail and Aidan says that Tyler might want to throw his life away but he doesn't.Aidan and Tyler's bails are both posted and Tyler goes to see his father. He says he'll pay the lawyers fee and that he doesn't want to be bailed out of anything. He also says "I didn't call you" meaning he doesn't want his father's help.We see the policeman and his daughter (the young girl who lost her mother) portrayed by Emilie de Ravin. We learn her name is Ally. Her father drives her to school at NYU.At the NYU campus we see Aidan arguing with a teacher over a grade and trying to flirt with her in order to improve his grade. He sees Ally and her father pull up and he recognizes her father from the night before. He runs home to tell Tyler and suggests that Tyler take her out on a date and then dump her or steal her panties and sell them as revenge for her father scarring Tyler's face. Aidan points her out to Tyler when they're back at school and Tyler recognizes her from his social policies class. (Earlier we had seen her answer a question about terrorism in Tyler's class.) He tells her he is doing an experiment with women in their early twenties to find out how much of an A-hole Aidan is. She says she's 19 and he offers to take her to dinner as the reward for being in the survey. She seems reluctant but accepts.He calls her before he leaves to dinner and says, "I know you're going to stand me up." We see that this was her plan as she is in sweatpants on her bed. She lies and tells him shes on her way and gets dressed in a hurry. Her father asks her where she's going and who she's going with (very overprotective.) We see them at the restaurant where she explains why she orders her dessert first. We learn she is constantly wary of death and has a fear of asteroids. They go to a fair and Tyler pays off a game attendant to get a panda for Ally. She gets into a taxi (she doesn't take the subway) and Tyler tries to kiss her. She says "Not tonight" and Tyler remarks that she eats her dessert first for fear of choking but won't kiss him before she drives off into the unknown. She interrupts him with a kiss and the taxi drives off.Tyler picks up his sister Caroline from school and they go to Central Park where they discuss her bullies, her art exhibit and that she believes their father doesn't like her.Tyler is making spaghetti for Ally on their second date. She notices pictures of Michael and that Tyler has a tattoo on his chest that says Michael. Tyler sprays Ally with water and they get in a water fight, eventually leading to a make out session in the shower. Aidan comes back and tells them to go to a party upstairs and have "just one drink."The scene then cuts to Tyler holding Ally's hair as she vomits over the toilet. She says to call her dad before she falls asleep but her cell battery is dead. Ally wakes up the next morning and her father has been searching all night for her. She knows how worried he gets and runs home and he yells at her for being out all night with a boy and coming home smelling like alcohol. She says he doesn't have to be on top of her just because he couldn't save her mother and he slaps her on the face and cuts her lip.She runs off to Tyler's house and falls asleep there. She wakes up and she and Tyler have sex.Tyler leaves her to go to the coffee shop that was special to him and Michael and writes about her to Michael. When Tyler comes back he explains to Ally that he had to tell Michael about her.Tyler has a birthday party at his mother's house (he turns 22 the same age his brother was when he killed himself.) Caroline talks to Tyler, Aidan and Ally about her art exhibition. Tyler's mother worries that his father won't show up. Tyler says I won't let that happen and he invites his father to dinner with him and Ally before the art show. Ally asks Caroline if she minds Ally, a "random girl" coming to the exhibition. Caroline says, "You're not random. You're Tyler's girlfriend." During this conversation Caroline tells Ally that the Met is one of her favorite places in the world.Tyler's father shows up late to dinner and they have a discussion about the Yankees. Ally tells Tyler and his father about when she saw her mother murdered. Tyler's father gets a call and says I have to go but I'll meet you at the exhibition. He stands up Caroline's exhibition and she is heartbroken.Tyler takes Ally to his apartment and rides his bike to his father's office. We can tell he is furious. He runs into his father's business meeting and yells at him. He asks him why he isn't riveted by everything Caroline says. The clients of Tyler's father offer to leave and he yells, "Sit the fuck down!" Tyler adds that the other children are going to hang themselves on his watch. (We had learned that Tyler's brother Michael hung himself after beginning to work for his father and Tyler's the one who found his body.)Tyler goes home crying and Ally tries to reassure him.There's then a montage of scenes of Ally and Tyler being in love (going to the beach, etc).We see Ally's father picking up the phone to hear a message from Ally saying she's all right.Ally and Tyler are riding a train with Aidan who remarks that he has slept with a person from every country. Ally challenges him with an Eskimo and he goes to show her the Eskimo librarian he slept with while Tyler goes home.Tyler hears something in his house and picks up a bat. He sees Ally's father sitting on his bed. (He traced the call and found Tyler.) Ally's father asks if Ally knows how Tyler got his scars. Tyler says no. Ally's father attacks Tyler and tries to strangle him and then leaves. Tyler breaks down.Ally comes home and Tyler tells her the truth. She breaks up with him and goes home to her father.Tyler takes Caroline to a slumber party. We see Caroline standing tentatively by the door, afraid to go in.We see Ally at home giving her father cooking advice. Aidan comes to their house and says it was his fault that Tyler didn't tell Ally how he got his scars and why he was dating her and she should forgive Tyler.We see Caroline calling her mother sobbing and begging to be picked up from the slumber party. At night some of the girls who had bullied her had sheared off half of her hair.We see Ally and Aidan in Tyler's mother's apartment where she is sobbing. Tyler is lying on the bed with Caroline who is also sobbing. Tyler won't leave until she is asleep. Then Tyler and Ally go out to the porch and talk. Tyler's father comes to comfort Caroline, which is surprising because no one thought he really loved her.Tyler takes Caroline to school where she has a new haircut and the girl who cut her hair remarks that she likes it. Tyler shoves the girls desk and throws a fire extinguisher out the classroom window.Tyler goes to jail for vandalism and his father posts his bail. Tyler's father says he is taking care of the bully problem at Caroline's school. He asks Tyler to come to his office the next day to talk to the lawyers. Tyler says again that he didn't call him.Tyler spends the night with Ally and leaves her a note saying he'll be back.Tyler's father doesn't expect Tyler to show up on time so he goes to take Caroline to school. When Tyler calls him and says he is at the office he is surprised and tells him to wait. Tyler sits in his fathers chair and notices that the screensaver on his father's computer is pictures of their family. Tyler didn't realize his father cared that much.We cut to a teacher writing the date on the board at Caroline's school, September 11 2001.We see Tyler looking out the window of his father's office as if he heard something. The screen moves back and we see that Tyler is in the 92nd floor of one of the twin towers. The shot fades to black.We then see..
Tyler's mother, Caroline, and his father run outside sobbing.
Ally and Aidan confusedly run to the roof of their building and burst into tears.
Ally's father instructs other policemen near the twin towers while sobbing.
We see Tyler's journal among the rubble.Cut to Caroline leaving stones on Tyler's grave and we hear a voiceover of Tyler saying he forgives Michael for killing himself. We see Tyler's father taking Caroline to the Met, one of her favorite places in the world. We see Aidan with a tattoo on his arm that says Tyler. Then we see Ally waiting on the subway platform where her mother was murdered. She gets on the subway for the first time in years and smiles as the credits roll. | depressing, murder, dramatic, violence, philosophical, romantic | train | imdb | I'm not a Rob fan, and not to be rude, but I think the Twilight movies are terrible and the books not much better.
Now, you, the reader, are probably wondering what the heck was I doing then, going to see this movie, if I had such a dislike towards Twilight and Rob. The answer is two words: my friend.
Some critics said it was too saccharine, others said the plot was pointless, yet not one of them could explain why every person who watched the movie fell in love with it, or why each of them had a copy stashed under their bed.
This movie is nothing like Twilight, and he does a great job in the role of Tyler.I went into the movie thinking it was going to be stupid and predictable...I was only going to see it because it was free.
Shockingly, not only did Pattinson easily eclipse both Pierce Brosnan's and Chris Cooper's performances as the two "fathers" of the story, which were both excellent, but he gave us something we will remember for a very long time.
All the main characters are seriously flawed and damaged people that because they come together (thanks to the angry Tyler) become better people and find their own reasons to truly live life (something none of them have done in years).I thought the acting was very well done.
I sit here now a grown man who feels absolutely exhausted, but not from the agony having to watch the movie, but from the bipolar like seesaw of joy/agony/hope/desperation which this movie takes you through.When I saw the guy from the vampire flicks, I expected a teenage type romantic comedy or the like and this film was anything but comedy.
By the end of the movie Pattinson earned my respect as an actor and his supporting cast was pretty good as well.The movie gets a bit slow at times, especially for fans of Twilight movies, but if you are patient, and pay attention to the characters they will draw you in and time will fly.
And, in the end, you will think it was worth every minute spent watching.As you can tell, I really liked this movie a lot.My only complaint was Robs smoking...
Robert Pattinson, Emile DeRavin and cast are brilliant and it is without a doubt the most powerful and jaw dropping film I've seen in quite some time.
If you can give or take Rob and are just looking for a good movie to see what I'll say is this - it won't win any awards or anything but it was well acted and the story was interesting and unexpected.
I don't think I've ever been so impressed with Robert Pattinson and I'm saying this as someone who isn't exactly a fan of his Twilight work.
Right when you think you have come to accept the history and world around you, this movie reawakens your emotions and makes you feel things that you thoulght you'd come to terms with..
Remember Me is a little indie movie that is amazing.It will make you laugh, think and believe me you will cry.
Rob Pattinson is such a great character in this movie and he shows that's he's a lot more than Edward Cullen.
Then there was the script: the story was not believable, I mean I don't think people in real life would react the way they did in some of the situations.
I'm very surprised at the 6ish rating so far, but I do highly recommend it.I think Robert Pattinson can look forward to a strong career (he shows a great range here) if he manages to continue to produce work like this, and isn't typecast from the Twilight saga..
I went into the movie thinking it was going to be another cheesy love story, but i was completely blown away by this film.
Additional Note: having now read many of the critics comments, and their dislike of the ending, I would like to quote a line by Tyler Hawkins in the movie: "It's a metaphor"..
The story is about relationships and how the results of our actions can reverberate in ways that are profound but unpredictable.It uses some quite dramatic violence early in the plot seemingly in order to charge the emotional conflict later - as the plot unfolds you just end up wondering why they bothered - if they had chopped the first and final 5 minutes it would have stood on its own – probably even more plausibly.A talented (of course) almost estranged son of wealthy business man dates the feisty daughter of solo parent ex-cop for revenge but falls in love.
Pierce Brosnan looks totally out of place, his accent drifts between Irish American & James Bond and he ends up (in part due to the story) looking more caricature than character.The typical American 'wonderment with riches' is ever present - the rebellion is little more than tugging of the forelock at the idea that people might actually be more interesting than wealth & privelidge..
Not all of them but at least the main actors like Tyler (Robert Pattinson), Ally (Emily de Ravin) and of course Charles Hawkins (Pierce Brosnan)!
At some point in the movie I forgot I was even watching Robert Pattinson.
But most amazing of all was the fact that all the strangers in the movie theatre, including myself, left at the end of the movie in shock and utter complete silence.This is one amazing story and excellent performances by all actors.
I really don't get it---it's possible that critics feel like they have to smirk at a Robert Pattinson movie.
But he's a good actor, and Emilie Ravin, Pierce Brosnan, and the girl who played Pattinson's little sister were also strong.
While the movie can be a little slow at times, particularly at the beginning, if you check your Twi-love at the door and truly engross yourself in the characters and the meaning behind every word that's being said, you will not be disappointed.
I know a lot of young twilight fans will want to see this, but the movie other than having Robert and Love, is not at all similar.
Lets start off with I am a Twilight fan but I was relieved to see Robert Pattinson in something else!I went into the theater not really knowing what to expect.
I truly believe that this movie is worth watching and you will enjoy especially if your into drama and romance (and if you like Robert Pattinson!) like I said the cast is very good, maybe not the best movie that you have ever seen but definitely one of the good ones.
Robert is sexier in this movie that he has ever been in any of the twilight movies,I am a 34yr old woman living is South Africa and I fell in love with everything Robert in this movie ,I can see myself dating him in real life and real time non of that Hollywood fakeness.All of that apart he is an actor he is the main character in this movie and that is that against haveyweights like Pierce Brossnan he truly stands out .I couldn't predict the ending I must say and my jaw dropped and I gassped and I looked at thet person I was watching with and all the thoughts of 9/11 were taken to the next level for me.The normality and the unexpectency of the day and the reality that people woke up like everyday and continued with their struggles just like Tyler is what hits home harder ,and leave you with the thought that it could have been you or me ,it could easily have been anyone at all .It is scary because it shows just how much was lost that day.The girl ally is not all that exciting for me she is just another pretty face ,however going back to Robs performance he is so real my brother would fight like that for me if I was ever in Tylers sisters situation and he would also fight with my father like that and he could easily be my normal handsome university student boyfriend.Thank you Robert for holding on to acting and giving all of us a piece of you to enjoy.Keep on giving us your love..
I will watch this movie many times over many years.Because of the marketing, the middle of the film seemed to drag, and I wondered if there was a plot.
I read the Twilight Saga books and have seen the movies and have talked endlessly with my eighteen year old about Rob Pattinson.
I fully believe, though, if they watched this movie, they would have a new found respect for Pattinson as an actor.
Of course, if you are a die hard Robert Pattinson fan and that's why you're seeing this, you will have 2 hours of heaven.The story itself is compelling and yes, there is an ending you won't want spoiled before you see it.
I've Been trying to write a review for many hours but all I can come up with is Wow just Wow!!!Mr.Pattinson Absolutely shines in Remember Me and proves he will succeed in the movie making business well beyond Twilight!!The whole cast was great!There's a very powerful message throughout the story that grabs you and keeps you locked in for the entire film!This movie really makes you think about life and priorities!This movie makes you want to hug your family and friends a little bit tighter and a little bit more often for sure!People stood & clapped at the end.
Robert fit his role excellently, his best friend/roommate was a good comic relief and was perfect to have for such a heavy movie.
Definitely not a light hearted movie, just when things get good for Rob something goes wrong.
Completely unexpected twist at the end, but beautifully and very well done.I highly recommend this movie, and I really hope it gets the attention it deserves and not just the twilight crowd..
I, along with the rest of the teen population, was initially interested in seeing this film due to the lead male role being played by Twilight's very own Robert Pattinson.
However, I came out of this film with a lot more respect for Mr. Pattinson as an actor.Portraying the character of Tyler Hawkins was done very well as the emotions that Robert portrayed throughout the course of the film were intense and very believable.
The storyline of the movie was clearly shown and followed throughout the course of the film and, at points, moved me to tears.I honestly don't think that there was a dry eye in the audience when the film ended so remember to bring your tissues!
Up until the final minutes I was thinking, OK, decent movie, pretty good, but the end- this is something I will buy because the story makes you stop and appreciate your life.
It was beautifully done and I applaud Robert Pattinson for having the guts to do this kind of movie because these sorts of movies are rare.It will make you laugh and cry...it will break your heart, but I believe you will leave thinking about these characters and the people in your own life.
The film has good acting of young Englishman Robert Pattinson, child Ruby Jerins, Australian young actress Emilie de Ravin, Chris Cooper and veterans of the big screen, Swedish Lena Olin and Irish Pierce Brosnan..
The cast of the film (some well known and others not so) did an excellent job of portraying dysfunctional characters with real lives and real problems.The films tag line tells you everything you need to know.The love story was done just right as it showed a developing relationship rather than just jumping in with both feet.The scenes with Robert Pattinson and Ruby Jerins as Caroline his younger sister were the true depiction of what a real big brother/little sister relationship should be and they were precious.Please go see this film and learn from it....
Robert acts like an immature, emotional bad boy throughout the whole movie.
I didn't know what to say, it felt like the ending of a completely different movie.
The ending basically makes Robert Pattinson look like an amazing person, but throughout the whole movie all that he is, is a young kid raw with emotions.
The last week Remember Me was showing, I read on a website that it was an Independent movie and that Pierce Brosnan also starred alongside Emilie De Ravin and Robert Pattinson.
This movie stayed with me long after the ending credits, and it left me with an uneasy and depressing feeling in the pit of my stomach.Robert Pattinson plays a lost and unfortunate character.
The ending of the movie is like a punch in the gut, I won't spoil it but I can certainly say I did not expect it.
As a fan of Robert Pattinsons work before Twilight I couldn't wait to go see this film and I left wondering if I'd just watched the same film as the majority of critics who have given it really poor reviews.
Robert Pattinson's casting might deter some people from going to see this film but it shouldn't.
The movie made me forget that Robert Pattinson was even in the Twilight movies and once again proved his worth as an actor (after having viewed his other works).
Rob Pattinson is surprisingly a good actor (I'm a fan but still admit the acting in the Twilight films is painful at best).
The ending was a bit of a surprise (and not sure it was necessary to the story) but after I thought about it more, I decided it really only adds to the overall message - our life on earth is short and love like there is no tomorrow.
So I saw the movie Remember Me today, and at the start, I thought to myself: "Robert Pattinson is in it, and the trailers make it look pretty interesting.
often x] So that's how you know this is actually worth watching!I'll admit though, even though I said this wasn't gonna be a Robert Pattinson post, he was a big factor as to why I wanted to watch the movie.
The movie was centered around Robert Pattinson's character Tyler Hawkins, but the entire cast had their own spot light.
Robert Pattinson was really good, I don't know why some people say he can't act.
I wanted to see this movie, because I thought Robert Pattinson has been great through his Twilight series.
All of the pleasure you may get out of this film (if you aren't some stupidly desperate teenager who believes that Robert Pattinson makes good movies simply because he was a vampire once) will be destroyed by the end.
All i can say is WOW Robert Pattinson is definitely not a one trip pony as some have tried to say, this guy can act and stir up emotions,believe me i was a bit of a mess by the end of the film and that is pretty hard thing for a film to do.
For any true Robert Pattinson fan this is a must see film, and even if your not you've gotta watch it.
It is such a dear shame Robert Pattinson is in the Twilight movie series because I do not feel he fits the role of Edward Cullen, therefore leading him to incompetently play a roll that doesn't suit him in any manner.
A good movie is one that can manipulate an audience's emotions, make them feel empathy towards the characters that are so real
and so
.
Without trying to give too much away, I was repeatedly surprised in a very good way.Gotta say I loved it, well done Mr. Pattinson, well done Mr. Coulter, Remember Me blew me away.Acting 9/10; Direction 8/10; Writing 9/10; Plot 9/10; Characters 10/10.
I went to see Remember Me as a fan of real-life Robert Pattinson vs his acting.
Phew now I got that off my chest lets try focus on the good aspects.Robert Pattinson proves he is more than just a pretty face by actually succeeding in something people in his profession call acting; giving his character some humour, anger and general likability for the audience members who aren't just teenage girls.
The poignancy that runs through the entire film is beautiful, the storyline was unexpected, the characters are extremely interesting and both Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin's performances were captivating.
I'm an over "50" fan of Rob's and I also liked him in the "Twilight/New Moon" movies.
If I'm perfectly honest the only reason I went to see this film was because I love Rob and am a big Twilight Saga fan, and didn't really go in with many high expectations.
And they find each other, and basically mend each other and help the other get back on track.This film is an amazing love story and does hold a very dark twist at the end which me or my best friend definitely did not see coming!!
Yes, that's what Remember Me does: when you leave the theater you won't just go on to your next activity, the story and characters will be under your skin.Robert Pattinson (Tyler) really does a great job portraying a struggling young man.
With diverse people in his life, in the movie, you get to see many sides of Tyler, you get to know him throughout the film.
For her surprise, i liked it much more than she did.I didn't like Robert Pattinson in the twilight movies as he was overly romantic, i liked his acting in this movie and his role as a troubled twenty something year old who falls in love.
But I find this forgivable in that this film made a much more serious attempt without any of the humor, and the romance was only one of the plots.I think the stand-out actor here is not Robert Pattinson. |
tt1563738 | One Day | The movie plays out over the years, all featuring one day, July 15th.The story opens briefly on July 15th, 2006, with Emma Morley (Anne Hathaway) swimming and then cycling. Then the numbers flip back to July 15th, 1988: Emma and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) are celebrating their college graduation with friends, still wearing their caps and gowns. Dexter introduces himself to Emma, and she says they've already met, a couple of times, but he was drunk. He offers to walk her home, and they start making out at her door. She gets nervous, and he says that they can just be friends, so they curl up in her bed and go to sleep. She asks if he wants to do something with her that day (it is already the early hours of the morning).1989: Dexter helps Emma move into a dumpy apartment in London. They talk about her desire to become a writer. Dexter has to leave for India.1990: Emma is working at a Mexican restaurant. She starts showing the new guy, Ian (Rafe Spall), the ropes and calls the restaurant "the graveyard of ambition". She talks to Dexter on the phone, and says she's not writing because being a waitress is what she does now. He tells her that she needs to keep writing, and that nothing truly good is easy. She asks who said that and he reminds her that she told him that once. They talk about Dexter teaching, and she cautions him not to sleep with his students. Dexter agrees, and we see that there is a young girl jumping around on his bed, naked. They get disconnected. Dexter goes to meet his mother for lunch (Patricia Clarkson). She chides him for being late, and they talk about when he will "really" start doing something. He says he likes being a teacher. She asks about the girl who sends him all the long letters; he tells her that Emma is just a friend. She tells him that she wants to talk to him alone at lunch the next day. He asks what it is about, but she won't say. They walk to meet his father.1991: Emma is still working at the Mexican restaurant. Dexter is there with another girl but came to see Emma, who tells him that she was just offered the manager position because they wanted someone who won't go anywhere. He tells her to walk out the door and never come back. Dexter says no one knows everything about their life when they are 25; she says that he does. He tells her that she is smart and beautiful and capable of anything. Dexter says that if he could give her one thing it would be confidence, and that what she really needs is a vacation.1992: Dexter and Emma are in a car headed to France on vacation. She says she can't believe that she is really doing this with him, and that they need to have some ground rules. Rule #1: No shared beds, no snuggling. Rule #2: No flirting, no starting anything. He has a girlfriend, and they just can't go there. Rule #3: No nudity. No seeing each other in the shower, no seeing each other wee, no weeing in the shower. And no skinnydipping. He says that he gets a rule, and his Rule #4 is no Scrabble. She protests that she loves Scrabble and he hates it, and he says that's why it is his rule. While at the beach, he helps her apply sunscreen and she notices a yin/yang tattoo on his ankle. He says it is the perfect union of opposites, and she says that it's more like a road sign and it means he should wear socks. They are silent and share a moment, just a look between them. They notice that it is a nudist beach, she tells him not to get any ideas. Later they are at a bar, and after several drinks she tells him that she used to have a crush on him, back when he first spent the night with her after graduation. Dexter tells her that he figured that out, due to the epic letters and compilation tapes. He asked what happened, she tells him that she got to know him and that it cured her of liking him. She tells him that they've had enough to drink and they leave. Dexter jumps into the water, naked, and convinces her to too. He confesses that he cares for her, but that he fancies lots of women, all the time, like he's just been released from prison. He goes on to say that he isn't ready for what she would be ready for, but if shed like to, they can have fun. She dunks him, telling him what she thinks of that. As he surfaces, he sees two guys steal his clothes. He chases after them, literally crying over his stolen Calvin Klein underwear. As they fall asleep in the same bed, Emma asks Dexter how many rules they've broken. He says all of them, but she points out they haven't played Scrabble. He tells her maybe tomorrow.1993: This year opens with Dexter hosting a cheesy television show. After the show, he calls Emma while either drunk or high to tell her that he likes her beautiful body. She begs him to go home and go to bed, as it is 5 a.m.1994: Dexter is in the shower, looking sick and jittery. He picks up a videotape and present, and exits his apartment. He drives a fancy car to his parents' home, and his father asks him why he is sweating and that his mother is in her room and has been waiting for him all morning. He finds her, and it is obvious that she is very ill with cancer. He gives her the present, telling her that it is from Emma. It is books. His mother says that is awfully ambitious and tells Dexter that next time Emma should pick short stories. Dexter protests her talking that way. He shows his mother the tape of him hosting his show. She asks why he would do this when he could be doing anything. They argue and she apologizes, and says that she needs to rest. Dexter tells her that he can't stay, he has to be at the premiere of Jurassic Park. She is obviously disappointed and Dexter has to carry her to her bed. He goes to lay down in his childhood bedroom, and his mother wakes him up hours later, telling him that his father is mad that he wasted their family day. She tells Dexter that she thinks he'll end up being a very good man, but he's not there yet and she doesn't really like who is right now. His father takes him to the train station, saying he can get his car back when he's sober, and that if he ever shows up like that again, he will shut the door in his face. Dexter tries to call Emma, but remembers that she's out on a hot date. Emma is shown leaving a theater with Ian, an aspiring comedian, and over dinner you can tell she doesn't think he's that funny. She tells him that she just wanted to celebrate becoming a teacher with someone, and he asks if Dexter was busy. They leave the restaurant and he asks if she wants to go to his place, and they race each other there in the rain.1995: Emma is dating Ian and teaching. Dexter is hosting a program called Late Night Lockin, on the set of which his father visits him and it is mentioned that his mother has passed away. As his father leaves, he tells Dexter not to pay attention to what the papers are saying: that Dexter is The Most Annoying Man on Telly. We see Emma's students in a school play with Ian there to cheer them on, then later Emma watches Dexter do very badly on his show.1996: It is clear that although Ian and Emma now share a flat, she is disillusioned with him, as he is a deadbeat not earning money and not even working on their home as he'd promised. Emma goes out to meet Dexter at a posh club. He asks how her relationship with Ian is, and she kind of jokes that it is fine. Dexter goes to the bathroom and does some drugs, and when he returns he insults her job as a teacher. She curses at him and leaves. Dexter chases after her. Emma yells at him that she hasn't seen him sober in three years, and that she really needed to talk to him about being stuck in a relationship with a man she doesn't love. She knows he's been through a lot, what with his mom dying, but she can't even talk to him, and if she can't talk to him, then what is the point? She storms off and he asks if they're breaking up. She comes back, hugs him, and tells him that she loves him, but she doesn't like who he is anymore. She turns and leaves Dexter staring after her.1998: Dexter is shown with a scruffy ponytail, hosting a show about video games. He is told that he is being let go. He says he is 32 and doesn't know what to do with himself.1999: Dexter is pacing, practicing saying "I love you". We see that he's with his new girlfriend, Sylvie (Romola Garai) and her family, most of whom are in the pool, sipping drinks. They then decide to play party games, during which Dexter accidentally bloodies Sylvie's nose, causing her mother to call him a wanker.Emma is then shown going into her flat, which Ian has broken into. He is on the couch drunk, and complains about how she broke up with him whenever he proposed because she was in love with her best friend, which he knows since he's been reading her poetry. She becomes very angry with him and they fight. After they calm down, he tells her that her poetry may be awful, but she is a very funny writer and should pursue it.2000: Emma, alone, and Dexter, with Sylvie, are attending a mutual college friend's wedding. At the reception, Sylvie asks Dexter if he slept with the bride because they have been attending so many weddings and Dexter has at one point slept with all of them. Dexter denies it. We see Dexter talking to an old college friend who has struck it rich and seems to be offering Dexter a job, as he hasn't seen him on TV in a while. Dexter makes a snide remark about the guy being poor in college, all the while staring at Emma. Dexter pulls Emma aside, and they go off together to talk. He gives Emma a wedding invitation to his shotgun wedding. Emma can't believe he's getting married and becoming a father. Emma then tells him that she has been given a modest advance to write a book. Dexter is very excited about it and proud of her. He tells her that even though Sylvie doesn't like to laugh, he worships her. Emma says she's happy for him and they share a friendly kiss.2001: Dexter is shown working a low-level, cooking job for the college friend he insulted at the wedding. The friend tells him that it isn't personal and that everyone has to start at the bottom, and Dexter tells him that he enjoys the job. Then Dexter is at home with the baby, while Sylvie is getting ready to be gone until the next day for a hen party. The baby, Jasmine, cries and cries, until he finally gets her to calm down by putting on a play with stuffed animals and reading her Emma's now-published book. Sylvie calls to check in, and we see that she is actually cheating on him with his boss.2003: Dexter is on a train to Paris, where Emma now lives. She meets him, and they talk about him being divorced. He starts to tell her how he feels, but she stops him, saying she has met someone. He is very upset. They allude to the fact that they slept with each other (presumably in 2002, which wasn't shown). She says she was just trying to help him get over Sylvie, even though it was one of the best nights of her life. She tells him that they are going to hear Jean Pierre, her new boyfriend, who is a jazz pianist. As soon as Dexter sees the boyfriend, he tells Emma he can't do this, and is leaving in the morning. While saddened, Emma goes to hear Jean Pierre. After listening to him for awhile, she runs to find Dexter, who has been wandering the streets. She tells him that she thought she was rid of him and that if they are going to have a relationship, he can't mess her around or break her heart. He agrees, and they begin to kiss passionately.2004: Dexter is opening a small restaurant and is practicing his speech for their wedding. Emma comes in and he tells her not to listen, as it's a surprise. They are obviously in love and happy.2005: Sylvie drops Jasmine off with Dexter, and it is clear that they are now friendly with each other, and that Sylvie is now with Dexter's old boss. Sylvie tells him that she is happy for him, as it obvious he is happy with Emma. That night, Emma tells Dexter she wants to have a baby with him. He tells her that they should start trying.2006: Emma and Dexter have a small argument and she tells him that she's not pregnant. Dexter tells her that they can try again. She tells him that she's sorry about the fight, and Dexter suggests they go out for a special evening and then they can get back to it. She agrees, saying she'll meet him after swimming. Emma is shown writing, then swimming. She leaves a message for Dexter apologizing again for being grumpy and that she'll be a little late. Emma is then shown cycling, when she is hit by a truck. As she lays dying, Dexter is smiling as he listens to her message, unaware of what has happened. Dexter is then shown lying in their bed, crying.2007: Dexter is at a club, trying to provoke a fight. He is badly beaten and stumbles home, only to be found by his young daughter. Sylvie shows up, helps him up, and then drives him to his father's. His father asks him if this is going to be an annual thing for him. His father then tells him that he should try to go on as if Emma were still living. Dexter says he doesn't think he can, but his father tells him that he can, as he (his father) has been doing so for the past ten years.2009: Dexter is at his shop, looking a little gray around the temples, but in pretty good spirits. Ian comes in and tells Dexter that he hates today. Ian says the day was always there, just waiting to be the day that Emma would die. Ian tells Dexter that he has given up comedy, is now in insurance, and his wife and two kids are outside. Ian tells Dexter that he used to hate him because Emma lit up for Dexter in a way that she never did for him. Ian says that Emma made Dexter decent, and that in return, Dexter made her happy. Dexter asks if Ian wants to keep in touch, but Ian says it's not necessary, hugs him, and then goes out to his family. Dexter watches them, smiling.Back to 1988, the morning after they fell asleep together. Dexter tries to shrug off hanging out with her, saying his parents are coming. Emma says that's fine, he can leave. He sees she's disappointed, so he tells her that his parents won't be there quite yet, and she suggests a walk. As they walk, she tells him that she doesn't want his number, his postcards, or long letters, that they can just be good friends. But if something happens between them eventually, so be it. Dexter struggles up the hill, complaining about wearing the wrong shoes. He suggests they go back to his place, and she tells him that she'll race him. They run down the street, only to see that his parents are early. He introduces Emma, and she shakes their hands and then his, telling him to have a nice life. Dexter's mother asks if he is wearing the clothes from the day before, his father calls him a dog, and he tells them that Emma is just a good friend. Then he races after her, asking for her number. She starts to give him her number, her parents' number, her address, her father's work fax number. He tells her that he only needs her phone number. They share a big kiss, after which they tell each other goodbye multiple times and he watches her walk away.2011: We see the ghost of the past as 1988 Emma and Dexter race each other down the hill, as present-day Dexter and Jasmine climb it. Jasmine asks if he ever went there with Emma and he tells her that they did once. Jasmine asks if he misses Emma, and he tells her that he does and that she was his best friend. Jasmine asks who his best friend is now, and he tells her that it is her. Dexter asks who Jasmine's best friend is, and she tells him that it is probably her mother. He asks what she thinks about him, and, smiling, she tells him that she won't answer that because he knows what he is. They lie there together on the hill. | tragedy, romantic, sentimental, flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt0053622 | BUtterfield 8 | The movie opening credits play, while we watch a sleeping Gloria (Elizabeth Taylor) snoozing in the morning. She wakes up, and surveys her surroundings purposefully - in search of a morning cigarette. Making do with a glass of scotch instead, she meanders through the apartment, brushing her teeth, washing her face, going through a closet and trying on a mink coat for size. As she goes to into the living room, she finds her dress torn on the floor. With a sigh, she heads toward her purse on the table, and finds a note for her with some cash. "Gloria - I hope $250.00 is enough. -L"Anger washes over her face, as she reels away from the note. Lipstick in hand, she scrawls "No Sale" on a large mirror in the living room, and leaves the cash on the mantle. She leaves a few dollars next to the scotch bottle to pay for her drink, and leaves the posh apartment in only her slip and the fur coat.After hailing a taxi to a more middle-class area, she knocks on the door of her friend, Steve Carpenter, a composer. At his piano, he makes sarcastic comments as Gloria parades around the apartment. She takes off the coat and teases him - he quietly tenses and commands her to put the coat back on. Gloria persists in teasing him, flirting with him, until she sees that he is being very serious. She puts on the coat, and is about to leave - making sure to proclaim that he is "the only person [she] can be honest with." He replies back that he wishes she wouldn't - he doesn't want to have to see her throw away her life like this. After making to leave - he finally calls her back. Both forgiving, he makes coffee and breakfast for both of them. She coyly says that she'll need something to wear home, and that her mother will be appalled if she goes home dressed - or rather undressed - like that. Steve says that he is sure that her mother will not be surprised - but Gloria insists that though her mother is probably aware of her nightlife, they both quietly ignore it. She finally convinces him to call up his girlfriend Norma to bring over a suit for her.Norma arrives with the suit, but is not too pleased to be seeing Gloria in the morning. The hatred is clear on both parts, but eventually, Gloria leaves while blowing Steve an antagonizing kiss. After she leaves, Norma makes her displeasure known to Steve and after a quick argument, proclaims that she can't be with him while he's in love with Gloria. Though he protests, she leaves, saying that it is her or Gloria.Gloria arrives home in her little red two-seater car, to her mother's extreme delight. The neighbor is over having a cup of tea with Gloria's mom, and doesn't miss an opportunity to direct a sarcastic and biting comment to Gloria when the chance comes. Gloria tells her mother that she spent the night at Norma's apartment, which the neighbor scoffs at. While Gloria goes to shower, she gets a call from Butterfield 8 (the phone code used to call the upper east side in the 1960s), connecting Mr. Ligget to her. He had come home to see the lipstick, and wants to meet up with her tonight if she is able. She says that she'll be in the neighborhood, and hangs up.Meanwhile, Weston Ligget, known as "Wes," travels upstate New York by train with his friend, whom he formerly worked with in a law practice. The friend can tell that Wes is troubled, and after Wes complains about married life, he tells him that he is a first-class heel. He offers him a job at the law firm again, whenever Wes would like, but Wes seems resigned to his job - which soon is revealed to be a leading role in his wife's family chemical company.Wes arrives at his wife's family home, and shoots skeet with his wife Emily. She has been staying with her mother while the mother was ill, but Wes did not join her. As they shoot, it is clear that Wes is determined on self-deprecation, making it clear that he is merely a face, with no power, at the chemical company. Emily, unsure how to react, only tries to cheer him up.That night, Weston Ligget waits at a bar in New York for Gloria to meet him. She arrives, and the chill between them fills the air. Her pride has been hurt by the morning money, but he is persistent in chasing her. After a heated exchange, he grabs her wrist hard. They quietly struggle, him twisting her wrist, while she digs her high heel right into his foot. Both grimacing in pain, he finally relents and lets go. She follows suit, but still stares defiantly at him. She finally says that she has to work - she is being paid to visit three different bars wearing the dress she had on. He agrees to go with her.They manage to visit two of the bars, with Wes sitting and scowling at Gloria, chatting with the men at the bar, and being photographed with them. As they leave the second, he tells her that he is "no chauffeur," but she reminds him that he called for her, and not the other way around. Anger turns to passion, and they decide to go to a motel, "Happy's Motel," that is owned by an older vaudeville starlet.Back at Steve's apartment, a man is picking up the newly written sheet music for a play. Norma enters as the man leaves - she is hopeful that it is because Steve has given up on Gloria. When she opens up the closet to leave her coat, she sees that the mink coat Gloria had "borrowed" from Emily is still hanging there. Knowing that Steve is still friends with Gloria, she goes to leave. Steve insists on explaining his relationship with Gloria once and for all -- they had been kids growing up together. Gloria's father died when she was really young, and Steve felt like it was his duty to look after her, and take care of her. If he didn't, who would - Norma seemed to understand, but still couldn't handle it being three in the relationship, instead of two.The next day, Gloria and Wes breakfast at a nearby diner, and they decide to spend the week together, exploring. After this, they travel to the place where Wes was born, spending a day on his old boat, acting as if he wasn't married, and she wasn't a tramp. On the final day, they are walking down Fifth Avenue, and Gloria has them stop in a men's shop. She buys an attache case, and has the clerk monogram it with the initials "S.C." for Steve Carpenter. Clearly jealous, Wes snubs Gloria, until Gloria reveals that she had also bought a present for him earlier, and it was waiting at the shop -- a gold lighter engraved with "BU8" They kiss, and then Wes confesses that he has to leave her to see his wife, who was returning that night. Gloria said that she always knew this would happen, and said that she had to see her friend Steve for his birthday - and to give him the case. When he goes to hang her coat, she gasps when she sees the mink still hanging in the closet. She explains "She's coming home today!" as she runs out of the apartment, determined to return the mink before she comes back.As Gloria pulls up in her car to Wes's apartment, she walks up to the door as Emily arrives. The doorman greets Emily as Mrs. Ligget, and Gloria looks astonished at her. She quickly loses her nerve, and runs back to her car, and speeds off.Wes arrives home later, and greets his wife. Emily mentions that her mink is missing - Wes had not known that the coat was gone. At first he doesn't know how - but then he realizes that it had to have been Gloria. He quickly turns into a rage - refuses to allow Emily to call the police, and says that he will hire a private investigator to find the coat. Emily - confused and worried about his behavior - tries to reassure him that she will do whatever he wants, as his wife. He leaves in a hurry, to go out and find Gloria. He searches all of her favorite haunts, the bars, the clubs. He calls her, but no answer. While at one of the last bars he checks, some friends greet him. They see that he is troubled, and they confess that they know he has been with Gloria. High-fiving him, and cheering him on, they say "Welcome to the club!" - it quickly becomes clear to Wes that she has had a wide variety of men in her lifetime. He leaves angry, and drunk.Gloria, upset and unsure as to what to do, speeds along a dark highway. She is stopped for speeding by a police officer, who warns her about driving angry. She decides to stay at Happy's Motel to clear her head. The next morning, having a cup of coffee with Happy, Happy warns her of her story. The one who at first wanted to make it in the film industry, and then quickly found herself in more "little black books" than film credits. With that advice, Gloria goes home. Her mother gives her the note that Wes wanted to meet her at a restaurant, and Gloria quickly changes and leaves with the mink.Arriving at the restaurant, Wes is clearly drunk and angry. Gloria gives him the coat, and he quickly turns into a rage, yelling at her and calling her a prostitute, making a huge scene. The manager and waiters try to get him to leave, but he fights them - and is finally punched by another restaurant patron. Gloria chases after him, and drives him home. As he struggles to get out of the car, she goes to hand him the coat. He takes it, and then throws it at her, saying "how could he give his wife that coat, now that something like [her] has touched it." Emily, worried about Wes, observes the whole scene from the apartment window. Wes enters the apartment, and tells Emily to leave him alone.Gloria, beside herself in grief, goes to Steve's apartment, and tells him what happened. She blames herself for all of the problems, and cries hard. Steve tries to calm her down, when she says that she needs to tell him something. When she was thirteen, her mother was seeing a Major after her father died. The major picked her up from the train station after summer camp, and stayed with her the week while the mother was away. During that week, the major raped her repeatedly - Gloria allowed it, since she was looking for a father figure in her life. She says that the worst part is, she liked it - she loved every minute of it. It is clear that Gloria was looking for a male figure in her life, and confused sex for love. She stays the night, because Steve was afraid what she would do if she left.The next morning, Norma comes to find Gloria sleeping on the couch, and Steve curled up on the Murphy bed. She wakes up Steve and he hugs her. He tells her that he wants to marry her that day - with a smile, she tells him that she didn't have anything else to do that day. Gloria, waking up, smiles at the proposal.Wes is sleeping in his bed, while his wife comes in to look in on him. He tells her that they need to get a divorce - that he is in love with another woman. Emily says that she saw her last night when Wes came home - and asked if he really loved her. Wes said that he was angry with Gloria, but it was only because he loved her so much, and was afraid of losing her. He leaves, while Emily sinks to the bed in tears.Gloria is back at her mother's apartment, saying goodbyes to the mother and the neighbor before leaving with her suitcases. She is leaving for Boston - a fresh start. Wes, at the same time, tries to call Gloria, but the number has been disconnected. Butterfield 8 tells him that she has moved on to Boston - and Wes quickly sets off to chase after her. Awhile down the thruway, he sees her car parked at a roadside diner. He goes and apologizes to Gloria, begs her to come back with him. He says that he wants to get married, try again. Gloria cries, saying that it will never work, because her past will always be on his mind, and the hateful words he said to her yesterday will never leave hers. After begging, she finally agrees to go to Happy's Motel to talk. When they both arrive, Gloria has a change of heart, and squeals back onto the road. Wes gets into his car, and chases her.They speed down the thruway, until Gloria notices that he is chasing her. She speeds up, and it quickly turns into a deadly high-speed chase. While looking in the rear-view mirror, Gloria doesn't see that the road is closed up ahead, and drives off of a large embankment, to her death. Wes runs to see if he can save her, but she is clearly dead in the wreck. When the coroner and police arrive on the scene, the police officer is the same officer that had pulled her over earlier. He says that he wished he had put her in jail that night instead.Wes arrives at home, and tells the story to Emily. Emily is very upset for him. Wes tells her that he will be leaving, to find his pride again, and that he will return to see if they will be of any use to each other in the future. As he leaves the door, the movie ends. | tragedy, romantic, melodrama | train | imdb | In the normal scheme of things, lofty MGM wouldn't have touched John O'Hara's novel with a ten foot pole--but shortly before her contract was to end, MGM star Elizabeth Taylor besmirched her image by running off with Debbie Reynolds' husband Eddie Fisher.
Liz fought the project tooth and nail, but MGM was adamant: she owed them another film, and she wasn't leaving until she made it.BUTTERFIELD 8 is the story of Gloria Wandrous (Taylor), a hard-drinking, sexed-up, bed-hopping dress model who gets her kicks by seducing and then dumping men according to whim--until she encounters an unhappily married man just as hard and disillusioned as she in Weston Liggett (Laurence Harvey.) Although the production code was still somewhat in force, it had loosened up quite a bit since the days of NATIONAL VELVET, and while scenes stop short at the bedroom door they have plenty of sizzle while they walk up to it; moreover, every one in the film talks about sex so much you'd think it had just been invented.
The supporting cast follows her lead, all of them performing in broad colors and bigger-than-life emotions, and again they too are quite successful, with Laurence Harvey and Dina Merrill (as his long suffering wife) particularly effective.
Elizabeth Taylor won a Best Actress Oscar (after much better performances in earlier pictures such as `Cat On A Hot Tin Roof') for her portrayal of (shock!) call-girl Gloria Wandrous.
Complementing the moody performances of Liz and Laurence Harvey are an excellent Eddie Fisher as Gloria's long-suffering best friend and greatest admirer Steve, Mildred Dunnock as poor Mrs. Wandrous, in complete denial of her daughter's easy virtue, Betty Field as nosy neighbor Mrs. Fanny Barber, and many others including Kay Medford as tragicomic motel matron, Happy.Lurking behind the scenes of `Butterfield 8' are some very grown up issues (particularly for its day) about infidelity, high class prostitution, childhood sexual abuse, and the meaning of true commitment.
The dialogue by John Michael Hayes (`Peyton Place,' `To Catch A Thief,' and `Rear Window", among many credits) and Charles Schnee, is punchy and quick, and the movie glows with luscious cinematography from Hollywood veteran Joseph Ruttenberg, who got an Academy Award nomination for his efforts (he had previously won four Oscars dating back to 1938).Although somewhat dated, it remains a thoughtful film (if you pay attention) and a visual treat for any Liz fan.
On the surface, Taylor was all sex and devil-may-care
Everything in her was struggling toward respectability
She never gave up trying
The film concerns her fashionable life which is part model, part call-girland all man-trap
Her performance is one of her best and was nominated for her third Academy Award
Her remarkable scene is her confession to Eddie Fisher about how she got started in the life: she was seduced by a house guest when she was thirteen, and she liked it!
But whereas a lesser performer would have channeled that hatred into not trying at all on screen, La Liz instead channeled her hatred of the project by playing her part of call-girl Gloria Wandrous to the hilt, and in the process richly earned her first Academy Award (it is a far better performance than Shirley MacLaine's in "The Apartment", her chief competition that year).
In the supporting cast, Mildred Dunnock, Betty Field, Dina Merrill give good performances.Watch this film as curiosity piece to see some of the New York of that era..
Add Laurence Harvey's womanizing alcoholic, Dina Merrill as the waspy compliant wife, Eddie Fisher (La Taylor's current hubby at the time) in the non-essential role as Liz's pal, and Mildred Dunnock as Liz's annoying mother in denial, and you'll be hard pressed to find a likable character.
Call girl Elizabeth Taylor (playing Gloria Wandrous-!!) pines for love in this glossy, empty claptrap from John O'Hara's flimsy novel.
As the promiscuous model that finally fell in love, Taylor was the best thing in the dated, overly melodramatic, often ridiculous movie that was adapted from the John O'Hara's novel (written in 1935).
This is a very great film because Elizabeth Taylor,(Gloria Wandrous),"Night Watch",'73, played her role as a whore to perfection.
Every emotion is expressed in perfect sentences, leaving nothing for the actors to do except act along with the dialogue.At the very end Harvey says something like "...everything in her yearned for respectability." Respectability????????This movie and "The Apartment" were both released in 1960 and are both about good girls going to the bad in New York, but "The Apartment" is a much better picture..
After sleeping through the opening credits, which are superimposed over her in bed, Liz wakes up alone in a penthouse following a one-night stand with rich stiff Laurence Harvey, wanders around wrapped in a sheet, has a drink, nabs a mink, and cabs it to the apartment of Eddie Fisher, for whom Liz secured a role as Gloria's childhood best friend and the first of many doormats she will trample in this film.
As the married lawyer who falls for mantrap Liz, he spends the movie looking slightly less dazed than he would two years later throughout "The Manchurian Candidate" and has to deliver all the dumbest lines - when he escorts Liz onto his yacht, she asks "where are you sailing, Captain?" to which he responds "Out of frustration and into ecstasy!" There's no reason, except script contrivance, that a babe of Liz's caliber should ever fall for a rude, ugly, self-loathing dullard like Laurence (a meta-mockery of Fisher?).
However, he has plenty of reason to fall for her -- despite the movie depicting her as damaged goods, Liz is actually fun, witty, sexy and roughly a 1000% improvement on Laurence's on screen wife, the blonde, bland and blank-faced Dina Merrill, who can't decide if she's playing a willfully or genuinely naive woman and splits the difference by acting really, really stupid.
For any movie fan who loves Elizabeth Taylor, a slick, glossy movie with high 50's-early 60's production values, sharp writing, dramatic moments, and a superb supporting cast of wonderful characters, Butterfield 8 is the movie to watch.
In spite of Ms. Taylor's negative feelings regarding this film, and even her own performance, she is marvelous because her acting makes her character a three dimentional, highly believeable, and ulimately tragical woman.Simply stated, the movie is fun.
***SPOILERS*** At first the movie "Butterfield 8" skirts around the very obvious fact that it's leading character the drop dead gorgeous Gloria Wandrous, Elizabeth Taylor,is actually a high paid call-girl.
It's the missing fur coat that in the end leads to both Gloria's demise, in a fatal car accident, and the by now mentally destroyed Weston leaving his faithful wife Emily, Dina Merrill, so he can spend some time, as possibly a Monk in a Buddhist Monastery, to get his head together as well as his pride and dignity back.Gloria for her part isn't the bad, or immoral, young woman as were at first made to believe that she is.
She was quoted as saying that while she could think of good qualities in most of the men she was involved with, she couldn't for the life of her understand why she married Eddie Fisher.But more than that, to me it was obvious that Fisher's character is gay, despite him having a girl friend played by Susan Oliver.
All sharp suits and brylcreamed hair.Eddie Fisher just looks like a fish out of water, which I guess he was.As a film that reflects its time and place, it just about entertains, but the real reason to watch it is Liz Taylor at her most alluring.Eyes flashing at Laurence Harvey, when her real life husband Eddie Fisher, is an on looker, gives it a little curiosity interest.Not the best film in the world, nor the worst..
I love this movie for many reasons - the trashy dialogue, the great supporting cast like Betty Field and Dina Merrill, but most of all, for Liz. She owns the screen and gives it everything she's got.
ELIZABETH TAYLOR has never liked BUTTERFIELD 8 and indeed had to be talked into doing it, a steamy tale based on an old John O'Hara novel in which the girl was a prostitute who was unhappy with her self-awareness and wanted to settle down with someone she could really love.Taylor is at her most beautiful and gives a persuasive performance as Gloria, although there are others around her who are even more vivid.
The showdown scene between Taylor and Dunnock is a highlight in an otherwise tedious film to watch.There's plenty of eye appeal in all the luxurious Park Avenue settings and DINA MERRILL is lovely as Harvey's patient wife, but none of it seems any more important than it did on the pages of O'Hara's novel.
While Dunnock refused to believe the kind of girl her daughter was, she sounded like Elsie Thornton from "Peyton Place." A sickly looking Betty Field, who also starred in "Peyton Place" plays Dunnock's neighbor who knows what Gloria (Taylor) is all about.The film should boast another fine performance by Laurence Harvey.
Even though this film has such actors as Laurence Harvey and Eddie Fisher, forget it, this film belongs to La la Liz Taylor, Dina Merrill and all the other females who can't insulting Liz but can's help wish they were like her, a model who's job is to "model fancy dresses at nightclubs"(??).
"Butterfield 8" is a rather unimpressive film about a call girl (Elizbeth Taylor in her first Oscar-winning role) and her love for a snobby aristocrat (Laurence Harvey).
The beautiful Elizabeth Taylor plays Gloria, a high-dollar prostitute that comes to grips with the possibility of finding 'Mr. Right'...a wealthy married man(Laurence Harvey).
The best thing about BUtterfield 8 is the performance of Elizabeth Taylor, it is a superb performance(especially during Gloria's rape revelation) that did deserve the Oscar it got and she to me has only been sexier in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
I also believe Taylor very much deserved her Oscar for this, even if she didn't think so (and her bitterness stems from the fact MGM forced her to do the movie after telling Mike Todd she wouldn't have to make anymore pictures she didn't like before her contract expired in 1960).
Liz gives a pretty good performance, but the best acting in the movie was done by Miss Merrill who plays the wife.
As the classy-looking call girl who falls in love with a client(Laurence Harvey) and wants to go straight, Taylor gives a performance that complements her stunning beauty.
The romantic life of a fashionable Manhattan beauty (Elizabeth Taylor) who is part model, part call-girl, and all man-trap.According to MGM records, the film made $6.8 million in the US and Canada and $3.2 million in other countries, resulting in a profit to the studio of $1,857,000 - making it MGM's biggest hit of the year.
In retrospect, while such glossy melodramas seem so unenticing on paper, actually experiencing them can prove highly entertaining (if not always for the expected reasons) – and this was certainly the case here!The Academy Award bestowed upon Taylor was famously a note of appreciation from her colleagues for having pulled out of a life- threatening illness shortly before; that said, her having stolen co-star Eddie Fisher from his wife Debbie Reynolds was considered water under the bridge by this time – of course, a couple of years down the line, Richard Burton would come into her life
and the rest, as they say, is history; in fact, this was her very last film role before attaining superstardom with the long-running Burton association!
{1966}): here, she plays a high class call-girl (the film's title being her professional number) who principally juggles relations with businessman Laurence Harvey and musician Fisher (a singer in real life, this was the last of only two movie roles of any consequence) among many others.
As I said, this looks good (receiving its sole other Oscar nod for Best Color Cinematography) – given the expected MGM polish – and, while the subject matter (adapted from a John O'Hara novel inspired by true events) is understandably toned-down in view of the Production Code being still in force, the script proves so hilariously overwritten (especially the quips Betty Field – best friend to the star's mother, played by Mildred Dunnock – makes with respect to Taylor
who, incidentally, describes herself to the latter as "the slut of all time") that one cannot help but have a field (no pun intended) day with it!
Unlike the actress herself, there is no happy ending for the film's heroine; curiously enough, the same year also saw the release of another O'Hara soaper i.e. FROM THE TERRACE (itself yet another teaming of another famous Hollywood couple: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward)
while Taylor and Harvey would themselves be reunited much later for his penultimate effort, the psychological thriller NIGHT WATCH (1973)..
If you have to watch one old movie make sure you see from 1960 Elizabeth Taylor's "Butterfield 8" finally after many years I viewed this legendary classic of the screen queen, I must say it's near excellent work despite it's tragic end.
Elizabeth Taylor stars as Gloria a young beautiful woman in Manhattan who moonlights secretly as a high class call girl and the agency she works for is "Butterfield 8".
Her husband at the time, Eddie Fisher, plays Gloria's best friend, a guy who acts thoroughly gay but who actually has a girlfriend made to look exactly like his ex, Debbie Reynolds.
Elizabeth Taylor stars as Gloria, a model/slut who sleeps around and keeps up the good girl illusion with her mother (Mildred Dunnock).
Her long-awaited next outing, "Cleopatra" (1963), initiated a series of ups and downs.******* Butterfield 8 (11/4/60) Daniel Mann ~ Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Eddie Fisher, Dina Merrill.
I have always thought that Elizabeth Taylor won her award by default.In 1959,she lost her Oscar to Simone Signoret ,which was unfair for her portrayal of Catherine Venable in "Suddenly Last Summer" was far more stronger than this luxury broad .Her second AA,Martha ,in "who's afraid of Virginia Woolf" was well deserved .But her part in "butterfield 8" the screenplay of which is more or less a rehash of "backstreet " (Fannie Hurst's tear-jerker filmed by John M.Stahl ,a classy melodrama) .To give the movie a more "sixties" side,they add a shrink to help the sensitive courtesan cope with her problems (I want to settle down,I want a home and a family ,I do not want to spend my life playing around),but this doctor has nothing (or almost nothing ) to do.Ditto for Eddie Fisher and his girlfriend whose parts are almost pointless -except for reminding us of Taylor's ill-fated racy past.Laurence Harvey (a good luck charm;he played opposite Signoret who also won the AA)would meet again Elizabeth Taylor shortly before he died in the thriller " night watch" which featured a curious ending..
Harvey is married to a wealthy woman so he is basically a kept man.Whenever Taylor becomes distraught, she visits her longtime friend played by Eddie Fisher (her real-life husband at the time) who is an awful actor (he basically never worked again in film, thankfully.) Their relationship is odd.
It would be hard to pick out the worst Liz Taylor film but this silly,overproduced epic is in the running.Not as angst ridden as Suddenly Last Summer or overblown as Cleopactra,it contains the ultimate Liz performance.She play a NY model (hooker?) who enjoys the party life with an assortment of men.Lawrence Harvey plays a wealthy paramour who hates her life but ultimately falls for her.Dina Merrill plays the long suffering society wife who puts up with him.Almost everyone in the cast puts down Gloria Wandrous' sex life,including her mother's friend played by Betty Field.Liz is a bit long in the tooth and slightly dumpy to be playing a sexy young model but she makes it work.The men in the cast are dull,especially Eddie Fisher as her asexual friend where Gloria goes after an all nighter.Lawrence Harvey is dreadfully wooden as Wilson Pickett, (although I loved the pain scene,where he twists her arm and she drives her stiletto heel into his instep!) For fans of bad,good movies,definitely worth a look-see..
Despite her indifference to this movie, I think she gives one her greatest performances as Gloria Wandrous, the prostitute who falls for one of her clients, played by Laurence Harvey.
But as much as the audience would like to believe that this is a fairy tale, it sadly isn't, and ends with tragic results.Elizabeth Taylor, one of the greatest stars every to grace the screen, won her first Best Actress Academy Award for her brilliant performance, and Laurence Harvey turns out a great performance too.
She takes lovers (many if briefly), but her only pal is songwriter Eddie Fisher (the star's then-husband), a relationship that might make sense if he were presented as gay; instead, he's saddled with jealous girlfriend Susan Oliver (a saucy little thing).Harder to fathom than Taylor's source of income is her attraction to the perpetually scowling and sulking Harvey (whatever his talents, he was always disastrously miscast in his American movies).
BUtterfield 8 (1960) * 1/2 (out of 4) Elizabeth Taylor won her first of two Oscars for this melodrama where she plays a prostitute who begins to fall in love with a rich client (Laurence Harvey) who just happens to be married.
In 1960 the performance of Elizabeth Taylor as Gloria Wondrous was considered a fine one for that up and coming actress, but despite her acting performance most people then (and since) have believed that it was not her sad portrayal of the self-destruction of a beautiful call girl that merited the award, but that she was recovering from a near fatal illness at the time.
Eddie Fisher was no thespian and Susan Oliver isn't given much of a part but Laurence Harvey, Liz Taylor and Dina Merrill bring this "old chestnut" to life..
Elizabeth Taylor may have won an Oscar for her performance as an out-of-control B-girl, but BUTTERFIELD 8 is still ridiculously, utterly bad. |
tt0108310 | Telling Secrets | Captions say that, although the plot has been fictionalized, it has been based on a true story.In a plane to Acapulco, it is anounced that passengers need to fasten their seatbelts because they are landing in half an hour. The flight attendant (Tim Regan) tells Faith Kelsey (Cybill Shepherd) to comply, but she says she needs to go to the bathroom because she's feeling unwell. There, she takes several wads of money and sticks them around her waist with cellotape. Right afterwards, she goes to her seat saying that she feels well now. At the airport, she has to walk through customs. There is a weird moment with the customs officer (Manny Simo-Maceo) as they look to each other, but he checks the suitcase and lets her go. She is already leaving when he calls her back. Trying to look casual, Faith comes back, and the officer gives her her handbag back, and welcomes her to Acapulco. Once in her luxurious room overlooking the beach, Faith phones a man and tells him that she's in Acapulco and that she's free.Cut to Phoenix, Arizona, three years before.Stacey Eckhart (Denise Gentile) is pushing her daughter Sasha (Stephanie Copperman) out of Josh's birthday party. Back home, she asks her why she hit her best friend, and the child says that she felt bad. Stacey tells her that the fact that she and her father are divorcing is not excuse. Sasha takes a nap, while Stacey changes into something more comfortable and checks her mail. A delivery man arrives with a bunch of flowers, but when Stacey takes them, he pulls out a gun, takes her to a bedroom and shoots her. Sasha phones Dr. Philip Eckhart (Andrew Robinson), her dad, to tell him that mom won't wake up. He was talking to the grandmother of the child, complaining about Sasha seeing Stacey's new boyfried, Terry Kelsey (Christopher McDonald), and tells Sasha to try to wake Stacey up, as they are already late. Sasha goes again but she tells Philip that mom won't wake up and that there's stuff coming from her. Philip tells grandma to call 911 and he runs to Sasha.Stacey is alive; it's almost a miracle, as the paramedic (John North) says, because she had been smothered and shot in the head. The forensics doctor doesn't think she was raped. Philip and the grandmother arrive together. Det. Jay Jensen (Ken Olin) talks to Philip, who has already talked to his attorney, who in turn told him not to say anything. Obviously, such behaviour is very suspicious to Jensen and tells him to stay in the premises and not to go to hospital until they have talked. Terry appears with an attitude, and he points to Philip as well. Det. Ron Taylor (Gary Grubbs) thinks the husband did it, but Jensen didn't like the fiancé. Another cop asks if the grandmother can take Sasha home, but Jensen wants to talk to her first.At the police station, Sasha is not of much help, and Philip says that Terry was the contractor who made a bigger swimming-pool. Philip thinks that Stacey had already passed the Terry Kelsey phase and wanted to come back with him. The attorney has to calm Philip down because he wanted to take Sasha home by force. Ron had to be at the police station as well, but didn't want to lay down so as not to mess up his hair. Finally, he may go.Jay comes back home to a pile of dirty dishes, which he disapproves of. Pam (Christine Jansen) works at realty and she has four houses to show. Ron and Jay talk to Peter Kohler (Ed Adams), who works for Terry and had that contract. Jay comes back to Stacey's bedroom and he finds two rings on an envelope hidden behind a nighttable drawer, and he realises about the bunch of flowers. At hospital, Stacey's parents and sister Nancy Winfrey (Wanda Dittman) are there, and the sister says that Philip didn't really love her, it was just a trophy wife. He even tried to break in in order to get the wedding rings, that's why she hid them.They visit Faith's home, which is gorgeous, almost a mansion. The teenaged son, Daniel (Shawn Phelan) opens up the door. There, Faith goes down the stairs; she had already guessed that the police would visit her. She offers Jay lemon and honey, because throughout the film, he has had a cold which is getting worse and worse. She used to be the bookkeeper of the company, and checked the landscape of the company. That day, she had lunch with her friend Sally Devries (Ann Risley) and then met her dad. She says that Terry had many lovers, but that with Stacey, it was the first time he had really left her. She says that Terry used to hurt her.Pam tries to console Jay, because it's affecting him, but he's a bit cranky and is worried about Sasha. Jay didn't think it was a serial killer. Their last hope is that she wakes up, but we cut to see a priest giving her the last rites, and then cut to an anchorwoman (Mary Jo West) who gives the news that she was disconnected from life-supporting systems. Faith and Terry watch the news, but only him has nightmares about Stacey's death. Jesse Graham (Dylan Walsh) tells his friend Susan "Sue" Redding (Nada Despotovich) that she was in the other room with the child while the mother was being tortured. Sue's boyfriend thinks that their friend is always making up staff, so he tells her not to think it over.Faith has a conversation with his son Danny who went out until four in the morning. Faith is with Marcus Hiller (Nicolas Surovy), apparently, but she wants to go back to Terry, who now leaves in a cheaper flat. Faith's parents Walter Jefferson (G.D. Spradlin) and Grace (Anne Haney) dislike Terry for her daughter, but they invite them to her birthday party anyway. He drinks a bit too much. Terry and Faith dance, and she mets there her friend Sally, whom she alledgely hadn't seen after high school. Marcus tells Faith to get rid of Terry.Terry tells Faith after having had sex that they wouldn't have any problems if they did that oftener. Then, Danny plays the drums with his friend Cody (Bryan Derrick), spoling the moment. Terry says he will be the one calling the shots around there. Jay keeps thinking about Faith. Meanwhile, Jay is the only one who hasn't moved on from Sasha. Ron tells him that he has many more easier cases to worry about, but Jay insists that he'll keep on working on this particular case. His opinion know is that, as Faith's father is the richest man in the valley, he may have something to do with the crime, although everybody tells him that he worships Faith. Walter says that Faith could run the valley or do whatever she wanted. Jay questions Walter, and he says that, although he's not happy with Terry, if that's Faith's whim, she can have him. On his way out of the field, Jay sees Faith, who is visiting Walter to have lunch with him.Terry arrives home with his dogs, calling out for Faith and clearly annoyed. She is cleaning after the dogs, but Terry wants her to go to a party with some clients of his company, so he threatens her. Danny sees this and he's worried, although his mother looks cool and collected. Sally and Faith talk over lunch at the golf club, and the former says she doesn't understand at all why she is still with Terry. In fact, Faith admits that Terry has another lover. Walter offers to take care of Terry if he treats her badly. Danny and Cody have a merienda when Faith talks to them. Faith phones Terry, complains that his schedule is a mess, and wants him to have the boat prepared for a day out with Sally's husband. Walter visits Faith, and he tells her to stop nagging at Danny and disaproving of his son, because she's starting to behave like Grace used to. Grace overhears this. Danny rides up and down his moped because he thought that his mother would be at the boat. Danny bets Faith to ride the moped, and she jumps to the opportunity. Walter is proud of how determined and fun Faith is.Some guys shoot at Terry and his buddy Robert "Bobby" Newcomb (Mark Davenport), who had been drinking all day. However, the guys didn't aim well. They go to the police station, and Bobby to the hospital because he got shot in an arm. Faith wants Terry out, because he's a danger to herself and Danny. Terry thinks that Walter asked somebody to kill him. Without him noticing, the two men who shot at them are outside the hospital watching him, maybe looking for another opportunity to finish their job. Jay and Ron listen to Terry's suspicions, but Jay goes and talks to Philip in his office. Philip was giving out a speech in Atlanta at that day and time.The man who killed Stacey still has nightmares about doing it. He dances with Susy, and they talk about him flirting with his friend's girl. He boast about a treat with a Colombian guy, but then he don't go on talking because it's a secret.SIX MONTHS LATERTerry is with some other girl, who one morning finds a letter talking about Stacey's murder and telling him that he'll soon know everything about it. At the door of his home, Faith finds a snake killed and nailed to it with some gardening tool. Faith blames Terry, and goes to his company to shout to him. He shouts to her because she has taken some money from the company. The company was funded with Walter's money, so Faith says that, after all, it's her money. Kholer hears all the shouting forth and back, and he phones somebody right away to tell that person that she blames Terry and Terry blames Faith.Ron, Jay, Pam and many other people are having a barbecue. There is a recording of a female voice saying that she knows who killed Stacey, and that she'll call later. Terry also talks about the letter he got, and incredibly enough, he also tells Jay Jensen of the threats Faith has been suffering lately. Terry gives them the name of Dennis Champman (Fredric McAllaster), who had some minor charges against him in the past. Jay gives Terry a phone number to give to the person who's been calling him in case she calls again. Jay wants to investigate it, but tonight, he has to go to a concert of the chamber music small orchestra The Bavarde, from 7 to 9 at the Elaine Horwowitch art gallery. He's not too happy about that.Jay is restless, and luckily for him, his beeper beeps. He phones a hysterical woman who doesn't want to give her name. She's terrified of somebody, and Jay Jensen, at this moment, looks a bit afraid of Pam's incredulous face.At a bar, Ron questions Jay about his problems with Pam. The phone prank woman appears, late, and says that he pretended to be from the phone company, and then he put something on Stacey's mouth to avoid her screams, and that the poor child was on her own in her room, and now is afraid of Dennis killing her because she's talked. Ron and Jay end up thinking that she's a deranged woman, but she says that she knows who paid Dennis: it was her sister. The "deranged" woman is Shelley Jefferson Carp (Mary Kay Place) and her sister's name is Faith. Apparently, Dennis persuaded Shelley to marry him in order to prevent her testify against him. Dennis also attempted to blackmail Faith about Stacey's murder.Jay Jensen believes her, but Ron doesn't. As Shelley was to hospital, she is not believed. Jay wants to wear a wire and face Faith, but Shelley is terrified. They'll meet at the Big Apple restaurant in 30m. Faith arrives there, even though it's too late. Shelley says that she's now living with him, and that he's afraid of him. Faith says that Dennis is a friend, and the following she says can't be heard, because a lot of loud men enter the premises. Jay and Ron want Shelley to repeat the same conversation again, but Shelley refuses, knowing that Faith will suspect something. However, in the end, the police convince Shelley. She is going to pretend to be terrified of Dennis. When Faith asks if that is a setup, Shelley says she can't go to the police, because she's in deep shit, the same as Faith. Shelley says everything, but suddenly, she asks Faith why. Faith answers that she was sick of hearing Steacy's voice calling her, telling her that they were in love and they were going to take Danny's custody from her.The recording is not final, so they want to bring Faith up for questions. Back home, Pam can't understand why Jay is jumping around that Faith Kelsey, and she is jealous. Jay reads her her rights, and she cooly retouches her makeup. She asks to talk to Jay and Jay alone at her home. Ron advises Jay not to do it, but Jay insists. Faith is again living with Marcus, and she asks him to call her attorney. She makes some tea and says that she prefers talking without her attorney, and that Shelley said that because she was jealous of her. Faith agrees to give Jay Dennis Chapman if she is let free. Jay won't agree to that.At court, Faith paid 15,000 parole. Terry is angry because she will try to kill him again. Steve Wainwright (James Tarwater) was the one who introdued Faith to Dennis. Dean Everett (Don McManus) was given that case. They can't prove who the shooter was, so that may let the police not have enough evidence against Faith. They talk to Steve about Stacey. Finally, when threatened with death row, Steve admits that Dennis gave him the money and he gave it to Jessie David Graham.Jessie got rid of Angelyn Graham (Laura Innes), and now he's having an affair with dumb blonde Karen Blake (Melora Walters). Susan is getting fed-up with Jessie's antics. Jessie acts calm and collected, but he leaves as if nothing happened. When Ron Taylor and Sgt. Barnett (Don Collier) react, it's too late, and Jessie has gone away. Immediately, Jessie phones Ron, and insults him.Faith meets with a young sexy attorney called James "Jack" Merrick (James McCaffrey). Jessie thumbs up a lift with Jim Morrison and his family. Ron talks to the three women in the life of Jessie: Susan, Angelyn and Karen, but none seem to know anything of his whereababouts at that moment.The case against Faith looks unclear and unfinished. Walter gets an stroke because of Faith's arrest, but Grace, who doesn't seem too sorry about that, tells Faith that it was not her fault. When she is alone with him, she admits that it's true, and that she'll pay Jessie to shut up if the need arises. "This proves that you've taught me well to take care of myself." Marcus wants to leave with Faith to Mexico and leave Danny with Grace, but Faith doesn't want to leave Danny. Jessie visits Karen, and there's a cop outside. They prepare some tea, and Jessie hears something. He tries to run away, but they catch him.Jessie will talk with the police if they let him talk with Karen. Jessie gave the money to the guy who usually sold him speed, called Skip, but Ron thinks that there's no Skip. Jessie calls Faith from jail and asks her to pay his one-million dollar bail. Faith has to talk to her attorney first, but she doesn't talk to the lawyer who's carrying her case, David, but to the young big shot, Jack. He tells her to give 5 bucks so that he will have to keep due secrecy. Jack doesn't care about what Faith has done, but he promises to take care of the situation. Back home, Marcus has heard of Faith talking to Jack, and he's surprised and jealous, because Jack has dealings with the Colombian cartels. Marcus forbids Faith to bring him home, but she says it's her house, and why doesn't Marcus himself leave her? Marcus reminds her that he lied to the Grand Jury.Skip is Harold Stockton. Faith panics when Danny calls her in the middle of the night, saying that there's been an accident, and he's hurt. As Marcus dismisses it saying that the kid is always on trouble, Faith calls Jack. Cody says he's sorry, but a doctor (Craig Reay) tells her that he did everything that he could, but that it was useless. She is in shock, but doesn't even cry. The first thing she does when she sees Danny's dead body is to kiss him in his mouth. Jack waits outside and hugs her.Marcus has to leave because Faith says she needs a little time on her own, and then she will let her come back; however, Marcus seems to realise that this is going to be final. That allows Faith to grow her relationship to Jack, who tells her that he's stopped being an alcoholic, but that he's still an addict, this time to cocaine. Faith says that she's in no position to judge him and they make love. Marcus comes back home and he finds Faith with Jack. Marcus threatens to tell the DA that she threatened to kill him if he wouldn't lie for her.Ron Taylor tells Jay Jensen that he's worried about his marriage to Pam: he spends all his nights following Faith around on his own and Pam is worried and jealous. But somehow, when Jay goes on his beat with Ron, he thanks him and realises that it's been too much, he has to leave the case.Faith applies for a passport to the name of Mary Mitchell. She asks for the money everybody owes her. She takes out 7,500 in checks from the cashier (Angela Michelle Navarro). Jay tries to tell Dean that, now that her son Dennis is dead, she has no reason to stay behind in the USA, and they should get her to trial as soon as possible. But Dean thinks it's useless, there isn't much they can pinpoint to her beyond the shadow of a doubt, and such a trial at that moment will only lead to a mistrial. Dean offers to ask the judge to take her passport away.It looks like Marcus was right: Jack accepts dope as payment, and although Faith tries to make him stay, Jack has to go. Jack goes to a motel and in room 135, he knows there will be a suitcase loaded with cocaine and money. He is annoyed when finds that the money is not there, but the dope is. On leaving, a cop (Michael Hummel) appears to arrest him. Jack goes to court, and his bail is 50,000 dollars. It was a setup from one of his clients who made a deal with DEA. Faith and Jack agree that they are quite a pair, and that they deserve each other. Back home, while awaiting his trial, Faith asks him about how to revoke a bond. Faith has hopes for an agreement in her case, but Jack tells her it won't happen: for conspiracy about murder she may get even the death penalty. Jack tells her that they may need to leave for South America, and that he would leave back his own son.Faith makes a deal with Eli Craddock (Dave Florek). If he drives them to Salt Lake City and comes back on his own, she will forget about all the money he owes her. The three of them agree to meet at Switzer's parking lot, but Eli is late, which makes Jack nervous. A police car arrives and parks close to them, but they are on their way to have a break. Eli arrives, startling her. They cross the Grand Canyon national park, stops at Whiting oil station. Eli buys a second-hand car for them and now leaves him. He'll say that he's been to Las Vegas, not having seen them in weeks. Eli tells Jack to take care of her, as she is crazy but "we love her".Jack and Faith cross Montana, while Ron Taylor is taking the wall map with the clues to the case out. At that moment, Jay enters saying that Faith's gone. Finally, Faith and Jack reach Canada's borderline. They say to the customs officer (John B. Rogers) they're going on a vacation for a couple of weeks .They hire a cosy cabin at Milk River. Faith asks him when they are going to get their news passports. Jack tells her that she misunderstood, as he hasn't got the connections to pull such a feat. Faith mentions his connections to the drug cartel, as everybody in Phonenix knows, but Jack says that everybody is wrong, and the DEA has his passport.Jay Jensen tries to spot their movements from Arizona to Montana. Once, when Jack comes back to the Canadian cabin, she finds Faith counting the notes obsessively and getting frantic about a few thousands missing. She believes he only cares about her money, but he says he cares about her. Jay finds the trail which Jack left in Idaho, having rented a car there. Close to Calgary International airport, Faith would prefer for them both to be together, but Jack's papers are not ready yet. Faith pressures him onto getting them, while Jack expresses his doubts about what he's doing there or why, because he can't recognise her anymore.Jay and Ron have followed the lead to Calgary, where James and Faith are preparing the notewads. She goes to Acapulco, as we have seen at the beginning of the film. Once there, Faith asks Gloria Marsh (Lynn Milgrim), an American tourist, where check-in is. She makes the phonecall we've seen in the beginning, and also asks him if he's already got his passport, to which he answers that he does, to the name of David Mitchell. The passport was one day late, Jack doesn't know why. What Faith is really troubled is about the other half of the money, which she left in a drawer. Jack is getting nervous in the cabin. Somebody knocks onthe door. Inspector Crayshaw (Michael Peach) arrests him. Jack tells the police that, if they find Faith, could they please tell her that there are no hard feeling among them?Meanwhile, in Acapulco, Faith goes out shopping to a flea market with Maria, another American tourist. Maria has to go back home to her usual life.Cut to Tucson, ArizonaMaria finds a piece of news in the newspaper about missing Faith Kelsey. She calls the police and finds it incredible that she was so taken in. Jay tells him tells him that she was not the first person which was taken in by her. She made up a story of being waiting for her high-exec husband who has to travel all over the world and will take her with him soon. On leaving Maria's home, Ron Taylor thinks that it'd be easy to find Faith in Acapulco, but Jay Jensen is afraid that, by the time they get to her there, she'll be gone again.Cut to Marbella, Spain, three months later.Faith is at the swimming-pool of a wonderful mansion. Marcus gives her a ring and pops the question, but she alleges that she doesn't like being married. She says she'll think about it, and asks Marcus to find somewhere else: she's worried about being found out.Marcus has to leave because of a business trip, and Faith uses the time on her own to return the ring and ask for the money back in cash. Unfortunately, it can't be done, because Marcus paid for the ring with his credit card.Francisco Aguilar (José M. Fernández), a Guardia Civil, has arrested Faith Kelsey and is waiting to clarify what it should be done with her. Jay and Ron can't wait to tell Everett about that. Everett says that Jay will have to go over there to reclaim her, and - jokingly, knowing how satisfied he must be after so much trouble and work - tells him that he wants receipts for every cent he spends. There, while they are signing red tape, Francisco makes a comment about all that paperwork for only a woman, and asks Jay where he'd like to see her.Faith appears, dressed with a plain prisoner's clothes, and tells Jensen "Jay, nice to see you again". There is no death penalty in Spain, and Jay amazes that she's become an expert in international law. Seducingly, Faith wonders why he's come all that way to see her. She proposes that, if she accepts extradition, he'll help in the USA, and approaches him as if about to kiss him. But Jay collects himself enough to say "no". Faith says: "What a disappointment you've turned out to be. You've got no guts to do what you want to do." and then tells him to go back to his pathetic little life. The prison officer comes to take Faith in.Jay leaves the cuartel of the Guardia Civil slowly, but can't avoid to look back.END CAPTIONS:- Jesse Graham is awaiting execution for the murder of Stacey Eckhart.- Jack Merrick is serving a 15 year sentence for possession and conspiracy to distribute cocaine.- Faith Kelsey remains in custody while fighting extradition to the United States. If returned, she will stand trial for the murder of Stacey Eckhart.---- written by KrystelClaire | murder | train | imdb | Good vehicle for Shepherd. This is the best I have seen of Cybil Shepherd on screen, aside from several episodes of "Cybil" the television show. I haven't seen her in any plays. Her delivery works in this movie, and look in her eyes became quite frightening at times. This is the 3rd or 4th time I have seen "Telling Secrets" over the years. With digital cable and a large screen this last viewing was the best. All of the casting, including the minor characters, was quite good. I especially liked the interplay between the two detectives, Ken Olin and Gary Grubbs. I am not particularly "into" television movies, but was interested to see that this was directed by Marvin Chomsky who also directed "The Deliberate Stranger" with Mark Harmon, bringing excellent performances out of that cast as well.. Hard to tell what it's all about. Nice music and scenery--somewhat portentous from the beginning. The film draws you in and takes itself very seriously. We're constantly waiting for momentous things to happen, but the movie just goes on and on.The men really seem to have problems in this movie. Is this a new trend: impotent men who don't love their wives, and who are hen-pecked. None of the heavy, masculine, powerful stuff in this movie, and probably that's good: more like real life.Hard to know what the film is all about. The motivation for the killing is unclear. And why do all the guys fall in love with Cybil? She doesn't seem so appealing to me: kind of cold and not really sexy. Phony baloney to imagine her as so alluring, and presumably that's the core of the movie-- the main character's seductive power.. Fair. It was watchable, but Cybil Shepherd showed here that she really can't act. Every line she spoke sounded wooden and unconvincing, without an ounce of real feeling in it. It took me a while to realise all the guys were falling in love with her, because it seemed so unbelievable as she didn't have a personality.The other actors were far better and saved it and the plot was quite enjoyable, just a bit too long. Kicked myself afterwards for wasting over two and a half hours on something that neither inspired nor informed.I very much doubt it was a true story. It's a common ploy for fictional films to have a bit of text at the end saying what happened to the characters. On this occasion, I forgot to check if it was followed by the disclaimer about "not resembling anyone in real life".. Time Filler/ Waster. OMG,this is one of the worst movies I've ever seen! The story line this movie is loosely based on is interesting, but the lead detective working this case is one of the most LAZY,UNINQUISITIVE and UNIMAGINATIVE detectives I've ever seen. He's not a rookie investigator. From the beginning of the murder investigation, major clues were overlooked. VERY SLOPPY AND INEPT detective work.This story seemed to drag on indefinitely... |
tt0407362 | Battlestar Galactica | Humanity has reached for the stars and populated twelve planets as colonies of their home planet Kobol in a distant part of the galaxy. Scientific advancement has created robots with artificial intelligence, the Cylons, that rebel against humanity and after a war agree to go their own way. But, 50 years later, the Cylons return with 12 advanced models capable of appearing human and quickly dominate humanity wiping out most and forcing some 50,000 humans to flee in ragtag fleet through space. The Cylons are confident that they are superior to the humans supposedly lacking many emotional flaws and possessing an abliity to be reborn into new bodies with memories of their past lives as well as an ability to share memories with replicate models. However, Cylons are unable to reproduce and unable to communicate with their one god that they believe replaces the human belief in Gods, so they are keen to gain these abilities from their human creators. Unable to reproduce among themselves, they attempt to reproduce with humans and insist that reproduction can only be successful if the humans fall in love with them, which is challenging to accomplish in part because the Cylons cannot shut up about how superior they are to humans. The Cylons avoid wiping out the remaining 50,000 humans preferring to chase them back to Earth in hopes of forcing a meeting with their god. The humans initially allow the remaining military to lead their flight but eventually accept that they need to cooperate and put aside past colony specific prejudices in order to survive as a species as their populationo dwindles. Civilian leadership chooses to abandon the quest for Earth and settle on another planet where the Cylons find them and enslave them. This causes a rift among the advanced Cylon models and a rift among the humans forcing new alliances, a civil war among the Cylons and a continuation of the flight to Earth. When Earth is finally reached, it is surprisingly uninhabitable due to an ancient nuclear war. Out of hope, the humans despair but the one god sends angels to guide them to a new planet where the Cylons and humans can co-exist peacefully. | good versus evil, insanity, violence, mystery, romantic | train | imdb | Instead we got a bunch of kids movies, littered with some of the most terrible cinematic decisions ever put on celluloid.And then the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica came along, which I must add, I watched from start to finish only after the show had made it's debut on mainstream television.I was initially sceptical of whether this would be any good, but after having reached the finale I can honestly say that this is quite simply the best sci-fi show ever made.
I't does not overstay it's welcome, knows when to stop, and constantly delivers fresh, new ideas as the seasons progress.Series 1 was a great introduction; series 2 built on the initial success and delivered some of the shows highlights; season 3 was awesome for the first half (until the writers strike kicked in just after half way - but still highly entertaining); and season 4 put the icing on the cake with what I consider to be a tremendous and satisfying end to this great series.The only downside was that I wished it could have continued, but I guess it is better to exit on a high and leave the crowd wanting more.For me this has stripped Star Wars of it's crown and raised the bar where although it may one day be equalled, will never be bettered.Awesome.
Whenever any "science" turns up, it's integrated in such a way as to have minimal impact on the plot and, unlike Star Trek, it isn't used as a Deus Ex Machina to simply resolve the "crisis of the week." In fact, I'd go as far as to say the show is closer to 24 or The West Wing than it is Star Trek or Babylon 5, with the focus being much more on the people and their individual actions, rather than a wide-scale "space opera."Performances are all strong, with James Callis being the real star.
As the show went on and more and more plot threads were revealed, the show was shown to be complex, the kind of TV that's been lacking and can only be held up with excellent shows like Dexter and Breaking Bad. Brilliant in every aspect, Galactica is the kind of show that cannot be understood in one viewing, it has to be watched again and again.
The new Battlestar Galactica concentrates on characters, drama, and the human condition and shies away from the fantasy, serial elements of the original and others of the genre.
Battlestar Galactica is more a war/survival series set in a futuresque environment, rather than hardcore science-fiction in a war environment - the latter being what we tend to find in star trek and the likes.---Very solid storyline---The story is very solid.
Now and then I had an episode that I found a little predictable, but this was rare, and even when it did occur, it was not really that deal-breaking, since it was always in the details.---Amazing depth of character---Being the only series I watched twice, still enjoying it the second time, this is one of my favorites.
As a long time fan of the original series of Battlestar Galactica I was apprehensive at best when I heard of the new 're-imagining'.
The new Cylons are cool, the ships are fantastic, the characters are wonderful, the relationships are very interesting and, as it's basis is the original story line, there's an oddly comforting familiarity there too.
The two Battlestar Galactica series both begin in the same way with similar precepts the end of a civilisation and the possible extinction of the human species.The original chose to be lightweight in dealing with this underlying theme (the first thing they do post-apocalypse is go to a party planet) - the new series actually attempts to deal with the issue in an adult manner.The writing, direction, and most importantly the acting, is superb - each combining to create emotional depth.As a teen I enjoyed the original but (sorry to get Biblical) "when I was a child I spoke as a child, I acted as a child now I must put childish things behind me".The sex of the characters does not offend it does not cause grief to find two key characters to be stunningly female.
They call it 'character development', but since this seems to be the hot trend in TV shows right now, I just think it's lazy.People knock the old 1970's version as being cheesy and escapist, but at least the original series knew what it was and didn't try to pass itself off as something it wasn't.I really hope that this show runs out of gas soon and will be replaced by something that hopefully is much better..
The writing on the show is awful: nothing more than an unending attempt by Ron Moore at being seen as a "profound and relevant" writer, when in reality, most of the juice he once had when working on Star Trek TNG is long gone and the man needs a very long vacation to recharge his writing batteries.Of course, the writing is not the worst thing about Battlestar Galactica.
Starbuck is now "the best shot in the whole fleet", and is in good with Adama cause she used to screw his since-deceased youngest son, and of course, has her arch nemesis (another butchered original character who was supposed to be black too, and a fairly nice guy to boot) who doesn't like her cause she's a girl.
The writers completely destroyed the relationship between Adama and Apollo, pitting father against son, and had Apollo hating the military and siding with the President on most diplomatic issues, and the President (who I'm quite sure is newly made up, but I could be wrong) randomly has a cancerous tumor going on which only serves to try and fail at adding drama.The one plus I will give this show is that the idea of Cylons looking like people is interesting..
I've actually paid $45 and bought the entire season 1 DVD set not knowing what to expect, and Ron Moore is the one who wrote one of my favorite Star Trek TNG's episode "Tapestry", so I had no bias in that regards either, but....This series sends negative message to the audiences who may still be at their young and impressionable age.
The visuals of the Gotham City is dark and gloomy, but the people in the story have more optimistic outlook, and are genuinely trying to make matters better, which gives hope that even in a dump there's hope if there are few good people like this.I don't want our youth (and adults) to think that if they acted "angry" and "troubled" people around them will see them as serious, and important person, but this program is filled with this kind of innuendos.
The "new" and much less interesting Battlestar Galactica is an exercise in bad film-making in so many levels it's hard to catalog them.You see, you can't really have an "intelligent" show, when you "film" (on badly lit videotape) the show in a way that interferes with its story-telling.You can say in the press that you're doing it for "grittiness" but all you're really doing is making a show that would shame most first-year film students in its assiduous disregard for the basics of Film 101.And it's not like the original was a masterpiece overall.
Its camera-work and direction are way below average and should have made its network take notice.After all, when your director shakes the camera at everything that moves under the pretense that it's "realistic", you know something is very, very wrong.When your show is shot on video and looks therefore like a home video, you should take notice and demand changes, or at least yank the embarrassment off the air.But in the world of SciFi Channel where wrestling shows and bad creature features rule, the embarrassment that is Battlestar Galactica is what is hyped as "quality".
If you like Science-Fiction these days, the last place you'd look for a good show or a good movie is the SciFi Channel.The new and much derided Battlestar Galactica is a perfect example of everything that has been wrong with SciFi ever Since Bonnie Hammer took the helm.First, there is a complete and total disregard of the audience.
Apparently SciFi Channel thinks Science-Fiction fans couldn't car less about acting and only want to gawk at pretty people.The list goes on and on and the result is that SciFi has been wasting oodles of money on Galactica and numerous other bad shows and has no audience left.Yet, Bonnie Hammer and her staff congratulate themselves on a job well done because they assume Science-Fiction is aimed at a super-small audience.In reality they have antagonized most Science-Fiction fans with awful shows like Battlestar Galactica..
Moore and David Eick continue to run along the same line of badly structured stories, bad acting and horrid photography.Shot on video, for some weird and obscure reason, it featured ridiculous camera movements, best described as "shaky cam", complete with absurd use of zoom lenses that combined to give the overall impression of a home video shot by an incompetent cameraman.How this is supposed to get "acclaim" for a TV show just shows how such 'acclaim" is essentially store-bought by advertising money these days.The audience, of course, quickly learned to steer clear of this film making disaster in progress and the result was a complete commercial disaster that has tarnished the name of SciFi Channel to the point where it is now the punchline of a joke amongst people.Add to that scripting that was mostly distinguished by its pretentiousness and horrifically bad casting of the likes of Tricia Helfer and an assorted band of untalented models selected for their supposedly hip look and you see why this show will be remembered (outside of SciFi Channel of course) as the model of what to avoid if you want to make a good TV show..
It's a tribute to Ron Moore's abilities as a PR man that this show is still on the air.It's also a tribute to the compete lack of taste of the SciFi Channel, after all, until the arrival of eureka, SciFi didn't have anything really worth remembering to watch (at least for a year until SciFi wrung all the creativity out of Eureka too).Shakystar Crapotica was the worst of the bunch.Unfortunately, all that energy that Ron Moore puts into hype, he doesn't put into making a great show, not even a watchable show.The insanely bad camera work (how is shaking the camera constantly anything but pure creative laziness?) coupled with the bizarre decision to shoot on video (and boy is BG a poster boy for how video is not up to snuff!) combine to make an unwatchable show.This is as well, as the pretentiousness of the story lines with their rip-offs of moments in history (surely to show how "deep" and "relevant" the show is) and the mostly horrifying lack of acting talent on the part of the younger cast would be enough to make you lose your appetite for a whole week.In other words, keep on avoiding (yes indeed, Shakystar Crapotica is not the rating behemoth that Scifi keeps on advertising!).
I believe that this show has the potential to replace Star Trek:The Next Generation as the great sci-fi TV show ever (oh yea, the potential is there)....but for some reason this feels more like "The West Wing" in space because almost every episode that I've seen has been centered around the president and all of the political under dealings and so on.
Maybe it's the two good actors (hint - not the empty-eyed pretty models) wasting their time, but this show brings about shudders whenever I have the bad luck to see some of it.Adding to the injury is the relentless ad campaign waged by SciFi (they apparently can't recognize losers when they see them again and again!) and the strange tack they take in insulting the original, which for all its faults, way was better and at least very watchable unlike the new version.I don't know why the creators don't stop shooting on video, buy a tripod, hire a couple of good writers and actors and do a good show instead of spending their time finding new and ever more obnoxious ways of hyping their badly made show..
To read the press, we're supposed to think Battlestar Galactica is "great" because it makes "deep" references to "current events".Sadly, this is just one of the many annoying features of this badly made show.First, whomever told SciFi Channel that video looks just like film should be fired immediately.A lot of SciFi's shows look terrible because they're not filmed, they're shot on video and don't have the budget to make the lighting look even halfway decent (examples are Flash Gordon and Painkiller Jane) Then there' the shaky-cam of course.Again, a lot of hype is written about the "MTV Generation" and how they have no attention span and how they love "documentary style" film-making.Of course, no good documentarian would be happy to make a film that looked as pathetically bad as Battlestar Galactica.It's also insulting to younger audiences to think that they have no taste just because they're younger.All you're left is producers that seem to spend more time trying to think up the next PR release, rather than think about ways to make their show better looking, hire better actor or write better scripts a show that looks terrible and does nobody any favors by remaining on the air..
Season 3 actually started out rather well but as soon as the "New Caprica" storyline ended the series took a rather unexpected sharp turn into mediocre and even downright awful episodes.
The new (and downgraded) Galactica fails miserably on its own terms.You don't have to have seen the original to see how badly made it is.The decision to shoot on video (presumably to save money) made the show look awful (apparently Ron Moore and David Eick didn't realize it takes MORE time to light video well, not less!) and the directors and producers made that decision even worse by hopping on the nonsensical bad-camera-work-as-a-style bandwagon.The "it's documentary-style" excuse for bad direction may fly with network executives at NBC-Universal.
But no, they are too interested in getting awards.That the SciFi Channel puts up with that nonsense is a tribute to how out of touch with its potential audience they are (see all those ridiculous "creature" movies for another example).Oh, and making a remake of a much-beloved, if imperfect, show is not a good idea if you're going to call it "cheesy" every chance you get.Yes, audiences have kept an open mind and they saw that Battlestar Galactica, the new edition is not worth watching.UPDATE: The ratings have fallen even more, and yet SciFi still acts as if it has something special there (and still produces atrocious "creature" movies).
