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tt0304141 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | It opens at the Dursleys' home where Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) lives and is staying, as usual, during the summer holidays. Uncle Vernon's (Richard Griffiths) sister Marge (Pam Ferris) comes to visit and treats Harry with general contempt. She viciously insults him and his parents, angering Harry who unwittingly uses his innate magical powers to cause her to inflate, and float off, out of the Dursleys' house and into the twilight. Harry flees the Dursleys' home, furious. At first he walks with determination but soon grinds to a stop as he realizes he hasn't anywhere to go. He sits down at the edge of the road with his trunk. His surroundings stir as the wind picks up and a street lamp flickers above him. A jet black dog emerges from the bushes opposite, growling at him and he raises his wand. At that instant however, the eccentric Knight Bus, for lost witches or wizards, makes a sharp appearance and escorts Harry on a wacky journey to the wizards' pub 'The Leaky Cauldron.' While there, Harry learns that Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), an alleged supporter of Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard, has escaped from Azkaban prison. Harry must meet the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) and he fears expulsion from Hogwarts for his using of under-age magic out of school. However, the matter is surprisingly dropped as "...the Ministry doesn't send students to Azkaban for blowing up their aunts." While at The Leaky Cauldron Harry also reconvenes with his two best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and the rest of the Weasley family. Mr. Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams) pulls Harry to one side to warn him about Sirius Black. He suggests that Harry needs to be cautious of Sirius Black due to his allegiance with Voldemort. He believes that Harry is the only thing