Terminator is about robots not about humans so is and must be BSG too, I wanna see Cylons not some tribal people fleeing for a home.If we don't count the fact that this is not a sci-fi series, I think it's better than most of all, it's quite realistic indeed.
So in spite of all annoying issues I recommend this movie for everyone not just for sci-fi fans.Update: after watching the last episode without spoiling the end I could say that the finale is pretty much what I expected: interesting enough but full with religious and spiritual mumbojumbo and a half conclusion.
This Sci-Fi channel series has some great stories and interesting characters.
I felt almost like the writers had never planned on revealing them, but under pressure just picked some of the shows better known characters and said "you, now you're a Cylon".I did keep on watching, as by this point I wanted to see how the series ended, and there were some minor story lines I was still intrigued by.
The characters and dialogue are so well drawn and so flawlessly and naturally acted that even by the end of the first season, you will feel like you understand, empathize them all even when not fully agreeing with their decisions, No show will make you feel more conflicted than BSG or put you in another shoes, and despite all this it never becomes a story of anti heroes, they really are trying to figure a way out of the mire and be decent people.
The only thing keeping me from giving the series Battlestar Galactica a 10/10 rating is the slump in season 3 in which there were to many episodes that were character background that should have been well established by the time you are 75% of the way through a story and shows making them just plain filler material episodes.
Apparently, "greatness" is defined as "shaking the camera mindlessly"...Of course, it's akin to saying that you don't like the "new and improved" new Star Wars because you were a fan of the old one...It's funny how they chose to call this show Battlestar Galactica and then immediately turned around and tried hard to slap in the face what should have been their base audience.Having done that, it's little wonder that the only place the new BG is a ratings success is in SciFi's and Ron Moore's PR releases and their echoing chamber in the press.The reality is that SciFi is wasting a lot of money on a show that hasn't delivered artistically or commercially, and given the public attitude of its backers is unlikely to ever deliver.Here's to hoping someone with a little bit of taste puts an end to BG and the other low-quality shows on SciFi that give a bad name to Science Fiction..
Serious Sci Fi Fans Must Own. If you think you know this show from watching the original series, you are wrong. |
tt0052847 | Gidget | Frances Lawrence (Sandra Dee) is about to turn 17 years old and is on her summer break between her junior and senior years of high school. She resists the pressure to go "manhunting" with her girlfriends and laments the days when the girls had fun together without boys. Frances also rejects her parents wishing to fix her up on a date with the son of a friend of the family, Jeffrey Matthews.
On a jaunt to the beach with her bikini-clad girlfriends, flat-chested tomboy Frances meets surfer Moondoggie (James Darren). She quickly becomes infatuated with him, but he shows no romantic interest, however Frances is more attracted to surfing than man hunting.
At home, Francie importunes her parents for $25 for a used surfboard. Russ and Dorothy Lawrence (Arthur O'Connell and Mary LaRoche) grant their daughter's request as an early birthday present and the excited youngster returns to the beach to surf. The gang dubs their female associate "Gidget", a portmanteau word based on 'girl' and 'midget'.
She associates with an all-male surfer gang led by the worldly beach bum, The Kahuna (Cliff Robertson). Kahuna is a Korean War Air Force veteran twice the age of Frances who was fed up with all the rules he had to live by when he flew combat missions and dropped out of normal society. He travels the hemisphere surfing with his pet bird. Moondoggie admires Kahuna and wants to emulate him by joining Kahuna in working his way on a freighter to go surfing in Peru at summer's end instead of going off to university as his self-made father planned. Kahuna and Gidget enjoy each other's company with Gidget questioning how he can survive an aimless and lonely existence without a job. She questions whether if Kahuna knew then what he knew now would he still make the same lifestyle choice after leaving the Air Force. Kahuna later reflects on Gidget's words after the death of his only friend, the pet bird.
Hoping to make Moondoggie jealous, Gidget hires one of the other surfers in the gang to be her date to a luau party on the beach. Her plan backfires when the surfer she hired pawns the job off on none other than Moondoggie, unaware that he was the one Gidget wanted to make jealous. Gidget lies and tells Moondoggie that it is Kahuna that she wants to make jealous, and they have a romantic evening at the luau. Eventually Moondoggie says something that upsets Gidget and, as she flees the luau, she runs into Kahuna and agrees to take him to a nearby beach house. Alone with Kahuna, Gidget tries to make Kahuna take her virginity. Amused, Kahuna attempts to call Gidget's bluff by pretending to take her up on her offer but finds himself falling under her spell. Realizing what he was about to do and angry at the situation he's been put in, Kahuna throws her out of the beach house just as Moondoggie arrives. Gidget is mortified and escapes out the back of the beach house as Moondoggie confronts Kahuna. The cops are called to break up the fight between Kahuna and Moondoggie and, after leaving the beach house, they find Gidget stranded with a flat tire and without her driver's license. They bring her in to the police station. Gidget's father, having heard about the incident decides to take over control of her social life, and orders her not to see the surfer gang again. She falls into a depression, to which mother shows her a tapestry from her grandmother reading "A Real Woman brings out the best in a Man".
In the end, Mr. Lawrence arranges a date for Gidget with Jeffrey Matthews that Frances grudgingly accepts. To her surprise, Matthews turns out to be Moondoggie. The two return to the beach to find Kahuna tearing down his beach shack and find out that he's taken a job as an airline pilot. Moondoggie and Gidget realize how they feel about each other and, as an act of romantic devotion, Moondoggie asks Gidget to wear his class pin. Kahuna cheerfully warns Moondoggie that Gidget is quite a woman. | romantic | train | wikipedia | The slight, but very perceptive story concerns a plucky teenage girl nick-named Gidget(contractions of the words Girl and Midget) who mostly just wants to have fun in the sun.
She begins to fall for a more "mature" surf bum(Cliff Robertson), but then finally settles for Moon-doggie(James Darren) who is closer to her own age.
Maybe I'm being slightly sentimental, but to me GIDGET is a beautiful coming-of-age story that can still teach the teenagers of today a valuable lesson about first love.
For those of you who didn't already know it, GIDGET was played by the beautiful young Sandra Dee who was a hot item in her day.
I may only be a simple 21-year-old boy from cincinnati, but I really enjoy and appreciate older films like this.
My grandmother, Mary, was 15 years old when she first saw the first Gidget (1959) movie with Sandra Dee and James Darren, in The New Bell Theatre in Bellflower California.
My grandmother explained as we watched this film together, that this movie was what "made me look at those things in a different way.
"Oh, James Darren is such a hunk!" and "I had such a crush on him..."and "what cute clothes she wears!" She commented that after this movie she made it a point to make her wardrobe similar to Sandra Dee's.
It sticks in my mind to this day." During the scene where Gidget gets dressed to go to the luau, my grandmother interrupts the movie to tell me something else.
I don't even like orange, in fact, I hate the color orange...but that's a very special dress to me." This movie was filmed in vibrant color and shot on the beach in Malibu.
This movie was memorable to my grandma and to her friends of the fifties because of a combination longing to be on a beach surfing with hunky surf bums and the excitement for the beginning of love stories made especially for teens.
Sandra Dee was the perfect teenage girl in the eyes of the youth in the fifties, because she was pretty, sweet, innocent, and smart, yet she still had the sense of adventure, rebellion, and need for sex in which the kids of the fifties were becoming more and more interested..
That song Gidget I had on 45rpm as did all the girls after we all got a load of Sandra Dee and James Darren together.
This movie was legendary in 1959 and it made alot of girls want to be a surfer like Sandra Dee in the movie.
Cliff Robertson plays the Kahuna and the wisest of the group of surfers who sit on the beach all day sunning themselves and goofing off.I liked this movie so much!.
I don't think you can get much further away from the stuff I usually watch like Cannibal Holocaust or Zombi 2 than Sandra Dee and Gidget.
Gidget (Sandra Dee), that "pint size" sixteen-year-old who lives in Southern California, scampers down to the beach and takes an instant liking to surfing.
Gidget comes across as smart, determined and, given her age, dubiously skilled at psychology, with words that make a big impression on The Big Kahuna (Cliff Robertson), surfers' de facto leader.
Naturalistic sound of ocean waves enhances a relaxed, carefree tone.Although perhaps needed for story balance, plot sequences that involve Gidget's parents seem stodgy, and detract from the main focus on the relationship between Gidget and her beach pals.Sandra Dee, despite her squeaky voice, gives a performance that was better than I had expected.
James Darren and Cliff Robertson add competent support.If ever there was a film that captures the carefree, innocent life of kids in the 1950s, this is surely it.
Gidget is about a fun loving girl who gets involved with a group of surfers and has the summer of her life!.
If I want to see sex and violence all I have to do is watch the news.Gidget takes us all back to a simpler time and place where we can relive the memories of our youth or imagine how it might have been.
Just cause someone has short hair doesn't make them a lesbian in my mind and I think the person who made that comment was way off base and didn't really follow the conversations of the movie closely.I love all of the Gidget movies, however to me Sandra Dee will always be the ultimate Gidget and I am sad that we have lost her recently..
Gidget is a really cute story.It shows the teens of today like myself what the teen movies we love today were like as they were just getting popular...it shows what the teens enjoyed before American Pie,She's All that and Cruel Intentions etc.
Squealing Sandra Dee is an underdeveloped sixteen-year-old in Southern California who is prodded by her friends into finding a man; she ingratiates herself to a bunch of good-hearted surfing boys, but only because she's genuinely interested in learning to surf (they soon realize she's different, but that doesn't stop romance from happening!).
But as entertainment this is sure a lot better than scores of movies (think Waterworld or Ishtar) that believed they were a good way for people to spend a couple hours of their lives.
Gidget may not aim high but it hit the exact spot it was aiming for.With a daughter about to turn 21, I sure wish girls spent their teenage years interacting with boys the way Gidget did.
Listening to the Four Preps instead of that damn rap music today.Sandra Dee does a great job of playing a teenager (which shouldn't have been a stretch for her in 1959 unlike James Darren or the other surfers).
And while Arthur O'Connell does a good job as her father, I've never been able to picture him as anything other than a determined bachelor after his role in Picnic.So if you have a couple of hours that you just want to veg out on the couch and give your brain a rest, you could do a lot worse than spend it with Gidget.
I believe this is the film that made Sandra Dee a big star, but her lack of acting skill really grated on me several times, especially when she was supposed to be bubbling over with enthusiasm, though several people here (not to mention contemporary fans) obviously thought she did a great job.
As for the movie itself, the obviously fake surfing shots annoyed me, and Gidget's first near-drowning made me think of the saying "When you're really drowning, you don't make much noise, because there's too much water coming in".
Anyway, this film does have a bit more substance than some of the other "teen" movies of the time, and it's a pleasant way to spend 95 minutes..
Dee is spunky teen (only 15 when this was filmed!) who gets in over her head, in more ways than one, hanging out with the older guy surfers.
There's only one real Gidget - this one - which was followed by several inferior movie and television productions, none involving Dee. Frankie Avalon stole Robertson's character name, the Big Kahuna, for his 1987 beach blanket reprise "Back to the Beach"..
On the one hand, "Gidget" looks like an intelligence-challenged flick, as the cute teenage girl goes to the beach to possibly meet boys.
Sandra Dee gets to play the first "Gidget" (combining "Girl and Midget").
At different times, Ms. Dee's Gidget seems to want to: have fun, have sex, grow up, grow out, stay young, and/or learn to surf (which is not at all unusual).
**** Gidget (4/10/59) Paul Wendkos ~ Sandra Dee, James Darren, Cliff Robertson, Arthur O'Connell.
Likable teenage soap about a tomboy (Sandra Dee) who falls for a beach bum (James Darren) while discovering her love for surfing.
As someone who lived the dream of being a California surf bum, I was pleasantly reminiscing about those years while watching this movie.
I've heard it said that "surfing makes you feel like a kid again." So there are therapeutic qualities surfing gives to someone who has experienced tragedy as Robertson's character has in the Korean War.The Gidget character, played by Sandra Dee, is a delightful dichotomy as she seems at once a woman and a girl.
Dee never got to repeat the role which probably more than anything else established her image as the squeaky clean teen dream of the era.In fact Francie Lawrence as she's originally known is something of a tomboy, but she's slowly discovering an opposite sex is useful in more ways than beating them in sports.
She becomes a mascot for them and in the process learns how to surf, how to love surfing, and what boys are really for.She even picks up the nickname of Gidget where forever afterward she will be known except when her parents Arthur O'Connell and Mary Roche in this film are mad at her.
Especially young and nubile Sandra Dee. We've grown up a bit since Gidget, but the film and its successors are still good, light, very light entertainment..
Gidget, er, Frances Lawrence (Sandra Dee) is a teenage girl who is not yet into boy chasing.
This was definitely Sandra Dee's signature movie, and as a teen-age boy growing up in the sixties I was really taken with her.
If Arthur O'Connell was supposed to be serious in this movie, he did not do a good job of it as he played the role of Gidget's laughable high-strung father.
This movie was also a character study: she was infatuated with Mahuna, (Robertson)- an ex-Korean War vet in his middle thirties who lived only to surf and stay on the beach in a small hut there-, but she also was very up-front when she intonated to him that that was no way for him, nor anyone else, to live, and she thus had a pressing effect on him.
the charming James Darren, the profound Cliff Robertson, the innocence of Sandra Dee 's character and few footage are pillars of a comedy not different by many other from period, mixture of romanticism, nice music and children - parents relation.
Whenever I watch an older Hollywood movie like Gidget, I can't help but think about the scene in the latest remake of King Kong where Jack Black's character is meeting with a group of producers.
Sex sells, even in a purportedly innocent film like Gidget.In the opening scenes, Gidget is shown wearing a sloppy one piece woolen swimsuit, but as the movie progresses, she wears increasingly revealing outfits that accentuate Dee's wasp waist--in one later scene Dee's erect nipples are clearly visible, something that I'm sure zoomed right over the heads of the censors.I may be cynical, but I can imagine that one of the producers whispered in the ear of the costumers that we need to give the (adolescent boy) fans a little something extra--and Dee was given a bra that was a little sheerer, and a slightly thinner top for that scene.
The authenticity of the innocent charm is the best thing about it, though titchy Sandra Dee (Gidget = girl-midget) is cute enough, and the good-natured sexual liberation is remarkable - a sixteen year-old is basically out to lose her virginity.
I Liked the plot: 7/10, but I didn't like some of the main characters (one including Gidget a.k.a "Frances" --Sandra DEE), or Moondoggie or even the guy with the big surf house he took Sandra into.
Sixteen year-old Francis Lawrence (Sandra Dee at her most innocent) is the film's title character; girl plus midget equals Gidget.
Rescued by a boy named Moondoggie (James Darren who was never much of an actor but would also develop into quite a teen idol), Francis is introduced to the surf culture (watch for "Billy Jack's" Tom Laughlin).
the fact that "Moondoggie" is also the boy Gidget's father has been trying to get her to meet and date all summer is a bitter irony: these boys and girls will become what they are "supposed" to become by the world in which they live..
We totally identified with Gidget (the adorable Sandra Dee, God rest her soul), who summed up the innocence and longing of teenage love.
Our favorite lines were, "Yeah, but what if the young man doesn't know you're alive?" and, " 'To be a real woman is to bring out the best in a man.' Tell that to the boys today." We, of course, couldn't help but remark, "More like today!" It's easy to see why this film inspired so many beach movies of the 60s.
Gidget then pretends that it's the Big Kahuna (a young, buff, and tanned Cliff Robertson) she's out to get, and ends up getting in a little deeper than she planned to.Of course, it all works out in the end.
Here's a prayer that Sandra Dee's other great teen movie classic from 1959, "A Summer Place" (through Warner Brothers) due for a DVD release in a few days as of this writing, will be restored to widescreen, recapturing its theatrical glory that enchanted and captivated moviegoers way back when..
'Gidget' - 'girl midget' - Sandra Dee was born to play this role..
Sandra Dee was 14, or maybe barely 15, when 'Gidget' was filmed, but she comes across as much more mature.
One day at the beach, some somewhat older boys, and one 30-something beach bum, ignore the girls, but 'Moondoggie' goes out and saves 'Gidget' when she becomes entangled in seaweed.
Not Earth-shaking, just a sweet, innocent movie, and so much fun to see Sandra Dee in it..
Sandra Dee is perfect as the original Gidget, a teenager trying to sort out her feelings about boys and being popular during the summer between her junior and senior years in high school.
James Darren is Moondoggie, the spoiled college beach bum who idolizes the carefree surfer's lifestyle illustrated by the big kahuna played by Cliff Robertson.
There is also less music and dancing in this original version than in the films that follow it.As the summer draws to a close, Moondoggie and the big kahuna face some tough decisions regarding their futures, and Gidget inadvertently plays a role in influencing both of them.
Gidget (1959): Dir: Paul Wendkos / Cast: Sandra Dee, James Darren, Cliff Robertson, Yvonne Craig, Arthur O'Connell: High spirited surfer comedy about innocence in that Gidget is all about fun and enjoying life.
Sandra Dee holds the film together with her innocence.
Time travel back with this fun GIDGET 1950s movie!.
Sandra Dee's "Gidget" is too naiive to be real by teen standards today, but what a fun trip to the late 50's past it is!
She is determined to surf with the slightly older teen boys...and along the way she meets the grown "Big Kahuna"...a beachcomber guy who has no job but just surfs and leads a pack of teen boys to surf all day long...And she bumps heads with "Moondoggie" a boy near her age...Of course, she ends up with Moondoggie...and even the cynical "Big Kahuna" shapes up his act...because of little Gidget's influence!I love the 50's shirtwaist dresses, crop tops and original capri style pants...and the great old cars!The only slightly creepy thing is Gidget thinks she's not a woman because she came home "as pure as the driven snow".
Hmmm Somehow Gidget never read that little sampler!That said, the movie is fun to watch.
RELEASED IN 1959 and directed by Paul Wendkos, "Gidget" is a beach drama about a 16 year-old tomboyish girl (Sandra Dee) who gravitates toward a group of surfing males in Southern Cal, specifically Malibu.
Kahuna (Cliff Robertson), a surf "bum" and leader of the group, becomes her figurative big brother as she tries to attract the attentions of Kahuna's mentee, Moondoggie (James Darren).The film is iconic and influential, leading to two sequels and a TV series, not to mention scores of 60's beach flicks, most inferior because they lack the depth and went the zany route.
The film scores high marks in the female department in general with curvy Yvonne Craig (aka Batgirl) notable in the first act, but there are several others in the periphery.The movie's iconic because it's about way more than girl-meets-boy frolics, although there's some of that.
One of those was Sandra Dee in a little film called GIDGET.The movie opens with the early teen Francie Lawrence (Dee) and her friends preparing for a trip to the beach.
The main beach bum, The Big Kahuna (Cliff Robertson), takes her under his wing and begins instructing her.
The question that comes to mind though is does Moondoggie have the same thing in mind as well or does he still see her as the kid he saved from drowning?Like most beach movies the film takes a simplistic look at the times and the people involved offering little depth to them.
Except that not all is as it seems.The movie also differs from most in the genre in that it doesn't play things strictly for laughs like the Frankie and Annette films did.
It's that wholesome style of film that many deride as far too fake but that makes for an enjoyable movie none the less.Dee is wonderful here as the innocent young girl who is growing up while we watch.
And Robertson as the beach bum with a past shows why he was such a good actor.The film resulted two sequels, neither of which starred Dee but both having Darren return.
As always they are limiting this to just 3,000 copies so if you're a fan of beach movies or of Gidget then make sure you pick one up today..
"Francis Lawrence" (Sandra Dee) is a 16-year old teenager who hasn't quite developed an attraction for boys yet even though all of her close friends are head over heels for them.
Soon one thing leads to another and before she knows it she falls in love with one of the surfers named "Moondoggie" (James Darren).
Sandra Dee had talent however as movies such as "Imitation of Life" and "A Summer Place" attest. |
tt0274812 | Secretary | Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the socially awkward and emotionally sensitive youngest daughter of a dysfunctional family, adjusts to normal life after having been hospitalized following an incident of dangerous self-harm. She learns to type, and begins to work as a secretary for an eccentric attorney, E. Edward Grey (James Spader), who hires her despite her stilted social skills, unprofessional appearance and scoring higher than anyone he's ever interviewed, which would make her overqualified for the job. Edward explains that it's dull work and they don't use computers; however, Lee remarks that she is okay with these conditions.
Though at first Edward appears to be highly irritated by Lee's typos and other innocuous mistakes, it soon becomes apparent that he is sexually aroused by her obedient behavior. After he confronts her about her propensity for self-injury and commands that she never hurt herself again, the two embark on a BDSM relationship. Lee experiences a sexual and personal awakening, and she falls deeply in love. Edward, however, displays insecurity concerning his feelings for Lee, and he feels shame and disgust over his sexual habits. During this period of exploration with Edward, Lee has also been attempting to have a more conventional boyfriend in Peter (Jeremy Davies), even engaging in lukewarm sex with him. After a sexual encounter in Edward Grey's office, Grey fires Lee.
After Lee is fired from her job, Peter proposes to Lee, who reluctantly agrees to marry him. However, while trying on her wedding gown, she leaves and runs to Edward's office where she declares her love for him. Edward, still uncertain about their relationship, tests Lee by commanding her to sit in his chair without moving her hands or feet until he returns. Lee willingly complies. Hours pass, as several family members and acquaintances individually visit Lee to alternately attempt to dissuade or encourage her while Edward watches from afar, completely taken by Lee's compliance. Because of Lee's refusal to leave the office, she has gained news coverage from the media, which they believe to be a hunger strike. After three days, Edward returns to the office and takes Lee to a room upstairs where he bathes and feeds her. The pair marry and happily continue their dominant-submissive relationship. | pornographic, comedy, boring, flashback, psychedelic, romantic, sadist | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0120177 | Spawn | Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is a Force Reconniassance Marine Colonel and Black Ops operative. Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), the head of the covert government agency for which Simmons works, assigns him to infiltrate a biochemical weapons plant in North Korea. Unknown to Simmons, Wynn has ordered his top assassin Jessica Priest (Melinda Clarke) to murder him while he is on the mission. After Simmons dies, he is set on fire by Wynn and the flames cause the plant to explode. Simmons arrives in Hell, where one of the rulers of Hell - Malebolgia (Frank Welker) - offers him a Faustian deal: if Simmons becomes his eternal servant and leader of his army in Armageddon, he will be able to return to Earth to see his fiancée, Wanda Blake. Simmons accepts the offer and returns to Earth.
Upon his return, Simmons learns that five years have passed since his death. Wanda is now married to his best friend Terry Fitzgerald (D.B. Sweeney), who is living as the father to Al's daughter Cyan. Soon Simmons encounters a clown-like demon named Violator (John Leguizamo), sent by Malebolgia, who acts as Simmons's guide down the path to evil. He also meets a mysterious old man named Cogliostro (Nicol Williamson), a fellow Hellspawn, who has successfully freed his soul and now fights for Heaven. Simmons learns that Wynn, who is now a weapons dealer, has developed a biological weapon called Heat 16. During a reception, Spawn attacks Wynn, kills Jessica, and escapes with the help of his necroplasm armor.
Following the attack by Simmons, Violator convinces Wynn to have a device attached to his heart that will release Heat 16 worldwide if his vital signs flatline as a deterrent against assassination attempts. However, Malebolgia wants Simmons to kill Wynn and initiate the apocalypse. Spawn confronts Violator, who turns into his demonic form and beats Al down. Cogliostro rescues Al and teaches him how to use his necroplasm armor. Simmons learns that Violator and Wynn are going to kill Terry, Cyan, and Wanda.
Terry sends an email incriminating Wynn to a fellow newsman. Just as the email is sent, Cyan and Wynn enter the room. Wynn destroys Terry's computer and takes the family hostage. Spawn arrives and nearly kills Wynn, but Al extracts the device from Wynn's body instead and destroys it. With his plan foiled, Violator sends Spawn and Cogliostro to Hell, where they both battle the demon before subduing him. Spawn is then confronted by Malebolgia, who tells Spawn that he will never lead Hell's army. Spawn escapes with Cogliostro just before they are overwhelmed by Malebolgia's forces. Violator, having recovered, follows them. A final battle ensues, ending with Spawn decapitating the demon with his chains. Violator's head taunts the group and threatens his return before melting and returning to Hell. Wynn is arrested, and Spawn, realizing there is no place for him in Wanda's world anymore, dedicates himself to justice rather than succumbing to his lust for vengeance. | comedy, murder, paranormal, cult, violence, good versus evil, psychedelic, humor, revenge | train | wikipedia | This film is just like the comic that inspired it: Great visuals (I still really like McFarlane's superhero art style), but much like the majority of "Spawn" stories, it really doesn't go anywhere.
And yes, I know it's a Hell-based movie, but the metal soundtrack just got distracting and annoying, instead of enhancing the story like it should have.
The film largely concerns Spawn discovering and exploring his new identity, while working to uncover a nefarious plot and attain revenge.If you read my reviews frequently enough over time, you'll notice that my ratings often change on repeated viewings.
As it is, there have been no live action sequels to date (there have been animated versions of Spawn), but I think there may have been if the first film would have been handled differently.As the film stands, too much time has to be spent explaining the plot.
On the other hand, I personally like that kind of weird cheesiness, so I didn't subtract any points for that.And speaking of weird cheesiness, I'm sure a lot of people hate John Leguizamo's character in the film (Clown/Violator), but I love it.
That works well for me, but if you're not the kind of person who loves films like Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), you probably won't like this Killer Klown either.There is also a great campy quality to the material overall, including some of the dialogue (a scene where a father yells at a son in "Rat City" for spitting out a meal they retrieved from the garbage because it's "wasting good food" is a treasure).
Michael Jai White was far from terrible and John Leguizamo was pretty terrific if not a bit cartoony at times.The bad points really hit this film hard.
Everyone seems to agree that the original Spawn comic is excellent material for a pointless, violent, stupid and thoroughly amusing movie.
The special effects were kind of confusing - half of them were excellent and half of them looked like beautified Sesame Street animations (the demon "thing" of hell, for example, which had me crying with laughter).
Let's hope for the next Spawn movie they take a few chances and make a grittier downbeat tale with more in common with the original comic and not like the muppet show from hell..
Cogliostro was also an assassin from Hell but he saved his soul and battle for Heaven.It tries to be a darker and uglier type of comic book movie but it ends up more or less campy.
In the end, Spawn feels like nothing more or less than an exercise in CGI and make-up effects.It is pretty difficult to get involved with the story, in part because it makes no sense, but mostly because we simply do not care.
Unfortunately, that's all it has to offer, which is a real shame, because this had the potential to be one hell (pun intended) of a movie.As a reader of "Spawn" comics and collector of "Spawn" merchandise (and affiliated McFarlane Toys products), I saw at an early age how "Spawn" revolutionized the comics industry with its mystical premise, graphic visuals, Heaven vs.
Hell battle theme and gratuitous sex and violence, and while such gusto has been embraced by fans, this 1997 film adaptation of Todd McFarlane's popular underground comic, directed by Mark A.Z. Dippe', is rated "PG-13" (subsequent home video versions were of the "R"-rated director's cut, which contained additional footage), the watered-down violence more cartoonish than graphic.
In short, in the comic book world, Spawn is not like anything else out there.The story is that the demon Malebolgia needs fresh souls for his ever-growing army of undead soldiers to lead an eventual conquest of Earth, and then, Heaven, in what will eventually bring about Armageddon.
All Malebolgia needs is a general for his army, and, Holy Lazarus, recently deceased CIA operative Al Simmons (newcomer Michael Jai White) has just the extra-crispy corpse for the job.See, Simmons was set up by his insane former employer Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen) after making a bargain with Malebolgia's go-to guy and Earthbound lieutenant, the pudgy, disgusting Clown (John Leguizamo, completely unrecognizable in his get-up), to kill Simmons so that he would be sent to Hell.
While in Hell (which looks like a CGI version of a Marilyn Manson concert on steroids), Simmons makes a deal with Malebolgia to lead his army, in exchange for one last chance to see his wife Wanda Blake (Theresa Randle), who is now married to his best friend Terry Fitzgerald (D.B. Sweeney) and together the two now have a young daughter named Cyan (Sydni Beaudoin).Back on Earth and unaware that five years have passed, Simmons has a burnt-to-a-crisp visage that doesn't sit well with people not accustomed to undead soldiers from Hell.
When Simmons's body comes out of its larval stage and transforms him into a "Hellspawn," a being with an endoplasmic and invincible suit of armor, he sees his chance to use these new powers to exact vengeance on Wynn, his lethal vixen Jessica Priest (Melinda Clarke), reunite with Wanda, and seek a way to break out of his agreement with Hell.As stated earlier, "Spawn" is one hell of a special effects spectacle, and it looks great, but a lot goes wrong in too many places.
Personal Note: I don't know how many time I have watched this movie and each time i see it i love it more and more.The movie might be old but it's still really well made I think it's even better then some of the recent movies that came out.Spawn is my favorite super hero of all time full action packed plus it has a love touch in it well the movie is basically based on a romance.A man, Practically selling is soul to the devil Malbolgia.
Michael Jai White Does a good performance in this.Well down to business great:A killer named Al Simmons " Michael Jai White"Want's to retire is job but is boss Jason win"Martin Sheen"send's him one last job as a set up and kill's him by burning him in a facility.He goes to hell and The devil Malbolgia tell's if he lead's his army of hell spawn's he'll let him see His wife Wanda "Theresa Randle" and the story goes on..
I can almost see a bunch of guys sitting around a table, discussing a live action version of "Spawn", and then someone says "But let's make it a lot more like 'Lassie Come Home' so people can take their kids to see it." Stick with the animated version, don't waste your time and money on this saccharine yawn-fest..
I could not even enjoy the comic book anymore after having watched this mess of a movie.This film's plot, story line, script and choppy/sloppy editing creates a visual, incoherent mess for the viewer.
Really blows.Now, I own a few Spawn related comics and this sweet natured PC version of the dark demonic anti-hero we know as Spawn makes for bad viewing, even if you've never read the comic book (like me then) it's a movie that leaves you wondering, what the hell did I just watch!?
I have just bought the movie on DVD so i think that it is enjoyable, but i think that this could have been a real blockbuster, but it looks as though there will be no follow up which is ashame because we have gotten to know the characters and who spawn is and what he is about so this opens up a director to go all out for a spawn 2, if there was better direction and it was true to the comic and the cartoon then spawn 2 would be a smash for sure!.
I have to say that this film was brilliant..it was a perfect starter for anyone who hasn't seen this film..or in that fact read the comics of spawn..i promise anyone who has seen this film has been dying for a second film to come out..Micheal jai white and john liguizimo played there characters brillaintly..this film shows that even in the most tortured soul,, evil can prevail only so much in a man..personally tho..having such a kick ass body suit..i could think of a few more fun things to do with all those powers..if you stick to the comics of spawn..you were dying to see much more from the first one..I'm preying that todd will a second one....and include all a lot of the characters from the comics.
big fans of spawn comics might be a bit disappointed but otherwise this movie was all around awesome.
The movie seems to work the same way, "Give me cool special effects and we'll write a story around them" seems like what the director said.
boy,what a letdown this movie was.compared to the animated series,this doesn't even rate.it's all of the place,in terms of tone and story.the acting is pretty bad from all concerned.i felt embarrassed for everybody involved.i found the story lacking in any real excitement.plus,for this character,there should have been a much more compelling characterization.i know it's an origin story,but i think they could have done a lot more with it.it doesn't make much sense,and i couldn't give a lick about any of the characters.the whole thing is really just nonsense.it's 94 minutes i'll never get back.for me,Spawn is a a dismal 1/10.
Visual effects are no bad as I considered for the first time (well, some of them are, like the horrible CGI master demon); the way Spawn's black costume appears and connects to his body is nice.
The blue clown demon Violator seemed to be awful when I saw images of him before watching the movie; after watching it for the first time I thought it not good, but still the best thing in the film; now I consider him a very funny and interesting character..
It was a visual effects mess that hurt my eyes and the story was not interesting.Black Ops soldier and assassin Al Simmons (Michael Jai White, Exit Wounds) is double-crossed while on a mission and murdered by his evil boss Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen, The Departed) and another fellow assassin Jessica Priest (Melinda Clarke, The O.C.).
Instead, Michael Jai White finds himself as an actor with a cult following with middling direct to DVD movies.Martin Sheen made a decent villain but this is one movie I certainly won't remember him for.John Leguizamo as The Clown was one of the worst characters I have had the misfortune to endure.
One thing that is done in the Spawn film is it's just like the comic books in some sequences...almost too much - The characters do not interact quite they're supposed to, and the dialogue and action that make sense in a comic book do not work in a movie, if done in the way of this film (watch a clip or two, you will see what I mean).I know Violator is supposed to be crude and funny, but he is hard to put up with throughout the film.
Spawn is a film that had a HUGE potential to be a good movie, yet, to many it really wasn't that great.
I think this movie could have been better to fans and others if it was longer, had a greater story, and stayed true to the characters and comic..
I personally liked it more than not, but only because I have always been fascinated with comic book super heroes, but that's it, Other than that, and some occasionally very well done special effects, this movie pretty much sucked.
Spawn is one of the best comic-books released on film, and any McFarlane fan NEEDS to see it.If you don't even know who McFarlane is....
But I still think that it would have been so much better to have her in the movie more than just a few seconds long cameo.While we are on cameos; it was also a nice cameo by Todd McFarlane when he showed up and came face to face with his own creation - literally.John Leguizamo was a good choice to play The Violator, because his rugged voice, wits and charms really transcended well into the character.
And the special effects team really brought a lot of life to the characters and the environment."Spawn" didn't really do justice to the comic book, but it still was an entertaining movie for what it turned out to be.
Just take it as a separate entity away from the comic book and you'll be fine.This is also the type of movie that you can watch every now and again, and I think I had now seen it four or five times since it was released back in 1997, although years pass in between every viewing..
It is a visual film; Yeah, it's corny, and not dark enough for true Spawn fans, but it is fun and some of the effects are great (although it looks like they ran out of time and got some kid with a Vic-20 to program that last hell scene).
I'm probably the only person here that was inspired by the potential I saw in the Spawn movie character to start reading the comic.
What I will tell you is that I love movies and after reading the above (or below) review, it made me scratch my head...Seeing how any one with a memory can recall what Todd McFarlane did for comics with not only his excellent work done on Spiderman but also the inception of Image Comics, you'd think that this brilliant artist and story-writer would have stuck to what he knows best and adapt the anime version of his comic to fit the big screen.
So,I visit my aunt in Calgary and I noticed they owned the movie Spawn.My cousin and both my uncles said it was a fantastic movie.So,we turn on the movie and once the corny voice(some guy pretending to talk in a deep voice to try to make it sound dramatic)started to talk about the war between Heaven and Hell I knew it was not going to be a good as it was said to be.The plot is dumb,the clown is unfunny and EXTREMELY annoying,the special effects are terrible,(there is some strange creature that looks like a cartoon!)and there are some things that just don't make sense.For example,when Spawn goes to Hell he can freely visit Earth whenever he feels like it!(So does the clown)If it was true that when someone goes to Hell they can visit Earth freely when ever they wish,than Hell wouldn't be much of a punishment would it?Also,when Spawn visits Earth he kills his dog so he could be with Spawn in Hell.What could a dog do wrong to go to Hell?(especially this dog who is very friendly)Spawn is without question the worst movie ever.
If you want a good comic book movie, rent Batman or Blade, and keep away from this one..
This is a fascinating universe , hell , evil beings , resentful heroes , beautiful women , handled murderers , the threat of the end of the world , funny villains ; the battle between good and evil is centuries old , the mighty men take control of weapons of mass destruction , and a covenant of vengeance of hell is what we displayed this entertaining film.The Demon Clown is a fun character , its mission is to serve the supreme evil, this villain lies and cheats to cause a genocide; This villain is a fan of the death and destruction, Jason Wynn is a corrupt military ambition makes a deal with the clown ; Jason puts a trap soldier Al Simmons, this soldier is focused on revenge and try to recover some humanity , just a legendary warrior named Cogliostro can guide Simmons.sexy Jessica is the only ally of Jason , All the villains are concentrated in the destruction of the innocent , sold his soul to the devil, Simmons is a new kind of hero, dragged from hell, not only to fight against evil but also for his soul.Memorable performances from the entire cast , great aesthetics, excellent makeup effects, effective special effects, good cinematography , Mark AZ Dippé managed to hold an extraordinary fantasy action film , all I saw it I liked..
The only thing that this movie really has going for it is its really good soundtrack and mediocre special effects.
The acting was awful (Martin Sheen is a great actor and he sucked) The only person that did a good job in acting was John Leguizamo, but he was so disgusting he was hard to watch.One good thing about this movie is it gives you a good idea of what Hell is like.
While some effects looked decent & watchable like Spawns suits & gadgets or The Violator, some just were unbearably bad, especially the scenes from Hell.
I did feel entertained, especially the first ¾, just the movie as a whole felt meh.I'm looking forward to the reboot this year with Jamie Foxx - 'Spawn' is a cool character with potential, almost like Venom maybe..
I'm sure the answers lie somewhere in its comic-book origins but in the film, everything seemed to lead to more questions and more special effects.I actually wanted to like "Spawn" but alas, it has let me down.
First of all the cheesiness is just too much to bare and Michael Jai White is awful as spawn and Martin sheen is really bad too,Hell looks awful and the plot is rushed, not very well thought out and not explained very well leaving the viewer confused especially if they haven't read the comics or watched the animated seriesSo why did I gave it 5*?
Clown is awesome in this movie whenever I see this character I forget how bad the film is.2.
And at times, the film does feel a bit too much like a movie. |
tt0454919 | Pulse | The plot centers on ghosts invading the world of the living via the Internet. It features two parallel story lines.
=== First Story ===
Kudo Michi (Kumiko Aso), an employee at a plant shop, has recently moved to Tokyo. Her co-workers include Sasano Junko, Toshio Yabe and Taguchi, who has been missing for some days working on a computer disk. Michi goes to visit Taguchi's apartment and finds him distracted and aloof; in the middle of their conversation, he casually makes a noose, leaves, and hangs himself. Michi and her friends inspect the disk he left behind and discover it contains an image of Taguchi staring at his own computer monitor, creating an endless series of images. In the other monitor on his desk, they discover a ghostly face staring out into Taguchi's room.
Yabe receives a mysterious phone call of a distorted voice repeatedly saying, "Help me." Upon checking his phone, Yabe sees the same image found on Taguchi's disk. He goes to Taguchi's apartment and sees a ghostly black stain on the wall where he hanged himself, before finding a crumpled piece of printer paper bearing the words, "The forbidden room." Upon leaving, he notices a door sealed up with red tape and enters, encountering a ghost. Yabe becomes depressed and uncommunicative, and eventually begins hiding in a storage room. He tells Michi that he had seen something horrible in "the forbidden room." On her way home, Michi sees a woman hurriedly sealing a door with red tape. Michi later witnesses the woman jump to her death from a silo at a cement factory.
Michi receives a call like the one Yabe had received, prompting her to check on him in the storage room. Upon entering, she sees a black stain on the wall similar to the one in Taguchi's apartment. Michi leaves to find Junko and panics when she realizes Junko has unsealed and entered a red-taped door. Inside, Michi witnesses Junko being cornered by a ghost. Michi rescues Junko, who becomes catatonic as a result of the encounter. Later, Michi is asked by Junko if she "will die this way," to which Michi assures her she would not prompt her to reply that she would just "keep living all alone." Upon saying this, Junko steps towards the wall and becomes a black stain. Michi calls her mother for solace, but gets no reply. Becoming worried, Michi goes to check on her mother and meets Ryosuke Kawashima.
=== Second Story ===
Ryosuke (Haruhiko Katô), an economics student, has recently signed up to a new Internet Service Provider. His computer accesses a website by itself, showing him disturbing images of people alone in dark rooms, exhibiting bizarre behavior. That night, Ryosuke wakes up to find his computer on again; the site now shows a man with his face obscured by shadows, then a man with a plastic bag over his head. Before he pulls it off, Ryosuke unplugs his computer in a panic. The next day, Harue Karasawa (Koyuki), a post-graduate computer science student, suggests he either bookmark the page or print the images for her to examine. Ryosuke attempts to do so, but finds that his computer will not follow his commands. Instead, a video plays of the man in the plastic bag standing in a room with the words "HELP ME" written all over the walls.
A classmate mentions the appearance of ghostly-looking people around campus and explains his theory that souls have begun to invade the physical world. Karasawa begins exhibiting strange behavior and suggests that ghosts would want to save humans from the loneliness of the afterlife by bestowing immortality on them. Later that night, Ryosuke visits Harue to find her acting even stranger; the two try to escape to a faraway place using the subway. However, the train stops and Harue is seized by a desire to return home and flees. Upon returning to her apartment, she claims that she is "not alone". When Ryosuke bursts into her apartment later, she is gone.
As more and more people begin to vanish, evacuations of Tokyo begin. There are ghosts appearing everywhere. Ryosuke meets Michi and they find Harue in an abandoned factory, where she shoots herself. Ryosuke later wanders through a door sealed up with red tape and encounters a ghost who explains that "death was eternal loneliness." Ryosuke loses the will to live, and Michi has to drag him to safety. They drive through a burning Tokyo, encountering numerous apocalyptic scenes: the sky turns black, a US Army cargo plane crashes out of the sky, and people leap to their deaths from tall buildings. The pair find a ship about to depart Tokyo, crewed by a small group of survivors who tell them that similar events are happening all over the world. As the ship heads for Latin America, Ryosuke and Michi go below deck, where Ryosuke disintegrates into ash. | psychological, gothic, paranormal, flashback, psychedelic, suspenseful | train | wikipedia | The soundtrack is also good, many low frequency noises, kind of electric ones (reminds me of "The Ring").For a remake of a J horror movie, this one does a pretty good job.
I had just went to see a pre-screening of pulse last night, and I must say that it was not all that bad compared to recent horror films.
The movie gets a boost in points for breaking away from the normal horror films we have been seeing as of late.
To continue on the scares were another part that bothered me..once again we see a pg13 movie relying on loud noises and crashes to make the audience jump...but on a brighter side there are a few scenes (the laundry room scene, and the car attack scene towards the end) that were actually pretty scary.
I went to see Pulse knowing it was PG13, so I didn't expect much gore, but couldn't the writer of this story at least have done something more with it?Pulse is a movie about a hacker who releases a strange computer virus which immediately affects computers everywhere as well as cell phones and even TV screens.
This is more of a simple shock film like so many other horror movies that have been filling our theaters for about three years.
If you want to see one of the best horror movies in the past couple years, go see that one instead and forget about Pulse..
deer.The movie that inspired this one, 'Kairo' (aka 'Pulse'), had a very complex plot line with real suspense, real attachment of audience feeling, and real take-home messages.
Wow." Twenty minutes later, the script for an 'original' Pulse was created where certain events were directly copied but liberated from all that 'plot' baggage.Honestly, I cannot find an ounce of merit for this film.
"Pulse" has the laziest of horror film ambitions: an endless series of characters making slow, deliberate walks to some sort of random objective (in this movie, it is usually a computer screen) with the steadily rising score beneath their paces.
At times, it has the disorienting sensation of watching a film student's class project titled "How To Make Creepy Images Like What Was Used In That Video In The Ring".Throughout the movie, characters go through the motions as if they've just been locked in a room watching a marathon of awful teen horror films.
Towards the end of Pulse, a US remake of the hit Asian horror Kairo, there was a moment which actually made me jump.
And I was grateful that it did, because it stopped me from lapsing fully into a coma.After the dreadful American remakes of other J-horror hits such as The Ring, The Grudge and Dark Water, all of which did their best to cause my brain to shut down entirely, I did wonder about the wisdom of watching yet another.
But I'm a fair man, and I like to give films the benefit of the doubt, so in went the disc...Sporting a grungy, desaturated look, and nasty MTV style editing, Pulse is typical of the unimaginative and stale horror output that has blighted the genre this decade.
The film, aimed at the teen demographic, does away with logic, suspense and a decent plot; instead, we get an easy-on-the-eye cast, some cool CGI effects, and a story that makes no sense whatsoever.In this confusing tale, a hacker accidentally allows strange creatures from another dimension to come into our world, using communication devices as conduits.
Once in our world, these things suck out our will to live, which results in people either disintegrating into ash, or committing suicide (and by the end of the film, you'll know exactly how they feel!).
As these monsters slowly take over any part of the world in which technology allows them access, a couple of teens discover the existence of a computer virus which may be able to put an end to the evil invaders, but with red tape as their only protection (don't ask!), will they succeed?Dreary cinematography, coupled with a dull-as-ditchwater script and uninspired performances from a bored looking cast, make Pulse an experience that I am not in a hurry to repeat.
Director Jim Sonzero manages one or two visually impressive moments (involving the bizarre other-worldly freaks, which look like they're straight out of a Chris Cunningham video), but for the most part, he seems content to translate the illogical, badly written and plot-hole ridden screenplay into uninspired visual tripe, without giving a moment's thought to the fact that nothing makes much sense..
Despite a lot of slick looking supernatural content, Pulse largely succeeds in preserving the focus of the original--steering our attention to individuals rather than ghosts or evil entities.The plot, which some will find tough to embrace, has a computer virus interacting with ghosts of some kind.
I was fortunate enough to see the original 2001 Japanese movie Pulse(Kairo)But I was also lucky enough to see his earlier films the best being Kyua (1997) (Cure).His films tend be abstract set pieces dealing with complex human emotion, in the original Pulse the central theme was extreme isolation and loneliness, suddenly people you cared about were disappearing and the world was ending.
It's hard to explain, but once you see the movie, you'll know what I mean.'Pulse' is a very chilling film that is about the dead finding a portal in computers, cell phones, etc., into our world.
The only things mentioned and seen in the movie for the dead to get through from were computers and cell phones.'Pulse' is full of jump-out-at-you scares and other kinds of surprises that make your mouth fly open in shock.
Each scare kept eclipsing the last and each thrill kept eclipsing the last, too.All in all, 'Pulse' is a very chilling movie that is well...chilling.Oh, and when you read the back of the DVD, at the end of the summary, it says 'astonishing surprise ending', or something like that, but I know it said surprise ending.
But for someone who is a big fan of these Japanese horror turned into an American film, movies, this is another great one.
OF course though, he can't take all the credit because this was originally a Jap. film, but I Know he added some thrills of his own!At any rate, the story was awesome and it may leave you wanting to turn off your cellular Phone for awhile.3.
His girlfriend and student of psychology Mattie (Kristen Bell) sees each one of their common friends die and the destruction of the modern world, and together with her new acquaintance Dexter (Ian Somerhalder), they try to plant a virus developed by Josh in the network to shutdown the system and save mankind.The storyline of "Pulse" is very original and has potential, with the concept of wireless signal bringing some evil and lethal entity.
That's not to say that gore is my thing and some PG-13 movies actually succeed at fitting the genre.I gave this movie a very generous 1 (almost a 1.2) because the ending get's more imaginative, yet still incredibly predictable and the whole cast of characters gullible and oblivious to anything that resembles intelligence.Somewhere around 1988, Wes Craven lost his originality and became formulaic.
The soul stealing imagery and black plague like marks that are supposed to be so terrifying get lost in the film's direction, and would be scarier as a series of still photographs.The lack of sunlight makes the characters seem pale and boring, or maybe they were just that way to begin with.
Who, what, or where it all happened are completely lost by the end of the film, and the sense of bewilderment i felt at the end was perhaps the most horrifying part of the experience.i have seen the future of reality horror, and it is sitting through a screening of Pulse.Grade: F.
And like Todd Hayne's Safe, it offers no easy way out.Surprisingly, this American version retains the original Japanese film's bleak atmosphere and irrational plotting, leading the viewer slowly and inexorably to the bitter end.
Pulse reminds me of apocalyptic horror classics like Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, David Cronenberg's Videodrome and Crash, Roman Polansky's Repulsion, and Stanley Kubrick's The Shining -- visionary films that were also dismissed when they were first released.Visually, this new Pulse is stunning, probably because director Jim Sonzero comes from the disciplined world of commercial advertising.
I wanted to watch "Pulse" when it was on the cinemas but I never got a chance because it was hardly on for a week, so I rented it when the movie was out on DVD.
Do not fall for the tag-line which is "Scariest film of the year" it's not even a jot scary, definitely did not make my pulse pound the only horror that occurred was the money I spent for the rent.
I've seen so many horror films that this wasn't scary at all for me but it could be different for you and it did build tension especially when there's the "Fake climax" scene which happens right after Mattie gets off the elevator.
The fact that it all had a very good flow made this movie a pleasure to watch and made it actually creepy.Now like I said this is one of the only horror films of the year not consisting of all blood and guts.
They took out many key scenes (tower-jumper, etc.) just to hit the pg-13 rating.Honestly, I think PG-13 is pretty unfair, as there's a HUGE theme on suicide and many images are very disturbing, especially for some kids.Versus the Japanese version, I actually prefer this one over the Japanese one, although the Japanese covers more plot and the ending is better.
vivid scenes Acting: believable Characters: likable Plot: creative/modern Action Scenes: intense/suspenseful Mood: dark/spookyThis movie has a great musical score to every scene which i really appreciated.
Ghosts in the Wi-Fi. Despite the advertisements, the American remake of the Japanese horror film "Pulse" has very little to do with the original.I saw the Japanese original on DVD last month and I liked it.
It gave me nightmares, but I didn't think it would go over well with American audiences because it was slow and creepy, but not very scary.Apparently American horror-meister, Wes Craven, felt the same way and he rewrote the script to include much more scary ghosts in the same vein as his "Nightmare on Elm Street" series or "Poltergeist." The result is less artistic than the original "Pulse," but it is more likely to appeal to what Americans expect from a horror film.Unlike "The Descent," which I saw last week, this film does not rely on the gimmick of quick cuts of monsters jumping out at the screen.
This made-for-teens only abomination represents everything that is wrong with the horror genre today: over-explanation to the point of aggravation (the producers must think we are brain-dead as an audience), the casting of pop stars instead of actual actors (Christina Milian), and cookie-cutter editing due the number of times the picture was re-edited and re-shot to get a PG-13 rating.
I saw the Japanese version of this film as well and I thought Pulse (2006) was a pretty good remake.
All I have to say is that the marketing team for pulse deserve a round of applause because the several TV spots and ads made this film look like it was going to be a great horror flick.
The characters, the plot, everything was interesting to me.Pulse is my kind of movie; dark, a little twisted, and pretty much weird.
Later Matte befriends a new boy(Ian Somerhalder), both facing spectres from beyond the grave when sinister deeds are going on.This creepy movie contains ghostly images,chills, thrills and a completely eerie mood throughout.This supernatural horror film talks about people may become solitary, the loneliness in modern society, in spite of connecting wireless technology, cellphones and internet .Ghastly and astonishing frames about apocalyptic happenings with dark skies, deserted streets,creepy mood, similarly to classic films, such as 'Lifeforce and Quatermass and the pit'.
The only grievances i had was the handling of a couple of the sub characters come the end but ah well you cant have everything, also the ending was a bit lacking i personally would have cut it a little shorter by a couple mins but ah well.To sum up you want a horror movie to watch but without the huge amounts of blood, maiming, demon ass whooping!, then this ain't the one for you.
If you want to watch a movie where the scary points actually do try to make you jump out of your seat then it is worth a view.Ah well there is my two pennies worth..
OK i would like to see a remake of this moviemaybe a john carpenter/thingy or alfred hitchcock birdsy build upthe background music and sound track seemed lacking - this is really the first time i have noticed this dimension.....compared to sound track of....the thing......this pales.good story line though esp wifi data casting all around ....and through ....all of uskind of slow teen kill movie feel at the beginning and premature ejaculation at the end.....to much, too quick and not enough after play.....eg the story of the human survivors and what they facedmaybe that will come in pulse 2i voted 8 because i was astounded that this , quite presentable....and in some ways superior movie has been voted down,,,,below 5 by the masses,hope you enjoy it and / or remake it !!!!
I've just seen the movie and I think that "pulse" is a good job if you want to yell or scream a couple of times during 90 min, although it doesn't have a great guide, it made me scare for a while.
As remakes of Japanese horror movies go, Pulse is actually pretty good.
Fortunately, however, he's only in the one scene.In short, Pulse can comfortably join the ranks of Japanese horror remakes that are actually quite good, alongside The Ring and Dark Water.
Although most Japenese film remake are awful (The Ring 2) - Pulse is just as frightening and suspenseful as the original!.
Pulse takes its subjects seriously (think all the good things about White Noise meets the Boogeyman meets They) and does not cross over into the ridiculousness that many of today's horror movies do (as in over the top CGI or silly events that completely ruin one's suspension of disbelief).
Every now and then a movie like Pulse comes along and, mostly, does a good job of telling a good story.
What the hell?'Ah!' I thought to myself, 'Attack of the PG-13 rating once again.' I've got to stop going to these PG-13 rated "horror" movies.Before I close, allow me to mention two things, one good and one bad.
Pulse is a remake of a 2000 Japanese horror film of the same name, but after seeing the American remake, I am scared to see the original (and not in the way the filmmakers intended).
It comes co-written by horror legend Wes Craven & is directed by Jim Sonzero, who has had experience making commercials.While the original PULSE was not that great a film – it had a plot that was almost impossible to follow, & resembled an art film – this remake does not come anywhere near it.
The part where one of the students is attacked by a creature with multiple limbs that comes out of a washing machine; Kristen Bell's computer printing out a number of pages that, when assembled, resemble a skull; several shots of people killing themselves (the scene where a woman climbs onto a water tower & jumps off to her death is slightly disturbing) are these shocks but even they can't enliven the film.At the end of the day, Pulse has its moments, but fails to rise above the routine..
The special effects in this movie pushed the limits of new age graphic design--static images of what I think were dead people that appeared as if they were copy and pasted in photoshop and animated in macromedia flash on the film.
Although labeled as a bad movie, Pulse can still be enjoyed by horror fans.
The movie started off OK with some good scares (the bath scene) but by 30 minutes in the film made no real sense no continuity in the hauntings and deaths of the protagonists all of whom were forgettable.
i am not a fan of horror movies and now i know why...the movie has several heart throbbing moments but the plot is not there...i feel like i wasted an hour and a half on my life on nothing...it was obvious this was a Japanese spin off...filmmakers need to understand that the ring is the only movie that we like from our pacific friends....i would not even want a role in this movie if they offered it...totally too much hype for a waste of time....it started out really well and suddenly got really stupid....there were people walking out the movie thirty minutes before it was over....what happened to the good old scary American movies...i still do not know what the movie was about...i would rather watch the outer limits.
If you check out other reviews for the U.S. remake of the Japanese horror film 'Pulse' you'll see that the majority of people hated it.
This is a terrible movie with all the clichés you can imagine- actors going alone in a dark, creepy place, the tortured pretty lead, the so called lead hero who's got the "bad" boy image and at the same time being a hacker/computer expert...Kristen Bell is terrible- she looks and acts like a two bit version of Sarah Michelle Gellar, who's no princess herself, and I was wishing that she had been the first victim.
The whole film felt more like a B-rated made-for-TV movie than something with an actual budget and director.
Pretty Bad. Pulse is possibly the worst film I've seen in a theater the past ten years.
It has the same plot is Ju-on and everything other Japanese horror movie ever made. |
tt1029360 | Poltergeist | (Note: this is a remake of the 1982 Tobe Hooper directed horror film of the same name)The Bowen family - Eric (Sam Rockwell), Amy (Rosemarie DeWitt), Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), Griffin (Kyle Catlett), and Madison (Kennedi Clements) - move into a new home. Upon arriving, Griffin wanders through the house. He notices Maddie talking in front of her bedroom closet to an unseen presence. Griffin also hates that his room is in the attic. He hears a noise in the corner. He opens a door to a cellar and sees a red ball on a string. He pulls it and a bunch of creepy-faced clown dolls pour out. Griffin gets Eric to investigate. A squirrel then pops out of nowhere and frightens them. Griffin chooses to sleep somewhere else until the squirrel is gone.Griffin catches Maddie talking in front of the closet again. This time she shows him a trick where she touches the handle of the closet and her hair stands up. Griffin tries it and they both laugh.Some of the electrical items in the house begin to turn on by themselves. Kendra's phone gets ruined, which she blames on Griffin. At night, the kids' toys and several lights go on and off. Griffin walks downstairs and sees Maddie talking in front of the television. A bunch of hands press up against the screen. Griffin runs to protect Maddie but is pushed by an invisible force. Eric and Amy go downstairs to see Maddie in front of the TV. She turns to them and says, "They're here."Griffin notices more of the weird things happening in the house, but nobody listens to him. He raises his voice to his parents, making Amy say that he's behaving like a baby. He runs back to his room, hurt.Eric and Amy go out to dinner with some friends, leaving Kendra to babysit. The couple learns from their friends that their house was built on an old burial ground. The spirits in the house begin to properly haunt the kids. Kendra's new phone flickers and she hears a three-note sound that she follows to the basement. The floor cracks open and oozes black sludge. To her side, Kendra sees a skeletal ghost. Then a hand pops out from the sludge and grabs her leg. In Griffin's room, the tree over the house beats against the window during a thunderstorm. The creepy clowns start moving everywhere until one doll actually attacks him. The branch then breaks through the window, almost hitting Griffin with broken glass. He runs to Maddie's room to find her huddled in the corner as the closet is creaking and making a weird sound. Griffin runs to get help and is pulled by the branches of the tree. In Maddie's room, several lights head toward the closet. Maddie's Piggycorn doll rolls into the closet. Maddie follows it until she sees that she is deep in her closet. A pair of hands grab her and pull her into the darkness. Eric and Amy return to find Griffin in the tree until he falls from it. Kendra runs out and says she can't find Maddie. The family looks everywhere until Griffin hears Maddie's voice in the TV. She's calling for her mom.Amy and Griffin visit the office of Dr. Brooke Powell (Jane Addams), a paranormal researcher. Griffin blames himself for what happened to Maddie because he left her alone, and he asks Brooke to help bring her back. She takes on the Bowens' case with her assistants Sophie (Susan Heyward) and Boyd (Nicholas Braun). They go to the family's home to find any sign of Maddie. Boyd sits on a chair that flies from under him and up against the wall. The crew sets up to record whatever they can. Boyd goes into the closet to add a heat sensor. He taps the wall and finds a hollow point to drill through. The drill gets pulled into the wall, creating a huge hole. Boyd sticks his arm in there and gets pulled against the wall. The drill starts to make holes closer to Boyd's face until he is let go with a red mark on his arm. He looks back at the wall with no hole and back to his arm with no mark.Boyd runs back downstairs with everyone else, now definitely believing their story. Brooke suggests that this is the work of a poltergeist, which means these spirits can interact with the living world for their own means, and there is more than one spirit involved. The team and family get contact with Maddie through the TV again, until the poltergeists push the TV and break it. Eric goes into Maddie's room and smashes through the wall with a table leg, and then shoves a huge part of the table through the wall. This opens a portal from the closet to the living room ceiling. Brooke then decides she needs to call in the only person she knows who can stop this.She calls in Carrigan Burke (Jared Harris), the host of a paranormal investigation series, and her ex-husband. Carrigan suggests that Maddie has a gift that allows her to communicate with the spirits, and her purity is the key for the spirits to move forward. Although Eric is hesitant to trust Carrigan, he knows he has no other choice if he wants to get Maddie back.Together, they throw a rope through the closet and out the ceiling to make a chain with which to bring Maddie back. Carrigan uses one of Griffin's toy drones to fly in with a camera for a sign of Maddie. The drone flies through the portal, giving everyone a view of the house, infested with countless spirits. The drone eventually finds Maddie, who hears her family and calls to them. Three spirits pull her back, alerting everyone. As the adults argue as to who should go in, Griffin runs upstairs and goes to save Maddie himself. He goes through the portal and finds Maddie. The poltergeists pull the rope and throw it through the other end. Griffin takes Maddie and runs toward the exit. The two of them fall from the opening of the ceiling. Their parents revive them and embrace them.The family starts to pack their bags after thanking Carrigan, believing the house is clean. Maddie says it's NOT clean, despite Amy thinking she helped get the spirits toward the light. Maddie says she didn't since she was pulled out before they could go. Eric starts to drive the family out until the poltergeists attack again and push the car through the house. They begin to pull Maddie back toward the closet. The family runs over to save her. The spirits then emerge in their ghoulish forms to pull Maddie back themselves. Carrigan then commands the spirits to retreat and leave the family alone. He knows what he must do to stop this. He runs up to the room and allows the family to escape while he gets pulled into the portal himself. The Bowens retreat in Sophie's car and drive away. Maddie then sees a beam of light burst from the house, suggesting the spirits have moved onto another realm.In the aftermath, the team tries to find a sign of Carrigan. After spotting nothing for a while, they find a signal near the bottom of the house.The Bowens start to look for a new home. They visit one house that the realtor describes as having big closet space. After seeing the big tree outside and other reasons not to stay, the Bowens leave and decide to just get out of town.Shortly after the credits start, we see Carrigan (alive and well) in his show, only with Brooke joining him. She tries to do his show's catchphrase, to his disapproval. | paranormal, haunting | train | imdb | There is likely a very good reason for that...it stinks.Like nearly ALL the endless remakes and reboots that have been plaguing movie goers for the past decade or so....all this is, is a heartless version of the original.It has no heart.It has no soul.It is a retelling of a film that we all love and cherish...and it adds nothing to the story.
It improves nothing but the special effects--which held up very well over time--and in some cases belittles the fans of the original...particularly in the fact that they remade the movie at all, without adding anything clever to it.Like so many other remakes it is a hallow shell of the original..
The original Poltergeist is everything that this film is not....This "remake" is sloppy, careless, poorly executed and poorly written, all while the actors struggle to pull out performances (even a talented actor like Sam Rockwell comes off disengenuous).
Alsom their expressions doesn't fit what they're saying at all.There's not even ONE moment where i even get a little scared all is so predictable.I cant believe they got the permission to do a remake of this (cult movie) Don't see it just keep you're memories from the original MOvie.Im honestly stunned how bad the (Parents) are its like a Joke..
And then they throw in a really really dumb love subplot between Jared Harris and the lead investigator which was a waste of time and excruciatingly awkward to watch.This movie does polish some classic scenes from the original.
First of all i'm a huge fan of horror films, so when i heard about a remake to the Poltergeist i was so excited and couldn't wait to see the trailer which actually surprised me.
The pace of the movie was really fast in a good way but the only problem was the build up and that it lacked the feelings between the family.The Scare factor: It basically relies on jump scares but i have to admit they were perfectly done and well timed .
The 3D was mainly used for the jump out of your seat moments in a gimmicky way (Throwing stuff at the audience).In the end, I had fun watching Poltergeist and it delivers a few thrills,Sam Raimi did a great job producing this film,for Gil Kenan (Director of Monster House) i think it's a huge step forward.
If this movie was renamed it would of not been unfairly compared and the reviews would of been better.Sam Rockwell was as entertaining as ever and even in a horror he has a way of putting a light on things.
This perfect 3 D film is based on the classic Tobe Hooper tale about a family whose suburban home is invaded by angry ghosts.I eagerly awaited for this excellent movie release and I am glad and satisfied it is a pleasing and a decent horror film.When the terrifying attack of spirits aggravate and move inside a suburban house in a quiet wealthy neighborhood a lot of suspense and unpleasant,but breath taking surprises appear for youngest daughter and the family must save her from her destiny.This film deserves to be a number 1 horror movie,everything about it is a masterpiece.See it and be your own judge about it!..
Poltergeist is an impressive horror movie and is a good remake of the original movie.It does not deserve the hate.This movie is imperfect,but does not have errors.You will find good acting and great direction.The cinematography was lovely and the movie was entertaining from beginning till the end.Remember that Poltergiest (2015) was a successful movie all over the world.Some hate reviews don't necessarily mean that this movie is bad.I recommend seeing this lovely family movie.Kennedi Clements is sweeter than sugar and is so talented too.I am quite sure you're gonna love this amazing movie..
1)Poltergeist is a fantastic remake of the 1982 original movie .2)It Has Good Horror and Excellent Elements Of Suspense.3)Great 3D Visual Effects.4)All the actors in this movie acted well.5)The Cute Little Girl Kennedi Clements is not just a pretty face,but a lovely actress too.6)Modest PG-13 Horror Movie without Offensive Words Or Explicit Sex.7)The Editing Of The Film Was Amazing.8)This Film Achieved International Success (It Was Number 1 And A Top 10 Movie In Various Countries).9) I completely agree with the pretty Lesbian Girls Who Posted Positive Comments Here.10) Go and Buy Or Rent This DVD If You Wanna Enjoy Seeing A Masterpiece Movie..
If you want to watch it though to see very cool special effects, get scared when watching it (the first half), and to be engaged in an "original" horror movie idea then this is for you!
Every Friday the 13th (including the remake.) Every Candyman, as many Hellraisers as I could stand, every Phantasm, and every single haunted house film I could lay my hands on, from the original Poltergeist movies to The Changling and Burnt Offerings.
Throw both Shinings in there and Rose Red.The last good scary movie or mini-series I have enjoyed, until this one, was the first Woman In Black remake (not the sequel.) Oh yes, I did watch the original Woman In Black as well.
Nelson and all the other actors did a good job, but the effects surely didn't survive the test of time and it seemed production designers tried way too hard and created a boy's bedroom way over the top, for example.I read all the bad reviews about this remake, but today I thought 'Why not?' and decided to give it a chance.
And yes, it has some bad moments, and I still think 'The Conjuring' still is the most terrifying supernatural horror-movie, but this one comes close to a good second place.
I loved the balance between CGI and practical/live-action effects, every actor did their best job and the suspense was built up quite good.The story is updated real well and it never tries to copy the 1982- version.
Normally I'm not a fan of horror-remakes, but considering I couldn't bear watching the 1982-version anymore, this is a nice way to honor what effect it had in the '80's.I enjoyed it very much, way more than 'The Possession', 'Insidious' and other recent haunted-themed flicks that I don't even remember names or titles from.Heavily underrated and deserves way more good reviews..
In this day and age, succeeding in creating a film that is scary without using jump-scares or heavy makeup/CGI effects is quite an achievement, one that screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire and director Gil Kenan have definitely earnt.The story describes a family of 5 characters (two hardworking parents, one spoiled teenager, one anxious 8-9 year old and one adorable 5 year old) who move into a new house.
The acting is not half bad (by the entire cast), especially Kennedi Clements as little Madison (young talent never seizes to impress me).All in all, Poltergeist 2015 is living proof that when done right - a good Horror film doesn't need to stoop down to using cheats and "boo!" moments.
Fans of the original classic would probably hate it on account of it being "untrue to the source", but actual Horror fans would probably appreciate it for what it is: a scary film that is fun to watch..
The site's consensus reads: "Paying competent homage without adding anything of real value to the original Poltergeist, this remake proves just as ephemeral (but half as haunting) as its titular spirit." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Neil Genzlinger gave the film a positive review in The New York Times, writing: "The new Poltergeist might well be the scariest movie 13-or-unders have yet seen, just as the original was for their parents back in 1982.
Perhaps some of the haunting creepiness of the original has long since passed (but how can they compare - i remember seeing the original as a child and being scared silly by a couple of key scenes!!) This version has more emphasis on the characters, family and winning the battle so to speak.Importantly i liked the family, its well cast and well produced/directed with not too much nonsense filler which is the biggest turn off in many movies these days.Fun overall :).
However, after watching the new Poltergeist, I have to say that it definitely doesn't suck like other remakes and even though it has many places that could've been better, the 2015 Poltergeist is a slightly above-average horror flick (definitely worth more than a 5.0).One thing that I heard the most from the audience is that Poltergeist has nothing special.
Though you can still find many reused concepts from other horror movies and yes, many jump scares, Poltergeist still has some pretty scary scenes, especially in the first half of the movie, which I thought that the director paved the direction real well.
Greetings from Lithuania."Poltergeist" (2015) is a poor remake of a good original movie, but it is not the worst flick on it's own.
Kinds did OK job, especially one who played Griffin, and Rosemarie DeWitt's performance was probably the best in this movie.As a horror movie, "Poltergeist" (2015) features tons of clichés, and there aren't true scary moments, you can see "jump scare" scenes from a mile.
What i enjoyed about this movie was not the horror elements, but simply family scenes especially during first hour of this movie, but when so called "horror" starts, movie started to drag and by the end i was watching left time like each 5 min.Overall, "Poltergeist" (2015) isn't good, but it isn't particularly bad.
I found the only annoying part of the remake to be the mom character and the forced plot lines that surrounded her made no sense.Having said that, this movie was not scary for me at all (but neither was the original), but...
You can't expect a remake to also be revolutionary, can you?Sidenote: I found the vast amount of Star Wars memorabilia in the original movie really off-putting - yeah okay, we get it, Spielberg wrote it and produced it.I should say that, I get where all the negative reviews are coming from.
And personally I would like to thank them for making it 'not quite a remake' as I was about 30 or so mins into the film I realized I didn't feel like I was watching a film I'd seen before, sure they'd kept some of the old clichés, but lost some as well, replacing them with modern interpretations and it all just jelled together really well, so I felt like I was watching a new movie, in and of itself, and might I say, enjoying the hell out of it !
No, his voice didn't come close to dropping, and, in some long-shots, he didn't seem very tall, but, boys shoot up in spurts, and, if I'm correct about Kyle, I really hope the acting ability I saw on the screen will see him through the 'terrible teens,,' because this young man definitely has a future.The rest of the cast are all perfunctory in a good way.The usual feeling I get from remakes - the feeling of 'we've only made this for money,' wasn't that noticeable.
Again - I saw his from a new perspective - someone familiar with the first, but, who'd never seem it, and it really seemed care was put into making this a good film.At one point, something happens (don't worry - no spoilers), and it really seemed for a moment,they were setting the stage for a 'Poltergeist 2,' but, I'm happy to say I was wrong about that.Listen; there's way too.
Let me start out by saying that I am a huge fan of the 1982 original and its sequels (though most are a fan of the original and can leave the sequels alone),and originally I would've preferred a third sequel to a remake or reboot,but I agree that the Carol Anne story-line died with Heather O'Rourke.In fact,if this had been a third sequel,instead of a remake,putting a new family like the Bowens in this would've been what I would've done.Now,getting to my take on the remake (hey it rhymes): Like most remakes the plot for this remains virtually intact from the 1982 original in that youngest child (Madison to 1982's Carol Anne),gets kidnapped by evil spirits and family has to go to "the Other Side",to bring her back but spirits aren't happy nor willing to let their victim go that easily.Now,while some lines of dialogue are clearly lifted from the original,not all are and some are rearranged to fit the reimagined scenes (you'll see what I mean those who have yet to see this).I do like how the writers and producers did this to add some freshness to this and make this somewhat different than the original.
Overall,I did enjoy this movie as far as remakes go and as a stand-alone horror movie or even as a Poltergeist IV (assuming there's not one coming out.How well the remake does at the box-office will depend on whether we get sequels to this or a possible third sequel to the original trilogy),but I agree with most people nothing beats the 1982 original but do admit,Madison is a good substitute for Carol Anne.She is just as cute and the young actress playing her really makes you care to see her family get her back safe-and-sound like Heather O'Rourke did for the original's Carol Anne.I would've actually rated this 6.5 out of 10 stars but IMDb doesn't have half-stars..
Why i like this film: 1) good effects (loved the clown doll)2) great acting and well selected actors ( the little girl is very cute )3) good script ( was not cheesy like the original)4) good cinematography and lighting As a beginner film maker ( age 13 ), I compare originals to remakes to see what could be improved of already well known films or classics.
Overall, I liked the film more than the original but still think it was wrong to make a remake in the first place...
I'd just like to strain this - anyone going into this movie expecting a horror film will be disappointed.
This film is a remake of the original Poltergeist which was directed by Tobe Hooper - but between you and me Steven Spielberg most likely directed it.
I believe Poltergeist was an original and unique thing when it came out in 1982 but now every horror movie pulled something out of it and all those bits and pieces have been seen many many many times.
This doesn't mean it's very good, or necessary, or much less that it surpasses the original film; I just found it a mediocre but moderately entertaining horror film with a correct style for the new generations which would find difficult taking a 1982 movie seriously, with all the cultural relics implied by that...
In conclusion, Poltergeist (2015) isn't a very good film, but it was better than I expected, and because of that, I can give it a slight recommendation exclusively to the ones who have never seen the original movie.
For the acting, this family doesn't really stand out from the rest of haunting victims, although the child actors perform pretty well since much of the movie invests on them.The original's creepy atmosphere is definitely superior.
Movies like Insidious or Sinister arguably have better ambiance and set up, so it opts for a more literal modern touch.Instead of practical effects, Poltergeist uses plenty of CGI, especially towards the latter half.
Bad acting, bad soundtrack, and really bad CGI make this movie a complete waste of good popcorn.I'm sure the teens of the new MTV generation will love it, and THIS will be the version that every one will refer to for eons to come, which is too bad, because the original will always be the better version by far.Avoid this movie like the plague..
There are a few fun gags here and there (particularly in 3d considering it was filmed natively in the format) but there's nothing that we haven't seen before, and done better in recent films like Insidious and The Conjuring.The performances are serviceable enough with Sam Rockwell being his usual likable self, and Jared Harris playing a strange replacement for Zelda Rubenstein's character, but the family at the center of the story never really gels together and only serves to make you appreciate the ensemble in the original film.
If you've never seen the original 1982 Poltergeist, then this movie may be absolutely freaky for newcomers, but for those who have seen the '82 classic, this remake is both fantastic and awful at the same time.
Gil Kenan's direction is solid, but the script blows through the material so fast that his vision just doesn't stick.Poltergeist is certainly an admirable effort, but it needed to embrace the original's roots, scare tactics and slow build instead of sticking with recent horror movie "tropes" like jump-scares and minimal story-telling.
POLTERGEIST, the 2015 remake of the 1982 supernatural horror classic with the same title , haunts with the same hair-rising creeps that made the original Tom Hooper/Steven Spielberg film, a cultural phenomenon but it's utterly devoid of any inventiveness, nor of a sensibly-constructed narrative, to make itself a stand out among the string of horror movies that recently inundated the big screen.This haunted house-horror updates the set-up of its original source material.
The family enlist the help of paranormal investigators, including a famous TV personality (Harris), to help get her back.The original 'POLTERGEIST' is one of my all-time favorite horror films, it's also one of my favorite Spielberg movies as well.
There was one problem, unlike the other horror remakes, the original of this film had good production values, a great cast, and great director.
This review is in the first place to those who has watched an original Poltergeist from 1982 and hope to watch some maybe better remake of great horror movie.
Act,plot,story are pale copy of original movie.Don't watch this and waste your time. |
tt0120631 | EverAfter | In 19th century France, a Grande Dame (Jeanne Moreau) summons The Brothers Grimm (Joerg Stadler and Andy Henderson) to correct their interpretation of the Cinderella story. The Grande Dame reveals a glass slipper and tells them the "true" story of Danielle de Barbarac.
Her story begins in the 16th-century. Danielle is eight years old when her father, Auguste de Barbarac (Jeroen Krabbé), marries the widow Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent (Anjelica Huston). He dies shortly after, leaving Danielle at the mercy of her step-mother. For the next ten years, Danielle (Drew Barrymore) acts as a household servant as the Baroness mismanages the estate into disrepair.
While working outside early one morning, Danielle attempts to stop a man from stealing one of her family's horses. This man turns out to be Prince Henry (Dougray Scott), attempting to flee his royal responsibilities and an arranged marriage. He buys Danielle's silence with gold and continues to flee only to have his escape foiled when he chooses to assist a caravan being robbed by gypsies. The Royal Guard arrives, helps the caravan, and returns Henry to the Palace.
Danielle uses the gold from the prince to disguise herself as nobility and buy back a long-term family servant sold by the Baroness to pay her debts. While at the palace, Danielle encounters the Prince again. He does not recognize her from earlier and is instantly intrigued by her. Henry and Danielle-in-disguise have several other chance encounters, during which they fall in love.
The King decrees that Prince Henry must choose a bride before a masquerade ball or follow through with his arranged marriage. Rodmilla discovers Danielle and Henry's romance and attempts to destroy it by informing the queen that Danielle is engaged and leaving the country. She then locks Danielle up to prevent her from attending the ball. Danielle manages to escape with the help of her friends and attends the ball anyway. While there, Rodmilla exposes Danielle's identity as a servant to Henry. Shocked and angry, Henry rejects Danielle.
After the ball, the Baroness sells Danielle to their landowner. Henry chooses to go through with his arranged marriage. During the wedding, Henry realizes his fiancee is incredibly unhappy and calls off the wedding. He then learns of Danielle's situation and goes to rescue her, only to find out she has rescued herself. He then proposes using the glass shoe she lost when fleeing from the ball.
In the end, the Baroness and her daughters are summond to the Royal Court and punished accordingly for their treatment of Danielle and for lying to the Queen. Henry and Danielle live happily ever after according to the Grand Dame, who then informs the Brothers Grimm that Danielle was her great-great-grandmother. | romantic, fantasy, comedy, boring | train | wikipedia | ...A filmmaker decided to do another rendition of Cinderella; and what a beautiful rendition it is!Cinderella was always my favorite fairy tale, but this movie, at first, looked like yet another poor updating.
Who better to help a child of reason and enlightenment?This is a true romance, a rare thing in today's movies, including the so-called "romantic comedies." It is a wonderful piece of work and a fine update to a classic tale.And they lived happily ever after, indeed!.
Finding their true love and being with him/her despite the odds?This movie is most definitely not a retelling of the Cinderella story.
Dougray Scott is marvelously funny in his role as a Prince trying to find his way, and Angelica Huston is a brilliant evil stepmother, and Drew Barrymore makes a stunning Danielle...
And "Ever After" is pitch-perfect as an adaptation of the Cinderella story to screen.As a fairytale, this movie follows a predictable pattern and storyline.
The cinematography is one of the stars here and this is a fabulous movie to watch - for the scenery, the costumes and the visual effects.Anjelica Huston steals the show as the evil stepmother, but Drew Barrymore puts in a fine performance here, and Patrick Godfrey is wonderfully eccentric as Leonardo Da Vinci.
It's a classic Cinderella tale set in 16th-century France and revolves around an independent young woman named Danielle.
He is fascinated by Danielle and her thirst for life and adventure, and they fall deeply in love - but her jealous stepmother will do anything to keep them apart.Drew Barrymore turns in a stunning performance as Danielle.
In this movie she is an ambitious mother who would do anything to make her own daughter a queen.The Prince is also usually a pretty flat, cliché character, but Dougray Scott brought a refreshingly human side to him and portrayed his struggles and conflicts very well.The script is strong for a romantic fairy tale and the cinematography is gorgeous.
I like the movie because Danielle (Cinderella's "real" name) wins the prince because she is passionate, outspoken, well-read, and won't take nonsense from anyone!
I really like the fact that Danielle makes her own dreams come true instead of hoping they will turn out right - what a wonderful role model (I know *I * am inspired!) I laughed and cried and bit my fingernails (I am NOT supposed to bite my fingernails) and crumpled the napkins for the popcorn into hopeless little balls.
Drew Barrymore plays a great and convincing Cinderella, or as Margerite called her, "Cinder Girl".
The thing that really made me want to see this movie is what Drew Barrymore said in one of her interviews.."It's so wonderful, because all girls love Cinderella.
And, also the fact that her heart and her mind is what is attractive and intriguing to this wonderful prince, and not the way she looks."Drew Barrymore played a great Cinderella..
When I first went to see this movie in the theatre, I was very skeptical as I'm not a Drew Barrymore fan but she absolutely shines as Danielle and has great chemistry with Dougray Scott as the handsome and funny Prince Henry.
Orphaned as a young girl, Danielle (Cinderella) is raised by her evil stepmother and two stepsisters in rural 16th century France.
And a good story it is, well acted by Drew Barrymore as Danielle, and Angelica Huston as the wicked stepmother.
I believe that Drew Barrymore gave life to that love we all would like to feel for one day for someone an impossible love combined with pain and real truth of the heart.
When I finished watching this wonderful film, I thought that I had seen one of the best movies released this summer!
Drew Barrymore is tremendously appealing in the lead role, Dougray Scott is a refreshing new face that I am anxious to see again in other roles, and Anjelica Huston was terrific as the stepmother, not entirely wicked, but certainly faithful to the tale.
I really liked how the prince of France gets intrigued by her upfront personality as she "tells it how it is." It's a good inspiration to those who don't fit in because it encourages them to take stands toward change.
much better than i expected, especially for someone who never liked cinderella in the first place.true, the script wasn't very original and sounds quite contrived at parts, but point is, it's really enjoyable to watch while you're in the cinema.never mind if there's not a lot to scream about when you want to scrutinise production fine points later.
we could nitpick on realism and detail, but my guess is this movie wanted more to be a good story than a period piece.a few exquisite subtleties were missed even by some of the audience.
one of them is the quick flash of pained confusion that crossed Rodmilla's features when her dying husband had last words of love only for his daughter.conclusion: this movie - like the heroine - was funny as well as beautiful, had loads of impulsive guts, and created the most responsive cinema audience (you should have heard this crowd cheer, clap and how one guy shouted "Way to go, sister!") i've had the pleasure of being with in a long time.quite a catch :).
And it's visually pleasant (it's not just New Zealand that has great scenery), & it's anchored by Drew Barrymore, who is surprisingly cute with an (occasionally laboured) English accent, and Dougray Scott, who wins the ultimate accolade from me - I didn't recognise him till I saw the credits at the end of the film.Yes, it's a romance.
If this girl is capable of kicking a guy's butt near the end of the movie then this same girl should've been capable of kicking her stepfamily to the curb...but then again, we wouldn't have the Cinderella story that is the whole point of this film.I absolutely hated Prince Henry and it's hard to believe that anyone could fall for him (or that he could suddenly have a change of heart in a split second).
And yeah there is the issue of characters that are supposed to be French but have English accents, but when you're making a film targeted toward teenage girls, I guess these filmmakers thought they could get away with just about anything.As for me I found this interpretation of Cinderella to be so boring and lifeless I couldn't care less.
Her evil stepmother Rodmilla (Anjelica Huston) has reduced Danielle (Drew Barrymore) to little more than a maid after the death of her father.
Prince Henry (Dougray Scott) can't stand his home, and runs into Danielle one day as well as Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey) rescuing his Mona Lisa painting.
Leonardo would be the fairy godmother.Drew Barrymore is doing a weird British accent in a costume drama taking place in 16th century Italy.
The story itself is good triumphing over evil just like the fairy tale..
Drew Barrymore puts on a spectacular performance, it is in my opinion one of her best films so far.
"Ever After: A Cinderella Story" (1998) stars Drew Barrymore as Danielle, the daughter of a wealthy commoner in 16th century France.
But there is too much boring dialogue, Danielle looks too much strong and the historical failures are evident.(for example the Spanish dynasty was a German family so they were thin and blond, not like Cuban refugees, or Thomas More wrote Utopia only five years before Da Vinci Disease, so how Danielle could read that book when she was a child, Queen Mary was Charles the V sister, and was the step mother not the mother of the dauphin, also I can not remember if France have lands in America at that time etc).
Even I still think that Kate Winslet was the best option for the role, Drew Barrymore looks beautiful, and her performance is not bad, more than that she convinced as the goody heroine, this movie is a kind of lucrative Hollywood redemption to an ex bad girl.
Hence, the actors do a very good job, especially Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Megan Dodds (who plays as if born and raised to that part) and Melanie Lynskey.
Drew Barrymore leads the 90s feminist revolution in what is one of her top performances as "Danielle" (not Cinderella, although her character is identical).
I think having only one wicked step-sister made the film more balanced as to have only the Prince and Danielle herself the "good" characters would have placed completely the wrong tone, as the nature/nurture debate would have given lie to that situation.
Dougray Scott made a great Prince (slightly wobbly english accent aside), he looked the part and certainly managed to convey emotional depths to the role which is usually sidelined to that of beefcake.
Their feelings are so real and so intense that every time I watch the movie I find it hard to believe that they are not really in love with each other but just acting.
Drew Barrymore vacillates between victimized puppy, coy young woman and pre-feminist challenger in the lead, convincing the Prince of France that she's of nobility while captivating him with her inner-strength; still, she's fetching, despite an uneven accent and too many movie-star close-ups of her self-conscious smile.
Anjelica Huston is perfectly fine as the hissably evil stepmother (she's appropriately contemptible without stepping over into camp) and Dougray Scott is the twinkling Prince (with an over-sized codpiece which seems like a sight-gag nobody took note of).
Well, it is a fairy story, (sort-of), with an awful step- mother(Huston), and step-sisters, one of whom looks so much like the main character Danielle (Barrymore) that I had difficulty connecting with either!
The other sister is blonde, and instantly recognisable.Prince Henry (Dougray Scott) is the star of this movie for me, although the others get the main billing.
The film is an adventure film based on a fairy tale.The main character in the movie named Danielle de Barbarac that is Cinderella.
For adults, it can be fun to see a version of the movie they have seen so many times and for children it can fit to the holders of love, princesses, princes and castles.
Yes; this movie is chock full of anachronisms, although I'll paraphrase David Drake in saying that this film was intended for modern-day English speaking audiences, and so it ought not be astonishing that the characters neither affect faux French accents nor speak bastardized Ren Faire "forsoothly" language.
This 1998 movie is a delightful take on the Cinderella fairy tale, largely due to the personality and talent of Drew Barrymore who effortlessly blends innocence and feistiness as Danielle de Barbarac who, after her father dies, is downgraded to a servant by her harsh and greedy stepmother (Angelica Houston).
Also in attendance of course are two stepsisters (Megan Dodds and Melanie Lynskey) though they are far from ugly, and the latter has quite a lot of sympathy with poor put-upon Danielle.Enter a handsome, dashing Prince Charming, in the form of 16th century real-life Henri (Dougray Scott), son of the French King, Francois I (Timothy West).
I really loved this movie.Drew Barrymore gives a bravado performance as Danielle-innocent,fragile,yet strong enough to stand up for herself and her dreams.Her performance is only matched by the dashing,charming Prince Henry.The two undoubtedly have great on screen chemistry and make a fantastic couple.The film itself has a magical,fairytale-like theme to it.The costumes,sets were totally convincing and add to the appeal.I maybe a sucker for happy endings but after watching the movie,I think everyone will agree-it was really heartwarming.Dougray Scott makes a fine prince-philosophical,romantic,brave and open to the possibilties of love.Great movie,5 out of 5 stars.Keep them coming!!.
This movie show the "true" story of Cinderella, and i think it's a great movie for any classic fairy tale lover..
I own about 15 different types of Cinderella stories:)I am not a huge fan of Drew Barrymore, But this is one of the 2 roles I love her in.
not to mention a strong Cinderella for once; Not the girl waiting for her prince to come "save" her :) Besides, Dougray Scott is just awsome!My Favorite line...
A masterpiece in film making and definitely the best portrayal of the Cinderella story..
What can I say but I loved this movie and cannot wait to see it again.The story itself was reworked with excceptional skill providing a mix of entertainment, humour and romance that didn't make the viewer want to retch.
Top marks to Drew, Angelica and the rest of the cast for an outstanding performance.All in all a thouroughbly enjoyable movie that makes you want to strive for the unattainable and instills in the viewer a sense of belief that wonderful things can happen in the world..
it is a more realistic adaption of the story cinderella rather than the fairy tale version.
Anjelica Huston who played the evil stepmother Rodmilla showed her colors by making you so angry at how she treats Danielle (Drew Barrymore) that you just want to walk up to the screen and punch her lights out.
All in all Ever After is a wonderful movie and it does do justice for the Cinderella Story because it is enough different that it doesn't harm the original.
Such a joy is "Ever After," a charming re-working of the Cinderella story.This is definitely not your mother's "Cinderella." The heroine--here called Danielle and played appealingly by Drew Barrymore--is still good-hearted and sweet, but balances this with resourcefulness and courage.
Said prince (Dougray Scott), rather than being an impossibly perfect, remote cipher, is a strong presence throughout the film--passionate, determined, a little arrogant, and truly charming.
To my pleasant surprise, it was totally unnecessary.The acting was good, the plot was clever, the script EXCELLENT, with Drew Barrymore having some wonderful lines...Some parts are dubious from a perfectly logistical perspective, for example, why does everyone have English accents (occasionally wobbly, too) in France?
I love the way this movie changes the story of Cinderella and makes it into a possiblity.
Well, I expected to like this movie as I think Drew Barrymore is a really good actress (anyone who doesn't think so re-watch E.T.
If only all politicians would listen to what she has to say to Prince Henry, maybe we'd be in a better state than we are now.I really loved this movie and recommend it to anyone who (a) loves Drew Barrymore, (b) loves romantic movies, or (c) just wants to see a brilliant film..
The film is stunningly gorgeous, with a perfect cast and a great script which turns a story line that has been done to death into an original, fresh work.
And how sweet was her revenge.Drew Barrymore made this character come alive with her wonderful acting skill.
This movie relies on a tried and true story line as the strong link holding this film up - thefairy tale story of boy finding and falling in love with girl.
She pulled off a mediocre performance but the character was such a charming one and Drew Barrymore really is a talented actress- Danielle really could have been a GREAT character instead of just a good one.
the cast was just excellent -- drew barrymore was perfect as danielle ("cinderella"'s real name in this story), and this is undoubtedly one of her best performances ever.
dougray scott was very impressive as prince henry, and anjelica huston couldn't have played the "wicked stepmother" better.
If you think that its impossible to make the Cinderella story engaging, see this movie!
A retelling of the old Cinderella fairytale, this is the story of Danielle, the noble girl forced into servitude by her stepmother after her father's death.
You never know, one day he may not come back for her and she could be stuck in that corner forever.In this film, Drew Barrymore does a credible job as Danielle, although she does seem to flounder a bit with the rather odd accent.
I particularly liked the awful stepsister Marguerite, nice to see the bad girl as a blonde and the heroine a brunette.This is one of those films that does not particular warrant a second viewing, although could be a good choice when you are at the video store and just can't decide, but wanting something reliable..
Drew Barrymore, Dougray Scott, and Anjelica Huston are great in this movie.
Drew Barrymore plays Danielle De Barbarac, a young woman who after losing her loving father (Who she very close with.) is made a servant by her new stepmother.
I was skeptical at first about this film as I'm not really into period dramas or fairy tales and I did wonder how Drew Barrymore would come over.
This film shows she has come along way from the drug and alcohol rehabilitation and her B-movie bad girl roles.
"Ever After" is a great movie, starring Drew Barrymore and Dougray Scott.
Anyhow, this is a wonderful, well-made film, and, though Drew Barrymore is not my favorite, is really a "don't miss"..
This is by far the best adaptation of the Cinderella story I have ever seen.The two ugly sisters are not ugly but both very pretty, but of course the show is stolen by Drew Barrymore herself, playing a determined young lady who strives to do good.Clearly this is the kind of movie Drew should be doing more of.
I had just seen "Never Been Kissed" about the time that I saw this story and have come to the conclusion that Drew must like the tale of Cinderella.
I do disagree with a couple of comments from someone about young girls who love Titanic will be the only ones to love this movie apparently- not true at all- and that Drew Barrymores English accent was not convincing.
Drew Barrymore is outstanding as Danielle, and you really feel for her when her horrid stepmother, played by the ever excellent Angelica Huston, is being cruel to the poor girl.
Overall, this is a lovely movie, with the wicked stepmother and the prince. |
tt0421238 | The Proposition | Set in the Australian outback in the 1880s, the movie follows a series of events following the horrific rape and murder of the Hopkins family, likely committed by the infamous Burns brothers gang.
The film opens in a remote wood building with a violent gunfight between the police and Charlie Burns' (Guy Pearce) gang, which ends with the deaths of all of the gang members except for Charlie and his younger brother Mikey. Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) makes a proposition to Charlie: he and the feeble-minded Mikey can go free of the crimes they have committed if Charlie kills his older brother, Arthur (Danny Huston). Arthur is a mercurial psychopath who is so vicious the Aboriginal tribes refer to him as "The Dog Man" and both the police and the Aborigines refuse to go near his camp. Captain Stanley states his intention to civilize the harsh Australian wilderness by bringing Arthur to justice and using Mikey as leverage. Charlie has nine days to find and kill Arthur, or else Mikey will be hanged from the gallows on Christmas Day.
Captain Stanley's motivations for taming Australia are revealed: he has been forced to move there with his delicate wife, Martha Stanley (Emily Watson), and apparently wants to make it a safer place for them to live. The Stanleys were friends of the Hopkins family, leading Martha to have nightmares about her dead friends. Word spreads of Stanley's deal with Charlie, primarily from Stanley's corrupt subordinate, Sergeant Lawrence (Robert Morgan), causing disgust among the townspeople.
Shortly thereafter, Eden Fletcher (David Wenham), for whom Captain Stanley works, orders that Mikey be given one hundred lashes as punishment for the rape and murder of the Hopkins family. Stanley is aghast at this, not only because he believes Mikey is likely innocent and the flogging may kill him or harm him irreparably, but also because it will break his deal with Charlie and bring the Burns gang's revenge upon him and his wife. Stanley sends Sergeant Lawrence away with tracker Jacko (David Gulpillil) and other men to "investigate" the reported slaying of Dan O'Riley by a group of Aborigines.
Meanwhile, Charlie rides in search of Arthur, drinking and apparently reflecting. Along the way, he encounters an inebriated old man named Jellon Lamb (John Hurt). In the course of conversation, Charlie realizes that Lamb is a bounty hunter in pursuit of the Burns brothers and knocks him out. Later on, after sleeping on a rock bed, Charlie awakes and is speared in the chest by a group of Aboriginal men standing over him. Seconds later a gunshot is heard and the head of the man who threw the spear explodes. Charlie then passes out.
Charlie wakes up in the camp of his brother Arthur, located in caves among desolate mountains. Arthur's gang consists of Samuel Stoat (Tom Budge), who shot the Aboriginal man who had speared Charlie; a woman named Queenie (Leah Purcell) who tends to Charlie's wound; and a muscular Aboriginal man called Two-Bob (Tom E. Lewis). As he recovers from his wounds, Charlie has several opportunities to kill his brother, but does not.
Captain Stanley attempts to defend Mikey by gunpoint from the bloodthirsty townspeople, but is overruled once Martha arrives, insisting on revenge for her dead friends. Mikey is brutally flogged and horrifically wounded. The formerly excited townspeople slowly become disgusted and Martha faints at the ghastly display. Captain Stanley grabs the whip and throws it at Fletcher, staining him with blood. Fletcher fires Stanley.
Near Arthur's camp, Sergeant Lawrence and his men have found and butchered a group of Aborigines. Arthur and Two-Bob find Lawrence's group while they sleep and kill Jacko and Sergeant Lawrence. Before Arthur stomps Lawrence to death, Lawrence tells Arthur that Charlie has been sent to kill him. Jellon Lamb enters Arthur's camp and ties up Samuel and Charlie, both of whom are sleeping. Lamb is shot from behind by the returning Two-Bob. Arthur then begins torturing the still-living Lamb with a knife. Charlie points his revolver at Arthur, but instead shoots Jellon in the head, putting him out of his misery.
Charlie decides he wants to break out Mikey and informs Arthur. Arthur, Samuel and Charlie ride into town dressed in the clothes taken from the officers Arthur and Two-Bob had killed, while Two-Bob poses as an Aborigine they have captured. Once at the jail, the men free Mikey, and Charlie and Two-Bob ride off with him. Arthur and Samuel remain to torture and slaughter the two officers inside the jail. The badly injured Mikey, who has never recovered from the flogging, dies in Charlie's arms. As they bury Mikey, Two-Bob tells Charlie that all of this is Charlie's fault: "You should never have left us."
Captain Stanley and Martha let their guard down to have a peaceful Christmas dinner. Immediately following their conclusion of grace, Arthur and Samuel shoot open the door and invade their home. Arthur pulls Captain Stanley into the other room and brutally beats him, while Samuel taunts his wife. Samuel drags Martha inside, and Arthur shoots Captain Stanley through the shoulder. As Samuel assaults Martha, Charlie walks in and informs Arthur of Mikey's death; Arthur ignores the news and encourages Charlie to listen to Samuel's beautiful singing. Charlie walks up to Samuel and shoots him point blank in the head, then shoots Arthur twice, saying afterward, "No more." Arthur staggers out of the house. Charlie tells Captain Stanley "I want to be with my brother." He leaves the house and follows a trail of blood to find Arthur seated on the ground nearby and sits down next to him. Arthur states that Charlie has finally stopped him and asks what he will do now, to no answer, and dies as his brother watches the blood red sunset of the outback. | dark, murder, realism, cult, sadist, violence, tragedy, revenge, storytelling | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0073705 | Shivers | At Starliner Towers, a modern high-rise apartment complex on Starliner Island located just outside Montreal, prospective tenants are welcomed by the smarmy manager Merrick. In one of the apartment, Dr. Emil Hobbes, attacks a young woman, named Annabelle, who wears a school uniform. He strangles Annabelle to death, slices open her stomach, and pours acid in before slitting his own throat.In another apartment, Nicholas Tudor, sits in front of a bathroom mirror, apparently suffering from stomach convulsions. Tudor goes to Annabelle's apartment, and recoils from the scene of carnage, but leaves without telling anyone about it.The two bodies are found by a resident doctor who calls the police. The resident doctor, Roger St. Luc, is quite calm about it as the paramedics carry the bodies away. St. Luc goes to the office of Hobbes medical partner, Rollo Linsky, who describes the project they were working on which Rollo explains it as: "a parasite that can take over the function of a human organ", and he also reveals Hobbes' penchant for pedophilia, telling St. Luc that he was once caught "examining a young girl's breasts for cancer" when the girl was 12 years old.Meanwhile, Nick Tudor's neglected and concerned wife, Janine, seeks advice from St. Luc about her husband's sickness and reluctance to see a doctor. At the same time, Tudor leaves work early and goes home to Starliner Towers after more convolutions. At his apartment, he vomits what appears to be feaces over the balcony, just as two old women pass below. It thumps onto one of the women's umbrella, startling them. They think a dead bird landed on them due to the blood-stained splat on the umbrella. The fecal parasite slithers away into the undergrowth.In the laundry room of the building, an old woman investigates a trail of brown slime leading from an open window to a washing machine. As she lifts the lid, the parasite hurtles out and clamps onto her cheek. She tries to pull it off but cannot.At Dr. St. Luc's office, an elderly man complains to the doctor about stomach lumps saying that he may have caught them as a sexually transmitted disease from "the girl in 1511" - Annabelle Brown.Meanwhile, a distressed Janine Tudor visits her friend Betts to confide in her about Nick's recent behavior. Betts tells Janine to give Nick some space while she clearly makes sly remarks to Janine about how she looks. When Janine returns to the apartment, Nick has passed out on the kitchen floor after throwing up blood.In a corridor, two children play door knocking pranks until a parasite appears in the mail box opener at one of the doors (the Tudor apartment) and the kids flee away in terror.Inside the Tudor apartment, Nick callously dismisses Janine's worry about his health. When he is alone, he lays on his bed and encourages his chest lumps to move, talking to them as if he is talking to a pet. Meanwhile, Betts runs a bath, listening to a radio announcement about the murder and suicide at Starliner Towers.In the building physician's office, Dr. St. Luc seems indifferent to the amorous advances from his nurse, Miss Forsythe. They are interrupted by the telephone. Linsky calls St. Luc from Hobbes office downtown where he found Hobbes notes, which far exceed their original project. According to Linsky reading one paper, Hobbes wrote: "Man is an animal who thinks too much", and had a vision about creating a parasite which was "a combination of aphrodisiac and venereal disease that will hopefully turn the world into one mindless orgy". He was also using Annabelle as a guinea pig for his experiment and that he infected with a parasite through sexual contact but when she got out of control he killed her since she could infect others with the parasites. St. Luc tells Linsky that apparently Annabelle was very sexually active and infected three or four men at Starliner Towers and explains about the few cases of stomach lumps already and mentions that Janine Tudor's husband may have been one of Annabelle's sexual partners. Linsky arranges to meet them later in Tudor's apartment to confirm and warns St. Luc about encountering anyone at the building complex behaving in a strange way.Meanwhile, Betts continues to relax while soaking in her bath, unaware of the parasite forcing its way up through the plughole and heading right for the nearest orifice. Betts screams and struggles as the bathwater turns red and thrashes in agony...At this point, the chaos really begins as it reaches inexorable ascendancy. Nurse Forsythe stabs a sex-crazed man who attacks her in her apartment. St. Luc arrives just as the infected man flees. He takes a sample of the infected man's blood for the lab to examine.At the same time, a parasite attacks an old French-speaking couple in the corridor before being impaled on the end of the old lady's walking frame. Soon, more assault by residents on others become more frequent. The old lady from the laundry room attacks a delivery man who shows up near her door. The infected delivery man then attacks a young woman and her little daughter in an elevator. Then the delivery man and infected woman and girl attack and infect the lobby security guard, and so on...Nick attempts to seduce Janine, but she resists when she feels the lumps moving in his stomach. At the same time, St. Luc finds the old French couple who tell him about their encounter with the parasite. While Nurse Forsythe keeps them company, the doctor the searches the basement dumpster where the old man claims to have threw the dead parasite, but gets ambushed by another infected man. Dr. St. Luc overpowers his assailant and unhesitatingly beats him to death.Afraid over what is happening to Nick, Janine is standing by her man as he sleeps... until a bloody parasite emerges from his mouth onto the pillow beside her. In a state of shock, she runs out of the apartment and into Betts... whom is also infected.Nurse Forsythe then leaves the elderly French couple and decides to try to leave from the building.St. Luc goes to Merrick's office and tells him to call the police. By now a zombie-like mob of people infected by the parasites is roaming all the corridors of Starliner Towers. The mob breaks into the old French couple's apartment and apparently infects them as well.In the basement garage, St. Luc finds Nurse Forsythe about to be raped by the infected security guard, and he shoots the man in the back, killing him with a gun that he takes from the guard. After attempting to escape from the car park, they are rammed by one of the 'crazies'. They try to get out on foot, but find the garage door closed and locked, and several 'crazies' approaching them. They are forced to flee back into the building. St. Luc and the injured Nurse Forsythe hide in the basement, waiting for the police to show up.In the lobby of the building, a young couple complains to Merrick (clearly infected at this point) about the disturbances. He ushers them into his office where the couple are immediately pounced on by a delirious group of orgyists and are infected as well.In Betts apartment, she comforts Janine, stroking her hair and leaning in close. She tells Janine that she always had a crush on her. As the two of them kiss, a parasite exchange takes place and Janine becomes infected.A little later, Linsky arrives at the Starliner Towers and hears distant noises, but nobody is around the lobby or anywhere else. He goes up to the Tudor apartment and finds the door wide open. Tudor is lying on the bed, his stomach seething with parasites. One of them lunges at Linsky who tries tearing them off with pliers. As Dr. Linsky stabbs the parasite with a kitchen knife, he is attacked and beaten to death by Tutor, who tears the parasite off the dead Linsky's face and crams it into his own mouth as an act of ownership.In the basement, Nurse Forsythe relates a dream she had about an old man saying: "he tells me that even old flesh is erotic flesh, that disease is the love of two alien kinds of creatures for each other, that even dying is an act of eroticism". A parasite appears crawling out of her mouth, and St. Luc knows right away that she is infected. He punchers her unconscious. As he carries her along a corridor containing storage lockers for the residents, the wooden wall panels burst apart and a sea of arms break through, reaching at them. St. Luc is forced to leave the infected Forsythe behind and runs to Tudor's apartment. He encounters Tudor in the kitchen kneeling over Linsky's bloody corpse. St. Luc shoots Nick Tudor dead. He then tries to escape from the building, but finds all the exits blocked. He encounters a gay couple trying to get at him, then an old man with a young girl in another apartment.St. Luc makes his way to the indoor swimming pool where he sees the infected Betts and Janine there fooling around. St. Luc finds an open patio door and walks out. Sensing that he is free, he runs away from the pool area and outdoor patio and up a grass river embankment only to be confronted by HUNDREDS of "changed" people slowly and silently advancing towards him. Forced to retreat back into the pool area, he is pushed into the pool where the infected Betts, Janine, and even Nurse Forsythe await. As the mob of 'crazies' jump in and attack him from all directions, St. Luc finally loses his struggle to remain 'human' and allows the mob to consume him.In the final scene, the time is 5:26 a.m. about an hour before dawn as a radio announcement describes a wave of unexplained sexual assaults across Montreal and the surrounding area which may have originated at Starliner Towers and that the authorities as well as the centers for disease control are currently investigating a possible epidemic of some kind. The final shots over the end credits show a long line of cars with infected people leaving Starliner Island and driving across the bridge leading to Montreal and the rest of the outside world.... | cult, comedy, murder, violence | train | imdb | null |
tt0489070 | Hard Luck | As the film begins. A former criminal and drug dealer Lucky (Wesley Snipes) was released from prison and tries to lead a respectable life despite his troubled past. However, Lucky once or twice reflects on the wisdom of his grandfather who supposedly told him "sometimes without bad luck, it would seem you don't have any luck at all." Shortly after his release from prison, Lucky tries to get back on his feet but inexplicably ends up a victim of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, and loses his newly found life.
After Lucky returns to New York, Lucky is dealt another blow when the government withdraws funds for his yoga and samba dance classes which he uses to try to keep kids off the streets. This unfortunate event leads to Lucky enduring the bad influences of two old friends from his past life as a criminal, who lure Lucky to a strip club under the false pretense of his friend's birthday. When a drug deal with some dangerous mobsters goes bad, and Lucky is now on the run with a feisty Puerto Rican stripper from the strip club, Angela (Jacquelyn Quinones), and over $500,000 in American currency, which is wired with marking dye.
Later that night, there are short cuts of an unconventional and troubled couple, unexplained and also known to the police as the "Sawtooth Killers". Chang (James Liao), an egotistical and maniacal accomplice to his old-fashioned girlfriend Cass (Cybill Shepherd), the mother of a mentally challenged man named Eugene (Mike Messier). Motivated by Cass's son Eugene's unpleasant experiences with society's rejection of mentally challenged individuals, the couple brutally kidnaps, tortures, and presumably kills their abductees, recording their exploits on video, possibly for future viewing.
Angela and Lucky find themselves caught up in the path of violence, and Lucky ends up an unlikely hero by saving the life of a would be victim of the Sawtooth Killers. Lucky saves Captain Davis (Mario Van Peebles) from Cass's son Eugene, who is armed with a shovel. Lucky chooses to have a positive outlook on the events by using perspective gained from his grandfather, characterizes the events as being "the luckiest day in an unlucky man's life." Lucky and Angela go on to receive a $200,000 reward which had been offered by the police for information leading the capture, arrest, and or prosecution of the Sawtooth Killers. | suspenseful, violence | train | wikipedia | To bad it's not working, the stories are to different and it really feels like if someone took two movies and created a mix-tape from them.The action is average and Wesley Snipes is doing his thing, but not more then you could expect from a B-type actor.
Some of the other cast members are doing a real good job and this only makes Snipes look more like a poster name then a real actor in this case.
Every time the story shifted to the Thriller part I woke up from the "almost-sleeping-state" the gangster part put me in.To sum it all up: OK movie the fact that it's very different from Wesley Snipes' other work, and that the writing is above average makes it interesting to watch..
In one day I watched "New Jack City" who happens to be directed by Mario Van Peebles and it also happens to be a great movie about the dangers of the criminality in the New York of the 1980's and 1990's.
A few days later I had the chance to watch this one "Hard Luck" also directed by Peebles and with Wesley Snipes in the cast.
Wesley Snipes plays Lucky an bad luck ex-convict who crosses countless and weird situations after some obscure negotiation involving an old friend (Noah Fleiss), some corrupt police officers and a gun dealer.
On the road he's gonna meet a psychotic couple (played by Cybil Shepherd and James Liao) and some other strange people in a mosaic and boring film.The action scenes are annoying, weak and there's nothing special about it and Snipes was wasted in that department but in the dramatic scenes he is better than some of the supporting actors.
The story presents too many characters and situations trying to be a action flick mixed with some mosaic film such as "Magnolia" where everybody and everyone is connected although we don't know how and when.
About the psychotic couple...well they are presented in the beginning of the movie and you keep trying to understand what they're doing all the time, torturing people they find on the streets and you keep thinking what's the connection between them and Snipes?
I'm truly disappointed with this film because it had some potential, it had a social denounce in the beginning (Snipes character survived the Hurricane Katrina) and the movie totally forgot that and moved to an ordinary and crappy action movie.
I miss the great director of "Panther" and "New Jack City" who knew how to work with explosive themes and some good action scenes in the middle.
HARD LUCK with Wesley Snipes, Mario Van Peebbles and Cybill Shepherd.
It has that Tarantino, DePalma, David Lynch feel to it at times that I think Van Peebles(and Snipes I would imagine)wanted to try and capture.
Faded/fading stars, newbies just out of school, a plot which makes little sense, clichés tired and banal, dialogue which adds insult to injury, performances which range from good jokes to bad, to just tired as well.
Well, I've finally tracked down Wesley Snipes's worst film and it turns out to be this Mario Van Peebles-directed stinker that attempts to mix the small-time gangster genre with a serial killer flick.
HARD LUCK is an appallingly shot, badly written B-movie that's so inept that you wonder whether Peebles went out of his way to make the worst film he could as part of a bet.The film stars Snipes and the often-naked Jackie Quinones as an ex-con and a stripper who go on the run from the Mob with a suitcase full of cash.
All very ordinary you might think, but then the plot takes a turn for the bizarre with the introduction of a serial killing couple played by Cybill Shepherd and James Liao.
Yes, that really is Cybill Shepherd in this movie, although what she's doing here I can only guess.HARD LUCK is shoddily made and particularly badly shot; all of the dialogue scenes and moments of exposition are acceptable, but the handling of the action is horrendous (a surprise considering Peebles's experience in the genre).
Hard Luck is a dark comedy about a pair of serial killers that meet up with a dancer and a guy named lucky who fell into some money.
I think I liked Snipes better in US Marshals type movies.
Van Peebles has made a movie that really relied on Snipes to create the draw.
If you like action, some sick serial killers, and some T&A you'll like this movie..
This Mario Van Peebles and Larry Brand penned movie is a unique blend of two genre films, the "gangsta" and "psycho-on-the-loose."There is also a wink that the director (Peebles) takes at the old 'screwball comedies' where a couple usually gets involved in a situation that neither wanted to be in from the beginning.
And of course part of that scenario has a 'Bonnie and Clyde' overtone as the couple (Snipes and Jackie Quinones) try and stay one step ahead of both the law and gangsters that were 'short changed' by Snipes in the beginning of the film.There is a little bit of 'political statement' at the very beginning of the movie that doesn't take away from the crux of 'Hard Luck.' For some reason Peebles wanted a 'current event' added to a film that did not warrant it.
Over time the scene in question will only date the film.Not wanting to spoil it for anybody, but lets just say Peebles has assembled a great cast -- some known faces and some relatively new ones -- and puts them to good use.
Wesley Snipes stars as a con-man gone legit (You know the type) who is involved in one more deal, done as a favor to a friend, however that deal goes awry and Snipes ends up with the money and then runs into backwoods serial killers led by Cybil Shepherd.
I must admit I give Hard Luck points for trying, this movie is so chaotic, haphazard and so over the map that it becomes enjoyable on a surreal level.
The fact that I expected a typical ' Former thief ends up with cash finds himself running from the mobsters who set him up' style movie but in the hands of Mario Van Peebles, so much is thrown at the wall and the completely different plot lines are thrown together with so much disregard toward the main plot that Hard Luck become inadvertently entertaining.
Sure the main story is underwritten and Van Peebles doesn't make a fully coherent story out of the scenarios he intersects, but make of this what you will, Hard Luck is the best film from Wesley Snipes since Blade II.* * out of 4-(Fair).
Continuity, was a bit lacking, as the movie opens the obligatory car chase is going on, and our hero is being chastised, by the love interest, in English, yet later in the film as this scene is expanded he is being screamed at in Spanish!I was left feeling that the story could have done more with the "Serial Killer" duo, I liked the humor of the Diner scene when a Halloween costumed kid comes up and says "Yahhh!
I'm a Serial Killer!" & Cybill Shepherd comes back with "Well, I'm a Serial Killer, too!!!" All the cops and robbers, and bad boy trying to go straight has been done to death, and as for getting a pole dancer to strip, so that she "won't run into the street, naked"...
There are interesting characters like the Gay XXX movie producer "Latinos are the NEW Exotic" Cass the Serial Killer "Imagine the worst thing that can happen to you, and I will show you how limited your imagination really is".
Slow moving, a little incoherent and with next to know pay off.You must have been sniffing paraffin if you think this is good
a GCSE student scripted this after an all night Tarantino movie watching session Incoherent, badly scripted, hammy dialogued, in places poorly acted.
See Wesley Snipes amble from one flung together scene to another (with little or no continuity) as he inexplicably meets a lot of deranged, unbelievable, two dimensional characters.The only value this movie has is that it features Snipes, who manages to put in an OK performance (unbelievably under the circumstances).Its tried, its old, its clichéd, it's a waste of your money and/or time and finally it features Mario-Van conducting one scene wheeling about imparting dialogue on a push-bike
why?
How come people give this lousy film so many good reviews but superior Snipes films like Art Of War II and The Marksman get so many negative reviews?
Plus to make things worse the terrible serial killer subplot is shoehorned in and takes away the focus from the main story with Snipes character.
Well I like serial killers to be threatening and they failed miserably at that here, and they're torture methods aren't so much disturbing as confusing, exactly what the hell did those helmet things do to people?
Snipes along with his female companion at least look they're trying to make the best out of lousy film but the awful performances from everyone else make it a lost cause, even the half-way decent finale dosen't make the film worth watching.
It's surprising how bad this film is, considering it was directed by Mario Van Peebles, who's proved to be a talented director, I certainly hope his next film has more thought and effort put into it then this crap fest..
'Hard Luck' is one those many half baked direct to DVD movies that Wesley Snipes starred in after the third 'Blade' movie.
Snipes stars as an ex-hustler gone straight, but with the string of bad luck he ends up as a witness for a deal gone bad.
Throw corrupt cops, striper, stolen money and couple of serial killers into the mix and you get quite interesting over the top and action packed thriller (that lacks the actual thrills).
As the film was trying to be serious and hilarious at the same time, it was little hard to feel for all the characters and take some of the actions seriously even in the context of the movie.
In that sense, 'Hard Luck' felt like someone's first experiment as feature film director, but by that time Mario Van Peebles had became quite experienced filmmaker with some critically acclaimed works under his belt.
The most entertaining part of the film was Cybil Shepherd as demented serial killer - her performance was so wonderfully hammy that it would have been perfect fit also into Tarantino's universe.Not the usual Wesley Snipes movie, but nothing very exciting either..
Well, I certainly think people look into this movie way too much.
They had some bad vibes going on.Jackie Quinones was very sexy, and Wesley Snipes was super cool.
Now they are on the run from corrupt cops and Captain Davis (Mario Van Peebles), who has an old score to settle with Lucky.
If that's not enough plot, Cass (Shepherd) is a totally unrelated character who likes to torture people.
Even though it's a different idea to throw a serial killer into an "ex-con goes straight" story, it doesn't work at all.
Van Peebles' character has a great intro, but his story with Lucky isn't explained too well.
It gets tiring fast.Overall, "Hard Luck" is decent, don't expect it be another Snipes action movie though.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com.
Mario Van Peebles has done some good work in his past but this bizarre, confusing, silly dud is not one of them.
The script feels like someone gave a party for wannabe writers, told them each to submit a plot for a far out film, then mixed them all together and came up with a hash that in the end is merely a re-do of the bad guy turned good guy on the run - with diversions.Lucky (Wesley Snipes) is released from prison with the plan of going straight.
Of course his buddy covets his reputation and invites him to his birthday party where Lucky lusts after a pole dancer Angela (Jackie Quinones) and manages to become involved in a dirty cop drug deal that sends him on the usual wild car chase with Angela looking for a way to hideout with the corrupt money stashed in metal suitcases (rigged of course).
Behrman) who just happens to be in on the dirty cop aspect of the drug deal.Off Lucky and Angela drive to a wooded area where they hole up next door to a weirdo pair of serial killers - Cass (Cybill Shepherd), who is angry at the world for negative response to her retarded grown son Eugene (Mike Messier), and Chang (James Hiroyuki Liao), Cass's strangely sick lover and wannabe martial arts expert (yeah, that is thrown in, too) - who kidnap victims and torture and kill them in Hollywood-style videotaped sequences.
And things change and intertwine and nobody really cares.Wesley Snipes does have charisma and it is because of him that the film is watchable, but even his role doesn't explain why this mess was made in the first place.
It was hard not to think about Pulp Fiction when watching this movie.
Starring Wesley Snipes, you expect a straightforward action/crime drama.
Well, they tried to throw a little twist in with some deranged torture sequences as an overlapping subplot.I wasn't really interested in Snipes' character, even though it felt like they tried to make him something different than the typical action protagonist.
Eventually, while trying to lay low, they end up neighbors with the eccentric couple who have been kidnapping, torturing, and videotaping people, although it's never really said what they do it for.Actually, not knowing what the motivation was behind the kidnappings worked well, because we were shown just enough to imagine what these people are really up to, and it seemed to offer several possibilities.
"F**K" "F**K" "F**K" "F**K" "F**K".Thanks also for the worst music I have ever heard, "f**k" all of you sound-directors and musical "sh*tters".Want to say "f**k" to to the whole cast and film crew but specially to:Mario Van Peebles Donald Kushner Brad Wyman Larry Brand Peter McIntosh G.
I'm giving this a 6.5 and I'm pretty loyal to movies with wesley snipes.
If you keep throwing characters in with out giving the viewers a personality to attach it to then you are mudding the waters.They did a good job with the serial killers.
But it seems like you watched the movie and you learned something new.
If you are going to make a low budget film make it to where they viewers is like "ah, I am learning something new thats cool, is that really how that works".
It stars Wesley Snipes and is written and directed by Mario Van Peebles.
At first glance, it's a combination of a typical Snipes action movie and the modern-day blaxploitation films that Van Peebles specialises in.
Snipes portrays an ex-con desperately trying to go straight, who innocently blunders into a drug deal/police sting gone wrong, and is forced to go on the run with a Cuban stripper he's only just met (played by Jackie Quinones).
So far, so expected.However, the movie then begins cutting away to an entirely separate 'Saw'-type storyline happening many miles away, concerning a couple of backwoods serial-killers who abduct and torture people to death, filming themselves while doing so.
And in the first indication that this film is going to be out of the ordinary, one of these snuff producers is played by Cybill Shepherd - yep, Cybill Shepherd!!!Meanwhile, back in the Snipes storyline, the crime aspect is practically forgotten and it almost turns into a standard road movie, complete with a cameo from veteran character actor Luis Guzman as an extremely camp gay porn baron.
Eventually the two separate plot lines converge when Snipes crosses paths with Shepherd at the movie's climax.As a result, Hard Luck is bizarre but strangely fascinating.
It really is like watching two entirely different movies that have been edited together.
You can almost imagine them whispering in your ear as the film unfurls - "yeah, we know there's absolutely no good reason for her to get her kit off in this scene, but look, that's one shapely butt she's got." Quinones' entry on the IMDb reveals only a few minor credits, and this is her biggest role so far.
There have been a lot of films in the narrative format in the past and this was a good addition to a long line including Pulp fiction and Sin City to name a couple.
I have not seen anything else by Mario Van Peebles only the films he has taken part in as an Actor.
All I could think of with van peebles was the fact that he doesn't appear to have aged in the twenty or so years it has been between the first and the last time i saw him on screen.
Wesley Snipes was what he always is, hugely entertaining and kick ass at the same time.
With the sub plot of the serial Killer, I thought Sybyl Shepherd was chilling in the role and think she should do more like this as this suited her like a glove.
It was interesting throughout giving good character plots, leaving us with a good one liners and a thumping sound track.To be honest i think the serial Killer plot could have been a whole new film, however the way it was introduced into the main plot which in any other film would have been the sub plot, was very well done.Over all?
We see some good acting from shepherd and peebles and I would recommend it to people who like to sit down on a Friday night with beer and a Burger.
This is your usual Wesley Snipes movie.
Mario van Peebles doing his version of Pulp Fiction.
2. Cybill Sheppard - her character is just so way out in left field that watching her in this movie is like watching a train wreck - you know it'll end badly but you just can't tear your eyes away. |
tt1682180 | Stoker | On her 18th birthday, India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska)—a girl with a strong acuteness of the senses—has her life turned upside down after her loving father Richard (Dermot Mulroney) dies in a horrific car accident. India is then left with her unstable mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman). At Richard's funeral, Evelyn and India are introduced to Richard's charming and charismatic brother Charlie (Matthew Goode), who has spent his life traveling the world. He then announces that he is staying indefinitely to help support India and Evelyn, much to Evelyn's delight and India's chagrin.
Shortly after Charlie moves in, India witnesses him argue with Mrs. McGarrick (Phyllis Somerville), the head caretaker of the house. Mrs. McGarrick then disappears. Charlie and Evelyn grow closer and intimate while India continues to rebuff Charlie's attempts to befriend her. Later, India's great aunt Gwendolyn (Jacki Weaver) arrives to visit the family, much to Evelyn and Charlie's dismay. At dinner, Gwendolyn shows surprise at Charlie's claims of traveling the world and tells Evelyn that she needs to talk to her about Charlie.
Gwendolyn ends up changing hotels due to an unexplained fear and suspicion of Charlie. However, she loses her cell phone and tries to call the Stokers' home from her hotel payphone. While she is making her call, Charlie tracks her down and corners her in the phone booth, seeming to be upset. Explaining that he found her through the cab company, he hands Gwendolyn her phone and then strangles her to death with his belt. Meanwhile, India goes into the basement to eat ice cream and discovers Mrs. McGarrick's body in the freezer. She realizes Charlie is a murderer.
Later, India unleashes her inner aggression at school and stabs a bully, Chris Pitts (Lucas Till), in the hand with a pencil after he tries to land a surprise punch to her head. This draws the attention of another classmate, Whip Taylor (Alden Ehrenreich). India goes home and later witnesses Evelyn and Charlie growing intimate and wanders off to a local diner where she runs into Whip. She and Whip go into the woods where they proceed to make out until India aggressively bites Whip. Whip then attempts to rape India until Charlie intervenes, and breaks Whip's neck with his belt. India then aids Charlie in burying the body in her garden. She then attempts to call Gwendolyn, but hears her phone ring deep in the garden, realizing Charlie killed her, too. India takes a shower and masturbates to the memory of the murder, climaxing as she remembers Charlie breaking Whip's neck.
While going through Richard's office to gather things of his she wants to keep, India discovers that a key she received as a birthday present belongs to a locked drawer to Richard's desk. Inside, she finds dozens of letters Charlie wrote to her over the years, which detail his travels and express his love for his niece, although they have never met. However, India discovers that the sending address on the back of the envelopes is from a mental institution. India then confronts Charlie, who explains the truth: Charlie murdered his and Richard's younger brother Jonathan as a child because he was jealous that Richard paid more attention to him. Charlie was then put in a mental institution. When released on India's 18th birthday, Richard gave Charlie a car, a generous amount of money, and an apartment in New York City on the condition that he stay away from Richard's family. Feeling hurt and betrayed, Charlie beat Richard to death with a rock and staged the car accident.
At first, India is in shock and angered. However, she seemingly forgives Charlie and grows closer after he provides an alibi for her when Sheriff Howard (Ralph Brown) questions her about Whip's disappearance. They grow close to intimate before Evelyn witnesses them. Later that evening, Evelyn coldly expresses her desire to watch India suffer before confronting Charlie, implying that she knows the truth about Richard's death. Charlie seduces Evelyn and then attempts to strangle her before India appears and fatally shoots Charlie with a rifle. She then buries Charlie's body in the backyard and proceeds to leave for New York in his car.
She is shortly pulled over for speeding by Sheriff Howard, who then asks her why she's in a hurry. India replies that she wanted to catch his attention, then plunges a pair of pruning shears into his neck. India pursues the wounded sheriff into a field to dispatch him with her rifle. | dark, mystery, psychological, murder, horror, flashback | train | wikipedia | As a fan of Chan-Wook Park's Korean films, particular his gross twist on a vampire story in 2009's Thirst, I was incredibly excited to see his first English language offering.
So despite not quite sticking the landing, Stoker is effectively creepy, well acted, and an enjoyable beginning to what I hope will be a long English language career for Chan-wook Park..
Furthermore, there's a wonderful Hitchcock feel to it and clearly pays homage to 'Shadow Of A doubt' with a character called Uncle Charlie.The writer is Wentworth Miller, an actor, and this being his first screenplay makes it all the more impressive.
Based on the quality of this movie, Wentworth Miller needs to get writing some more screenplays.I also felt the subject matter was a perfect match for Director Chan-wook Park, who's no stranger to controversial themes.
These themes are essentially what the movie is about.Nicole Kidman plays mother 'Evelyn Stoker', and Matthew Goode plays charismatic, creepy Uncle 'Charles Stoker', but there's simply no argument as to who steals the limelight and it's Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland, Jane Eyre), as 18 year old 'India Stoker'.
It may only be the beginning of March, and there's been a lot of great movies so far in 2013, but I think 'Stoker' is the best film of the year at this point.
Without the appropriate cinematic skills, this film could have sunk completely, but thanks to Chan-wook Park being a master of psychological thriller, it came to be a nice work of art.
Deliberate loose ends and cut scenes, designed to confuse the viewer and cause uncertainty.Much like with his all-time classic, puzzling masterpiece "Oldboy", Park wants to disturb you.
I liked the script by Wentworth Miller (although I don't think the script gets full credit for the suspense created here), and I found Mia Wasikowska's performance superb.This film is dark and might make you feel disgusted or uncomfortable.
I began to wonder if there would be some grand twist in the end, and was waiting for it through one pointless scene after the other, just to realize the ending could be seen a mile away and all that confusing storytelling really amounts to absolutely nothing.I would recommend this movie only to people who can sit through two hours of something they are not exactly sure whether it is what you are watching.
Stoker, celebrated Korean director Chan-wook Park's English-language debut, is a dark, disturbing and diabolical film about an introspective young girl named India who witnesses the loss of innocence following the sudden and untimely death of her beloved father.
The main character is an 18 year old girl called India Stoker played by Mia Wasikowska who was recently in the not very good but very popular Alice in Wonderland.
The script itself could be rewritten with more depth and attention to the emotional wealth and strange sway of the characters, for all of them are skilled enough to operate powerfully under the shroud of mystery director Park Chan-Wook erects so flawlessly, yet the film could be much improved in tragic and horrifying value through a more tailored script.
The almost completely obvious plot resolves in a tedious, completely unbelievable way, but that doesn't even matter because the director has given the humble viewer absolutely no reason to care about any of the characters.It's properly amazing someone has been able to do so little with so much talent - Mia, Nicole and Jackie are all absolutely top notch, and Mathew Goode was excellent in the most recent Brideshead Revisited adaption.
The mother was quite frankly annoying to watch for any more than 10 seconds and Uncle Charlie just seemed to float around, occasionally uttering blindly obvious or stupidly confusing anecdotes, depending on the scene.Whilst a small number of scenes actually brought some tension to the story through the use of clever parallel editing, the remainder was unfortunately spoiled by the DP's obsession with shots that craned and tracked and racked focus at every possible opportunity - they say good cinematography should blend seamlessly with the story.
Plot looks okay, excellent choice of cast.The moment the movie starts, you instantly notice the mysterious atmosphere the director tries to pass on to the viewers.
But she also has a crush on Charlie."Stoker" is a boring and pretentious thriller by the cult South Korean director Chan-wook Park.
It's the most complete artistic work by Chan-wook Park in his career so far, an ingenious masterpiece, with the only minor complaint being the lack of the explicit violence he depicts in his Korean movies; this is not his fault though, but the request of the American companies involved, and still he manages to make us shiver with the cruelty of the violent scenes depicted and insinuated.To fully appreciate this movie, you must have watched Old Boy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, and in general to be a fan of Korean and Japanese cinema.
I love the directorial style that Chan-wook Park brings to all his movies, they are visual masterpieces to watch.
I also want to point out that Stoker has this amazing feel to it, much like a Hitchcock film, where the scenes are eerie and long.
With its evocative title and quirky Gothic horror tone, the first English-language film from Korean Park Chan-wook reads like an obvious companion piece to the director's 2009 vampire parable Thirst.The only monsters here, however, are unmistakably and unambiguously human.
Not only has she lost her dearest pop but her best friend, the one person who truly understood her.India's grief-stricken mother Evie (Nicole Kidman) clearly isn't cut out for single-parenthood – her maternal inadequacy summed up in the line, "Personally speaking, I can't wait to watch life tear you apart." So it's to both women's relief when long-lost Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) shows up out of the blue offering solace.So far so Shadow Of A Doubt.
The whole thing plays out like a Stephenie Meyer penned episode of Midsomer Murders in which each character's dramatic arc is offset by irrational actions and illogical judgements.The film's parting sin: a long reveal-all flashback that dampens any lingering glimmer of intrigue and leaves very little to savour on repeat viewings.Littlewhitelies..
Being a die-hard fan of Chan-wook Park's movies also had me excited to see his first English language effort that as I sat in that theater from the very first moment I watched this film without favoritism or preconceptions.
By the end, this movie still reached my expectations but I left the theater replaying how it unfolded over and over in my head for the rest of the day.At the funeral of her father's death, India (played by Mia Wasikowska) for the first time meets and learns of the existence of her uncle Charlie.
Like with John Woo, Hideo Nakata and Wong Kar-Wei something went lost with this Hollywood debut by Chan-wook Park.At least Stoker has reminded me to watch Shadow of a Doubt again and that is the only good thing I can say about it..
The three principle actors are superb but Mia Wasikowska really gives the film a beating heart, as her character, India Stoker, emerges from her innocence into her latent self, her true nature.
STOKER is a strange little film that unfurls its blossom of a story in manner that draws the viewer into the hauntingly bizarre family with fine writing (actor Wentworth Miller with Erin Cressida Wilson), fine directing (Chan-wook Park), fine art direction (Wing Lee) fine casting and some of the most beautiful cinematography of the year (Chung-hoon Chung).
Only once you realize this do you become free, and to become adult is to become free.'The plot can be summarized as follows without providing information that would destroy the suspenseful movement of this strange story: India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) was not prepared to lose her father and best friend Richard (Dermot Mulroney) in a tragic auto accident.
Well, I guess you are thinking: looks like a nice thriller to spend my afternoon, Nikol Kidman is playing, nice IMDb rating, it should be fine..NOOOOTTTTGood things: the cast is nice plays nice, the photo is great BUTTerrible things: it manages to be the most boring thriller ever, OK OK sorry, its not even a thriller, its a meaningless movie that everybody's behaviour just does not make sense, every character is ridiculous and unreasonable...
As a fan of Chan-wook Park's masterpieces I was highly anticipating for his first English speaking movie Stoker.
after minuets of watching i found myself glued to the movie and drawn into the mystery.Stoker is a well developed intellectual physiological thriller, by far the best i have seen not only is the cinematography outstanding the story line and character development is mastered excellently down to the fine details.
This film is a rare find and is truly beautiful and hypnotic because it dives deep into the characters minds and shows exactly how they are thinking but yet still keeps hidden the darkest secrets and adds a dream like feel to this strange reality which yet feels so real yet so far from normality.
The plot is essentially Hitchcock's Shadow Of A Doubt (1943), but this is a good one, full of potential for delightful and interesting variations, such as the wickedly disturbing 1966 Let's Kill Uncle with Mary Badham of To Kill A Mockingbird fame.In Stoker, troubled India (Mia Wasikowska) reminds us of Wednesday from The Addam's Family.
It's a satisfying change of pace from the patronizingly conventional and downright silly horror releases lately issuing from Tinseltown like effluent from a landfill, and most Gothic thriller fans will want to see it.South Korean director Chan-wook Park is best known to fans of the weird for his bizarre, gory cult movies such as Oldboy from The Vengeance Trilogy.
It's not until her Uncle turns up, to throw the family into a subtle disarray, that we start to see their family life unfolding.Charles Stoker is besotted with India, taking a very keen interest in her in a way which constantly feels awkward and a little bit wrong, whilst forging a friendship with his Brother's widow.But it's India's character arc which is the main focus, and what a journey she goes on.
I cannot say too much about her character without giving too much away about where the film goes, you'll just have to watch it for yourself.Director Chan-wook Park delivers a visual spectacle, with long sweeping camera shots, swift angle changes and a very typically clear colour palate to bring everything together.
India is surrounded by blacks & whites and greys whilst her Mother is very much enveloped in a mustard and light orange glow, which fits in well with Nicole Kidman's hair colour.The script is also well written, and Prison Break's Wentworth Miller clearly knows his craft well, bringing a very slick text to these characters.Stoker is not a drift-in, drift-out movie, it's a "watch and see what happens" type, driven by great cinematography and dialogue.
Matthew Goode's Charlie is sinister even when he's being nice, and Mia Wasikowska's downplayed part comes across well.Chan-wook Park brought us one of the greatest Korean films ever in "Oldboy" and he definitely delivers in this, his first ever English Spoken film.Enjoy!.
First off all the actors cast here .Great talents i especially like the uncle and the little girl.They overshadowed nicole kidmans big time ,they were all good .They just seemed so out of place in this particular movie none of them belonged here.None of them seemed to have a solid purpose beyond their characters relation to each other.Everything just seemed to be very one dimensional .Like not well planned or thought out ,i felt like i was watching a school play.
Oldboy director Park Chan-Wook has come stateside to make his first American feature, and Stoker is a visually stunning, eerie movie.India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) is an unusual teenager.
Stoker is also a movie with substance, playing like a dark coming of age tale as India changes to be a more open and sexual person but also releases her inner demons.
Because on one hand, this is a beautifully filmed, edited, scored, acted(such subtlety) movie, creepy, full of suspense and tension leading to brutal violence, with a mystery that is gripping until the flat, climax-less ending that takes a lot away as we learn the truth
and the symbolism, great, though there's also a bit too much of it.
As the movie begins to unfold we discover some hidden secrets from the family's past.I've mentioned how much I liked Park's direction and Miller's script, but I also have to give credit to Wasikowska's performance.
Mother-to-daughter relations and the mix of grief and coming to age have seldom looked so frightening.Acting plays a central role in the way Park builds his story, characters, and the relations between them.
The film takes on a pretty even pace; it's never too fast or too slow, and it takes its time to let the atmosphere sink in.The story, however, doesn't feel like it goes anywhere.
India is suspicious of her Uncle Charlie and as she begins to discover he may be dangerous, her suspicion turns to infatuation.STOKER begins playing out like an update of Alfred Hitchcock's 1943 film Shadow Of A Doubt.
Excellent cinematography and editing with great performances by the entire cast as well
Let's face it, this movie is a sick, twisted, disturbed, psycho thriller perfectly raveled in a strong, thick fog of mystery that not only goes farther than Hitchcock ever could, it enhances the dreadful suspense with unparalleled style and direction..
Again, what Park was going for might work in a South Korean film, but like Nicole Kidman's character it feels out of place here.
The director and cinematographer are Korean, the composer, screenwriter and lead actor are from the UK and the two main actresses are Australian.Being that this is my first Chan-wook Park's film I saw, I'd say I'm quite impressed with his direction and style.
There is something creepy about him, and she soon finds out that he's more than just creepy.Director Chan-wook Park brings an interesting moody vibe but the low energy acting and the slow moving story drains the tension right out of the movie.
It is quite a mysterious film were you know that something isn't right throughout the movie, but by the time that it all comes together, I just lost all interest.
It is the writer behind this story Wentworth Miller I am talking about, and he did a really nice job in writing a strange, dark, twisted and mysterious piece.The strangeness of this films slowly reveals itself, it is slow paced, but that just makes it more strange, you keep thinking I have to watch carefully to know what is going on and what is happening, that must be why it is moving in this pace, but it is mostly to have the viewer see all the small details, the twist and turns, the imagery and the small sounds that all plays wonderfully well together.Early on you are told that she can hear small sounds, things that are far away and notice stuff that cripple and crawl.
Have in mind though that the violence, disturbness etc, is Nothing compared to some of his earlier works.The script, written by Wentworth Miller (Prison Brake) is not flawless, but really really good.At the moment I am breath taken by the acting of the whole ensemble.Kidman delivers as always, Mia Wasikowska is as good if not better, I did not realize that I had already seen like five of her films until I checked her out on IMDb, hats off for this young lady, I am totally starstruck/in love/blown away, what a fantastic actress!
And last but Definitely not least Matthew Goode, I didn't think he could deliver what he does in this type of film, I was wrong, I have always considered him a good actor but had only seen him in geek-like roles.If you the viewer are sensitive; this almost masterpiece might be disturbing for you to watch, I'm not gonna spoil why...But for all you mystery/thriller lovers out there it's a must see.The Only reason I did not give this film a ten star rating was because in my mind it was to short, I would have liked to see more/deeper character development, most of all between the cast as a whole.
If you have never seen a Chan-wook Park film go watch Oldboy right now, if you are a fan of his work Stoker will not disappoint.
I will start out by saying that the way that "Stoker" is shot and filmed is actually enough to make the movie worth watching.
Although Nicole Kidman, playing Evelyn, didn't have a role all that great, then she did bring her usual good performance and presence to the movie.If you enjoy a mystery thriller that is something out of the ordinary, then "Stoker" is well worth a watch.
However, just bring an open mind, because "Stoker" does tend to think out of the sandbox most of the time in terms as mystery thriller goes.I am giving the movie 5 out of 10 stars, based on the camera-work and the acting, which was ultimate dragged down by a story that tried too much and didn't fully manage to bring together all that it put out there..
Matthew Goode has a boatload of talent and he uses it well in this film.Overall, Stoker is a dark, twisting, mind-bending thriller that tells its story with the use of rich imagery and breathtaking cinematography.
Park appears to be more interested in the look of the mystery than getting into the actual character impetus behind that mystery.STOKER is an enjoyable film to watch.
It soon seems that Charlie's presence constitutes more than simply a mourning brother.Stoker is directed by Chan-wook Park (Old Boy) and is his first English language film.
"Stoker" is famed South Korean director Chan-wook Park's first English language film.
India is able to escape her family, but deep down she is what she is.Director Park crafts a beautiful looking film from top to bottom. |
tt0361596 | Fahrenheit 9/11 | Michael Moore begins the movie begins by suggesting that friends and political allies of George W. Bush at Fox News Channel tilted the presidential election of 2000 by prematurely declaring George W. Bush the winner. It then suggests the handling of the voting controversy in Florida constituted election fraud.The film then segues into the September 11, 2001 attacks, with the screen going black and the film relying solely on sounds to illustrate the chaos on that day. When the film resumes, it continues with scenes of the bystanders, survivors, and falling debris of the World Trade Center. Moore notes that President Bush was informed of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center on his way to an elementary school. Bush is then shown sitting in a Florida classroom with kids. When told that a second plane has hit the World Trade Center and that the nation is "under attack" Bush seems wary but calmly continues reading 'The Pet Goat' to the kids, and Moore notes that he continued reading for nearly seven minutes before leaving the school.The film then discusses the causes and aftermath of the September 11 attacks, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Moore then discusses the complex relationships between the U.S. government, the Bush family, the bin Laden family, the Saudi Arabian government, and the Taliban, which span over three decades. Moore alleges that the United States Government evacuated 24 members of the bin Laden family on a secret flight shortly after the attacks, without subjecting them to any form of investigation by the FBI or other security agencies. At the time, all other domestic and international civilian air traffic within the United States was grounded.Moore moves on to examine George W. Bush's Air National Guard service record. Moore contends that Bush's dry-hole oil well attempts were partially funded by the Saudis and by the bin Laden family through the intermediary of James R. Bath. Moore alleges that these conflicts of interest suggest that the Bush administration is not working for the best interests of Americans. The movie continues by suggesting ulterior motives for the War in Afghanistan, including a natural gas pipeline that could be laid through Afghanistan to the Indian Ocean.Moore alleges that the Bush administration induced a climate of fear among the American population through the mass media after the 9/11 attacks to gain widespread support for his administration and the war in Afghanistan. Moore then describes purported anti-terror efforts, including government infiltration of pacifist groups and other events, and the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, which vastly expands government powers. After finding out that members of Congress do not read most of the bills that they vote on, including the USA PATRIOT Act, Moore drives through Washington D.C. in an ice cream truck using the external speaker to read the PATRIOT Act to them.The documentary then turns to the subject of the Iraq War, comparing the lives of the Iraqis before and after the invasion. The citizens of Iraq are shown to be living relatively happy lives prior to the country's invasion by the U.S. military in 2003. The film also takes pains to demonstrate war cheerleading in the U.S. media and general bias of journalists, with quotes from news organizations and embedded journalists. The film then shows Bush's moment of "Mission Accomplished" on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. The film alternates between media reports of increased casualties in Iraq and Bush's comment to "Bring 'em on", referring to the Iraqi insurgency.The film then shifts its focus to Moore's hometown, Flint, Michigan. The economically hard-hit town's low-income neighborhoods were the prime target of military recruiters. A recruiter named Sgt. Raymond Plouhar is introduced (he was later killed in Iraq), as he and another marine recruiter talk to potential recruits in the parking lot of a mall. The film introduces Lila Lipscomb, a woman presented as the proud mother of a U.S. serviceman. She expresses her strong sense of patriotism and support for the men and women in uniform.Moore suggests that, because the war was based on a lie, atrocities will occur, and shows footage depicting U.S. abuse of prisoners.Later in the film, Lipscomb reappears with her family after hearing of the death of her son, Sgt. Michael Pederson, who was killed on April 2, 2003, in the Iraqi city of Karbala. Anguished and tearful, she begins to question the purpose of the war and reads a letter from her son that show his own despondency and disenchantment with the war. Because Moore was tired of seeing people like Lila Lipscomb suffer, and after discovering that only one member of Congress has a child serving in Iraq, he distributes armed services enrollment information to various members of Congress and suggests that they enlist their children.Tying together several themes and points, Moore compliments those serving in the U.S. military. He claims that the lower class of America are always the first to join the army and defend the nation, so that the people better off do not have to. He states that those valuable troops should not be sent to risk their lives unless it is absolutely necessary. The film ends with a clip of George W. Bush stumbling through his infamous "Fool me once" quote. The credits roll while Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" plays.Moore dedicated the film to his friend who was killed in the World Trade Center attacks and to those servicemen and women from Flint, Michigan that have been killed in Iraq. The film is also dedicated to "countless thousands" of civilian victims of war as a result of United States military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. | dark, comedy, realism, anti war, cult, violence, satire, brainwashing, historical, entertaining | train | imdb | So I was hardly watching this film with an objective eye.That being said (and if you can still trust my review), Michael Moore has done American voters a big service by making this film.
But for once, Moore has made a film that is woven together with a chronological and thematic logic that ultimately asks one critical question: Is it that the Powers that Be don't understand, or that they simply don't believe in, true democratic principles?
In fact, the first 10 minutes are devoted to a skewering of the Democratically-controlled Senate (including, ironically, former V.P., Senate President, and Presidential contender Al Gore.) Moore's commentary here, as with his past films, revolves around the relationship between money and power, and how that connection degrades democracy and in its most insidious form, leads to the loss of innocent lives.
The facts are so tight that the worst anyone can say about the veracity of the film is that it is biased, a critique that will carry far less weight when compared to the snippets of Fox news propaganda spliced into the movie.Moore will be called anti-American, unpatriotic, and probably a fascist.
For a film like this, any publicity is beneficial, and Michael Moore has gone out of his way to thank his conservative detractors for their support.
And it follows the heart of a patriotic woman from Moore's hometown of Flint whose soldier son makes the ultimate sacrifice for Bush's folly.This is, above all, a sympathetic, patriotic and humanistic movie.
Moore's film strips away the pseudo patriotic facade of the Bush administration with humor and tragedy to create a very compelling but flawed message: Bush used false pretenses to go to war while enriching his friends and letting the common people suffer the fallout.
If Moore's agenda had simply been to "dethrone Bush at all costs", then he could have left out a good fifty percent of the film and focused primarily on the man everyone is convinced he loves to hate.
Now who's inferring too much from too little?What is absolutely undeniable is that a) war is horrible, b) the United States of America went to war with Iraq for spurious reasons, c) we have been conspicuously unsuccessful in capturing Osama bin Laden, in part because bin Laden has no relationship whatsoever with Iraq, d) there have been many people who have benefited financially from the war, and those people have a long and in many cases sordid relationship with the Bush family, and e) Bush has used the 9/11 attacks as a way to advance an agenda that is completely unrelated to the attacks themselves, and to infringe on our civil rights.
Any attempt to dissect Michael Moore's arguments fall flat when these basic facts are irrefutable.Fahrenheit 9/11 is ultimately a highly entertaining and justifiably scathing review of the Presidency of George W.
All he does is briefly mention that "Bin Laden was a Saudi" to back up his claim that our real enemy is Saudi Arabia, not Iraq.Moore does deserve credit for calling attention to the now-famous clip showing the President remaining in a kindergarten classroom for seven minutes after having been informed that the country was under attack.
From the way Moore's editing suite puts it, Gore won the election by a mile, the use of clips every time gore wins a state making it look like a cakewalk, until Rupert Murdoch makes sure that he overturns the will of the American people.
Having watched some US news coverage of the war, I would guess that maybe 20% of the viewers knew this, which means that most of the audience of this film would have completely believed this point.Most of Fahrenheit 911 is desperately trying to prove a point.
But I wouldn't consider myself a strong supporter of either, and a film of half accusations and obviously heavily edited film material, is not going to convince anybody of your case either.The film ends with a quote from George Orwell, on how the state manipulates the media and pursues a war with its own people as well as those overseas.
No difference between the tactics of Al queda and the US government?I liked Roger and Me, and Bowling for Columbine, but I'm sorry Mike, having read your frankly appalling, amateurish books, and seen this film, I'm afraid, like the song you desperately wanted to put over the credits at the end, I won't get fooled again..
Moore may be justified in his obvious dislike of Bush, but in the film he supports this using a number of mistruths or careful misrepresentations.These are serious flaws in a documentary.
I recommend watching this film and then watching FahrenHYPE 9/11, a pro-Bush counter to Fahrenheit which calls Moore on some of his careful deception..
If they think that Moore made a good point, they are mistaken as well as nobody can make a strong statement fabricating the facts.I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican but I feel that the party playing all those dirty propaganda tricks deserves not to be elected..
I am also a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Desert Storm, and thus am acutely aware of the realities of war and its intended use only as a last resort when all alternate options are exhausted.I've seen all three of Michael Moore's films; "Roger & Me", "Bowling for Columbine", and now 'Fahrenheit.' Of the three, this current film has a far more disciplined approach.
Moore's audience here is not his long-time left-wing choir; it is the millions of Americans who trusted a President to be one thing and who has turned out to be quite another indeed.The major newspaper reviewers justifiably point to the first 20 minutes and the last 20 minutes, about Bush's Saudi links and the carnage in Iraq, as the strongest segments.
The deaths of our servicemembers are the price we pay for this president's leadership, and Moore demands that the viewer analyze this war with a eye to its true costs and motives.I am sad that there are so many in this country who will refuse to see this film for head- in-the-sand political reasons.
Instead of showing the history behind 9/11 Moore aims the film at one person, W Bush.
If the people who like his movies would actually open their eyes and do just a little bit of investigation, they'd see just how much bias (lies) he actually put in his "documentaries" instead of excepting blindly his truth.
This will of course wow the uninformed public over to Moore's point of view, as for stupid people this propaganda technique is very effective.I would like to inform people of recorded parts in this film according to TIME magazine, which lists parts in this movie that are blatantly misleading and corrects them:(I will only summarize them)Saudis were questioned before leaving after 9/11 and only one plane TOTAL was permitted to leave before airspace was cleared.
When Michael Moore's controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" was released in the summer of 2004, it hit a readiness reaction with a large segment of the American public, people who found themselves increasingly dissatisfied with the direction the country was taking under the Bush administration and who believed that, in this film, someone for the first time was finally giving voice, in a mass media outlet, to their deepest held fears and concerns.
Let's face it; no fiction writer could have concocted a more bizarre and surrealistic series of events than what actually occurred in the United States in the first few years of this millennium: a contested Presidential election followed by a terrorist attack of unprecedented proportions followed by a "retaliatory" war aimed at the wrong country and based almost entirely on faulty intelligence.
The 2004 Presidential election would be a fight to the death, one whose motto was clearly: may the better ideology win.Well, it has been a year since Moore's film hit the streets and almost as long a time since Bush won reelection for a second term as president.
With memories of that horror still lingering in our heads, Moore then proceeds to expose the Bush family's long standing connections with the Saudi royal family, a fact that few people seemed aware of before this film was released.
Moore then goes on to criticize the way in which the Bush administration has exploited the "War on Terror" for maximum political effectiveness, culminating in the Patriot Act which, he argues, has had a draconian impact on the civil rights of ordinary American citizens.But the greatest part of Moore's wrath is saved for the second half of the film, when he confronts what he sees as the wholly unjustifiable war in Iraq.
Watching these gruesome images, we are immediately struck by just how antiseptic the media's coverage of the war has been here in the United States - a fact that Moore blames not only on the Bush administration but on a press that has allowed itself to become little more than an extension of the rah-rah, war-rallying propaganda machine set up by the government (a government, for instance, that refused to allow any pictures to be taken of flag-draped coffins coming back from the war zone).The section dealing with the Iraq War is the most emotionally devastating section of the film, mainly because Moore is able to bring it home to us personally through the ordinary individuals who have been most directly affected by it - soldiers on the field, amputees in the hospital and, most heartbreakingly, the mother of a boy killed in a helicopter crash in April, 2003.
It is fine that he does not like President Bush and Moore has every right to put what he wants into "his movie" but the number of people who actually believe it is all fact is down right frightening.
The fact that there are thousands of people proclaiming this tripe as gospel is far more dammning an indictment of America than is Michael Moore's poorly reasoned and sloppy "documentary." unless the sort of propagandistic garbage contained in this film is roundly discredited and revealed for what it is( an incoherent assault on America, not just bush) than our country is in far worse straights than even Moore would admit.as an interesting aside, i find it hilarious that Mr. Moore is severely obese, VERY WEALTHY( he lives in a 1.9 million dollar apartment in new york city) and is STUPID( he flunked out of college), when he entitled a book stupid white men, and yells at Americans for being....wait for it...
Instead he takes things said out of context, ignores the messages the Bush administration was putting out there and most importantly he does not address the difficult situation President Bush was in at the time, which a "documentary" should do.Consider we had just had 9-11 and the American people wanted action.
I could take all the available film footage of Mother Theresa and do a "Moore" like movie showing that she was a terrible person that hurt everybody in sight.
Despite the mind-numbing subjectivity, the first half of this pseudo-documentary is interesting, and if Michael Moore had just stuck to his conspiracy theory with the September 11 terrorist attacks, he would have made reasonably good film.
Since Micheal Moore movie has allegations against the current US president and his administration I see it as truly damaging to the country's unity and encouraging to any who hate the US.
My nation needs true patriots who uphold positive moral truths and this man, Michael Moore, seems to be far off in this regard, as he paints the president and his administration as the bad guys.
It also smacks horribly of Moore's famous editing of the facts for effect.Many times in this film, people mention that the terror threat just does not exist.
I believe he could have strengthened his film by showing Iraq for what it was, and not creating a fictional account of life there.The greatest point Moore makes is in the interview with a retired FBI agent, who questions the removal of 250 or so Arab citizens from the US post 9/11, by air, when all air traffic in the US had been grounded.
At least Bowling for columbine was entertaining because you always wanted to see how Moore would shame and degrade himself next, but in this film all he does is splice together a series of never ending archive footage of George W Bush, the war on terror, politicians, etc and narrate the unrelated sequences in the most monotone voice imaginable.
The later part of the film focuses more towards the soldiers fighting in Iraq.Michael Moore uses just enough truth to make believers of the ignorant and the extreme wing of the Democratic Party.
If not, he should be given the damage he has done to the credibility of those trying to unseat Bush.The bottom line is Michael Moore does not allow facts to get in the way of his message.
I had the afternoon to kill, so thought I'd watch "Fahrenheit 9/11"Phrases like, "learn to edit!", "steaming manure pile!", "a real clock watcher!" come to mind.The movie loosely focuses on the ilks of the Bush administration.
Read Richard Clarke's AP interview regarding the film.Read these comments on the movie from 2 liberal reporters: On Wednesday Newsweek's Michael Isikoff detailed an array of errors in the movie that included, not just mistaken analysis, but seriously false claims - like the charge that the Bush White House let members of the bin Laden family flee the U.S. without any of them being interviewed by the FBI.Then there's the Washington Post's Richard Cohen, who calls Moore's movie "juvenile in its approach" and "awful in its journalism," adding that some of his claims are so easily dismissible that "Fahrenheit" serves as "a warning to the Democrats to keep the loony left at a safe distance."Enjoy this mockumentary -I thought it was a waste..
The people who love this movie must ignore reality to such a degree where they will believe anything as long as it is bad against Bush.In a time of war and when our troops are fighting for their lives and for freedom to keep us safe, the fact that this movie makes their sacrifices seem trivial and portrays us (yes I am a soldier and have been to the Gulf three times so don't tell me I don't know what I am talking about) as enjoying shooting up Iraqis and us torturing them for enjoyment is a disgrace.
So before this Mike chump goes and attempts to make a movie making try to hate Bush and feel sorry for his home town of Flint, Michigan, he needs to get his facts straight and have an open mind instead of being so biased.
This time its President Bush, which is not hard.About half way threw the film you begin to wonder what Moores point is as he side tracks of subject.
Okay so some of it makes sense but then Moore will then show Iraq as a nice happy place, before America and Britian invaded.When I saw the film in Manchester people walked out, now I have to wonder whether this was out of disagreement or boredom.A great opening and ending and some good and funny moments along the way, but all in all too boring and with no point what so ever..
It was made by a group that didn't set out to make a film to counter Moore's movie, but as they investigated they discovered that Moore likes to re-order time and to twist facts in a way the changes the truth (to put it nicely).One example of what Moore did was take a minor "Letter to Editor" entry from a newspaper and change it into a newspaper headline.
I'm sure, if he had taken the time he could have found more family members of veterans who actually agreed with his point of view, but he instead chose to hack and splice his opinions and express them through those who do not, thereby victimizing them further.Luckily, I saw a news program with just a few of these people and after hearing what they had to say I didn't purchase a ticket, or rent this movie.
This movie will show you exactly Michael Moore's opinion on the political topics today with no room for interpretation, or even statistical facts to prove them.
If you want to see a good Michael Moore documentary, watch Roger & Me, otherwise you are just wasting your money to say that you more liberal than your friends..
The film, while featuring several scenes that are extremely moving, feels hastily put together (a problem also suffered by 'Bowling for Columbine') and occasionally tone-deaf (e.g., the long, long sequence where Moore traces the connections between the Bush family and the Saudis--based in fact, but not inspiring the kind of shocked indignation he clearly expects it to).
The connection that Moore tried to make with Bush and the Bin Ladens is where I stopped believing this movie could present evidence.
I am not a big fan of Bush, but Moore's claims just took me right out of the film.
Not a documentary- Moore like an erroneous movie..
yes big mistakes were made by the Bush administration, but my griff isn't with the political views Moore takes in this movie, its with the the way he presents them, if your going to make a documentary, then make a DOCUMENTARY, not a journey into the mind of yourself, he promotes people to make up their own mind, and yet he plasters images of deceit and half truths in front of them on the big screen all depicting his radical left wing views in a extremely slanted way, and then expects the same mindless cant think for themselves Americans to come out of the theater with there own opinions, not likely.
Not saying that all Americans are mindless, but when presented propaganda like Moores new slanted so called documentary, chances are a good lot of the people who watched it are going come out with Moores political views and not their own. |
tt0052948 | Journey to the Center of the Earth | Scotland, 1880: Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason), a distinguished professor at the University of Edinburgh, has just been granted knighthood for service to the Crown in the field of geology. When he arrives at his lecture hall on the day of the announcement, he is surprised by a gathering of staff and students. They present him with an elaborate decorative inkwell and the Dean declares a holiday in celebration of the occasion. As the others leave, one student, Alec McKuen (Pat Boone), remains behind. He offers Lindenbrook an extra token, a rock he acquired in a curiosity shop in Glasgow: a lump of lava, strangely heavy, although lava is usually very light. Pleased with the offering, Lindenbrook invites him to dinner at his home that evening. As Alec leaves, Lindenbrook turns his attention back to the unusual rock.Alec arrives at Lindenbrook's house that evening to find that the professor never came home, and his niece, Jenny (Diane Baker), is both angry and worried. Alec and Jenny go to his laboratory at the University, and find him and his assistant, Paisley (Ben Wright), feverishly experimenting on that same piece of lava. Lindenbrook shows Alec that he has chipped away a fragment of the lava and uncovered a manmade object inside, marked with three grooves or notches. He is about to melt off the rest of the lava to discover what it might be. Tired and distracted, Paisley pours in too much fuel at that moment, and the stove explodes. In the aftermath, Lindenbrook finds that the lava has been blasted free of the object, and it is revealed to be a surveyor's plumb bob with a few Nordic words painfully scratched on it. Lindenbrook and Alec recognize the signature with wonder: Arne Saknussem, a brilliant but eccentric Icelandic scientist, who had disappeared many years earlier while exploring the volcanoes of his homeland.Two weeks later, the Dean and the Rector of the University (Alan Napier and Alan Caillou) call at Lindenbrook's home to ask why he's neglecting his teaching duties. He tells them the story of the plumb bob, and shows it to them along with the translation he had made of its message: "I am dying but my life's work must not be lost. Whoever descends into the crater of Sneffels Yokul can reach the center of the earth. At sunrise on the last day of May, the Mountain Scartaris will point the path." Lindenbrook explains that Sneffels Yokul is an extinct volcano in Iceland, and Scartaris a nearby mountain peak. He has written a paper, and sent it to the eminent Professor Goteborg of Sweden for review, and plans to mount an expedition to Iceland as soon as Goteborg confirms its feasibility.But Goteborg's reply is overdue, although Lindenbrook has written twice. Instead, a letter arrives from the University of Sweden saying that Goteborg has vanished without a word of explanation. Lindenbrook immediately suspects that Goteborg intends to mount an expedition of his own, and claim credit for the discovery. He decides to leave for Iceland at once, and Alec decides to accompany him.In Iceland, a visit to Sneffels Yokul reveals that Goteborg has indeed been surveying there. Lindenbrook sends Alec back to town to acquire the equipment and supplies they will need while he makes his own observations of the crater. Goteborg (Ivan Triesault) has been watching their arrival, and, desperate to delay them, arranges for them to be abducted and imprisoned in a remote eider down storage shed. Fortunately, they are quickly discovered there by a tall, young Icelandic man, Hans Belker (Peter Ronson), and his pet duck, Gertrude. He releases them and escorts them back to Reykjavik.It turns out that they are staying at the same hotel as Goteborg. They ask for him at the desk, but the hotel proprietress (Edith Evanson) is uneasy and evasive, saying at first that he is not in, then saying he cannot be disturbed. Lindenbrook hands his business card to her, asking her to put it in Goteborg's mailbox, and they watch as she does so, learning his room number. They knock and shout at Goteborg's door, but he doesn't answer. Hans picks the lock, and they go inside to wait for his return. As they look enviously over the supplies and equipment he has stockpiled there, they also find his lifeless body, neatly laid out, covered by a blanket. And they discover evidence that his death was not a natural one...a few grains of potassium cyanide linger on his beard.Meanwhile, Goteborg's wife, Karla (Arlene Dahl), has arrived from Sweden. When she asks for her husband at the desk, the proprietress shows her into her office, and breaks the news to her of her husband's death. Lindenbrook, coming downstairs to talk to the proprietress, overhears the conversation, and steps in to inform them both that Professor Goteborg was murdered. The proprietress discloses that the last person to see Goteborg alive was Count Saknussem (Thayer David), a descendant of Arne Saknussem, and a well-known scientist in his own right. She goes off to inform the police.Lindenbrook asks Madame Goteborg to sell him the professor's equipment. She is too distraught to discuss the matter, and tries to put him off. A desperate Lindenbrook then demands that she sell him the equipment, blurting out that he has a right to it as her husband had been trying to cheat him of credit for his discovery. Outraged, she flatly refuses. But later, reading her husband's diary, she learns that Lindenbrook told the truth. She agrees to sell him the equipment on condition that he allows her to join the expedition. He is reluctant, but must consent: Goteborg had bought up all the equipment in town, no other is available. And since Hans, who speaks no English, is also going, and Madame Goteborg speaks Icelandic, she will be useful in helping them all to communicate.At the last moment, Hans decides on his own to bring along his duck, Gertrude.Dawn finds them on the rim of the volcanic crater, waiting for Saknussem's sign. A single ray of light from the rising sun peeks through the crags of Scartaris, marking their gateway. The Lindenbrook Expedition sets off...unaware that Count Saknussem (Thayer David) and his servant have been watching--and will follow.They soon discover that Arne Saknussem marked his pathway at regular intervals with his three-notches signature, and they need only look for these to keep on the right path. One night, the Count and his servant creep past them as they sleep. At the next set of notches, the Count chisels new marks in the rock that point a different direction, while his servant conceals the original marks. The Lindenbrook party is led astray by the false marks and Alec is nearly killed in a fall. Backtracking, they discover where and why they went wrong. Now they know they are in a race with a dangerous enemy.They are separated at one of their campsites, a spectacular crystalline rock formation and mineral spring. At one point, off by himself, Alec drops his lantern through a hole in the rock. He climbs in to retrieve it, and when he starts back he misses the correct corridor. Meanwhile, Lindenbrook chisels off a sample of the unique rock formation, and as he does so, the whole wall collapses, and the chamber floods with water. Lindenbrook, Madam Goteborg, and Hans must scramble to escape. They don't notice Alec is not with them until they are out of the flooded chamber.Alec and the rest of the party wander separately for days, looking for each other. Alec eventually stumbles upon Count Saknussem, whose servant has died of "too much heat, too much burden and too much fear," leaving the Count stranded. The Count tries to force Alec to pick up the servant's burden. Alec refuses, and begins to walk away. Count Saknussem shoots him in the arm with his revolver. The noise brings Lindenbrook, Hans and Madam Goteborg on the run, but the happy reunion is short-lived, with the Count holding a gun on them all. He tells the others to go back, leaving Hans behind to serve him. Lindenbrook pretends to agree, then tricks and disarms him. They debate on what to do with him: They all agree he is guilty of murder and mayhem, but they are all too civilized to do away with him or leave him behind to die. They reluctantly allow him to join their group.They continue on their journey for many weeks, growing ragged and weary, running short of supplies. One day Alec finds a forest of mushrooms. Some are as large as trees, but there are also smaller, edible mushrooms, and all are relieved and grateful for the dietary change. While the others rest, Count Saknussem goes exploring beyond the forest. He comes back long enough to order Hans to fell some of the giant mushrooms and build a raft, then leaves again. Lindenbrook follows him, and finds that Saknussem has discovered a vast underground ocean. To continue their journey, they must cross this sea--hence, the raft. When they try to launch it, however, they are attacked by giant fin-backed lizards. Hans manages to kill one of them with a spear. The others immediately turn on it to devour it, and while they are feeding, the party escapes onto the subterranean sea.After days on the water, they suddenly encounter a magnetic force so powerful it rips away everything made of metal...even Madam Goteborg's wedding ring and Hans's gold tooth! They have reached the center of the earth! But they're caught up in a maelstrom, and it wrecks their frail craft. They make it to the beach exhausted, no food or equipment, with only the rags on their backs, and collapse, exhausted. They decide to sleep before they try to plan their next move. Gertrude wriggles free of Hans's arms and strolls down the beach. The Count, also wakeful, sees her and begins to follow. When Hans wakes, he follows Gertrude's tracks, calling for her. He finds a lone white feather at the mouth of a cave...he finds more inside, stained with blood. Furious, he begins to climb toward the Count, who is using a rock to scratch something on a rock wall. He tries to strangle the Count, but Lindenbrook and Alec drag him away. Angry and frightened, the Count rages at them all, accusing them of being ungrateful fools. As he rants, he steps backward and stumbles into the wall on which he was pounding, earlier. It collapses on top of him, killing him.The others move up to the place where he fell, and see in the chamber beyond the ruins of an ancient city, which Lindenbrook speculates may have been part of the Lost City of Atlantis. Exploring, they find the skeleton of Arne Saknussem...with a broken leg to explain why he never returned. His only remaining possession is a knapsack full of gunpowder. Madam Goteborg notes that his hand seems to be pointing, and they turn to see the opening of a volcanic shaft, with a tremendous updraft, indicating it could be a direct path to the earth's surface. But it is blocked by a massive boulder. Lindenbrook suggests they use the gunpowder in Arne Saknussem's knapsack to dislodge it. They forage through the city, and find flint and iron with which to make fire, and a few crude tools. They set their charge and twist together a fuse. Lindenbrook lights it, and they take shelter in a bowl-shaped altar stone. The force of the blast does dislodge the boulder, but also triggers a volcanic eruption. The altar stone (fortunately made from an ancient form of asbestos) is borne up by the hot lava into the shaft, and propelled at a terrific speed to the surface. They are ejected from a dead volcano in the Lipari Islands, now activated by the blast, into the Mediterranean Sea, where all but Alec are rescued by fishermen. Alec, it develops, was thrown early from the altar stone, and is rescued (trouser-less!) from a tree by a group of nuns.Back in Edinburgh, the expedition is greeted enthusiastically by a crowd of students at the University. Lindenbrook thanks them, but says that all his notes and samples were lost and he would never embarrass the University by claiming credit for an accomplishment he can't prove.Alec is there, in a wheelchair with a cast on his leg, and Jenny by his side. It seems that he was in such a hurry to leave the church after their wedding that he fell and broke his leg. Nevertheless, they are clearly happy. Hans is also there, but leaving shortly for Iceland. Lindenbrook offers his heartfelt thanks, and Hans replies in a few laboriously-learned English words that if the professor ever decides to go down there again, Hans will go, too. They shake hands and say goodbye. Madam Goteborg tells Lindenbrook she is leaving, as well, to return to Sweden. Lindenbrook protests, saying she must stay and help him with his memoirs. As they argue about the terms on which she will stay, they both finally realize that they care for each other, and want to be together. They kiss, and the crowd cheers. | murder | train | imdb | Even though I've been watching it on TV since I was a kid in the sixties, I'd only seen pan&scan versions, and it wasn't until I got it letterboxed on laserdisc that I finally saw what a big-screen entertainment this movie was meant to be.
(The complete original recordings of the score are available on CD from Varese Sarabande.) This movie also has the great James Mason in it, so you know it's got to be good.
Sure it's long in the telling and takes a while to get you down that extinct volcano in Iceland, but it's fun all the way with great special effects work by L.B. Abbott and matte paintings by Emil Kosa Jr.
Based fairly faithfully on a classic sci-fi novel by Jules Verne, Journey To The Center Of The Earth is an inventive, splendidly-realised, smartly acted film.
Determined to venture down the same route, Lindenbrook puts together an ambitious expedition consisting of his nephew Alec (Pat Boone), widow Carla Goetaborg (Arlene Dahl), silent but loyal guide Hans (Peter Ronson), and a duck named Gertrude.
The unlikely cast of dramatic veteran James Mason, singer Pat Boone, beautiful Diane Baker, sexy Arlene Dahl and Iceland born jock Peter Ronson come together surprisingly well.
The journey is sure to be fraught with danger and little do they know that their trip will take in many unchartered wonders.......both good and bad!As adventure films go, Journey To The Center Of The Earth has few peers, it's a wonderful film based around the Jules Verne story of the same name.
Support comes from Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl {the colour photography perfectly showing her piercing eyes}, Peter Ronson and star of the show Gertrude The Duck.It was magical to me as a child, it's still as magical to me now I'm in my advancing years, wonderful indeed.
I suppose the best way to appreciate a widescreen Cinemascope film is to have seen it on a large movie theater screen in the first place.
Many years later Spielberg and Lucas would pay homage to that moment in their throwback serial film "Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark" but in the intervening years I have had recurring dreams about being chased by a boulder down a narrow passageway."A Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a movie I see over and over again.
As a 7 year old I would ponder the great inponderables, life, death, God, the meaning of existence and somehow this movie, cheesy special effects and all, has given me haunting sign posts that the only true travel is the voyage within.
In the scene where Pat Boone discovers the forest of mushrooms and they go hog-wild eating them, Arlene Dahl reminds them that they will soon find the taste of salt beef appealing, it occurred to me than an individual could carry rations for at most 1 week, and here it is the 256th day of the Expedition.The writers took liberties with Verne's story.
Having first seen this movie as a 10 year old the "battle of the sexes" went completely over my head (though 10 year old boys like to look at pretty ladies too)this time around I appreciated it, especially as her character and her portrayal are of a strong willed and assertive woman-they had plenty of those in the 19th Century.Before the screening there were some introductory remarks.
Journey To the Center of the Earth has been made several times since this 1959 release.A group of four explorers consisting of Professor Lindenbrook, his nephew, a woman and an Iclantic, Hans plus his pet duck Gertrude go on an expedition to the centre of the Earth via an extinct volcano in Iceland.They encounter all sorts of dangers and sights on the way including a large boulder that nearly crushes them, a forest of giant mushrooms, the lost city of Atlantis, an underground ocean and some prehistoric monsters including Dimetrodons and a giant red lizard, which attacks the party as they are making their escape.
The music score by Bernard Herrmann is excellent as it is in all his movies i've seen.The cast is excellent too and includes James Mason (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), Pat Boone (who also sings), Arlene Dahl, Peter Ronson as Hans and Diane Baker.I have seen this movie several times and is an excellent way to spend a couple of hours one afternoon or evening.Rating: 5 stars out of 5..
40 some odd years later, I am still impressed by what they achieved in the way of plot, acting, and even the special effects still look not bad, but I still don't really see why they felt the need for adding a woman to the mix.<G> But Arlene Dahl is good enough in the part that I no longer feel bothered by it.
The great James Mason is superb as a geology professor who heads a party of five (four people and one duck) on a perilous journey into the depths of the earth.
The organ music, in particular, lends a strikingly Gothic touch to the nether world look of the sunken city.Despite a too talky script, this 1959 film deserves to be watched multiple times by kids of all ages for its timeless adventure and sense of discovery..
And the story begins in Scotland with Geology Professor James Mason getting a piece of unusual lava rock from student Pat Boone, thereby setting in motion a chain of events that will take them to Iceland and a passage deep into the earth's bowels.James Mason heads a fine cast and does very well by the part of Professor Oliver Lindenbrook, geology professor and explorer.
The moments of humor and the personal interactions and typical personality clashes between the characters of James Mason and Arlene Dahl just added to the reality of conflict between strong men and strong women of that period (BTW, I was really happy for the way this film ended.) The visual affects of the scenes are breathtaking: the spectacular view atop the mountain, their descent into what looked like an abyss; their amazing escapes from several dangerous situations, the underground ocean, and those lip-smacking lizards.
I hadn't planned on making my daughter watch an old movie with me, but when she wandered through the living room, she plopped right down and we had a fun time.The pacing was fine, the actors read their lines well, the music was exciting, and the DVD is very clear - it could have been made last year, as far as the print is concerned.
I'm sure there are other scenes from this movie that were aped in more recent adventure films.One commenter really went off regarding the Freudian aspects of the film - I noticed too, but it didn't bother me - EVERY film is about sex if you let it be.The only special features were the original trailer - which actually expected audiences to read!
It was called "Twice as Tall" and you can hear the melody as they start on the expedition.) I was actually a bit disappointed by reading the book afterwards, as the strong female lead played by Arlene Dahl is not in the story, and "Jenny" (I think she's "Gretl" or something like that in the book) is pretty much of a cipher.
Mason gives just the right weight to lines like "We can't take a WOMAN along!", and Dahl, as the most charming, intelligent, and self-possessed of Victorian ladies, is thoroughly believable when she proclaims that "I may have been a disturbance to men, but never a burden." One of the film's most amusing aspects is the way in which the characters maintain the Victorian proprieties even miles below the surface of the earth.
"Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a family film in the best sense: one that can create a sense of wonder and even exaltation in small children, setting the imagination on fire, and one in which adults can find new layers of entertainment as they become older and more discerning viewers.
But the movie was very enjoyable not only because of the ability of the cast but also because of the great scenery meant to be the center of the Earth.Now, I even enjoyed the little tune they start singing all of a sudden, I thought it was quite catchy.A certain scene I found especially interesting is when the Professor wants to take a sample of a mineral.
This is the classic adaptation (1959) by Henry Levin with great cast such as James Mason as Lindenbrook , Pat Boone , Diane Baker and Arlene Dahl as a wealthy widow .
An Edinburgh (in fact , many of the people in the crowd scenes were students of Edinburgh University) professor (James Mason who replaced an ailing Clifton Webb) and assorted colleagues as his pupil (Pat Boone) , a woman looking for her husband who disappeared various years earlier during a voyage follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center .
Dealing with the known story about an anthropologist scientific named Linderbrook , James Mason , and his student , Pat Boone , and a woman , Arlene Dahl , undergo a hazardous voyage to find clues of her husband who disappeared some years earlier .
Furthermore , a cartoon movie : Journey to the Center of the Earth (1967) was based on this film version rather than the original novel by Jules Verne and features several characters that were created for the 1959 film .
Fully restored picture, excellent sound and a few extras included.James Mason and Pat Boone are at their best in this movie, based on Jules Verne's classic adventure tale.If you like adventure-fantasy movies, then this one is certainly for you.The special effects may be a bit outdated, but this movie won't disappoint you because of them.
Shot in Carlsbad cavern, New Mexico, the film follow the expedition of professor Lindenbrook ( James Mason ) to find the lost civilisation that once existed at the center of the earth.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is, in my opinion, one of the best Sci-Fi adventure classic films of the period, circa 1960.
Journey to the centre of the earth is one of whose films that is exciting and has a very good story, it has one of the best actors of all time in the lead role, James mason ranks up there with Cary grant, James Stewart as one of the best actors of all time.
I was amazed that in the same year James mason appeared in north by northwest and journey to the centre of the earth, and both did not get Oscars for the great films they were.
The 1959 adaption of Jules Verne's epic tale: Journey to the Center of the Earth remains to this day not only the best adaption of the 19th century novel, but one of the truly great movies of all time.
Professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) finds clues to suggest a famous explorer made his way to center of the Earth and decides to follow in his footsteps.
Yes, they did a rather good job of making a movie that did make you feel like the characters were underground and on a grand journey to the center of the Earth.
Pat Boone lends a homey touch to the film, and James Mason is great as the stuffy Professor who has to get to the Center of the Earth.
I never tire of seeing this film, and enjoying the special effects of the journey into the mountain, and into the caverns, it is just so exciting, and seeing the giant lizards fighting, it just reminds of us all of when we would read these stories from Jules Verne that really intrigued us and we found ourselves day dreaming of being a part of those exciting tales of adventure in a far away land.
As for the the film itself: it's dated fun in the best sense, featuring magnificent Carlsbad Cavern settings, and a performance by James Mason that's totally right, making the whole experience a sublime one.
(This was pre-VHS era, too, so you could only see this on a big screen, which was actually a good thing.) That's not to say you couldn't enjoy the movie today.Jules Verne stories were big-time in the 1950s and 60s, too, with "The Time Machine (1953) and 20,000 Leagues Under The sea (1954).
Watching this film, it's also hard to buy a professor of geology ("Sir Oliver Lindenbrook," played by Mason) and a singing student (Pat Boone, as "Alec McKuen") finding things they found in the center of the earth in this movie.
This was one of our family "staple movies" when I was growing up...James Mason (with whom I just so happen to share my last name ;0) leading a colorful cast on their way to the center of the earth.
i admit that it might be long in telling and look cheesy in places, like the lizards, the snake and the mushrooms, but overall i think it is a great movie, especially for the time it was made.
Based on the classic novel by Jules Verne, this adaptation stars James Mason as a Scottish professor who organizes an expedition into Iceland in order to locate the entrance to the center of the Earth, where a volcanic piece of rock he came into possession of originated from.
James Mason is perfectly cast as Edinburgh Professor Lindenbrook who embarks on his journey when he comes across a piece of strange Volcanic Rock.Along with one of his students, the widow of a rival explorer, athletic Icelander Hans and his duck they try to reach the centre of the earth.They come across subterranean oceans with giant mushrooms, whirlpools, giant lizards and lost civilisations.
Hans duck is in danger from a rival aristocratic explorer.The whole film is an adventurous ride with a lot of humour, some dastardly bad guys and a wonderful score.The special effects may now look aged but it is a film worth exploring..
Great memories of watching this movie on what turned out to be the last night of my carefree youth..."Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a well-produced family-friendly film with a good cast and gorgeous cinematography.
Much of Journey was filmed in giant caverns and caves however it is when our explorers reach the world within a world that you can really start to appreciate Journey in all it greatness,the then effects team that worked on the picture did a remarkable job here,the massive sets that were built,the fabulous encounter with prehistoric creatures from a bygone era,the lost city of Atlantis and the incredible final moments including the volcanic shaft through which our explorers finally return to the surface of the earth....Jorney is a truly wonderful motion picture from the grand days of Hollywood.
The cast in this one (featuring James Mason as Professor Lindenbrook, Pat Boone as as McKuen, Arlene Dahl as Carla Goteborg and Peter Ronson as Hans were, I thought, better than the '08 cast, and the story was tighter than that one.
At the same time I sensed no real chemistry between Mason and Dahl, which made the end of the movie feel a bit forced and unnecessary.The introduction to the story (as Lindenbrook begins to put together the expedition) for me went on too long and could have been quite shortened.
At the same time though, two other characters are on their way to find the same passage, in an attempt to gain instant fame.It's a movie based on a classic book by Jules Verne, which presents the fantastic journey to the center of the planet.
It looks decent for a film made about sixty years ago, but don't have high expectations from its visuals.Overall, I find it to be an enjoyable movie, with a deep retro felling which I like, which tells a classic story in its own unique way.
It's a good watch for everybody who wants to relive a classic story, especially through an old film like this one..
A Little Silly, But Good Fun. An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.Bosley Crowther said that the film is "really not very striking make-believe, when all is said and done.
Bernard Herrmann's Score is Stunning and a Few Times the Film Actually Looks Like it Might be On to Something, but then, the Movie Falls Asleep with So Much Family Friendly Foolishness.
And I liked the acting, I was worried at Pat Boone being cast but he was actually pretty good, while everyone else ranged from good(Arlene Dahl) to very good(James Mason).Overall, this is very good, definitely worth watching.
Plot summary: James Mason leads an intrepid group of adventurers - a Scot, a babe, a Mr. Universe-type and a duck -- on an expedition to the center of the Earth.
'Journey to the Center of the Earth' is a pretty good adaption of Jules Verne's novel, though the major differences are in the character relationships and the introduction of a villain character.
A pleasant entertainment from my past (watching Creature Features Saturday afternoon on KHQ in Spokane), Journey to the Center of the Earth is, in retrospect, a bit slow in places, but still very engaging, with James Mason, Pat Boone, and Arlene Dahl sweating and squeezing (say, where are you going with this?) through subterranean passages (does this sound faintly homoerotic?) to find whatever it is they're looking for.It's good, clean fun and pretty suspenseful for kids of all ages.
This 1959 film, starring Pat Boone, is the earliest screen adaptation of Jules Verne's 19th century novel "A Journey to the Center of the Earth".
Professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) discovers a way down to the center of the Earth.
Despite the goofy science and some corny special effects, Journey to the Center of the Earth is still a fun family film. |
tt0373450 | Where the Truth Lies | In 1957, immediately after co-hosting a 39-hour-long polio telethon in a Miami television studio, entertainers Lanny Morris and Vince Collins fly north to open the new showroom of a New Jersey hotel run by mobster Sally Sanmarco, who has intimidated them into appearing in order to improve his own image. In their New Jersey hotel suite, shortly after their arrival, the nude body of Miami college student Maureen O'Flaherty is found in a bathtub.
Maureen, an aspiring journalist working for the summer as a server at the comedy team's Miami hotel (which is also owned by Sanmarco), had been researching an article for her school newspaper on the comedy team, and had interviewed them in Miami just before she disappeared. Police investigation in no way connects either Morris or Collins to Maureen's death, which is officially attributed to a drug overdose. Soon after her body is discovered, the two men's comedy partnership is dissolved, despite their enormous success and the closeness of their dependence on one another.
Many unanswered questions remain for the investigators of Maureen's death; the most confusing aspect is how Maureen's body made it from Miami to New Jersey at the same time the comedians were traveling.
Fifteen years later, journalist Karen O'Connor, who as a young polio survivor first met the duo at the same telethon portrayed in the movie's opening sequence, accepts a job to ghostwrite Vince Collins' autobiography—a deal from which Collins will earn $1 million, which he badly needs. Karen makes a promise to Mrs. O'Flaherty that she will find the truth of how her daughter Maureen died. The project is complicated by the fact that she keeps receiving anonymously sent chapters from a book that Lanny Morris himself has written.
Karen, who has idolized the comedians ever since first meeting them, encounters Morris, accompanied by his faithful valet Reuben and manager Irv, by chance in the first-class section of a flight, where she shares a dinner table with them. Wishing to keep her identity secret, during the meal she introduces herself as "Bonnie Trout," the name of the best friend with whom she has traded apartments. Morris and Karen hit it off and have sex in his hotel. He disappears the next morning, apparently without leaving her a note.
Under her own name, Karen begins to work on the Collins autobiography. Complications arise when Collins invites her to an all-day working session at his Los Angeles home and she learns that Morris will be joining them as well. Near panic ensues; she abruptly invents an excuse to leave, but meets Morris in the driveway, and her masquerade is revealed—Morris discovers she has lied about who she is, and Collins discovers that the woman helping him write his memoirs is having or has had an affair with his ex-partner.
Collins agrees to continue with the book, but creates a situation to blackmail Karen into staying away from the story of Maureen O'Flaherty, which is Karen's consuming interest. After plying Karen with wine and drugs, Collins manipulates her into having sex with a young aspiring singer named Alice. He photographs the two women in compromising positions. Karen is told that unless she tells the publisher that there is nothing odd or improper surrounding Maureen's death, he will make the pictures public.
Karen discovers that Maureen had secretly recorded her interactions with Morris and Collins. Gradually, it becomes clear what really happened that night 15 years before: the three had engaged in a ménage à trois, fueled by drugs and booze, and at some point Collins tried to have sex with Morris, who resisted violently. Collins retreated to his room, whereupon Maureen tried to blackmail Morris into paying to keep this information a secret. (In 1957, it would have finished Collins professionally if it had come out that he was bisexual.) Morris tried to bribe Maureen to stay quiet but she wanted more money than he was either willing or able to give. Collins passed out in his room, Morris in his, and Maureen fell asleep on the couch. In the morning, she was dead.
Fifteen years later, Karen has begun to uncover the story. She discovers more about Morris' "fix-it man," Reuben. While both Morris and Collins were convinced the other murdered Maureen, they smuggled her body in a crate full of lobsters (a gift from Sanmarco) with Reuben's assistance, shipping it ahead of them to the New Jersey hotel. The tape recorder was on during the entire night, but the tape has been missing all these years.
Reuben confesses to Karen that he murdered Maureen to protect his employers' reputations, and produces the tape to confirm his guilt. He asks Karen if her publishing company will pay him, say, $1 million for the tape. Karen puts two and two together and realizes that Reuben was blackmailing Collins, demanding $1 million to keep quiet his bisexuality, proven on the tape, and perhaps his having murdered Maureen. (Collins was so drunk and drugged during that episode that he plainly does not remember what happened.) Reuben was demanding a million dollars for a murder he himself committed.
In the end, Collins is indeed destroyed, committing suicide. Morris is furious at Karen for all that she has set in motion, and Karen has the answer to her mystery. She goes to Mrs. O'Flaherty, saying she will publish the truth but only after an innocent bystander has died—referring to Maureen's mother herself, who would be crushed to learn of her daughter's behavior that contributed to her own death. | melodrama, violence, queer, murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | Not really, but hey better safe than sorry.Here is a movie so delightful, messy, strange, sexy, and all together not quite there; that it makes me glad that films like it are still being made.Egoyan soaks the film with a shining visual flare, and the characters leap off screen demanding to be fantastic.
The movie could have been all style and intrigue and little substance; but since Egoyan is directing, the sexual scenes are handled deeply, the drugs are films in full glory, and poignancy creeps in through cracks of the story.Alison Lohman, who was SO good in the vastly underrated "Matchstick Men" has a good part here as a young journalist still somewhat infatuated with Lanny and Vince's famous duo.
He has a speech on what he sees in Maureen's eyes in a key moment, that at first seems ridiculous and distant, but had me coming back and appreciating it more and more.Overall, if you like the looks of the film/story/trailer/or even cover, it certainly delivers, and you will love it.
Another great work by Atom Egoyan, based on the novel by Rupert Holmes.Knowing a little about the plot before seeing the film my big question/concern was "Kevin Bacon"?
But it didn't take long before Egoyan's primary cast selection (including Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, and Alison Lohman) was clearly calculated and well thought.Some might call this Egoyan's 'most mainstream' work to date, but it retains many of the qualities we've come to expect from him.
It is a superb murder mystery with at least 3 top notch twists and in the end I was completely satisfied.In my opinion, (and I know a thing or two about this) the love scene between "Alice" and Alison is one of the most beautiful ones ever performed (on the screen).
He will certainly be nominated for an Academy Award, and unless another actor comes forward with a role of a lifetime, it would be no surprise if he cops the statue, especially considering his recent work in Mystic River, for which he was overlooked.Colin Firth is a star in his own right, shining brilliantly as Lanny's road dog Vince Collins, perhaps the film's most intriguing, complex character study.
The film gets straight to the point right from the start as we are introduced to a Jerry Lewis Dean Martin type entertainment duo, a haunting image of a corpse in a bathtub and a determined young lady wanting to write about her idols.
Where The Truth Lies' mainly works because of Egoyan's unique presentation and storytelling, the visual flair, the performances, the score and the stunning combination of all the themes ie, sex, drugs, sexuality, murder, fame (sounds a bit clichéd but it is shown differently)..
In my views, this movie could not have been any worse since, at the end of the day, it leaves the viewers with the impression, not only of having wasted both their time and money, but also of having been crooked.The truth actually lies beneath: Some might interpret this as lack of subtlety or nuance, but, after having thought of this for a couple of hours, I could only come up with the conclusion that this movie is extremely poor in nearly every single way: the script is rather poor, the editing is artificial, misleading and annoying, the acting is extremely poor (at least as far as Alison Lohman is concerned), the music is banal, the costumes and the make up are off.Indeed, the script is in fact frustratingly simple and should have been the object of a short: a young journalist investigates a crime and unveils the criminal after a couple of interviews.
In fact, they only make the story more difficult to understand, without making it more appealing.The truth is that the ending does not surprise anyone, not only because it is not original, but above all because most viewers have lost interest after 40 minutes.Indeed, they are introduced to a young journalist, Alison Lohman, who is, they are told, a young and unexperienced journalist who is given the task of drafting a one million dollars biography of a TV star.
Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth were perfectly fine (as actors) and did a good job, but I really thought the plot was very very boring.
There are good bits in Where the Truth Lies that give you an insight into what the film could have been, but they are too sparse to salvage this confusing and ultimately implausible thriller.Fans of Atom Egoyan's work will relish the chance to see him in action again, but it is Egoyan himself, as both scriptwriter and director, who ruins what could have been an intelligent whodunnit.It is worth going into the plot to explain exactly why it doesn't work.Alison Lohman plays a former polio sufferer and journalist who, years after she appeared on a telethon featuring a pair of variety stars, decides to write a book about what they are really like.
And what on earth is going on when a children's hospital hosts a production of Alice in Wonderland with a woman singing a trippy version of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit?The acting isn't bad - indeed Firth and Bacon are rather good - but it fails to make an unlikely script appear anything but contrived and, occasionally, unintentionally funny.It doesn't help that the film is told in a confusing series of flashbacks, some of which didn't happen at all.
Egoyan's screenplay benefits from three terrific lead performances by Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Alison Lohman (so very good in "White Oleander","Matchstick Men").Bacon and Firth play the fictional team of Lanny Morris and Vince Collins who are national sensations thanks to their mob-run nightclub and telethon act.
Years later, Lohman's character enters as a journalist out to write a story on the truth behind the comedy team and especially that night in the hotel.
What she finds out about the performers and herself is the juicy fun part of the movie.Egoyan brilliantly mixes in the nightclub act of their wonder years, with the agony of the 70's as both Lanny and Vince try to find meaning in their lives.
I will not discuss the story anymore, other than to say it is creative, thought-provoking with a stunning performance by Kevin Bacon and very strong leads from Firth and Lohman..
If you're looking for a souped up version of Body Heat though, you'll probably be disappointed.So I start with a 10 for interesting story and great performances from Firth and Bacon.
One of the thing's I've always liked about him as an actor is once you've seen a movie and know the ending, you can re-watch it and see an even more layered performance than you first realized because his character was fully there from scene one.
Although there are a few moments where she does come forward, and one of them is during her exceptionally strong sex scene.There's nothing hidden in this movie, that's clear from the plot itself, it's uncovering the truth behind the story that has remained covered up for so long, and with that many things are laid bare.
It's these aspects of the movie that slowly capture you and pull you into the story, and it's these elements that are fascinating to watch.I'd highly recommend this movie for its richness and attention to detail alone, but it's true fascination is in the acting combination of Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth who are extremely good on screen.
But I think Atom really knew how to tell a story in an interesting way and did it well.Although I saw it first in private crew/cast screening, I went again when it was released in the theatre, the same day I saw another movie directed by another well-known Canadian director just for comparisons.
The script is clunky, with lots of "dialogue" that maybe looked good on the page, but sounds like somebody's reading a novel on screen.People have complained here about Lohman's performance, but if Vanessa Redgrave had been given this script I'm sure the mouthsful of dialogue would have made her belch.The direction is slow and laborious, the characters aren't at all complex, and the music, my god, the music is SO intrusive.
Aside for this little mismatch of movie and book and the fact that the movie is a bit too long for my taste, it's a pretty OK movie.Both Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth (thank God, this is not another of his romantic movies) are playing great, even if they are not the lead.
While not on the same lengths as Cronenberg's latest foray, A History of Violence, Atom Egoyan still pulls off quite a great Canadian feature with this film, and only heightens the excellent acting talent of Colin Firth and the man who knows everyone and one of my personal favorite actors (and pincushions), Kevin Bacon.While the storyline becomes a little convoluted half-way through, the performances and presentation of the film keep up throughout.
Rachel Blanchard is sadly underused, as is Firth, but the rest of the supporting cast has just enough time needed to stretch.The film's graphic nude and sex scenes are right on par with Cronenberg, and make an interesting comparison.
I was hoping this film would live up to the high standard set by the first two Atom Egoyan films I'd seen, The Sweet Hereafter and Felicia's Journey; but unfortunately, Where the Truth Lies is a film with bags of style, but almost nothing in terms of substance and despite a focus on characters; the film feels very flat and pointless by the time the conclusion to the sophomoric mystery plot is finally revealed.
Their partnership ended fifteen years ago, and sexy female journalist Karen O'Connor decides to research the life of one of the partners, and get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the death of a young girl whose body was found in the bathtub of the partners' hotel room on the night after a big TV show that the couple were doing.This film isn't a complete loss, and that is thanks to the way in which it is filmed.
**SPOILERS** Behind the scenes movie to one of show business' most shocking episode that took place on the eve of the legendary Vince Collins & Lenny Morris, Colin Firth & Kevin Bacon,Polio Telethon; the mysterious death of 23 year old collage student and editor of her collage paper Maureen O'Flaherthy, Rachel Blanchard.Getting themselves up to finish the grueling 39 straight hour Veterans Day Polio Telethon the two comics, Morris & Collins,in their hotel suite at the Miami Versailles Hotel popped themselves up with uppers and had a whole load of hookers sent up, courtesy of hotel owner and mob boss Sally Sanmarco,Maury Chaykin,to both party and loosen up for the big shows grand finale televised live on network TV.
One of the girls who stayed up in Morris & Collins room was a pretty hotel worker Maureen O'Flaheraty who ended up not only not surviving the evening but some 1,000 miles away the next afternoon at Sally's majestic Palace Del Sol Hotel in Atlantic City dead as a doornail and cold as a block of ice in the couples, Morris & Collins, hotel suite.The movie then goes to 1972 15 years into the future as magazine writer Karen O'Connor, Alison Lohman, is assigned by a major publishing company to write her first book the biography of Vince Collins, with Vince's help, and the story behind the O'Flaherty death and what exactly both Lenny Morris and Vince Collins had, if anything, to do with it.
The film's okay for the first half or so, but as more is revealed, less comes forth.Now, the movie's good for one thing: Lohman is very fine indeed, and she has some very, very nice sex scenes.
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Alison Lohman, Colin FirthFirth and Bacon play Vince Collins and Lanny Morris, a famous comedic duo, who, in the 1950s, were best known for their work hosting Polio telethons.
If you want to measure how bad a movie Atom Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies really is, imagine this story directed by other filmmakers.
Egoyan is so lost in his dubious concepts about "Film Noir," he's blind to the ineptness of his grotesque casting, (except for Kevin Bacon), ridiculously convoluted use of multiple voice-overs, and most importantly, his disconnection from the crazy mix of vulgarity and haunted beauty that makes show business stories like Sunset Boulevard, L.A. Confidential, and Mulholland Drive fascinating..
Where the Truth Lies may sound as a noir mystery,but in this film,the resolution of the crime is not so important.The crime is like a basis of a story more interested in examining the complex relationships between the characters of the movie.Director Atom Egoyan previously used his talent in some movies with a strong social content.Where the Truth Lies does not have that but the thing that assembles it with the Egoyan's other movies I have seen is the narrative complexity.Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth bring excellent performances but Alison Lohman did not convince me on her character.I totally understand that a young blonde woman was necessary for the role,but Lohman was not appropriate for the role.She does not have much presence and she cannot express all the complexity her character has.The scenes between reporter Karen and her friend are unnecessary and the inclusion of the mother of the victim feels out of place.Still with that,Where the Truth Lies is a very interesting and challenging experience in where a lot of things are left to the spectator's imagination..
And though Dean and Jerry were no doubt very different people off camera, one can only hope and pray they were nothing like the creepy counterfeit comics portrayed in TRUTH by the terribly miscast non-comedy, non-team of Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth.
When a great director sells out, you end up with a piece of arty trash like "Where the Truth Lies." Atom Egoyan has directed one masterpiece ("The Sweet Hereafter'), one sublime piece of aching erotic artistry ("Exotica"), and one underrated gem of a message movie ("Ararat").
This is one of those films where every single character is a cliché and the filmmakers try to dispel this with voice-overs announcing, "I know this sounds like a cliché, but..." Indeed, and I know this looks like a good movie, but....Egoyan does attempt to put his own stamp on the proceedings with his typical use of multiple narrators and flashback/flash-forward/collapsing-in-on-the-climax style of storytelling, but it oddly falls flat since this tale of unearthing the dark secrets of a famous comedy duo isn't as tantalizing as the storytellers so desperately want it to be.
Part of the entertainment of the film is wondering just how bad Lohman's line readings are going to get with each passing scene (at some points she is so lifeless I felt like she might fall asleep), and how many more beautiful blonds they can parade on screen to have sex with an ultra sleazy and totally unappealing Kevin Bacon.
The sex is good, and the lobsters deliver.With a better screenplay it could have been a great film in the class of LA Confidential, The Big Sleep or Mulholland Drive - that it fails so comprehensively must cast doubt on Egoyan's ability as a director, since the cast (apart from Alison Lohman) deliver really good performances, and it looks fabulous throughout.
Two very strong leading actors, Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth, intriguing story, creative director, but...
In 1972, a reporter (Alison Lohman) interviewed two comedians (Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth) that fifteen years before broke up a partnership of success, for reasons that might or not involve the lady that worked for the hotel found dead in the room of the pair.
While most of the time the rating is all a bunch of bull, quite often movies that lack in the story, acting or budget make up for it in explicit sex scenes (which is what got this film its rating), language or gore, and the plot gets lost somewhere in between all these distractions.
Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth are brilliant as the two male leads, and Alison Lohman is perfect in the role of the enquiring reporter.
Atom Egoyan, an enigmatic director known for probing the psychology of relationships, branches out further with "Where the Truth Lies," a superb crime thriller with outstanding performances.Alison Lohman plays a journalist probing the breakup of a 1950s Martin and Lewis-style comedy team, played by Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth.
If you consider the ending in the context of the characters and the relationships between them, though, it works pretty well (though it's still probably the weakest element of the film).Seeing as the film is a study of characters and human relations first and foremost, a lot of it hangs on the acting, and Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth both pull amazingly good performances, maybe the best of both their careers (up to, maybe, The King's Speech).
Bacon impersonates Jerry Lewis, both old and young versions, without going into caricature, while Colin Firth's character is his own creation, and they carry the film, even though it should be on Lohman's shoulders all the way.
It's 1972 L.A. Karen O'Connor (Alison Lohman) is writing about entertainment duo Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon) and Vince Collins (Colin Firth).
This gets a 5 only because Firth's and Bacon's performances could make any movie seem good.
Atom Egoyan's movie 'Where the Truth Lies' tells the story of an ambitious journalist investigating (in the 1970s) the break up of a once-successful entertainment double act, which had happened in the aftermath of a suspicious death fifteen years before.
Fifteen years later, a young journalist (Alison Lohman) wants to interview Collins for a book and begins to probe the mysterious death.Bacon and Firth are both fine actors, but they are wasted in this terrible film.
The film looks great with it's sets and costumes and the acting isn't terrible, but the big problem lies with the story.
Alison Lohman is a young journalist trying to find out "Where the Truth Lies" in this 2005 film starring Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Maury Chaykin. |
tt0120082 | Scream 2 | Sidney Prescott and Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) attend Windsor College in Ohio. While attending the preview of Stab, based on a book by Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) about the Woodsboro murders, Phil Stevens (Omar Epps) is stabbed through the wall of a bathroom cubicle. The killer sits next to Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett), and she assumes the killer is her boyfriend wearing a mask. During the Casey Becker death scene the crowd goes wild. Taking advantage of this, the killer stabs Maureen. Since many of the movie-goers are wearing the killer's costume (as publicity material provided by the movie studio) and carrying fake knives, nobody takes Maureen's attack seriously. As the crowd realizes she's not faking, she dies. Sidney and other Woodsboro survivor Randy Meeks soon realize that a killer is on the loose again. Meanwhile, Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) arrives on the campus to once again protect Sidney, and she and Dewey have an unwelcome reunion with Gale Weathers.The killer attempts to stab Sidney while setting up a copycat ploy. Alone in her sorority house, Casey "Cici" Cooper (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is threatened over the phone before the killer attacks her. After the police discover the body, the students at the nearby martini mixer go to investigate, leaving Sidney and her boyfriend Derek at the Delta Lambda Zeta house. The killer attacks Sidney, but Derek helps her escape.At the police station, Gale and Dewey notice that the names of the victims seem to loosely match the victims from The Woodsboro Murders. The police chief assigns two detectives to protect Sidney. The group is outside amongst dozens of college students when the killer telephones and taunts them. Gale and Dewey search the students in the area who have cell phones, trying to discover the killer. Randy is also looking around while talking to the killer on the phone, hoping to stall them. While he is outside a van, Randy is pulled inside and killed. His body is discovered by Gale and Dewey.Gale and Dewey visit a lecture room to watch the video footage they have been taking, to perhaps gain a glimpse of the killer. Gale then notices another TV screen playing footage that her cameraman had not taken. The perspective of the video is that of the Killer; showing clips of Cici in the porch and Randy in the park. Finally, it shows the backs of Dewey and Gale as they watch the video. They turn around and notice Ghostface in the projector room and Dewey gives chase. Gale is then cornered in the sound-system room, but manages to hide in the recording compartment. Dewey enters and attempts to get Gale's attention through the soundproof glass, however he is stabbed a couple of times and Gale notices in horror as he slides down the glass, with Ghostface standing behind him. Gale then manages to bar the door from the killer with a fallen shelf and the killer disappears.The detectives protecting Sidney are attacked while their vehicle is stopped at a traffic light. The killer crashes the car, killing the detectives and knocking the killer unconscious. Sidney and her roommate, Hallie, narrowly escape the wreckage of the car by squeezing past the unconscious killer in the front seat. Sidney decides to remove the killer's mask, but finds the killer gone. She turns around only to see Hallie being stabbed.Sidney runs to the school theater and is confronted by the killer. The killer reveals himself to be Mickey, her new boyfriend's best friend. Sidney finds Derek tied to a stage prop, and Mickey shoots Derek in the chest. Mickey also has a partner: Sidney turns around to see Gale coming out of the stage door, leading her to believe that Gale is the killer. Gale shakes her head "no" and Debbie Salt comes out, holding the other cop's gun. Sidney recognizes her as Mrs. Loomis, the mother of Sidney's previous boyfriend Billy. Mickey reveals that it was his plan to be caught for the murders so that he would become famous, immortalized by the media. He wanted to blame the killings on horror movies; the "effects of cinema violence in society." He met Mrs. Loomis on a "psycho website" and she agreed to fund his college tuition in return for his part in the killings. She also helped Mickey place calls to the victims. Mrs. Loomis' motive for killing Sidney and her friends was revenge for Sidney killing her son. Sidney points out that if Mrs. Loomis had not abandoned Billy then he and Stu Macher would not have started their killing spree. Mrs. Loomis shoots Mickey, removing him as a potential threat and stating that his legal defense was absurd.As Mickey is shot he shoots Gale, causing her to fall off the stage. Sidney is cornered by Mrs. Loomis and tricks her into believing Mickey is alive; when Mrs. Loomis is distracted, Sidney hits her with a prop jar. Sidney barricades herself backstage and causes the front of the stage to collapse on Mrs. Loomis. Mrs. Loomis survives and gets Sidney in an armlock, but then Cotton, the man Sidney had blamed for killing her mother arrives and takes Mickey's gun. Mrs. Loomis tries to convince Cotton to let her kill Sidney, but Cotton shoots Mrs. Loomis. Sidney and Cotton discover that Gale is wounded but alive, and help her. Mickey jumps up, and Gale and Sidney shoot him. Sidney turns around and shoots Mrs. Loomis in the head "just in case". It is revealed that Dewey survived his stabbing. He and Gale take an ambulance to the hospital. It turns out that Dewey's scar tissue from previously being stabbed in the back prevented this stabbing from being fatal. At the hospital, the news team arrives and tries to get a story on Sidney. Despite Sidney being the heroine, she tells them Cotton is the man to interview. The news team goes to him, after Cotton tells them there is a "time a place and a price" for an interview, he says, "it'll make one hell of a movie." Sidney walks off the campus, having survived the murders. | comedy, mystery, suspenseful, murder, cult, violence, horror, good versus evil, insanity, satire, romantic, revenge, sadist, prank | train | imdb | null |
tt1098327 | Dragonball Evolution | Two thousand years ago, the demon Lord Piccolo (James Marsters) came to Earth, wreaking havoc along with his minion Ōzaru (Ian Whyte). Seven mystics created the Mafuba and thought they sealed him away for eternity. However, Piccolo breaks free and with his ninja henchwoman Mai (Eriko), begins to search for the seven Dragonballs (each one has stars numbering between one and seven), killing anyone in his path.
On his eighteenth birthday, high school student and martial artist Son Goku (Justin Chatwin) is given the four-star Dragonball by his grandfather, Grandpa Gohan (Randall Duk Kim). Returning home from a party hosted by his crush Chi-Chi (Jamie Chung), Goku finds his home destroyed and his grandfather near death after Piccolo's failed attempt to acquire the Dragonball.
Before he dies, Gohan tells Goku to seek out martial arts master Muten Roshi (Chow Yun-fat), who holds another one of the Dragonballs. Along the way, Goku meets Bulma (Emmy Rossum) of the Capsule Corporation, who was studying the five-star Dragonball until it was stolen by Mai. Goku offers Bulma his protection in exchange for her help in finding Roshi. They ultimately track him down in Paozu City. Under Roshi's wing, Goku begins training his ki, knowing that they must get all the Dragonballs before the next solar eclipse, when Ōzaru will return and join forces with Piccolo.
In the midst of the group's search for the six-star Dragonball, they fall into a trap set by the desert bandit Yamcha (Joon Park) but Roshi convinces Yamcha to join by promising 1/3rd of the royalties for Bulma's invention. Together, the group fight off an ambush by Mai and successfully acquires the next Dragonball. As the group continues their quest, they travel to a temple where Roshi consults his former teacher Sifu Norris (Ernie Hudson) and begins preparing the Mafuba enchantment so he can reseal Piccolo, while Goku must learn the most powerful of the ki-bending techniques: the Kamehameha.
During the night, Mai – disguised as Chi-Chi – steals the team's three Dragonballs, adding them to the ones that Piccolo already acquired. With the Dragonballs successfully united, Piccolo begins to summon Shen Long, but is stopped by the timely arrival of Goku's team. During the ensuing battle, Piccolo reveals to Goku that he himself is Ōzaru, having been sent to Earth as an infant to destroy it when he grew older.
As the eclipse begins, Goku transforms into Ōzaru while Roshi attempts to use the Mafuba, but he doesn't have enough energy to live before he can re-seal Piccolo. Roshi's dying words snaps Goku back to his senses as he is choked to death by Ōzaru, and he engages Piccolo in a final battle, seemingly defeating him with the power of the Kamehameha. Goku then uses the Dragonballs to summon Shen Long, and request that he restore Roshi to life.
As they celebrate, they realise the Dragonballs have now scattered, and Bulma declares that they must search for them again. Before they head out, Goku meets with Chi-Chi to get to know her better, and they begin a sparring match to see which of them is stronger. In a post-credits scene, Piccolo has survived Goku's Kamehameha blast and is being cared for by an unknown woman. | good versus evil, revenge, philosophical, murder | train | wikipedia | Akira Toriyama probably has a noose around his neck right about now.To finish this off: The acting is atrocious, the butt-rock scattered through the soundtrack will make you want to punch the guy running the theater in the face, and the story is basically the manga's, but cut up, put into a blender, stuffed into sausage skins, and stitched back together with an American flag tied around it.If you want your Dragonball fix, just buy dvds of the show instead, skip the movie, and if you don't skip it, then at least don't pay for this thing.
It almost seems like they wanted to make this movie as bad and as far away from the original story as they could.
The only time an actor or actress acts like their anime counterpart is when they are first introduced speaking mainly about Master Roshi and Yamcha.For one of the most action packed animes around they sure did the opposite with the movie.
It feels like they made this movie for the people who hate the anime.As a fan of the series I will award this no points and may god have mercy on their souls..
That movie tried really hard to stay as close as possible to the original story of Dragonball as written by Akira Toriyama, but it ended up being more of a comedy.
Granted that the movie was really different, but the way the movie progressed, the introduction of characters, the fight scenes, oh wow, you'd think it was a movie created by elementary kids who had no idea what Dragonball was about, except for the "Kamehameha" move and the 7 dragon balls, just with the financial backing of a millionaire.
Goku's a powerful but lame school boy, Chi Chi's a martial art school girl who can't even open her own locker, Master Roshi's some crazy dude living in the city (at least he still wears a Hawaiian shirt and seems a little perverted), Bulma became Lara Croft and Rambo combined in another body with a bizarre voice, Mai (originally one of Pilaf's hilarious henchmen in the manga) became a cold blooded, shape-shifting killer, Yamcha became a weird cross between a desert bandit who can't fight and a hobo with unwashed hair, and Piccolo became a weird vampire whose outfit seems to be inspired by the Matrix.
I think only Grandpa Gohan was close enough to the original character, except for the way he exits the movie early on.The fight scenes were lame.
I created an IMDb account JUST to comment on how they butchered Dragonball for me and I hope that Hollywood is smarter next time as to when they bring such a strong fan based series onto the big screens or they will only infuriate more of the audience..
Meanwhile Goku falls in love with his school mate Chi Chi (Jamie Chung) .Dragon Ball are basically numerous spectacular fight-scenes with a tiny bit of plot movement, full of repetitive dialogue and flashy blasts of light and energy, but that hasn't prevented kids and teenagers from eating them up .
James Wong adapts the rich myth of the Dragonball series that grew from a Manga into various popular animated series by means of hundreds episodes that are brought to life with this 20th Century Fox and Stephen Chow ( Kung Fu hustler )production .
This Movie plain and simple insults our intelligence, I mean I'm no Geek, but tham they were way off!, this should not even be called dragonball, because of stupid 20th Century Fox, now dragonball is ruined, if someone wanted to make a better movie with the real story that Akira Toriyama made, they made so many changes and mistakes that the dragonball that we know is gone forever, on Watchmen they made some changes but only so the essence of the show could be shown on film, but Dragonball is dead they killed it, I'm sorry Akira Toriyama they ruined your work and about every Anime , and dbz fan out there, like my Grandfather just to say "there's cheese all over that movie" It is illogical to spend the money on copyrights if you're not even going to use the story.Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network, originally disgusted at Otaku decrying the film via leaked set shots and trailers even before the movie was released, gave the movie an overall F grade, admitting that "The fans were right." Criticizing the films lack of explaining plot elements to its hackmead storyline and lackluster effort by the actors, he suggested that the film "Might be fun when you're hammered and surrounded by friends.
The real fans would flood the theaters to watch it which would bring hype to the movie for new viewers that don't know about Dragonball, kind of like how Watchmen did.
From "Americanizing" television series for the kids from Power Rangers to Ultraman, and adapting famed characters from Japanese film, games and manga to frequent disastrous effect, it still wouldn't stop the studios from going after one property after another.
And of course Goku needs a Fellowship, in the form of irritating tech-wizard Bulma (Emmy Rossum last seen in the sinker Poseidon), mercenary Yum Cha (Joon Park who probably copied Rain's uninspiring cinematic turn in Speed Racer to a T) and Chow Yun-Fat the biggest name of them all here trying his darnest best to act cute as Master Roshi, who imparts skills in double quick time to Goku.Speaking of time, or the lack thereof, everything is compressed.
Not even Chow Yun-Fat's star status could save this, and you wonder what figured when this is the movie that he gave up Red Cliff for.This is basically a movie that only children below the age of 5 will enjoy tremendously, despite having to see 6 half-balls, contributed courtesy of the 3 lead female characters, being continuously flashed on screen, thanks to some neck plunging wardrobe (where's that malfunction when you need one?) Totally bland and really uninteresting, I would suggest sticking to the manga instead..
Hollywood have done so much super hero movies in the recent years, and I think the producers just hire the wrong bunch to do such a visual effects intensive film.
Can we please get a director with a set of balls to direct a movie based on the actual characters and plots of the story they are trying to show?.
I really hope no one buys this movie, just to show Hollywood that we don't want your greed hands on epic tales like dragonball...
It would stand to reason a director could draw at least some of the spirit of the Dragonball universe by simply watching the shows or reading the sources material and yet James Wong (who also directed The One and Final Destination 1 and 3) manages to do just that; change fun into camp, over-the-top violence into PG rubbish and alter any of the interesting back-story and lore of the series into an unwatchable tedious origin story.Perhaps I am missing the mark hugely, but vibe of the film is all off, and I assure you I am not an adaptation Nazi, nihilistically picking out every detail not identical to the source material but I just kept uttering under my breath "What IS this?!?!" To that end I am not sure who this film will impress.
There is also the possibility that Dragonball will simply never work as a live action adaptation, the anime medium just suits the feel and bizarre pleasure of the story and characters.The plot (a term I use loosely) is beyond excusable and consists merely of young warrior Goku (the fresh faced Justin Chatwin), his master Roshi (a mildly entertaining Chow Yun-Fat who must be strapped for cash) a feisty gun-slinger named Bulma (Emmy Rossum) and a creepy hippie conman named Yamcha (Joon Park).
Luckily, Rossum, didn't do any explaining, so her image is at least not so tarnished from this movie.Finally, for those wondering, isn't Dragonball from Asia, and don't all the characters from the first and second series have Japanese related names.
The only way to improve the film would be to start from scratch and have whatever pre-teen schoolgirl that wrote that god awful story take a look at either the original manga or television series.I had hopes for it.
Remember the day you were exposed to the cinematic brilliance of There Will Be Blood,the great character study of Scorsese's Taxi Driver,the unbelievable quirkiness and charm of Magnolia, well,you better be forgetting them because Dragonball:Evolution is coming through and it will blow more than one mind.What you have here is a movie so emotionally devasting,that you will feel the need to be hit(twice if needed) by your friend if what you're seeing is actually real, this movie challenges the viewers to come up with their interpretations just like David Lynch's Eraserhead, The Holy Mountain and the mind-screwing Neon Genesis Evangelion(hopefully Fox picks up the rights of the show, so we can have another carefully crafted masterpiece like this one),the story is nothing short of riveting almost as good as Karate Kid and Kung-Fu Panda combined together-"Goku is a social misfit(just like he is in the anime) who gets bullied by the token black-guy and can't get the girl(just like in the anime - it feels like you are being wrapped into it)then his grandpa Gohan is killed by Piccolo(the aftermath of his death didn't feel exactly like Uncle Ben's death in Spider-Man, which was a relief cuz I had a weird feeling it would be similar)then Bulma appears and takes him to this guy Roshi,and then they go on to some cannon searching the so-called dragon balls,all right, and then they find Yamcha, cool, and hip as always with his funny one-liners,then he falls in love with Bullma and then Piccolo pops out, and the final fight between good and evil begins,they fight on and on and on...
he transforms in some sorta ManBearPig-like monster(nice reference to South Park) called Ozaru and then Piccolo takes full-control of him or whatever I didn't pay much mind since my eyes were blurry from some of the action scenes and tears of joy of this tour-de force experience, some people may complain on how the story was shortened and rushed,but hey, it's not like you actually know your stuff, let the talented-one get it right,as cramming everything together in 90 minutes was the most obvious thing to do -DUH,the characters are so complex as they unfold throughout the movie,kids may have a hard time watching this cuz of the PG rating because the movie relies way too much on social commentaries against our society and the way we see life - for instance- the scene where Yamcha stars to talk out that cool-sounding stuff is obviously taken off from the harsh-times our economy is going through, you might be fooled on this one since Dragon Ball or Dragonball(whatever you may like to call it) was meant to be kiddy show, but here they kid you NOT.The character are a little different from their anime counterparts but it doesn't matter at all especially considering how you can actually connect with them in a emotional and witty way albeit complicated manner, we have Goku, brilliantly-written I must say though, lines such as "teach me how to be normal" and his awkwardness throughout the high-school scenes were a delight to the human eye, and kept me on the edge of my seat in an infinite loop of awe, Bulma, well, was a b...
whoops, I mean the way he picks up franchises randomly and put them into production as fast as he can so the fans don't have to wait any longer without looking for a extended profit, he is a very kind individual, a man worth of trust, and we should all be thankful for that, may Jebus bless yer little caring heart.I AM also so glad that my children will grow up with movies like this and not those overrated Miyazaki's movies which are boring and lame besides every single movie(released or yet-to-be-released) will fall flat in comparison to this milestone of cinema.
Dragonball never had trouble creating a fan base, so this really feels like one of the many big missteps of the film.In terms of the characters, they really made a mistake in blending the young and old Goku of the original story, which resulted in one that just seems unlikable.
She looks great in the role and does pretty much everything you'd expect out of Bulma.Dragonball is the crown jewel of the manga/anime business, which makes it only that much more disappointing that the people involved with this film clearly did not understand what people liked so much about it in the first place.
But I have to admit the woman who played Chi Chi was cute, beautiful and hot as the character and she was one of the good things to come out of the movie.Overall don't waste your time or money watching this..
When I first heard about the movie, I decided not to watch it because I thought DB is way beyond any live-action adaptation (all the fans know why).
I happen to love the whole Dragon Ball saga, and I have since I was little, but I'm also a realist and know that things need to be changed for cinema.This movie, however, is a piece of crap on so many levels.For example, I'm also a big fan of Harry Potter books.
'Dragonball Evolution' is just straight-up terrible in every possible sense of the word.The "story" here is basically, a teenager named Goku is given a mystical Dragon Ball from his grandfather.
After twenty minutes of bad teen dialogue, awkward stumbling through lines and the worst back story in history, Goku sets off to find Master Roshi to alert him that Lord Piccolo has returned.Now, some of the fight scenes are decent, most of them are not (a lot of unnecessary slow-motion).
If you guys really want to know what a real bad film is, then you should watch this movie otherwise not..
So for a good hour and a half we are subject to colors thrown at our face, some of the worst direlogue I've ever had to sit thorough and acting that would shame Keanu Reeves.James Wong adapts the rich mythos of the Dragonball series that grew from a manga into various popular animated series with this 20th Century Fox production starring Justin Chatwin.
The story develops at a breakneck pace, granted there is little story to develop, while its good to know the movie is so short, the less of it you have to endure.Think back to this time last year, a certain manga adaptation was released under the name "Speed Racer" this hard, cold, emotionless shell of a movie sported the same recycled material that Dragonball Evolution does.
I've seen each and every person here gives great performances in different movies and it is possible for them to deliver dialogue without sounding like a reject from Street Fighter.Verdict: Tearing through its mystical, who-gives-a-toss storyline like a drunk bat bouncing off cave walls, Dragonball's cocktail of cheap effects, eye-rolling clichés and dismal direlogue will have fans of the series condemning it as a beyond-lame failure.
Anyone who has seen the original Dragonball Z anime's probably are looking very hopefully to this movie.
So it's like a bad action movie, except fans of the original anime/and others will want to watch this movie just to see what 'bad' action for a DB/DBZ/DBGT fan really means.2 last notes - Visual effects, it looks 50/50 on arguments for these....unless they were low on cash, the effects plain out suck, i can do better with the comp I'm using to write this.
For goodness sake, it doesn't even feel like Dragon Ball universe.Alright, I have to watch the movie anyhow (admit being a huge fan of the series minus GT).
I'm not a Dragon Ball hardcore fan, but the main reason that I'm writing this is because there's a lot of positive comments saying "Absolutely Good Movie", "Creative and Clever Story", "Honestly not bad film" or even "Why isn't part 2 coming out?" (left by a guy who blames those who tell the truth of that movie), etc.; and I'm worried about IMDb being sued for false advertising if it is left there.
Goku is about as emotionless as a bag of rocks, and Yamcha looks like "a tiger with Down syndrome." This movie works as an insult directed towards Akira Toriyama and his fans...and directed by James Wong.For this example, I will be using a well known story, "The story of Jesus Christ", but I will do to Jesus' story what the writers did to Dragon Ball:Jesus Christ was born in California and went to Henry Austin High School.
Just a shame he isn't in enough of the movie to elevate it even more.Why do I say that Dragonball Evolution is a contender for the worst live-action film for an animated TV series?
It's more like a badly written fanfic: you know, one of those really bad 'DB characters in high school' ones.It was very fast paced and rushed, and I pretty promptly forgot most of the movie as soon as I was finished watching it (which I can only sum up as good fortune).I won't try and echo what hundreds of way more in-depth reviews written here before me have already said.
if you don't see or heard about Dragon Ball, you will find that Son Goku from the movie (interpreted by Justin Chatwin in a stupid way, i don't want to say more about him, he tries to be a great actor, but he isn't ...
After watching this movie now i realize that there's nothing in common with the actual anime, only some of the characters names and the dragon balls. |
tt0462423 | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | Set in 2014, five years after the "Manhattan Incident" (the events of the Plant chapter from Metal Gear Solid 2), Metal Gear Solid 4 portrays a world where the restriction of military intervention on foreign soil has been eased, fueling the need for private military companies (PMCs) to fight proxy wars for business purposes. Nanotechnology has become prominent, both to enhance the capabilities and enforce the loyalty of mercenaries. The five largest of these PMCs are owned by a single mother company named Outer Haven, which is operated by Liquid Ocelot. Amassing an army whose manpower rivals that of the United States, Liquid prepares to launch an armed insurrection. With the world once again in crisis, a rapidly aging and disillusioned Solid Snake is deployed into the Middle East by Roy Campbell to terminate Liquid.After evading the new Metal Gear 'Gekko's, 'Old Snake' finds equipment left for him by close friend and colleague Otacon which enables him to sneak through the warzone. On his way to meet his contact, Snake meets a gun launderer named Drebin who provides the Militia with uncoded weapons, and offers his services to Snake. Snake then makes a rendezvous with Rat Patrol 01, led by none other than Meryl, daughter of Roy Campbell, who Snake had fought alongside at Shadow Moses years before. However, Rat Patrol and Snake have to make a hasty getaway when Liquid's private troops, the FROGS, arrive on the scene. Shortly afterwards, Snake locates the Praying Mantis PMC camp and comes face to face with Liquid. Just as he prepares to shoot his nemesis, Snake and the entire camp all begin to suffer some kind of strange attack. Clutching their heads in agony, the soldiers begin to attack each other and undergo a breakdown, including Meryl and Rat Patrol (but except for 'Akiba' one of the squad members). Barely able to stand, let alone point his gun, Snake collapses while Liquid escapes. But while Snake lies in pain, he meets a familiar face - Dr. Naomi Hunter who had injected him with the FOXDIE virus during the Shadow Moses operation. Apparently in league with Liquid, Naomi gives herself an injection that seems to keep her immune while Snake is carried to safety by Akiba.Recovering on the Nomad, the plane where Otacon and Snake operate from, Snake watches an encrypted video message sent by Naomi who claims to have been captured by Liquid and is being held in South America. In order to discover Liquid's next move and rescue Naomi, Snake heads to that region and navigates the surrounding wilderness. Along the way, Snake encounters Vamp, the apparently undead member of former unit Dead Cell who had been involved in the 'Manhatten Incident'. With him, one of the 'Beauty and the Beast Unit' called Laughing Octopus. Once again using the warzone as cover, Snake meets Naomi again at her lab where Naomi examines Snake's body. She concludes that his rapid ageing is simply the lifespan that the Patriots chose to give him, to stop him reproducing or his body falling into enemy hands. However, there is worse to come when Naomi reveals that FOXDIE, although currently stable (with no targets left to attack) will soon start to mutate and attack indiscriminantly thanks to Snake's deterioration. Though he may have 6 months left to live, there are only 3 months before Snake becomes a walking biohazard. Only his death will stop the virus. Also, Snake comes to believe that another virus has been injected into his system, but before he can work out why, Naomi is taken by the FROGs and Laughing Octopus attacks Snake in the lab, using a series a deceptions and tricks to catch him out.Once Snake defeats Octopus, he tracks Naomi and her captors to a heliport. Drebin arrives in his APC and the three of them escape from a horde of pursuing Gekko. During their escape, they encounter none other than Raiden, the former child soldier who defeated Solidus at Manhatten, but now enhanced by an exoskeleton. Raiden and his old enemy Vamp fight in the street, with neither apparently being able to die, before Raiden jumps aboard Snake's helicopter, ending the second act.After the mission in South America, Otacon and Snake learn that Liquid is after the remains of Big Boss once again and plans to use his genetic information to access the centre of the Patriots' control, an AI system called JD. This is followed by Naomi's revelation that Big Boss' cells are STILL alive while his mind is kept inactive by nanomachines. Raiden had recovered Big Boss' body, previously, for a mysterious leader referred to as 'Big Mama' and that the body is currently in Europe. Snake and Otacon, who has developed a romantic relationship with Naomi, travel to Europe in order to intercept Liquid. Snake tracks down the resistance leader 'Big Mama' who reveals herself as EVA, surrogate mother of Liquid and Solid Snake and a major part of Operation Snake Eater in the 1960s. It is here that Snake learns the Patriots' origins; the organisation was founded by Major Zero, Big Boss' fomer commander during that same mission. The aim was to create a world that would continue the will of 'The Boss', but the two men disagreed over their interpretation of this and when Zero arranged the 'Les Enfants Terribles' program (the cloning of Big Boss), the two became enemies.When the PMC attacks the hidout, EVA and Snake try to escape with Big Boss' remains but are held up by 'Beauty and the Beast' member 'Raging Raven', who Snake has to fight. But while they are delayed, Liquid gets to Big Boss first and then burns the body. EVA is burnt, desperately trying to save the remains and Snake is pummeled by his brother who now has control over SOP (the Sons of the Patriots system which controls the nanomachines of soldiers and the order of battle). The hundreds of American troops that show up to cut Liquid off are all taken out, with Meryl and Akiba almost getting drowned in the river. Snake's face is burnt badly and EVA dies in his arms, while Liquid gets away once again.Thanks to a Mk.II robot aboard the enemy's boat, Otacon finds out that Liquid's ultimate goal is to launch a nuke into orbit and destroy JD. This would automatically hand down control to the next AI system, GW - the system that Liquid has salvaged from Arsenal Gear. This would essentially give complete control of the Patriots' system to Liquid. To do this without the Patriots' AI catching on, Liquid plans to use a rail gun to launch a 'stealth nuke' and the only rail gun capable of this is attached to Metal Gear REX, which is still at Shadow Moses where Snake had fought it years before.The nuclear disposal facility on Shadow Moses is still intact when Snake returns there but is totally overrun by Gekko and small robotic drones. Working his way through the facility, old memories return and even comes back to life when Snake encounters Crying Wolf (instead of Sniper Wolf) on the snowfield. The 'Beauty and the Beast' member tries to attack from Snake from downwind and shoots at him using the same rail gun that Dead Cell Fortune (from MGS2) had previously carried. Finally Snake defeats her and makes his way to the underground base where REX is held. But the rail gun has already been taken and while Otacon uses the Mk.III to reactivate Metal Gear's system and track it, Naomi appears and Vamp attacks Snake in the hanger. Using a syringe that Naomi provided earlier on, Snake injects Vamp causing his nanomachines to stop healing his wounds - essentially making him 'mortal' again. Just at that moment, Raiden arrives having recovered and challenges Vamp to a final showdown with knives. While they battle on REX's top, Snake holds off a swarm of Gekko with Wolf's rail gun. Raiden defeats Vamp once and for all and the conflicted Naomi commits suicide by using the syringe to supress her own nanomachines, which had been staving off cancer until now. Otacon, distraught, manages to activate REX and Snake, Raiden and the Mk.III escape the base.Snake pilots REX out onto the docks, but Raiden gets crushed by falling debris. Awaiting Snake is Liquid, armed with another Metal Gear, the amphibious RAY. After an epic duel, Snake destroys RAY and Liquid runs for the ocean to be greeted by his HQ - a gigantic prototype of Arsenal Gear, dubbed 'Outer Haven'. Just as Outer Haven rams into the dock, Snake is saved by Raiden who pulled himself from under the wreckage. Raiden presses against Outer Haven and manages to stop it from crushing Snake but is severely wounded afterwards.Once regrouped, Snake, Otacon and Meryl are picked up by a Navy battleship which is captained by Mei Ling, one of the consultants during the original Shadow Moses mission. While Liquid prepares to launch the nuke from Outer Haven, the battleship gives chase across the Bering Sea and Snake boards the headquarters with Meryl and Akiba. Here, they meet the final 'Beauty and the Beast' member, Screaming Mantis who uses telekinesis and nanomachine control to turn Meryl against Snake. Akiba saves Meryl and Snake beats Mantis by supressing his nanomachines. Akiba professes his love for Meryl and even proposes during a massive gunfight, while Snake must go through a corridor filled with microwave emmiters in order to reach GW's core. Near death, Snake reaches the core and Otacon plants a worm cluster to deactivate GW. But something else happens... the entire AI system shuts down and Naomi, in a video message, reveals that the virus used GW as a means to infect the whole Patriots system. Snake passes out and wakes up at the very top of Outer Haven... with Liquid Ocelot. Ocelot tells Snake that in order to shut down the Patriots, he had to fool the AI into thinking he really was Liquid Snake. The Patriots had to believe that Snake was just after Liquid and that he wouldn't actually shut down the whole network. Ocelot tells Snake that he brainwashed himself into becoming Liquid as part of his scheme to ultimately take down the Patriots. All that is left is for Liquid and Snake to have one final battle, which Snake eventually wins, but not before Ocelot's own personality breaks through.On their return home, Meryl and Akiba get married on an airfield while Colonel Campbell manages to reconcile with his daughter. All are present except for Raiden and Snake. Raiden is in a hospital and in a completely new prosthetic body. He makes amends with Rose and meets his son, John.Snake visits the cemetary and the gravestones of both Big Boss and his mentor, The Boss. With his mission complete, Snake must endure 'one final punishment' to prevent the FOXDIE virus from mutating into an epidemic. But Snake is stopped - by a living, breathing Big Boss.Big Boss reveals to a bewildered Snake that he had indeed been kept alive by EVA but instead of being burnt on the river in Europe, his body switched with the corpse of Solidus Snake (the clone closest in appearance) and was recreated with stem cells taken from both Liquid and Solidus' bodies.Along with him, Big Boss was brought a wheelchair-bound Zero and shows regret over the chaos that has spawned from their personal feud. He suffocates Zero and reveals to Snake that he too is about to die thanks to a new strain of FOXDIE that Snake has unwittingly been carrying, administered by Drebin in South America (who had been working for the Patriots system all along). It was designed to kill all the surviving founders of the Patriots; EVA, Ocelot and Big Boss and it succeeded. But for Snake, it has had a different effect - it supressed the original FOXDIE from mutating or growing, allowing Snake to live out his remaining months without becoming dangerous. Finally as he rests against his own gravestone, Big Boss makes peace with his last son, his final words being "This is good... isn't it?"Snake then promises to live his remaining days free of battle, free of cigarettes, and in peace with Otacon and Sunny, Olga Gurlukovich's daughter. | violence | train | imdb | null |
tt0084707 | Sophie's Choice | In 1947, the movie's narrator, Stingo (Peter MacNicol), a young writer from the American South, travels to post-WW II Brooklyn. He is befriended by Sophie Zawistowski (Meryl Streep), a beautiful Polish immigrant, and her lover, Nathan Landau (Kevin Kline). It is clear to Stingo from the serial number tattooed into Sophie's forearm that she is no stranger to pain, as she is a Holocaust survivor.One evening, Stingo talks with Sophie and learns some more about her past: that she was married but her husband and her father were killed in a German work camp. When Stingo notices scars on Sophie's wrists, Sophie explains that after being rescued from Auschwitz she was taken to a refugee camp in Sweden, but whilst there she went to a church, broke a glass, and cut her wrists. Sophie goes into another room where Nathan spends a lot of his time and finds another wine bottle. The walls are covered in images of the Holocaust, prompting Sophie to explain that it is Nathan's obsession.Sophie and Nathan's relationship is endangered both by Sophie's ghosts and Nathan's obsession with the Holocaust, as well as his violent temper and increasingly apparent mental illness. When Stingo visits a man who knew Sophie's father, he discovers she's been lying to him. He learns that Sophie's father, a Polish college professor, hated Jews. Later, when Stingo talks to Sophie about this, she explains, with more about her past emerging through a series of harrowing flashbacks.Something makes Sophie go to the Jewish ghetto, where she looks at all the people her father has condemned to death. She suddenly remembers that her father is waiting for his speech and hurries home to finish the typing. In her haste, Sophie makes a lot of mistakes and hurries to the university. Her father (Ivica Pajer) reads the speech in front of a large crowd of people and becomes very angry.Later, Sophie has a lover, Józef (Nedim Prohic), who lives with his half-sister, Wanda (Katharina Thalbach), a leader in the Resistance. Wanda tries to convince Sophie to translate some stolen Gestapo documents, but fearing she may endanger her children (Jennifer Lawn & Adrian Kalitka), she declines. Two weeks later, Józef is murdered by the Gestapo, and a short time later Sophie is arrested and sent to Auschwitz with her children. Upon arrival, the Germans decide who will live and who will die. Jan, Sophie's son, is sent to the children's camp, and her daughter, Eva, is sent to her death in Crematorium Two.Sophie later learns of an epidemic in the children's camp, and becomes concerned for her son's well-being. She convinces the Commandant to let him into the Lebensborn programme. He relents and tells Sophie she will see him the next day. However, the Commandant breaks his promise about letting Sophie see her son. She never finds out what happened to him.Back in the present, Nathan asks Sophie to marry him and she accepts. Stingo feels betrayed, as he is falling in love with Sophie, but agrees to be Nathan's best man. When Nathan goes into another of his violent moods, Sophie runs to Stingo. At this point, Nathan makes a threatening phone-call which ends with the sound of a gun firing, and Nathan making more threats.Stingo and Sophie flee and check into a hotel. Stingo insists that they start a family, but Sophie has yet to tell him her final secret - her choice. She recounts the night she arrived at Auschwitz with her children, and of how a Nazi officer forced her to choose life for one child, and death for the other.Despite her plea of "Don't make me choose. I can't choose", Sophie's words fall on deaf ears. When a young Nazi is told to take both children away, she releases her daughter, shouting "Take my little girl!". Sophie can only watch as the screaming little girl is carried away to die, her guilt and despair all too clear. Once she has told him, Sophie asks Stingo not to talk about marriage and children.They sleep together that night, but Stingo wakes up alone. Sophie has left him a note, saying she has gone back to Nathan, but that Stingo is a great lover. Stingo later goes back to the building where he met Sophie and Nathan, only to find everybody in a state of shock. Stingo is led up to Sophie and Nathan's room where he finds they have committed suicide. Picking up Nathan's book of Emily Dickinson poems, Stingo recites "Ample Make This Bed", as if he were delivering a eulogy at a funeral.The film ends with Stingo leaving Brooklyn, the screen going misty, and an image of Sophie's face fading into view. | tragedy, murder, sadist, flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt0804522 | Rendition | CIA analyst Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is briefing his chief in a square in North Africa when a suicide attack kills his boss and 18 other people. The target was interrogator and torturer Abasi, but he is unharmed.Egyptian-born Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally), a chemical engineer who lives in Chicago with his pregnant wife Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) and their young son, is linked to a violent organization by telephone records indicating known terrorist Rashid placed several calls to Anwar's cell phone. While returning to the US from a conference in South Africa, he is detained by American officials and sent to a secret detention facility near the location of the suicide attack depicted earlier. Isabella is not informed and, growing worried, travels to Washington and slowly pieces together details of Anwar's detention.For lack of more experienced staff, Freeman is assigned the task of observing the interrogation of Anwar by Abasi Fawal (Igal Naor). After Freeman briefly questions and tortures Anwar himself, he is convinced of Anwar's innocence. However, his boss insists that the detention continues, justifying such treatments as necessary to save thousands from becoming victims of terrorism. Eventually Anwar confesses to having advised on how to make more powerful bombs, and to have been promised $40,000 in return. However, Freeman believes it is a false confession, which is confirmed when he Googles the names Anwar gives as Rashid's aides and finds out that they are the names of the Egyptian football team from the year Anwar left Egypt. He also expresses doubt as to whether Anwar would be willing to put his life, family and job in danger for $40,000 when he earns $200,000 in his job. He quotes Shakespeare in a discussion on the value of intelligence gathered through torture:I fear you speak upon the rack, Where men enforced do speak anything. Without the consent of his superiors, Freeman orders Anwar's release and lets him escape through a clandestine trip by ship to Spain. Anwar returns to the US and is reunited with his family. Freeman then leaks the details of Anwar's detention to the American press. The story is then found in the newspapers the following day by Corrine Whitman, who ordered Anwar's extraordinary rendition.Another story line is shown in parallel, but at the end of the film it turns out that all this happened before the suicide attack: Abasi's daughter Fatima (Zineb Oukach), has run away from home with her boyfriend Khalid (Moa Khouas), whose brother died in Abasi's prison. Unknown to Fatima, Khalid is a terrorist. He is the one who carries out the suicide attack with Abasi as the target. But Fatima finds out from the photos that Khalid's brother met his death at the hands of her father, and realizes what Khalid is planning. At the town square Fatima begs him not to do it, arguing that the target is her father. After removing the pin of his detonator he hesitates, and is therefore killed by the organizers of the attack. As a result he releases the handle of the detonator, and the bomb explodes, killing Fatima also.The record of a phone call supposedly made by Rashid to Anwar is not explained in the film. However, earlier it was mentioned that phones are sometimes passed on from one person to another, yet despite this reasonable doubt the CIA officials refused to release him. It turned out that in South Africa, while Anwar's phone was off, there had been a call to it from an unknown person.For the scenes of Abasi's private life it is not always clear to which storyline they belong, that before or after the explosion. Abasi learns about Fatima's death only a week later. | romantic, violence, murder, sadist, flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt0389328 | Rise | [NOTE: This summary attempts to combine both the edited and the unedited versions of Rise: Blood Hunter, so some scenes may be out of order, depending upon the version being watched. Scenes that appear only in the edited version are marked in blue. Scenes found only in the unedited version are indicated in red.]Businessman Lloyd meets hooker Collette in a bar. As they prepare to leave together, vampire Sadie Blake intervenes and offers Collette $500 to go home with her instead. Once home, Sadie asks Collette to undress and then to wash her hands. The soap is in the shower, Sadie tells her. When Collette enters the shower to retrieve the soap, the shower doors suddenly snap shut, trapping Collette inside. The next thing Collette knows, she is hanging by her feet in the shower, duct tape over her mouth. An old man in a wheelchair rolls in and admires her. Mr Harrison tells Sadie that she did good and orders her to leave. Sadie reminds him of his promise to tell her Bishop's whereabouts. Harrison gives her an address (1653 Kinney Drive). As he turns back to his upside-down dinner, Sadie shoots him in the heart with her crossbow. She then releases Collette and warns her not to say a word about what happened. After pushing Collette outside and closing the front door, Sadie stares at her trembling hand and then, apparently exhausted, she collapses on a bed and falls asleep.---------------------FLASHBACK: Sadie was once human, working as a reporter for the L.A. Weekly. An article she wrote entitled The Grateful UNDead, which featured an exposé Sadie got by infiltrating a cult of goths who drink pig's blood, had just made the front page. After being congratulated by her editor, Sadie learned from co-worker and computer geek Ethan Mills that he had traced a number given to her by one of her interviewees, Tricia Rawlins. The links were extremely tortuous but eventually led to a website with a message: The Path is Within Your Own Blood - You Must Walk It Alone - The Scripture is Written in Your Soul. - Go Forth in Darkness. - THE FEEDING COMMENCES TONIGHT. That website was covered by a transparent image map that led to an address -- 987 Arapahoe -- in Koreatown. Ethan offered to check it out with Sadie, but Sadie said, for her, the story was over. She'd already arranged to take her little sister Beth, who just graduated high school, to Mexico for three days.That night, at midnight, Tricia Rawlins and her friend Kaitlin drive up to the house on Arapahoe after learning about tonight's "feeding party". Tricia didn't like the looks of it and decided to wait in the car while Kaitlin went inside for a few minutes just to say hi to the hosts -- Bishop, Eve, and Rourke. When Kaitlin hadn't returned after 45 minutes, Tricia went to fetch her. Finding the front door ajar, she stepped inside. The place seemed deserted. She heard music coming from the basement, so she made her way downstairs where she found Bishop and Eve feeding on Kaitlin's bloody body. Tricia tried to run, but Rourke ran after her. She tried to hide in a closet and call her dad, Detective Clyde Rawlins, but all she got was his answering machine. Hours later, Tricia and Kaitlin's mutilated bodies were found in a dumpster. Det. Rawlins was summoned. When photos from the crime scene reached the L.A. Weekly, the editor showed them to Sadie because she recognized Tricia as one of Sadie's interviewees. Sadie remembered Tricia mentioning she was going to a "feeding party", but Sadie thought she was kidding. Although Ethan hadn't shown up at work for the last two days, Sadie decided to go snooping at the house in Koreatown, even if she had to go alone. In the airport on her way back from Mexico, Sadie picked up a newspaper and noticed an article about the slaying of Tricia Rawlins, whose blood-drained body was found in a Koreatown dumpster. After dropping off Beth, Sadie called Ethan to join her at the address in Koreatown. Ethan didn't answer, so Sadie went alone. The house was boarded up and appeared to be abandoned. Inside, there was nothing to show the house was anything but dilapidated and deserted. In the basement, however, she found blood splatters everywhere, a bed soaked in blood, and a bloody bathtub. Horrified, Sadie ran from the house. As she ran to her car, she bumped into an old Japanese man (Poe) who asked her what she was doing there. Nothing, Sadie replied and wrested herself out of his grip.That evening, Sadie drove to Ethan's apartment and found it totally trashed. She put down her purse and went searching for Ethan. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was a guy (Rourke) claiming to be a friend of Ethan's. When Sadie tried to leave, Rourke showed her the pepper spray he had just taken from her purse. When Sadie again tried to get past him, Rourke sprayed her with the pepper spray and took her to Harrison's mansion where she was met by two more vampires. Their renfield Poe seated her in a chair, and their leader Bishop began to ask her questions about Tricia. How much did Tricia tell her? When Sadie denied knowing anything, Bishop plopped a black garbage bag on the table in front of her. What is that?, Sadie asked. Poe untied Sadie's hands so she could open the bag. It was Ethan's head. Sadie screamed in horror and babbled about Ethan finding an address on a website but she didn't take it seriously and only became concerned when she read about Tricia's death in the newspaper. Kicking and screaming, Sadie was led to a bedroom, where Bishop slit her neck, he and Eve drank her blood and raped her, and then discarded her lifeless body in a dumpster where the police found it. When Detective Rawlins heard another girl's body had been found drained of blood, he raced to the scene, although he was so drunk presiding detective Joe Easton sent him home. Sadie's body wound up in the morgue where she was identified by her mother and sister, who were led away by the attendant just moments before Sadie reawakened and kicked her way out of the drawer, removed the tag from her big toe, felt the deep gash in her neck, realized she could no longer see herself in a mirror, donned some hospital scrubs, and made her way outside.After she made it out of the hospital, Sadie wound up in a homeless shelter, undergoing an attack of the shakes due to her need for blood, so she smothered an old homeless man, bit his arm, and sucked his blood hungrily until she noticed a homeless child watching her. Sickened by what she was doing, Sadie left the shelter, not realizing she was being followed. She tried to telephone her mother, but her sister Beth hung up the phone, reminding mom that Sadie was dead. Feeling lost to the world and haunted by memories of her rape and murder, Sadie threw herself from a bridge to the freeway below. She awoke to find a Mexican couple, Arturo and Morena, caring for her at their home. They dressed her wounds, and Morena brought her bowls of blood. You found out the hard way that you cannot die, Arturo told her. He said he was interested in helping her get this Bishop guy and his companions -- Rourke, Eve, Harrison, and Poe -- she talked about in her sleep, so he fashioned a crossbow for her, provided her with blood so she didn't have to prey on the living, and offered to teach her how to live with this "shadow side" of herself. His first lesson was she must start with the weakest of the five and leave Bishop, the strongest, for last.When she was strong enough to be back on her feet again, Sadie followed Arturo's advice. She tracked down Rourke at his hotel room, where she found him feasting on his latest victim. What do YOU want?, Rourke barked at her when she entered his room, her crossbow cocked and ready. You, Sadie replied and let fly with a dart to his chest. Rourke fell backwards, crashing into the window and falling to the ground below. Sadie ran out to him and asked for Eve's whereabouts. He suggested The Red Angel. When Rourke tried to stand and even offered to take Sadie to Eve, Sadie pumped another dart into his chest. Sure enough, it was near closing time at The Red Angel, but Eve was there. Heeding Arturo's warning not to let Eve get inside her head, Sadie followed Eve into the ladies' room where she was about to slit the neck of her next victim, a horny sailor. Pointing her crossbow at Eve's heart, Sadie ordered the sailor to leave, then she and Eve settled in a booth and shared some drinks. Eve was not surprised Sadie survived; in fact, she was pleased. Both she and Bishop tried to kill her, she confessed to Sadie. They emptied her of so much blood, she said, Sadie didn't even have enough left for a pulse. Still Sadie hung on. Bishop finally gave up and gave Sadie to Eve to finish off, but Eve couldn't do it either, so she started the process of Sadie's turning. I may have started the process, Eve admitted, but you finished it on your own, alone in that morgue. Eve also told her Arturo used to be their leader until Bishop got sick of it. Arturo just used you to be his pawn to kill Bishop, Eve said. When Eve told Sadie how much she admired her strength, intimating she loved Sadie and was glad Sadie had come back to her, Sadie pumped a dart into Eve's heart and left her slumped over in the booth.With Rourke and Eve down, next on the list was Harrison, who Arturo predicted would readily hand over Bishop if Sadie would provide him with something he wanted. Hence, the gift of Collette, whom Sadie set free after she got Bishop's address and killed Harrison. Unfortunately, Collette got picked up by the police as she was wandering on the highway, and she blabbed. In his office, Rawlins was looking over his bulletin board filled with photos and newsclippings of his daughter's murder along with photos and clippings of all the other unsolved murders he thought might be related, when he learned about Collette being picked up. To check out her story, he went over to Harrison's house. He rang the doorbell, awakening Sadie, who made a quick run out the back door. Rawlins let himself in and discovered Harrison's body, so the police were called. Once again, Detective Easton tried to send Rawlins home, but Rawlins would not hear of it. Rawlins thinks he's getting closer to discovering what's going on and how his daughter Tricia was murdered. ---------------[END FLASHBACK]It's night, and it's raining. Sadie is on the way to Bishop's house on Kinney Drive to eliminate the last two who murdered her. She picks up a hitchhiker named Alex who is making his way north to Santa Barbara for a little partying with his law school buddies before the semester starts again. Sadie tries to convince herself she doesn't need "it" that badly, but she reminds herself about Arturo's warning she must be strong to face Bishop, so she asks Alex about himself. After ascertaining Alex has no girlfriend, wife, or kids depending upon him, she drives off the road where she pretends to come on to Alex before she slits his neck and drinks his blood. Covered in blood and crying uncontrollably, she gets out of the car and begins to dig a grave for Alex's body.Meanwhile, not knowing that she is about to become Bishop's next victim, Jenny is swimming in his pool while Bishop sits on the patio "feasting his eyes" on Jenny. Jenny is flattered such a rich and handsome single man could be interested in her. The party's at midnight, Bishop tells her. They share a bottle of red wine and talk about Jenny's background. Bishop begins to ask her some odd questions, such as whether or not she bled much when she first got her period. He tells her a friend of his once said sex and murder are the only real pleasures left to man. Amused, Jenny asks him which he is going to use her for. Both, Bishop replies. Jenny laughs and allows Bishop to lead her into his bedroom. As she undresses, Bishop takes out a knife.Crossbow in hand, Sadie finally arrives at Bishop's house, but no one is home. As she searches the rooms, she slips on a pool of blood and sees Jenny's blood-covered body lying on a bed. Suddenly, she hears a sound and hides. It is Poe, come to clean up. Sadie jumps out of her hiding place and points her crossbow at Poe, takes away his cellphone, and asks him where Bishop is. Poe replies he doesn't know, then turns and runs down the hall into the bathroom. Sadie forces open the door. They struggle. Poe tries to smother Sadie with the shower curtain, but she gets off several blows to his head. Poe tries crawling down the hall again, but Sadie follows, asking him once more where Bishop is. Poe stabs Sadie in the foot with a knife, and Sadie kicks Poe down the stairs. As he lies on the floor, his face bloodied, Poe tells Sadie that Bishop is on the run. He thinks a cop is after him. He doesn't know it's Sadie. When Poe refuses to say more, Sadie fires a dart through his heart.Sadie drives to a motel room where she can tend to the wound in her foot. While in the bathroom, she hears Poe's cellphone ring. Hello, Bishop, she answers. Bishop doesn't seem to recognize her voice, so Sadie suggests they meet so that he can see her face before she kills him. She drives to Wonton's Ripley's, the bar from where he made the call, and asks the bartender, after describing Bishop, whether he remembers anything more about him. It's a public phone, the bartender replies. The guy came in, had a drink, and made the call is all the can remember. He never saw him before. A $100 bill with the name Eve and Sadie's phone number written on it makes him agree to call if he hears anything else. As Sadie returns to her car, she is confronted by a guy who was watching her in the bar. He says he knows where Bishop is. He was told to bring her to him. When Sadie turns to her car to get her stuff, she is knocked out by a second guy. Taylor and Dwayne stuff Sadie in the trunk of their car. Taylor drives Sadie to meet Bishop. Dwayne follows in Sadie's car.Rawlins is sleeping when he is awakened to see the door to his bedroom slowly opening. A bloody hand appears next to the doorknob. Rawlins grabs his gun. Suddenly, Rawlins wakes again, and the door is closed. Apparently, it was all a dream during a drunken stupor. He looks away but, when he looks back, the door is open again. He gets out of bed to close it and sees his blood-covered daughter sitting on the side of his bed. Tricia holds out a hand to him. Suddenly, Rawlins is awakened for the third time by the ringing of his cell phone. It is Easton, calling to tell him two more bodies have been found, those of Jenny and Poe. This time, however, they got a parking lot surveillance shot of the killer's license plate when she stopped at a convenience store to buy supplies to dress a knife wound. The police have placed an APB on her.Sadie awakens to find herself locked in the trunk of a moving car. She kicks open the hood. When Taylor notices the trunk is open, he stops the car to check on Sadie, but she is nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, his car starts to drive off. It stops, then it backs up and hits him, knocking him to the ground and breaking his leg. Sadie gets out of the car and asks for her bag (where she carries her crossbow). When Taylor refuses to answer, she steps on his privates. It's still in her car, he squeals, the one Dwayne is driving. Sadie asks where she can find Bishop. He's at a place called The Crest, about 20 miles west, a deserted compound with a bunch of stables. Taylor denies knowing anything else, claiming he was merely instructed by Bishop to go to the bar and bring back anyone who came in asking for him. He was hoping only to meet some cute goth chicks at the party tomorrow night. Sadie leaves Taylor lying in the street and drives off in his car. Meanwhile, Dwayne has been picked up by the police for stealing Sadie's car. Rawlins shows up and, when he sees the bag with the crossbow, he dismisses the police, claiming he will take responsibility for Dwayne. After the police have driven off, Rawlins slugs Dwayne, knocking him to the ground. Rawlins asks where Dwayne got the car and the crossbow. When Dwayne tells him about Ripley's, Rawlins drives off.On her way back to her motel, Sadie takes a chance to peek in on her mother. Mom is sleeping fitfully, so Sadie strokes her mom's forehead, which seems to ease her bad dreams. Then she continues driving back to her motel. As she is driving about to hop into the bathtub, she gets a call from the bartender at Wonton's Ripley's. He says Bishop just walked into the bar. Sadie puts her clothes back on and heads over to the bar. When she gets there, however, she doesn't find Bishop. Instead, Rawlins is waiting for her. When Sadie starts to head back out the door, Rawlins tosses her bag on the table, telling her he got it out of her car stolen by Dwayne Musgrove. Looking at Rawlins, Sadie remembers seeing his face somewhere. Because she doesn't want to talk, she picks up her bag and leaves. When she is outside, she opens the bag only to find her crossbow and darts have been replaced by wrenches. Back into the bar she goes, but this time Rawlins grabs, cuffs, and pulls a gun on her. Did you kill her? he demands. When Sadie doesn't answer, he forces her into the back seat of his car where Sadie sees her crossbow and a photo of Tricia Rawlins. As Rawlins goes around the car to get in the driver's seat, Sadie slides her cuffed hands to the front and notices a photo of Tricia Rawlins. When Rawlins gets in the car, Sadie tells him she didn't kill Tricia. In fact, it's because of Tricia she's in this mess, she says. I'm after Bishop, she explains. He's the one who killed Tricia same as he did to me. When Rawlins doesn't believe her, Sadie tells him to look at her in the rearview mirror, tells him her name, and reminds him he zipped her into a body bag. Sadie again offers to kill the man who murdered his daughter and asks Rawlins kill her when she is finished. Not able to deal with the situation, Rawlins gets out of the car, leaving Sadie to slide her cuffed hands to the front. When Rawlins gets back into the car and still refuses to help, Sadie puts him in a stranglehold and forces him to give her the keys to the cuffs and then to hand her the crossbow. She then orders him to toss his gun out the window. As Sadie walks away from the car, Rawlins grabs another gun from the glove compartment, jumps out of the car, and orders her to stop. When Sadie keeps going, he fires two shots into her back. Sadie collapses on the ground. As he bends over her body, Sadie suddenly rolls over and points her crossbow at him. That f***in' hurt, she says.Dwayne has made his way back to The Crest. As he stumbles around in the dark stables looking for Taylor, his flashlight shines on some buckets of blood on the floor and a bloody hook hanging from the ceiling. Suddenly, an arm shoots out from the dark and grabs him by the neck. Bishop asks Dwayne to describe the girl Taylor is supposed to be bringing. After Dwayne says he is young, has black hair, and is Asian, Bishop rips out Dwayne's throat.Rawlins has taken Sadie back to her motel room to remove the two slugs from her back. Sadie passes out from the pain. When she comes to, it is late afternoon. She is handcuffed to the bed. She asks Rawlins to uncuff her so she can use the bathroom. When she has finished and Rawlins helps her to get her jeans back on, Sadie reminds him of their deal -- she kills Bishop, then Rawlins kills her. Rawlins agrees. After the sun has set, they scope out The Crest from the road, but there is no evidence of a party going on. Rawlins removes Sadie's cuffs, hands her a gun, and warns her they must stick together. Sadie hands Rawlins a letter to her mother and asks him to mail it when they're done. Together, they walk up the road to The Crest.First, they check out the stables where they find Dwayne's bloody body. A bit further into the stables, the hall splits. Sadie goes down one and Rawlins goes down the other. Rawlins hears some sobbing coming from a stall and finds Tricia in a cage. He unlocks the door and takes his crying daughter into his arms. Just then, Sadie walks up and tells Rawlins to get away from Tricia. She's one of them, Sadie says, and reminds him he saw Tricia's dead body in the dumpster. As Sadie points her crossbow at Tricia, Tricia picks up her father's gun and points it at Rawlins, who is standing between Sadie and Tricia. Rawlins reminds Tricia the is her father. He loves her. Bishop is my father and my brother and my lover, Tricia snarls and shoots Rawlins in the chest. She turns and runs.Sadie runs after Tricia, firing a dart at her, but she misses. Tricia leads her downstairs into a meat locker in which several humans have been strung upside down, their necks slit and their blood dripping into bowls set under them. Tricia fires a shot at Sadie, but misses. Sadie fires another dart at Tricia, this time hitting her in the ankle and forcing her to crawl along on the ground. Sadie asks Tricia to reveal Bishop's whereabouts, but Tricia refuses to say, so Sadie shoots her in the heart with another dart. Just then, Bishop appears. Sadie quickly reloads her crossbow.The trigger jams. Angrily, Sadie tosses the crossbow at Bishop. He easily overpowers her and bashes her head against the wall.When Sadie comes to, she is hanging upside down in the meat locker. Bishop places a bowl underneath her and berates her for not accepting the gift she's been given, the only cost being the lives of a few closet pedophiles and spoiled teenagers. Sadie continues to defy him, so Bishop slices her neck and leaves her to drain. When Sadie begins to think she must be dead, Rawlins suddenly sneaks into the meat locker. The bullet did not hurt him because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, he explains as he lifts her down, wraps her in his coat, and carries her out of the locker and back up the stairs to the stables.Suddenly Bishop reappears. Rawlins puts Sadie down and throws a few punches at Bishop, who does the same. Rawlins fires two shots into Bishop, but he keeps coming. Bishop grabs a strap, loops it around Rawlins' neck, and tries to strangle him. As Bishop and Rawlins struggle, Sadie forces herself to get up. Noticing her dart, the one that missed Tricia, sticking out of the wall, she pulls it out and walks up behind Bishop. You'll never be a true leader, she taunts, because you don't pay attention to the details. Rawlins whips Bishop around, and Sadie plunges the dart into Bishop's heart. Drained of blood and exhausted, Sadie collapses on the floor and reminds Rawlins of his promise. As a half dozen or more policecars with their sirens blaring come up the road, Rawlins reluctantly raises the dart used to kill Bishop and plunges it into Sadie's heart.For the second time, Sadie is zipped into a bodybag and taken to the morgue where her body ends up in a drawer. A few minutes after the morgue attendant has left the room, Sadie kicks open the door. | revenge, cult, gothic, flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt0371606 | Chicken Little | In the small town of Oakey Oaks, Chicken Little causes widespread panic and mayhem when he rings the alarm bell, claiming the sky is falling. He is humiliated in front of his father Buck Cluck and the entire town when, after telling everyone a piece of the sky "shaped like a stop sign" had hit him on the head, he is unable to find it. All the residents assume an acorn must have fallen on him and Chicken Little becomes a laughing stock.
One year later, Chicken Little is still being ridiculed for the incident and is bullied at school by Foxy Loxy and Goosey Loosey. His best friends Abby Mallard, Runt of the Litter, and Fish Out of Water advise him to talk about his feelings with his father, but Little is more concerned with restoring his reputation outright.
During dodge ball, following a bust-up with Foxy and a rough beating by Goosey (on Foxy's orders), his father is called in and Little overhears the school principal Principal Fetchit stating that Buck had been the school baseball star in his youth. Determined to rekindle his relationship with his father, Chicken Little signs onto the baseball team. In the final inning of the big Oakey Oaks pennant game, with all the other players injured, he is called up to bat and manages to hit an inside-the-park home run. Despite some confusion, the umpire ultimately declares the game won; Chicken Little is hailed as a hero for winning the pennant and Foxy is humiliated.
Later that evening, Chicken Little prepares to go to a victory party being thrown for him by Abby, Runt, and Fish, but another "piece of the sky" identical to the one he had been hit by the previous year falls through his bedroom window. Not wanting to bring the matter up with him again, Little hides the sky piece from his father and examines it more closely, discovering it to be a bizarre panel-like device designed to blend in with its surroundings. Realizing that this is why he was unable to find it the first time, Chicken Little immediately calls his best friends over to help figure out what the device is.
While playing around with the panel, Fish presses a button on its underside and it carries him out of Chicken Little's bedroom and into the sky, where it appears to fit into a gap. Disturbed by this, Little, Abby, and Runt immediately give chase and follow Fish to the ball field, where a series of similar panels appear in the sky; revealed to be part of an invisible UFO's camouflage. The three sneak aboard the ship and retrieve Fish, but Runt locates a map of the solar system that seems to indicate Earth is being targeted for an alien invasion. Thinking that the UFO is being used to sneak aliens onto the planet undetected by disguising itself as the sky, the group immediately flees to warn the town, inadvertently releasing a small orange creature from the ship in the process, which follows them.
Two metallic aliens give chase and Chicken Little rings the alarm bell once again to alert the townsfolk. The sound of the bell makes the aliens flee, leaving the orange creature behind in their haste, and the citizens fail to reach the ball field in time to see the UFO taking off. As such, no one believes Chicken Little's claims that aliens are planning to invade, thinking it a repeat of the acorn incident, and he and his father are ridiculed once again. In space, the two aliens send out a distress signal.
The following morning, Chicken Little's best friends try to console him, but he wishes to be left alone in dismay. Soon after, the orange creature, having followed Little home, approaches them and identifies itself as Kirby, the child of the two aliens. The group look up to see the sky apparently cracking open, revealing a vast fleet of cloaked spaceships, which descends on the town. Kirby tells them that his parents, usually peaceful people, think he has been kidnapped and plan to vaporize Earth in retaliation.
Chicken Little, with the evidence he was telling the truth raging above them, tells Buck off for not believing him and heads towards the chaos, with Kirby in tow. Heartbroken, his father follows and the two finally reconcile in the safety of a movie theater. With his father's help, Little evades the rampaging aliens, who have already zapped Foxy and Turkey out of existence, and delivers Kirby to his parents' ship atop the town hall, urging them to stop the invasion.
Kirby's parents beam the two aboard the ship and threaten to kill them for the "kidnapping", but Kirby explains that they had helped him and the aliens release them, restoring Oakey Oaks and its citizens to normal. The parents Melvin and Tina apologize for the misunderstanding, explaining that they visit Earth once a year to pick acorns, renowned in Oakey Oaks as "the best in the universe", and never planned to invade at all, simply wanting to keep hidden to avoid causing panic (the map Runt found was a chart showing that acorns could only be found on Earth, not an attack plan). Tina reveals that one of the panels on their ship's underside is loose; this is what had hit Chicken Little on both occasions. The townsfolk thus realize that Little was right all along as the aliens depart with Kirby.
The film ends with all the characters watching a parody Hollywood version of the events, in which Chicken Little is portrayed as a comically macho action hero named Ace. Chicken Little, his reputation restored, celebrates with his father and friends. | psychedelic, cute, entertaining | train | wikipedia | Whreas most kids can watch films like "Shrek" repeatedly because of the sight gags, talented voice-over performances, and hidden jokes that they might not catch the first time around, "Chicken Little" is likely to be forgotten the moment the credits roll.
"Chicken Little" definitely falls into the "anywhere else" camp, but while it won't siphon away fans from John Lasseter or Nick Park - especially since Disney's delayed its UK release for a few months, the way they did with "Sky High" (but not "Herbie: Fully Loaded," I notice.
More deliberately cartoonish in its look and feel than many recent features, it's also probably a little too sentimental for some tastes - an awful lot of the movie involves our feathered hero wanting not only to redeem himself for the whole "the sky is falling" farrago but also to open up two-way communication with his single dad, with all the Family Issues that implies.
Fortunately it never really swamps the movie, with the family message never overriding the main intent, i.e. to entertain.Unlike the inexplicably hugely successful "Madagascar," it doesn't drag and the voice cast (Zach Braff, Garry Marshall, Joan Cusack, et al) doesn't get in the way of the movie's effect; it relies a little too much on popular culture references and songs for its effect (particularly in the opening - that works in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in live action - and in the case of Runt of the Litter, the show-tune-loving pig voiced by Steve Zahn), but it's a colourful, charming little movie that thankfully ends well before it has a chance to wear out its welcome, and it's nice to have a movie with a message that doesn't try to ram it down your throat.
Perhaps some are only a financial success, like "Treasure Planet", but certainly they were popular enough with one group of moviegoers or another to have a good box office take.Unfortunately, "Chicken Little" is not a success.In pooling my thoughts to review this movie, I am so highly disappointed that good animation is its only high mark.
I wanted this to be the movie that starts another Golden Age revolution, where it is possible that Disney takes the top spot in producing awesome animated movies.I fear that there aren't many good storytellers left at Disney Feature Animation, and there didn't seem to by any present for the making of "Chicken Little".
Instead of solid, premise-building scenes where it's main characters interact well with others (and get the audience laughing along the way), we get a sappy, melodramatic mini-soap with voice actors who don't have a good script...followed immediately by, more times than I'd care to recall, potty humor gags.
Judging by the audience of my screening, made up of at least 40% little kids, only they found that funny.With so many 3D animated movies coming out recently, like "Madagascar", "Robots" and "Valiant", all released this year, many companies are trying to prove their movie-making chops to us movie-goers.
Computer animation is, indeed, not the shoe-in, cure-all solution to a great movie.To boot, "Chicken Little" has a weak soundtrack, composed mainly of songs that were popular at one time or another...to the pre-teen-aged crowd.
I believe said pencil pushers are what made last year's "Home on the Range" fail, critically and financially.All in all, I believe "Chicken Little" is a failure that I define as hot having a good story to match its sweet computer animation.
Next day everyone finds that aliens have come, and mass hysteria unravels.Chicken Little is Disney's first computer animated feature, which seems to taken a long time to have been made.
Sure it had a touch of drag, and it was most definitely a kids flick, but one thing that stood out was that it wasn't infested with fart jokes and potty humour, which is a step above most kids films these days.The CGI was ho-hum, but one thing I liked was the expressiveness which was highlighted by some wonderful voice work by Joan Cusack and Steve Zahn.
I also loved the Adam West cameo at the end.The problem with the film was, as pointed out by a few, that the story was thin and they filled the empty spaces with fun moments, like the Spice Girls karaoke scene which cracked me up.
They ("Polar Express," "Robots," "Cars," "Madagascar," "Barnyard," "Ice Age," etc.) all seem to have the following positive characteristics that I found in this movie:1 - Fabulous colors; 2 - Great artwork; 3 - likable, humorous characters who care about; 4 - excellent jokes, both visually and audibly, many that make adults laugh; 5 - excellent surround sound that is entertaining in itself; and 6 - a nice story without a lot of sexual innuendos and other questionable (for kids) material.
Like the old "Leave It To Beaver" TV show, these animated films also end with a positive message for kids and adults.In fact, I would say that I - as an older adult - have seen more good animated feature films in the past two years than the previous 50 years put together.The main character in this movie, "Chicken Little" (voiced by Zach Braff) has to be one of the cutest little animated figures I've ever seen.
Their big motion pictures these days are simply made-for-TV or straight-to-video material compared to such phenomenal classics like "Fantasia" and "Snow White", or contemporary classics like "The Lion King" and "Mulan".The story revolves around the title character (voiced by Zach Braff), who warns everyone that the sky is falling (a term which means "the world is ending, but in the film it literally is).
One things for sure about Disney, leave computer animated movies to Pixar, not unless they are going to make them they way they did to "Dinosaur".Rating: * out of 5..
With that said, nothing makes me more sad than to see Disney continuously putting out films like Chicken Little.The concept was interesting, the animation phenomenal, but the story was atrocious (not as bad as the Blue Sky offering "Robots," but still not worthy of the Disney name.) Disney used to be the pioneers of the industry, always pushing the competition to do better, as well as pushing themselves.
I still am optimistic for the future, and I think that the films currently in production have a lot of potential, but they will have to raise the bar quite a bit to move beyond Chicken Little.For a more enlightening animation experience, I say that you should save your money and go see the Wallace and Grommit movie instead..
No not me, I like the new films better because they cater to a wider audience, are satiric, and they demand more intelligence from the viewer because archetypes (like heroes, villains) are not as defined.I thought my endless affection for these modern kinds of animation would mean I would enjoy Chicken Little (2005) - but I was clearly wrong, because this is a barely competent Disney film with very few laughs.
Oh, please,what a bad film.I do not believe that this is a Disney film.It is boring,very boring,without any sense.It is not a typical close Disney film,but leftovers which the only thing that surprises the public is the amount of trivialities and stupidities that the characters say.This film does not follow the tradition of Disney like others like " Finding Nemo" or "The Beauty and the Beast",no.This film,to say it of some way,betrays the wonderful Walt Disney and gives a bad image of him.Happening to the characters;they are pathetic and give true pain.Who is going away to think that a dumb,pathetic,tiny chicken with big glasses and fallen trousers is going to be the principal character of an animation film?
in very simple words the worst computer animated movie of all time it was horrible beyond imagination it should be given a rating of R so that no child has to endure the pain of watching this movieonly 3 things happened!!the opening scene, the baseball scene and the alien sceneIt was so pathetic, this as to be Disney's lowest point.
We the buying public must question why we should allow this type of sub standard nonsense to pass for entertainment anymore and why we should let our children be exposed to anything less than imaginative, original story lines and quality film making.Disney, you should be disgusted with yourselves!.
Well, I think it is better for children to watch a nice, charming, simple Disney movie and be talking about it and saying "the sky is falling" rather than having them burping in your face as they do after watching, let's see...
Taking the classic children's story of "Chicken Little" by E.L.Easton and converting it into a visual treat for all ages, the Walt Disneys' studios has laid a golden egg.
I mean I really tried to like Disney's newest animated venture, "Chicken Little," directed by Mark Dindal ("The Little Mermaid," "Oliver & Company"), but the humor was so forced (and lacking) that the whole enterprise smacked of pure desperation.As if they were trying just a bit too hard.And while the computer animation is really well done, the recent releases of "The Corpse Bride" and "Wallace & Grommit" remind one just how artistic and craft-worthy the old ways of stop-action and claymation really are.Everyone knows the nursery rhyme of "Chicken Little," the paranoid clucker who is hit by an acorn and then tries to convince his friends (Cocky Locky, Foxy Loxy, Goosey Lucy, Turkey Lurky, the Ugly Duckling, et al) that the sky is falling and that everyone should run for their lives.In this film, the title character (voiced by Zach Braff - I think Woody Allen would have been a much, much better choice), a resident of Oakey Oaks, is hit by an octagon-shaped thing with clouds on it that he believes is a piece of the sky.
A year later, Little is still treated like a total loser, but he is inventive and resourceful, so he is not completely overwhelmed, even though his best friends are pretty much worthless (except for Ugly Duckling - Joan Cusack).The other two, a huge pig, Runt of the Litter (Steve Zahn) and Fish Out Of Water (Dan Molina)are pointless and lame - the former breaks into several popular songs ("Staying Alive," "Wannabe," "I Will Survive") and eats a lot (yeah, he's a pig, get it?), and the latter, wears a diving helmet filled with water.
Wanting to take the kids (3 and 6) out to a movie, I thought "Chicken Little" would be an innocent foray to the theater.
The thing about recent Disney/Pixar movies was that they were great for children and for the parents.
Most of the animals that inhabit Chicken Little's world are not up to Disney standards, they look like cardboard cutouts, the same size, a few different colors, nothing special.
Amazingly, neither of them were impressed with the trailers either, and so they didn't.But as fate would have it, I received free tickets to a sneak preview, and having nothing to risk except gas and popcorn money, decided to take the kids to see "Chicken Little." In short: I found the movie surprisingly enjoyable, and liked it a little more than the Wallace & Gromit film we saw just a week earlier.As one might expect, the movie "Chicken Little" takes the concept of the "sky is falling" to a whole new level for the 21st century, this time involving aliens from outer space, baseball, and high school nerds.The film is computer animated, but not a Pixar film.
My own children found most of the film rather boring, and only liked the ending.One thing I especially enjoyed is a bit of voice-over work done by none other than Adam West, who is famous for playing Batman on the 60's era TV show by the same name.
How can a Disney animated movie called "Chicken Little" be dominated by frightening alien attack scenes where established characters are vaporized?
How can you make a Disney animated movie called "Chicken Little" and have the central theme be "closure?" For those who haven't seen it, this last question is not a figurative one.
Not bad for grown ups; however, if "Chicken Little" is an example of post-Pixar Disney computer animation then there's trouble for the mighty entertainment monolith.
As with most other Disney movies, chicken little was a very funny and entertaining movie that my kids could watch again and again.
It's not on par with a Pixar film, and I don't see it becoming a classic, but it's a fun watch.ADDITION: As I've been reading the other comments, I've discovered one thing: if you thought Shrek was the height of animated hilarity, please don't watch Chicken Little.
You do everyone a disservice by comparing the two, since Chicken Little is truly a family film (with likable characters and a little intelligence) and Shrek is for those who find 8th-grade bathroom humor funny (or gags that simply make fun of Disney) and don't care about character development..
Both of these themes are expressed throughout the film, which is barely above 80 minutes, perfect for an animated children's movie.I, being 17, felt left out when I watched this because I couldn't stay interested as much as my siblings were.
This is a very funny film, it has some witty moments and is a must for all ages of the family, the producers certainly used their imagination as how school children of all ages act when in school and away from their parents, in one scene when the teacher leaves the classroom for some reason or another what swiftly followed had everyone laughing even my 15 year old was blushing too so it must be true as too what goes on in all schools by today's standards.In comparison to King Kong which is way too long although the special effects are a great treat to watch, Chicken Little is by far a family film worthy to see and long after its over you will be relating to numerous scene after scene, I suppose its only downside and I mean only downside is the film is too short just as your getting into it the film ends, however its a must with anyone with children whatever their age do watch it..
"Chicken Little" is the first computer-animated feature from Disney Studios, after its split from Pixar.
I can appreciate animation movies as stories and not just "kids movies".But Chicken Little sucked.I'm sorry, there's just no other way to describe this movie.
The only time it looked like there was a storyline was the 5-minute film-within-a-film at the very end ("The REAL Chicken Little Story").
Yet another film about talking animals, this story is based on the classic Chicken Little story, but this time, the sky looks like it's actually falling and the little chicken finds himself face-to-face with alien invaders.
They completely disregarded that a Disney movie is supposed to have elements like magic, memorable and inspirational characters, a wonderful music score, songs we would remember or love to sing to, a captivating story, adventure and just good old fun.
When, Chicken Little is telling the animals that "The sky is falling", that time he is very funny.
I don't know who would have come up with the idea of taking a rather bare-bones fairy tale like "Chicken Little" and turning it into a feature length animated movie, but whoever did and then came up with the story deserves credit.
(My official "assistant critic" - my 3 year old daughter - laughed over and over again, and she's often not that interested in kids movies, so I have to judge this a success!) The story - which explains what it is that actually fell from the sky - is fun, funny, full of action and, yes, admittedly quite preposterous.
It is truly unique from the other Disney films because it starts with a little chicken ringing his school bell, wailing that the sky was falling.
The ending was surprising, I had to admit, but there was one lousy fact that the animals just broke out into song whenever the movie writers couldn't cook up anything.In my opinion, Chicken Little is a great movie for kids, but adults might sleep through it.
And, of course, the last and most important issue, the decision Pixar took of becoming and independent company, that leaves Disney trying experiments like "Chicken Little".Experiments determined by an intense focus on the little kids, made with a Computer Animation that leaves a lot to desire after we have been through "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo".
But the sky is actually falling, and the father underestimates the son; and there we have the first plot line that ends the way we know.On other level, I believe that when you do an animated movie and you have non-human characters, you commit and represent their world exactly as it is; however, during the first scene of this film, the main character, who has no ears, is running throughout the city with glasses, and the glasses don't fall off his eyes.The tremendous attempt of making the characters lovable or very interesting is taken with the writing of stupid jokes involving Spice Girls and Barbra Streissand's songs and incredible situations that lead to a whole school laughing of the main character that can't get anything right.
Chicken Little was a fun movie, granted it's no classic sweeping sappingly sweet flick but my kids laughed through the whole thing!
after over 60 years as storytelling leaders in the animation genre, you'd think Disney could come up with something a little more original.Doesn't this story(son and father) and the marketing(do you know...) remind you of Finding Nemo?.
If I were Disney, I would be literally throwing money in Pixar's direction to get them back in the fold after this latest piece of junk.A bit too frightening for little kids, not savvy enough for teens, or adults, this movie can only possibly be enjoyed by the 7-10 year old.
The plot was typical but the characters and the movie was great Disney animation. |
tt0082948 | Private Lessons | Philip "Philly" Fillmore (Eric Brown) is a 15-year-old high school student and the son of a rich businessman in Albuquerque who has left town on an extended trip during summer break, leaving the young man in the passing care of Nicole Mallow (Sylvia Kristel), a sexy French housekeeper, and Lester Lewis (Howard Hesseman), the family's chauffeur.
Philly's character becomes infatuated with Nicole. When she spots him peeping into her room, she tells him to close her door. To Philly's utter shock, she means for him to close her door from the inside and then watch her undress. However, it is too much for him when a topless Nicole asks him to touch her breasts. When he objects, she steps back and instead takes off her panties. Philly panics and leaves.
Later on, he is surprised to find her in his father's bathtub. Once again to his amazement, she asks him to join her. At first he objects, but instead she keeps sweet-talking him until he finally gives in. However, he decides to wear swimming trunks. Once in the bathtub, she spoons and kisses him from behind. When she tries to take off his swimming trunks from behind, he insists that she turn off the lights first. But once she reaches for his private area, he again panics and rushes out. She follows him to apologize, kisses him and directly invites him to sleep with her, the sexual element of which he fails to comprehend at first. After they flirt in a movie theater the following day, he gives in but backs down when she reacts without fondness to the notion of marrying him. One day later, she tells him she guesses they can at least date for a while. After they flirt during their first date in a restaurant, they return home and have sex.
Nicole is revealed as an illegal alien; Lester is using this secret to blackmail her into helping him in a larger blackmail scheme against Philly. Lester intends that Nicole seduce Philly then fake her own death during intercourse. Lester then "helps" the panicked Philly to secretly bury Nicole. Her body later disappears, and a note orders Philly to steal $10,000 from his father to prevent exposure of his role in Nicole's "death".
When Nicole has second thoughts, Lester threatens to also expose her as a child molester. Nicole has truly fallen in love with Philly, and she reveals the truth to him. Philly convinces his tennis coach (Ed Begley, Jr.) to pose as a police detective and intimidate Lester with questions about Nicole's disappearance. Lester panics but is caught with the money before he can flee the country. Nicole and Philly return the money to the safe, but they decide not to expose Lester's treachery. In turn, he reluctantly decides not to expose Nicole's illegal alien status nor her acts of child molestation knowing that Philly could easily expose his attempted embezzlement scheme to his father and the police, and as a result, he keeps his job.
Nicole fears that Philly's father will eventually discover their affair, and decides to leave. Before she does, she and Philly have intercourse one last time. Summer Vacation ends and Philly returns to high school, thanks his teacher for advising him to pursue girls whose age is more appropriate for him, and successfully asks her out to dinner. | romantic | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0456554 | Grandma's Boy | Grandma's Boy follows a 35-year-old video game tester, Alex (Covert). The movie starts with Alex and his roommate playing video games together, when their landlord (Schneider) informs them that they are being thrown out for rent delinquency, which turns out to be because of the roommates penchant for Filipino hookers.After trying to crash with his friend/weed-dealer Dante (Dante), Alex is offered a place to stay by his Grandmother Lilly (Roberts). He politely turns it down, and goes to stay with his friend/co-worker Jeff (Swardson). But after being caught masturbating by (and ejaculating on) Jeff's mother, Alex winds up spending the night at the office.Alex is woken up by Samantha (Cardellini), a consultant hired to help with game development. While Alex demonstrates his gaming prowess with some of the younger employees, Samantha has a meeting with the company owner, new-age nut Mr. Cheezle (Nealon), and meets the story's antagonist, game design prodigy JP (Moore).Alex is soon humbled into accepting his Grandma's offer of a room, and meets her roommates, over-sexed Grace (Jones) and over-medicated Bea (Knight). The ladies soon have Alex doing odd-jobs and chores around the house which leaves him exhausted, and subsequently begins to affect his job performance. Alex's co-workers Jeff, Barry (Hill), and Kane (Yu) prove to be no help, and Alex is forced to think of a plan. An acquisition of a black-box backfires on him, as the ladies become infatuated with Antiques Roadshow, and don't allow Alex access to the TV, which he needs to finish his work.Alex figures out a way around this. He offers the ladies tickets to the show, and gets them to go to bed early. After a motivational joint, Alex manages to finish his job. The next day, after a meeting, Alex, Samantha, Jeff, Barry, and Kane all go out to celebrate. After a run-in with a new-age restaurant and waiter Shiloh (Spade), the crew ends up at Alex's Grandmother's house, where they find the ladies laughing hysterically as they watch Spanish television. They soon realize why; Grandma Lilly and her roommates drank tea made of Alex's marijuana.After getting more weed from Dante, a huge amount of people start showing up at the house, and a major party breaks out. The next day, Alex and Samantha affirm their feelings for each other. This is much to the chagrin of JP, who had been pathetically trying to woo Samantha. JP has a breakdown, and winds up at Alex's grandmother's house to talk to him. JP discovers a game that Alex had been developing himself, and is threatened by how well it has been made. JP offers to give Alex notes on it, but instead steals the game and presents it at a meeting the next day as his own.Alex is infuriated, and after accusing JP of the theft, he is asked to prove his accusations, but because he had been making the game in secret, he can not prove ownership. Incensed at the idea of apologizing to JP, Alex quits his job and leaves. He heads over to Dante's house, and orders him to roll a joint containing several different kinds of super-potent weed. Dante gladly agrees, and they begin to smoke it. In an effort to find the truth, Samantha visits Lilly and inquires about Alex. Lilly doesn't know where he is, but offers to help after she hears about the game. As it turns out, Lilly is the only other person who knows about Alex's game.Everyone is now in Mr. Cheezle's office. The plan to prove Alex's ownership of the game is this: Lilly will challenge JP at the game. JP at first scoffs at the idea of playing an elderly lady, which prompts Lilly to accept the challenge. After nearly losing the battle, Lilly hits a special code which makes her character utterly destroy JP's character. Mr. Cheezle apologizes to Alex, and offers him his job back.The movie ends with a party at Dante's house to celebrate the release of Alex's game. | cult, adult comedy, prank | train | imdb | null |
tt0068458 | Death Line | Gary Sherman's Death Line is one of those little-seen, long-forgotten 1970s horror films that's still championed by its core of fans. When the film was shown as part of a horror series at Lincoln Center in 2002, director Guillermo Del Toro (The Devil's Backbone) pronounced it one of his all-time favorites. In the film, Patricia (Sharon Gurney) and her American boyfriend, Alex (David Ladd, son of actor/producer Alan Ladd), find an important government official apparently unconscious on the stairs of a London Underground station. By the time they locate a cop to investigate, the body is gone. The sarcastically cynical Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence) and his right-hand man, Rogers (Norman Rossington), take on the case. The culprit turns out to be a deranged man (Hugh Armstrong), the descendent of tunnel workers who were trapped in a cave-in and abandoned by the government at the turn of the century. "The Man" lives in the abandoned tunnel with his mate, "the Woman" (June Turner), and ventures into the Underground proper only to find hapless human victims and bring them back to their decrepit lair for food. When his mate dies, the Man goes in search of another. Put-off by Alex's lack of compassion, Patricia splits up with him, venturing into a train station alone, and before long, she finds herself in the underground hellhole. Christopher Lee makes a cameo appearance as an officious, meddlesome MI5. Much to Sherman's chagrin, his film was re-edited by the producers and released to American grind houses under the title Raw Meat. It was shown in Britain in its original form, under its original title. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi | tragedy, cult, murder | train | imdb | DEATH LINE (USA: Raw Meat) Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: MonoTrapped by falling masonry during construction of the London Underground, a group of Victorian workers survive in the bowels of the earth for more than a century, breeding amongst themselves and cannibalizing the dead.
A hundred years after their ordeal began, the last remaining descendant (Hugh Armstrong) finds his way back to the surface and begins to abduct people from station platforms in a desperate bid for food and companionship...With its unique premise and uncompromising attention to grisly detail, Gary Sherman's directorial feature debut has gained something of a cult reputation over the years, and not without good reason.
Dominated by Donald Pleasence's central performance as a cynical copper who treats everyone - innocent and guilty alike - with equal contempt, the film strikes a precarious balance between eccentricity and horror, reaching its emotional highpoint during scenes depicting Armstrong's ghoulish underground 'home', strewn with rotting corpses.
Art direction (by Denis Gordon-Orr) and cinematography (by veteran Alex Thomson) are uniformly excellent, generating a vivid illusion of ancient decay, and the production benefits from atmospheric location work in abandoned train stations dating back to the Victorian era.Juvenile leads David Ladd and Sharon Gurney are a dreary pair, and they're completely overshadowed by Pleasence's crowd-pleasing theatrics, but the film survives by virtue of its distinctive plot line and extraordinary setting, and there's at least ONE good scare that will lift viewers right out of their seats!
Raw Meat also titled Subhumans is a classic horror movie about terrible happenings occur at London underground.
And , of course, a brief intervention by the great Christopher Lee in a suspect role as a meddlesome MI5 agent .The movie has an acceptable production design plenty of decrepit lairs, dark tunnels , eerie skeletons and excellent make-up with crusted , bruised faces .
American director Gary Sherman somehow manages to capture the sight and sounds of '70s England, including a career-best performance by Donald Pleasence (as usual, playing a goodie rather than a baddie, despite popular opinion).Death Line somehow combines immense pathos, gruesome visceral horror, Carry On-style humour and claustrophobic terror into one package.
While the perpetrators are indeed hideous, they are simply trying to survive; meanwhile, '70s London goes on about them as if they didn't exist.Christopher Lee's cameo is pointless, clearly a marketing exercise; it's Pleasence and co-star Norman Rossington who carry the film, grounding this plausible yet outrageous tale in reality.
Police inspector Donald Pleasence (having a LOT of fun with his role) wants to catch him--a young Britsh couple (Sharon Gunrey, David Ladd) try to help until she gets kidnapped by the cannibal...Very low budget, rarely shown horror film.
Christopher Lee has a fun cameo in it and Donald Pleasance just seems to love pulling his leg in that scene.Thankfully, DEATH LINE has been restored and fully uncut released on DVD (as RAW MEAT in the US).
Bankruptcy forced the digging company to abandon the supposedly dead bodies, although some postulated that with pockets of air and enough water, survivors might be alright, as long as they ate each other when the food ran out - the film is also known as Raw Meat in the US.It is, however, in this difference that Death Line finds its most idiosyncratic strength.
Too bad that the movie also decided to throw in some other less interesting characters, also played by some definite less capable actors.Not the best example of British horror from the '70's but the genre fans will probably still be able to enjoy it.5/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
The chief police inspector on the case, Calhoun (Donald Pleasence), realizes that he has his hands full, but vows to stick it out, despite the matter now being more in the domain of MI5.This marked the debut fictional theatrical feature for the young American director Gary Sherman, who also came up with the story; he went on to direct such nifty 1980s pictures as "Dead & Buried" and "Vice Squad".
By now, the once-wholly original plot line behind MEAT has been referenced in Gawd-knows how many flicks, from MIMIC to CREEP (which I haven't yet seen) to Clive Barker's short- and-sweet nightmare inducer THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, (which FINALLY made it to the big screen this year.)Things start off as they do in most good horror movies of the period: simply and a little sleazily.
(Fookin' shame, that.)But for such a low budget, Sherman and co-writer Ceri Jones came up with an ingenious plot that allows him to make great use of some of the creepiest settings used in any of the horror films of that time period, and the way the main characters are presented is both unbelievably grotesque and at times even heartbreaking...(I wish I could say why, but I can't, DAMN IT!!!)All I can say is that MEAT can't be recommended highly enough to anybody out there who hasn't yet seen it.
The cavernous underground system is exploited brilliantly for its unsettling potential, and even at a short 84 minutes there's still time for the camera to linger about the darkest nooks and crannies in a couple of creepily extended sequences.The film shows well how society's attitude steadily becomes more callous with each passing year; with the British, according to the American, being behind the U.S. but competing gamely all the time.
I must say different to the "Disappointing 70's horror" review...I strongly disagree to thee point of saying one of the better horrors of the 1970's if not one of the best.I admittedly must start by saying I first encountered "creep" in the cinemas on its initial release and thanks to the ominous setting of Londons underground, i found it to be a thrilling roller-coaster ride,a year or two later i found myself saying differently for the fact i had now seen a film i had been long awaiting to see and that was RAW MEAT (by the title of the region 1 DVD)..Now must keep in mind that this was cannibalism pre-Texas Chainsaw Massacre and therefore has touched on a brutal subject vividly that no other film had at that point.The film features a great mix of shocks and laughs courtesy of Donald Pleasance and Hugh Armstrongs very simple but sympathetic character of THE MAN.
Now when Patricia disappears from the London Underground, now Alex tries to save her from the unknown.Directed by Gary Sherman (Poltergeist 3, Dead and Buried, Wanted:Dead or Alive) made an genuinely disturbing horror film with some good scares and certainly well directed by its first time director.
But "Death Line" also known as "Raw Meat" is a better, if underrated film of the early 1970's.
Lurking in a caved-in and disused tunnel near to the Tube Station is a plague-ravaged cannibal who has remained there since the cave-in years before.Known as Death Line in the UK, this film had completely eluded me until it turned up in the Grindhouse Project.
The set design department should be proud, as everything looks real; the dampness, the stench and the squalor.The horror is not the only factor that makes this a very good film; the script, by Ceri Jones, is full of wit and great subtle touches.
After a construction disaster in 1892 forced successive generations of 'monsters' to live the degraded existence of underground cannibals, the film follows the last surviving male cannibal who survives by abducting passengers from Russell Tube tube station and, er, eating them.But as the film critic Nigel Floyd suggests, 'the film's great achievement is in eliciting sympathy for a creature whose residual capacity for human feeling [tending to his dying wife] is ultimately more moving than horrifying.' The film was also known as 'Raw Meat' (!)..
What we see, are close up 'arty shots' of strip bar entrances, out of focus, heavily blurred, serving as a colourful backdrop to the long intro credit sequence, during which the music loops, and grates after a while.The film takes the viewer to Russell Square underground train station, both outside at night and inside through tunnels, on platforms, abandoned parts filled with huge arches and rubble.
7/10 is about right.Cast performances: Hugh Armstrong, who plays the part of 'The Man' who lives in the London Underground lesser known areas, is rather good at playing what amounts to a caveman like creature that hasn't see light for a while.
I got the impression that the director was told halfway through to stick Christopher in somewhere to add his "star quality" as long as it wasn't any longer than 10 minutes because that's all the budget would allow for.The crumbling state of the London Underground in the 70's is captured for all time including a few bits that are normally hidden from the public and if you ever travelled by tube back then, late at night, you'll know that something just might have been lurking about down there - unfortunately in real life it would have been a lot more scary than this film!.
Gary Sherman's "Death Line" deals with a series of disappearances in the London subways.Short-tempered inspector Donald Pleasence investigates,finding the cannibalistic survivor of a 19th century cave-in noshing on unsuspecting passengers.Norman Rossington is his sidekick and Christopher Lee shows up as a nasty M.I.5 man."Death Line" offers some gruesome images of cannibalized corpses and a healthy dose of blood.The dank charnel-house production design adds chills to what is basically a rather leisurely police procedural and Pleasence is hilarious at times.The most interesting aspect is that "Death Line" was obviously the main source of inspiration for Christopher Smith's successful horror film "Creep".Overall,"Raw Meat" is not as chillingly effective and gruesome as "Dead and Buried",but fans of British horror should give it a look..
This slab of grisly early '70s goodness comes hot off the grill from director Gary Sherman, who would go on to direct "Poltergeist III" and the little-seen "Dead & Buried." The film stars the inimitable Donald Pleasence as an inspector sent into the dark and dank recesses of London's subway system in search of a missing person.
Before C.H.U.D. and other horror films that dealt with terrors that lived in the "underground" there was Death Line (arguably Director Gary Sherman's best film).I saw Death Line (a.k.a. Raw Meat) at a midnight movie (1973) on a double bill with Theater Of Blood, and was floored by the performances of Donald Pleasence and Hugh Armstrong.
There is everything to satisfy any fan of the genre; some great jumps, gore, cannibalism, carnage, humor, great story, great acting, and a nice looking 70's British girl.Death Line (recently featured in Fangoria Issue #221 complete with a lengthy article and full color photos) is by far one of the most overlooked and underrated horror films of the early 1970's.
An oddball little British horror with a fine performance by Donald Pleasance, an intriguing concept, and of course that outrageous tracking shot - the highpoint of the film.Composer of the soundtrack Wil Malone might be of interest to obscure music fans: he was slightly better known as a member of the UK psych band Orange Bicycle, and then as main member of the group Motherlight who released one supreme underground classic unsettling psychedelic lp in 1970.
Death Line is an enjoyable British chiller from 1972 and I taped this when BBC1 screened it during the small hours some years ago.A series of murders that all take place at Russell Square Underground station baffle police.
Eventually, the tea loving inspector leading the case heads down there to investigate these strange happenings.This movie is quite creepy in parts, especially the scenes of Russell Square station deserted.The cast includes Donald Pleasence (Halloween, You Only Live Twice), Christopher Lee (Dracula, The Man with The Golden Gun) who only appears too briefly, Norman Rossington, David Ladd, Clive Swift (Keeping Up Appearances) and James Cussins.
A great example of early 70's British horror, this film tackles some unpleasant deaths centred around Russell Square underground station.
Unfortunately DEATH LINE isn`t a porn film because if it was it`d probably be a lot better acted , written and edited As I`ve said in previous reviews I`m not really a fan of horror films and watching this it`s easy to see why.
I hate reviews that give away the plot, but let's just say the movie was designed to be a chilling, horrific tale of a group of 100+ year-old tunnel workers trapped under the streets of London, forced to turn to Cannibalism for survival, which mysteriously prolongs their lives...sounds good, right?
Raw Meat (1972) ** (out of 4)British horror film about various people going missing in the subway system so an Inspector (Donald Pleasance) starts an investigation, which turns up an interesting myth.
Death Line AKA Raw Meat is quite a unique little film.Others have described the plot etc.
It's one of those horror films that has a nifty premise as its core subject, it's a bit left field and odd, while it toys with the sympathy of its audience, in short it's a cult movie loved and hated in equal measure!I first encountered Death Line (AKA: Raw Meat) in the late 70s and never really got much from it as a youth.
The couple don't know how to leave unwell enough alone and become more involved as police inspector Donald Pleasence (as Calhoun) and sergeant Norman Rossington (as Rogers) uncover a horrific plot
Re-titled "Raw Meat" for American consumption, "Death Line" director Gary Sherman gets off to a good feature film start, with a lot of gore and a some jumpy scenes.
Horror legend Christopher Lee appears briefly.****** Death Line (1972) Gary Sherman ~ Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd, Sharon Gurney.
DEATH LINE is the only cannibal movie I've seen that portrays its "monster" as a poignant, even tragic figure, yet doesn't soft-peddle the violence and ferocity of his need for human "food."Christopher Lee's cameo is sadly very brief; the plot would've benefited from more MI-5 intrigue, a thread that is introduced but abandoned.By the way, if you don't think the idea of someone living under a subway station is "believable" visit New York City some time.
It's a simple film overall, with several flaws that stop it being recognised as truly great horror, but if you want things uncomplicated enough to wash over with you like the lager and cold Chinese take-away, you can do a lot worse that watching DEATH LINE.
"Death Line", or "Raw Meat" which is an equally appropriate title, is an incredibly strange and usual British horror film of the 1970's.
The British horror scene looked pretty moribund when Gary Sherman's Death Line pulled into UK cinemas in 1972.
The British horror scene looked pretty moribund when Gary Sherman's Death Line pulled into UK cinemas in 1972.
RAW MEAT (1973) is an unusual and genuinely disturbing British 70s Savagery/Cannibal Horror film that no true genre lover should miss.
The film by American director Gary Sherman (who is also known for the 80s Horror classic DEAD & BURIED of 1981) is an adaptation of an original story written by Sherman himself, which was allegedly loosely based on the real-life case of the cannibalistic Beane family in 16th century Scotland.Set in contemporary (70s) London, DEATH LINE is about a cannibal fiend who dwells in the Underground tunnel system.
The menacing and truly scary fiend's persona which is something in-between cannibalistic monster, human being and animal is maybe the most disturbing aspect of the movie.The performances are very good, especially the magnificent Donald Pleasence is once again great in the role of the eccentric and overall not very friendly investigating Scotland Yard Inspector.
His role reminded me of the Italian Gore-classic ANTROPOPHAGUS (1980), to which it may or may not have been inspirational; while I love ANTROPHAGUS, DEATH LINE is much more subtle and intellectual in its explanation of the reasons for people turning to Cannibalism.DEATH LINE is a highly disturbing and unsettling film that nobody who likes true Horror should miss.
Legendary Christopher Lee ("The Wicker Man", "Dracula") also has a small role in the film, which was more than likely included for publicity, because his character has no importance in the plot.
I saw this film on DVD, and it's unrated, so of course it's quite gory, it'll please all of those gore-hounds.Overall, "Raw Meat" is a hidden little gem of a horror movie.
I love British horror movies, I'm a huge fan of Donald Pleasance and Christopher Lee (although the latter has nothing but a glorified cameo), but I don't feel this one lived up to its brilliant premise.It starts off very promising, with a great title sequence, the first attack happens quickly and the mood is set within the first ten minutes.
Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence) is interested in the case because of who Manfred was & starts an investigation & discovers that other's have also mysteriously disappeared at the station, unknown to Calhoun an inbred cannibalistic man lives in the Underground tunnels of an uncompleted station & likes to take unsuspecting train passengers & kill them...More widely known as Raw Meat in the US this British production was directed by Gary Sherman & produced by Paul Maslansky who went on to produced the Police Academy series of films & subsequent television show & gets points for being the first horror film to use the dark, grime filled tunnels of the London Underground as it's main setting the likes of Creep (2004) would go on replicate.
Good overall but not great.Death Line manages to really the early 70's London feel, the dirty Underground tunnels with the dripping water a constant motif are used to very good effect.
Christopher Lee makes a small cameo appearance in one scene.Death Line, or Raw Meat, is a good early 70's British horror set on the grimy London Underground that is maybe a little slow, it has some good moments including some good gore & a great tracking shot but there's a lot of padding to sit through to get to them.. |
tt0970472 | Bekushiru: 2077 Nihon sakoku | By the 2060s, robotics technology has advanced to the point that cybernetics have become plausible. World opinion begins to turn against robotics, leading to the U.N. declaring a unilateral ban on further research and development in 2067. Japan, being home to robotics pioneer Daiwa Heavy Industries, the governing body, strongly protests this ban, but is unable to prevent its passage.In protest, Japan withdraws from international politics. All foreigners are deported, and further immigration is prohibited. In addition, the R.A.C.E. network is constructed a series of 270 off-shore installations that cover Japan with an energy field that distorts the entire electromagnetic spectrum, nullifying all communication between Japan and the outside world and making even satellite surveillance impossible. Trade and diplomacy continues, but for all intents and purposes, Japan vanishes from the world scene.Ten years later, the American Navy technology Special Forces unit "SWORD" is lead on the intel of a Japanese informant of a trap set by Daiwa in Colorado. The instigator, Saito, escapes, cut off his own leg to get rid of Vexille Serra, a soldier of SWORD. Analysis of the leg show that it is made of bio-metal. SWORD then begin to suspect that Japan has used the R.A.C.E network to conceal extensive development of banned technologies. They thus embark on an unapproved scheme to infiltrate Japan and determine the distortion frequency of the R.A.C.E. network, enabling SWORD to gather intelligence on the country.Although the agents successfully enter Japan, they are detected by security forces before they can transmit the distortion frequency. Vexille is the sole SWORD agent to evade capture or death, and only her lover Leon survives to be taken to Daiwa's headquarters.Vexille awakens without her powered armor suit to find that Tokyo is now a shanty town ruled by Daiwa. A small resistance movement opposes the company, and uses Vexille's backup transmitter to successfully transmit the distortion frequency. Maria, the head of the resistance and former agent of Bureau Public Security, details the ten years of secrecy while SWORD studies the Japanese archipelago in shocked horror the islands are a wasteland devoid of life.In 2067, an unknown disease struck the Japanese populace, and was countered by an experimental vaccine. In truth, the disease was created by Daiwa and the "vaccine" was merely an excuse for Daiwa to begin mass testing of experimental nanotechnology. Every Japanese citizen was thus converted into a form of synthetic life. And like any experimental technology, there were unforeseen side effects.The conversion is imperfect, ultimately resulting in the infected humans entirely losing their free will and becoming merely lifelike machines. In addition, some of the nanotech went amok, resulting in the "Jags", giant whirling constructs of semisentient metal that prowl the wilderness like metallic sandworms. The Jags have destroyed all of Japan save Tokyo, which is protected by an inedible wall of ceramic.The Resistance plans to draw the Jags along a service bridge to Daiwa's corporate headquarters, which now stands in the middle of Tokyo Bay. Despite a tense moment when she discovers that Maria was once Leon's lover, Vexille volunteers her assistance (and that of her flight-capable armor) in this effort. However, though Vexille and Maria succeed in drawing the Jags to the end of the service bridge, the bridge has been detached from the headquarters, the Jags fall into the sea, and Vexille and Maria are captured.The two rebels are taken to Kisaragi, the master of Daiwa, who boasts that his research is nearly complete. And as he needs more test subjects than just Vexille and Leon, he is going to invade America to get them. Vexille attacks him with a hidden knife, revealing that his blood is still human he has not used the process himself due to its shortcomings. Saito, then strangles him.At this point, the town council forces the ceramic gates open, destroying Tokyo and enabling the Jags to use the primary cargo bridge to enter Daiwa's headquarters. Kisaragi, having somehow survived, shoots Saito and escapes with his research. The underling then releases Vexille and Maria before succumbing to his wounds.Vexille pursues Kisaragi while Maria frees Leon. The lover's reunion is a poignant one, as while he did not abandon her as she always assumed, he has moved on his concern for Vexille is evident. Thus when Vexille prevents Kisaragi's escape in a helicopter, Maria grapples him and smiles as her cybernetic body draws a Jag to devour them both. Vexille and Leon are rescued by a SWORD helicopter just as Daiwa headquarters collapses into the bay, along with every Jag in Japan.As Vexille and Leon are flown from a now completely lifeless Japan, Vexille comments that humanity's spirit can never be taken away. | sci-fi | train | imdb | null |
tt1054606 | The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | Doctor Parnassus' theater troupe, which includes sleight of hand expert Anton, confidant Percy, and Parnassus' daughter Valentina, performs outside a London pub. The troupe's main attraction is a magical "Imaginarium", which offers whoever enters it a choice between difficult self-fulfillment or easy ignorance. After a drunkard is swayed to the latter, Parnassus says he has lost another one to Mr. Nick, a suave personification of the Devil. Mr. Nick reminds Parnassus that in three days Valentina turns 16, and her soul will be his. Hundreds of years ago Mr. Nick tricked Parnassus into gaining immortality, after making a wager similar to his current predicament.
As the troupe crosses a bridge, Anton spies someone hanging beneath it. They rescue the man, who spits out a golden pipe when revived. Claiming to have amnesia, he joins the troupe as a barker. Parnassus becomes despondent over the impending loss of his daughter. Mr. Nick visits Parnassus, revealing the hanging man is a disgraced philanthropist named "Tony". He offers Parnassus a wager: Valentina can stay with whoever wins five souls first.
Tony convinces the troupe to remodel the show into a more modern act. While performing, Tony lures a posh woman into the Imaginarium and follows her, where they enter a pastel-coloured dream-world representing the woman's imagination. The woman's imagination also changes Tony's face; upon discovering this, he dances elegantly with her, and they spy a motel run by Mr. Nick. Tony convinces the woman to take a gondola toward a pyramid alone, winning a soul for Parnassus. Tony falls back out of the Imaginarium, returning his face to normal; the woman exits shortly after and gives the troupe a vast sum of money. When three other women enter, each emerges elated; and thus Parnassus wins three more souls. Four Russian gangsters, to whom Tony owes money, are taken by Mr. Nick when they chase Tony into the Imaginarium. The score becomes four souls apiece.
With the bet nearing its end, Parnassus reveals Valentina's conception to her: after ageing from immortality, Parnassus made a new pact with Mr. Nick to be youthful again, in order to win the heart of a woman he loved. In exchange, any child he fathered would become Mr. Nick's property at age 16. Valentina attempts to run away, but Tony enters the Imaginarium to give his soul to Parnassus; in exchange, Parnassus must teach him the trance that powers the dream world. Valentina returns as he tries to enter the mirror, but Anton blocks them, having discovered that Tony is a fraudulent charity scammer.
Tony fights off Anton, pushes Valentina into the Imaginarium and joins her. Influenced by Valentina's desires, Tony's face changes again, and they float along a beautiful river in a gondola. After an impoverished child disrupts their boat trip, Tony transforms into a philanthropist speaking at a fundraiser. Anton, following the pair into the Imaginarium, appears as an outspoken child and exposes Tony as a fraud. A mob pursues Tony as the landscape disintegrates, causing Anton to fall into a void.
Distraught and angry over her father's bargain and a lifetime of hiding of the truth from her, Valentina gives her soul to Mr. Nick. Disillusioned by the easy victory, Mr. Nick offers Parnassus to trade Valentina for Tony. Chased by the mob, Tony flees to a gallows, but Parnassus confronts him, holding Tony's pipe and a copy. Parnassus challenges Tony to choose which pipe is genuine. He chooses wrongly, inserts the copy in his windpipe, and is hanged. Mr. Nick keeps his word and Valentina is freed, but Parnassus is not told where she is, and is abandoned to wander in the Imaginarium.
Parnassus emerges years later, finding Valentina is married to Anton and they have a daughter. He watches them from outside a restaurant window, but when tempted to join them, he is stopped by Percy. Teaming up once more, Parnassus and Percy sell toy theatre replicas of the Imaginarium and the troupe on a street corner. Mr. Nick invites Parnassus over to him, but Percy puts an end to the temptation. | alternate reality, psychedelic, fantasy, cult, flashback | train | wikipedia | Like so many of Terry Gilliam's films The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus is one that is going to need multiple viewings to truly form an opinion on.
But we don't have that so I'm just looking at what's there.The fact is the film is at it's best when galloping around the fantastical worlds of the Imaginarium, with Ledger's character Tony now played by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.
If you ever watched Tideland, you know Terry Gilliam is capable of works of terrible beauty, often concocted from the ugliest bits life can provide; such is this film.This is Heath Ledger's last film, he died during filming it, but his character is not the main one, just the extra ingredient needed to take all the important ones out of their equilibrium state.
Because of this tragedic death, other actors came to fill up the role, such as Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.And still, the important character, the Faust that can't keep himself from betting with a mischievous devil that isn't even very unfriendly, is Christopher Plummer's, who played marvelously at his age of 81.
Suffering the double whammy of being directed by Terry Gilliam (forever the attracter of on-set misfortune – Don Quixote, anyone?) and the untimely death of its star, Heath Ledger, halfway through shooting, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has had a troubled upbringing.
It's not on par with his work in Brokeback Mountain or The Dark Knight, but seeing how much fun he must have been having, seeing that wily smile, makes it a none the more fitting goodbye to the man.The multi-personas also, despite sounding like classically contrived Gilliam, actually turn out to be the most credible part of the movie; they represent the most fascinating of the film's many mediations on reality (Gilliam is always at best when toying with reality, and this is no exception) - different parallels of the human psyche (or at least Tony's) are all challenged, and make for genuinely thought-provoking stuff.
Better are the moments where a group of "violence-loving" coppers dance about in skirts or in the inebriated ramblings of Doctor Parnassus.Why Gilliam didn't stick to his personal brand of appealing outlandishness is a shame, and a mystery, considering his fine cast of comically-endowed Brits, with glorious thespian Christopher Plummer at its head as the titular Doc. Of all the actors on hand here, Plummer is the one who best excels with the material.
Just before leaving to go and see The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, the latest offering from the perpetually 'unlucky' yet stubbornly visionary Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Time Bandits), I asked a good friend, also a movie buff, if he wanted to come with."No way," he proclaimed.
As an example of the latter, one would think that Gilliam, having famously made the creative decision to bolster the late Heath Ledger's incomplete performance with the work of Johnny Depp, Colin Farrel and Jude Law, might have installed some sort of interesting yet logical plot device allowing that singular character to appear physically different at times.
Simple?), this stuff, when fused with Gilliam's impeccable eye for composition and always fantastic production design will help you forget that the film isn't perfect or logical or accessible.Despite all of the aforementioned flaws in the story (which, understandably, most movie-goers may have a low tolerance for), The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is actually quite brilliant, and contains some of the single best movie moments and ideas seen all year, and by dint of its stellar cast (besides Heath Ledger and friends, the film stars Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits, both in memorable roles), serves as a showcase for some of the best talent working in film at the time of production.
In the stories that Doctor Parnassus tells to his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), to the midget Percy (Verne Troyer), and his assistant Anton (Andrew Garfield), he claims to have more than one thousand years; however, when he felt in love for a mortal, he made a deal with the devil Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) trading his immortality per youth.
Tony and Valentina fall in love for each other and the jealous Anton discovers that his competitor is a liar."The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is another original movie with the surrealistic and imaginary world of Terry Gilliam and last work of Heath Ledger that had to be replaced by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell in the "Imaginarium" to complete the missing scenes.
Undoubtedly it could be better, but considering complicated circumstances under which were whole creation of the movie this is not just concocted story, it's elaborately tailored picture with heart and deep sense.Looks a little bit patchy at first view, I suppose it's related with the death of Heath Ledger who didn't end his performance nevertheless Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell imbue the movie with new shapes and different atmosphere.
This clever adjustment to the script provides three other actors with fill-in roles for Ledger: JOHNNY DEPP, JUDE LAW and COLIN FARRELL.Heath is a complete delight in his role as the mysterious stranger who comes upon the traveling sideshow and has the power to change everything.
So many A list actors (Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, etc.)put together in one place, make this film even more enjoyable.
This movie is a must see for any Terry Gilliam fan, any Heath Ledger fan, and anyone who likes imaginative and bizarre stories..
The 'Imaginarium' itself is a spectacle of fabulous colours, wonderfully bizarre landscapes and alluring visions; each personal to whoever enters through the magical mirror of Dr. Parnassus' mysterious travelling sideshow.On the face of it, this vague idea along with an unparalleled cast sounds like it could be a winning concept for another masterpiece from acclaimed filmmaker Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King, Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), but I think it lacks the substance to make it a winner.
Having said this, credit should be duly given to Gilliam, as the sudden death of Heath Ledger before filming had finished meant that some of the script had to be rewritten and other actors drafted in to complete Ledger's part (Depp, Law and Farrell).The plot is hazy and with so much going on throughout it is very difficult to summarise.
Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law each bring an interesting dynamic to the character, even though they feature only for short spaces of time within the Imaginarium.I would like to watch this film several times more before making my mind up completely as to whether I like it or not; but the main reason that I wouldn't put this amongst Gilliam's best is that it is quite slow-moving in places, where Gilliam seems to have gotten so carried away with his imagination-land that some of the other scenes are lacking focus.
And if you have no idea about Heath Ledger passing away and that whole story, you might even think the movie was planned like that from the get go.It's a crazy world, that Terry shows us, which won't answer many questions at the beginning and will leave with a few at the end.
This might be forgivable for some art-house films, but since this is a big budget movie on which the story depends on the effects (most of half takes place inside the imagination of Dr Parnassus) it makes the movie almost unwatchable.Also the movie lacks any sort of coherence whatsoever.
Hell, the part where a bunch of policemen suddenly started doing a musical routine completely killed it for me.Usually I am a big fan of original movies that are the product of an imaginative director (Pan's Labyrinth, Amelie or the recent Moon), but if you value a gripping story to come with crazy special effects, then steer away from this as far as you can.Watch The Dark Knight instead again to see Heath Ledger at his best..
An interesting tale of a leader traveling theater troupe who, having made a deal with the Devil, takes audience members through a magical mirror to explore their imaginations.'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' which received two nominations at the Academy-Awards this year, will ensure a huge fan following in the coming years.
If Terry Gilliam wanted to show us the old battle between Evil and Good - well why did he add all that indecipherable rubbish to it - including the incomprehensible style of clothing the actors wear or what they do ...well Christopher Plummer with eyeliner and in a kind of Dalailama hat well - that one tops probably all of those incomprehensible and incoherent scenes included...and the way the Devil ( ?
The way he constructs the rules of the Imaginarium world make the story believable, though highly fantastical.The look of the film is very much like Gilliam's other works in the past like Time Bandits, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Brazil, and there are a few things that are straight out of his animations from his Monty Python days.
A Sprawling Disaster from Beginning to End. Director Terry Gilliams' "Doctor Parnassus" is an overly ambitious, sprawling, overly indulgent, excessively long (that is how I felt watching it anyway) film chock full of special effects and I hated practically all of it.
Terry Gilliam, The mind behind the erratic and genius Fear and Loathing Las Vegas and Brazil, had his creative work cut out for him, when one of his stars and backbones passes away suddenly and quietly right in the middle of shooting of his latest film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a unique adventure with good performances from the cast by writer/director Terry Gilliam whose admirable in making this movie thats original and might not be for everyone but I for one thought it was decent.
Colin Farrell and Jude Law have a little more to do and I feel both actors like Depp have done justice to the character Heath had created for the movie.
The film's pace was a little slow at times, some questions are never answered leaving them ambiguous, and the ending isn't quite what I expected but the exceptional performances by the cast (especially Ledger, Plummer, Depp, Law, Waits and Farrell) make up for it's few flaws.
In my humble opinion, there are only a few directors who achieve transforming narrative formulas and technical processes from modern cinema into genuine cinematographic art, reflecting a personal vision which does not simply fit into the commercial requirements from the medium, and which also transcends the simple popular entertainment in order to become into something different, which is on some way more valuable thanks to their intention of affecting our spirit with ideas or feelings expressed through pure narrative.In short, those few directors have the ability of creating dreams they share with the spectator...something which will not be necessarily satisfactory or pleasant for everyone, but which is undoubtedly different to what we are accustomed to experience as passive spectators in the cinema.In the list of those brilliant directors, I could include David Lynch, Guy Maddin and Terry Gilliam.With The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, his most recent film, Gilliam brings us another excellent movie, which, as most of his films, may not be for everyone, but which I personally found to be absolutely fascinating.The story from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is almost incomprehensible, and I understand that the bizarre screenplay and the strange characters will be difficult to assimilate by the casual spectator.However, I was truly hypnotized the whole time I was watching this film, mainly because of its dream-like tone, which reminded me of the strange dreams-hallucinations I had under the effects of the fever due to some debilitating sickness.Besides, the film is saturated of Gilliam's characteristic rampant imagination, from the prosaic juxtaposition of middle-aged and modern elements to the hallucinating drives through imaginary worlds inspired in the psychology from their owners.That unstoppable imagination is also expressed with many special effects, which are well done.Before speaking about the actors, it is obligatory for me to mention the Heath Ledger (1979-2008)'s tragedy, and the effect his unexpected death had during the production of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.Many people will prefer to remember The Dark Knight as Ledger's last performance, but his performance in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is credible, and much subtler than the one of the Joker, because he has to keep his emotions under the surface in here.Needless to say he does it very well, and he shows a lot of conviction as Tony.Due to Ledger's death during the filming, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell worked as his "substitutes", and I have to say their presence was very naturally integrated to the unpredictable screenplay.As for the rest of the cast, the great Christopher Plummer is perfect on his character; that also applies to Tom Waits and Lily Cole.And, finally, Verne Troyer surprised me with his performance, because he shows unexpected emotional levels I would have never imagined due to his slapstick work in the Austin Powers movies or in the TV series Jack of All Trades.In summary, I found The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus to be a fascinating hallucination.Needless to say, I enthusiastically recommend it if you like Gilliam's work; and those people who have not had the pleasure of watching movies like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Twelve Monkeys or The Adventures of Baron Munchausen will find a great introduction to the mind of one of the few honest and audacious contemporary directors who never loose the fidelity to their personal vision..
And the closest answer to that is probably a mind bending fantasy which is not a million miles away, in style, from the Never Ending Story.The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus appears to be about the fortunes of a quirky travelling theatre show, a stage drawn by horses on which the resident actors play fantasy roles to entertain their audiences every night.What emerges quickly though is that through the mirror on the stage, with more than a nod to the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, is a surreal mind-bending reality where the rules of planet earth no longer apply.Add to that the main plot development of Heath Ledger's Tony who joins the crew but appears to have a mysterious past and you have a recipe for an intriguing story.It goes without saying that the star of this tale is literally its imagination - special effects galore create a breathtaking world of surrealism and creative ingenuity, behind that mirror lies a fantastical world.But the performances of Plummer, Ledger, Garfield and Cole (not to mention Troyer and the 3 cameos) are all uniformly excellent with Waits having a whale of a time as a dark foreboding figure lurking in the background who appears to have history with Plummer's Parnassus.Add to this direction which is fast paced, coherent, sharp, and well realised with wonderful cinematography and you have the makings of a very well conceived film.Yes, it is confusing, and in places absolutely mind melting, but it's not made as a date movie or for a bunch of high schoolers.
The imaginarium scenes are very dream-like and I think if terry Gilliam accomplished anything from this film - it is surely the perfect bizarre atmosphere and feelings of dreams or in other cases, nightmares.Most of the cast is great including the late, great Heath Ledger (though not his best role) as the main character of Tony.
Not sure if this was Terry's intention but then again - the whole film changed drastically after the unfortunate demise of Heath Ledger.The rest of the cast were also very good especially Verne Troyer as the fiesty Percy and Christopher Plummer as the title character, Doctor Parnassus.But the real star of the show who completely owned every scene he was in, has to be Tom Waits as The devil.
Heath Ledger's final film is as wildly imaginative as you'd expect from the mind of Terry Gilliam.
And when two people enter, their imaginations overlap, causing chaos and pandemonium.Ledger died unexpectedly during the filming of this movie, of course, and his death left director Terry Gilliam with a decision to make.
This outing is not up to the previous adventures despite the last role for Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell standing in for Ledger, who died during filming.Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) heads a rolling side-show act in modern London where audience members can pass through a mirrored portal and change their visage and lives.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2:02, PG-13) — Fantasy: Supernatural, 2nd string, original, OSIT cynicsThis movie will inevitably be known as Heath Ledger's last rather than as Terry Gilliam's most recent.
How great is to go to Cinema...A part of mine still wants to see the magic, the wonder, as children want to have it...One of the greatest strength of the film, that Terry Gilliam forgets to be Terry Gilliam, or better to say, he has changed, and well, he created something magical...All the cast is great, no slowing downs, no pointless twists, or boring parts, well-written characters, believable situations, high-talented actors and actresses.The other, very fortunate thing, that the story is as eternal as the duel between the Goods and the others...Heath Ledger is extremely good, Christopher Plummer is I think in his best, Lily Cole is a great surprise, Andrew Garfield and Tom Waits are also, among the tops.
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is directed by Terry Gilliam and if anyone is aware of his work they should know the kind of film to expect.
Overall i thought it was quite a good film, but it has its flaws; one or two main characters (Anton, Tony, Valentina) lack the right amount of depth to make you really care about what happens to them, although i often feel this way about the characters in Gilliam's movies; perhaps its simply because he does stories and visuals better than he does people. |
tt0292506 | The Recruit | James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is constantly looking for information about his father, who presumably had gone missing when Clayton was quite young. While at MIT, Clayton helped to develop a computer program called Sp@rtacus, which turns computer terminals to which it is networked into its slave. The program impresses a grad recruiter for Dell at a career fair, and it appears that Clayton's future is on track.Later that night, Clayton meets Walter Burke (Al Pacino), who he had previously noticed hanging around at the career fair. The two begin talking, during which time Burke reveals that he is a CIA recruiter. Clayton, however, is not interested and Burke walks away, casually revealing to James a familiarity with his father. Clayton becomes intrigued and decides to attend the interview and selection process for the CIA's clandestine service.Upon arriving at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Clayton takes part in numerous assessments including psychometric, numerical reasoning, psychological, psychoanalytical, aptitude, as well as a polygraph test. During the testing he meets fellow recruit Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan). Having been apparently successful in the selection process, he and the other successful candidates, including Moore, are driven by bus to the CIA training facility, The Farm, where Burke then briefs the candidates on the training regimen and various issues of espionage.Clayton and the other candidates then begin their training in covert ops and intelligence gathering. Throughout the various stages of the training, the instructors become increasingly impressed by Clayton's natural ability in the "black arts" of espionage such as weapons, classroom exercises, and his ingenuity and fast thinking when he manages to escape from a botched training drill by dramatically jumping through a glass window.One night, Burke takes the recruits present (all males) to a nearby bar to conduct a training exercise with one simple objective: to pick up a girl. Clayton appears to do exceedingly well at first, until he spots Moore, alone at a table, apparently quite inebriated. He abandons the girl to whom he was talking and learns from Moore that she was dropped from the program. Clayton offers to call a cab for her as an act of sympathy, but Moore manages to draw him outside where, upon reaching the parking lot with her, Clayton learns that she had a training mission of her own: to prevent him from completing his mission.In another test, Clayton and Moore are paired up for a training exercise in counter-surveillance. During this exercise, the two recruits are kidnapped by men apparently from a foreign intelligence service. Clayton is interrogated for several days in a dungeon-like cell and tortured. He is asked to give up the names of his instructors, but he holds out until one of his interrogators provides evidence that his defiance is contributing not only to his suffering, but also to that of Moore. He yells out Burke's name and suddenly the rear wall of the cell rises up revealing that Burke, Moore, and the other recruits sitting in the lecture theater had witnessed the entire event.Clayton is informed that he has been cut from the program, and he stays in a motel, getting drunk. To Clayton's surprise, Burke arrives in the morning to tell him that he feigned cutting Clayton from the program in order to appoint him as a non-official cover operative. Burke tells Clayton that he was paired with Moore in order to spy on her, as the CIA has evidence that she is a mole for a foreign intelligence service recruited to extract a top secret new computer virus from the CIA. Clayton reluctantly agrees to spy on her and re-establishes contact with Moore, pretending to be a low-level CIA data-entry office worker. During this time, they become romantically involved and the tension is apparent when, after making love, Clayton bugs Moore's coat with a listening device.Clayton eventually uncovers proof that Moore is removing the virus from the CIA piece-by-piece using a USB flash drive concealed in the bottom of a thermal coffee mug. He follows her to uncover the identities of her contacts and winds up pursuing one contact through a train station. The identity of the contact is concealed by his hooded jumper until Clayton shoots and kills him in a scuffle. Layla's contact turns out to be another CIA agent who had been a recruit with Clayton and Moore at The Farm. Clayton escapes the scene and confronts Moore with evidence of her treachery, demanding an explanation. She explains that, in fact, she and the now dead agent had been commissioned by the CIA to test the security protocols of the facility by attempting to remove a "fake" virus. By virtue of his familiarity with computer programs, however, Clayton suspects differently and confronts Burke (Pacino) with these contradictions at an abandoned warehouse. Burke, at first, congratulates Clayton on passing his final test. The virus, he says, was not real, nor is the agent dead. Burke invites Clayton to shoot him with a gun he supplied Clayton with, claiming it is only filled with blanks. A tense moment ensues and Burke knocks the gun away, shooting out a car window.Burke chases Clayton through a warehouse, boasting that he organized the scheme in order to sell the virus. He also shatters Clayton's hopes about his father by saying that the story that his father was a CIA agent was only a ruse to trick James into befriending Burke. Clayton agrees to give Burke the laptop containing the completed virus, and shows Burke the screen running his own software program Spartacus, apparently relaying Burke's entire confession back to CIA headquarters. Burke becomes incensed, chasing Clayton outside, where a CIA SWAT team has assembled to track them down. Unknown to Burke (Pacino), however, Clayton's (Farrell's) link to the CIA was a fake. The CIA had no knowledge of Burke's treachery and was there to arrest Clayton. Not knowing this, Burke rails at his unjust treatment by the CIA, and the CIA agents realize that Burke is the traitor. Upon discovering that he himself had foiled his own plan, he commits suicide-by-cop. Afterward, Layla consoles Clayton before he heads back to Langley for debriefing. On the drive to Langley another CIA employee tells Clayton "you were born to do this, it's in your blood", confirming that his father did in fact work for the CIA. | revenge, suspenseful, murder, storytelling | train | imdb | He is the head guy at the CIA training centre, 'the farm,' which Clayton and fellow trainee/love interest Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan) go through.The movie is good enough to watch but is not entirely riveting.
This is quite a fair way into the movie, though.I love Pacino, and was quite interested in whether Farrell could match him after the promise he showed in 'Minority Report.' Well he does.
In "The Recruit" a computer whiz (Farrell) is recruited to be trained as a CIA operative and ends up playing cat and mole inside the agency while keeping the audience wondering who's "cat" and who's "mole".
1st watched 6/28/2003 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Roger Donaldson): Good spy action thriller with passable performances by the leads Farrell, Pacino and Moynahan.
This isn't quite on-the-edge-of-your-seat material but there is a lot of good information given to you about the CIA to almost make it a how-to type of film at least in the first half.
It is about James Clayton (Colin Farrell) who is recruited by CIA spy Walter Burke (Al Pacino).
The real star in 'Minority Report', the best thing in 'Daredevil' and a great performance in 'Phone Booth', and now a good reason to watch 'The Recruit'.'The Recruit' is entertaining, but one plot twist after another, most of them predictable; it is just a little too much..
I'm not saying it is a masterpiece, but this is still a movie with Al Pacino and Colin Farrell.
Both actors and especially Al Pacino are normally good for some decent fun and some good acting and it wasn't any different in this movie.This movie tells us the story of James Clayton (Colin Farrell), a young computer graduate who is recruited by Walter Burke (Al Pacino) to work for the CIA.
But will his training be enough and was Burke right about the fact that this may well be the best agent ever?This movie is perhaps not the most original thriller ever, but it delivers everything that it is asked for.
It won't change your life, but it will be a well spent couple of hours.And it's true the movie could in theory have had a more sophisticated (ambiguous) ending, but there comes a time, after wading through all the trollop on the market, that one just sinks back and decides to enjoy a better movie for all it's worth.And this is such a movie: directed by the capable Roger Donaldson who directed the taut thriller No Way Out and co-authored by a writer on The Natural, this one keeps going at a brisk pace with excellent editing and super soundtrack from Klaus Badelt of POTC1 fame.
You feel for the protagonists and that's an essential ingredient of any good movie.But Pacino: he's great at whatever he does but is he fated to have secondary roles now?
Walter Burke (Al Pacino) is a CIA recruiter and trainer and invites James to join CIA in Langton farm, using as motivation the disappearance of his father in 1990 in Peru.
Although having many clichés, this film is a great thriller, full of plot points, and in the end, a good entertainment.
When computer hacker and barman James Clayton is approached by CIA recruiter Walter Burke he is enticed by offers of information about his father who died in a plane crash, supposedly in the employment of Shell Oil.
It still has clever bits but I found myself more surprised when things turned out to be what they seemed as opposed the twist I was waiting for.Pacino is really good in the lead as he gets to play a mysterious sort of teacher type.
There were so many implausibilities in this film to relate, but I'll stick to one: we are asked to believe it plausible that *elite spies* would believe that someone who graduated "top of his class at MIT", and who clearly has what it takes to earn "200K a year and live a nice life", and who has failed to become a spy would take a *data entry job* at CIA headquarters.Further, the technical aspects of the film are incredibly implausible: why make a techno-thriller when you can't even bluster a realistic maguffin?
All three of the main performers, that is, Al Pacino, Bridget Moynahan and Colin Farrell are merely passable (yes, Pacino does his trademark shouting in the end but this time it's funny, unintentionally).
I really like Al Pacino, and he and the whole cast, really, were good but even Al's ever-cool presence, and decent acting overall is NOT enough to make up for all the painfully horrible things about this movie.
He wants to find out what happened to his father so he goes along with a plot to fish out a mole in the organization.Somewhere in the distant past someone had the the (not so) bright idea that if Al Pacino can play such a Mephistopolean character as Michael Corleone then he can go on playing variations of the devil until the end of his days.
Farrell, whom I genuinely believe to be one of the best young actors in the movies today, does his best but you know his heart isn't in it.Just before this movie, the director, Roger Donaldson, made a great film called "Thirteen Days" about the Cuban Missile Crisis, not to mention "The Bounty" and "No Way Out".
Which is unfortunate since "The Recruit" has an interesting premise, is well acted especially by Colin Farrell and Bridget Moynahan, and maintains suspense throughout.
Colin Farrell is an up and coming star that has done some great work, and I expect to see more out of him in the future.Bridget Moynahan has come a long way and she is also very good in this film.If you like suspense, and want to know more about the inner workings of the CIA, then this film should be in your queue."All I know about the CIA is that they're a bunch of fat, old white guys who fell asleep when we needed them most.".
There are no doubts that this trio started with better intentions, but the finished product doesn't amount to a satisfying movie.Al Pacino, as the recruiter, plays a sly role here.
Bridget Moynahan is Layla, a mysterious recruit who might be working for the wrong side.While the film is very keeps one's imagination going, it demands a more logical ending, or at least something one can feel not being let down by its false resolution..
The ending must have been done, at least, a thousand times before.A couple of things that strikes you while watching the film are that: Pacino is in it strictly for the money.
The CIA must have a new change in tactics regarding their operatives, as they try to draw as much attention to themselves as possible, rather than trying to blend in (Pacino's blind character in Scent of a Woman would have done a better job at being inconspicuous).The Recruit is a crappy film, masquerading as something better with a glossy surface and 1.5 big names.
There is a major inconsistence (which I will not reveal but I commented on it on the message board) and at the end you remain with one question: "why was this movie made?" it does not have a meaning and the plot is so dumb that I found it insulting to intelligence.Also, if you are offended (as I am) by statements like "there is good and evil in this world and we are the good" or "information sometimes is more important than human lives" then don't watch this movie: you'll get angry..
Director Roger Donaldson ("No Way Out" and "Cocktail", among others) does a nice job of capturing CIA training on "the farm", but the movie falls apart at the end with a cheap device to solve the movie..
But Clayton is soon approached by a CIA recruiter named Walter Burke(Al Pacino).
Loved Colin Farrell and "Everything is a test." Whilst the ending was kind of predictable it was still a great film with an outstanding performance by Farrell, and Pacino is always good.
CIA mentor Burke (Pacino) recruits a talented computer marvel, Clayton(Farrell) to CIA, to find the mole in the organization, but where he goes there's a surprise waiting for him!.
I like the upcoming star Colin Farrell and does justice for the movie the recruit.
I don't want to tell what the movie is about but it's very good with lots of twists and plot points.
The plot primarily involves a young CIA recruit who is given an assignment to find a mole in the agency.It has some suspense, some thrilling action scenes, but as stated before, it's really nothing spectacular.7/10.
James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is recruited to become a CIA agent by Walter Burke (Al Pacino).
Colin Farrell stars as the titular character in The Recruit, a young man hopeful to join the CIA.
The cast is solid with Colin Farrell impressing as Clayton and Al Pacino being solid as Burke; Bridget Moynahan also impresses as Layla even if her role is smaller than that of the two leading men.
It's Burke who suspects that she's in fact a spy for the other side-Russia China Iran or maybe North Korea- who's using her position to get important and critical computer information to the nation that she's spying for.***SPOILERS**** Like in most modern spy movie no one knows what's going on and on who's side their on their or working for until the films final moments.
Bridget Moynahan also turns in a good performance as a potential love interest for Farrell's character.Thus, I highly recommend "The Recruit" to any and all fans of action/thrillers.
My other issue is that Al Pacino's character is very poorly written, I get that he is suppose to be a mysterious man, but we never end up really finding anything out about him, he gives Farrell certain pieces of information about his past, but it is then suggested later on that everything he said could have been a lie, I found this very frustrating and I think that since he was such a blank canvas that Pacino dosen't get to deliver the performance we know he can give, this certainly isn't another Scent of a Woman, that's for sure.
Bridget Moynahan is first-rate, matching up-to Pacino & Farrell at every step.On the wholes, 'The Recruit' works, despite some flaws.
Great leads in Al Pacino & Colin Farrell who spar off well against each other with good chemistry.The story follows a young computer whiz/bartender (Farrell) who is recruited by (Pacino) to join the CIA.
All is not as it seems though and the second half sees Farrell go undercover to expose the mole within, have bit of romance, try to figure out how his dad was involved and again everything is not as you'd expect.I did enjoy this movie, (Colin Farrell helped) however even with all the twists and turns it ended up being quite predictable.
That being said, this is still rather entertaining and an above-average spy thriller thanks to great acting and a strong screenplay.Roger Donaldson's film takes us into the CIA as senior instructor Walter Burke recruits a young MIT computer-programmer named James Clayton to take part in testing to join the CIA.
The young Colin Farrell does a good job in his role as well.Overall, The Recruit is your average spy thriller but it does a good job on setting up the premise.
He's on the game.A young man, James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is targeted as a new CIA recruit by old CIA veteran Walter Burke (Al Pacino), which lures him interested because of his longing to know more about his long lost dad.
Al Pacino is good, Colin Farrell too, so are he rest.
The story is (for a spy movie) believable enough to watch it without making fun of it, which is great.
CIA trainer Walter Burke (Al Pacino) recruits James Douglas Clayton (Colin Farrell).
While training at The Farm, James falls for fellow recruit Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan).This movie is divided in 2.
But like that other amazing Italian-American actor, Robert DeNiro, Pacino has developed the bad habit of acting in substandard films.Which brings me onto 'The Recruit'.
Al Pacino's in it, but we're actually following Colin Farrell, who plays James Clayton.
James is a brilliant young CIA trainee who is asked by his mentor Walter Burke – that's Pacino – to find and stop a mole in the Agency.It's probably a bit harsh of me to say 'The Recruit' is substandard.
Not quite 'In Bruges', but still strong.While the idea of CIA training and top-secret recruiting is exciting, it doesn't quite translate into a great film.
Colin Farrell, Al Pacino and Bridget Moynihan star in "The Recruit," a 2003 film directed by Roger Donaldson.
Farrell plays a young man recruited by the CIA in the person of Pacino; while training at Langley, he gets close to another trainee (Moynihan).
It was like another mass produced Hollywood movie with well known actors Colin Farrel and Al Pacino, but frankly did not see much substance in the film as it seemed too artificial for the most part.
Clayton is then given a special assignment, to root out a suspected mole that has infiltrated the Agency.an era when the country's first line of defense, intelligence, is more important than ever, comes an explosive thriller starring Al Pacino and Colin Farrell that for the first time opens the CIA's infamous closed doors and gives an insider's view into the Agency: how trainees are recruited, how they are prepared for the spy game, and what they learn to survive.
James Clayton (Farrell) might not have the attitude of a typical recruit, but he is one of the smartest graduating seniors in the country - and he's just the person that Walter Burke (Pacino) wants in the Agency.
Al Pacino is great as the supposedly heroic CIA instructor and Colin Farrell does a pretty good job as James Clayton who was recruited by Pacino.
The plot goes pretty good and is thrilling enough to interested people who like thrillers.
The entire first hour is just establishing the characters and the backstory.Hollywood spy movies have become a game of which film can have the most plot twists.
If you're looking for a good spy thriller with intelligent characters, and reasonable plot scenarios, go rent Three Days of the Condor, or even Roger Donaldson's own No Way Out..
A new recruit to the CIA is eventually asked to find the "mole" in the organization and it is that "cat and mouse" game which makes this movie so utterly stupid.
It's enjoyable enough, so long as you don't think about it.James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is a software designer who gets a shot at joining the CIA from veteran recruiter Walter Burke (Al Pacino).
And what about that cute agent, Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan), that James meets at "The Farm" (the name of the CIA training center, which provides the film with it's best scenes)?
To give it credit, it keeps the same low level of tension going right to the end, which is more than you can say for a lot of films.As others of said, this was one bad Al Pacino performance too far for me.
Also Pacino's character is none too subtle shouting about making Farrell a CIA agent in a busy street and making big reveal all speeches at the end of the show, the Number 2 don't-do-rule of film world villains.
Farrell's love interest in the movie is good and their chemistry works on screen, unlike the story..
I am a big Pacino fan and he comes off great in this movie as usual.
The initial idea is good as no other film has really looked at the CIA training process, and it definitely keeps your attention throughout.
The opposite may just be the biggest flaw in the Recruit, a film that gives us half a film about training to become an employee of the CIA when the audience knows that star Collin Farrell will surely pass all of his tests.
Colin Farrell stars as James Clayton, a sort of pre-Mission Impossible Ethan Hunt, who is being Recruited by Walter Burke (Al Pacino) to become a CIA operative.
A good part of the movie is Farrell and his fellow recruits being taught Spy "trade craft" at the CIA "Farm." It's at this point where the movie starts to bounce in several different directions with "everything not what it seems" to the point where it gets hard to care.
And after watching Al Pacino's latest film, The Recruit, you'd also learn that for a CIA trainee, nothing is what it seems.
James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is one of the top prospects in a new crop of CIA recruits.
Clayton is then given a special assignment: to root out a suspected mole that has infiltrated the agency.Though Colin Farrell (Hart's War, Minority Report) is the lead character in this spy drama, Pacino clearly receives top billing on this film, and it shows.
If you love spy films and action, this movie's definitely for you.
This film has all the criteria I look for in a good movie: good acting, well-paced action, and an interesting plot with a few twists added to keep you guessing.
But is he recruiting or manipulating the new guy?Pacino dominates the film like the excellent actor that he is.
He is both forceful and suggestive, which when one thinks about it, are the perfect character traits of a successful agent.Colin Farrell plays the young recruit being mentored by Pacino, and he hands in a very good performance.
He's not the star of this movie despite top billing, but he does seem destined for stardom.Bridget Moynahan plays Farrell's love interest at the Farm, the place where agents are trained.
"The Recruit" is O.K. entertainment, but the CIA theme seems a little over used, and if you've seen or read enough spy novel stuff, you may find yourself out guessing the plot. |
tt0090917 | Deadly Friend | In a parking lot, a thief tries to steal from a Volkswagen van but a robot named BB (voiced by Charles Fleischer) stops him. BB lets go of the thief, who is dazed. Paul Conway (Matthew Laborteaux) and his mother Jeannie (Anne Twomey) return from shopping and drive away in the van. Paul is the owner of BB, which he built. They arrive at their new house in the town of Welling Proper the next day.Paul soon become friends with newspaper delivery boy Tom Toomey (Michael Sharrett). Paul has a university scholarship due to his vast intelligence and interests in neurology and artificial intelligence. As they move in, BB's batteries run low. The robot, which occasionally shows signs of autonomy, plugs himself into an electrical socket to charge up. At the university, Paul, Jeannie, and BB meet Paul's professor, Dr. Johanson, who gives them a tour of Paul's new laboratory.A few days later, Paul and BB are cleaning the yard. Paul meets his next-door neighbor, Samantha Pringle (Kristy Swanson). Paul notices some bruises on her arm but Samantha tries to hide them. Sam's abusive, alcoholic father, Harry (Richard Marcus), soon comes outside and stares at her menacingly. Samantha is frightened and returns to her father. That night, Samantha visits Paul and Jeannie. Her father soon drags Samantha home and beats her.
Tom helps Paul teach BB to deliver newspapers. They stop at the house of reclusive harridan Elvira Parker (Anne Ramsey), who threatens the boys with a loaded shotgun and expresses dislike for BB. The three walk away. Tom reveals that his father is a security guard at the university hospital. Walking further, they encounter a motorcycle gang. The gang insults Tom and they push Paul into a garbage bin. BB grabs the gang leader's crotch. The gang rides away, with the leader vowing revenge.Paul, Samantha, Tom, and BB develop a close friendship. One day, they play basketball in the neighborhood. BB accidentally tosses the ball onto Elvira's porch. She stomps out of her house and takes the ball, refusing to give it back. BB's eyes freeze on Elvira as if he will never forget the insult.On Halloween night, Samantha comes over with a bloody nose and asks for ice. Paul and Jeannie believe that her father is abusing her. Samantha goes out with Paul, Tom, and BB. Tom decides to pull a prank on Elvira. BB unlocks her gate and Samantha rings her doorbell. Alarms go off and they hide in the shrubbery. Elvira finds BB standing near her porch and shoots the robot. Paul is devastated by the loss of his friend, while Tom blames himself for suggesting the stunt.On Thanksgiving Day, Paul and Jeannie eat dinner with Samantha. Afterwards, Paul and Samantha share their first kiss. Samantha returns home late at night, outraging her father, who punches her in the face and pushes her down the stairs, causing her to be rushed to the hospital. Samantha is left brain-dead. Dr. Johanson tells Paul that she will be put on life support for 24 hours and then the plug will be pulled. Paul remembers how BB's microchip links artificial intelligence with the human brain, and runs to Tom's house. With an idea in mind, he asks him for his father's keys to the hospital to sneak into Samantha's room and bring her back to life when the plug is pulled. They get the keys, and enter the hospital as Tom deactivates hospital power from the basement, Dr. Johanson pulls the plug on Samantha. When the hospital goes dark, Paul enters Samantha's room and drags her to his lab. Paul's inserts the microchip into Samantha's brain and brandishes his remote control, attempting to activate Samantha. Samantha's foot moves, causing Tom to faint. Paul takes Samantha to the shed at his house and activates Samantha. She opens her eyes mechanically and starts to breathe, with her hands in the position of BB's pincers as Paul teaches her to sit up.The police arrive at Samantha's home and inform Harry that her body has disappeared. In the middle of the night, Paul finds Samantha staring at the window, looking at her father. Paul deactivates her. The next morning, Paul awakens and sees that Samantha is gone. He searches for her in the street, but there is no sign of her. Samantha is at her house, avenging herself on her father. Harry finds the cellar door open and goes downstairs. Samantha yanks her father off his feet and drags him to the furnace. She kills him by snapping his neck. Paul finds her in the cellar and sees her father's head burning. Horrified, he hides the corpse in a pile of coal. He goes home with Samantha and locks her in his bedroom.That night, Samantha breaks free again. This time, she avenges herself upon Elvira for shooting BB. Elvira calls the police, but they hang up on her. A basketball bounces ominously in her living room indicating that Samantha has broken in. Samantha, now developing super-strength, grabs the basketball and throws it at Elvira, causing her head to explode. Elvira's decapitated body rolls on the floor and runs in circles, spurting blood and gore until it bounces off the door and lays dead on the porch.At Elvira's house, police discover Elvira's corpse and Harry's body. When Tom learns that Samantha is killing people, Paul promises things will change. Tom refuses to budge, and the two fight. Samantha jumps out a window and attacks Tom, believing that he has injured Paul. Paul and Jeannie save Tom, but Samantha runs away. As Paul runs after her, the leader of the biker gang confronts him. As a police car arrives, Samantha throws the biker into the car's windshield. As she runs off, she is confronted by police. She makes her way back to Paul's shed. Paul meets her there and tries to comfort her. He is amazed as he realizes that Samantha is becoming more human, even saying his name tenderly. The police arrive and point at Paul. Samantha yells Paul's name and the police shoot. The bullet hits Samantha, who was defending Paul. She dies in his arms.Later, Paul visits Samantha in the morgue. A malevolent version of BB emerges from Samantha's head, grabbing Paul's neck. Samantha/BB says, "Paul. Come with me, Paul". Off-screen, Paul screams as Samantha/BB crushes his neck.The credits end with BB's name being said over and over again. | comedy, gothic, murder, violence, cult, revenge | train | imdb | Like in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven is able to create characters who you actually give a damn about and that's what makes this silly premise actually work.The film is pretty funny at times and the graphic horror is sure to delight gore hounds.
"Deadly Friend" is one of those horror films that came and went without a trace; but for a die hard horror fanatic like myself, it certainly had it's share of scares, humor, and yes, a surprising human touch.Matthew Laborteaux (a "Little House on the Prairie" alum) plays Paul; an egghead teen with a robot pal named BB.
In the course of the plot, he meets Samantha or "Sam" (Kristy Swanson), an abused, lonely girl who catches the eye of young Paul.
Needlessly killed, by her drunk father, Paul vows to make wrongs right, by implanting BB's superchip into Sam's brain....and that my friends, is where the fun (or nightmares) begin.Sam is confused about her new identity, and is naturally seen as a freak.
DEADLY FRIENDThis Wes Craven effort may seem a little dated in these post-Scream days, but watching it for the first time in years I realised it may have been an overlooked slice of mid-eighties teen-horror cinema.
It's stylistically similar with the lesser cherished of Craven's films, such as Summer of Fear, Deadly Blessing and Chiller, but, like these mentioned titles is worth revisiting.It has the usual Craven touches kids in jeopardy, nightmares within-the-film that throw you off balance and dysfunctional relationships, but the film is basically about an intellectual who reanimates his girlfriend by placing the microchip brain of his home made android into her dead body leading murderous results.
No one can deny the greatness, if extremely absurd, of that exploding head via basketball scene remains.Bride of Frankenstein and Short Circuit combined may not suite a lot of pallets, but as Wes Craven films go Deadly Friend is definitely not half as bad as the critics claimed at the time of it's initial release..
Deadly Friend is a largely unknown film from acclaimed director Wes Craven, who became famous for movies like The Hills Have Eyes and The Last House on the Left.
First of all, the plot is original and interesting - Deadly Friend isn't just another horror film, it's in parts a love story and in others it works as an old-fashioned gripping thriller that would make Hitchcock or De Palma proud of.
She is an excellent young star, and in certain ways, she reminds a lot another great young actress, Reese Witherspoon, she has that quality of delivering true-to-life, real performances, and like Reese she has an innocent beauty.Mathew Laborteaux makes a believable character, Paul is a guy who isn't a bad kid, he just is desperate to help the girl he loves but doesn't know how to deal with the consequences of his acts.The Director: Wes Craven once again hits big time!this is one of his greatest films, but it will be a surprise for his fans because, instead of what they saw in The Hills Have Eyes and in most of Craven's films, Deadly Friend isn't so violent.
Craven's goal here is that he sustains some kind of genuine suspense during the whole film with mastery, something that just Alfred Hitchcok used to do well.The Story: in just one word - OUTSTANDING!this is a different, compelling story, it's a gripping tale that mixes such elements like love and horror, it's an appealing and charming material.If you want to watch something really good, rent this great movie!here you will find suspense, humor, horror and love.
DEADLY FRIEND is directed by Wes Craven, the horror maestro behind films like A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) and the 90's boxoffice hit Scream (1996).
Fortunately DEADLY FRIEND isn't among the worst ones.The film stars Matthew Laborteaux as teenager Paul, who moves to a new town with his mother.
Soon something happens to BB and something happens to Samantha and what our teen genius develops is something we've seen at least in Frank Henenlotter's trash classic Frankenhooker (1990) among many other more or less serious "Frankenstein themed" horror films.DEADLY FRIEND is little like Craven's other late 80's film, Shocker (1989).
In DEADLY FRIEND, the teenagers are pretty natural and realistic and so they're easy to feel sympathy for.Craven has the talent to keep his tongue in cheek while directing these films (just remember the outrageous finale in Shocker!) and that helps a lot.
The outrageousness in DEADLY FRIEND is taken as far as possible in a Warner production like this when the infamous and often heard among horror fans "basketball murder" comes and I must say it feels quite gruesome in an otherwise "lame" and harmless film like this.
The result which comes after Paul's operation on BB and Samantha is very close to that of Henenlotter's Frankenhooker and they both are equally demented!DEADLY FRIEND isn't as great and noteworthy horror comedy as it very well could have been in the hands of this director, but still I prefer this over Shocker, for instance, but this is far away from the masterpieces (Elm Street, Serpent etc.) of the director.
i really liked this movie.i though it was very creepy.it isn't original,borrowing from other movies,some quite heavily.more than anything,this is an 80 take on the Frankenstein tale.and like Frankenstein,this movie is filled with sorrow and tragedy,in the deepest sense.most horror movies are not deep at all,but this one has more depth than most.Wes craven also borrows liberally from his own Nightmare on Elm Street.the acting is pretty good,but Kristy Swanson is brilliant,in my opinion.she steals the show,in all her scenes.even though this movie is not original,i do like the direction they took with it.i think it's well made and compelling,with a main character you really care about and feel great sadness for.this movie is part of the Twisted Terror Collection,and is also contained in the box set of the same name,with five other suspense/horror movies.for me,Deadly friend is an 8/10.
A few people have said that it's an undiscovered treasure, more people have stated that it's possibly Wes Craven's worst movie (haven't they seen "Shocker"?); I simply found it to be an OK, average horror offering that merely helps you kill two hours.
Everyone who knows anything about horror movies knows that Wes Craven is a horror legend because of films like The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream.
Matthew Laborteaux (who people may know as Albert from The Little House on the Prairie) is perfectly cast as Paul Conway, the main character of the film who is a genius and is even friends with an adorable robot named BB.
Her performance was hilarious because she was so mean and her crotchety attitude made for some great and memorable moments.This film starts out as your typical, cheerful '80s movie about the new kid in town and has a light, comedic atmosphere to begin with.
(shotgun thing), I really liked how the sweet, super tender and sexy Kristy Swanson came on board as the main villain.The movie follows the typical over the top slasher formula that deals with inventive death scenes (much in the likes of "A Nightmare On Elm Street") and a graveyard love story.Still, the movie lacked of a dark tone or any mystery.
But will she come back to life normal?"Deadly Friend" is an underrated cult movie from the 80's directed by Wes Craven in the beginning of his successful career.
See, Paul's so intelligent that he bases the brains of his robots on the human mind, so even though B.B. looks like a clunky, cheap, barely-mobile toy from the deepest, darkest part of the 80s, it's highly intelligent.Anyway, Paul gets picked on at school and is pitied only by a pretty girl named Samantha, who decides to be nice to him, just like in real life.
Paul keeps her in his garage because, you know, Samantha's supposed to be dead and everything, but she starts committing acts of revenge against anyone who mistreated Paul, Sam, or the robot itself.Like the other reviews mention, there are only three good things about this movie:* The scene in which robo-Samantha decapitates a mean old woman with a basketball (I'm not a big horror fan, but that was too cool and odd to ignore)*The fact that the role of the mean old woman is played by that mean old woman from Goonies*Keeping in mind the material she had to work with, Kristy Swanson does a good jobI realize I've summarized most of the plot, but I'm not going to give away the ending...
You just have to see it.So yeah, Deadly Friend is a silly movie from a decade that gave us a lot of silly movies, but it's a decent way to kill some time, if only for a few scenes (and laughs).I said there was something horrifying about Deadly Friend, and I wasn't lying, just saving the best for last: the screenplay was written by the same guy who penned the screenplay to JACOB'S LADDER, one of the finest films I have ever seen!.
Now both minds are going to have their personal revenge.Directed by Wes Craven (Scream Trilogy, Music of the Heart, Red Eye) made an entertaining although very flawed horror film.
Well, I'm guessing that Wes Craven saw Star Wars and Re-Animator and thought he'd better make a movie about robots and bringing the dead back to life.
Deadly Friend feels like a kids' movie for most of the way through, and there isn't much horror at all until the central plot 'twist'.
Not one of my favorites (even though it's directed by Wes Craven, and stars Kristy Swanson), but any movie that manages to incorporate a basketball into a death scene, has to have something going for it..
When I first started watching 'Deadly Friend' I knew it was going to be a great film, it really pulled me into the characters and made me feel for them all in different ways - for example I really identified with Paul's character as at the time I was very much a loner.
Wes Craven directed a lot of films in his storied career, and "Deadly Friend" was definitely one of them.
Conceived as a teen coming-of-age story with a sci-fi twist, the film quickly spun out of control when it was decided by the studio that it needed more scenes of graphic violence and surreal dream sequences in the same vein as "Elm Street," culminating in an ending so stupid, it could only have been dreamed up by a braindead studio exec (spoiler alert: it was).Paul (Matthew Laborteaux), a young genius with a penchant for neural science, is the new kid in town.
Together with his single mother (Anne Twomey) and his robot companion (the scene stealing, anti-R2- D2, BB), he adapts quickly to life in his new town, drawing the ire of some really dull bullies, making friends with a spaz (Michael Sharrett) and sparking up a potential romance with the lovely girl next door, (Kristy Swanson).
When one door closes, another opens, and before long, his young love is resurrected and not quite acting herself, lashing out at her abusive father and playing pickup games of basketball that go a little too far (culminating in the most memorable and laugh-out-loud moment of the entire film).Packed with an oddball sense of humor and some pretty gnarly if not somewhat out of place gore effects, "Deadly Friend" is a film any '80s horror fan should see at least once.
Deadly Friend, a Frankenstein inspired tale in which dead teenager Samantha (Kristy Swanson) is brought back to life by the insertion of an artificial intelligence microchip into her brain, must be one of the dumbest movies in Wes Craven's erratic career, but to be fair, it might not be ALL his fault: studio intervention apparently altered Craven's original vision—a twisted love story between Sam and the genius boy next door—by forcing the director to add in extra scenes of gore and pointless dream sequences.The result is a real howler, a film that features a cute Johnny 5 style robot that makes stupid noises, includes one of the most ridiculous horror movie deaths ever (a super-splattery decapitation by basketball), suffers from a truly awful performance from attractive young star Swanson, and closes with the silliest shock ending since
well, since Wes Craven's A Nightmare On Elm Street, actually.
Nope.After Robot BB's brain was implanted in Samantha, I was interested in seeing where this was going but I started losing interest as well.It just was NOT the same anymore.The Elvira kill scene has to be 1 of the worst kill scenes I've ever seen.It was definitely different but stupid & the final end scene has to be 1 of the worst endings I've ever seen.If Deadly Friend was remade then I hope it's Wes Craven directing again & this time, I hope he'll be able to direct it exactly the way he wants.
In this here sci-fi/horror, you got a young genius name Paul (Matthew Laborteaux, "Little House on the Prairie") who have a robot friend named BB.
Wes Craven should be ashamed of himself,because "Deadly Friend" is one of the worst pieces of crap I have ever seen.Words can't describe how god-awful this piece of garbage is!The plot is obnoxious and extremely stupid,the acting is bad and there's no suspense at all.I can't also notice hardly any gore here!In the whole film there's only one scene worthy any recommendation:the sequence where an old woman gets her head splattered with a basketball.Avoid this junk like the plague!.
DEADLY FRIEND is kind of a goofy ABC-After-School-Special-meets-John-Hughes kind of movie, if you filtered it through SHORT CIRCUIT...by way of WESTWORLD.Brainy geek Paul Conway (Matthew Laborteaux, all grown up from hanging out on the prairie with Laura Ingalls Wilder) is the "new kid on the block," with very few friends except for fellow geek Tom Toomey (Michael Sharrett) and the intelligent robot he's built in his spare time, affectionately known as "B.B."That soon changes when he meets the blond beauty next door, Samantha Pringle (Kristy "I was Buffy FIRST!" Swanson), who has eyes for Paul, and bruises from her abusive stepdad.
Perplexing thriller from director Wes Craven begins promisingly--sort of like a '70s Disney movie with an attitude--but the tone of the picture starts to falter right about the time the beaten girl has a nightmare in which she stabs her father and his blood squirts her in the face.
I do respect Craven, but when a teenage boy genius decides to resurrect his neighborhood friend, Kristy Swanson, after she's killed by her abusive father using his knowledge of robotics, the film is amazingly silly.
Deadly Friend should probably be good for fans of cult horror films, and this is nothing like some of Wes Craven's past and present films such as "Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Scream", but it does have a good combination of both the horror classics "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein".
Though there are some memorable moments (though the basketball-murder is absolutely ridiculous, I'll probably remember it for the rest of my life) and some good emotional moments (how did I feel for poor Kristy Swanson.) The BB robot is cute and you really feel sorry for Matthew Laborteaux when it gets destroyed, but all this barely saves the movie.
In a sense, this movie is very much like Stephen King's "Pet Sematary" and sometimes dead IS better...While resurrected, Samantha goes on a killing spree; avenging her death, as well as B.B. the robot's, via the "basketball" scene!
For very long time now i am huge fan of it, and i don't care about all the crap i might get, i'm not gonna change my opinion.I know, this movie has lot of problems with mixed direction and forced horror scenes, but i don't think that it's as bad as some of the Craven's other work like Hills Have Eyes 2.
If all gore was taken out, movie would still be solid horror and with, like they originally wanted, interesting and dark love story.You can actually see that there was more to this film with the romance subplot, and few of those scenes between Paul and Sam after she's been brought back to life are very well done both by director and actors.
Dopey variation on the Frankenstein concept with Laborteaux the young science genius who implants his robot's computer chip into the head of his accidentally killed friend Swanson to bring her back to life.
And Laborteaux gives a decent performance as Paul: I wanted things to go well for him, and when he finds out about Sam's death (just as romance was about to blossom between the two), I could understand his feelings of pain and sorrow.When Sam is revived and becomes a killer, "Deadly Friend" turns into a standard low-budget horror film, with all the usual shocks and gore.
However, the scene where Sam decapitates crazy old Elvira Parker (Anne Ramsey) with a basketball (!) is worth a look."Deadly Friend" is not the perfect horror movie, but it does contain enough heart and humanity to separate it from the rest of the pack..
The film stars Matthew Laborteaux as a young teen who moves into a new neighborhood with his mom and robot friend and meets the young Kristy Swanson, a pretty girl who lives with her physically abusive father.
Precocious electronics whiz kid Paul Conway (a solid and likable performance by Matthew Laborteaux) brings his sweet girlfriend Samantha Pringle (ably played with bubbly charm by the lovely Kristy Swanson) back to life by placing a robot computer chip in her brain after she's killed by her abusive alcoholic father Harry (an effectively creepy turn by Richard Marcus).
The only good acting is by Swanson (LOVE how she acts like the robot when she comes back to life), Michael Sharrett (very funny playing Tom) and Anne Ramsey having a whale of a time. |
tt0463398 | Dancing with the Stars | After one of the closest-ever finals, just one point separates the three remaining couples and it's time to crown a champ -- in two hours. The opening dance brings all the couples back to the floor and we're off and running.The one remaining challenge is that the couples will have to perform one more dance to a song for which they received the music just 24 hours earlier.In a featurette highlighting the top three, Carrie Ann Inaba calls William "a phenomenon" and she says that "every nuance of every move is telling you something." Len calls Katherine "one of the most technically advanced dancers we have ever had on 'Dancing with the Stars.'" Bruno says some of the lines Katherine produces "are so amazing they belong in the Getty museum." The judges all hope Katherine can handle the pressure. Len says "Donald's like a gladiator coming out to do battle." Bruno says what's great about Donald is that he takes the judges' comments and comes back to show improvement.Sherri Shepherd performs with a bunch of dudes, and loves it, to "It's Raining Men."After a video recap of the whole season, we get performances from Martina & Tony and Jack & Anna. Gavin & Karina then take the floor. After more and more filler, Gladys & Tristan perform.Afterward, Jaleel gets a chance to perform a paso doble to the theme from "Shaft," which he says is a longtime dream. Next, Melissa and the Chmerkovskiy Brothers perform their trio dance from earlier in the season. Roshon & Chelsie get their chance to perform a freestyle. This is where Roshon feels like he can shine.Kelly Clarkson stops by to plug her new ABC show "Duets" -- er, perform a song.Maria & Derek reappear to perform their Argentine tango.William & Cheryl: The couple's salsa sends the crowd crazy. Len says that if salsa were an event in the Olympics, he'd get a gold medal. Bruno says "when it comes down to hot, saucy, sexy, spicy salsa, hips don't lie -- nobody does it better than William." Carrie Ann says William has "true star quality" and declares him "The Salsa King." Scores: 10, 10, 10. Total: 30Katherine & Mark: Katherine gets emotional realizing her last dance is coming up, and she sets out to do her jive. Bruno says Katherine has "versatility, great technique" and good range in her performances. Carrie Ann says Katherine is a "brilliant artist," and she thanks Katherine and Mark for setting the bar so high for the rest of the group. Len tells Katherine she is "the complete package." Scores: 10, 10, 10. Total: 30Donald & Peta: Donald is intimidating despite the hot pink pants and pink shoes with heels, and his dancing speaks for itself. Carrie Ann says Donald is the man to beat. Len says Donald is the best "footballer" the show has had -- and that includes champion Emmitt Smith, who is in the crowd. Bruno says Donald truly had the mind of a champion and piqued at the right time. Scores: 10, 10, 10. Total: 30LEADER BOARD:Katherine & Mark: 90William & Cheryl: 89Donald & Peta: 89Gladys Knight performs "The Way We Were" before the final results are read.The couple coming in third place is William & Cheryl.And the winners of "Dancing with the Stars" Season 14 are Donald & Peta. | non fiction | train | imdb | null |
tt0913354 | Armored | Early morning, Ty Hackett (Columbus Short) is getting ready for work. He wakes up his younger brother, Jimmy (Andre Kinney), and tells him to get ready for high school. Ty is a war hero, having earned the Silver Star in Iraq. Both his parents recently died and left him with the mortgage and Jimmy to look out for. Ty is picked up by Mike Cochrane (Matt Dillon), and they carpool to work at the Eagle Shield Armored Truck Co.At work, the security team meets for the morning briefing with Chief Ashcroft (Fred Ward). They get their assignments and Ty, Mike and Baines (Laurence Fishburne) go to a bank. They pick up the money and on the way back, Baines notices a black van following them. The truck stalls in a small underpass and they have no radio reception due to the location. Mike says he smells sugar and they worry that someone has sabotaged the truck as they desperately try to restart it. Ty is in the back with the money and sees a black van speeding towards them. The van stops, and masked men get out and attach an explosive device on the back of the armored truck. Ty is scared and braces for the explosion, which turns out to be just a bottle rocket. Mike and Baines laugh hysterically, and the men remove their hoods: it was Tys final test and now he is a full-fledged guard. The guys go out for drinks to celebrate.While drinking, they tell him a story about a hijacked armored truck in Abilene years ago where they got away with $4 million; the thieves were never caught and the money was never found.At work, Ty asks Ashcroft for extra shifts; he is in jeopardy of losing his house to the bank. Mike tells him that theyll figure out something, and that he is like family to him.While they are driving, Mike talks again about the Abilene heist, and tells him that he thinks it was a fake-that the guards took the money.They go for dinner at a hot dog stand, and local Sheriff Eckehart (Milo Ventimiglia) is there. Mike tells Ty that tomorrow they will probably be carrying $42 million in their truck. Ty asks if he thinks they might get jacked and Mike says yes. He tells him that the other four guys on the team are in, and they are going to jack the entire $42 mil, and pretend they were hijacked. Ty tells him hes crazy and wants no part of it. Mike tells him to sleep on it, and if hes in, to be at the bus stop in the morning. Ty is in shock at the idea of robbing the company and refuses a ride, and runs the whole way home.Once home, Ty is met by a lady who works for Child Protective Services. Jimmy has skipped more school than hes attended, and she is thinking of removing Jimmy from Tys care and putting him in foster care, especially when she hears they may lose the house.The next morning, Mike is at the bus stop and waits for Ty to show up, but he never does. In the locker room, no one speaks, but by showing up without Ty, they know he is out and they are worried about their plan. Suddenly, Ty shows up, and they smile. At their lockers, Ty makes Mike promise that no one will get hurt, because he cant go to jail and leave Jimmy, and that he cant have any more blood on his hands. Mike promises.The two trucks go the bank, and each has three agents: one team is Mike, Baines and Ty, and the other truck has Quinn (Jean Reno), Palmer (Amaury Nolasco), and Dobbs (Skeet Ulrich). The money is divided into the two trucks, while be guarded by heavily armed guards. The two trucks drive off and radio in at the checkpoint. Ashcroft OKs the position and expects them in 51 minutes.The trucks pull into an abandoned steel mill, which is full of old buildings and smokestacks. It is next to electrical transformers and they lose radio contact due to interference. Inside, they park the trucks and unload the money. They put it in duffel bags and then down deep in one of the smokestacks. They see someone outside move past a window, and chase him. It is an old homeless man, and when they chase him up the catwalk, he is shoved and falls. Ty rushes down, and sees he isnt dead, and drags him towards a truck. Baines shoots the homeless man in the back. Ty is furious, and said he could have survived if hed gotten medical care. Mike is angry at Baines for shooting him, but realizes they had no other choice. Ty runs to one of the trucks, and locks himself in. Mike tries to talk Ty into opening the truck doors, but Ty wont and then drives off. Mike takes the other truck and follows him in a high-speed chase through the steel mill. Mike finally gets ahead and rams Tys truck. The trucks crash. Ty turns on the siren, and Mike fumbles with the hood and then pulls out the fuse, turning off the siren.Meanwhile back at the hot dog stand, Sheriff Eckehart hears a faint siren, and goes to investigate.Mike and the gang realize Ty isnt coming out, and they only have 40 minutes left, so they plan to pound the bolts on the hinges of the armored trucks back doors, until they release, and break into Tys truck. They will kill Ty and tell the cops he died a hero trying to stop the hijacking. They begin hitting the thick steel hinges, and they hardly budge. The guys take turns swinging the hammer at the hinges, switching off when they tire.Ty whispers to Dobbs while the others are hitting the hinge, and gets him to help him. Dobbs tries to get the fuse from the other truck to give to Ty, and Baines catches him. He beats up Dobbs and then pours gas all over the engine. Before he lights it, Mike stops him and tells him it is a stupid idea, because if the truck burns, so does the money. Palmer walks with Dobbs and they talk, and Dobbs thinks all is ok, and then Palmer stabs him.Sheriff Eckehart drives around the lot, and loses radio contact. Before he can enter the building and catch them, Mike comes out, and tells him he is the security guard for the property and also the handyman.Ty has an idea, and tries to hook up the siren with parts from other equipment in the truck, so the sheriff will hear it. As the sheriff is about to leave, Tys siren sounds, and Baines shoots the sheriff with his shotgun. Mike drags him inside, and he is bleeding from a shot to the stomach, but alive. While they are distracted with the sheriff and arguing with each other, Ty sneaks out of the truck and lights the stash of stolen money on fire with a flare, and runs back. The guys run to the money, and Ty takes the sheriff to the armored truck and locks him in with himself. He tries to clean the wound and stop the bleeding. Without saying anything, Quinn drives the other truck away, with some sort of plan.While Quinn is gone, Ty has an idea: he sticks dollar bills all over the windows so they cant see in, and then while they are banging in the hinges, he pries the floor panel of the truck open, and sneaks out with the sheriffs radio, to go to the roof and try to get a signal. He does and gets a call out, and turns to find Palmer with a gun on him. Palmer is distressed, and cant justify how wrong things have gone, and instead of shooting Ty, he jumps off the roof, killing himself. Ty sneaks safely back in the truck, and tells the sheriff that help is on the way.Quinn returns with Jimmy, who he has kidnapped. Mike threatens to shoot Jimmy in the head, and so Ty opens the truck doors. They grab Ty and beat him a bit. As Quinn and Baines open the box with all the money in Tys truck, it explodes as he set a trap with flares inside. There is a huge explosion, and the two men are flung from the truck. Mike is, too, but since he wasnt in the truck, he lives. Ty makes Jimmy hide, and then runs. He heads for the sheriffs car, and while trying to start it, is rammed by Mike driving the other armored truck. Ty escapes, and starts running on foot with Mike chasing him in the truck. Ty sees a drop in the road and jumps down, and Mike drives the truck right down into the hole, crashing the truck. Ty walks over, and we see Mike, thrown from the truck take a few breaths, then die. Ty walks away.At the hospital, Ty sees the sheriff through his window, and it appears that he will be OK. Ashcroft walks out, and tells Ty that Sheriff Eckehart explained all that Ty did to save him, and he mentions there might even be a reward. He smiles and leaves. Jimmy exits the ER, with a few bandages on and the two brothers go home. | suspenseful, murder, storytelling, prank | train | imdb | null |
tt0208502 | Tenshi no tamago | Angel's Egg follows the life of an unnamed young girl living alone in an undefined building near an abandoned city. She cares for a large egg which she hides under her dress, protecting it while scavenging the decrepit Neo-Gothic/Art Nouveau cityscape for food, water and bottles. In a prologue, an unnamed soldier-looking boy watches as an orb-shaped vessel, covered with thousands of goddess-like sculptures, descends from the sky. Awakened by the orb's whistles, the girl begins her day of scavenging, but soon crosses paths with the boy on a wide street traveled only by obscure roving tanks. Frightened by the boy, who carries a threatening cross-shaped device over his shoulder, the girl runs off down an alley. When she returns to investigate, the boy has left. She resumes searching for food and glass bottles, avoiding the ominous figures of men clutching harpoons which scatter the cobbled streets.
After a moment of respite to eat her findings, the girl spots the boy and approaches him. He turns and surprisingly produces her egg from underneath his cape; she had abandoned it on the plaza where she was eating. He instructs the girl to "Keep precious things inside you or you will lose them," and returns the egg. When asked what she believes is inside the egg, the girl asserts that she can't tell him. The boy then suggests breaking the egg to find out, which incenses the girl and drives her storming away, only to be diligently pursued by the boy.
Eventually the chase gives way to the pair bonding, as the stoic fishermen figures spring to life and frighten the girl. The fishermen race after enormous shadows of coelacanth-like fish that swim across the surfaces of streets and buildings, lobbing their harpoons at the brick and stone. As the shadows swim away, the girl explains that while the fish are gone, the men persist in hunting. The pair wait out the commotion within a vast, church-like Opera decorated with stained windows of fish.
Leaving the city and heading towards the girl's settlement, the pair stop within a massive structure which appears to be the carcass of a beached leviathan. Noticing an engraving of a tree on a pillar, the boy describes his memory of a similar tree which grew to hold a giant egg containing a sleeping bird - an image shown at the start of the film. When the girl inquires as to what the bird dreams of, the boy flatly asks if the girl still won't tell him what's inside her egg. The pair ascend a staircase arrayed with bottles of water, like those the girl collects, on each step. Adding her newest tribute to the line of bottles, the girl and boy reflect on their amnesia, caused by their long lives, as to their identity and purpose. The boy begins to recount the biblical tale of Noah's Ark, describing the flood, its survivors, and their search for land by awaiting the return of a dove. The tale deviates down a fatalistic turn when the boy claims that the dove never returned to the ark, and thus its passengers forgot why they were sailing, forgot about the civilization drowned below, forgot about the animals that turned into stone and lost all connection with who they were alike the girl and the boy.
The boy pensively asks the girl if they themselves or any of the strange world they live in really exists, or if it is merely a memory like his image of the sleeping bird. The girl suddenly insists that the bird does exist, and leads the boy down corridors of ancient fossils to arrive at a chapel-like alcove. The boy looks on aghast; against the far wall is the fossilized skeleton of an angel. The girl explains her intent to hatch the egg and return it to the "bird" she'd found. The boy solemnly explains this was what he had suspected all along.
Later, the pair warm themselves within the girl's settlement. As the girl drifts off to sleep, she speaks to the creature inside her egg of their future together. Outside, the heavy rain consumes the city and floods the streets. While the girl is turned away from the egg in her sleep, the boy takes it and raises his cross-shaped device high to smash it. After smashing the egg the boy leaves. Awaking the next day, the girl discovers the broken shell of her egg and shrieks out, utterly heartbroken. She starts to run away from her settlement into the woods,past a giant tree holding a huge egg, suddenly throwing herself into a deep ravine. She kisses her reflection on the water before diving into it. Beneath the water, the girl transforms into an adult woman before releasing a final breath, which rises to the surface as a multitude of bobbing eggs.
As the rain suddenly abates, trees holding eggs like those described by the boy are shown to be scattered throughout the landscape. The boy stands on a vast shore, littered with white feathers, as the orb-like vessel rises from underneath the ocean. Among the thousands of statues adorning the orb is a new feature: a figure of the girl, sitting serenely on a throne and caressing the egg in her lap. The screen slowly pans out to reveal that the land of the beach, the forest, and the city is part of a small and lonely island within a vast sea, appearing not unlike the hull of an overturned ship. | psychedelic, avant garde, gothic | train | wikipedia | Director Mamoru Oshii's 1985 film Angel's Egg was a fine example of the themes that would define his movies to come.
Like his later films, Ghost in the Shell, Beautiful Dreamer, Patlabor and Avalon, Angel's Egg is a lush visual landscape filled with beautiful, mystifying (and often stupefying) imagery.
The story involves a young girl who is highly possessive of an oversized egg from which, she believes, will hatch a beautiful bird.
She wanders a dark and empty world clinging to the egg waiting endlessly for the moment to arrive.
The girl is initially afraid of the man but eventually they join forces and wander the bizarre landscape together, pontificating about the world around them until his purpose is made clear.
Filled with an oppressively moody and pensive atmosphere, it is all visual and very little story.
Oshii was wise to end the film early.
(It clocks in at only a little over an hour.) Weather this was for financial reasons or for reasons of plot, it keeps you from becoming bored with the story no matter how thin it may be.
Most viewers will certainly be befuddled by the lack of a definite linear plot, but if you thrive on the philosophical or purely visual experience this film is a must..
Tenshi no Tamago - Angel's Egg - is a very rare type of movie.
Instead the meaning of the story is told in symbolic imagery and left to the viewer to interpret and understand.
Some believe it tells of the director's own loss of faith in religion, and society's blind devotion to belief in mythical and imaginary things.The film's visuals are utterly beautiful, with designs from Yoshitaka Amano, and with Mamoru Oshii's breath-taking direction in full force.
The soundtrack too is sublime, composed by Yoshihiro Kanno and one of only a few he ever composed for movies.Films as meaningful, thoughtful, and beautiful as this should never be missed.
If you value the art form of cinema, then watch Angel's Egg and be amazed.
This masterpiece by Mamoru Oshii (Character designs by the great Yoshitaka Amano) is really one of a kind, thought provoking, artistic almost in a style of Dali and other great artists.
Many (including myself) consider it to be Mamoru Oshii's best film (despite it being his least successful), and it certainly presents some of the images and ideas that would be echoed in many of his later works.That some people suggest to watch it with your own choice in music may seem to suggest that the film's own soundtrack is lacking, but this is not the case.
The haunting soundtrack is perfect for the film, and one of the many things I love about it.
The highly visual nature of the film does lend itself to trying out different music combinations, though (I watched it along side Radiohead's "Kid A", with fascinating results).
While the characters and plot are certainly ambiguous, you will probably (if you're interested in the film) find yourself theorising about what the film is getting at, particularly after multiple viewings.
The fact that Oshii lost his faith in Christianity before making the film certainly offers an interesting perspective from which it can be viewed.How much you enjoy the film will be determined by your personal taste (it's probably a "love it or hate it" film in a similar way to '2001: A Space Odyssey') but few can watch it without at least conceding that it is a unique work of art.
Track this down if think a surreal, moody, atmospheric, thought provoking film will be to your taste (and look for an official widescreen DVD, not a bootleg 4x3 copy, the visuals are worth the extra cost)..
This movie requires more work than most people are willing to put in, and ultimately is a useful tool to gauge one's own film expectations.Where some complain of pace, I was content to listen to the glorious music (as even the characters on screen did) and allow it to tell me the story.Only after I was forced to view a still image for an interminable amount of time, and feel the anger rise up in me as I imagined the creators of the film laughing at me, did I notice that it created the necessary tension for what was the climax of the film.I enjoyed having to pay attention to the details of the film, such as how loud the running water was, and what happened when that volume changed; such as whose perspective was I looking from at a particular moment and why; such as why the image persisted but the sound did not, or vice versa; such as why the floor in the beginning looks like a chess board, and who seemed to win at the end.The less you enjoy thinking about these things, the less you will enjoy this film about shattered innocence, life, death, birth, dreams, causality, and memory..
What it is is the quintessential Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) film, a haunting, ethereal drama more concerned with imagery and mood than with plot or characterization.
A young girl (lavishly designed by animator-turned-fine artist Yoshitaka Amano) wanders the desolate streets of a dark, nightmarish world; her fragile faith rests in the form of a gigantic egg, which she hopes to protect.
This is Oshii at his most obtuse, and even he claims to not know the true meaning of this film.
The film is a pure work of art, however, free from all commercial baggage.
Surreal, sumptuous and stunning anime work..
THE ANGEL'S EGG (1985) is a lovely collaboration by Japanese cinema and anime pioneer Mamoru Oshii (later to direct PATLABOR and GHOST IN THE SHELL) and truly gifted illustrator Yoshitaka Amano (VAMPIRE HUNTER D and FINAL FANTASY).
Oshii's work is reminiscent of David Lynch's in many ways, it's always slow, offbeat and either works (most of his anime films) or doesn't (his cold and artificial live action film AVALON).
THE ANGEL'S EGG is paced very akin to a David Lynch film.
Like ERASERHEAD, it feels like about 10 minutes of plot stretched out to over an hour and while it does share that film's sense of the bizarre, it's effect is less Lynch's dread and more akin to the cold but beautiful tranquility of Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.THE ANGEL'S EGG is amazing barrage of gorgeous visuals that slowly creep up on the screen for one to admire.
It's images of egg-carrying little girls walking across a destitute landscape, strange, orb-shaped machines, ancient skeletons and villagers spearing illusionary fish which they will never catch (perhaps a metaphor for religious fanaticism) are truly lovely.
The animation is beautiful and it translates Amano's visions, of a world not of the past, present or future that looks equal parts medieval and post apocalyptic, the best of any animation rooted in his worlds.
One can choose to see the film for its metaphors, but one is more recommended to simply sit back and enjoy the lovely, painterly images that flash before your eyes.If you are expecting something furiously paced and full of action and violence like many other anime films, you will be let down and the film is not recommended.
It's the closest Japanese animated film to being a true art-house film and is recommended to be approached with that mentality.
Simply sit back for an hour or so and let this film take you to its vivid world.
Highly recommended for lovers of artistic and intelligent animation..
This is an original work of Mamoru Oshii and Yoshitaka Amano who are two very known people.There is nearly no story in this anime, a little girl is guarding a mysterious egg and meet a man who seems to be interested about this egg.
First of all, the drawings are exceptional as they are made by Amano, we are moved by the colors and the atmosphere of this dark world even if we know nearly nothing about it.
Sometimes, you need to think by yourself, as no message is given, it is your duty to create one, to seek what this film means to you.
One more time this is clearly a visual work which drives us to unknown arts territories, I personally see a link with David Lynch's films..
There is this movie, called Tenshi no Tamago which translates to Angel's Egg, and if End of Evangelion is the 2001: A Space Odessy of animé then Angel's Egg is the Eraserhead.
The story is about a little Girl who lives alone in this scary, Gothic and beautiful city.
It seems then end of the world has happened and the girl is living in the ruins of a long dead world.
A Man with a scarred hand and caring a cross-like weapon comes along and offers the Girl is protection.
This is with little doubt one of the best films ever made..
Angel's Egg has haunted me for many days since I saw it, it is a film to adore.
When you watch an animation movie, you know that a huge effort has gone into each frame.
In a live action feature a camera can simply be pointed at a dark pool for a few seconds and you have a take, in Angel's Egg it's much more deliberate, the animator at one point shows several different ways of illustrating the surface movements of the water and its reflections, and when they're doing that they are truly contemplating darkness.
Every part of an animation oozes intention, and it's clear here, it is a film where the substrate is blatantly tattooed rather than absorbent.Angel's Egg tells the story of a small white haired girl who looks to protect a large egg, and a mysterious taller male youth also with white hair who follows her around a bizarre landscape.
Oshii's feelings about heaven seem to be reflected by the gigantic spaceship in the form of an eye festooned with grey statues, an inactive God and his array of crud angels.There is a hunting of fish-like shadows with harpoons, and this seems to me to be to do with the Biblical story of Leviathan, who can't be caught or stopped by humans, a figure of evil or a representation of Satan.
It's a representation of injustice, the imposition of a malevolence against which we are impotent.In a very simple graphic way the young girl is old beyond her years, she has white hair already, and the hiding of the egg underneath her robe mimics pregnancy; she is a very poignant figure.
Like any comment on this film it is hard to know whether your interpretation has anything to do with Oshii's intent..
Version I saw: HD, subtitled Actors: 6/10 Plot/script: 5/10 Photography/visual style: 8/10 Music/score: 6/10 Overall: 6/10 This is an early work from director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell), and it features the collaboration of Yoshitaka Amano.
The emphasis is all on maintaining the melancholic atmosphere, with little attention given to tying the plot together into something that makes sense.With only two characters, and dialogue so sparse that you have to wait 24 minutes for the first true conversation, Angel's Egg is so enigmatic that it is practically impenetrable.
I can see no middle ground on this film, either you're going to love it or you're going to despise it.
Angel's Egg is a very polarizing sort of movie in that it is one of the best examples of an "experimental film" I have ever seen.
Angel's Egg is centered around a young girl who carries a large egg through a Gothic/post- apocalyptic land as she collects water.
This is about as may details about the plot I can give away without introducing my theories on the film.
What makes this movie so different from others of it's caliber is that the entire plot and meaning behind the central conflict is left to your interpretation.
If you aren't prepared to watch this film multiple times then you probably won't like it.
In short, this film was breathtakingly beautiful in a conventional sense while being the best of its kind in a more abstract way.
Never have I seen a film that leaves so little for the audience that has been so meaningful.
Love it or hate it, you cannot deny that Angel's Egg is a journey that everyone should go on..
This is a snail paced film effectively set in the mind of the artist Yoshitaka Amano who did the design work for the film.
Which is a good thing since the story of a wanderer in a land and time far from here, who meets a young girl with some kind of egg, is as slow and monotonous as my description of it.
That would depend on how much you like your form over substance since, as I've said, the visuals are everything in this story.
I could go on theorizing about the meaning of the movie, what the fish symbolize and the film's religious imagery; but instead, I'm going to focus on how this movie made me feel.
It made me feel like a little girl running thorugh a desolate world, carrying a giant egg.
The desolate landscapes are beautifully drawn and the characters (particuraly the little girl) are goergously animated.
These images combined with atmospheric almost psychedelic background Music made this movie an experience you won't find again.
Over all its a very well crafted movie with beautiful pictures (especially for the time the movie was made) atmospheric music and a feeling you won't forget after watching it..
The movie is really heavy in symbolism, it's pretty surreal, and it's meaning is almost 80% up to you.
Angel's Egg is so far the best anime I have ever seen.
With it's stunning animation, heavy symbolism and long scenes the movie has a very surreal, almost religious atmosphere.
This movie is definitely not for the normal mainstream viewer, but if you like a movie that leaves you after the first viewing with a feeling of "what the hell" than you are right here.Besides it is not a "what the hell" movie in regard to it seems to be random stuff but a thought-out piece of art with meaning in every frame.The only thing that bothered me a bit when i started watching was the art-style, especially the faces of the main character are weird.So check it out if you are the type for thought provoking films that you have to watch at least twice..
The ubiquitous story telling is really what makes this movie so cherished and loved by many.
I consider this film the "Manos, The Hands of Fate" of Anime.
Using dark sequences along with mind bending puzzles or clues to this film, Oshii himself said he didn't know what this film was about while he directed it.
A quaint but subtle story about a nameless girl protecting an egg she keeps hidden under her dress while at the same time is introduced accidentally to a military looking man who is also nameless that wields a cross shaped weapon.
Normally one would just escape such an intimidating individual except the girl reluctantly begins to trust him slowly, and shows him some of the oldest, and strangest art she had come across while staying in such a desolate, and Gothic looking city gathering water.For 1985 this movie was well done since it was hand drawn.
Artistically it's a marvel, but the story was quite deep with its existential plot.
One could interpret the girl as being a caretaker of a sort while scavenging for food and water while the solider was someone destined to take her place after his death, which seemed to fit his character.
After he arrived by way of armoured tanks you never see them again.The egg itself is a symbol of life.
she did take care of it since her arrival of who knows when, but as soon as the soldier broke it open the little girl decides to exact vengeance for his actions.
From the silent stands of idols however is the little girl sitting on her own throne holding the egg in diligent manner.All he can do is watch the orb ascend to the heavens helpless, and alone.
This film was quite satisfying as far as the story went.
Maybe that's what the film was trying to say.
I highly recommend this film for two things...
It's not often such an animated film like this comes along but when it does it is so refreshing to watch.
For action lovers this is not a film for you.
For the more intellectual people I say take the time to study this film.
Yoshitaka Amano has to be one of the best animators/artists alongside Keita Amemiya.
Everything is well done in this film, from the animation, the narration by Moon Kang (I've seen only the Korean version of this, but I'll bet there is barely a diffrence between the Japanese and Korean version) and to when the young woman's egg breaks up and the fun begins.But please, if so, watch this version only.
All we know it's about a young girl bringing an egg and meeting a guy but whats more to it?
The drawing of the anime was ok but I wouldn't consider calling this a masterpiece or amazing, I just didn't find it eye-catching and it even made me yawn by just skipping to the end.
I'm pretty disappointed that I didn't enjoy this 1 hour movie enough as much as I would've liked!.
Angel's Egg. A girl, naïve and innocent, blinds herself to care for only the spiritual, a midst a crowd of statues that only hunt for fish, the physical.
A truly beautiful film.
You get sucked into this world, where the end has come, but it also never feels like it was anything before this apocalypse.
The movie is made to make you forget where you were some minutes ago, you feel like the same wandering statue, waiting for a sign of hope. |
tt0120399 | U Turn | Bobby (Sean Penn) is a young drifter driving cross-country in a Ford convertable. He has his left hand bandaged and he is transporting a gym bag full of cash to Los Angeles which he owes. After the opening credits, his car breaks down when the radiator hose bursts. He drives to the outskirts of the nearist town which is Superior, Arizona. He leaves his car with the local simpleton and grease monkey mechanic Darrell (Billy Bob Thornton). Darrell tells Bobby about the broken radiator line and tells him that it will take about three or four hours to fix. Bobby takes the gym bag with the money in it, but leaves a pistol in the car trunk.While wandering around the small town, Bobby meets Grace (Jennifer Lopez) a young, attractive Latina woman coming out of a local hardware store after purchasing drapes. Bobby immediately hits on her and offers to help her carry her drapes to her parked car. They introduce themselves to each other and he tells her about waiting for his car to be fixed. When Grace asks about his bandaged hand, he tells her that he recently had an accident. She offers to take him back to her house where he can have a shower to clean up.While in the shower, it is revealed that the "accident" that happened to his hand was in fact a punishment for the overdue debt - two of his fingers were cut off. After his shower he attempts to seduce Grace, who is cold to his advances. He goes to leave, saying he isn't interested in playing games. The two then kiss, where they are caught by Grace's older husband Jake McKenna (Nick Nolte). Bobby, saying he didn't know she was married, tries to leave but Jake punches him in the face.As Bobby is walking back to town, Jake pulls up beside him and offers him a lift. After a casual conversation about Grace, Jake asks Bobby if he would kill her for a price claiming that he is sick of her games. Bobby laughs this off and asks Jake if he's just trying to "rattle" him.A little later, while Bobby is in a convenience store, the store is held up by two teenage thugs. The robbers take his bag with all his money in it but the shop owner takes out a shotgun and kills them both, unfortunately destroying most of the money in the process which takes a blast from the shotgun. Broke and without the means to even leave the town as he cannot pay the mechanic, Bobby frantically calls nearly everyone he knows trying to get money to fix his car. He even calls the gangster he owes money to asking him for money but the gangster angrily refuses. The gangster now knows where Bobby is and sends someone after him.When Bobby is sitting in a bar drinking a beer, he is approached by Jenny (Claire Danes) a troubled and abused teenage girl who flirts with him. Just then, Toby N. Tucker (Joaquin Phoenix) enters. He is Jenny's aggressive and very possessive boyfriend and a local hoodlum who has nicknamed himself T.N.T. who attempts to provoke a fight with Bobby over Jenny's affections. The fight is stopped in time by the town sheriff Virgil Potter (Powers Boothe). Sheriff Potter is stern to T.N.T. who tells him to stay out of trouble, but he is very unfriendly towards Bobby whom he sees as a stranger in town and the sheriff does not like outsiders. After Bobby truthfully explains about why he is in town, Sheriff Potter orders him to be gone as soon as his car is fixed.Bobby goes back to the mechanic, where he finds that Darrell has done additional work and is asking a higher price. He also busted open the trunk of the car and has taken Bobby's gun. A confrontation breaks out which results in Darrell scratching up the hood of Bobby's car. Darrell says that he will continue working on the car and charging more and more for the work until Bobby has the means to pay him. Darrell refuses to take any payment other then cash.Wondering what to do for money, Bobby remembers the offer Jake made to him earlier in the car. He approaches Jake about the deal, who initially passes the comment off as a joke. Bobby says that he could tell Jake was serious about the offer and that he is serious about taking him up on it. Jake tells him that he would need to take Grace out of town and push her off a cliff in order to make the murder look like a suicide.A dream sequence shows that Bobby couldn't go through with it and ends up having sex with her instead as it cuts back into the real world. Grace cuts the sex short however just before he comes, leading Bobby to call her the "Queen of hot-and-cold". Grace reveals that she is not just Jake's wife; she is also his illegitimate child. Jake sexually abused her from a young age and then married her after her mother died. Her mother was found dead at the bottom of a cliff but her death was ruled a suicide. Grace doesn't believe she killed herself. Her death is eerily similar to how Jake told Bobby to kill Grace. Grace then asks Bobby if he would kill Jake, meaning the two of them could steal his money which Grace would not have access to otherwise. Bobby initially refuses, clearly not trusting Grace.Still broke and aware that the gangsters will send someone to find him, Bobby attempts to buy a ticket out of town in order to escape. Although he doesn't have enough money, the clerk gives him the ticket anyway after he becomes aggressive and hostile. After buying the ticket he sees one of the gangsters driving towards him. However, the Sheriff stops the gangster and arrests him for speeding. Thinking he is safe, Bobby is then attacked by T.N.T. who has been attempting to fight him for most of the film. TNT takes Bobby's ticket, rips it up and eats it, causing Bobby to lose his temper and badly beats him up. Just then, Jenny appears and yells at Bobby to stop beating up her boyfriend (!) Bobby reacts with disbelief as Jenny (having just been beaten and punched in the face by T.N.T. minutes earlier), is now comforting him. Bobby angrily storms out of the bus station, seeing how crazy not only Jenny is, but the entire town is.Knowing he is out of options, Bobby phones Grace and agrees with her plan to kill Jake for his money. She instructs him to come on over to the house after dark for the deed to be done. That evening after the sun sets, Bobby breaks into Jake's house while Jake is having sex with Grace, but Bobby accidentally makes a noise. Jake goes downstairs to investigate and finds Bobby, who then tells Jake that killing him was Grace's idea and that he'll kill Grace for just enough money to pay for a car. Grace overhears this and attacks Bobby when he walks into the room. However, she is really waiting for Jake to return so that she can kill him. After killing Jake, Bobby and Grace unlock his safe to find $200,000 in cash. They then have sex in front of his dead body.The next morning, Bobby goes to Darrell to pay him and finally gets his car back. When Bobby returns to the house, Grace's car is gone. Bobby thinks she has run off with the all the money but she shows up at the front door. As they drive off and out of town in Bobby's car, however, they are pulled over by Sheriff Potter. Here we find out that Grace has also been sleeping with him. Grace appears to turn on Bobby, blaming him for Jake's death and telling the sheriff that Bobby just killed her husband. However, just as Sheriff Potter places Bobby under arrest, she pulls out her gun and shoots the sheriff dead. Bobby helps Grace put the sheriff in the car trunk with Jake.As Bobby and Grace are dumping the two bodies off a cliff, Bobby elbows Grace in the nose and takes her gun, telling her that he does not trust her and that when they reach California they will split the money and go their separate ways. Grace says that when she blamed Jake's death on Bobby, she was merely baiting the Sheriff so she could kill him, much like Bobby baited Jake when he said he would kill Grace. The implication seems to be that Bobby would have killed Grace rather than Jake if he'd had to. As they are talking, Grace suddenly pushes Bobby over the cliff, not killing him but severely injuring him. Grace smirks and tells Bobby laying at the bottom of the 60-foot cliff that his suspicions about her were correct; she really is too greedy to split the money in any way, and she used him so she could steal all of Jake's money for herself. She also tells Bobby that SHE was the one who killed her mother by pushing her off the very same cliff, for reasons not made clear.As Grace gets back in the car to drive off, she realizes that Bobby has taken the keys. Bobby pleads with her to come down and help him. She does so, knowing she needs the keys. When she gets close enough however, he strangles her to death with his bare hands. Grace manages to shoot Bobby with her gun before she expires, but it is a non-fatal wound to his right hip. Bobby then makes the grueling journey back up the cliff with a broken leg, a broken arm, his gunshot wound and several other serious and superficial injuries. Relieved that he is finally back in his car (and with all the money), he starts the car to drive off, only for the radiator hose to burst again like it did in the opening scene. Bobby sits back and laughs insanely of his continuing bad luck as he looks up at the bright blue sky... aware that he will now die in the desert heat without anyone to help him now. | comedy, neo noir, murder, violence, flashback, romantic | train | imdb | I'm not saying that it was the best movie ever, but it sure deserves better than what most people over here say about it.The story starts with Bobby Cooper (Sean Penn), driving somewhere in the middle of the desert in Arizona, on his way to pay the bookies that have already taken two of his fingers because he was too late to pay them.
With people like Sean Penn, Billy Bob Thornton, Joaquin Phoenix and Nick Nolte I don't expect anything less than a good performance.
For a picture of this type, "U-Turn" is very good indeed.Sean Penn is smashing, Nolte has never been creepier, and Jennifer Lopez is, er, extremely effective in this film's only real female role.
But the solid script by John Ridley, the letter-perfect performances, and Stone's sure directorial hand make this one of his better films.This movie is out of the theatres, so one word to you parents about "U-Turn." This is not one to watch in the presence of the kiddies.
It is closest to Stone's other film "Natural Born Killers" by way of stylish camera shots and the addition of comedy into a dramatic setting.Sean Penn brilliantly plays the lead character, whose car blows a radiator hose out in the middle of the Arizona desert, and the closest town is that of Superior, AZ, a dirt-road town with barely 1,000 people living there, if that.
Therefore, he's constantly running in circles to get out of this town.There is an all-star cast (back then, and now) of actors: Jennifer Lopez (a better singer than actress), Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Bob Thornton (the best among the bunch as the hick mechanic), Sean Penn, Claire Danes, Liv Tyler (only for a second in the train station), and Jon Voight...all packed into a nice DVD.
Again the camera shots were awesome, and they had that Oliver Stone quality of the 90's where he would switch frames with the villain of the movie with an animal skull and switch the point-of-view to see what the actors are seeing, and so on.I didn't like the ending so much.
I also hated Jennifer Lopez's delivery of lines (just like in any other movie with her...The Cell, etc) because they feel so fake and put on that you know the director was just looking for T&A for the film.
She has a thick accent straying too much towards Latino that you don't pick up on any cultural change until you get the story.Overall, though, (bad point aside) it is a brilliant movie that is easy to watch if you like the other Stone films.
Brilliant & hallucinatory cinematography, impeccable use of music, and a handful of dark, edgy character sketches all work together very nicely to make this bleak, dark-humoured desert noir an overlooked highlight of Oliver Stone's career.
The highly evocative atmosphere plays out against the Arizona desert in a way that (in addition to foreshadowing some of the work done in Terry Gilliam's own twisted little masterpiece 'Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas') seems to mirror, in a more subtle and tasteful manner, much of Stone's work in 'Natural Born Killers'.
Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, and Jennifer Lopez all turn in great performances and Billy Bob Thornton's eccentric character sketch elevates what may be defined as a bit part to a far more relevant status.
`U Turn' takes place during a hot day in Arizona where we meet our principal character, Bobby (Penn), who is on his way to California to pay a debt to the mob that has helped him in one way or the other.
Richardson's craft with a camera can be seen in such other movies as `The Horse Whisperer,' `Snow Falling On Cedars,' and `The Four Feathers.' With its rough cuts, non-steady cam shots, and scenes filmed as the sun glaring down on the actors, Richardson's work gives a harsh and nauseating feel to the film.
Sean Penn turns in a great performance as does Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Voight.Jennifer Lopez does her best to keep up with the seasoned professionals and by and large succeeds.
U-Turn is about a man named Bobby Cooper (Sean Penn) who is on his way to pay a debt to a gangster when his car breaks down in the small, redneck town of Superior.
From here, there are twists and turns in the plot all the way to the very end of the movie.Sean Penn was decent as Bobby, but seemed a bit week and was taken advantage of a bit too easily.
Billy Bob Thornton looks nothing like him and is away with it, Jennifer Lopez is attractive an alluring, Nick Nolte is totally convincing and great as the wicked husband, Joiquin Phoenix is mad as TNT and possibly the best is John Voight as a blind homeless person!A great film with a good ending...
It's highlight is mostly the great cast and great acting.U-Turn is definitely at the bottom of the list when it comes to Oliver Stone films, but if you've seen 'em all, you might as well see this one, too.
SEE his movie.With twists and turns along the highway of deceit and corruption, this is a great film to watch.
Sean Penn is stranded in a strange city where everybody seems to realize his problems and his struggle, and insist on being particularly mean to him, just for the sake of being mean.It is a lot like Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Vacation or Griffin Dunne in After Hours, in the sense that we watch an incredibly hapless main character go through an incredibly terrible day and we're supposed to call that entertainment.
Except that instead of a comedy this one is a mean and boring excuse for a thriller where everybody is weird and bad-ass, so the whole thing reeks of Tarantino or any of those awful El Mariachi sequels.There are indeed several twists in the plot, but all of them are predictable and absolutely unable to make the film a little interesting.
There are lots of good acting, but the story and the overall atmosphere is so brain dead that I couldn't really enjoy the acting.I always found that Oliver Stone's movies were excessively long-winded and pretentious.
Your average Oliver Stone fan would say (at least in my experience) that U Turn is his worst film.
I think Oliver Stone may well be the best director there is and in my opinion U Turn is his best film.In Hollywood you get movies that are actually vehicles as they say for action, gratuitous sex, violence, cheap scares, laughs, etc.
This is one of those movies where time is a factor working against the character in need of a resolution but is restrained with a host of bizarre circumstances such as a busted car pipe, a Russian gangster on his tail, a beautiful but dangerous beauty with a complex past, a U-turn, and a host of other goodies for the plot storyline.
Sean Penn is great as always, Lopez surprised me by actually doing a half decent job acting, something she hasn't done in any of the other films I've seen her in (with the exception of Out of Sight...
I have to say, though, that the characters that make this film entertaining and sometimes even hilarious are Billy Bob Thornton's disgusting mechanic and Joaquin Phoenix's violent TNT.
It is not so much that u-turns abound, the plot is not so much twisted as continually pulling the rug out from underneath the audience.Perhaps the book connects the dots a bit better, the film relies heavily upon interesting character exaggerations, along with Ennio Morricone (woo hoo!) and Oliver Stone's splashy style.The color of the film is sweltering as the Arizona sun.
Well, I certainly can't say that U-TURN is a boring movie, with all those weird characters, weird situations, and (especially) the weird direction that's akin to Stone's earlier NATURAL BORN KILLERS.
If Mr. Stone or Mr. Penn or even Miss Lopez need the tiny paycheck that a movie like "U -Turn" offers, why not do some short stints at a local community theater?
A very promising cast, interesting plot twists and an exceptional performance by Billy Bob Thorton couldn't save this film from the heavy-handed and predictably methodical directing style of Stone.
Oliver Stone is the best - hell, maybe the ONLY - political filmmaker in Hollywood right now, but I guess after the beating he's taken over great films like PLATOON, JFK, and NIXON, he decided to retreat into the world of film noir.
I haven't been much of a Stone fan in recent years, but I rented this movie because I like Sean Penn and the trailer looked good.
U-turn was supposed to be this modern Film Noir movie where nothing is as it is supposed to be, including the characters being the opposite of what they appear to be.
Stone fails to complete this and the movie turns out to be nothing but a poor story about a man entangling himself in a web of dangerous circumstances in a small town, all spun together in a weak plot that bores the s..t out of you.
Oliver Stone directs this dramatic dark comedy about a small-time hood(Sean Penn)on the run with mob money.
Oliver Stone brought us Natural Born Killers, Platoon, JFK and other good films.
Even though the acting is quite good in general (Sean Penn is a very good actor, and Billy Bob Thornton is fine too), Jennifer Lopez was getting on my nerves.
By the way, film has ensemble cast including Joaquin Phoenix, who portrays one of the hilarious characters in the film.I recommends U Turn to everyone, it is such a great black comedy and I don't know what's critics problem with that.
There's Jennifer Lopez not only showing her many enticing curves but a pretty respectable ability to act in her femme fatale role.Though I'm not a Sean Penn admirer I have to admit he does well here as a shady drifter whose vintage car breaks down in a desert small town and keeps him from leaving because he just can't seem to come up with the money for the repair.
Oliver Stone's "U Turn" is a small town Arizona story with love crosses and plot twists galore.
A drifter (Sean Penn) breaks down in the Arizona back-woods and gets entangled with a spitfire (Jennifer Lopez) who wants to leave her twisted, abusive husband (Nick Nolte).
Turns out Nolte's character Jake wants Grace dead as well.I'm not saying that "U-Turn" is Oliver Stone's best film, but it's definitely my personal favorite of his.
Sean Penn gets involved in murder plot, and can't seem to find his way out of a dead end town.
Billy Bob Thornton and Sean Penn are always great, and a grizzly Nick Nolte, and sexy Jennifer Lopez are also solid.
I enjoyed the over the top acting of Billy bob in this film .It has more twist and turns that will make your head spin .I love Jeniffer Lopez she is a screwed up girl in the head that totally turned off my friend who is in love with her.Stone is a master that takes the envelope of film making and pushes it to the extreme ,its a wild ride with a great ending it will put you on the ground with laughter..
No actors are wasted at all, in my opinion, even Sean Penn shines as bright as the Arizona sun his character is in and I was particularly surprised with his tormented performance as a man stranded in the middle of nowhere, a fear I suppose everyone has deep inside...he's perfect for the role.
Inclined to dislike much of Oliver Stone's work, I did not appreciate U Turn until the second viewing, where I found myself reading the film as comedy and appreciating the excellent timing of the brilliant Sean Penn.
Capturing the feel and look of heat better than any film since Do the Right Thing, Stone stylistically echoes his dreadful and idiotic Natural Born Killers, but ultimately makes a film one hundred times more entertaining.
Look at all the famous name...Oliver Stone, Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Billy Bob Thornton, even a cameo by Liv Tyler (yes, THAT Liv Tyler)...and the movie sucks.
To me, despite the director and stellar cast, this film came off as lifeless, I mean Sean Penn sleepwalked through the movie, and Jennifer Lopez just cant act.
Gorgeous desert scenery and some oddball characters highlight this neo-noir film about a young man named Bobby Cooper (Sean Penn) who, while trying to evade mobsters, gets stuck in a small Arizona town.
While this film isn't in the greatest form of the classic director Oliver Stone, it isn't his worst film like many have said (personally, I don't think Stone has ever made a really bad movie).
U Turn is a film noir type of movie with Sean Penn getting mixed up with weirdos on his way to get to Vegas.
These weirdos include Jennifer Lopez (one of her two films where she shows breast) as a seductive wife, Nick Nolte as a crazy husband and other towners like Jon Voight and Billy Bob Thornton.
With the odds stacking up against Bobby he finds himself drawn deeper into greed, theft and murder.This was a step away from political dramas and conspiracy thrillers for Oliver Stone, here he takes a standard film-noir plot and gives it his own touch.
With Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Jon Voight, Billy Bob Thornton and Jennifer Lopez, and directed by Oliver Stone, this looked an appealing video.
All performances are excellent, especially that of Jennifer Lopez and Sean Penn, but Nick Nolte also sizzles and Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Voight put in great character pieces.
Sean Penn is playing his part great and even a Miss Lopez has one of her better movie performances here (the other being Out of Sight ...
Oliver Stone's 'U-Turn' is a film about a day that turns into a living nightmare, in the manner of Scorcese's 'After Hours' and other similar movies.
Sean Penn play his role of Bobby strictly for laughs and the rest of the cast seem to be acting on their day off from shooting their real movies, expect Jennifer Lopez who takes herself so seriously it almost gets to a point where she is a turn off.
Or could it have been that Stone is getting a little cocky and is throwing shooting his movie in a offbeat style so that we will praise this as another work of art that sits up there right next to the likes of Natural Born Killers, Platoon or JFK?
Unlucky u might b like Sean Penn, very sexy Jennifer Lopez, one of the most beautiful ladies around the planet these days, and as successful as an actor as she is a singer, unfortunately she doesn't participate in lots of movies.....
successful Oliver Stone, like his other movies he always is...
So waiting 4 another Oliver Stone's movie, another act by Jenifer Lopez, and another unlucky adventure of Sean Penn.......
I mean im a big fan of Sean Penn and Jennifer Lopez, but not even they could save this movie from disaster.
Some great actors (Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Jon Voight, Billy Bob Thornton, etc) are wasted.
I generally enjoy Oliver Stone films (JFK, Platoon, Nixon) but U-Turn is just excruciating..
I like the backdrop, the story was great, never boring, and the long list of eccentric characters in particular, Billy Bob Thornton as the hick mechanic, Nick Nolte as the vile husband of Jennifer Lopez and the annoying couple Joaquin Phoenix and Claire Danes..
Another neo-noir instant classic: my all-time favorite Oliver Stone film.
Great cast playing weird characters, an intrinsic plot that keeps you guessing and Stone's unique visuals all add up to one hell of a ride through Superior, Arizona.
I had never heard of 'U Turn' before and only really bought it for one reason, Sean Penn, but upon watching it I was drawn into the world of Oliver Stone once again.
My only complaint is that the story lacks a certain rythm, but it's still very fascinating.OVERALL (not an average): ***1/2 - Basically, if you like film-noirs, if you like dark, twisted plots, and if you like Stone's style, you'll like this movie..
"Film Noir" works best in the shadows..."U-Turn" is to Oliver Stone what "Wild at Heart" was to David Lynch.
but it's like taking a very long trip in a really great car, only to end up in an extremely dull place that just wasn't quite worth the time or the drive (which, now that I think about it, is a very good way of describing the movie - in more ways than one).6/10.
A director (Oliver Stone) who is not perfect, but has made generally good films.
Moreover, you have major league actors like Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Powers Booth, Billy Bob Thornton, and Joaquin Phoenix.
Several of my favorite actors are in this film: Sean Penn, Billy Bob Thornton, Powers Boothe, and Joaquin Phoenix.
I thought the kids would wander off to watch basketball, instead we were all riveted to the screen.Terrific cast - Jennifer Lopez as the femme fatale (in all senses of the phrase), Sean Penn (not playing the bad guy - he looks sweet compared to everyone else!), Nick Nolte being warped, and cameos by Claire Danes and Joaquin Phoenix as bimbos, Julie Haggerty as a tough waitress.Very bloody, very 4-letter words, pretty explicit.Who knew that Oliver Stone had a sense of humor?
Sean Penn was great in his role, Jennifer Lopez gave a good performance in this film early in her career.
This is the best Oliver Stone film I have seen and one of my favs, 10/10.
Sean Penn gives his best performance since Dead Man Walking, Jennifer Lopez is unusually good and the way Stone makes his movies is brilliant. |
tt0210945 | Remember the Titans | In 1971, at the desegregated T. C. Williams High School, a black head coach, Herman Boone, is hired to lead the school's football team. Boone is assigned to the coaching team under current coach Bill Yoast, nominated for the Virginia High School Hall of Fame. But, in an attempt to placate rising racial tensions and the fact that all other high schools are "white" only, Boone is assigned the head coach job. At first, he refuses as he thinks it is extremely unfair to Yoast, but accepts when he sees what it means to the black community. Yoast is then offered an assistant coach's job by the school board and initially refuses, but reconsiders after the white players pledge to boycott the team if he does not participate. Dismayed at the prospect of the students losing their chances at scholarships, Yoast changes his mind and takes up the position of defensive coordinator under Boone.
The black students have a meeting in the gymnasium in auditioning to play for the team until Boone arrives, but the meeting turns into a fiasco when Yoast and white students interrupt. On August 15, 1971, the players gather and journey to Gettysburg College, where their training camp takes place. As their days of training camp progress, black and white football team members frequently clash in racially motivated conflicts, including some between captain Gerry Bertier, and Julius Campbell. But after forceful coaching and rigorous athletic training by Boone, which includes an early morning run to the Gettysburg cemetery, and a motivational speech, the team achieves racial harmony and success. After returning from football camp, Boone is told by a member of the school board that if he loses even a single game, he will be dismissed. Subsequently, the Titans go through the season undefeated while battling racial prejudice, before slowly gaining support from the community. Gerry has his best friend Ray removed from the team because of his racism.
Just before the state semi-finals, Yoast is told by the chairman of the school board that he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame after the Titans lose one game, implying he wants Boone to be dismissed over his race. During the game, it becomes apparent that the referees are biased against the Titans. Upon seeing the chairman and other board members in the audience looking on with satisfaction, Yoast realizes they've rigged the game and warns the head official that he will go to the press and expose the scandal unless the game is officiated fairly. The Titans nonetheless win, but Yoast is told by the chairman that his actions have resulted in his loss of candidacy for induction.
While celebrating the victory, Bertier is severely injured in an car accident with a truck after driving through an intersection. Although Bertier is unable to play due to being paralyzed from the waist down, the team goes on to win the state championship. Bertier would remain a paraplegic for the rest of his life. Ten years later, Bertier dies in another automobile accident by a drunk driver, after winning the gold medal in shot put in the Paralympics. His family, coaches, and other former teammates reunite to attend his funeral.
In the epilogue, descriptions show about the players and coaches activities after the events in 1971. | dramatic, inspiring, feel-good | train | wikipedia | Remember the Titans is much more than a story about a high school football team.
In 1971 the high schools are integrated and Coach Boone is chosen to become the head coach of the football team while Coach Yoast is demoted to assistant coach.Remember the Titans is a powerful film with incredible performances by both Denzel Washington and Will Patton..
"Remember The Titans" is one of the two best films to have a chance to win an oscar for best picture.Denzel Washington leads a cast that is young, fresh, talented and determined to make this movie a success.
"Remember The Titans" is laced with strong performances from Will Patton, Ryan Hurst, Wood Harris, Donald Faison and Greg Alan Williams.Based on a true story "Remember The Titans" follows the 1971 T.C. Williams High School Titans football team and their struggles with integration.
However, the strength and real beauty of "Remember The Titans" does not come from Washington or Patton, but the Titan football players because they are the ones who give the strongest performances in the film.I must say that the best performance of the whole movie other than Washington and Patton is the young actress who portrayed Bill Yoast's daughter, Hayden Panitierre.
Being a former white athlete and coach I am sick of sports movies where the story involves a team eventually winning a championship so I passed this one by when it first came out.
Denzel Washington, as the coach, gave another of his consistently outstanding performances.Like "Hoosiers" this is a true story and it is not just a story about sports but a strong story about race.
Instead we scheduled one black college and several state universities in the mid-west.Some critics have compared the summer camp at which Washington as Coach Boone brought the blacks and whites together as a team as like a Marine Boot Camp but everyone missed the subtlety of this.
Even though the movie has a few corny moments and the actors playing the roles as football players look old for high school, these faults are minimal and do not detract from the power of the film..
I am emotionally affected by this film no matter how many times I've seen it, and I think that this movie will stand up over time as one of the most endearing sports classics of all time.Quote that i believe defines the movie: "I don't care if you like each other, but you will respect each other.
"Remember the Titans" is a movie that by the end of seeing it makes you feel good.
"Remember the Titans" is a comedy-drama based on the true story of a high school in Virginia that is integrated with white and black students, white and black teachers, and white and black athletic coaches.
Oscar winner Denzel Washington gives another one of his fine performances as the new head coach of the high school football team, and Will Patton is equally good as the current head coach who is now demoted to assistant coach under Washington.
SPOILER: Based on real events in 1971, where T.C. Williams High School, a now hot bed integrated school, becomes a beacon of unification via their mixed race football team.As is normally the case with films of this ilk, it quickly comes to pass that certain artistic licence has been taken with the truth.
It's hoped that this film also prompts newcomers to research further the topics within the story.The cast list is impressive, Denzel Washington and Will Patton find instant chemistry as the head coaches thrust together by outside influences, with both guys beautifully doing credit to the real life friendship that would be born from the situation.
Though not primarily offering up anything new in the pantheon of race and sport related movies, Remember The Titans does have so much good going for it.
He replaces a famed coach(Will Patton)and gets a chance job coaching a town(Alexandria,Virginia)High school football team constituted by diverse characters(Ryan Hurst,Donald Faison,Suplee,Kip Pardue,Ryan Gosling,among others) and face the dual challenge of bringing the team to the state championship and redeeming themselves my means of breaking racial barriers.The coach makes the team,and each person in it,better than they thought possible.This enjoyable tale with classic plot deals about a slice of American history, and is plenty of good feeling,heartfelt,interesting characters and formidable performances.However,sometimes is some sentimental and predictable but is still pretty entertaining.Exceptional Denzel Washington with a first rate acting reaching an important milestone and terrific Will Patton in the role of assistant,they are backed by a phenomenal support cast formed by young actors with future and wide career,as a little girl fine performed by Hayden Panettiere,today well known by ¨Heroes¨.Spectacular and sensible musical score by Trevor Ravin and colorful cinematography by Philippe Rousselot.The story follows the wake of previous sports hits films,like are ¨Rudy and Hoosiers(David Anspaugh)¨.The motion picture is well directed by Boaz Yakin,he's a noted writer(Rookie,Punisher),producer(Hostel I,II) and director(Fresh,Uptown girls).Rating : Better than average,worthwhile seeing..
"Remember the Titans" tells about a black football coach (Washington) who transfers to an integrated high school where he's faced with turning black and white prejudices into teamwork and winning the state championship with a racially mixed team in a racially divided society.
And the players and the game scenes are believable (although I am getting tired of every hit on the field sounding like a Buick hitting a concrete wall--this is happening in most football movies).
The true story of the integration of a Virginia high school football team and the warm multicultural relationships which developed among the team members, staff and families, the film reminds us once again when working together in a common effort, one can find love and friendship in the most unlikely places.
So that didn't do it for me, but what made me decide to watch it was the fact that Denzel Washington played an important role in it.He's coach Herman Boone, a newly appointed African-American football coach who will have to lead a high school football team in Virginia, during the early 70's.
But when the captain of the team gets injured in a car accident, just before the state championship, they will have to prove that they can adapt and that they still can win the match...True stories have always been a great source of inspiration for Hollywood, but personally I can't name too many of these movies that I really liked.
He can't fake agility, coordination, a comfortable running style, a natural throwing motion or catching form; he must demonstrate skills beyond his acting.Remember The Titans moved and inspired me (despite a few scenes and some dialog that sort of manipulate a viewer's feelings) partly because the young men playing members of that football team not only swaggered, jostled, bantered, and jived like high school athletes, they also played like them.
Denzel Washington did a commendable job as Herman Boone, the demanding, domineering, yet fair head football coach, and Will Patton did tremendous work as the demoted head coach Bill Yoast, the mentor with the softer approach and rather folksy style, who must deal with the immaturity of his bigoted friends as well as his tendency to patronize the African American members of the team..
Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) is a successful football coach who gets assigned to lead the merged high school football team.
The higher ups involved had better hope there is no God or surely there judgment will be great, prehaps they'll even be forced to watch this film.If you come upon some individual whether it be a friend or neighbor, co-worker or boss, relative or stranger, big or small, black or white, and in the course of your discussions this film comes up and by some reason they should bring up this film and mention something the least bit positive about it berate them immediately and forcefully, show absolutely no mercy as they deserve none.
Now, lets start from the beginning, another film about interracial, or prejudicial/bigotry issues between players on a team (played out to death in modern American movies).
And the part about this I like the best is that I have shown this film to teens and those who hate football still have loved the movie.
i like the fact that the coach re-united the team with African Americans and white men but at least they should had put Mexicans too.I really enjoy this movie i really hope that everyone would have a chance to see this movie because is wonderful..
Tension between blacks and whites is at its highest in Alexandria when the high school becomes integrated and Coach Boone (Denzel Washington) is hired as the head coach of the high school football team and he replaces, now assistant head coach, Coach Yoast (Will Patton).
Boaz Yakin presents the dialogue and setting of this film in a way that makes you feel like you were watching a movie developed in the 1970's.
The direction is pretty good too and the script/dialog is witty and compelling, but the strongest aspects would have to go the football sequences and the sweeping music score from Trevor Rabin with it's epic moments that could easily make you teary-eyed.Overall, Remember the Titans is an epic masterpiece in sports film history and is always recommended to those who love American football.
He is brought into the school to replace Bill Yoast (Will Patton) as head coach of the high school football team the Titans.
Yoast is upset at first, but then he decides to stay on as defensive coordinator of the Titans, and together these two men find away to get through their differences and bring a football team of both black and white students together as winners.
Denzel Washington was portrayed as the coach of the only black and white football team in the district.
Yakin's sports film about a newly appointed African American coach in a town where racial tension is high as the school team prepares for its first season as a racially integrated unit in contrast to its segregated past.
A white boy who's seen enough "integration" films that his heart is really hardened to that sort of thing, and really I care little to see any more of this sort of film.Let's be honest, after finishing Remember the Titans tonight -- I was a fool.It's a movie about football, but, to me at least, it was very little about football, and very much about people.
From looking into the segregation going on in Virginia at the time, to seeing the end result of a community uniting through a football team, this movie is by far the most inspiring movie in years!
I had a glowing review planned for this movie until I saw some of the user comments here, and I almost changed my mind.Denzel Washington plays as Herman Boone, an African-American coach, hired on the basis of affirmative action who faces a great deal of resentment for it, especially from former coach Bill Yoast(Will Patton), who is demoted to defensive coach.
Yoast's football-crazed daughter(Hayden Paneittiere), is such an outstanding character, that if this wasn't at least loosely based on a true story, you'd have to make someone like her up.Needless to say, most of the kids don't get along with each other, but Boone is determined to make sure that ends at training camp, and it does, which nearly creates a rift between first string Q.B. Gerry Bertier(Ryan Hurst), and his girlfriend(Kate Bosworth).
However Yoast finds his white friends are plotting to revoke his membership in the local hall of fame if he doesn't agree to let them dump Boone, so they rig the next game.Big Julius(Wood Harris) sounds a great deal like Mr. T when he tells an opposing player, that he'd better get used to being on the ground.As Louie Lastik, Ethan Suplee does a complete 180-degree reversal from his role in "American History X(1998)" as a kid from New Jersey who LOVES black culture!
Not usually a football fan, I rank this well cast and directed dramatic true story as one of my top 10, truly and movingly evoking an era I lived and schools I attended in the 60s-70s, but also with larger, deeper, and timeless themes of human rights, change, and acceptance, that make you think and test your attitudes, while also uplifting with the inspiring power of vision, courage, perseverance, and unity.Youths, adults, and entire cultures clash and make history in the struggle to meld or not to meld, to face and entrench or overcome cultural differences in order to achieve a common goal, and in so doing, also develop interesting new relationships and the discovery of hitherto unknown qualities in themselves against a dramatic backdrop of challenging events including unfairness from trusted adults to dependent youths.
The movie is based on a true story where an African American coach is hired to lead a high school football team in a town in Virginia, USA, in the 60's where racial tension still existed.
This movie made me laugh and it also touched my heart, I think that if you like to see a well acted football movie with a good plot, and a good meaning to it don't miss Remember The Titans!
Remember the Titans, directed by Boaz Yakin, is exactly the opposite of these drab movies.The story of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA, the movie tells much more than the story of a football team.
From the beginning of camp, when players of other races are reluctant to sit on the same bus, to the end of the season when a white teammate proclaims one of his black teammates his brother, Yakin shows us the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity.He uses their success on the football field as a way to convey their struggles in life and society's.
Yes, a great deal of it focused on football, but it was about so much more than sports.The film centers on the 1971 football team (the Titans) at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA.
Washington is great as Head Coach Boone, and Patton is equally amazing as Coach Yoast, but the film would only be tolerable without the performances of the guys on the football team.
For starters, it's exquisitely acted and the music is nothing short of sensational -- a catchy collage of favorite oldies against a score combining sporty drumbeats and sentimental drama at appropriate plot junctures.Then there's the touching, sometimes-cliffhanger of a true storyline.Based on the tense experience of a Virginia city unhappily facing its first court-ordered school integration, Denzel Washington portrays the real-life Coach Hermann Boone.
Remember the Titans could have been a great movie because the true story on which it relies on is striking, but the way it is tackled turns it into an ordinary feature.So long finesse, everything here is handled frontally without much subtlety, Boaz Yakin and his writer using and abusing of very conventional scenes, not to say clichées, where the oozing melodramaticism is omnipresent, where every scene seems to seek to shed the viewer a tear with corny dialogues and grandiloquent violins, which turns out to be sickening.And it's too bad because the cast is very good and with the self sufficient power of the historical fact, there was no need to lay it on thick..
"Remember the Titans" is based on a true story which took place in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971 at T.C. Williams High School when segregation was still a huge issue in the South.
T.C. Williams was the high school that brought together two football teams, one white, and one black which means "these guys don't just have to tolerate each other.
Remember the Titans is a great film, raising important issues like racism in the 60s, years of great changes concerning the black people.
Remember the Titans is a movie that focuses on the racial issues that were going on during that time and the struggles a football team had to overcome to make it to their championship game.
I think this is such a strong movie because it gives us a good view on how bad these issues were during these times, and it was based on a true story on the Williams High School located in Alexandria, Virginia.
With Denzel Washington as its anchor, the film's cast breathes life into the characters based on the real-life football team from Alexandria, Virginia.
This inspiring drama written by Gregory Allen Howard and directed by Boaz Yakin is based on the true story of a Virginia high school football team and the two coaches, one black and one white, who led them during one season to great triumphs both on and off the field.
"Remember the Titans" is set in Virginia, where in 1971 high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria.
Herman Boone (Denzel Washington), a young black coach new to the community, was hired as head coach of the T.C. Williams High Titans over Bill Yoast, a white man with several years seniority, a steadfast following and a tradition of winning.
This 1971 T.C. Williams High School football team is one that is racially integrated, the only one in the surrounding Alexandria, VA area where whites and blacks get along together like oil and water.
Remember the Titans is a true story about overcoming differences with tremendous acting, particularly from coaches Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) and Bill Yoast (Will Patton), leaving viewers touched and inspired by the T.C. Williams Titans.1971 was a time of much desegregation in the South and it is decided that T.C. Williams High School be the home of two combined schools, one black, one white.
Yakin does a fantastic job of demonstrating racial issues during the movie through the portrayal of his characters and the development of plot.After a court order forces three schools (two white and one black) to integrate, the football team has to learn to deal with the differences in race.
Remember the Titans is one of the rare good football movies, definitely worth an hour and a half of your life.. |
tt0026685 | Mark of the Vampire | Sir Karell Borotyn [Holmes Herbert] has been murdered just two weeks before the wedding of daughter Irena [Elizabeth Allan] to fiance Fedor Vincenti [Henry Wadsworth]. Sir Karell's body was found with two marks on his neck and drained of blood. The superstitious villagers suspect vampirism and finger the town vampires Count Mora [Bela Lugosi] and his daughter Luna [Carroll Borland], but Police Inspector Neumann [Lionel Atwill] can't buy that. After months of investigation, however, Sir Karell's death is declared 'cause unknown', Irena goes to live in the house of guardian Baron Otto von Zinden [Jean Hersholt], and the wedding plans continue as before.One morning, Fedor stumbles in with two marks on his neck, complaining that he fell and hit his head outside of the now-deserted Borotyn castle where Mora and his daughter are supposedly living. Irena is attacked one evening by Mora's daughter, and Neumann calls in vampire expert Professor Zellen [Lionel Barrymore]. When Sir Karell's signature is found on a lease signed after his death and when Irena claims to have heard her father's voice, Neumann and Otto dig up Sir Karell's coffin and find it empty. Shortly thereafter, the maid and butler see Mora in the house and the Professor sees Mora and Sir Karell walking together in the garden, so Neumann and Otto go snooping at the castle. There, they find Mora, his daughter and Sir Karell. That night, Mora's daughter again attacks Irena. Determined to find and destroy the vampires, Neumann, Otto, and the Professor go to the castle, but Mora's daughter leads Irena there, too. Fedor follows and almost destroys the plan.The plan: The Professor (actually Chief Inspector of Prague Police) hypnotizes Otto into re-enacting Sir Karell's murder. It turns out that Otto drugged Sir Karell and murdered him because he wanted Irena for himself. Mora, his daughter Luna, and "Sir Karell" turn out to be actors from Luna's Bat Woman Theatre, hired by the police to ferret out Otto. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl.] | cult, murder | train | imdb | Fortunately, luck was still on his side as in 1935 he was allowed to direct a remake of his successful silent "London After Midnight", a movie that would reunite Browning with Dracula himself: Bela Lugosi."Mark of the Vampire" is the story of the tragedy surrounding the wealthy Borotyn family.
The patriarch, Sir Karell Borotyn (Holmes Herbert) has been murdered under mysterious circumstances, and soon everyone in town suspects it was the work of Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) and his daughter Luna (Carroll Borland), as these two deceased nobles are rumored to awake by night as vampires and wreak havoc in the small superstitious village.
Inspector Neumann (Lionel Atwill) doesn't believe in this, as he suspects there is a more mundane motif for the murder of the rich old man, however, when Sir Karell's only daughter Irena (Elizabeth Allan) becomes the vampires' new target, Insp.
Zelin (Lionel Barrymore) to solve the mystery before someone else gets killed.As written above, "Mark of the Vampire" is essentially a remake of the now lost classic "London After Midnight", although this time Browning enhances the horror elements of the story by focusing on the couple of vampires and their actions instead of the mystery of the plot.
The story is pretty convoluted and very clever for its time, with a nice use of black humor (some even see it as a satire of horror films of it's time) and very surprising plot twists to keep the mystery a secret until the end.
Jean Hersholt, Donald Meek and Ivan Simpson have nice turns in supporting roles, with Meek and Simpson delivering some nice comedy that seems to parody stereotypes of horror films of its time.Sadly, the film (or what was left of it) suffers from many flaws that effectively make the brilliant parts of it look bad, leaving the final product as simply a slightly better than average 30s movie.
To make things worse, the performances of Elizabeth Allan and Henry Wadsworth (the main romantic couple of the movie) are atrociously poor, paling in comparison to the work of the rest of the cast."Mark of the Vampire" is a very good film of Browning's short post-"Freaks" career, as despite being plagued by many problems, it still works as a nice tale of mystery and horror.
Lionel Atwill as a stern police inspector and gentle Jean Hersholt as a befuddled baron complete the quartet of leading actors.Elizabeth Allan is lovely as the menaced young lady, while Carol Borland is properly mysterious as Lugosi's vampiress.
Movie mavens will spot an unbilled Christian Rub as a deaf peasant at the coroner's inquest.The film's editing sadly left several very fine character actors on the cutting room floor, including Robert Greig, Eily Maylon, Zeffie Tilbury & Jessie Ralph (whose name still appears in the credits).James Wong Howe's excellent cinematography should be mentioned, as should also the creepy special effects which add immensely to the atmosphere..
Essentially a composite remake of "Dracula" and an earlier film called "London After Midnight" with some bizarre twists, in terms of ghoulish settings and atmosphere, particularly the cemetery scenes, and Lugosi and Borland wandering in the night, this film is second to none.
In a period of barely 5 years he brought us: Dracula (the mother of all vampire-movies and THE film that made Bela Lugosi immortal), Freaks (still amazingly scary after more than 70 years), this Mark of the Vampire and Devil Doll in 1936.This film more or less is the first accomplishment that `plays' with the rules of the genre and creatively adds some very ingenious twists.
Also, when the father & Bela are in the cemetery, motionlessly watching the people looking into the crypt -- creepy sound effects!Also, Donald Meek is excellent as the superstitious doctor.What's wrong with it is that you hardly ever see Lugosi, and Lionell Barrymore REALLY hams it up in the "Van Helsing" role!
All of the essential ingredients for a good vampire film are here, but I guessed who the culprit was from the beginning (and even his motive), but I wasn't prepared for the nice twist in the surprise ending.The story about a vampire stalking people in a picturesque village is handsomely photographed by none other than James Wong Howe and the settings rival any of those used in the original "Dracula" film.
This time ELIZABETH ALLAN is the frightened heroine while BELA LUGOSI and LIONEL ATWILL fill their standard horror film assignments in fine form.LIONEL BARRYMORE is Prof.
Interesting movie of a murder taking place in a small town reportedly done by vampires (played by Bela Lugosi and Carroll Borland).
Now it looks like Sir Karrel's daughter (Elizabeth Allan) is being targeted by the blood suckers.Director Tod Browning's remake of his now-lost film "London After Midnight." In the original, Lon Chaney played multiple parts.
Our blood suckers are played by Bela Lugosi, once again cast in a perfect sort of role for him, and Carroll Borland, whose striking, long haired Luna can easily be seen as a forerunner to characters like Vampira and Morticia Addams.
Zelin (Lionel Barrymore), who specializes in the occult, must convince him that a dead count and his wife (Bela Lugosi and Carroll Borland) walk among the living and threaten both Karell's daughter and her fiancé (Elizabeth Allan and Henry Wadsworth), along with everyone else in the frightened village.
There is more direction from Browning on this film and the pace is considerably better.Having Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill on hand, makes for a great cast and they don't disappoint.I know that some fans felt a bit cheated by the twist at the end.
Universal Pictures may have been the king of horror films, but "Mark of the Vampire" released in 1935 by MGM, showed why MGM overall was the Tiffany of the movie studios.
With Bela Lugosi (as Count Mora) wandering around in full vampire garb, there is little doubt about where to pin responsibility - but, not everyone believes in vampires
Director Tod Browning and photographer James Wong Howe achieve some great visuals; especially with the vampirific Mr. Lugosi, and Carol Borland as his female counterpart "Luna".
Although "London After Midnight" is a lost film, an examination of its script and restoration will reveal how re-filming a story can sometimes drain away its life blood.The earlier film is structurally similar to this one; a comparison indicates that Lugosi may have been originally planned to play this as Chaney did, acting both "parts" - this might explain the apparent gunshot wound to Count Mora's temple; certainly, there is no other explanation offered.
***** Mark of the Vampire (3/28/35) Tod Browning ~ Lionel Barrymore, Jean Hersholt, Bela Lugosi.
No big changes in the formula, until that beautiful ending(and what an ending--I WON'T spoil it--you'll wriggle your toes in glee after you see it!)Bela and his life long devotee/groupie/protégé', Carol Borland(she who makes Elvira and Morticia and Vampira look like old washed out trash) chew up the atmospheric scenery like hungry Allosauri, and Lionel Atwill does his most UN-Moriarity like acting while Lionel Barrymore annoys the heck out of you, but actually makes the "Van Helsing" character seem more like the WIZARD OF OZ.
Lugosi's end of film lines, a rousing egotistic boast, sound dead on realistic, and give a good hint into his own inner mental workings (Borland said in interviews, he actually WISHED HE COULD BE Dracula for real!)..
If what we have to look back on, all of these fine performances from Lionel Barrymore, Jean Hersholt, Donald Meek and Bela Lugosi...the one female who stands out the most through this murder/mystery/plot twist/ rewriting of script ending (due to the censors of those days) is the all alluring Luna Mora (as wonderfully played by Carroll Borland).
The scenes at the castle are rather chilling as the two descend the stairs in such grand fashion where the dusty, cobweb-filled space which looks amazing as their eeriness walking through completes the scene, the group searching the underground crypts for their hiding spot is rather creepy going through the tombs finding the other bodies and being forced to leave them there gives this a highly chilling sequence and the big reveal at the end in the castle's main hallway where they play out the fruition of a rather ingenious plan makes for quite a great time here as the setting is put to great use here.
Carroll Borland is outstanding - her trance-like state in the film is hypnotizing for the viewer to watch.The overall look and feel to the movie is dark and creepy while the story is suspenseful.
Very good older horror film.If you have never watched this particular film I won't ruin it for you but I can tell you it's not what you would expect in the end - there is a twist and a mystery solved.Great late night movie if you want a different kind of vampire story.8.5/10.
Browning's Detective Tale, Take Two. When a nobleman is murdered, a professor (Lionel Barrymore) of the occult blames vampires; but not all is what it seems.This film started out as a remake of Tod Browning's silent film "London at Midnight" (which has unfortunately since been lost in a fire).
Following his time making "Dracula", it seems only natural that Browning would cast Bela Lugosi as the Count in this film.
What with the spooky "castle" (which seemed to go to rot WAY too fast for only having been abandoned for ONE year instead of five) overflowing with cobwebs, flying bats (more convincing than most you see in Universal or Hammer Films), spiders, opossums (but no armadillos), and a lot of elements of the plot in general, this seems like a slightly slicker "MGM" version of Dracula.
This movie is a near scene for scene re-make of tod browning's lost silent film "London After Midnight" which starred Lon Chaney Sr. playing at least two roles.
It's impossible to understand why the makers of "Mark of the Vampire" choose such an idiot twist for an ending, after 45 glorious minutes of atmospheric Gothic horror, amazing sets, and some phenomenal jobs by Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill and Carol Borland in a role that was a direct source of inspiration for Ed Wood's Vampira and Morticia Addams.
The film was a remake of Lon Chaney Senior's "London After Midnight" (1927) both directed by Tod Browning.The story revolves around the murder of Sir Karell Borotyn whose body is discovered drained of its blood and with two tell tale fang marks on his neck.
Later we learn that a coven of vampires has apparently taken over the run down castle next door.Into the case comes Professor Zelin (Lionel Barrymore) who believes in the vampire theory and sets about to prove it.The murdered man's daughter Irena (Elizabeth Allan) suddenly is attacked by a female vampire, Luna (Carol Borland) the daughter of the sinister Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) both of whom are seen prowling about the grounds after dark.Baron Otto von Zinden (Jean Hersholt) and Irena's suitor Fedor (Henry Wadsworth) fear for her safety.
Given the off beat ending you have to wonder if the picture was intended as more of a spoof than what it is.Bela Lugosi plays a "Dracula like" character here and several scenes recall his "Dracula" (1931) performance also directed by Browning.
This MGM Tod Browning directed remake of his previous film LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT works surprisingly well because the Horror stars Bela Lugosi (as Count Mora) and his understudy Caroll Borland (as Luna Mora) play their roles seriously.
Lionel Barrymore plays a quirky vampire hunter closely patterned on the Van Helsing character from the 1931 Universal film version of "Dracula," which also starred Lugosi.
Tod Browning directed Bela Lugosi again, here playing a Count Mora, who, along with his daughter Luna(played by Elizabeth Allan) are reputed to have been resurrected from the dead, and killed a local Baron.
Though this film has a fine cast and some effective, atmospheric direction, the "plot", while seemingly clever and even "post-modern" in reveal, makes very little sense when you see the film a second time, not to mention feeling like a cheat, though it is amusing in a way.
However, when Sir Karell's daughter, "Irena Karrell" (Elizabeth Allan) is attacked and found with two marks on her throat, things start to get interesting as the local villagers begin to suspect "Count Mora" (Bela Lugosi) and his daughter "Luna" (Carroll Borland) of vampire activity.
Mark of the Vampire is not quite self-conscious or poorly made or silly to be camp, though a few bits are (kitty in the knight's armor anyone?); it's shot with the eye of a seasoned professional in creating mood with smoke and fog and eerie low-lighting and sets made of darkness and (actually good) dummy bats that fly into a scene out of the ether, though it's not quite a great horror film.
It's a take-off on the Dracula story in its essentials- a vampire is hiding in his castle and only a know-it-all bad-ass professor can put a stop to it before a female subject is taken under by the Count's spell- and in more ways than one.It's very hard to reveal the movie without at least mentioning, if not outright giving away, what the "twist" ending is.
The rest of the film is decently paced, though at times my mind started to wander as to whether or not a scene could use a little more outrageous or oddball comedy, or if a scare actually worked (one of the things I did love were the maid and butler as they're repeatedly freaked the hell out as they put up bat-repellent in the rooms).And sure, Lugosi, when he shows up, is amazing, and Lionel Barrymore, not a first-timer in a Browning picture, walks a good line between going into too much ham (as the actor was awesomely was once quoted as saying) and being a legitimate lead quirky hero.
Lionel Barrymore plays an expert on the occult who shows up to investigate and soon suspicion falls on Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) and his strange daughter (Carroll Borland).Outside of FREAKS, I think a lot of Browning's sound films are less than good and that's certainly true for MARK OF THE VAMPIRE.
Loaded with atmosphere, lots of dark shadows and weird sound effects, this movie surpasses the original Tod Browning version of 'Dracula' from 1931 in my opinion.If you are interested in murder mysteries, then the plot has an interesting twist.
With plenty of foggy atmospheres too.The cast includes Bela Lugosi (Dracula) as Count Mora, Lionel Barrymore (The Devil Doll), Lionel Atwill (The Vampire Bat, House of Dracula), Jean Hersholt and Elizabeth Allan (Grip of the Strangler).Mark of the Vampire is a must for fans of old horror.
Despite his reputation as a bit of an outsider and even possibly a sadist around Hollywood (he was once described as the only director to surpass Von Stroheim in the area of the bizarre and immoral), Tod Browning was one of the most important film-makers of the silent era and made 2 of the most recognizable films of the early sound era, the original "Dracula" starring Bela Lugosi and the infamous "Freaks." Unfortunately his later effort "Mark of the Vampire" displays the same poor ability in terms of directing dialogue as those 2 films but only a little of their unique visual appeal.
In this version we have the much less interesting premise that the vampire (Bela Lugosi) is an actor hired by the inspector (Lionel Atwill) and the vampire-hunter (Lionel Barrymore) to trick the real criminals into revealing themselves.The only really fun aspect to this is the brief comic scene with Lugosi and Borland packing their trunks at the very end of the film.
The movie begins with the death of a count, which is attributed to a local vampire and his daughter, played by Bela Lugosi and Caroll Borland.
Bela Lugosi, Director Tod Browning and actor Michael Visaroff all worked on "Dracula"(Visaroff plays an inn-keeper in both films).
In another scene, there's a substitution splice to show the transformation of Count Mora from bat to humanoid vampire.The cast is good, including enjoyable performances from character actors Lionel Atwill (as an inspector akin to his in "Son of Frankenstein" (1939)), Leila Bennett, Donald Meek and Ivan Simpson.
I don't think I'm giving anything away from a movie this old--but the plot twist that Bela and Carol's characters are not "actual" vampires, but rather paid actors in some half baked plot to expose the real killer of the film is very disappointing for an old school horror fan like me.In fact, if you're one who is viewing this primarily for the presence of Lugosi, then you can't help but feel let down--this is more like one of Bela's "red herring" roles where he was cast more for his name value on the marquee.
I'm on the side of the naysayers- this is an above average, minor classic film, but fell flat for me at the last minute.Director Tod browning creates an incredibly eerie atmosphere, the mood is appropriately supernatural and even a bit sad....Count Mora(Bela Lugosi) and his "undead" daughter Luna radiate a convincing fear inducing allure.
Amongst the material cut was the story of Count Mora (Lugosi) and his incestuous relationship with daughter Luna (Caroll Borland), his subsequent killing of them both (explaining the bloodshot he sports on his temple throughout) and how he was condemned to spend eternity as a vampire.What we have left is one of the most beautiful horror films ever made.
Before MGM released this movie suggestions of incest between Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) and his daughter Luna (Carol Borland), and a murder/suicide that led to their becoming vampires, were cut from the final print.
After Dracula and Freaks, Tod Browning's 3rd sound horror movie was this atmospheric semi-remake of London After Midnight, a silent smash he'd filmed with Lon Chaney. |
tt1213663 | The World's End | On June 22, 1990, Gary King (Simon Pegg) recalls himself and his four friends engaged in what was supposed to be a legendary pub crawl known as the Golden Mile in their hometown of Newton Haven, Herefordshire, England . Oliver Chamberlain was the straight-laced one who was called "O Man" for a birthmark on his forehead (which actually resembles a 6) that he eventually got removed. Peter Page was the youngest of the group. Steven Prince was usually competing with Gary for girls. Finally, Andrew Knightley was Gary's best friend. Gary, meanwhile, was the self-proclaimed leader of the group, dressed in all black and taking his friends through 12 pubs that night. The event was memorable for Gary, who managed to hook up with Oliver's sister Sam (Rosamund Pike) in one pub, but then ditched her to continue drinking. As the night went on, however, Pete and Oliver were left behind until it was just Gary, Andy, and Steven. They failed to make it to the final pub - The World's End - and Gary considered that night a failure. He is shown sitting in a sort of AA circle with others sharing their stories. It is obvious from the look on Gary's face that he plans on making sure the pub crawl will happen again, and this time, it will be a success.In the present day, Gary goes to round up his mates.1. Pete (Eddie Marsan) - Gary follows Pete from his house to his job at a luxury car dealership. While there, Gary meets Pete and Pete's father who owns the dealership. Gary first touts the idea of getting the guys back together so they can conquer the Golden Mile.2. Steven (Paddy Considine) - Steven is a construction manager working for a firm that specializes in building new houses. Gary goes and meets Steve at one of the construction sites. He tells them that they're getting the boys back together. They can get the band back together if he so desires.3. Oliver (Martin Freeman) - Oliver is a real estate agent. Oliver is first seen showing a couple a new house and Gary takes a tour as well. Oliver tells Gary that he had laser surgery to remove his birthmark so people would stop referring to him by his childhood nickname "O Man".4. Andy (Nick Frost) - Andy is a senior partner at a very prestigious looking law firm. Andy's secretary tells him that he has a visitor who turns out to be Gary. Andy wants nothing to do with Gary or his shenanigans after a past incident in which Andy and Gary were involved in a serious accident, and Gary miraculously recovered while Andy got arrested for driving while intoxicated. Andy has been sober ever since. Gary is able to convince Andy to join the crawl after telling him that Gary's mum died from cancer, and Gary paid back Andy the 600 quid that he owed him.The four men relent and join Gary for the pub crawl and meet up in Newton Haven. They meet at the train station when Gary pulls up in his car, "The Beast", a beat-up 1980s Ford Granada Mark II, which he's had since before the pub crawl. On their way into Newton Haven, the four friends notice how stuck in the past Gary is. Gary still has the same Ford Granada Mark II he had since 1990 which has gone through a large number of changes in equipment. He also has the same mix tape that Steve made for him. On the highway, Gary decides to make a quick pit stop at a gas station. While getting coffee the four guys are reminiscing and talking about where they are and have been since 1990, and Andy remarks that Gary hasn't changed one bit when he notices that Gary instead of a bathroom break, is playing Need For Speed. Upon arriving into Newton Haven, Gary's car is pulled over by a police officer who tells Gary that the brake light on his car is out. To Pete's horror, Gary still has the car registered in Pete's name and always has since 1990.The guys drop off their belongings at a local bed & breakfast inn, where Gary makes a speech about the activities they will be participating in for the night, and begin their pub crawl at:1. The First PostGary begins the crawl by making a speech about the pub's history and enters the place excited, but since it's still early, there are hardly any patrons there, and it doesn't appear the same as he remembers. He orders five pints, but Andy decides to have water instead (since he is a recovering alcoholic). Gary berates him for drinking water instead of alcohol and implies he is less of a man for doing so.2. The Old FamiliarThis pub appears similar to The First Post in that it is quiet and mostly vacant. The interior, menu, and what happens are also identical to The First Post. Also, the bartender, much like the first, doesn't appear to recognize Gary, despite his insistence that he is "the king". While the guys are seated, Oliver gets a call from Sam, and he invites her to join them. When she arrives, Gary and Steven both get excited as they both fancy her. Gary follows Sam into the washroom, thinking she is looking for another hook-up, but she assures Gary he's got the wrong idea and then slaps him.3. The Famous CockGary is recognized at this pub, but as it turns out, he is barred from it. The others leave and decide they can just drink two pints at the next pub. Gary still wants to accomplish his dream of completing the Golden Mile, and this would defeat the purpose by not having one at every pub. While at this pub they spot an old friend of the group - Old Man Basil - they would come into the bar and listen to him talk for hours about extra terrestrials and alien conspiracy theories. While leaving, Gary spots three barely-full glasses of beer that he presumably figures adds up to a pint, and he starts to drink all of them before rejoining his friends. Andy and Steve are talking about the positives and negatives of going organic.4. The Cross HandsThe guys have a meal at this pub while Gary goes to get more drinks. A large man comes to their table and asks if he can take an available seat, and Pete looks at him fearfully. Turns out this man, Shane Hawkins (Darren Boyd), was a bully who constantly harassed Pete in his youth, and Pete is mostly upset that Shane does not recognize him, as though all the bullying meant nothing. Andy and Pete are having a lengthy discussion about why they're there in the first place, as encountering Shane has made Pete extremely uncomfortable. As they confront Gary about this matter, Andy berates Gary about why he decided to do this pub crawl in the first place. Oliver notices a trio of girls who they fondly remember from high school and are known as "The Marmalade Sandwich" (two blondes and a redhead). Oliver and Steve ponder approaching the ladies. Gary then disappears and comes back with a round of shots. Andy decides this has gone way too far and he, Pete, and Oliver discuss leaving and going back to the bed and breakfast. But then as Gary heads to the restroom, he leaves his cell phone on the table and it begins ringing. Andy picks up the phone and is horrified to discover that it's Gary's mum and that Gary lied about his mum passing away.In the restroom, Gary is visibly frustrated that things aren't going exactly according the plans he had laid out in the beginning. As he slips on the urine-soaked floor, he is about to punch a hole in the wall and realizes that the same wall he punched out during the first crawl is still there. He then confronts a teenager and invites him to join the crawl with them, but the teenager doesn't pay attention to Gary. Gary then confronts the teenager and the two begin fighting. But then Gary slams the teenager's head against the urinal, and his head pops off, revealing a stump and blue goo coming out. Gary is horrified at this image, but then a very angry Andy confronts Gary about the big lie about his mum. Just as Gary's trying to explain what happened, the other guys come to the realization that there are far more sinister forces at work here. More teenagers show up and the two groups begin fighting with lots of head smashing and body parts flying. After the fight Gary comes to the realization that the reason why people don't recognize them is that everyone in town has been replaced with these things.Upon exiting the restroom the guys realize they have no idea how far what they've just witnessed goes. They're then confronted by the same police officer who pulled them over while on their way into Newton Haven. The officer asks them how many pubs in they are. After leaving Gary decides they need to continue the crawl so as to not look suspicious to the new beings they've just encountered. Andy, to everyone's amazement downs all five shots and decides that it's pointless arguing with Gary. They then drink up and leave for the next pub.5. The Good CompanionsTo the tune of the Doors' "Alabama Song", the guys quickly and quietly exit the Cross Hands and walk toward the Good Companions, trying to convince everyone around them that they're five friends on a night out having a good time. While inside, the guys quietly have a pint here and act normal, trying hard not to seem unusual to those around them.6. The Trusty ServantGary spots an old drug dealer known as Reverend Green (Michael Smiley), whose real name is Trevor. Gary tells Andy that if Reverend Green is one of them, he won't remember the code that Gary and Green had set up prior to the first crawl. Gary asks to buy some weed from him, but Trevor says he doesn't sell any more. Gary also asks if he is a robot, but the mere mention of the word appears to draw glares from the other patrons. Trevor and two other patrons make it clear to Gary and the others that they are not robots, as robot implies that they are slaves, which they are not. The phone rings and the bartender tells Trevor he is getting a call from his supervisor. He quietly walks into the bathroom, which Oliver walks out of.7. The Two-Headed DogGary and Steven see Sam coming into the pub with her twin friends. Gary goes to warn Sam of what is happening, asking her if the twins seem suspicious. She dismisses his claims and goes to hang with the twins outside for a drink and smoke. Sam tells them what Gary said, and in unison, the twins stand over Sam menacingly. Gary comes in and attacks one twin, ripping her head off and exposing the blue goo and neck base to Sam's horror. The other twin attacks, but Gary subdues both of them, until one of them returns with the other twin's legs on her arms, swinging at Gary and Sam, until Steven joins the fight, and they defeat the twin blanks. Steven then takes this opportunity to confess his love for Sam, saying she deserves better than Gary. Meanwhile, Andy, Stephen, and Pete try to come up with a name for the humanoid robots, eventually settling on the term "blanks" since nothing else they've suggested has any relevance.8. The MermaidThe guys and Sam head to this pub next. It's having a student disco event which is widely populated and the guys can't tell whether the bar is populated by blanks or humans. While there, the guys spot the trio of women they call the "Marmalade Sandwich". They're too drunk to realize these ladies haven't aged a day since they last saw them. Meanwhile Peter disappears and runs into Old Man Basil. Basil reveals that the beings they've encountered are part of a terrifying group called "The Network" and that they're out to merge their beings with humanity, just as they've done with other planets. The Network will make exact copies of humans and dispose of the human bodies in favour of the blank bodies. Basil who's normally known as a conspiracy theorist, is horrified by this prospect.Back on the floor, Peter tells Sam this news, and how the Network is out to collect human DNA any way they can - and it appears Gary and Andy are "blending in" with the blanks. Sam and Peter tell Steve the news they've received from Basil about "The Network". One of the girls in the Marmalade Sandwich swallows Andy's wedding ring. And then Steve discovers something truly horrifying - a man that Sam once dated named Adrian Keane was believed to have been killed in a motorcycle crash. But there Adrian was - alive and well, much to Sam's horror.Upon joining up with the rest of the group, Gary and the group are trying to flee the blanks while heading to the next pub. Gary then remarks about how good O Man is doing, since he very fondly recalls during the first crawl that O Man was put out of commission by pint 6. This has the rest of the group suspicious.9. The BeehiveThe group enters this pub and finds their old high school guidance counsellor Mr. Shepherd (Pierce Brosnan), welcoming them with pints. He is asked if he is like everybody else they've encountered, to which Mr. Shepherd responds by encouraging the group to give in and join the other blanks. Oliver seems relaxed at the proposition when Andy notices the birthmark on his forehead. Andy bashes Oliver, splitting half his head off and revealing the blue goo. This initiates a brawl, in which Mr. Shepherd and other blanks are torn apart or bashed. Gary, meanwhile, tries to finish his pint, but joins when Sam is threatened. Somehow, the blanks manage to repair themselves, and Mr. Shepherd once again tells the group to join them, but they flee. Gary attempts to make things easy by jumping off the building, landing on Sam's car. Gary makes sure that Sam gets away in her car before he runs off to join the others.Gary rejoins Andy, Steven, and Pete in a location that they refer to as "The Bowls Club". In the first attempt of the crawl, this location is where the entire thing went south. Once inside, Gary tells Andy, Steve, and Pete that he put Sam in a car and told her to go to London. They are floored that Gary would do such a thing after what happened to O Man. They then force Gary to prove that he's human. Gary fondly has them do the same recalling various injuries that happened to the guys during their youth and demanding to see the scars. Andy then very angrily reminds Gary of the accident and tries to force the proof of it out of him.The guys run through the woods to keep going. Pete runs into Shane, who apologizes to him for his bullying. Pete enacts his revenge by beating Shane senseless, even though it becomes apparent that Shane is a blank. Other blanks suddenly start surrounding the woods before they gang up on Pete. One blank places his palm against Pete's face and extracts his DNA. The other three are forced to leave their friend behind.Gary is still hell bent on finishing the Golden Mile, but Andy and Steven are set to get out of Newton Haven. Andy knocks Gary out, and they try to evade the blanks so they can get back to Gary's car. Unfortunately, in order to get to the car, they have to go through...10. The King's HeadAndy places an unconscious Gary on the bar while he and Steven try to unlock the back exit. Gary comes to and pours himself a pint. He tosses Andy his car keys and runs off to the next pub. Refusing to abandon his friend, Andy gives Steven the keys and he runs after Gary.11. The Hole in the WallGary quickly gets his pint here. Steven bursts through the wall of the pub, but he is taken by the blanks. Gary starts running off again, and Andy continues giving chase, fighting off any blank that stands in his way.12. THE WORLD'S ENDThere is already a pint sitting on the table waiting for Gary. He goes to take his drink, but Andy throws it out of his hand. They start fighting as Gary tries to get another glass, and Andy grabs his wrists. They are bandaged up, revealing that Gary attempted suicide. He hates what his life has become, going to meetings to get help, and he feels that the Golden Mile was the last good bit about his life. Gary wants what Andy has - two children, a beautiful wife, a fancy job, and so on. But Andy tells Gary that his life isn't as glorious as he thinks - Andy's wife left him a few weeks before the pub crawl began, citing irreconcilable differences. Andy then reveals the reason why he's so angry at Gary in the first place - Gary had overdosed and Andy drove him to the hospital. Along the way, Andy had crashed the car and suffered serious injuries because of it. Gary didn't have a scratch on him and wound up fleeing into the night. After several hours of surgery Andy had been arrested for driving while intoxicated and spent a year in jail. He starts to pour himself a pint, but when Gary pulls the lever, the whole pub shakes. The bar lowers Gary and Andy down underground to a mysterious chamber.A bright light and booming voice appears. Standing all around the place are other blanks. The voice (Bill Nighy) says they are The Network. Their mission is to recreate a more civilized society on Earth, as they have done in other places before. According to The Network, Earth is the most uncivilized planet in the galaxy. They also provide the humans with eternal youth, which explains why the schoolgirls, among others, still look so young. The voice also explains what happens when a human being is replaced with their blank counterpart, and it's every bit as horrifying as anyone could imagine. The Network brings forth the young versions of Gary and his friends. Young Gary tries to convince Gary to let him be the person he used to be, but Gary rips his young counterpart's head off. Steven then comes in, having evaded the blanks. Together, he, Gary, and Andy defy The Network, saying that humans don't need to be changed. They may be fuck-ups, but they are proud to be fuck-ups. The Network decides that it's impossible to argue with Gary and declares "Fuck it" before leaving the place. The place begins to rumble as it starts to self-destruct. Basil shows up to lead the guys out of there. Once they're back outside, Sam drives up and drives them away. The World's End is destroyed, but the self-destruct emits a pulse blast that starts spreading all across Newton Haven. Sam drives like hell and gets herself and the guys away from the blast radius as it consumes the town. Gary lays against Andy as he watches his home town burn. Just as the first pub crawl ended, this one ends the exact same way - Gary, Andy, Steve and Sam all head for the hills, and they sit up there and watch the town burn, wondering what is going to happen next.Some time passes after the Network leaves Newton Haven. Andy is sitting around a camp fire telling the story and how the next morning gave a whole new meaning to the term "hangover". When the Network left, the explosion that triggered from The World's End set off a pulse that completely shut off the world's technology, forcing the entire planet back into the dark ages. Everyone remembers where they were that night. Andy was right at the switch, with Gary, Steve and Basil. He then tells the tale of what happened to the participants of the crawl that led to the World's End. But the blanks? Despite the Network leaving, the blanks mysteriously rebooted and a new world order was born.The blank Oliver returned to his job as a real estate agent. Even in the new dark ages people still need to have a roof over their heads. The blank Pete returned to his family. And neither his wife, nor his children, apparently seemed to care that he was a blank. Steve married Sam and the two settled in a small town outside London. Andy reconciled with his wife, and the reason is that since technology was shut off, their problems didn't seem quite as bad in the grand scheme of things. The shut off forced everyone to go organic in a huge way while dumpsters were filled with computers and unusable technology. Andy tells the camp fire he doesn't remember any processed foods that he missed.As for Gary? Andy has no idea what happened to Gary. Andy hopes that Gary has found true happiness and that it's not at the bottom of a glass. Cut to the ruins of Newton Haven. Gary and the younger, blank versions of his friends enter a pub called "The Rising Sun". The music playing at the pub suddenly stops and the bartender refuses to serve the blanks. Gary then gives a similar speech to what he said before entering The First Post. The bartender again refuses. He asks who Gary is. Gary replies "Me? They call me The King!", and he and the blanks draw weapons and begin fighting. | comedy, murder, stupid, violence, absurd, psychedelic, satire, suspenseful, entertaining, sentimental | train | imdb | Now they're back with the long-awaited third movie of what's become unofficially known as the "Cornetto trilogy." Like it's predecessors, director Edgar Wright loves paying homage to American cinema; "Shaun" pays its respects to George Romero, "Fuzz" nods its head to over the top action, buddy flicks, and "World's End" takes a page from our classic American sci-fi films.In "The World's End," 20 years after attempting an epic pub-crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell-bent on trying the drinking marathon once again.
This allows Pegg to fully unleash his gift for gab, and for Frost to show off his considerable skill for physical comedy.With great gags, better fights, and fan pleasing cameos, "The World's End" is exactly the sort of British-accented, genre-blending pleasure we've come to expect from its creative trio, and we can only anticipate to what the future holds..
Once again like Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007) what makes this so likable is the Simon Pegg and Nick Frost combination - the two have great chemistry, they're not only funny but warm too.
The beings glowing eyes are reminiscent of Demons (1985) while the set up feels like Invasion of the Body Snatcher (1956/78) only with a twist and the closing confrontation plays out like an episode of Star Trek/Doctor Who followed by an outlandish flash-forward.There's plenty of homage's thrown in just for fun, Pegg as washed up excitable alcoholic/drug intoxicated Gary King plays against the usual nice guy, here he's a man you love to hate, you really want him to succeed.
lager end." Gary King (Simon Pegg)Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright are at it again satirizing pop culture, this time with an entertaining send up of zombie movies (even their own spoof, Shaun of the Dead) and boy-man buddy vacations like Hangover.
Five middle-aged blokes, led by the perennially immature Gary King (still the "King," he'd like to think), return after 20 years to their hometown to finish the crawl to the 12th and final pub, The World's End.The obvious allegory is fun to follow as robotic replicas of actual humans try to take over the world.
However once the robots come in the movie does pick up the pace and lives up to Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz The performances are very funny with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost actually switching roles.
A lot of movies are just mindless fun, but this is actually smart, and it in turn makes it so much more fun.Edgar Wright's timing and ability to create terrific fight scenes are as good as ever, and of course Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and all others are just fantastic.
The satiric story is original,fun and makes for the funniest film in the cornetto trilogy,I mean I laughed hard more times in this then I did Hot Fuzz.
Everything you could want in a comedy is here,the action,the laughs,the love,the cartoonish stuff going on if you want to grab a group of friends and have a good time I recommend you go to The World's End,which I'm giving a five out of five..
20 years later, he decides it's time to give it another try and convinces them all to do it, but they soon find out that their home town is being invaded by aliens.I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I realized that the humor was a little childish, as if Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have now become accustomed to American humor after doing "Paul" instead of doing their old ironic and dry British jokes.
Nick Frost was hilarious as his character, I couldn't stop laughing during the over the top fight scenes.Technically the movie was very stylish, the editing was brilliant as expected from an Edgar Wright film, using his trademark frame wipes.
I can really understand Simon Pegg's character, he makes you feel the excitement and nostalgia he feels for being reunited with his friends, maybe he and Stifler from "American Pie" should hangout sometime.Now bringing back my baggage, the movie sticks with the themes of friendship that the other films in the trilogy also dealt with and like them "The World's End" is also a great hangout movie (and maybe even a stoner comedy).
It doesn't achieve the level of greatness of "Shaun of the Dead" or even "Hot Fuzz", but it might just be even more fun to watch, and I can bet it will hold up when revisited as well as those two.I had a big problem with the last 5 minutes, they did to the movie what "Back to the Future Part III" did to the first two Back to the Future movies, but I can't be too harsh on it after getting to see Rosamund Pike drive a car like a badass.
The World's End is an action-packed, sci-fi comedy where a number of familiar faces return to help Gary King (Simon Pegg) achieve his lifelong dream and complete the 'golden mile' in their hometown of Newton Haven.
Watching The World's End first would be like watching Return of the King and, even though they're unrelated, you'll feel left out when everyone starts laughing at a fruit machine playing in the background and you have no idea why.The film will do well, regardless how good it is - it was a great ending to the trilogy that started almost ten years ago.
Prepare to take on the yellow mile and aliens in The World's End. After Shaun of the Dead took the world by storm with its brilliant comedic take on the zombie genre Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost became instant house hold names and have been making their mark on the industry ever since.
If you seen the other two movies in the so-called Cornetto Trilogy ("Shaun of the Dead" & "Hot Fuzz") then you already know what to expect from "The World's End".
Director and co-writer Edgar Wright's British sci-fi comedy is the third installment of the "Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy, rounding up 2004's "Shaun of the Dead" and 2007's "Hot Fuzz".Back in 1990, when all-black leather outfits and Britpop were still cool, Gary was the breezy leader of a rat pack (consisting of Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan) in school, but now he's a forty-plus alcoholic with nary a career.
Barging into their routine lives, Gary successfully convinces them to reunite for a single night in their sleepy hometown to complete the Golden Mile, going so far as to quiet the violent objections of his closest mate Andrew (Frost) with a white lie about his family.The journey across town through the 12 pubs (with epic-sound names, too: The First Post, The Old Familiar, The Famous Cock, The Cross Hands, The Good Companions, The Trusty Servant, The Two Headed Dog, The Mermaid, The Beehive, The King's Head, The Hole in the Wall, and The World's End) starts off fairly innocently, with Andrew being the only one who initially refuses a single drop of alcohol amidst man-child Gary's antics of trying to rekindle the nostalgic memories of his youth.
Nine years after director Edgar Wright and comedic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost teamed up for zombie p*ss-take Shaun of the Dead and six years on from their buddy-cop parody follow-up Hot Fuzz, comes the long awaited finale of this thematic trilogy (known by most as the "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy").
And all the while it's a maturing for these writers, and an embrace of the 'Body Snatcher' formula to a wonderful extent.For Edgar Wright, 'World's' is the conclusion to a very loose 'trilogy' started with Shaun of the Dead and continued with Hot Fuzz where he and star Simon Pegg write genre pieces (zombie flick, buddy cop scenario, sci-fi/horror invasion) and muck up the genres with something surprising and refreshing: honest-to-goodness characters, and some real tension, as Pegg plays a burn-out nearing 40 who rallies together his old group to finally make a go at a 12-bar pub crawl through a sleepy English town on a night where, oops, robots (I KNOW they're not robots but the ARE) are all abound and taking people over.Wright and Pegg start off with just the character stuff, and it's arguable whether this may even be the best part of the movie, just seeing Pegg, playing an incessant but almost lovable jerk, and Wright actor Nick Frost playing – harrowingly, soulfully well, this isn't just Frost playing a variation on his usual fun-bumbling self he's projected in Wright's and other films – a wounded best-friend to Pegg's character, and it's all solid comic dialog and interaction, some very awkward and some just straightforward in the approach to hardcore drinking
so that when the science fiction s*** goes down, it goes down hard.
........is self indulgent dogsh*t!I would have left it at that, but apparently I have to put 10 lines of text down, so here's a list of what's wrong with this film -The characters - The fight scenes - The plodding direction - The criminal misuse of Pierce Brosnan and Paddy Considine - The complete lack of comedyShaun of The Dead and Hot Fuzz are fantastic, even Paul was OK, but this has no charm, lacks any sense of fun and feels like they just wanted to get it finished and move on.How this is currently rated 7.1 is completely beyond me..
On the other hand the lovable Bill Nighy, who always plays an authority figure who challenges Simon Pegg's character in all three films,gets most space when playing Shaun's step father, in Hot Fuzz he gets just two scenes a Chief Inspector and in World's End you just hear his voice.Edgar Wright has already proved that he is one of the best directors of this generation.
The fight scenes are just beautifully choreographed and filled with so many ideas (Gary strives to finish his drink during the fight, Andy uses bar stools as brass knuckles to fight off the enemies.) Seriously the most inventive cinematography of this year.If you are fan of British comedies, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and their crazy humour stop reading this and go immediately to watch this film in the cinema.
With a prolonged introduction to the sci-fi side of the movie, I felt that I had gotten the concept of the movie wrong, that is until the twist of the movie was introduced.Without given away any spoilers I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in previous Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg/Nick Frost starred movies, as well as people who are patient enough to withstand a half hour of character development before touching on any real action or sci-fi themes..
The performances are excellent, especially from Simon Pegg & in my opinion Eddie Marsan (Peter Page) who down plays his character brilliantly.For anyone who has seen Shaun Of The Dead & Hot Fuzz then this is a must watch for sure.
The World's End is an excellent and hilarious film that greatly mixes SCI-FI,Action,Comedy along with amazing direction,a terrific cast,brilliant laughs and Humor,a fantastic script,thrilling Action and is a great conclusion to Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy.Set in the United Kingdom,The World's End tells the story of Gary King(Simon Pegg),an alcoholic who tracks down his former High School best friends Andy(Nick Frost),Steven(Paddy Considine),Oliver(Martin Freeman)and Peter(Eddie Marsan)and wants them to complete the Golden Mile and go to twelve pubs including one called The World's End and have lots of beers.
Now,Gary and his friends have to stop the killer robots while still trying to get to...The World's End.The World's End is an amazing and truly hilarious movie that is the third and finale film in Edgar Wright's Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy that began with the first film Shaun Of The Dead,the second film Hot Fuzz and now with the third and final film The World's End,a movie that is probably the largest and most ambitious of the three films and also has the trilogy go out with an explosive,funny and over the top bang.
If the character Shaun in Shaun Of The Dead was an unlikely hero that had no ambitions and Nicolas Angel in Hot Fuzz was too serious about his job as a police officer,then the character Gary King in The World's End is a guy that is in a funny way trying to relive his teenage years with his friends.
A wonderful score,Price.In final word,if you love Edgar Wright,Simon Pegg,Nick Frost,SCI-FI,Comedy,Action,Shaun Of The Dead,Hot Fuzz or genre films in general,I highly suggest you see The World's End,an excellent and hilarious SCI-FI-Action-Comedy that you won't soon forget.
However, on arrival there, they find the town in the grip of something other worldly that must be stopped.This somewhat belated third installment in what I've learned Frost and Pegg have called their 'Three Colours Cornetto' trilogy (their last one was six years ago!) looks set to be the last of their collaborations with director Edgar Wright, which began nearly ten years ago with the over rated Shaun of the Dead and was followed with the slightly more enjoyable Hot Fuzz, after which the pair went Stateside for alien adventure Paul, which had nothing to do with Wright.
While I'm no die hard fan of Frost and Pegg, their latest offering looked like it bore the possibility of being good fun, and to a large extent it is, but by the end it's become a long, joyless slog that gets too carried away with itself when the audience are just begging for mercy.It would have worked a lot better if the writers had just stuck with the main plot line, of old mates uniting to re-capture lost innocence and the sad refusal of the odd one to grow up and act their age.
The World's End is little more than a dull thud.Simon Pegg returns to the Wright fold as Gary King, the teenager who never grew up, in a stagnant yarn about a group of school friends who endeavor to complete a pub crawl challenge they failed twenty years previously.
I would argue that it didn't reach the heights of the previous two movies in "Shaun of the Dead" & "Hot Fuzz", but don't get me wrong, this is still a very funny movie & defiantly worth a watch.The story centres around Gary King (Simon Pegg) trying to get his old school friends back together for some unfinished business, a pub crawl called the golden mile back in their home town.
It lingers more on the characters' conversations and interactions to provide the comedy or jokes.Although it's not advisable to watch the trailer as it spoiled the unexpected twist in this film, but I guess most people would have done it anyway by now.The story is about a group of childhood friends in their 40s: a hopeless, jobless drinker/drug addict(Gary), a real estate agent (Oliver), an architect (Steven), a lawyer (Andrew) and a car-seller(Peter) - who decided to reunite together and return to their hometown, Newton Haven, to complete the unfinished Golden Mile of 12 pubs to drink 60 pints of beer (for 5 guys) when they're young.What ensues is an unexpected plot twist that re-examines each character's past, rekindle severed friendships/relationships and possibly, save the world.It's quite refreshing and admirable to see that there's considerable effort being put by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright to not follow the normal successful formula that normally comes with this genre.There's also an interesting theme to think about in The World's End - to have the choice of being free as a human, to be able to do what you want, despite the human imperfection in the world.But, the running gag involving garden fences, the pub brawl action and chasing scenes are quite similar to the past films.The finale presented near the end of the film feels unsatisfying as it ends abruptly without a good resolution to some of the characters.Nevertheless, it's still a decent, enjoyable character story that's worth a watch.Rating: 7.5/10 http://yjcool.blogspot.com/2013/09/movie-review-worlds-end.html.
The World's End is an action-sci-fi-comedy where a number of familiar faces return to help Simon Pegg complete the 'golden mile' by hitting 12 different pubs.There are a lot of references to the other movies which I think hurt the film a bit.
Probably one of the best comedies of the summer, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost & Friends return for what is supposedly the conclusion to their trilogy of parodies that satirize the horror, action, and now science fiction genres.On the anniversary of their final night out on the town as teens, five aging yuppies decide to once again take their local village by storm and complete the pub crawl that they started 20 years ago.
'Shaun of the Dead' was fantastic, 'Hot Fuzz' was even better (in my opinion), surely with the third movie Wright along with series mainstays Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were going to up the ante.
'THE WORLD'S END': Five Stars (Out of Five)The third film in writer/director Edgar Wright's 'Three Flavours Cornetto' trilogy (following 2004's zombie comedy 'SHAUN OF THE DEAD' and 2007's buddy cop film spoof, and homage, 'HOT FUZZ').
After the lukewarm reception of 'Paul', Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have headed back to their roots with 'At World's End', the finale of the "Blood and Ice Cream"/"Cornetto" trilogy (which includes 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz').Pegg plays Gary King, a down-on-his luck man in his forties who reunites the college gang, including Andrew (Frost) and Oliver (Martin Freeman), to complete the "Golden Mile", an epic 12 pub drinking journey along their old town.
"The World's End" is a smart British comedy starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and directed by Edgar Wright.
But Gary is not going to let these little nuisances get in the way of his drinking.The World's End will easily satisfy fans of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, as the film rounds up the entire trilogy. |
tt3205376 | Slow West | Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a young man from Scotland traveling through the United States in search of his love, Rose Ross (Caren Pistorius). On his journey, he comes by the woods near a Native American camp where a group of union officers are chasing after a Native American. Two run off and chase the man, and gunshots are heard. A bandit named Silas Selleck (Michael Fassbender) shows up with a gun aimed at the one officer. Jay holds his gun up to Silas, but Silas still shoots the officer. He and Jay then join forces and travel together.Through some flashbacks, we see Jay and Rose spending time together back in Scotland, rolling down a hill near a beach. He was very much in love with her, while she only saw him as a brother, something that troubled him.Jay and Silas ride through a field where three Congolese men are playing a song about love. Jay tells one of the men that he likes the song, and he notes that "love is universal like death". Following closeby are a group of bounty hunters, led by Payne (Ben Mendelsohn). The two ride by a shop where Silas sees a wanted poster for both Rose and her father John (Rory McCann), offering a $2,000 reward if they're caught dead. Everybody but Jay knows about it. The two enter the shop to gather some items. After them enters a Swedish couple, Johan and Maria (Karl Willetts and Brooke Williams). Johan raises his gun to the shopkeeper, demanding money even though the shopkeeper insists that this shop would be the only place he could spend money. The shopkeeper shoots Johan in the chest, and Maria shoots the shopkeeper dead. She aims at Silas, also demanding money. Jay shoots her in the back. He and Silas leave with their items until they see two children, Eva and Jan (Evie and George Simon). Figuring he just killed their mother, Jay leave the children with his items.In another flashback, right after Rose tells Jay that he is like her brother, she tells him to hide under the bed. He stays there for hours as John has company over. Jay's uncle Rupert (Alex MacQueen) shows up and tries taking Jay back, dismissing everyone in the house as peasants. Jay says he is with Rose now. Rupert slaps Rose, prompting John to retaliate by shoving Rupert backwards and causing him to smash his head against a rock, killing him. This leads to John and Rose becoming outlaws.Shortly after the incident, Jay makes it to the U.S. and encounters a clergyman named Angus (Tony Croft). He says he is documenting the downfall of the Aboriginal tribe and hoping to spread Christianity. Jay asks Angus for advice. The next morning, Jay wakes up alone to nothing but an egg resting on a note that says "West". He then breaks the egg open and lets the yolk fall out.Jay and Silas bond as the latter guides the boy to his destination. Silas shaves Jay's face with his knife while Jay tells Silas that he is a lonely man. Payne walks out from behind a tree with a bottle and some glasses. He joins the two at their camp site, and he asks Jay knowingly if he is traveling to find his sweetheart. At night, Silas and Payne discuss the bounty on John and Rose, with Payne trying to get a word out of Silas after getting him drunk. Silas was part of Payne's gang, but he left after deciding that he is not like Payne. Silas knows nothing and wouldn't tell Payne anything if he did.When Jay wakes up, he sees Silas and Payne are both gone. He comes across Payne's group, who have Eva and Jan with them. Jay sits with them around the fire as one of the bounty hunters tells a story about a man he killed.Jay finds Silas in the woods. Silas tries to get him to stop his pursuit of Rose, but Jay insists that she is his. They fall asleep and wake up to the pouring rain, almost submerging them and their items. They dry off in the morning and see more bounty hunters. This forces Silas to come clean to Jay about the bounty on Rose and her father.We see John and Rose living in a cabin, miles from anywhere else. They have a Native American helper, Kotori (Kalani Queypo). A man visits them, knowing who Rose is, leading her to get worried, but John insists that nobody there knows who they are.Silas ties Jay to a tree to prevent him from going to save Rose. He rides toward their house, just as Payne and his gang do. They initiate a shootout, with John being the first one killed. Rose stands her ground to defend herself against the hail of bullets. Silas shows up, not wanting to kill Rose. He gets hit in the shoulder and leg, but he remains alive. Jay breaks himself free from the tree and runs to the house. Without warning, he enters and startles Rose, causing her to shoot him in the chest. She continues to defend herself, while Kotori rushes to her side to help her. At one point, a bullet hits a jar of salt and causes it to spill on Jay's bullet wound. The bounty hunters, and even Kotori, are killed, until Payne is the only one left. Rose walks over to Jay's side, unaware until now that she just killed him. She gives him her gun to shoot Payne as he enters the house. Silas then comes in as Jay dies. He tells Rose that Jay loved her. She says his heart was in the wrong place. Silas says his spirit wasn't.Later on, Rose appears to adopt Eva and Jan. Silas continues living, never forgetting Jay or what he stood for. | violence, murder, flashback | train | imdb | In what may be one of the most aptly-named films at this year's festival, Slow West is in no hurry to tell the story of Scotsman Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and his continent-spanning quest to find Rose (Caren Pistorius), the long-lost love from his hometown.
Taking a cue from neo-westerns like Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, Slow West uses the chaotic landscape of the American frontier as an allegorical exploration of love and death.
It's theme to me is the delicate balance between success and death in the American west during that period from the standpoint of choices made, and to my mind I think it succeeds in portraying this exceptionally well.Many of the reviews I have read on here in regards to this film say it is far too slow, I don't think it is at all, it is a journey, a gradual layering of the story building to a climax, it is not supposed to be action and bells and whistles from the off, I think it is a film that ultimately is trying to make you think; you are invited to explore who we are and what we are capable of as humans in hostile conditions.
Like the twice-made western "True Grit", the story teams a younger person on a search with a cynical veteran: on this occasion 16 year old aristocratic and Scottish Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee), searching for his lost love, and the rough, middle-aged, Irish gunslinger Silas Selleck (a superb Michael Fassbender), seeking something more pecuniary.
Simple western scenarios are spun in a different manner because the characters in said situations aren't made for the brutal western lifestyle.In an era of film where westerns have become a thing of the past (though they seem to be making a comeback), Slow West is one of the better westerns to come along in quite a long time.
Slow West tells the story of Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a naive and courageous kid who embarks on a dangerous journey to the West, determined to find his love, a beautiful young woman, Rose (Caren Pistorius).
He meets and accepts the guidance of Silas (Michael Fassbender), a laid-back gunslinger versed in the ways of the West.Jay, an idealist and a neophyte to the perils of the wilderness, illustrates a touching contrast between his educated, delicate nature and the wickedness around him.The director (John Maclean) controls and carefully addresses all his characters, adds purpose and exquisite emotion, portraying the fragile yet ambitious Jay in a story set with a glance of surrealism.It is not a typical action-packed western, but it is a treat with its stunning cinematography, framing intimate and colorful scenes, both subtle and vivid comical situations and characters, a well-paced feel-good experience..
He portrays a man helping a boy from Scotland find his sweetheart who had to skip the country and head to America's West.The movie was visually stunning as the filmmaker used a lot of cool camera tricks to make the Frontier look like colorful art work.Went to see the movie cause Michael Fassbender was in it and I got real nervous as the picture started and I realized how slow it was going, but even though the pace staid slow the energy of the movie does not.Slow west is filled with all the good stuff you loved, with Michael Fassbender playing the anti hero and Ben Mendelsohn playing the colorful villain.
Violence is present throughout.Slow West is an unusual Western about a young Scottish man/boy, Jay (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is in love and due to a tragedy that he claims to be his fault, his love had to flee to the West.
The story, which was written by Maclean, follows the journey of a 16 year old boy named Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who has traveled from Scotland to the West in search of Rose (Caren Pistorius), the woman he's in love with.
It's the kind of thing only the most competent of filmmakers could get away with, and MacLean absolutely nails it.But despite MacLean's prowess as a writer and director, Slow West ultimately succeeds on the strength of its cast, with Smit-McPhee as the wide-eyed innocent and Fassbender as the grizzled, trail-weary wanderer.
It hits all the benchmarks of a Western horse movie: a stranger new to the West, an outlaw of questionable character, a bounty hunters, really bad outlaws, an outpost, and a few Native Americans and others.
Following a couple of successful shorts working with Michael Fassbender, Man on a Motorcycle (2009) and Pitch Black Heist (2011), director John Maclean from The Beta Band makes his feature- length debut with Slow West, a suitably slow-burning and simple tale of lost love, set to the backdrop of violence and a country in unrest.Scot Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is an opportunistic young dreamer who arrives in America in the hope of claiming his lost love.
The decision to film in New Zealand adds to the sense of displacement, as if Jay imagined the world he read about in stories only to discover that it's only half-true.Although the film is as slow-moving as the title may suggest, the relatively short running time means that the pace is brisk and the narrative is never boring.
Splendidly photographed, methodically paced & brilliantly directed, Slow West arrives as a pleasant surprise in the genre of westerns for it features a very straightforward premise but beneath that simple-looking plot lies hordes of themes that one usually associates with the legacy of the Wild West and for a debut feature, it's a pretty impressive final product.Set in the 1870s, the story of Slow West follows a young Scottish fellow who travels across America in pursuit of the woman he loves and after an unexpected incident, finds himself in the company of a bounty hunter who's willing to take him to his destination.
Its 84 minutes of runtime is deliberately slowed down to provide a more immersive experience, and finally, the background score stays in congruence with the unfolding action.Coming to the performances, Slow West features a fine cast in Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn, Caren Pistorius & Rory McCann, and all do an adequate job in their given roles.
Fassbender is the real deal and does a terrific job with what he's given, and the input from the rest of its cast is good enough.On an overall scale, Slow West is definitely amongst the better indie films released this year and begins Maclean's filmmaking career on a promising note.
Slow West stars Kodi Smit-McPhee as the naïve, Scottish, Jay. We follow him on a journey across the American frontier in search of his sweetheart, Rose.
It's got some familiar tropes - greenhorn, grizzled bounty hunter, deadly gang et al, but Maclean has still made a fresh picture, one that not only intrigues and excites, but also humours by way of some black comedy inserts.Essentially it's a travelogue piece, McPhee's lovelorn Jay Cavendish ends up being escorted on his journey by Fassbender's mysterious tough guy Silas Selleck.
Western fans keen of ear will pick up on some historically spiky dialogue exchanges, whilst also noting the nods towards the immigration angles, where Maclean doesn't pull punches as to how desperate the Old West was for many of those who travelled hoping for a better life.Predominantly filmed in New Zealand (superbly standing in for the American West), the panoramic cinematography is stunning, while it's great to see the backdrops are not just mountainous desert scapes, this journey goes through forestry as well.
With blurring convention subversions and inversions, a slow but fast tempo, and unexpected flashes of absurdity and violence, it's a fantastical world meticulously designed to surprise you when you least expect whilst simultaneously reminding you of its unforgiving desolation and desperation.Even if you're not a fan of Westerns, you'll be a fan of this one.Scottish aristocrat Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is in the midst of first love; so bewitched that he decides to abandon his birth right and all that he knows (at the tender of 16) in search of his Rose (Caren Pistorius) who has fled to the American frontier with her crofter father (Rory McCann) after a deadly accident on the Cavendish estate.The film begins with stargazing as a voice-over by one Silas Selleck (Michael Fassbender), imparts the basics of an amplified and unrequited love story between Jay and Rose.
What he fails to reveal in a stilted manner that would have made John Wayne proud, is the news that a bounty has been issued for Rose and her father to the tune of $2,000 dead or alive and that a number of iniquitous opportunists are also hot on the trail.Set during the end of the 19th Century and with naïve determination, an over-laden horse, trusty teapot and a guidebook to surviving the west in hand, Jay embarks on his ill-fated journey alone until he is quickly confronted by a showdown between Indian hunters and their prey.
Slow West follows the story of 16-year-old Jay Cavendish as he journeys across a 19th century frontier to find the woman he loves, while accompanied by a mysterious traveler named Silas.
Going back to the disjointed manner it follows the exploits of young immigrant Jay Cavindish who travels through 1870s America in order to meet fellow Scot immigrant Rose Ross and he meets many colourful characters but very few of these characters have anything to do with the plot and you could re-edit this film in any random order and it wouldn't make much difference to the story Another peculiar aspect is casting Kodi Smit McPhee as Jay .
There is also a large helping of "True Grit" to its plot with young greenhorn Kodi Smit-McPhee journeying West in the company of bounty hunter and killer Michael Fassbender in search of his true love, encountering other bounty hunters, outlaws and Indians on the way.Dialogue is sparse and poetical with both Smit-McPhee and Fassbender acting as our narrators, very much in the style of early Malick while the film is as visually gorgeous and as inventive as anything in the Malick oeuvre, (the DoP is Robbie Ryan).
This one is no different.Slow paced as the title suggests, Slow West is a bizarre, captivating, funny, touching and violent Western road trip that confirms John Maclean as a big talent.British director and writer John Maclean, through the eyes of naive dreamer Jay, tells a beautiful story, with a memorable ending, about the violence in the New World, cynicism, and money rush that involves everybody, both natives and immigrants.
Balancing life and death tension with laugh out loud comedic elements requires a deft touch, and Maclean proves his mettle.Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road, Let Me In) stars as Jay Cavendish a young Irish man traveling westward across the old west Colorado frontier to find his true love Rose (Caren Pistorius).
It has a deliberate screenplay that focuses on few characters at a time and calmly set the tone for western thriller.Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a man searching for his lost love.
If some folks were looking for a mindless bloodbath where a merciless hero spits on the villain's grave, they got the wrong ticket.This picture is a beauty; stunning landscapes, good music and pretty realistic (if you compare it with the ton of cartoonish westerns out there).It's not very often that you finish a western feeling uplifted, Slow West is a hell of a great movie, incredible that it is a first director's cut.
2015 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: Scottish director John Maclean mimics the heart and charisma of the old western with his feature film debut "Slow West" starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender."Slow West" tells the story of Jay Cavendish (played by Smit- McPhee), a Scottish aristocrat that travels to Colorado in search of his love Rose (played exquisitely by Caren Pistorius).
Admittedly I am not really big on Westerns in general and this one didn't turn me into a fan that's for sureIt's listed as an Action Thriller Western but to call this an action movie is reaching, sure it ends with the typical Western shoot out but the first hour is pretty darn slowKodi Smit McPhee who was excellent in YOUNG ONES (2014) has a little charisma but he's supposed to play a Scottish kid and most time he doesn't even appear to try to put on a Scottish accent (I should know, I've lived in Scotland for a year)Michael Fassbender doesn't seem to commit to his role fully either, pulling off a very generic American accent at that (but not typical Southern for some reason) but at least it was better than the Swedes in the movieMaybe I've spent a little too much speaking about accents but really there's not a whole lot to talk about regarding this movie; the whole movie feels like a teenagers idea of what the "wild west" was like with plenty of plot holes and undeveloped characters to put it short the movie is not all that exciting with very few positives I'd give it a 4.5/10, at least it was mercifully short roughly 79 minutes without the credits.
Starring Michael Fassbender ("12 Years a Slave") and Kodi Smit-McPhee ("Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"), Slow West is a serious look at the plight of mistreated Native Americans and the dreams of youth, a buddy picture and a road movie filled with adventure and a meaningful message, but also replete with cruelty and protracted violence and the blackest of humor, sometimes delivered at inappropriate moments.Like Jim Jarmusch's 1995 revisionist Western, "Dead Man," Slow West has the quality of a dream, poetic and beautiful, almost other-worldly, yet filled with an unmistakable sadness and a desperate loneliness, the flip side of the myth of the heroic pioneer: Brave, determined, and fiercely independent.
In the words of archaeologist Katherine Routledge, "Everywhere is the wind of heaven; round and above all are boundless sea and sky, infinite space and a great silence." When the film opens, as a dreamy-eyed young man points his gun at a kaleidoscope of stars in the distant sky, each star seems to light up.Only sixteen, Jay Cavendish (Smit-McPhee), has traveled from Scotland in pursuit of an idealistic romance with Rose Ross (Caren Pistorius, "The Most Fun You Can Have Dying") who is on the run with her father John (Rory McCann, "Clash of the Titans") after a murder in Scotland.
Made in New Zealand's amazing landscape it resemble an american west territory, the director provides a colorful amazing scenes,the plot in quite original at least, but there so many holes along of the movie that spoil clearly that made some damages without repair as the new brand house,could they made some kind of greying in the woods, some lines spoken poetically are unusual in such period of time, the Angel's face boy contrast with ruthless bounty hunter, l've trying figure out among the clues left behind, a beautiful movie notwithstanding cruel scenes worth to spend one hour and half watching an original neo western!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.
"Love like death is essential" - Jay Cavendish Walking into the cinema...Michael Fassbender and Ben Mendelsohn in a western makes this film tantalising.
'SLOW WEST': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)A western/coming-of-age tale; about a 16-year-old Scottish boy, traveling across 19th century America, in search of the woman he loves.
16 year old Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is alone leaving Scotland to chase after his love Rose Ross (Caren Pistorius) into the American West.
Smit-McPhee is, without realizing it, acting the part of "dairy boy who fails to stand up to gruesome ranch boss" and not Maclean's supposed transcontinental 'Jock.'Michael Fassbender performs a perfect Western genre co-leading role as Jay's travel companion and foil, "Silas." Fassbender is a fine actor, and his movement and looks lend themselves well to cowboy stuff.
Slow West stars Kodi Smith-McPhee and Michael Fassbender and its the story of Jay, and how he tries to reunite with his loved one Rose, and Silas tags along his journey.
Slow West follows Jay (Kodi Smit- McPhee), a Scottish native who has come to America in search of his beloved Rose.
Old West is a movie that is very much a love letter to the western genre of film.
In the Anti-Tradition of "Bone Tomahawk" (2015), first time Director MacLean makes No Bones about this being an Off-Kilter and Out of Step take on the Genre and delivers a Distinctively Different Tale of Traveling Men on a Torturous Journey.Michael Fassbender and His Star Power might get Fans to give this one a Look, and that's a Good Thing because this is a B-Picture that is an Off-Beat Treat for Seekers of the Unusual and Lovers of "Film as Art".Kodi Smit-McPhee (what a name) plays a Character that is Certainly Out of His Element in the Dirty and Unforgiving Setting, wearing a Suit and His Education quite well.
Slow West is a story about a young man wanting to reunite with his long love but has to travel long ways to do it in 19th century western America.
So Kodi Smit-McPhee, playing the young and inexperienced Jay, comes across Silas, played by Michael Fassbender and they each take on the journey to find his love, Rose.Of course, once you find out more about Rose and her father, the film gets a whole lot more interesting.
It's great to see the background of the Wild West used in such a way that it is here and while it would've been nice as mentioned for the film to actually legitimately feel like a "western," it's always refreshing to see up and coming directing talents make use of their talents in ways that we don't expect.The tale of young and in love Jay Cavendish (played by the in-and-out-of-Scottish-accent sporting Australian Kodi-Smit McPhee) and his travels in the dangerous wilds of the West, looking for the love of his life Rose Ross, plays out in a non-confirmative way that is unafraid to be both blunt and quirky not to mention Coen-esque in the way its characters appear and disappear within the story. |
tt1355683 | Black Mass | In the opening scene, Agent Eric Olsen (Lonnie Farmer) is interrogating Kevin Weeks (Jesse Plemons). Olsen asks Kevin to tell him everything he knows about his involvement with the Winter Hill Gang of South Boston, the business dealings of former FBI Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), and anything Kevin can say about his former boss/fugitive James "Whitey" Bulger (Johnny Depp).Flashback to Boston, 1975.Kevin is seen working as a bouncer outside a bar that Whitey (known to his friends and family as Jimmy) frequents with the other members of his gang - John Martorano (W. Earl Brown), Steve Flemmi (Rory Cochrane), and Tommy King (Scott Anderson). Whitey is introduced as criticizing Martorano for putting his fingers in his mouth after repeatedly taking from a bowl of nuts. Whitey is called outside when Kevin is fighting a man who turns out to be Whitey's cousin.The next day, Whitey makes Kevin drive him and another man, part of the Angiulo crime family, out by a beach where Whitey and Kevin both start to brutally beat the man up and leave him for dead. Later, Whitey goes back into town and greets an old woman who asks him about his stint in Alcatraz. Kevin tells Olsen that Whitey was well-liked in his part of town.Whitey goes home to his mother (Mary Klug), where they play Gin Rummy so he can pay her back some money. They are later joined for dinner by Whitey's brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch), who is the state senator.John Connolly, whom Whitey and Billy knew as kids, returns to Boston and has made a name for himself with the FBI. John meets Billy for lunch to try and get closer to Whitey, but Billy won't tell him anything.John later meets with Whitey at night. He proposes an idea for Whitey to be his informant to take down other mobs, specifically the Angiulos. Whitey doesn't like the idea of being a snitch for the FBI, but John persuades him on the grounds that Whitey can help take down those that, in Whitey's opinion, deserve to get screwed over.The Angiulos murder a Winter Hill Gang member, leading Whitey to go ahead and agree to be an informant. He confides in Steve over his actions, which surprises Steve.John discusses his plans to his boss Charles McGuire (Kevin Bacon) and fellow Agent Robert Fitzpatrick (Adam Scott). McGuire doubts John's success in taking down the criminals they're after, but John has some support from another co-worker, John Morris (David Harbour).While driving, Whitey and his boys run into a cop who says the Angiulos are trying to send the Winter Hill Gang a message. Tommy becomes abrasive and swears at the cop, but Steve and Martorano hold him back. The gang goes to the bar where Tommy is still fuming over his encounter with the cop, to which Whitey says Tommy wouldn't have done anything. Tommy gets up and tries to pick a fight with Whitey. He responds by getting up calmly and telling Tommy to take a shot and make it a good one. Tommy cools down and takes his seat.Whitey visits his girlfriend Lindsey Cyr (Dakota Johnson) and their son Douglas (Luke Ryan). During dinner, Lindsey brings up that Douglas got in trouble at school for hitting another kid. Whitey is proud of the boy, but says that he got in trouble because he struck the other kid while people were looking. Therefore, Douglas realizes it's totally okay to hit people when no one else is looking.John pleads with Whitey to not kill or commit any major crimes as long as he is an informant. However, Whitey disregards this when he brings Tommy out by the bridge and has Steve execute him with a shot to the back of the head, despite Whitey appearing to forgive Tommy for his outburst. They bury his body under the bridge, which Kevin mentions to Olsen as being referred to as the "Bulger Burial Ground" for the number of bodies Whitey and his boys have put under there.Whitey goes to visit Lindsey and Douglas, only to learn that the boy is sick. It gets worse later when Whitey joins Lindsey at the hospital. She tells him that Douglas started getting very angry and just fell into a motionless state due to Reye syndrome, leaving him on life support. Realizing he will be brain dead and with no hope left for the boy, Lindsey opts to pull the plug herself. Whitey criticizes her and calls her a murderer, to which Lindsey points out the hypocrisy in that statement. She leaves in tears while Whitey has an outburst and flips a table over.Flashing forward to 1981.By now, Whitey has taken over the Winter Hill Gang, but hasn't brought John back any results regarding the Angiulos. He has also separated from Lindsey after Douglas passes away. He's also got other people on his side, including unstable coke fiend Brian Halloran (Peter Sarsgaard). Brian is first seen coked up at a restaurant where he murders two of his drug dealers in front of everyone before walking out.A breakthrough comes when Whitey is able to deliver John pictures of the Angiulos meeting in local areas. This gives John and his buddies to opportunity to wiretap them and overhear the Angiulos talk about their dealings, including bringing in a lot of drugs. Subsequently, the Angiulos are busted, John becomes a hero at work, and Whitey has less competition to worry about. John becomes closer to Whitey and his boys, which upsets John's wife Marianne (Julianne Nicholson).Whitey gets cut out of an embezzlement scheme for World Jai Alai. He gets Martorano to find the owner of World Jai Alai, Roger Wheeler (David De Beck) and murder him in his car after his weekly golf game. Also killed is their former contact for the scheme, John Callahan (Bill Camp), whom Martorano kills in his car and stuffs in the trunk.Whitey pays off Brian to keep his mouth shut. However, when Brian gets really coked up, he goes to the feds and spills the beans before John and Morris. They dismiss his confession as a bad coke episode. John later finds Whitey at the St. Patrick's Day parade and asks him if he killed Roger Wheeler. Whitey doesn't say a word, yet he knows what led to this question.Brian gets into a car with a friend, only for a bullet to his the other man. Brian tries to drive away frantically when he sees Whitey emerge with a rifle aimed at him. He shoots the car as Brian stumbles out, getting him shot in the leg. As Brian cries in pain, Whitey grabs a smaller gun and shoots him three times before he's dead. Onlookers see the dead bodies and scream as Whitey walks away.Later on, Whitey and Steve pick up Steve's prostitute stepdaughter Deborah (Juno Temple) from the police station. After Whitey asks her if she said anything to the cops, she affirms that she denied anything that could have hurt Whitey. Seemingly trusting her, Whitey takes her to an apartment building where he strangles her to death in front of Steve.A new district attorney, Fred Wyshak (Corey Stoll), moves into the Boston FBI HQ. John tries to befriend him with two tickets to the Red Sox game, but Wyshak refuses them. He is more interested in learning how Whitey has managed to evade police capture over the years.Whitey faces another problem when his mother passes away. He stands on the balcony at the funeral, away from Billy and his family. Now, the only thing that appears to put his mind at ease is his weapons dealings with the IRA.Whitey has dinner with John, Steve, and Morris at John's home. Whitey compliments the steak that Morris made and asks what he marinated it in. Morris says it's a family secret, but Whitey playfully presses him to tell. Morris finally admits it's ground garlic and soy. Whitey then states how easily Morris gave that up despite saying it was a family secret, and if he could spill that so easily, then he figures Morris can say anything else about Whitey. Whitey's demeanor visibly terrifies Morris until Whitey breaks into laughter and plays it off as a joke. He then asks John why Marianne hasn't joined them, to which John says because Marianne doesn't feel good. Whitey goes up to her room to talk to her, chastising her for not joining her husband's friends and putting his hands on her menacingly and also frightening her. This contributes to her later changing the locks on John.John McIntyre (Brad Carter), an informant in the Winter Hill Gang, rats Whitey out over his business with the IRA, leading the gang to beat and murder him.Things start to go downhill for the gang when Wyshak and McGuire really dig into John's business with Whitey. The final nail in the coffin is when Morris confesses to what he knows about Whitey and John's relationship, in exchange for immunity.Martorano, Steve, and Kevin are all arrested, and later on, so is John. He asks the feds to let him leave his house with dignity, but they don't let him When asked by Olsen how his opinion on Whitey has changed since his arrest, Steve says his opinion of Whitey is "strictly criminal".Billy sits in his living room looking somber, most likely already hearing about his brother. Whitey calls Billy from a payphone and says he'll be going away for a while, and he gives him one last goodbye. With that, Whitey would go on the run.The ending text states that Kevin Weeks and John Martorano served their time and that they walk the streets of Boston today as free men. Stephen Flemmi pleaded guilty to 10 murders and is serving a life sentence. Billy Bulger left the state senate and would become president of the University of Massachusetts, but he was forced to resign after it was found out he kept in touch with his brother. John Connolly was convicted in the second-degree murder of John Callahan and was sentenced to 40 years in state prison.The final scene shows an older Whitey in 2011 when, after a tip-off to his whereabouts, he is promptly arrested outside a hotel after 16 years on the run. The real Whitey Bulger received two life sentences, plus five years for his other crimes. | comedy, neo noir, murder, violence, flashback, revenge | train | imdb | Goodfellas is an action movie compared to Black Mass.There are a few good qualities here: top shelf production, excellent acting, a clear, concise story of characters making poor choices - leading to predictable consequences.But who cares?
Black Mass is a crime drama movie revolving around the true events behind the Winter Hill Gang and the gang's leader Whitey Bulger played by Johnny Depp.
But this film really made me not care if the protagonist (whether you consider that to be Bulger or Connolly) lives or dies; and in a mob movie, that is a worse crime than anything committed on screen.So the acting I blame entirely on Cooper.
Unfortunately, I felt nothing while watching Black Mass.Heralded as a return to acting form for Johnny Depp, Black Mass tells the true-crime story of James "Whitey" Bulger, a mythologized, south-Boston crime lord who operated from the late 70's to early 90's.
As an adaptation of the best-selling book of the same name by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill, the film portrays the key years of Bulger's ascent to power in the Boston crime world, during which he acted as an FBI-informant through slick FBI agent (and Southie homeboy) John Connolly (Joel Edgerton).
Afterwards, I could only lament the fact the rest of the movie didn't try harder to be a horror movie, or didn't try harder to be anything interesting at all.Black Mass has the trappings of a great film with solid performances, beautifully lit shots, and a wealth of source materials, making its ultimate failure that much more disappointing.
However, in 2015 it's simply unacceptable to approach the making of a crime movie with absolutely no creative spirit.Several other reviews have likened Black Mass to a poor imitation of Goodfellas or other Scorsese films.
This is the type of the film that makes you want more and more after each scene is done all the way towards the end, and the supporting characters really help Black Mass reach its full potential of hitting the right spots for a moviegoer.
Let's start with the acting: Johnny Depp plays Boston crime lord James "Whitey" Bulger and reveals virtually nothing about the character he plays aside from the violent actions he portrays.
The icy blue eyes of notorious Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger stare out from the screen in Scott Cooper's "Black Mass" like the gaze of some confident jungle predator calmly lying in wait, holding his ground until the moment he moves in for the kill.
But if Johnny Depp's mesmerizing performance — a bracing return to form for the star after a series of critical and commercial misfires — is the chief selling point of "Black Mass," there is much else to recommend this sober, sprawling, deeply engrossing evocation of Bulger's South Boston fiefdom and his complex relationship with the FBI agent John Connolly, played with equally impressive skill by Joel Edgerton.
Depp plays "Whitey" Bulger, and to constantly remind the audience that he's a real bad guy, he gives stone-cold, eye piercing looks, he throws in the necessary run of the mill curses, kills a few unremarkable people throughout and that's it.
Even a black screen for 122 minute would have been better because then you get to sleep.The movie moves at such a slow pace with so boring a plot and so many attempts at making everybody look good and being politically correct, that even the awesome Johnny Depp performances in the trailer look weak and halfhearted when put into context.Basically: Watch the trailers (they're awesome), but not the movie!.
But to me Black Mass was about as exciting as watching a bad night of karaoke when you've promised yourself you weren't going to drink or smoke anymore.Truth be told, I didn't even recognize Johnny Depp - that's how great an actor he is, but sometimes even a great actor can't save a movie from oblivion.Of course, I realize critics love this type of movie for all the logical reasons they learned in film school, but really, if I hadn't been invited to see it with a friend I would have walked out halfway through.Like I said in the opening, maybe it's just me or maybe the king really isn't wearing any clothes ;-).
I'm giving this a 10 as it did everything a movie should: kept me entertained and watching till the end.Yes it seems to be a love it or hate it movie in terms of reviews, but in my opinion it is likely another case of something STYLIZED coming across Clichéd in the mind of the average consumer.Or maybe you just need to be an oddball yourself to appreciate the characters.It may not be a constantly hilarious movie (it's not just a comedy after all), but regardless i found it funny and entertaining, with a good plot and a few memorable scenes.(Disclaimer: Im not your average movie viewer.
Unfortunately, the Hollywood treatment is exactly what Bulger's story gets in "Black Mass" (R, 2:02).Johnny Depp stars as Whitey Bulger and the film focuses on the middle portion of his life, his rise and fall as a Boston crime boss.
He gives a convincing performance, but the make-up used on him is distracting and it feels like a lot of time and effort went into making Depp look, sound and act like Ray Liotta in "Goodfellas"
and that's not the only distracting part of this movie – or the only connection with "Goodfellas".
But the subject of "Black Mass" is real-life hoodlum James "Whitey" Bulger (Johnny Depp) who grew to be the kingpin in the Boston underworld.Heavily protected by an old friend and FBI agent John Connolly (Joel Egerton, "The Great Gatsby") who is running him as an informant, Bulger ruthlessly destroys his Boston Italian rivals and tries to keep one step ahead of sceptical FBI boss Charles McGuire (Kevin Bacon) and CIA investigator Fred Wyshak (Corey Stoll from "House of Cards").
Told in flashback form, the film charts Bulger's career and his relationship with his brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch) who (amazing but true!) was the State Senator for Massachusetts.Depp is a chameleon-like actor.
Earl Brown ("There's Something About Mary") as his right (and left) arm men and the talented Dakota Johnson as the concerned mother to his son.Although it's good as a simple gangster film, the film is a little two-dimensional to be great.The treatment of the relationship between the brothers – surely one of the most dramatic and surprising parts of the story – is perfunctory, with Cumberbatch (sporting a good Bostonian accent) having relatively few minutes on the screen.It's also almost impossible to form any emotional connection with Depp's character.
But when the prosecutor Fred Wyshak (Corey Stoll) is assigned to Boston, he demands investigation of Whitey despite the interference of Connolly and Whitey becomes one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List criminals."Black Mass" is another crime film based on the biography of a notorious gangster, this time the criminal James "Whitey" Bulger in South Boston.
This past history in turn doesn't really provide a fair shake for any film in the current time frame as we have so much the compare it to.I believe that the real demystification of this spell (not to say the cast wasn't good or to question the deftness of Depp) is that we seem to have seen this story a lot.
Depp now turns his talents towards one of the most unsympathetic real life characters imaginable
South Boston's infamous crime lord James "Whitey" Bulger.Director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) proves yet again that he is an actor's director, rather than a visual technician or story addict.
In this adaptation of the book from "Boston Globe" reporters Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill, Cooper has Depp and Joel Edgerton as his two leads, and an incredibly deep supporting cast that provide the look and feel for this period piece dramatizing the crime and corruption during Bulger's reign.When one thinks of the memorable kingpins of crime/gangster movies, those that come to mind include Michael Corleone (The Godfather movies), Tony Montana (Scarface), Jimmy Conway (Goodfellas), and Frank Costello (The Departed).
And that's the disappointment of Cooper's film.For the Whitey Bulger story, there are two distinct directions to explore: the building of Bulger's criminal empire, or the motivation of the FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) as he juggled his job and relationship with Bulger.
Black Mass is not an example of excellence in this type of film, far from it, but can fulfill its role as a whole is good, has an extremely attractive story, and at times his many jumps in time cease all very chopped, but the whole experience is justified by a major factor: Johnny Depp.
All actors in the main long core are fine in their roles, which already slightly increases the overall grade, but Depp is really fantastic, leaving those who really watches in fear for all who engage with him, even with some dramas placed within the story somewhat unresolved, all convictions and Jimmy Bulger motivations are extremely convincing in the hands of the great actor.
One of the year's best casts, stories, and overall opportunities for greatness is wasted with this dull, and minimalist gangster bore.Black Mass, essentially is a canvas for Johnny Depp to re-thrive his recently deadbeat career.
Scores a 10 out of 10 ratingThe crime film genre remains in good stead with the launching of director Scott Cooper's Black Mass which is a movie biography based on factual evidence of south Boston's number one crime lord of the 1970's and 1980's the vicious head of the Winter Hill Gang, James (Whitey) Bulger.
Bulger" that is well worth watching for its in-depth insight in to the real south Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger before seeing Black Mass and realizing how well produced and acted the film really is.Johnny Depp plays the lead role of James Whitey Bulger with a hard to achieve balance of rare human compassion for his family and as a fearless gangster who knows no bounds in maximizing the physical violence he will dispel on anyone who gets in his way.It is always difficult to take a true story of a mans life that evolves over decades and capture the essence of the man in a two hour film but director Scott Cooper does an excellent job in achieving just that.
This gangster film centers on the true story of one of Boston's most wanted criminals, Whitey Bulger, an Irish mobster who served as an informant for the FBI against the Italian Mafia for many years, during which time he used the special treatment to get away with committing several gruesome crimes of his own and rise to the top.
i am big fan of good fellas and departed & still i like BLACK MASS.johnny Depp gave a power packed performance.every single scene is dominated by him.there are some scenes made the movie slower and there are some scenes not accurate as it was happened but still story was gripping and also it was narrated clearly didn't confuse the audiences.i know that i cant expect any surprises in the end.we all know how its end still some scenes made me interested like Depp's performance at the table scene with David harbour.see it for Johnny Depp's acting ..
The film has an ensemble cast including Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Peter Sarsgaard, Rory Cochrane, Adam Scott, Dakota Johnson, and Corey Stoll.-The film follows the criminal career of infamous Irish-American mobster Whitey Bulger (Depp).
The site's critical consensus reads, "Black Mass spins a gripping yarn out of its fact-based story – and leaves audiences with one of Johnny Depp's most compelling performances in years." On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 68 out of 100 based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy, in addition to praising the film, called Depp's performance "fully convincing and frightening", saying it to is "very welcome at this point in his career and one of his best." -Similarly, Indie Wire's Eric Kohn praised the cast and highlighted Depp's performance and Cooper's directorial efforts to depict "the haunting legacy of Bulger's criminal deeds, and the lingering sense that no justice can erase their impact." Admiring Black Mass as an "elegantly understated crime drama", Variety's Scott Foundas positively compared Depp's performance in the film to his earlier roles with Tim Burton.-TheWrap's Alonso Duralde praised Depp's performance, but was less positive towards the film's pacing and short on screen appearances of some supporting characters.
It tries to copy the great gangster flicks of our time but just ends up being mediocre.When we are introduced to the CIA agent things got a little bit more interesting, but then the film tends to speed past anything interesting as if it's not of any importance and tries to focus on intimate moments between the main characters, it might of worked if the script wasn't so boring..
'Black Mass' falls somewhere between the two, Depp is fantastic but the film itself, drags.Depp plays Whitey Bulger, a Boston gangster with a psychotic edge, who aligns himself with childhood friend and FBI agent, John Connolly, played by Joel Edgerton.
By now we've seen this format often enough with its well-rehearsed drills: men in suits and big ties: large hair on everyone; a soundtrack of known and more obscure period hits; moody settings in bars, wasteland, and a shabby district of town; a protagonist that is attractive in a psychopathic sense, a supporting cast of solid actors embellish the entire piece; a script with a couple of strong scenes and a memorable line and bada bing - it's a quality piece of work.There's little wrong with this movie: some people may quibble about Depp (who seems to have channeled a bit of Nicholson from The Departed as he filched Keith Richards for the pirate series), but really, it's not worth the struggle.
BLACK MASS is a very standard gangster film meant strictly for the fans of crime dramas as well as Johnny Depp.
His portrayal of notorious gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger is brilliant, and is the sole reason that 'Black Mass' is worth watching.Depp aside, this film doesn't have much going for it.
Expected more, as it was a bio-pic of the criminal lord Whitey Bulger, and more over Johnny Depp was doing it, coming to the movie, it was straight-forward dive into the kingpin's life, when it comes to the direction scott Cooper does a decent job in handling only a piece, of unveiling friendship b/w bulger and his alliance John Connolly.
It's not a typical crime thriller, it's a realistic classic on the same level as Goodfellas.Director Scott Cooper, the screenwriters and lead actor Johnny Depp do an excellent job of gradually revealing the personality of Whitey Bulger, a true psychopath.
Bulger is quick to betray his friends and is unforgiving even to his closest associates when they present the slightest threat to him, while at the same time he demands total loyalty from everybody around him.I haven't liked Joel Edgerton in other roles, such as Ramses in Exodus: Gods and Kings, but he is the ideal actor to play John Connolly.Black Mass moves along at just the right pace, not too fast for character development and yet quickly enough so that it's never dull..
Black Mass, the story of James 'Whitey' Bulger (played by Johnny Depp) is very interesting and pleasant to watch if you are into crime and Mafia stories.
It stars Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Rory Cochrane, and Benedict Cumberbatch along with Dakota Johnson, and Kevin Bacon.Black Mass the true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.What would happen if you mixed Good Fellas, Wolf of Wall Street, Casino and the Departed minus Scorsese plus a non-linear format?- Black Mass.Black Mass has quite a few strengths under its belt to justify quite a few of the flaws it garners.
And Johnny Depp, along-with Joel Edgerton deliver BRILLIANTLY!'Black Mass' is The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.'Black Mass' explores a violent time in American History & its utterly brutal.
However, none of these great actors can top Johnny Depp in the lead role, he shines in every scene, he lives and breaths Bulger and it is very clear that he went method for his performance, I've never been unimpressed with him in any movie, but this is some of his best work yet.
While it may be lacking in thrills at times, Black Mass boasts a terrific story, excellent character development and outstanding performances, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good crime drama.
BLACK MASS: Bravo to Johnny Depp, unrecognizable (kudos to the hair and makeup people) for his Oscar worthy, chilling performance as real life Boston gangster Whitely Bulger, a small time gangster used as an informant by the FBI to bring down the Mafia, thus clearing the way for his own criminal operation.
I liked this biographical crime drama thriller from the director of Out Of The Furnace (2013), Scott Cooper, and starring Johnny Depp as the infamous Irish American Gangster, James "Whitey" Bulger.
Johnny Depp put on a nice performance as James 'Whitey' Bulger, almost Oscar worthy, as with Joel Edgerton, who played the role of John Connolly.
"Black Mass" is a film about James 'Whitey' Bulger (Johnny Depp), a violent gangster who becomes an FBI informant in order to take down a Mafia family who is disrupting his criminal activities and at the same time involving John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), an FBI agent. |
tt0330373 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | === Plot introduction ===
Throughout the three previous novels in the Harry Potter series, the main character, Harry Potter, has struggled with the difficulties of growing up, and the added challenge of being a famed wizard: when Harry was a baby, Lord Voldemort, the most powerful Dark wizard in history, killed Harry's parents but mysteriously vanished after unsuccessfully trying to kill Harry, which left a lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead. This results in Harry's immediate fame and his being placed in the care of his abusive muggle, or non-magical, aunt and uncle, Aunt Petunia Dursley and Uncle Vernon Dursley, who have a son named Dudley Dursley.
Harry learns that he is a wizard when he is 11 years old, just before he enrolls in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He befriends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and is confronted by Lord Voldemort who is trying to regain power. In Harry's first year he has to protect the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort and one of his faithful followers at Hogwarts. After returning to the school after summer break, students at Hogwarts are attacked by the legendary monster of the "Chamber of Secrets" after the chamber is opened. Harry ends the attacks by killing a Basilisk and defeating another attempt by Lord Voldemort to return to full strength. The following year, Harry hears that he has been targeted by escaped mass murderer Sirius Black. Despite stringent security measures at Hogwarts, Harry is confronted by Black at the end of his third year of schooling, and Harry learns that Black was framed and is actually Harry's godfather. He also learned that it was his father's old school friend Peter Pettigrew who actually betrayed his parents.
=== Plot summary ===
The book opens with Harry seeing Frank Bryce being killed by Lord Voldemort in a vision, and is awoken by his scar hurting. The Weasleys then take Harry and Hermione Granger to the Quidditch World Cup, using a Portkey, to watch Ireland versus Bulgaria, with Ireland emerging victorious. There, Harry meets Cedric Diggory, who is attending the match with his father. After the match, Voldemort's followers attack the site, destroying spectators' tents and wreaking havoc. The Dark Mark gets fired into the sky, which leads to a panic since it is the first time the sign has been seen in 13 years. Winky, Barty Crouch Senior's house elf, is falsely accused of casting the Mark after she is found holding Harry's wand, which is revealed to have been used to cast the Mark, as Harry had lost it during the chaos of the Death Eaters' attack. Hermione, angry at this injustice, forms a society to promote the rights of house elves.
At Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore announces that Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody will be the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year, and also that Hogwarts will host the Triwizard Tournament, with a prize of one thousand gold Galleons. However, only those over 17—the age of majority in the wizarding world—will be allowed to enter. It is the first time in 202 years that the Triwizard Tournament will be held. Students from Beauxbatons Academy and the Durmstrang Institute, other wizarding academies, will travel to Hogwarts, where they will stay for the year, in hopes of competing. At Halloween, the Goblet of Fire picks Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons Academy; Viktor Krum (who is also the Seeker on Bulgaria's Quidditch team) from Durmstrang Institute; and Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts to compete in the tournament. However, it additionally gives a fourth name—Harry Potter—leading to suspicion and indignation from everyone and magically binding Harry to compete. Ron is jealous that Harry is once again in the limelight and refuses to speak to Harry.
Hagrid reveals to Harry that the first task involves dragons, and since Fleur and Krum's headmasters are also aware of this, and will surely tell them in advance, Harry informs Cedric as well. At the task, Harry has to pass a Hungarian Horntail to retrieve a golden egg that contains a hint to the next task, which he does by summoning his Firebolt broomstick with the Accio spell, and finishes the task tied for first with Krum. Ron and Harry subsequently reconcile, Ron now understanding the full danger of the tournament. When Harry opens the egg, though, it merely shrieks loudly. Hermione then takes Harry and Ron to the school kitchens, where house elves work. There, they meet a distraught Winky, who is struggling to get over the loss of her sacking. They also meet Harry's old friend Dobby, who has been employed at Hogwarts to work in the kitchens; he is the only known house elf to appreciate his freedom, despite his hardworking nature.
Meanwhile, gossipy reporter Rita Skeeter is writing scandalous articles of half-truths and outright fabrications in The Daily Prophet about those at Hogwarts, including Hermione, Harry, Hagrid, and Madame Maxime of Beauxbatons.
With the Yule Ball approaching, Harry must find a partner, but when he finally approaches his crush Cho Chang, Cedric has beaten him to her, so Harry and Ron ask Parvati and Padma Patil. Ron is shocked and jealous to see that Hermione is attending with Krum. Cedric gives Harry a tip on the egg, telling him to take it to the prefects' bathroom, but Harry refuses to listen, jealous over Cho.
Finally acting on the tip, Harry takes the egg to the prefects' bathroom, where Moaning Myrtle tells him to listen to the egg underwater; there the words become understandable. Harry learns that the task is to recover something he will "sorely miss", and starts looking for spells to help him breathe where the objects will be taken: The Black Lake. By the morning of the task, Harry still hasn't found a solution, but Dobby gives him some Gillyweed to give Harry gills. Harry completes the task by rescuing Ron from under the lake. Harry then takes a risk by also rescuing Fleur's younger sister, Gabrielle, after Fleur was unable to. After the judges confer, he earns enough points to tie him with Cedric for the lead.
One month before the final task, Harry and Krum are talking when they encounter Crouch, who appears to have gone insane, but manages to tell Harry to get Dumbledore. Leaving Krum with Crouch, Harry fetches Dumbledore but returns to find Krum stunned and Crouch gone. Harry returns to preparing for the final task, a hedge maze. Inside the maze, Harry is forced to incapacitate Krum, who has been bewitched, to save Cedric. Working together, the two reach the cup. They agree to touch it at the same time, and doing so, discover that it is a Portkey that transports them to a graveyard. There, Peter Pettigrew kills Cedric and uses Harry's blood (along with his own hand and Tom Riddle Sr.'s bone) to resurrect Lord Voldemort.
Voldemort summons his Death Eaters, berating them for thinking he was dead, before he reveals that he has a single "faithful servant" concealed at Hogwarts, who has been working to ensure that Harry would make it to the graveyard, and then challenges Harry to a duel. However, when he and Harry fire curses at each other, their wands connect due to their identical cores. Voldemort's wand releases the most recent spells it performed, resulting in imprints of his last victims appearing in the graveyard, including Harry's parents, who provide a distraction so that Harry can escape back to Hogwarts using the Portkey, taking Cedric's body with him.
When he returns, Moody takes him to his office, and reveals himself to be Voldemort's 'faithful servant'; he was the one who put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire, and has been guiding him through the tournament from behind the scenes to ensure that he would grab the Portkey first. Before Moody can kill Harry, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape intervene. They learn that Moody is in fact Barty Crouch Jr., Mr. Crouch's son, disguised by Polyjuice Potion. Crouch had sentenced Crouch Jr. to life imprisonment in Azkaban over alleged ties to the Death Eaters but smuggled him out as a last favour to his dying wife. Crouch Jr. was the one who set off the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup, doing it to scare the Death Eaters he felt had abandoned Voldemort. Eventually, Voldemort had gotten in contact with Crouch Jr. and had him impersonate Moody as part of his plan. Crouch Jr. also admits to killing Crouch Sr., to prevent him telling Dumbledore about Voldemort. The real Moody is found inside Crouch Jr.'s enchanted trunk and rescued. Harry is then declared the winner of the Triwizard Tournament and given his winnings.
Many people, including Fudge, do not believe Harry and Dumbledore about Voldemort's return, and as Fudge has the Dementor's Kiss performed, Crouch Jr. is unable to give testimony. Hermione discovers Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus, who can take the form of a beetle, and blackmails her to force her to stop writing her libellous stories. Not wanting his tournament winnings, Harry gives them to Fred and George to start their joke shop and returns home with the Dursleys. | dark, fantasy, gothic, murder, cult, flashback, good versus evil, insanity, revenge, entertaining | train | wikipedia | Light romance was touched upon yet wasn't over-emphasised and the Yule Ball will please those who enjoyed the scenes in the book but audience members over the age of sixteen might find teens ogling each other a tad dull (Hermione is very out-of-character and the scene does drag).The acting of the adult cast is, of course, exemplary as always.
Molly Weasley and the Dursleys were also missed, especially since I think Julie Walters would have been exceptional in the Molly/Harry interactions that take place aftermath of the graveyard scenes of the novel as the film didn't round off in a manner that reflected a boy had died and Harry would be traumatised by what he saw.I think most Potter fans will enjoy this although they will remark that it could have been better.
This movie doesn't get a 10 because it leaves me feeling like something is missing, but it does deserve a 9 for being the best possible portrayal of the book given a 2.5 hour limitation.
I noticed that, to make up for time, it had multiple things happening in each scene, which made it feel like I was reading the book in fast forward.
Best Potter Yet. I'd hate to face the task of condensing a 700 page book into a movie - even a two and a half hour movie, but they've managed pretty well with this installment of the adventures of Harry Potter.For fans of the movies, you'll find this installment a little darker, a little grittier, and a little more involving.
Naturally, some parts had to be modified or cut entirely - there's no way to avoid that without making it a 10 hour movie - but the parts that were cut were either not critical to the story line, or will be easy to account for in the films to come.
And I can say even with the fourth instalment, the excitement is never reduced.Plot: Harry Potter is selected by the Goblet of fire to compete in the Triwizard Tournament making him the youngest ever to compete much to the chagrin of everyone.Story and direction: This is the first film in the series not to have the first scene at Privett Drive.
I realize that the fact that I was paid $14.50/hr to watch this movie on Wednesday night might give rise to feelings of jealousy among some, but I am currently wishing I could manage to get more than five hours of sleep sometime soon.All that said I must say this was by far the greatest Harry Potter film so far.
After the series low of the previous film, AKA the snoozefest mess Prisoner of Azkaban, it was good to see a mature Harry Potter film with an actual coherent/enjoyable story.This thankfully was an actual decent entry in the franchise, and I truly hope (pray) that David Yates' directing style and skill level has a ton more in common with Mike Newell and Chris Columbus than it does with the laughably overrated guy who directed the beyond boring slog that was Gravity and the single worst Harry Potter film..
First, a confession: I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a Potter fan, so I felt something of a fraud as I sneaked into a media screening of Goblet of Fire while many bona fide devotees have had to wait it out.My interest in the franchise has thus far consisted of sitting through the first film in a freezing cinema wondering what all the fuss was about, and skim-reading the second book on an aeroplane to appease my curiosity as to the young wizard's appeal.
The movie kept me on the edge of my seat with all the action, suspense(the dragon scene were especially good), and drama.If your a fan of the books, then I highly suggest that you go see it..
They've gotta be one of the best special effects I have seen in a movie since The Lord of the Rings trilogy.DIRECTION: The director Mike Newell, in my opinion did an excellent job at directing this film.
The special effects are amazing; the acting has definitely got better, and Voldemort was portrayed beautifully, and I must say, the ending definitely saved the movie from a total disaster.But if you would like me to ramble on and on about the good parts, well, that's what the hundreds of positive other reviews in this site is for.There definitely was a lot of material to cover in the fourth book and being a 2 ½ hour long movie, I was expecting parts to be cut; I wasn't disappointed, but actually amazed on how much was cut!
At times I was asking myself "am I watching a Harry Potter movie?" The sense of "magicalness" was taken away in this once scene.
When the DVD comes out, I can just imagining fast forwarding through the dance.Too much time and effort was done trying to make this movie look good with special effects and humor that the essence of Harry Potter was ruined; character and plot development.
The director modernized the movie too much making Hogwarts seem like more of a typical American high school (with immature kids and even a school band) rather then a grand place where people of a higher society go to learn magic (which by the way there was hardly any classroom scene in the movie).I'd much rather have the movie run four or even five hours long, then to sit through certain part of this movie again.
Maybe this is a hit with the middle school crowd, but even still, you can tell the actors themselves are thinking "what the hell IS this about?" EVENTUALLY, everyone remembers (a touch too late) that the evil "you-know-who" seems to be making his way back to life through foreshadowing and not-so-subtle hints, but now we're caught up in a life or death competition where Harry Potter has been illegally entered, and set up basically as bait to lure out Voldemort and/or his henchmen.
Here a legendary event takes place and Harry Potter competes in the Triwizard tournament , in which young people champions are selected , they are representatives from three wizarding colleges confronting in a series of dangerous tests : challenging dragons , horrible sea creatures and a spooky maze .This episode contains loads of adventures and action and it is such deeply riveting and emotional as its predecessors ; besides , getting lots of bombastic special effects and several images have you on the edge of your seat , including an amazing array of technical bizarre creatures , a breathtaking combat between Harry and a dragon , a rescue from sea deep of his friends fighting creepy , scary monsters and an exciting battle between Harry and the Dark Lord and his henchmen , the Death Eaters.
Phenomenal and spectacular musical score by Patrick Doyle , substituting to the great master John Williams.The movie was magnificently directed by Mike Newell .The film is recommended to Harry Potter saga lovers as well as neophyte who didn't have seen prior episodes..
So lets start from the beginning shall we?first there was a harry potter book series written by J.K Rowling that was good, children and adults all over the word rejoiced.
Based on the choppy scenes with no genuine transitions and lack of continuity, the movie itself seemed like one big trailer that would be promoting the "real film." I find it hard to believe that anyone who had not read the books could follow along in the beginning at all.
In the book, Harry never left the arena and that scene in the movie was completely ridiculous with them climbing on the roof of the castle.
For those of you who know the books and have seen GOF than you know what I am talking about.GOF had great special effects and Mike Newell did a wonderful job directing the actors to appropriately portray their characters.
The fourth Harry Potter book has so many interesting moments and potential the stunning Quidditch World Championship final, the dangerous tasks at the Triwizard Tournament and its tragic ending, the romantic moments at the Yule Ball.
Nice performances also by the gorgeous and hunky Robert Pattinson as the tragic hero Cedric Diggory and the charming Katie Leung as Cho. All in one "Harry Potter and the GoF" is a 3-hour-trailer: Scenes and people are introduced without letting them space to develop their character, we get hints and foreshadowings, surprises and impressions but you cannot really see a flow or a plot.
And Dumbledore - I think Michael Gambon is an exemplary actor, but to see Dumbledore lose it with Harry in such an uncharacteristic way was dumbfounding.See, I can understand why things have to be left out - it's a long book, and there are extraneous elements.
Again, I wish these people would really read the book - at one point, the expelliarmus charm managed to knock someone off their feet whilst they were still holding their wand - getting small details like that wrong is rather ridiculous too.I saw the film with my fiancé who has not read the books, and he was rather confused by it - you didn't even see the seasons change, and the film felt so rushed and the plot was so unexplained that it might as well have been 6 weeks rather than an academic year.Oh well - it's a great looking film, and I was most pleased to see the split-second appearance of Jarvis Cocker, Jonny Greenwood et al, but it's relationship to the book is somewhat distance - second cousin twice removed perhaps?.
Newell completely abandons the magic of the first few films and goes for an all out "noir", losing one of the best bits about a Harry Potter film: magic.The script remains tarred, leaving out some of the best and most entertaining elements of the novel such as the opening Quidditch World Cup - an exhilarating read and surely an excellent addition to the film?
Poor acting for major characters, a patchy and inconsistent script that seemingly misinterprets the brilliance of Rowling's fourth novel, and Newell's inability to direct both the action and the actors on screen result in a film that is mediocre at best and completely undeserving of the recent hype that has accompanied its theatrical release.
But Goblet of Fire is far and away the best movie of series.The movie is full of action and I was able to get totally into the suspense of it all, even though I have read the book several times and already knew everything that was going to happen.The kids are finally kids!
This realism adds so much not only to this movie, in terms of fun and real heart, but lets the audience get to know the students and care about them and their struggles.The ending is pretty much flawless- powerful, touching, and exactly as I had imagined it, while still remaining true to the aims of this film.On of my biggest reservations about this movie is Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore as a little too panicky for my taste.
He doesn't know exactly what's going on or why in the book, yet he is always with an air of wisdom and power, and this is the reason Harry trusts him so limitlessly and comes to rely on him completely to be able to take care of any matters that arise.Overall, this movie is not only the best Potter movie to date, but one of my favorite movies of the year.
I know it's an old cliché that people always say about books into movies but it really does appropriately describe the world of Harry Potter.
Personally I think this is the weakest of the Harry Potter Films released, But one of the best books so far, How on Earth could the Director get the Picture so wrong????
For anyone not acquainted with the Harry Potter Book series may find this film very disorientating and jumpy, those book fans out there will realise that they have chopped and changed the story around, and, as you will all be glad to hear, left all the good parts out.
I am an avid Harry Potter Fan of both the books and the movies, though they are separate entities, and was very psyched to see this new film.
That change was widely accepted, but, in my opinion, this movie was a bit too different for my liking.Firstly, though the book was meant to do this, I felt utterly blown away at the end of the film.
This movie felt set apart, but not necessarily in a good way.I will withhold complete judgment until I can see the directors cut, but I actually believe it could have been better as two movies, if it meant that important plot points could have been left in, such as why exactly Barty Crouch died, which seemed quite random in the book.
The match wasn't shown, Ludo Bagman doesn't appear ( and his wager with the twins disappears as well ) we are not introduced to the Veela and so we cannot find any reasonable explanation as to why Fleur has such a great effect on Ron. The other Weasly brothers are not shown ( Charlie should have been there to take care of the dragons ), Amos Diggory is not given a chance to talk so much about how good his son was against Harry in Quidditch ( and Cedric at first seems somewhat arrogant and not at all like he is depicted in the book )and believe me I could go on.
Additionally, there are a lot of unexplained story lines- the complete destruction of 1,000's of tents at the Quiddich Cup, Ron's anger at Harry, Harry's sulkiness at the Ball, Neville's response to the cruciatus curse, Hermione's interest in Krum, Priori Incantatem...the list is too long to continue- questions dealt with succinctly in the book- in the movie, left to the audience to decipher.
I guess they couldn't afford Winky or Dobby- maybe they should have saved a little money from the god-awful Yule Ball and dragon scenes.I guess it's Dumbledore who sums it up best- in times when you have to choose between what's right and what's easy- remember what happened to a book that was good, and whole, and interesting- that strayed into the hands of a hack director and a studio that turned movies like "Batman" into "Batman & Robin"...
By the end of the movie, and apparently Harry's fourth year, the audience is left scratching their heads, as no tangible chronology is provided for ANY PART of this movie.I could continue, but my point is clear: an eight-hundred page book adapted into one three and a half hour film either cuts prominent sections of the original text out of the finished product, or tries to make a mad scramble to stay relatively close to the original work.The result here, unfortunately, is a film with a lot of potential, and little else.
There is very little in the books that would not work on screen, and having read Steve Kloves scripts for the first three films I think he did a very good job.
Though I am a greater fan of the Harry Potter books written by J.K. Rowling, I am almost as equally excited when a new movie comes out.
Many Harry Potter fans have shown anger and disappointment towards Warner Brothers for not making the movies like the books.
How unfortunate that this film, even at 2 hrs 30 min, feels rushed and appears to missed the point.As a big Harry Potter fan this movie makes me feel more like re-reading the books than watching the films.If you are a fan you will find yourself smiling and maybe even cheering in the movie theater but end up going home feeling disappointed and empty.
He was no Yoda, he was Anakin Skywalker, a over-reacting schoolboy!This movie could have been good, if it was made into two full-length features with more emphasize on every one scene, connected with something like the womping willow shuffling it's treetop.Actors: 5-8 stars (Please let there be more time on every single character) Dumbledore: 0 stars (I know, brilliant Richard Harris is death, but please give, also-brilliant Michael Gambon some other role, as he totally misses the character) directing: 1 star (for the decision to cramp 734 pages into one movie and to disconnect the remaining scenes) script: 3 stars (As Steven Kloves was not able to catch the chemistry between the 3 main characters and to screw up the new cramped connection between scenes AND to make all this little mistakes in every single one scene I forgot because i shoved this movie out of my brain)This rubbish put together makes no more than 2 stars, as I was totally confused about the story and some basic mistakes they made with the cemetery-scene, the hacked-together movie, bad Dumbledore and ruining the wonderful feeling I had with reading all books over and over and the feeling which had been installed with film 3...Shame!.
Harry Potter fans are likely to be very disappointed with this movie.
If the next movie, which thankfully is being directed by someone other than Newell, veers away from the storyline in the manner Goblet of Fire has I would say the Harry Potter series is essentially doomed at least for those of us who have read the books and see what a mess Newell made of it so far.
I'm starting to think that the people who make the movies just don't even read the books, because Dumbledore was SO out of character it made me angry.
First of all, I must mention that Goblet of Fire is my favourite Harry Potter book, and so I expected great things from this movie. |
tt0085701 | The Hunger | The film opens in a New York night club. The gothic rock band Bauhaus is onstage performing the song "Bela Lugosi's Dead". In the crowd are John and Miriam Blaylock (David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve). Stylishly dressed and predatory, they stalk the crowd and connect with a young couple (John Stephen Hill, Ann Magnuson). The couple takes them back to their home, where John and Miriam seduce them before viciously slashing their throats. John and Miriam are vampires, although not in any traditional sense; lacking fangs, they use ancient Egyptian pendants to cut open the jugulars of their victims.The center of their strange existence is Miriam. She is an immortal being, able to pass along her supernatural qualities to selected human beings that she chooses to be her lovers. However, her progeny are not truly immortal as she is, and sooner or later, usually after 300 years or so, they find themselves suddenly and rapidly getting old. However, the progeny are unable to die, but continue to live forever withered, in a fully conscious, vegetative state. Miriam packs their decaying, aging bodies in caskets that she keeps in the attic of her residence. In the 18th century, Miriam offered this gift of immortality to John, who eagerly accepted, as had all her previous lovers through the ages.Suddenly, John develops trouble sleeping, and starts aging at a rapid rate. Miriam is aware of the significance of this happening, and she goes looking for a famous gerontologist, Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon), desperately seeking her help for a cure for John's fast deterioration. She makes contact with Dr. Roberts, and through her psychic powers, finds out that the doctor is just guessing, and that her research is inconclusive. Therefore, John, as all her lovers before him, is doomed to extinction. John also attempts to meet with Dr. Roberts at her clinic, but she dismisses his claims as delusional and leaves him to sit in the waiting room, hoping that he will grow bored and leave. John ages decades within a few short hours, and when Sarah sees him later, she begs John to stay so she can examine him. But John refuses to speak to her, his hunger for blood nearly overpowering him and forcing him to leave in search of a victim.Driven by his bloodlust and desperation to reverse the aging process, John makes a kill out of young Alice (Beth Ehlers), a music student that he and Miriam are tutoring. Her blood does nothing to help John, and he eventually falls down a flight of stairs at the townhouse, his legs no longer able to support his own weight. Miriam carries John's withering body up to the attic and puts him in a casket, next to several other caskets containing her earlier lovers.Later on, when Dr. Roberts shows up at Miriam's door looking for John, Miriam sees in the doctor a replacement for John in her life; it is love at first sight for Miriam, and she immediately proceeds to seduce Sarah. Sarah is a willing participant in Miriam's seduction, but she doesn't know that Miriam has now transformed her into a vampire, just as she did to John and her other lovers.Lieutenant Allegrezza (Dan Hedaya) shows up at Miriam's house looking for Alice, and is immediately suspicious of Miriam, although he has no real proof of any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Sarah begins to manifest symptoms of vampirism. She is ravenously hungry, but eating normal food makes her vomit. She also starts seeing Miriam everywhere she looks. Finally she confronts Miriam about what happened between them on that day, and Miriam vaguely states that she has given Sarah eternal life, and that they belong to one another now. Sarah rejects what Miriam has told her, but she does understand that something terrible has happened to her. Sarah and her partners at the clinic, including Sarah's boyfriend, Tom Haver (Cliff De Young), cannot find a cure for the change that is occurring in Sarah's blood, and in desperation Sarah returns to Miriam. Miriam arranges for Sarah to make her first kill, bringing back a male prostitute, but Sarah is unwilling to take a human life.Finally, Tom arrives at the townhouse looking for Sarah following her disappearance, and is surprised to find that Sarah is there. Miriam knows that Sarah's hunger is now beyond reason, and when she takes Tom to Sarah, Sarah kills him for his blood. Miriam is now convinced that she has found her new lover, and she tells Sarah that they will now share an eternity together. Sarah, however, is wracked with guilt over taking Tom's life, and she attempts suicide by cutting her own throat with Miriam's ankh as they kiss. Sarah's blood pours into Miriam's throat and then Sarah collapses. Miriam is horrified at what Sarah has done, but she dutifully carries Sarah's limp body into the attic to place her among her other dessicated lovers. This time, however, she finds her crumbling lovers now out of their coffins, waiting for her. The sudden intake of Sarah's blood has caused a change in Miriam. Suddenly released from Miriam's spell, the lovers crumble into dust as Miriam herself begins to wither.The film's conclusion shows Lieutenant Allegrezza returning to question Miriam, only to find that the townhouse is now mysteriously empty and up for sale, all of the luxurious furnishings in the home gone and the money funneled to the sleep clinic where Sarah, presumably missing, used to work. In the final shot, we see Sarah herself living in a high rise luxury apartment surrounded by several lovers, while Miriam, imprisoned in a coffin just as she did to her own lovers, screams for her release. | neo noir, gothic, murder, paranormal, cult, atmospheric | train | imdb | But Sarandon, though initially easy to seduce (in an erotic lesbian scene) proves to have a will stronger than Miriam's, and Miriam's habit of keeping her collection of ex-lovers cadavers close at hand, proves to be a mistake.This is a strange film, almost as cold and dispassionate as one might well imagine a vampire to be.
"The Hunger"(1983)by Tony Scott is a stylish vampire flick filled with some wonderful visuals.The film is excellently acted-a stunningly beautiful Catherine Deneuve is truly memorable as Miriam-an ageless vampire and former Egyptian queen.There is plenty of blood and vampire lesbian sex,so everyone who is into horror films or Goth music should see this cult flick.The opening scene with Bauhaus playing "Bela Lugosi is Dead" is priceless!.
The director shows vision, not only in its visual medium but the editing, the music, the production design, the classical costumes and the chance to work with some talent.David Bowie is very good, almost perfect for his part and Catherine steals the whole film.
Susan Sarandon is also very good, the infamous Lesbian scenes are highly erotic and also very artistic.This film isn't your usual Vamp movie, the film adds depth to these so-called Vampires.The film probably required a bit more plot but nevertheless, this is all about style, this film looks fantastic.Do not watch this in pan and scan, make sure you see it in widescreen because the director and cinematographer make full use of the panavision width..
Dream-like horrorWhitley Streiber's highly suspenseful and thematically rich novel is transformed into something entirely different by Tony Scott.The film is a dream-like arthouse horror pic with diamond-studded production values.Catherine Deneuve is very, very good as eternal blood drinker Miriam Blaylock.
David Bowie is superb as Deneve's not-so-immortal beloved and convinces us to emphasize with his condition (he is aging rapidly)This was Tony Scott's first feature and it is a beautiful piece of work that is rich in texture and design and demonstrates adroit control of cinematic craft.The sound design and rich catalog of music cues are pitch perfect.Certainly bearing little resemblance to Streiber's novel (just as Michael Wadleigh's WOLFEN also moved away from same author's source), THE HUNGER is, nevertheless, gorgeous art..
The film talks about Catherine Deneuve ,she's a seductive vampire living along centuries with David Bowie.They need fresh blood for the eternal life .But Bowie is about to disintegrate and is substituted by a new lover,an enticing scientific-medic ,Susan Sarandon.The picture is a bizarre bloodsuckers film and for somebody considered with a cult movie's status.It displays luxurious scenarios,arty photography although mostly developed on interior studios.The French actress Catherine Deneuve,as always, is cold and elegant.David Bowie as young and older vampire in an exciting transformation is well.Susan Sarandon as an obstinate scientist is good.Features known secondary actors, Dan Hedaya as a Police Inspector and Cliff DeYoung as Sarandon's lover.
The movie is classified by the MPAA with the rating R for blood,violence,gore and kinky nudism.The motion picture is well realized by Tony Scott though a little slow-moving and quite boring.He's nowadays much success and getting high box-office with hits like : ¨Crimson tide, Enemy of state,Spy game,Man of fire and Deja Vu¨ and founded along with his brother Ridley, ¨Scott-Free Production¨..
Otherwise you might miss some points and end up in a confused state.As for the acting, David Bowie is remarkable in his little part, Catherine Deneuve is all class and beauty, and Susan Sarandon has some good scenes.
Egyptian vampire lady Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) is about to rid herself of her present lover John (David Bowie) like so many others before him.
In desperation, he seeks the help of famous Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon) and her boyfriend Tom (Cliff De Young) who are researching rapid aging in primates.This movie is filled with good moody atmosphere and interesting style.
I believe this is the 3rd time, or so, that I read this good book.Since I watched this back in 1983, I couldn't even remember who were the other actors besides Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie.
A film that is around 70% flashy style and 30% narrative substance, "The Hunger" (1983) demonstrates that no love affair lasts forever...even those between eternal vampires.
Thus, here, Catherine Deneuve, playing what must be the most beautiful bloodsucker in screen history (at least, since Ingrid Pitt last bared her fangs), is in a quandary when her current lover, centuries-old David Bowie, suddenly starts to age rapidly.
The picture is certainly interesting, featuring as it does very unconventional vampires (e.g., they can be seen in mirrors and walk about in daylight), and Bowie is excellent in his too-brief role (the film kind of falls apart figuratively after he does literally), but not enough info was supplied to satisfy this viewer.
Catherine Deneuve, lovely as always as Mrs. Blaylock, his companion and mysterious neighbors in an upscale NY brownstone.Susan Sarandon is very good here as research doctor attempting to discern the cause of the disease "pro geria", wherein people age at a rapid rate.
He does quite a good job here among two great actress like Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon.And so, we got here the efficient soundtrack of Bauhauss, which falls as a glove to the movie.
Combining the luridness of an MTV rock video with the ultrachic posturing of a cosmetic commercial and the cool, alienated indifference of a European art film, all embellished with flashes violence and simmering erotica, THE HUNGER is a NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD as conceived by a high fashion photographer.While this might not add up to a genuine style as such, the film does achieve a certain bastardized beauty that is fascinating and difficult to forget in its clash of the gorgeous and the garish, the grandiose and the grotesque.
Title: The Hunger (1983) Director: Tony Scott Cast: David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Catheryn Deneuve Review: This was director Tony Scotts first film.
But the one horror film that he did make was excellent and I will go on now explaining why I liked it so much.First off, the story develops around a very old vampire called Myriam Blaylock.
These guys are simply vampires because they feed on blood and can live forever if they take good care of themselves.Susan Sarandon, David Bowie and Catheryn Deneuve all deliver great performances.
The only things I liked in this film were the very beginning (i love the band Bauhaus, so seeing them featured in the club at the beginning was very cool & sinister/dramatic--too bad that feeling ends so quickly, it had me psyched for a good movie!), and the make-up work done on Bowie to make him appear to age.
It's frustrating because if a lot had been stripped out and the film focused on Deneuve's attempts to replace lovers and Sarandon's battle with her vampirism, it could have been a good gothic horror film but instead, we get a commercial..
A beautiful vampiress(Catherine Deneuve) tries to find new life sustaining blood for her dying vampire(David Bowie)lover.
French icon Catherine Deneuve and singer David Bowie play this fiendish couple to great effect, in this movie that marks the theatrical directing debut for Tony Scott, who of course went on to great fame directing things like "Top Gun" and "True Romance".
In turns beautiful, boring, original, provocative, and confusing, Tony Scott's (brother of Ridley) neo-Gothic vampire film will likely leave audiences with mixed reactions, though the visual poetry, engaging leads (Bowie, Deneuve, Sarandon), and evocative--though so very 80s-- soundtrack will be enough to satisfy the appetites of some horror fans..
With the passing of the legendary David Bowie, I can't help but ponder this phenomenal foray into 'Vampire eroticism 80's style.' Time has shown 80's films often don't hold up but Tony Scott's atmospheric feast is the exception for sure.
"The Hunger" Tells the Story of John Blaylock (Played by David Bowie) and Miriam Blaylock (Played by Catherine Deneuve), a vampire couple who hunt the blood of the young and reckless every other night.
Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) and her lover John (David Bowie) are actually Vampires living in New York City.
David Bowie has been kept alive for a long time while serving as the lunch cum lover of the Vampire Miriam ( Catherine Deneuve) But he has just about reached the point where she can not keep him alive any more, so she now seeks a replacement.
In fact, it begins very well, as Miriam and her lover John (David Bowie, not bad surprisingly)enter a nightclub and seduce some disposable prey to take back to their doom.Everything, from the editing to the superb use of music, shifting from 80's Gothic rock to classical, oozes atmosphere and danger.
I also love vampire films and I love David Bowie, so for me, movies don't really get much better.
The opening sequence which features Bauhaus performing 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' is pretty entertaining in a kitschy way, and Bowie is actually quite good (his sequences are easily the best parts of the movie), but Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon are required to do very little but some rolling around on a bed, and it isn't even sexy.
Movie Review: "The Hunger" (1983)Director Tony Scott (1944-2012) feature debut, based on a minor-succcessful novel of 1981 by author Whitley Strieber, had been showing off "out-of-competition" at Cannes Film Festival 1983 in its 36th edition, when acting triangle surrounding Catherine Deneuve, at superbly-seductive age of 39, Susan Surandon continuity-introduction as exceptional actress with scene-stealing feature skills, while musician David Bowie (1947-2016) calmly as ultra-cool tempt to amaze as vampires always on the hunt for young blood in night club lounge atmosphères and business people of class at day in London, England of the 1980s, when steamy, film-noir, color-shadowed cinematography by Stephen Goldblatt rescue this nevertheless out-standing motion picture of just being an overlong life-style commercial of high society, when erotic as sexual moments are well observed by T.
i had to take a shower after i watched it to clear my mind and wash away the melancholy Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon are great, as are their boobs; i've never particularly cared for David Bowie, but fans might enjoy watching him sulk through the first half of the film.
Essentially a vampire movie with little horror, The Hunger is Scott at his most subdued, portraying the tragic end of one long-term companionship and the beginnings of a new one.Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) and John (David Bowie) are vampires living a life of solitude, emerging occasionally to feed and giving weekly violin lessons to a young girl named Alice (Beth Ehlers).
Remorseful, Sarah seeks John out but instead finds Miriam, who instantly strikes up an attraction with the beautiful doctor.Although he was criticised throughout his career for favouring style over substance with sickly action movies like Spy Game (2001) and Domino (2005), this approach works well for The Hunger.
The dichotomy of filmmaking brothers Ridley and Tony Scott always fascinates me because where Ridley lacks in craft and detail, Tony always seems to excel, even in his later action pictures like Unstoppable, which have now become grounds for "vulgar auteurism." Tony gets the details of The Hunger down to a tee, be them in an aesthetic perspective that allows the bright color of red to pulsate through the screen at various points in the film, or in a narrative perspective, which has Sarandon's Sarah the main subject of serious commentary on sexual awakening, particularly lesbianism and whether or not her story is a parable of coming to terms with one's own sexuality.The Hunger is less a film defined by the strength of its acting, but by the sheer presences and personalities its performers exist as, particularly Catherine Deneuve, who radiates enigma throughout the entire film.
A beautiful soul in the film, yet undeniably troubled and weighed down by circumstance, Deneuve's Miriam manages to be one of the film's most fascinating characters, despite most of the crucial events of the film happening to David Bowie's John, largely because of her ominous presence throughout the course of the film.The Hunger's most prominent shortcoming comes in the regard of its editing, which juxtaposes the story of Dr. Roberts with Miriam and John's, causing a rather tumultuous and unpolished editing scheme that has Scott at a quandary in terms of maintaining narrative cohesion.
Scott and company have, in turn, crafted a vampire film not guaranteed to live forever, but one that will not die quickly thanks to all it lays out on the table.Starring: Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Cliff De Young.
It takes place in New York (although the shooting was done almost entirely in London), Miriam and John Blaylock (Deneuve and Bowie) are blood-seeking immortals (the word "vampire" has never been disclosed through the entire film), living in a grandiose mansion, but "immortal" turns out not to be the case for John, since he is originally human and the eternal life which is bestowed by Miriam has a life expectancy (several hundreds years supposedly), so he seeks help from Doctor Sarah Roberts (Sarandon), whose research team is working on the relation between sleep and ageing, but his doom seems inevitable, and it also directly introduces Miriam a new disciple as John's successor, only this time, a shallowly characterised succession will alter their fate forever.As a first-timer, Scott competently captures the ethos of the time to embellish the vampire subculture with the sonic alternation of synth-pop (Bauhaus' opening performance of BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD) and classic pieces (Schubert's PIANO TRIO NO.2 and Léo Delibes' LAKMÉ: THE FLOWER DUET) to underline the dual facets of vampire's lifestyle: their innate dependence on gore and their noble superiority of eternity; also his visual stratagem is exemplary to cast a sensational vibe during the utterly male-skewing erotic lesbian sex scenes and the pigeons and ghastly cadavers galore finale.
The vampirism is implied as being scientific in nature (associated with blood transfusions, a gerontology lab).The most supernatural the film ever gets is the seeming subconscious telepathy that Miriam and Sarah share.David Bowie , Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon make a great trio.
It's gorgeous and seductive at the same time.All three leads, Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon looks fantastic in this movie.
Directed by Tony Scott and starring Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie The Hunger is a vampire film you'll either love or hate.
If you like a slow paced film that is very far removed from the usual vampire predicable story, The Hunger is one to watch..
OK so it's shot like a bad, early 80's movie video but it has David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve as vampire lovers.
The Hunger starts off as a bad '80s music video for post-punk band Bauhaus, who perform their song Bela Lugosi's Dead in a nightclub amidst lots of blue light and smoke, after which director Tony Scott settles for a soporific avant garde/art-house style to tell his dreary story of a vampire, Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve), whose lovers eventually succumb to rapid ageing and death, despite her promise of eternal youth.
David Bowie plays John, the latest of Miriam's partners to grow old and die before her eyes, and Susan Sarandon is doctor Sarah Roberts, who finds herself with a hunger for blood after a lesbian fling with the vampire.Repetitive intercutting of scenes, lots of billowing curtains, people smoking cigarettes, more fluttering pigeons/doves than a John Woo film, and classical music: chic and stylish is what Scott is clearly aiming for; boring and pretentious is what he delivers.A pitiful 1/10, despite Deneuve and Sarandon's sexy scene, and some excellent old-age make-up by industry legend Dick Smith..
The Hunger (1983)** (out of 4) When vampire Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) bites a new lover, they don't age, which is a great benefit but that changes when she's done with you and wants someone else.
John (David Bowie) finds himself aging at a rapid pace so he goes to a doctor (Susan Sarandon) for help but soon the doctor finds herself under the spell of Miriam.THE HUNGER features some truly great stuff but sadly it's all pretty much lost in this rather bland movie that's certainly a strange take on the vampire story but in the end there's just way too much style and not a lot of substance.
In New York City, the lovers Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) and John (David Bowie) are vampires that survive through time under the Egyptian symbol of Ankh.
However, he does not survive, and Miriam selects Sarah to be her next lover."The Hunger" is one of the best vampire movies ever made.
Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon have overwhelming performances in this unforgettable movie.
Miriam's past is only vaguely hinted at in fleeting images, most notably her memory of an ages-old lover making a first killing out of an Egyptian slave.However, the film's biggest weakness is not the Playboy-style lesbian scene between Sarandon and Deneuve, but rather the confusing ending.
There was no way Sarah could have become what Miriam was, so the movie seems to be suggesting something else was going on here.On the positive side, there are a number of great actors in this cast, even other than Deneuve, Sarandon, and Bowie.
D)Why is it that the other aged lovers appear to disintegrate in death before our eyes, but Susan Sarandon shows up in the final scene, apparently the new eternal vampire replacing Miriam.
Cue the famous love scene between Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon, followed by an ending that makes very little sense, even by comparison with what has gone before." 'The Hunger' is a mood, a look, an ambience created by Tony Scott.
A terrible film.Oh, the synopsis, or lack there of..a vampire femme,Miriam(the lovely Catherine Deneuve who brings little depth to this character..perhaps the script provided little chance to do so) from Egypt with her pendant always hanging from the neck, watches as her chosen lover John(David Bowie)is beginning to rapidly age with no stop in sight.
Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) a vampire and her current partner John (David Bowie) live in Manhattan and exist off the blood of punks (it seems). |
tt4572514 | Patriots Day | Boston, MA, April 2013The film opens with Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) and two other police officers trying to get a suspect named Harrold (Rhet Kidd) to open his apartment door. Tommy kicks the door down with such force that he injures his knee. He manages to catch Harrold before Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman) arrives. Tommy tells Davis that he hurt his knee kicking a perp in the mouth as the officers arrest Harrold.A title card reads that it is April 15th, 2013.A couple named Patrick Downes (Christopher O'Shea) and Jessica Kinsky (Rachel Brosnahan) are having a meal as they discuss going to the marathon later that day. Patrick tries to get Jessica to speak with a Boston accent.At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a group of students are working on a project of theirs as Officer Sean Collier (Jake Picking) goes to visit one of his friends, Li (Lana Condor), regarding concert tickets.Tommy gets home late and wakes up his wife Carol (Michelle Monaghan) as he stumbles through his closet.As the sun is rising, a Chinese exchange student named Dun Meng (Jimmy O. Yang) talks to his parents via a video chat and shows them his new car, a large black Mercedes. His parents comment that he must be very tired. Dun then goes out for his morning run.Tommy does his morning workout and goes to find that Carol put his uniform together for him. He puts it on, kisses Carol goodbye, and goes off to work.Meanwhile, Katherine Russell (Melissa Benoist) is tending to her daughter while her husband Tamerlan Tsarnaev (Themo Melikidze) and his brother Dzokhar (Alex Wolff) are planning for something together. Dzokhar doesn't seem entirely sure about what is to come, while Tamerlan tells him that they are working in the name of Islam. Tamerlan then hugs his brother.In nearby Watertown, Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (JK Simmons) gets up and goes to the nearby Dunkin Donuts to get his wife a blueberry muffin.The Patriots Day marathon is being set up as officers and citizens continue coming in. Steve Woolfenden (Dustin Tucker) and his son Leo (Lucas Thor Kelley) are there to watch his wife compete in the race. Patrick and Jessica arrive and join the crowd. Sean and his buddies watch from home. Carol shows up in the crowd to bring Tommy something. Before the race begins, there is a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the Newtown school shooting.Tamerlan and Dzokhar arrive at the race. They split up and carry backpacks with them, dropping them off a few blocks away from each other before disappearing. As the runners are heading down the street, an explosion goes off. Before most people can react, another explosion goes off a few blocks down. The police spring into action while medics start tending to the wounded. Both Patrick and Jessica's legs are severely injured. Steve is knocked out by the blast, but Leo is uninjured. A medic tends to Steve while an officer takes Leo somewhere safe. Tommy finds Carol safe and urges her to get home. Other runners and fans are severely injured with some of their limbs blown off or mangled.Once things have settled in the area and everyone has been cleared out, the police meet with FBI Special Agent in Charge Rick Deslauriers (Kevin Bacon). After learning the details, Rick doesn't want to initially label the incident as an act of terrorism so as to not create even more panic, but they come to the conclusion that this was indeed done by terrorists. Rick has all the authorities working on the case to set up shop at the Black Falcon Terminal so that they may conduct their investigation.The Tsarnaevs see reports of their attack all over the news and decide to keep a low profile.Tommy goes around the city trying to find leads. He meets with Jessica's family while she and Patrick are both comatose and have had their legs amputated in separate hospitals. Tommy goes home and finds neighbors and friends all clamoring and asking who is responsible. Tommy becomes distressed and screams at everyone to get out. He breaks down in Carol's arms over what he has just witnessed and vows to find those responsible.An analyst at the terminal reviews security footage from the marathon prior to the explosion. He spots Dzokhar wearing a white cap and being the only one to look in the opposite direction from everyone else. They also manage to get footage of Tamerlan. Rick is hesitant in putting the pictures out because he thinks it might give the suspects an advantage since there isn't concrete proof that they were the culprits. He also worries that should they be Muslim, it will create anti-Muslim paranoia and fear. Rick chooses not to release the photos, but Davis demands that they do.Pugliese has his own team in Watertown conducting their investigation into the bombings.Some of Dzokhar's college buddies are in his dorm smoking weed. They look into his bag for more weed but find a number of materials used to create a bomb (fireworks and vaseline, for instance).The brothers go out at night and find Sean sitting in his patrol car after responding to a nearby disturbance. They approach his car, and Tamerlan shoots Sean in the face. Dzokhar tries to grab Sean's gun, but Sean fights him off. Tamerlan continues to shoot Sean until he is dead. Afterwards, they come across Dun in his Mercedes and they carjack him at gunpoint. Tamerlan drives away and asks Dun if he believes Muslims were responsible for 9/11. Dun admits to not knowing much about 9/11 as Tamerlan claims the U.S. government was responsible for those attacks. The brothers then stop at a gas station. As Tamerlan is waiting for Dzokhar to get out of the store, Dun quickly escapes the car so that he can run to nearby convenience store and tells the clerk to call 911. The brothers get away but Tommy arrives at the convenience store to talk to Dun. He tells Tommy that the brothers admitted to the marathon bombings and are planning another attack in New York. Dun gives Tommy the GPS tracking number to his car so they can find them.Police trace the car to Watertown. Tamerlan is confronted and starts to open fire on an officer. Backup arrives, leading to a shootout. Dzokhar throws bombs at the police while Tamerlan shoots at them. Pugliese and Tommy rush to the scene. Tamerlan is eventually shot multiple times. Dzokhar drives away and finishes his own brother off by running him over. Tamerlan is taken to the hospital where doctors try to revive him, but he is pronounced dead.The next day, the entire city is on lockdown as police continue to search for Dzokhar. His roommates are arrested in their dorm. Katherine is also taken into custody to be questioned for any possible involvement in her husband's deeds. A woman police detective interrogates Katherine and presses her into trying to give up any information should there be more bombs out there. The woman tries to convince Katherine that Tamerlan didn't even care enough about her or their daughter, just as Katherine doesn't care enough about their child to disclose any information. Katherine remains silent on the matter.Across town, Patrick and Jessica are reunited, as are Steve and Leo.A man in the suburbs finds rolls outside on his lawn by his boat. He believes that Dzokhar is hiding under the sheets in the boat. The police arrive, and Tommy goes over to confirm that Dzokhar is indeed in the boat. More officers show up and demand for Dzokhar to get out. They start shooting at the boat and setting off flares until Dzokhar finally surrenders. He is slammed to the ground and taken into custody. Everyone at the terminal cheers when they hear the news.Tommy and his fellow officers go to a bar to celebrate their victory.We see footage of a Boston Red Sox game with the real authorities portrayed in the film present, with everyone in the city showing off a newfound sense of pride and unity.The closing text reads that Dzokhar Tsarnaev was charged on 30 counts and sentenced to death by lethal injection. He is currently being held in federal prison while awaiting appeal. His roommates were arrested for obstructing the investigation. Authorities continue to investigate Katherine Russell for any possible involvement in the bombings.We then see video testimonies from the real people involved, including Ed Davis, Richard Deslauriers, Jeffrey Pugliese, Patrick Downes, Jessica Kinskey, and Steve Woolfenden and his wife Amber. They discuss the tragedy of the events, but also the strength and unity it brought them, and the massive support for the authorities and survivors. We see Patrick with a prosthetic leg as he would later run in the marathon and make it to the finish line. He is seen tearfully embracing Jessica. Also shown are photos of the deceased victims (Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi, Martin Richard, and Officer Sean Collier). The film is dedicated to the victims, survivors, first responders, medics, and the law enforcement that were involved during the events. | murder | train | imdb | Especially if it's based on real events, shows the heroism of simple people and touches the audience's sensitive patriotic spot.That's basically a recipe for Patriots Day. Take the case of the Boston Marathon bombing, the largest terrorist attack in the US since 9/11, show it through the eyes of several regular people, first introducing their personal lives and then following them along the course of the main events.
It would have been far more effective, in my view, to stick nearer to reality and have a range of other cameos step into those roles.There is a tendency (for this British viewer at least) for the film to overreach with its stirring patriotic message in the closing scenes, and there was the predictable trotting out of the 'real life' photos and videos in the finale, albeit that some of these are movingly portrayed.
Mark Wahlberg, reuniting with the director for the third film in a row, is Boston detective Tommy Saunders, a composite of several real people, while Kevin Bacon plays FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers.For writer and director Peter Berg, following "Lone Survivor" and "Deep Water Horizon", "Patriots Day" can be seen as the third part of his unofficial Americans-in-crisis trilogy which probably play better for US audiences than overseas, but manage to combine information with entertainment.This time round, the viewer cannot fail to be struck by the complexity and sophistication of modern-day surveillance and forensic technologies.
Well, I can assure those of you who are feeling negative emotions over this, Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg have created, not only a great film but a respectable one.
There are no "lone hero" moments for those of you who see Wahlberg's name in the same sentence as the term Boston Bombing movie and think it will be a balls out action film.
From this moment on, Patriots Day kicks into a high-octane race against time thriller more in the vein of Zero Dark Thirty.The film itself is Peter Berg's masterpiece.
To sum it up as best I can, the acting is top-notch and I'd be very surprised if the film didn't garner a couple acting nominations at this point but only time can tell.Overall, Patriots Day is every bit as thrilling as its true story.
In interviews director Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg have stated the film should be seen as a movie about a city coming together to fight evil.
Such people include Patrick Downes (O'Shea) and Jessica Kensky (Brosnahan), a young couple injured by the first explosion; Officer Sean Collier (Picking), the MIT policeman who was shot and killed in the line of duty; Chinese national Dun Meng (Yang) who was briefly held hostage by the bombers and Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (Simmons) who brought down the elder of the Tsarnaev brothers.Then of course there's Mark Wahlberg who plays the very fictional and very chuckle-headed Tommy Saunders (Wahlberg); a Boston cop whose story, I think, is meant to serve as connective tissue.
The Film "Patriots Day (2016)" is a tragic but true story that creates a seamless flow of real time and Re-enacted footage of the terrorist attack on Boston, which occurred on the 14th of April, 2013.The Acting was A-class (as expected) with the big names that came with it (Wahlberg, Goodman, Bacon, Monaghan and so on).
According to Wikipedia.com, "The biggest celebration of Patriots' Day is the Boston Marathon, which has been run every Patriots' Day since April 19, 1897 to mark the then-recently established holiday." The local and national pride exhibited on Patriots' Day took on new meaning after being attacked at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, an event depicted in the 2016 historical drama/thriller "Patriots Day" (R, 2:13).The film focuses on the people personally affected by the bombing.
Yang) who is bragging on the phone to his parents about his new SUV, MIT police officer Sean Collier (Jake Picking) who is making plans with some grad students to go to a concert, married couple Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky (Christopher O'Shea and Rachel Brosnahan) who are discussing their plans for the day, and Boston residents and radical Islamists Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Alex Wolfe and Themo Melikidze) who are making a plan which will disrupt the lives of all of those people, a plan which Tamerlan's wife (Melissa Benoist) may or may not know about beforehand.Early on Marathon Monday, Commissioner Davis is near the race's finish line and greets Sergeant Saunders, who is simply working security due to an injured knee.
Then the brothers run into local police in Watertown – on April 19th, the exact anniversary of that day in 1775 when the citizens of Massachusetts confronted foreigners whom they accused of terrorist acts."Patriots Day" is very well acted by its talented cast and perfectly paced by director Peter Berg (in the midst of his third collaboration with Wahlberg – after 2013's "Lone Survivor" and 2016's "Deepwater Horizon"), but this movie's main strength is its script by Berg, Matt Cook and Joshua Zeturner.
"Patriots Day" keeps a broad scope (combining the concepts for two proposed movies about the bombing and its aftermath, including one based on the 2015 book "Boston Strong: A City's Triumph Over Tragedy") which gives its audience a good overview of what happened, but tells the story from ground level, through the eyes of its main characters.
I couldn't really considerate on the movie most of the time, because I was trying to figure out if they were actually recording with good quality smart phones or not.I realize it is based on a true story and should get a "free pass", but I found it was very poorly done and it's like the director either just "phoned it in" or the director is simply a teenager who wants to break into the business with his first film and who is also the nephew of the top executive of a production company..
Mark Wahlberg was my biggest issue with this movie as he played a made up cop who just so happened to be at every big event that took place that week, spewing his over the top Boston accent and try to give some comic relief at the movies darkest points.
Everybody involved in this movie has done the true story and the survivors justice, they approach it with immense respect so much so that the result is a vigorous, powerful, and deeply moving film that's part procedural part thriller with all around great performances.Scripted by Peter Berg, Matt Cook and Joshua Zetumer, directed by Peter Berg, the story focuses on the Boston marathon bombing attack in spring 2013 and the aftermath of that unspeakable tragedy.
The film also celebrates community's courage in the face of adversity.There are many aspects that I'm sure Peter Berg had to take into consideration in the process of making this film, there are several fine lines, questions of how to make this sensitive towards the families of the victims, how to make sure that the film doesn't come across as just being action, and how to make sure they tell the story in way that emphasizes what tragedies like this often does which is bring people together.
The whole thing is staged in such way that immediately takes us back to how it happened three years ago, no sugarcoating, no dumbing down, it even amplifies that unfiltered Boston attitude to the degree which I haven't seen before in any other film, and the addition that they do have, in the case of Mark Wahlberg's character, is there as the voice that conveys the film's message, what it exemplifies.The film at times goes into investigative mode, so it gets riveting, which I think is important because the collaboration and the conflict and the banter between law enforcement agencies did play an integral role on how the event ultimately concluded.
Every viewer of the film will have their own answers to these questions, but clearly writer/director Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor) and Boston area native Mark Wahlberg believed now is the time and that this is the best way to re-create this catastrophe and its fallout.
The movie's main character is a Boston police officer played by Wahlberg who kind of just happens to be in the middle of the action all the time.
The movie plays out really nicely with no lulls in the action and no fluff scenes; they also use actual footage from that day in Boston that really bring the story together and solidify just how horrific it was.
Of course the story has to follow the real life sequence of events which I don't doubt it did, I just didn't think it was done in a very exciting or gripping way.Fine to celebrate the everyday heroism of ordinary average people when confronted by the unexpected, criminal and dangerous, but stretching it to a two hour movie didn't come off here..
At each important development in the story, the fictional Sergeant Tommy Saunders (played by Mark Wahlberg) appears, Forrest Gump-like, to steal the attention, credit and glory from the people who were actually there.Wahlberg gets so much screen time that the other actors / characters get lost in the background.
This is a Peter Berg-Mark Wahlberg collaboration and their previous two movies - Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon - were fairly one-dimensional offerings: based on true stories but extensively Hollywoodized with Mark Wahlberg playing the stereotypical, cartoonish hero.
Patriots day is a movie about the Boston marathon bombings in 2013, plotted by terrorists.
I am always attracted to movies with a true story like Hacksaw Ridge, and Deepwater Horizon which was also Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg teamed together as actor and director.
Berg and Wahlberg, the Dynamic Duo. Patriots Day, tells the in depth true story of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the events that followed the incident, with a city wide manhunt for the individuals responsible.
Patriots Day, is directed by Peter Berg and stars Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon and J.K Simmons.
The events of the Boston Marathon deserved a caring and thorough portrayal on screen and this movie delivers in many praiseworthy ways.The bombing itself is shown but not too graphically.
How the movie crew got to Boston in time to film the live bombing, I am not sure.
The 3 stars are for the great acting especially from Mark Wahlberg who I love all his movies, plus the Love that was projected and shown between the people of Boston..
Amongst those that are tasked to take down the Boston bombers include Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg), Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon), and Watertown Police Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (J.K. Simmons).
Alex Wolff and Themo Melikidze didn't have an easy job portraying the widely despised Tsarnaev brothers, but both actors should be credited with doing a terrific job.Peter Berg may have had some hits and misses as a director, but Patriot's Day is definitely one of his most memorable movies, right besides Friday Night Lights (2004), The Kingdom (2007) and Lone Survivor (2013).On a personal note, I've visited Boston in 2008 and 2014 and I've always had a memorable time visiting Boston.
Upon hearing about the Boston bombing in the news in 2013, my heart went out to the city and those killed and severely injured.To be perfectly honest, I thought Patriot's Day would be a run of the mill drama, however I was very surprised.
Patriots Day is a film based on the 2013 Boston marathon bombings by the Tsarnaev brothers.
But on the other hand, films are a good way of educating people on the events of a true story.
The premise of the film is based on the true story of the bombing of the 2013 Boston marathon and the hunt for the people that caused it.
John Goodman plays the police commissioner and he also does a great job, you can feel the emotion coming from him and also just how important catching these terrorists is to him and the people of Boston.
Patriots Day marks the director's third film on anti-terrorism, and while the film is a raw and gruesome retelling of a tragic event, it is also a humble and heartfelt tribute to the real-life heroes portrayed in this film.Widely known for the annually held oldest marathon in the world, the city of Boston took a devastating hit on 'Patriots' Day', 15th April 2013, following coordinated attacks by home grown terrorists.
Though Wahlberg anchors scenes of chaos and is practically everywhere in the film, his Officer Tommy Saunders is the only character who isn't based on a real person during the marathon bombings.
'Patriot's Day' follows the story of the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013.
I thought writer/director Peter Berg did a fantastic job in telling the story of the event and the days that followed.
For that reason, what the movie gets right is its use of real film footage of the people and events.
It pays great tribute and portrays the horrific events of these day so well that it steers way away from undermining and disrespecting the true story.The performances from many especially Mark Wahlberg and craft from peter berg makes the movie top notch but lets be honest these aren't the factors to look at with a movie like this.
I was blown away it was phenomenally filmed very intriguing I'm quite surprised it wasn't up for major awards, I cried a little during the bombing bit I felt bad for what a lot of people had to go through.Their also seemed to be others complaining about things missing I'm not sure but I think Peter bergs take on everything is very intense especially the thrilling bits hunting down the terrorists I say just appreciate the way it is or don't & if anything was added I think it was done perfectly.Sorry about the way I describe things I do the best I can I'm a little quirky..
With Patriots Day, he seems to have his mojo back telling a big, largely true story about a terrorist bomb attack during the 2013 Boston Marathon and its aftermath and successfully approaching it from different fronts.Ironically, though very well received critically and also by the audiences that have seen it, commercially it pretty much tanked with a main reason commonly cited being the involvement of ( Boston-born) Mark Wahlberg playing a composite police officer character.
'Patriots Day' is another "based-on-real-events" film by Berg, after 'Lone Survivor' and 'Deepwater Horizon' - and this is just as good.
Not from Boston, or even America but watching the (for the most part - accurate) depiction of a city going through tragedy and turmoil but coming out with a sense of pride and togetherness to boost each other up and resist the fear and terror of the Boston Marathon Bombings was a remarkable thing to witness and it's a film that pays respect to the victims and their families in the most honorable way possible while still telling a cohesive story.
Inspired by true events, Mark Wahlberg plays police officer Tommy Saunders who's assigned by Commissioner Ed Davis (played by John Goodman) who patrol the street on the morning of the Boston Marathon.
With several casualties and many others rushed to the hospital, Saunders, Davis, along with Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (played by J.K Simmons) must collaborate with FBI agent Richard DesLauriers (played by Kevin Bacon) to hunt down the Muslim terrorists (played by Alex Wolff and Themo Melikidze) responsible for the bombing.Peter Berg rarely pulls punches when re-imagining real-life events on screen (as demonstrated in his previous two films), nor does he take sheer sentimentality for granted which splashes in our faces during the final twenty minutes.
As jarring as it sounds, it partly accounts the brooding chemistry between these two as they steal the screen in not one, but two incredibly startling scenes during the final third.Peter Berg populates the story with a wide range of characters that the film rarely breathes any time to develop most of these characters other than Mark Wahlberg's Tommy Saunders and the aforementioned Muslim brothers.
That is doesn't however, reduce how dark and grim nature of their antagonistic characters.Patriots Day is a riveting tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing, with an alluring direction by Peter Berg and a story set to inspire.
Patriots Day follows fictional Boston police sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) as he helps track down brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who detonated two bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
Patriots Day assumes the viewer already knows the basic events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Review: I really enjoyed this intense, and emotional movie, which explains in depth, what actually happened during the Boston Marathon bombing.
Enjoyable!Round-Up: Although this movie didn't smash the box office, for some unknown reason, director Peter Berg, 53, portrayed the true story very well, and he stayed true to the events that happened on Marathon Day. His previous projects include Very Bad Things, Welcome to the Jungle, Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, Hancock, Battleship, Lone Survivor, and Deepwater Horizon.
The film is much more difficult to recommend to the average movie-goer for a casual Friday date night, but it is sure to start some much needed conversations that should be happening daily about the human spirit."Patriots Day" is an account of Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis' actions in the events leading up to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists behind it.What Berg does extremely well is assemble a stellar ensemble cast, giving everyone their own assignment, each operating at their very best.
The story of Boston is recounted in Patriots Day. Sergeant Tommy Saunders (played by Mark Wahlberg) was one of many police officers that were assigned to the Boston Marathon finish line.
That is no way a bad thing, as Patriots Day is still a good movie, possibly better then Deepwater Horizon. |
tt1617661 | Jupiter Ascending | In the opening scene, Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) begins by talking about her parents. Her father was a Russian named Maximilian Jones (James D'Arcy). Maximilian met and fell in love with a woman named Aleksa (Maria Doyle Kennedy). They watch the stars together through his telescope. Later on, the two are expecting their child, which Maximilian wants to name Jupiter. Aleksa isn't too fond of the name. Two robbers break into the couple's home, and Maximilian gets shot. He dies in Aleksa's arms. Later on, Aleksa gives birth to Jupiter as she and her family are on a boat heading to America.In the present, the adult Jupiter works as a janitor living in Chicago with her roommate Katharine Dunlevy (Vanessa Kirby). Jupiter hates her job and life, yet she is not very ambitious or eager to do anything else about it.Three intergalactic bounty hunters - Falque (Spencer Wielding), Razo (Doona Bae), and Ibis (David Ajala) - are scoping out Jupiter's apartment, when they spot a man named Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) near the area. They realize that he is after Jupiter as well, and they go after him. Caine realizes he is being stalked, and he emerges from the building with his hover boots, defending himself with his shield and shooting back at the bounty hunters as they attack him. He flees the scene unharmed.Jupiter has dinner with her family and asks her uncle Vassily (Jeremy Swift) for money. He refuses to give her money and makes a rude remark that Jupiter is too smart for her own good and that's why she is unable to find a husband. Aleksa defends her daughter angrily, though the rest of the family seems to agree with Vassily. Later, Jupiter is looking at a telescope on eBay. Her cousin Vladie (Kick Gurry) comes in and suggests she go to the fertility clinic and donate her eggs for some money. Jupiter agrees.In space, the Abrasax siblings learn of Jupiter's existence. Their mother has died, and they now seek to inherit the earth as their own. Balem (Eddie Redmayne) awakens from a slumber after going through a successful planetary harvest. His brother Titus (Douglas Booth) is cavorting with other women in his lavish castle, while his aide Famulus (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) informs him that Caine, who has been sent by Titus, has located Jupiter. Kalique Abrasax (Tuppence Middleton) also has concerns over the inheritance of the earth.At the apartment, Katharine is getting ready to go out. A group of alien creatures called Keepers appear in the apartment and incapacitate Katharine. Jupiter takes a picture of them with her phone, and they lunge at her. Moments later, Katharine wakes up, and neither her nor Jupiter seem to know what just happened.Jupiter goes to the clinic under Katharine's name, which Balem is informed of. He orders his people to find Jupiter and kill her. The doctors put her on the bed and then levitate her. They probe her and know Jupiter's identity, and they attempt to kill her. Caine bursts in and kills the doctors as they reveal their Keeper form. He gets Jupiter out of there.Jupiter finds herself atop the Willis Tower. Caine explains to her that he is a genetically-engineered being made up of a splice between a human and a wolf. Jupiter asks why she was almost just killed, and Caine tells her that she is the rightful owner of the planet. He claims that human life began not on Earth but on another planet called Orus. Jupiter also has no memory of the Keepers finding her and her taking a picture of them, which Caine explains as them erasing her memory. They are beamed up by a spaceship hovering over them, when the bounty hunters show up and destroy the ship. Caine carries Jupiter as they fly over the city with his hover boots as the bounty hunters chase after them. Jupiter falls in the attack, but Caine catches her before she hits the ground. Caine hijacks a small ship and escapes with Jupiter.Caine and Jupiter drive away from the city, where Caine continues to explain the Abrasax family history. They have been splicing humans with other animals for ages, and are responsible for events such as the extinction of the dinosaurs. The two drive up to the home of Caine's former comrade Stinger Apini (Sean Bean), who is spliced with a bee. Stinger lives with his sick daughter. He and Caine were once skyjackers, but were let go following an incident, and now Stinger resents Caine. The two fight for a bit, when a swarm of bees appears. The bees surround Jupiter, but they never sting her. She moves her arms around them, and they fly around her. Stinger realizes who she is, and starts to refer to Jupiter as, "Your Majesty."Caine tries to contact the Aegis (space cops) to help them. The bounty hunters and a few Keepers come up across Stinger's home. They chase after him, Caine, and Jupiter through the field outside his home. Falque corners Jupiter and nearly kills her, but Razo shoots him in the back and kills him first. They capture Jupiter and ascend on their ship. Caine manages to latch onto the ship as it leaves Earth.Razo and Ibis bring Jupiter to the home of Kalique. She is friendly toward Jupiter and tells her that she is something of a genetic incarnation of Kalique's mother. She shows Jupiter a statue of her mother that looks exactly like Jupiter. Kalique says she is 14,000 years old, and her mother was 90,000 when she was murdered. Kalique walks into a bath and sheds her older image to a more youthful appearance. Stinger then shows up with the Aegis, led by Commander Diomika Tsing (Nikki Amuka-Bird). They order Kalique to hand Jupiter over to them.In order for Jupiter to properly stake her claim on Earth, she is forced to go to Orus and go through a process for registration. She goes through several windows with an android lawyer until she is printed with a tattoo on her wrist and officially allowed to claim ownership of Earth. In the meantime, Jupiter attempts to sort of flirt with Caine. He thinks he isn't good for her and compares himself to a dog, even though Jupiter claims to love dogs.Titus and his people take in Jupiter and apprehend Caine as Stinger hands them over to him in exchange for currency to help his ailing daughter. Titus and Jupiter have dinner together. Titus deduces that Jupiter has fallen in love with Caine, yet he still proposes to her. Afterwards, he shows Jupiter a room filled with thousands of vials that contain youth serums made from harvesting hundreds of dead humans. Jupiter is horrified by this realization.Caine is imprisoned and placed in a chamber by Titus and his people. He plans to kill Jupiter after marrying her so that he can get his claim to Earth. Caine is expelled into space with his hands cuffed behind him. He uses his hover boots to burn the cuffs off and grab a floating pack that contains a spacesuit that automatically forms itself around Caine's body and saves him from suffocation. He only has 40 minutes of oxygen, but the Aegis emerge from hyperspace and rescue him.The wedding is about to take place. Titus has his ring printed on his finger during the ceremony. Jupiter nearly has hers printed on when Caine comes crashing in on a ship into the cathedral. He comes up to the platform where Jupiter and Titus are and tells Jupiter that Titus plans to kill her. They hold Titus at gunpoint, but Jupiter only wants to go home.Meanwhile, Balem is told that Jupiter is still alive. His lizard-rat hybrid henchman Sargorn (Neil Fingleton) is sent to Earth with his team of lizard-rat men to break into the home of Jupiter's family and capture them. Jupiter goes home and realizes this, forcing her to return to space and save her family.Jupiter arrives at a mining facility on the planet where Balem resides. The Aegis are close behind her but are unable to enter because the planet is protected by a shield. Jupiter is brought before Balem, who shows her the family in the floor beneath them as they are floating and sleeping in stasis, while the henchmen get ready to splice into them. Using a special contract, Balem orders Jupiter to sign over her rights to rule over Earth if she wants her family to live. Realizing that either way, she and her family would die since Balem would harvest them on Earth, she refuses and smashes the contract.Caine, with the help of Stinger, breaches the planet's shield. Tsing tells him his mission could get him killed, but she adds that he is tremendously courageous. Caine breaks into Balem's facility and kills the lizard-rat people to save Jupiter's family. He pulls Jupiter out with a device that opens a hole beneath her to get her away from Balem. Outside, the facility starts to destabilize and collapse. Caine fights Sargorn while Balem tries to kill Jupiter himself. Caine kills Sargorn by pushing him into the hole he made and removing the device to close the hole around Sargorn's neck, crushing it.Jupiter's family is taken to safety while Jupiter fights back against Balem. Balem believes Jupiter is his mother reincarnated, and he admits that he murdered his mother, claiming that she told him she hated her life and wanted him to kill her. Jupiter shoots Balem once in the leg and whacks him across the face with a bar. The platform beneath them breaks slightly. Balem is unable to hold on and he plummets to his death. Jupiter falls but is rescued by Caine. With the help of the Aegis, everyone is able to escape the crumbling facility and get out safely.Jupiter and her family are taken back home, with their memories erased of their capture or any interaction with evil lizard-rat people. Jupiter continues to go about her work and has made breakfast and coffee for her family. They surprise her by bringing out the telescope she wanted. She then tells the family that she has a date. They all press her with questions like, "Is he Russian?"Jupiter joins Caine on the roof of another building. He has his wings restored to his back after his heroic deeds, and she has gotten hover boots of her own. Jupiter decides not to tell her family that she basically owns Earth. The two of them kiss and take flight over the city. | murder, cult, violence, good versus evil, psychedelic, action, revenge | train | imdb | Beautiful, well made fluff mind you, but at its core this movie is a steaming hot mess.Here's the plot from what I gathered: Mila Kunis is suddenly the majesty of the Earth and has to protect it from a bunch of rich douchebags that live in Jupiter's atmosphere who want to use it for harvesting grounds or something.
And they try to include multiple stories, like Mila Kunis' relationship with her family (boooring); Caine (Tatum) and Stinger's (Sean Bean) history (wholly underdeveloped), the whole villain arc...The villains in this movie are spoiled brats.
It's not worth trying to piece together every plot point they throw into the movie because it will just lead to confusion and disappointment, and eventually frustration when you realize how much potential was wasted in creating this massive universe.
It has a Star Wars vibe in parts, like the "royal" wedding scene and the space battles, but there were no good characters to experience this adventure with.
Unless you want to see some really great CGI for a couple hours, which can be found in much better places by the way, you won't find anything worth salvaging from Jupiter Ascending.
Sure there are some run of the mill plot points but i still really liked this movie, maybe people just love to hate these days.
I watch movies like i read books, even tho' i might not like the ending, i respect the storytellers right to tell the story they want to tell..
I'll be upfront and warn those contemplating watching Jupiter Ascending that you need to go in with low expectations to enjoy the film.
Unless your idea of what makes a film good is huge explosions, pretty characters prancing around in elaborate costumes and beautiful visuals.
There was potential to explore and mine all that richness for more stories but this is undermined by the weak delivery of the first film in what the studios were probably hoping would be a new franchise.While the plot of Jupiter Ascending was hackneyed, it had pretty interesting characters whose backstories would have been fun for the audience to explore.
Let's be honest, the basic plot line of The Matrix, the film franchise that the Wachowskis are renowned for, was pretty cliché too – the story of a Chosen One who comes out of nowhere and whose destiny is to save the world.
Jupiter Ascending's basic plot premise was this too but the treatment was a complete letdown.The cast is also one that is renowned for not just their good looks but also their ability to act.
At least Radmayne has The Theory of Everything that is out in the same season and that can probably help cushion the fallout from Jupiter Ascending.To the Wachowskis' credit, Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum have some chemistry.
Sometimes I really don't get IMDb and critics I avoided this movie like the plague as it had such low ratings by users and critics, so I thought it would be a complete waste of time But I've upgraded my home projector recently, and it supports 3D, and since then, I'm having fun in trying this format.
Wachowski's always make great visuals, so I jumped into it because of the 3D, but with very low expectations regarding the movie To my complete surprise, it turned out the movie was very good, in the sense it was highly entertaining The story has it's flaws, like any regular movie, but it's not a complete nonsense like some people try to sell you Can't understand how rubbish movies like Fast&Furious 7 and Iron Man 3 make millions at the box office and have such good ratings, where this one flopped and has such poor ones I mean even complete trash like Godzilla, Robocop (2014), John Carter and San Andreas have a higher score than Jupiter Ascending!!!
Then of course there's "Star Wars" which 10 year-old (and those who think like them) find deeply profound and meaningful.Purely as escapist entertainment, "Jupiter Ascending" is awesome.
Literally, just a few weeks before this movie was released, I had been thinking "Why haven't there been any fun space opera films recently?
We may never know the answers to any of these questions, but one thing is clear; Jupiter Ascending is the fun space opera movie that you need in your life right now.
And I went in knowing it was going to be a terrible story, but maybe I would enjoy the special effects and action scenes.
impossible to tell what was going on.I watch a lot of movies and have only walked out on a handful in my life, but I could not make it through more than 70 minutes of this ridiculous film.
I'd see it again!If you're considering watching this film, but hesitate after reading the same scathing reviews that I came across, just consider what interests you about the movie: if you're looking a movie with a complex plot and lots of underlying messages, this might not be the best choice.
Everything from explosions and action scenes, to space ships and settings, this movie had all the "eye candy" one could want.
Overall Jupiter Ascending lacked plot depth and great acting abilities, but it won it all back with groundbreaking visuals.
And she loved "Jupiter Ascending".This isn't a movie to watch for its philosophical message (even if there is one) or for its social commentary (even if you could find one).
This is a movie to watch and be immersed in a whole new world, be amazed by its beautiful landscapes, architecture, costumes, and by its cool gadgets (seriously, who wouldn't want flying boots like Caine's?) and spaceships.
This is a film to watch and indulge in your craziest childhood fantasies, like flying, going to another planet, being queen of the universe, you name it, and to be entertained.
It's classic Sci-Fi of high quality with action, spellbinding love story and of course fantastic sceneries.Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum play so well that the air sparks from their chemistry.
The story was brilliant and I loved the imagination it took to create the other world, the film didn't treat the audience like morons and explain everything excessively.
If you like Star Wars and science fiction movies, you will like Jupiter Ascending..
This idea that "time" is the most precious commodity in the Universe and that those who have the means to extend it to a never-ending cycle are those who do have real power in this new Universe that we discover.There is a lot of action, a love story and beautiful and awesome science fiction effects.
There are several new ideas in this movie that will make you ponder on life and its meaning.Here are mostly TV series and a few movies that I highly recommend, as I watched them and enjoyed them a lot.--------------------------------------------------------There are a few classics in science-fiction TV series:---Smallville---Star Trek: Enterprise---Babylon 5---Earth: Final Conflict---Battlestar Galactica---Star Wars (6 movies so far and counting)---Jupiter Ascending (a movie)all deserving 15 out of 10 because they are all very special TV series for the quality of their stories and for the amazing actors that they have.
I saw this film in the Milton Keynes Cineworld 4DX Super screen with a 3D viewing...Wow factor set to out of this world.The story is wonderfully imagined, set on many worlds with awesome space scenes showing beautiful star ships and galactic scale.The Plot and character development is very familiar and really is a missed opportunity to add some intelligence to what is in many ways a thought provoking rags to riches tale, putting into perspective the value of life.
The 4DX Super screen with 3D was quite expensive but, immersing and effective so it felt satisfying with such a visually stunning film.This film is a great date movie, fun for families, perfect for sci-fi junkies, thought provoking and good looking.I can only hope you have at much fun as we all did..
Jupiter Ascending isn't as successful as the Wachowsky's previous Cloud Atlas (which truly is a brilliant film), but it's far more effective than their greatest misfire, Speed Racer.
(Which somehow manages a 6.1 on IMDb.)If you like fast-paced space opera in the Star Wars mold, Jupiter Ascending is definitely worth a look..
There's a lot of negativity on this flick...and I don't understand it.I'm not always in the mood for a New York Times Critically Acclaimed Social Critique on Futurity and the Human Condition...Sometimes, I just want explosions, Flash, Boom, more Explosions and in the words of Colonel Jack O'Neill: Big-honking Space Guns.The movie was ambitious...but it was trying to bring to life something like a Graphic Sci-Fi Novel.
I mean, if you're gonna be that gestapo about every Sci-Fi movie, we'd just as well pan the Avengers with a thumbs-down for not accepting the Comic Book Universe rules of life.Jupiter Ascending is best described as a blend of Star Wars, The Fifth Element and Dune....(The First attempt--not the mini-series).The Bad Guy is Bad. The Evil Guy is Evil.
His appearance is more baffling than Mila's given the absolute ridiculousness of his character that is not only cardboard flat, but he is neither the "action-movie" bad guy that takes on the opposing action hero, but rather ends up fighting a girl hand-to-hand, a battle we know he's gonna lose from the beginning of the movie, despite the fact that Mila's only combat training comes from wielding toilet brushes.The music shows that the movie takes itself way too seriously for a flat action movie (the comic relief moments hardly have any comedy in them) as the score tries to enhance a non-existing drama.The Wachowski's seems to have gone out of their way to ensure it is utterly impossible to feel or root for any of the characters (good or bad).
The plot has no discernible structure, just the main character going from strange situation to strange situation, being acclimated and educated about the "truth" that's been hidden from humanity.But I enjoyed this movie for the setting: a fantastic world full of colorful aliens, space travel, and high-technology.
It was beautiful to look at, and anyone that's a part of the film world should know that not a single pixel, prop, or thread of clothing makes it to set without passing under the eyes of tons of creative minds, so believe me when I tell you more original creative thought went into this movie then you'll have the attention to notice.
The performances are great and interesting to watch, the action is extremely well choreographed, the plot is easy to follow, and the film is long enough that we get a full sense of the immensity of the world they created.
Channing Tatum and Sean Bean had good characters.Some of the action was over-the-top and drawn out way too long.Lots of violence, maybe too much for some people.I'd give it 2 stars.
The movie was entertaining, good paced, the action was good, the CGI was good, the bad guy was bad, the other bad guy was a little less bad (in a Disney movie he would have worn gloves), there were some not so annoying plot holes, there was some (mild) humor, there was chemistry between the two leads, it was predictable, and spoiler alert: Sean Bean does NOT die!!But who cares, this film delivered what I am expecting from such a movie: that when I will be watching it again on BluRay that I will not have the urge to skip or fast forward some of the scenes.
Put simply the movie has some serious work put into it, the acting is good and the characters themselves move the story along nicely.
I want to see more of this universe it's truly amazing!This is not a 5.5 star film, it should be more along the lines of a 6.7, for goodness sake Major Payne (1995) has a higher rating!Im giving the movie an 8 to offset the silliness of people giving it a 1!.
It probably wasn't intended as an homage to old fashioned pulp fiction, but that's the way it worked out - the same appeal as 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' - a comparison that will make the high brow guys keel over, but they are experts in thinking within the box.Bottom line is that I think most people reading this will have a good time at this movie, taken on its own terms.
Before I went to see it, I saw the reviews which were all very low stars, but after watching it, I realize those reviewers were idiots, who are either paid to give a bad review, or just do not know sci-fi, or rather the reality of life and the universe, in which the movie tries to show -- that life is more bountiful than what humans have been taught through ignorant and narrow minded religious philosophies.
There were some good sets/action scenes/costumes/effects etc (although nothing fresh or particularly exciting) - but the storyline and script were really bad - and the acting was no better.With the exception of Channing Tatum, the entire cast were pretty feeble, if not hammy.
Mila Kunis does a great job overall except when it comes to survival action scenes, where she doesn't seem to put the physical effort needed to make her fight for life look real.
The movie goes a different route with the anime The Wachowskis have proved to love with their most iconic film the Matrix, I think I spotted influences of neon genesis, Gundam and other mech anime.The action sequences were really good and there was a lot of them from beginning to end.
Night Shyamalan with After Earth, The Wachowskis are playing the Hollywood game here and like with After Earth, producing so-so results that loosely resemble what got them to the big time in the first place.But overall The story's OK and it has a lot of effects driven action sequences.
It's not that the film is too hard to follow, but I find myself wanting to see it again - just to more fully appreciate the depth of the characters and the richness of the story – and to again enjoy the movie's spectacular visual effects.
As I watched and evaluated this film, Jupiter was most definitely ascending – all the way to an "A"..
I am considering invoicing the Wachowskis for the time I wasted watching this drivel.On the plus side, the state of the art for SFX means that all sorts of good stories might finally make it to the big screen, things that were thought to be unfilmable before.
I have no idea why such bad reviews but I enjoyed the movie enough to have seen it multiple times.
The film was relentlessly imaginative and the world it established was fascinating and original, far more so than the sci-fi/fantasy universes set up in any of the Marvel or comic book movies of recent years.
When it comes to acting, OK, let's say it is not the best or Oscar worthy performance but, hey tell me a sci-fi action movie which has very good acting or remembered because of the performance of the actors.
Yet, this movie has fairly good acting; especially Channing is way much better than I thought he would be.
Finally, if you want to watch an amazing and very entertaining sci- fi movie with incredible action scenes, go and see it for yourself...do not listen or read the haters or critics..
I almost did not see Jupiter Ascending, and it would have been a shame to miss it on the big screen.Negative reviews had me convinced it was a movie with a good premise, great CG, but otherwise suffering from an insufferable script and poor character development, and did not meet the litmus test as compared to other sci-fi films.But, a last minute gut call got me to the theater.
Story as good as many other big Sci-fi films.
and what I mean by that is that this is a film about rich people that is just an embarrassment."Jupiter Ascending" is the latest film from the Wachowskis and, despite what you read about their under-rated previous efforts ("Speed Racer," "Cloud Atlas"), this one truly is
.utter disaster.Remember when Hollywood seemed to start putting effects ahead of stories and starting insulting the viewers intelligence until some directors (read: Cameron, Nolan) started injecting mindblowing effects into incredibly intelligent stories.Well, guess who is insulting our intelligence again.What this movie is "about," and I use the term loosely, is a young woman in Chicago who cleans toilets for a living who finds out she is actually a genetic descendant of the most powerful dynasty in the universe and simply needs to claim Earth as her own, which she left to herself thousands of years prior, before her "son" harvests humans to make a potion that keeps other beings in the universe young You got that?
The structure of the movie, is similarly terrible largely due to its incoherent plot.Overall, despite its visual grace better experienced in IMAX 3D, the Wachowski siblings directs a colossal mess in Jupiter Ascending, which serves as both candy for the eye...
Now I know how to define "space junk": Jupiter Ascending, a science fiction film from the Wachowskis that bears no resemblance to their Matrix.
It should either be longer or better yet, a two part movie.I have read a few reviews and as always some people love one scene, some hate it.
But it is very entertaining and even better than many other sci-fi movies if you watch it without great expectations..
(The Fifth Element comes to mind.)There's comedy in this movie, which really adds to the touch of humanity that Mila Kunis' acting brings to the film.
Another thing I liked a lot about the movie was the acting of the supporting characters.
I never felt like that while watching Jupiter Ascending and in fact, I had plans after the movie and had forgotten them all while enjoying the flick! |
tt0310910 | Confidence | A group of grifters rip off their latest mark and celebrate, while the de facto leader of the group, Jake Vig (Edward Burns) narrates about the art of the con. When one of the four grifters is found shot to death, the other three learn that the latest money they stole actually belonged to a local L.A. crime lord called The King (Dustin Hoffman). Jake meets The King, who proposes that the grifters now go to work for him and steal money from Morgan Price, a rival who now owns a bank. The sociopathic King leaves them little choice in the matter.Having no options, Jake gets to work on developing a new con; he enlists the aid of his two remaining partners, Gordo and Miles, and also convinces an independent con artist named Lilly (Rachel Weisz) to round out their foursome. Unfortunately, The King, a wiry, manic man who suffers from ADHD, demands that one of his men, Lupus, also work on the con. The con involves bribing a vice president at the bank into wiring money offshore. The plan hits a major snag when Special Agent Gunther Butan (Andy Garcia) shows up in L.A., looking to finally bust Jake, whom he has followed for years. Agent Butan quickly forces two corrupt LAPD detectives into switching their allegiance from Jake to him.After hearing about Butan's arrival in town, a nervous Jake pulls the plug on the whole con, and screams at Lilly - making her walk out on the group. Lupus gets Jake to reconsider nixing the con, hinting that The King will torture and kill the grifters if the plan falls short. The con is back on, though now without Lilly's help. The plan starts smoothly enough, and the bribed bank VP wires the money to Gordo in Belize. Gordo brings the money to Ontario Airport, but he is met at the airport by both Agent Butan as well as The King and his men, as both sides are after the $5 million in a duffle bag. Butan arrests The King and confiscates the money. Gordo, who had the money taken from him, is nowhere to be found. Lupus, thinking the King now has the money, reveals he was the one who killed Jake's grifter friend at the beginning. Lupus holds Jake at gunpoint, but Jake is saved when Lupus is shot by Travis (Morris Chestnut), a henchman for Morgan Price. It turns out that when Lilly walked out, she went straight to Price himself and revealed the entire con, which was taking place that minute. Price told Travis to locate Jake and find out exactly how the con was engineered, as to stop such a thing from ever happening again.Travis takes Jake to an abandoned lot where Jake is forced to explain the entire story (hence the narration). At the end, a furious Lilly takes out a gun and kills Jake. Travis demands that he and Lilly both disappear immediately. Minutes later, Butan arrives in a car and Jake sits up from a pool of blood, unharmed. The final parts of the con are revealed. Lilly "quitting" was fake - set up to confuse Lupus. Butan is actually an old confidant of Jake's, and he managed to "confiscate" the money and arrest The King at the same time. Butan has the money and it's split five ways. Jake was wearing squibs to fake his own death in the lot. In the end, everyone was in on everything except The King and Lupus (the first marks) and Price and Travis (the second, bigger marks). As the team of four grifters reunites and celebrates, Jake and Lilly kiss. | plot twist, neo noir, murder, flashback | train | imdb | And for what it is, it's not half bad.Edward Burns plays a con man, Jake Vig. Together with his crew of seasoned, confident fellow con men, he scams people out of money.
The movie is paced smoothly (there are no tedious scenes or moments you feel you've missed something), the acting is excellent (Hoffman's character seems overdone at first, but the creepy-weird character he plays is believable and, therefore, all the more serious and scary), the cons they play are very smart (and convincing), and the way it all comes together at the end is just beautiful (although the overall scheme is complex and plays many twists on the audience, it is not at all difficult to follow what 'really' happens).
All in all, a very enjoyable movie, with genuine suspense, characters we get to like (and even care about - to the amount possible for grifters), excellent acting and a worthy end.
The plot is very original, but the sometimes staccato dialogs and use of high speed American slang language is sometimes difficult to understand for a non-American.Nevertheless I enjoyed watching Jake Vig(Edward Burns)very much, his coolness reminds me of James Stewart and the catch of the film reminded me a little bit of Swordfish-Travolta's latest and one of his best movies ever.
Dustin Hoffman's character is very convincing as an independent gangster whose money-collector gets involved in a scam and looses $150.000,- to a group of four slick hustlers.It's this team, which members are so diverse yet fit together so perfectly that it makes me want to see another film starring the same con men, director Mr. James Foley, please give us a sequel.............
I have to say i'm glad that i did.Basically its a slick thriller about money and power, with a good cast, solid plot and enough well crafted twists to make it a little special.It isn't a masterpiece, but it is certainly worth watching, and the story is linear enough to appeal to a wide audience.8/10 If you enjoyed this you'll probably like 'SWORDFISH' and 'OCEANS 11' both have a similar feel..
Besides Hoffman's electrifying work, we had show stopper performances by Rachel Weisz, Paul Giamatti, Andy Garcia, Luis Guzman, Tony G, and Brian Van Holt.
By the numbers con game made good by the very great performances of Dustin Hoffman , Rachel Weisz and Ed Burns.
Ed Burns does pretty good job as the lead in this film and Dustin Hoffman whose brief appearance here shows how a true legend works.
Rachel Weisz makes this film a lot of fun with her performance as a sexy female con, and Andy Garcia continues to make himself into one of the great character actors of our generation.
At least, it was pitched at the audience in a very similar way, though without the comedy element that made the aforementioned films fun to watch.Given its attempted rip-off of other movies, its no surprise that the story has a few twists along the way.
These Mamet-style, "quadruple-cross" movies are fine per se, but since the viewer knows he can't take any of the events at face value, the film needs something to offer the audience beyond its convoluted plot.
Andy Garcia is adequate and Dustin Hoffman is a natural (this guy will make one laugh out loud).'Confidence' is a slick stylish thriller that doesn't pretend to be anything else, when compared to other weaker movies like 'The Heist', 'Ocean's 11' or 'The Score'.
The whole movie suffers from a lack of personality which is best personified by the lead character of Jake Vig, played by Edward Burns.
Based on a crooks scheme story filmed with some skill, and acted pretty decently by a good cast, it soon falls in routine and looks like a useless effort.
It did not convince as an example of irony or a comic book adventure or an exercise in cool.I think someone defined a caper movie as one in which the people making the film had more fun making it than the audience had watching it In that case the film falls straight in the middle of the caper bracket.
Although this film has redeeming features they do not compensate for these shortcomings.It has some great character actors in the cast who give good performances Giametti, Guzman, Garcia in fact everyone except the two main actors portraying the central couple Edward Burns and Rachel Weisz.
Dustin Hoffman is particularly entertaining (not great) in this movie.I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes con films and modern fast paced crime flicks..
At first it may seem like it's done many times before, and is just following the footsteps of other popular films like Oceans eleven, but you will find that the more you watch it, the more you're drawn in, and before you know it you are in an exciting world with imaginitive characters and a plot line like a roller coaster, it twists and turns, and you never know whats going to happen next.Go and see Confidence, whether you like it or not, it will always stay in your mind, because it is definitley something new.....
This is really just another con game movie like "The Sting" or "House of Games" and the only thing that really stands out is the fun performance of Dustin Hoffman.
Story is about a con man named Jake Vig (Edward Burns) who along with his crew bilks money out of people by faking murders but one day during a scam they learned they conned 100,000 dollars out of a bagman who works for The King (Hoffman).
Sure, Confidence is a rather solid movie which has some great angles, but the film seemed to be overwrought with silliness and unbelievable plot devices.
I mean, Paul Giamatti was even more annoying in this film than he was in Big Fat Liar, a movie that should have been called "Annoying, Kids Movie that Deserves to be Burned." Then, let's not forget the whole idea of Jake Vig talking to an assassin when the assassin should have been only after the money, not a good yarn.
The flashbacks and narration from Burns guides you though the film, written by Doug Jung, the script is witty although there's a little too much exposition and the tone feels inconsistent at times.If you've already seen the aforementioned TV series the twist will come as no surprise but if you want to see the seed of these shows and what a gritty film version would be like - look no further..
Ed Burns has "Confidence" in this 2003 film also starring Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia, Rachel Weisz, Paul Giametti, and Donal Logue.Burns is Jake Vig, a professional grifter who, with the help of his usual crew, has just swindled a ton of money from a mark.
The ending made me laugh so hard I swear to god because that....never mind - anyway I recommend this flick because it is damn solid in its own right and Rachel Weisz was definitely something to look at in this(sexy as hell)great movie, glad I saw it.
Jack Vig (Edward Burns) is a grifter and leader of a crew of con men, composed of his long time friends Gordo (Paul Giamatti), Alphonse "Big Al" Moorley (Louis Lombardi) and Mile (Brian Van Holt) and supported by two dirty police detectives, Officer Lloyd Whitworth (Donal Loque) and Officer Omar Manzano (Luis Gusmán).
The fact that the film does not make more of his superstitions seems a missed opportunity (Nicolas Cage crafted a stellar performance from his flawed grifter character in 'Matchstick Men' of the same year), but if one does not set high expectations and implausibility is not an issue, 'Confidence' is an acceptable way to pass the time..
Confidence tells about a bunch of grifters, led by Jake Vig.The infamous crime lord Winston King they call The King isn't pleased since they stole money that belongs to him.Now in order to pay him back he gives the group a job where they have to con a man named Morgan Price.Consider it done.Confidence (2003) is a movie directed by James Foley.It has an incredible cast.Let's start from the most legendary one, Dustin Hoffman.He plays The King, who else.Edward Burns plays Jake Vig.Paul Giamatti is Gordo.The Femme Fatale, Lily, is played by Rachel Weisz.Luis Guzmán is Officer Omar Manzano.Andy Garcia is the mysterious Special Agent Gunther Butan.Robert Forster is Morgan Price.Leland Orser of ER plays Lionel Dolby.Robert Pine plays the nice man Mr. Lewis they con.This movie looks really good.It'stylish and cool.In movies like this things rarely are what they seem to be.So you can't predict the ending at any point.If you can, you're really good..
Enjoyed this film concerning a professional con Jake Vig (Edward Burns), "The River King", who gets in real trouble with Dustin Hoffman,(The King) and has to repay a debit in a big hurry.
Rachel Weisz is as sexy as ever and the supporting turns (especially Paul Giamatti and Luis Guzman) are uniformly excellent.The structure of the story and Foley's smooth direction keep it flowing along sweetly.You'll see the "twist" coming a mile off but don't let that put you off.If you like con movies its well worth 90 minutes of your time..
With notables such as Rachel Weisz, Ed Burns, and Dustin Hoffman, well it should have been great.I can only imagine that this must have been a "tweener," something these actors did between real movies, but shouldn't have.I can understand and tolerate a certain amount of bad language, such as movies like Mystic River, which came across well, and was in context.
If Foley wanted to have an ensemble film, why did he only give proper development to one guy, Edward Burns, who I'm still convinced is not strong enough as an actor to carry a movie on his own.
Hoffman was great even though I thought his role was a bit too `nice' as I expected him to be more of the hard nose boss type, but I really was taken with Burn's performance as the confident, smooth talking, charismatic con artist.
by reading some of these coments by other ppl some seemed not to like it but i loved it i thought it was cleaver and the acting was very good this was edward burns best acting that i have seen i thought the story was good b/c everytime u figure one thing out something else happened and one user said that the cons were stupid and only idiots would fall for them but thats the point of the person they con that he is an idiot and greedy at the same time so i recomend this movie to those who like movies in this genre.
The acting and direction are all good, but it just lacks that certain something that makes other con game movies like "The Sting" or "The Grifters" great.Edward Burns is good as the central character, Jake, but he's not particularly likable in the role.
Andy Garcia also has an important part as a federal agent hot on Jake's trail, but he also doesn't have much to do and also plays the part a bit quirky.This is an enjoyable film, but if you want to watch a movie about crooks who are more interesting, better to rent out "The Grifters" or "After Dark, My Sweet.".
He receives superb support from the likes of Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Paul Giamatti, Franky G and the always-reliable Luis Guzman.Despite the fact that `Confidence' never digs very far beneath its own shallow surface, the filmmakers keep the movie interesting by employing an intriguing dual-level structure, moving back and forth in time with relative ease and fluidity.
ahem, Tomb Raider 2 and the other inanities.Well - as for the highlights : Excellent movie, clever plot, clever dialogue, great performances ( Dustin Hoffman (cast against type) is interestingly creepy, Rachel Weisz is pure "bait with brains" (her performance could serve as the ultimate reminder NEVER NEVER NEVER to trust any woman smiling at you...
When a local job leaves one of Jake's crew members dead and with the rest of them owing a large sum of money to a famous mob leader `The King' played by non other than `Dustin Hoffman', our main character re-gathers his smart team along with some new recruits to pull off one big last heist to repay his depts.
There are one too many plot twists, the story never seems to flow smoothly (the film seems more like a collection of ideas strung together) and (petty complaint, this!) Rachel Weisz's American accent is sometimes dodgy.But despite these weaknesses, you still have a pretty good film, even if it comes off as a poor man's Ocean's Eleven at the end of the day.
Generally, the film's ensemble works well together, although the best lines are reserved for the film's biggest stars, Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia (who you won't see on screen for too long).Confidence doesn't really have anything else memorable to offer though, and that makes it somewhat dissatisfying.
Other than The strong performances of Rachel Weisz, and Dustin Hoffman, The movie telegraphs its twist way before the con ends..
Only Rachel Weisz and Dustin Hoffman comes out on top with stellar performances that goes beyond the script problems, and Ed Burns hold himself well with them in his first leading man role.Good enough for a rental only..
A couple days' work -- tops -- for each, and it shows.A special mention for fine character actor Paul Giamatti (son of the late baseball commissioner) -- the best lines and best performance are his.Edward Burns looks more and more like Ben Affleck's twin brother every outing.Speaking of grifter movies, I liked "The Prime Gig" (7) slightly better than "Confidence" (6)..
Starring Edward Burns (`Saving Private Ryan'), Dustin Hoffman (`Rain Man'), and Rachel Weisz (`Enemy At The Gates'), `Confidence' delivers the goods in an intelligent way that leaves filmgoers baffled, then gives you a good jolting surprise at the end.
I can hear Richard Gere singing the song from `Chicago' right now-`Give them the old razzle dazzle
' `Confidence' is the story of a con man, Jake Vig (Burns) and his crew who fall victim to a kingpin, properly named King (Hoffman), who has murdered one of their men in order to pay a debt.
spy' style isn't enough for you - the acting is magnificent...EVERYONE plays their part to perfection, led by Burns & Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz is as alluring and tantalizingly sexy as ever!If you like intelligent, well-acted movies that challenge your intellect, then you cannot possibly be disappointed by this....the BEST MOVIE of the YEAR!(Note: the plot, on paper, is incredibly boringly predictable - don't be fooled by this point, ....
Im not a big Edward Burns fan, although "15 Minutes" was very good (but we all know who made THAT movie).
Confidence was three big things going for it: Terrific performances from a deep cast; Crisply stylized directing and camera work; and (what some films lack) a good script.
The only truly great thing in the film, besides the originality, is the Dustin Hoffman character which leaves you wishing for him to have more screen time.
Burns does so in `Confidence', where he portrays a con-artist named Jake Vigs, in a film that could be called "The Sting" meets "Pulp Fiction." Director James Foley, who had previously helmed "The Corruptor" (1999) and "Glengary Glen Ross (1992), with his latest directorial bid"Confidence", Foley offers the audience a smart sting crime flick with fabulous acting performances and plenty of surprising plot twists.
The film is carried by riveting performances from Edward Burns, Paul Giamatti and Rachel Weisz, and includes Andy Garcia as a frumpy Customs Agent (like you've never seen him before), and Dustin Hoffman as a morally bankrupt local crime king (like you never want to see him again).James Foley wants to keep you guessing.
But along the way, a number of factors, including a corrupt, dogged LAPD officer (Andy Garcia) and a sultry seductress/con artist named Lily (Rachel Weisz) threaten to get in their way.Using the 'reverse plotting' style of films like Reservoir Dogs before it (a film I noticed it had a lot in common with) and adding a few unique touches of it's own, Confidence is a slick, stylish and classy con caper with a fine script and neat performances.In one of his most notable leading roles, Ed Burns pulls it off with charisma and class.
I thought this movie was very clever and all the characters were different enough in their personalities to pull off the con against "The King" (who was a character supreme!).Edward Burns was great as Jake, and I thought he and Rachel Weisz were good together, especially in the scene in the jewelry store and just after, when he gave her the diamond earrings.
Characters come and go and none of them stick in the mind with more than surface effect.RACHEL WEISZ, DUSTIN Hoffman and ANDY GARCIA are all underused in sketchy roles and the big payoff reminds us how much more successful "The Sting" was in pulling off its own twist upon twist.Mediocre film-making in every respect, losing steam before it even reaches the halfway mark.
A good old-fashioned crime caper movie in the mould of Ocean's Eleven, and possibly rivaling that remake for smooth style.Confidence tells the story of a group of con men (Ed Burns, Brian Van Holt, Paul Giamatti) who stylishly manage to con people with more money than sense out of said hard-earned currency.
Outside of these players, the support cast is also good with roles for Chestnut, Guzman, Garcia and Hoffman, all of whom add class even if they only have limited screen time.Overall this film does what you expect, from the cool music, slick dialogue and twists and turns of the script.
Not a great film if you expect originality or real surprises but a cool, slick movie that is like a glass of bailey's - smooth if fleeting.. |
tt0387898 | Caché | We watch a street, and in front, a middle-house home. Suddenly, we hear the voices of two people, and the images move back. The comments lead us to know the situation.Georges Laurent (Daniel Auteuil) is the presenter of a literary TV programme. The programme is going well and he's got many fans, especially female. He's married to Anne (Juliette Binoche). The couple has just received a mysterious video tape: for two hours somebody has recorded the street and the front of their home. We can see several passers-by, a biker, and Georges leaving for work. The tape had no other message, it appeared just inside a supermarket white plastic bag.The next day, the couple receives another tape. This time it's a night shot. The same as before, nothing much seems to happen. However, this time the tape was wrapped in a plain paper with a child-like drawing of a boy's face stained with blood. The couple decide to go to the police, but they will not do anything about it, because there has been not actual thread. None of the neighbours of the side street from where the camera must have been placed has seen anything or anybody, in spite of the recording lasting for more than two hours. When they leave the police station, deeply frustrated because of the lack of attention to the problem, Georges crosses the road without looking and has a verbal fight with a biker (Dioucounda Koma) who almost crashed onto him. It's Anne who has to tell them to calm down.Little by little, we see Georges' life: he leads his programme proffesionally; he's got a good social life, and his son Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky) goes to high school and belongs to the swimming team. In fact, he wins the swimming competition Georges and Anne attend as spectators.During a dinner with some of their friends, Georges goes to attend the door. Although it's really late, somebody has just rung the bell. When Georges goes out, there is nobody there. He shouts to the dark empty street "Show up, you coward". When he tries to close the door, he can't, because there is another tape on the floor. Anne tells their friends their present problems, to which Georges responds - really annoyed - by showing the new tape to everybody. This new tape shows somebody driving on a rainy road, through the countryside. The car stops and the camera turns to face a countryside manor mansion. This tape is wrapped in a paper with a child-like drawing of something similar to a hen with its neck bleeding.Georges goes to that manor house: it's the house where he grew up. His mother (Annie Girardot) is old, and needs help because she can't take care of herself. Georges doesn't like the housekeeper (Marie-Christine Orry), but he won't do anything about it.The reception and the vision of the tapes is intertwined with some images, some flashbacks of a boy bleeding through his mouth (Malik Nait Djoudi). Although Georges says that he doesn't know anything about the tapes or why they are being sent to him, little by little the viewers come to realise that these images are flashbacks.We finally come to know that Majid was a child Georges' parents adopted, but somehow he was sent back to the orphanage. Georges' mother doesn't want to talk about Majid, but we don't know up to what point she can't remember.The next tape happens again inside a moving car. Anne discovers the name of an avenue, and Geoges used that to find a particular door, number 049.Georges go there on his own in spite of Anne's disapproval. There, he finds a surprised and sad man. Although Georges doesn't recognise him at first, that man recognises him. It's Majid (Maurice Bénichou), the Algerian boy Georges' parents sent back to the orphanage, now a sad forty-yeared-old man. In the following conversation, the adult Majid denies to know anything about any tapes. He says that once, watching Georges by chance on TV, felt disgusted and about to throw-up. Georges talks to him in a cocky and aggresive way. He storms out.The next day, Anne sees at home the camera images of Georges talking to Majid. Majid was left for an hour, crying devastated, sat on a chair. As usual, everything had been recorded onto a tape. Georges says he doesn't feel responsible for Majid's loser life or for having taken away his possibilities of leading a priviledged life like his. He tells the story: Majid's parents were servants at Georges' parents' home. They went to a demonstration in Paris. At that demonstration, the police killed 200 people and threw their bodies to the River Sena, among whom both of Majid's parents were. Georges' parents adopted Majid, but Georges - at that time 6 years old - (Hugo Flamigni) felt jealous of having to share everything. He tells Majid to kill a rooster and he does so, beheading the poultry with an axe. Georges tells his parents that Majid did that to scare him.The tape was not only sent to Anne. Georges's boss (Bernard Le Coq) received the tape with a postcard with a drawing on the fashion of the rest of the paper drawings. His secretary spot the weird message and gave it to him. Talking about another programme which is taking longer to take off as an introduction, the boss explains the situation to the surprised Georges, who admits he looks really aggressive in that tape. The boss had destroyed the tape because it went against Georges' privacy and he doesn't want any scandals.Another event puts the Laurent family even more on edge: Pierrot has disappeared. Anne phones Pierrot's best friend, but he's not there. Anne and Georges phone the police. The police officers (Loïc Brabant) go to Majid's home, but somebody else, a younger man, opens up the door and lets them in. It's Majid's son (Walid Afkir). Everybody goes to the police station to be questioned.Suddenly, Pierrot appears back home with another woman. It's a nurse (Caroline Baehr). As she works the night shift, she doesn't usually know what his own son -another of Pierrot's friends- is about. Later, Anne tries to talk to Pierrot and asked why he had given them such a scare. Pierrot doesn't want to communicate at all, but one of the few things he says is that he thinks that his mother and one of her friends, Pierre (Daniel Duval) are lovers. Anne rejects that notion.Georges is called by Majid, so he comes back to is flat. When questioned on the reason, Majid says that he wanted Georges to see that. He takes a pocket knife from one of his pockets and cuts his own throat. He falls to the floor completely dead.Georges phones the police. The police believe Georges and realises that it was suicide. The next day, Majid's son visits Georges in his office. He says that he wants to see his guilty face and leaves without more ado.Georges comes back home and is alone. He takes some pills and goes to sleep. In his dreams, or in a flashback, he sees how an orphanage attendant (Paule Daré) and an orphanage driver (Nicky Marbot) who take Majid away to the orphanage by force in spite of the boy screaming his lungs off. Georges's mother (Annette Faure) watches all this nonchalantly.The last scene is a fixed shot of a camera of the stairs outside Pierrots' high school. He is talking and laughing with Majid's son. | suspenseful, boring, violence, haunting, romantic, revenge, storytelling, prank | train | imdb | Michael Haneke the austere Austrian director of such critically acclaimed films as "Funny Games", "Code Unknown" and "The Piano Teacher" has created in "Caché" (Hidden) his finest film to date.Starring Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche the film is a taut and tense personal thriller, which examines important subjects such as guilt and responsibility in the context of western comfort.Georges and Anne are a happily married middle class couple who both work in the arts.
As Georges fears for the safety of his family he suddenly has to confront his past and allow his wife to learn the hidden secrets of his past.Haneke's film plays on one level like a common thriller, but it has much deeper psychological echoes as the "hero" George is revealed not to be quite the upstanding family man his family believed him to be.
As his wife struggles to come to terms with the revelations their entire comfortable existence disintegrates.Haneke is not just interested in creating a thriller however and the auteur expertly dissects George and Annes bourgeois life and implicates them both in the treatment by western culture of the east and the third world.Acting in the film is terrific.
At the end of the film, Georges Laurent (Daniel Auteuil) tells his wife Anne (Juliette Binoche) that he will be "caché," hidden, and he takes off his clothes, closes the curtains, and buries himself in bed.
Writer/director Michael Haneke plays visual tricks on the audience as voyeurs from the opening shot, much as he did with "Code Inconnu," as he coyly plays with technology, building on the pervasive surveillance potential of our times.The comfortable upper middle class life of married intellectuals Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche is more and more disrupted by spooky video and drawings from some kind of stalker.
With a bit heavy-handed constant background TV news coverage about terrorism and other violence in the MidEast, as well as too much irony that Auteuil works on TV (evidently in yet another book discussion show like the central narcissist in "Look At Me (Comme une image)"), race is quickly introduced as a flash point in contemporary Paris from a brief street confrontation and reinforced with Auteuil's flashback dreams of his youth.While the political angles are obvious, the Hitchcockian tension is very effectively built up (though not narratively resolved even as some secrets are revealed that lead to other inscrutabilities), not just as we see Auteuil repeatedly lie and Binoche practically disintegrate from nerves, but through sudden violence.While we never understand who all is lying and who isn't, the film further plays on the truth that visual images don't in fact communicate the reality of a situation and can be misleading about relationships, particularly once paranoia has destroyed trust.
Cynically, but perhaps honestly as opposed to in "Crash," here there is no easy resolution of acceptance of guilt and responsibility in personal lives any more than there is in the legacy of colonialism and racism.Not only is the past never dead, but the film keeps repeating issues of not just am I my brother's keeper, but the sins of the father are revisited on the sons, such that it's important to keep watching even as the credits start to appear at the end (there was much shouting when some folks got up to leave too soon, blocking cryptic clues to those behind them).The subtitles are very poorly done, with many scenes having them white on white, instead of the much easier to read yellow..
If you really enjoyed the film but struggle with the answer (which is turns out to be different depending on whether you view it as a psychological thriller or as a polemic/work-of-art), you can go to the official website (which saves me revealing it!) - at which point you will probably want to watch it again to see the details you missed from inattention.Hidden is a remarkably accomplished work.
We soon come to realize we are actually watching a videotape of the home of Georges (Daniel Auteuil) a TV personality with a book chat show on French Television and his wife Anne (Juliette Binoche) and their 12-year-old son Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky).
I don't except this plot confusion as intentional like Syriana, nor does it seem like the world weariness experienced at the end of Chinatown with the line; "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown", where the implication is that some things are completely unknowable.Majid and his son constantly deny that they are making the videotapes, but they seem to know about them and how is it possible for a tape to have been made inside Majid's apartment of a conversation between Majid and Georges without Majid knowing about it?
As I left the theater, three masterpieces immediately came to my mind: Clouzot's "Le Corbeau" (a political statement disguised as a thriller and a probable inspiration for "Caché"), Antonioni's "The Passenger" (ditto, and also for the long, breathtaking, "open-meaning" last shot) and Resnais' "Marienbad" (the seminal film of multi-layered possible interpretations of "reality").
Can't wait for his next film -- but while I do, I'll watch "Caché" one more time, and understand that hiding (Georges hiding his past and his feelings, nations hiding shameful parts of their history, Haneke hiding evidence, explanations and conclusions) can be a form of powerful revelation...and self-revelation..
It also points out how Georges, after many years of living with a terrible burden, comes to be reminded of the harm he caused.Daniel Auteuil makes the film more enjoyable.
While there is a racist element in the original crime that Georges Laurent perpetrated as a child, an act that leads to the action of the story, it was one rather fuelled by his need to maintain his standing in the family unit.Haneke deals with the questions of guilt, remorse, responsibility, secrecy, intimacy and more, in an intelligent and succinct manner, aided by excellent performances from Auteuil and Binoche.
So?" variety, a trivial, meaningless event that took place years before and is never really explained (You know, so you can read whatever you want into it, maaaaaaan) Implausible situations pile upon implausible motivations: people say things they would never say, do things that no real person would ever do, conversations consist merely of people shouting at each other and never actually answering the questions they're asked merely to prolong the shouting match (not for any dramatic or realistic effect).Do yourself a favour: skip this pile of Emperor's New Clothes, because it's time you'll never get back, time you'd be better off on far more fulfilling pursuits, like clipping your toenails or trying to staple yourself to a plank..
Watching for details such as the TV newscasts, facial expressions and the timing of the appearance and disappearance of key characters will easily allow the viewer to solve the mystery, but it does not take away from the tension the situation creates.This is a pretty solid thriller, but not in the class of Francois Ozon's "Swimming Pool" from a couple of years ago.
Unfortunately I was left scratching my head at the end of the movie wondering why the director decided not to complete it.Without giving too much away, this film does engage the viewer psychologically with almost exclusively claustrophobic scenes (even the external scenes are rather claustrophobic) mixed with long drawn out shots from a surveillance camera used to record/spy on the protagonists, played by an often awkward Daniel Auteuil and a rather good performance by Juliette Binoche.
It is clumsy film making at best and is obviously a pathetic attempt for writer/director Michael Haneke to admit that he kinda feels a great amount of guilt for something he had done as a child...
The film ends with no-one taking any blame or feeling any guilt for anything that was done to anyone at all, even to the point of there not even being a culprit for the "threatening" tapes and messages, which was the main plot line.This film apparently cost eight million euros and somehow got a lot of praise at Cannes on its release, , but looked more like a college project and it seems reason was shared by word of mouth, because it didn't even get half the money back.
This is a drone movie in the classic french melodrama genre, and I suppose that one must be French to understand it, or pretentious enough think that there is some sort of intellectual meaning here.George and Anne are confronted by a feeble attempt at terror, VHS cassettes surveillances their middle class Parisian home, nothing more menacing than that, except for the fact the tapes are wrapped in a disturbed child's drawing.
Suddenly, another tape appears and Georges finds clues that lead him to the apartment of his childhood companion, a farmhand's son whose family used to work for Georges Parents some 40 years earlier.If going on that pretentious intellectual journey that one is supposed to "think" while viewing french films -there are 3 levels on which this movie revolves.
Later at the end of the movie the film results back to a racist theme when the son of George's childhood friend says that George had denied his father a good education, that at the orphanage they only teach you hatred.
Everything seems to hinge on Something Bad that happened in the main character's past, and the info is doled out in tiny bits; when the truth comes to light, it is not very satisfying or dramatic.This film may have some artsy conceits (mostly just long fixed camera shots in which little if anything happens of consequence for minutes at a time), but the characters are so lifeless and the plotting so barren, they do not create an atmosphere which draws the viewer in.
Check out an early Jim Jarmusch film if you want to see how to create a beautiful, evocative movie with deliberate pacing and scenes which run long in a naturalistic way..
However, Daniel Auteuil performed like he was trying to learn lines for his next movie while filming this one - if he said 'what?' one more time in response to dialogue I was going to leave.I DID like the way that details of the story are implied rather than stated explicitly.
Caché means Hidden in French and is a clue to the mystery in this excellent film by Michael Haneke.
Georges goes to investigate and in doing so must face up to long forgotten problems that have never really disappeared like he thought they did.The most striking and clever thing about the whole film is not so much the story, which is a common theme for a thriller, but rather how it is presented.
However you take it, this is a very clever piece of storytelling.The principle actors are also top notch, but Daniel Auteuil is particularly impressive as a man who is forced to deal with something he wanted to forget and how this problem, which isn't totally his fault, can delve into a life where one has forgotten problems of the past, but they haven't forgotten you.The movie's last success is its lack of sensationalism, and when compared to an American production is it more like 'One Hour Photo' rather than 'Joy Ride' or something that goes over the top with serial killer nonsense and stuff.
Unlike the other reviewers, although I would agree that here we have the outline of a good story and there is a certain degree of polish overall, I also felt cheated at the end by there not being a tying up of loose ends, and ultimately, especially after watching the DVD extras about the incredible directorial control Haneke exerted on his cast and crew, I experienced an unpalatable pretentiousness about this film, unfortunately.I remain puzzled by what was implied as having happened, as this cannot really be simply explained as being unclear.
Sadly though I felt like i did when the first 10 minutes spilled out and that would be that I should turn it off, but for some strange reason it makes you sit in your seat and watch something for 2 hours waiting for the clues or trying to pick out an actual destination this film is heading for.
It puts YOU in the spot of the "watcher" you feel a part of the story, not detached...This is a study of guilt - how the woman lives with her guilt (current) and how the man lives with his (past) - how it affects their lives and their marriage...pay special attention to who is talking in front of the school at the end..It has little to do with the Algerian war - although it is referenced, and many North Americans are not familiar with French or African history, but all one really needs to know is this: there was a peaceful demonstration organised by the Algerian FLN (Front de Libération Nationale) in Paris on October 17th, 1961 during the Algerian War of Independence from France and the police attacked them under the orders of Chief Papon (who was later convicted of WWII crimes)...the death toll is much disputed and hard to verify, but estimates of about 200 Algerians seem to be accepted.But the point of the film is NOT who is doing the surveillance - it is the study of GUILT...for North Amreicans renting the DVD, it may be helpful to watch the interview with the director..
It is one of the most mysterious films I've ever seen that looks like a thriller but it is not, it is much more interesting, dramatic, and deeper.Haneke's camera fixes on a successful French couple, Georges and Anne and uncovers (at the same time leaving a lot hidden) a lot about them, about what it means to live a life with the feeling of never ending guilt that would always stays in the memory no matter how hard one tries to hide it.Georges and Anne begin receiving strange videotapes with the footage of their house, disturbing cards, and phone calls.
She is furious at him for lack of trust even though there are some secrets in her life as well.Dreams and flashbacks of Georges' childhood reveal the mystery that goes as far as not only examining the jealousy of a young boy to another boy, a stranger from different culture and backgrounds with whom he had to share love and attention of his parents but also controversial racial and political relations between two countries that have not improved by now and would they ever improve as the new generations grow up remains one of the many questions that this uncompromising masterful film brings up but would not and could not answer.I've watched the enigmatic film over and over during the weekend and I am fascinated by Haneke's craft, by his subtlety, by his ability to say something new in a very original way about subjects that are anything but new.Outstanding film-making at its best..
He merely gives us the visual evidence of dysfunction, allows us to watch it without explaining it, and in doing so he makes the viewer an integral part of the film experience.CACHE is a tough movie, one that requires total concentration on the part of the viewer, and one that presents the secrets and guilt of the characters by allowing us to watch instead of depending on their explanations of their etiologies or resolutions.
Watching CACHE is an exciting and stimulating experience - and at the same time it is a film so impressive that it lingers in the mind long after the film is over.Georges Laurent (Daniel Auteuil) and his wife Anne (Juliette Binoche) are successful professionals, living with their prepubescent son Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky) in a Parisian home of comfortable means.
The perpetrator of the videos is not explained, the schism between Georges and Anne is not addressed, Pierrot's transient disappearance is not fully explained - and the film ends as we, the audience, sit and watch a view of Pierrot's school as parents come to pick up their children.
Some rate Cache for its thought provoking qualities but most people leave a mundane life behind when watching movies and need a little more than an open ended diatribe on Frances hidden shame in the Police massacres of Algerians in 1961.
Maybe the world-audience reactions would have been different should they have had such a dramatic reminder of the very issues so masterfully pulled back to light in this movie.Michael Haneke's most recent film "Caché" was nominated in Cannes and enjoys box-success in France, so it rightfully appears on the program of established international film festivals...mostly to the viewers' misunderstanding or dismay.The names of the star lead-actors (versatile Daniel Auteuil and true Juliette Binoche) somewhat mislead the foreign audiences to expect the entertainment import, which it is not, as it's Haneke 100%, so the audience's conformism (mindful or cultivated) is his target to hit.Unfairly described in reviews as a thriller, this movie is rather a masked exposée of not just the shameful and terrifying event (happened in Paris back in 1961 and carefully wiped off the pages since then), but also of the cultivated hypocrisy and imperial arrogance that still keeps denying its maladies, while continuing to impose its superiority on others.Too late on this board to quote the Director in his remarks to the festival press:"If you write criticisms of this film, good or bad, please don't tell the story of the film".
The movie is actually quite straightforward.The story is about a TV talk show host,Georges Laurent whose quiet family life is disturbed by a person who sends video tapes of their house(as if someone is watching them constantly).
At the end of the 'movie' most of the audience ended up speaking to each other to ask if they had missed something.I mean, the film just suddenly ended.However, I will say this, I have read some of the other comments, and I must confess that I am thinking about it a little more, and yes, maybe there is far more to this than meets the eye - but come on! |
tt0467406 | Juno | The film opens with Juno (Ellen Page) staring at a recliner while drinking from a gallon container of Sunny-D bug juice, telling us, "It all began with a chair", after which we see a flashback of Juno and her best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), who's sitting naked in a recliner, waiting for Juno, who removes her underwear and sits down on him [the extent of the sex scene to keep it PG-13].Smart, fast-mouthed Juno then goes into a convenience store to take a pregnancy test. Judging by her conversation with Rollo the clerk (Rainn Wilson), this is her third test today (hence her drinking all the Sunny-D to produce urine). The third test shows the same result as the previous two: positive. Juno calls (on her hamburger phone) her best friend, Leah, who takes a few minutes to fully comprehend Juno's situation. We see a funny clip of Paulie getting ready to train with the track team, wearing his trademark head and wrist bands. As he exits the house, he sees Juno, who tells him the news.Paulie supports Juno's decision to abort the baby; Juno goes to a women's clinic for an abortion, where she bumps into classmate and lone anti-abortion protester Su-Chin, who robotically tries to dissuade Juno from having an abortion. Out of all the arguments, the one that Juno finds remotely interesting is that her baby might have fingernails by now. She encounters a snarky receptionist who tries to give her boysenberry-flavored condoms. Juno eventually decides against the abortion. She meets up with Leah and the two discuss adoption and how to break the news to Juno's dad and step-mom, Mac and Bren (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney).Juno breaks the news to her folks, who while disappointed are supportive. Juno tells them she wants to give the baby to a couple she and Leah found in Penny-Saver. She also lets them know who the father is (Mac: "Next time I see the Bleeker kid, I'm going to punch him in the wiener"). Mac goes with Juno to visit the prospective parents, Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman). Vanessa can't have children and is very excited by Juno's offer. The couple's lawyer seems prepared to negotiate an open adoption wherein Juno is updated on the child's development after birth. However, Juno has no interest and would rather have a closed adoption. The couple seems taken aback by how nonchalant Juno comes off, despite her less-than-polite attitude.While using their upstairs bathroom, Juno bumps into Mark, who is looking for something. Inspired by Mark's Les Paul guitar, the two discover compatible tastes in music and movies. Mark used to be in a rock band, though now he makes his living writing ad jingles. The two jam for a bit on the guitars, before Vanessa frustratingly interrupts so they can get back to business. The meeting concludes with Mark and Vanessa agreeing to pay for Juno's medical expenses.Juno visits Paulie, and Paulie says that the two should get their band back together after Juno delivers. He also tries to suggest that the two should get back together as a couple, which Juno tries to play off, to Paulie's disappointment. She suggests he try to get together with Katrina De Voort, but Paulie doesn't like the idea, claiming Katrina and her house always smell like soup. Throughout, Paulie supports Juno's decisions and quietly tries to help her any way he can, while Juno doesn't pay much attention to Paulie's support, relying more on her parents, as well as the Lorings.Juno goes with her mother and Leah for an ultrasound, at which the technician makes judgmental, condescending remarks about Juno's situation, whereupon Bren tells her where to put her comments, to Juno and Leah's amusement. Juno makes a few visits to the Lorings, mostly unexpected, where Mark is usually the only one home. The two begin hanging out, watching bad horror flicks and listening to music. We can see a chemistry forming between them. Eventually Vanessa comes home and Juno shows them pictures from the ultrasound. In a later scene, we see the Lorings in the baby's future room: While Vanessa tries to figure out what to put on the wall, we sense that Mark isn't enthusiastic about being a father, When Juno comes home, Bren warns her about going to see the Lorings so much, especially while Vanessa isn't there, since it isn't appropriate. Juno shrugs off the advice. Juno later spies Vanessa at the mall, where she sees how great she is with the children of friends. The two notice each other, and Juno lets Vanessa feel the fetus.At school, where she has to deal with being The Pregnant 16 YO, Juno is given nasty looks. She and Leah eat lunch by the school's trophy case, while Leah goes on about a few topics: One is her crush on a teacher, an older-guy thing she has; the other is Paulie asking Katrina to prom. While Juno denies she has any feelings for Paulie, later that day she confronts him and they quarrel. Paulie holds most of the moral high ground, claiming that Juno is acting immature, and how heartbroken he was when Juno claimed they were never a couple.Juno makes another visit to the Lorings, where she and Mark listen to All The Young Dudes, which Mark says he danced to at his prom. The two slow dance to it in the basement, where Mark tells Juno he's leaving Vanessa. Juno is shocked and tries to convince him not to. While Mark believed Juno would be happy about the news, he learns that above all, Juno wants the baby to be raised in a loving family. Juno is about to leave when Vanessa comes home, sees that Juno is crying, and stops her, wanting to know what is going on. Mark admits that he isn't ready to be a father. Vanessa tells him that he needs to grow up and accept that he isn't going to be a rock star. The two quarrel as Juno sees herself out. She goes home and talks to her father about her need to know that people can be happy with each other. Mac tells her that she'll know she's in love when she finds the person that loves her for her, no matter what situation she's in; she arrives at the realization that that person is Paulie.As the Lorings discuss their pending divorce, Juno rings their doorbell and leaves them a note: "If you're still in, I'm still in". She then buys a ton of orange tic-tacs (Paulie's vice) with Leah, and leaves them in Paulie's mailbox, to his amusement. After school, Juno goes to Paulie's track practice and tells him she's in love with him. (He's the one that accepts her for her, always looking at her face -- not her belly -- when they talk). Juno calls him the coolest person she knows, and says that he doesn't even have to try (Paulie: "I try really hard, actually"). They kiss while Leah teases from afar that it might induce labor.At home, Juno's water breaks, and the family rushes to the hospital. Juno desperately wants a shot for the pain, referring to it as a Spinal Tap, after which she gives birth to a healthy baby. While she didn't want to disturb Paulie at his track meet, after winning his event and realizing Juno wasn't there, Paulie figures it out and rushes to the hospital, where they decide not to see the child after the birth. Paulie lies next to Juno and holds her while Vanessa goes to the nursery to hold her new baby. Vanessa asks Bren how she looks, and Bren sweetly replies, "Like a new mom: scared shitless."Afterwards, we see Juno's wrapup, in which she reiterates that it all began with a chair, and ended with a chair (Vanessa's rocking chair). We see the baby's room, where Vanessa has put Juno's note on the wall. Bren finally adopts a puppy, having refrained up to now because while she loves dogs, Juno is allergic. Juno rides her bike over to Paulie's, where she talks about falling in love, then having babies, and how it didn't end up in that order for her. The two play Anyone Else But You on the guitar, after which they kiss. | comedy, cult, flashback, feel-good, psychedelic, humor, entertaining | train | imdb | I like when Juno tells the baby's quirky father, Bleeker (played by Michael Cera) that he is the coolest person she knows, without even trying.
Confident in the strength and appeal of his material, he lets the gentle human comedy speak for itself.In a star-making turn, young Ellen Page takes a daring approach to her character, often bringing Juno right to the brink of un-likability, then pulling back at just the crucial moment, making us see how utterly likable she truly is.
Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner also make their mark as the couple who post their picture in the "baby wanted" section of the local throwaway."Juno" faces the downside of any independent film that unexpectedly finds itself ripped from the confines of the art houses and suddenly duking it out at the multiplexes with all those high-budget, high-octane, testosterone-laden blockbusters - namely the risk of over-inflated expectations.
The intent of Juno is to tell the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who deals with a responsibility "way beyond her maturity level" and the people around her who care.
And the wait definitely made it worthwhile.Juno chronicles the story of the titular sixteen-year-old girl (played by Ellen Page), and the fallout of her accidental pregnancy.
After deciding to not have an abortion, Juno decides that she will give the baby up for adoption to would-be parents Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) after finding an ad in the local classified section of the newspaper.It may not sound like a deep film, but right from moment one, the film draws you into Juno's bizarre world of teenage angst and wonderment.
J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney round out the cast, lending the film some of its deeply funny and dramatic moments as Juno's parents, and relative newcomer Olivia Thirlby does very well as Juno's best friend.But for how great the cast was, what I was really anticipating was the screenplay, by current sensation Diablo Cody.
The two work off of each other well, yes (although not nearly as well as Page and Cera, or even Bateman and Garner), but the dialogue and scenes between them just sound like an afterthought, and do not seem in sync with the rest of the film.
Maybe a little less focus on these scenes, and more with the likes of Cera (who is not underused, but probably could have been used a bit more) or Simmons or Thrilby (who are not used nearly enough) could have helped make the movie even better than it already is.Juno is not perfect, but it is heartwarming and bittersweet all the same.
The actors did a tremendous job - J.K. Simmons (no longer will he just be remembered for Spiderman), Ellen Page was incredible (finally a movie to like her in - Hard Candy was just too creepy, sorry), and Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner are paired up once again (also paired in The Kingdom) and play the embattled parents to be of this new child while facing their own demons in their struggling marriage.
This insidious marketing ploy is an evolution of commercial advertising which is beginning to penetrate all forms of art and media and as long as people keep spending money and falling for this drivel they will continue to churn out plastic pictures under the illusion of art.This film wanted so badly to be something special yet the over written dialog and quirks stamped on the characters ruined what could have been a good story.
Everyone tried too hard on this picture from the writer, director, to Fox Searchlight who has already stamped "One doodle that can't be undid" on t-shirts in an obvious and obnoxious attempt at creating dialog that will be echoed and reverberating in the high school halls of America like the latest Justin Timberlake album, who knows, maybe it will work, however I doubt something as saccharine as this will gain a cult audience but I was wrong with "Garden State" "Napolean Dynamite" "Little Miss Sunshine" to name a few, never underestimate the stupidity of the American public..
The script is razor-sharp and riddled with witty one-liners but it's a little hard to justify a feature-length film on dialogue that may have been better suited to a comic strip.Add to this some very misguided messages about sex, love and marriage, and a jumble of 1-dimensional characters (Michael Cera: the sweet dork you do so well is getting old) and you have a movie that is vaguely entertaining but ultimately unsatisfying..
For most of the movie (and it got better in this respect toward the end) Juno's character was devoted to witty commentary, replete with randomly inserted Spanish words ("silencio, old man!") and hipster slang ("rad","boss"), rather than showing any kind of emotional insight.
I kept thinking: "Someone needs to tell this girl that she is not Janeane Garofalo." Michael Cera was good as always, but he could have been used a lot more before the latter parts of the movie, particularly in some way that would indicate he was fazed in the slightest by fathering a child.
And does our heroine learn to use contraceptives afterwards - no - condoms are grotty purple things for people with funny piercings not named Iggy Pop. She's so cool that she'll just abstain until she's ready.Ugh. I prefer, honest manipulative films like "Reefer Madness" to subversive manipulative crap like "Requiem for a Dream" or "Juno".
If there is a "tension" in the performances of Ellen Page and the supporting characters, it is created not intentionally by the writing or direction, but unintentionally, by their natural inclination as actors and people to infuse these cold prose with some kind of life.Rhythmic prosaic dialog should never be used again unless at a musical concert, free-form poetry convention or on a Broadway stage.Because everyone speaks in the same "smart" way, its clear that all the characters are written by exactly the same person.
Well, movies aren't supposed to be "real life", but what's worse is when they pass this off as though it were, as though we're getting a special glimpse of it because we watched this MooVee.This is a growing trend of "indie" features sold *before their release* as a "cult classics", a new stroke of Hollywood cynicism.Give me no country with some old men..
I hate the fact that I think X-Men 3 is her best movie so far, despite the two others she's had that garnered some critical acclaim (Hard Candy and the film presently being discussed).
First question i asked myself was "Were there no other good movies in 2007?" Thinking about it I realize, every movie i've seen this year is way way better than Juno: The Moguls is a good example, Eagle vs Shark (not American luckily) that was so great and fun to watch, weirdsville, Death at a funeral (not American), A Dogs Breakfast even License To Wed, Brothers Solomon & Waitress which at list had some glorious pies:) A few days ago I was dragged to see Rambo and boy if it was nominated for the Oscars I wouldn't get so mad about it and i would understand it better.
And when it comes to this movie the joke is really on us.P.S. If you don't believe me, or want to see for yourself, just do this one thing, enter the comments history page of people who love this film and see what other superficial, tacky, typical American movies they like..
My 4 cents:**There's nothing worse than a movie that's supposed to be a comedy but not funny at all.**Cool, Ellen Page plays the same character she played in Hard Candy, even had the red hoody.
I say that the groundswell audience for this movie is high school/college age student actresses/actors who like Ellen Page and Michael Cera (as have I) and regardless of what drivel comes out on the screen they will preen and heap accolades their way.
Cody the Stripper thinks that creative writing is non stop teen sarcasm that most of the time isn't funny or biting like sarcasm should be but just....(I screamed did you hear it?) That is what this movie is, white noise with no heart and no soul.Juno is a teenage bitch.
This has got to be the single most over-hyped, overrated movie of 2007.Juno delivers a train-wreck of awkward moments one after another, which ends up making the film both uncomfortable and ultimately unenjoyable.The way this film was written and directed is nothing short of annoying.
The way the characters speak, the ridiculous lingo they use, the sequence of events, the plot as a whole, the stupid feminist undertones, the failed attempts at witty comedy, everything about it is irritating.I've enjoyed Ellen Page in other movies, most notably, Hard Candy, but her performance here comes off as not only pretentious and arrogant, but absurd, unrealistic and just plain stupid.
Jason Bateman does alright as the unsure father to be, but Jennifer Garner's baby obsession comes off as incredibly forced and almost as jarring and annoying as the main character.The soundtrack to this film sounds like it was recorded in someone's basement, and only further helps to annihilate what little emotion and drama existed.The plot is uninteresting, the characters are dull and boring, and the movie itself is a perfect waste of 95 minutes.Don't see it.
This movie Juno is NOT funny, if you laugh at it, you are just laughing a some 16 year old girl actor reading from a scrip; which is not even believable for any age group.
By trying to appeal to the teenage population she instead alienated many by portraying our age group as snarky and witty and using "hip" language ("Home-skillet") that just made me and my friends (ranging in age from 16-18) groan out loud.The movie also contains many obscure, unneeded references that seem to be added in just so Cody can showcase how cultured she is.Although the film does have some priceless lines that kept me laughing throughout ("I'm already pregnant, what other shenanigans can I get into") every few minutes Cody throws in another forced line that takes me out of the film.
One minute I'd be immersed in the story of Juno McGuff and all of a sudden she'd transform into Ellen Page struggling to get through a particularly cheesy line (It's Morgan Freeman).I don't blame the actors for this, they are doing their best to get through the lines they are forced to spew and they do well with it.The movie would have received a much higher score had Cody just left her holier-then-thou attitude at home and written something with substance instead of parading her ideals, butchering the way teenagers talk and promoting her favourite movies and songs every few minutes..
I'm sorry.But the real problem is the fact that this movie seems to try to be intellectual and deep with its story about teenage pregnancy and the emotional issues surrounding it, but the whole thing is encased in the sort of disgusting "ironic" humor that seems to pass as thought provoking and soulful these days - Juno trivializes these issues and makes them seem small and insignificant (Juno referring to her situation as "being in a pickle," for instance...), and that shoots this right down the crapper.
Juno is definitely the worst Oscar nomination in years.I consider myself a movie freak, watch every year about 100 flicks, lots of crap(like "Juno"), some good, some average.
But "Juno"..."Juno" is crap!If you want to watch a story about getting pregnant, watch "Knocked up", its at least funnier.The only reason you could possibly have, to go and see Juno, is if you are desperately in love with Jennifer Garner(good acting, beautiful as always).Otherwise don't waste your money on this.Here is a list of 10 movies(have seen them all) from 2007 that are much better than Juno and could have been nominated instead.If you wanna watch real cinema, watch these: 1.American gangster 2.In the valley of Elah 3.The assassination of J.
Sometimes a well-done performance, such as those done by Ellen Page and Jennifer Garner, are not nearly enough to save a movie that attempts to appeal to Napoleon Dynamite/Hot Topic type audiences and furthermore delivers a quality-lacking script that falls far short of creating the intended quick and witty hipster wannabe dialogue that only exposes the writer as a pretentious amateur who should stick to robbing lonely, inebriated men with lap dances in the VIP room than innocent movie goers who were fooled by a large PR budget and a potentially charming story-line, which might I add, went terribly awry for scattered periods of time during this film.
Juno tells the story of a sixteen year old girl named Juno MacGuff, played by the breathtakingly beautiful and rather talented Ellen Page, who finds herself pregnant after enjoying spontaneous sex with her best friend.
Though Juno disagrees with him, it seems reasonable to conclude that the writer of this movie thinks the rock scene of 1993 is pretty good, but just not the best.
There was also Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner who came off as the only realistic characters in the film as a married couple about to adopt Juno's soon to be born baby.
"Raw Power" is the album people often associate with Iggy and the Stooges because it had the most success out of their three albums (I'm not counting "The Weirdness") and is often considered the best, so it's the obvious empty choice someone who is unfamiliar with their actual work would choose to define them; but a *real* self-respecting Stooges fan would know better, and they wouldn't refer to that band as Iggy Pop. And don't get me started on the Patti Smith reference.Or the Sonic Youth stuff."Juno" plays like a film made by people who are jumping on a trend and attempting to popularize it.
this movie wasn't good at all horrible script and its not original that a teenage girl gets a baby,that Happens every half an hour worldwide its nothing new its the same crap all over again.also acting is normal nothing special at all!Ellen Page doesn't deserve an Oscar nomination out of all the performance in this year!
A lot of Actors Did a much much better job i don't see why a great actor like Christain bale which did Wonderful in 2007 isn't nominated and this KID gets nominated COME ON!1/10 Seriously Think About it....Bad SCRIPT not Funny Superbad was the funniest movie this year NOT JUNO Juno is not Sad and Is not Funny.Knocked up was also funny this is just plane Crap!.
Instead the Juno character comes off as though she may need serious psychiatric help, but don't worry because she's so cute and funny we'll be able to overlook her warped adolescent world view, or so the people behind this movie want us to believe.I never bought it for a second.
For some reason this movie is being compared to last year's sleeper Little Miss Sunshine but if you go and see Juno don't expect anything that good..
Directed by Jason Reitman and starring Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman; Juno is fantastically crafted with enough pop culture references to place it until the end of time.
Juno resolves to give the baby up for adoption to a yuppie couple played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, but things get complicated with Bateman's character begins getting close to her because of their interests in rock music and slasher films, kindling long-standing desires on his part to do more in life before becoming a father.This is a very well-cast movie from top to bottom.
It has nothing to say about pregnancy (though it seems to be pro-life, whatever that means to you), does not take the responsibility of teen pregnancy seriously, is not realistic in its character portrayals, the script does not function to transmit the story, and it is not ever funny (yes, it actually makes "Knocked Up" look like a masterpiece).
Unfortunately, that alone cannot save the movie from itself.The film tries very hard to make the character of Juno into a quirky, offbeat-yet-lovable girl (a sort of American and pregnant version of Amélie Poulain, if you will).
The more you watch "Juno" the more you think to yourself "this won an Oscar for best original screenplay?" I think the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences along with critics were enthralled by the writer Diablo Cody (not her real name and Diablo is the Spanish masculine version of the word devil, it should actually be Diabla), ex-stripper turned writer more than the actual film and then they projected that admiration towards it.The best quote about this movie comes from "Variety's Peter Bart: "I like the movie, but it seemed to me Juno talked more like a 30-year-old ex-stripper trying to make a name for herself as a screenwriter." And that's the way that Ellen Page played the part, not as a teen but as an annoying 30 something trying to still be cool and hip.You have to see this movie more than once in order to grasp how truly OVERRATED it is.
As a feel-good movie it worked for me, because I definitely felt good afterward.I saw Juno as a strong character, the type of person who wants to know and experience everything life has to offer, much like Diablo Cody herself.
I think it's good in the fact that the moral of the story is cool (not aborting a baby & actually giving it up for adoption) but the problem with the writer is this: #1 the target market for this film is under 17, therefore making it a PG-13 rating.
After watching the first half of this movie, I thought I found it this year in "Juno." IMHO, this film would have worked much better had they dialed back the oh-so-clever dialog just a little bit so that it could have been a bit more plausible and real.
Ellen Page does an incredible job in the lead role, taking Juno's character and witty banter in stride and holding the film together very well. |
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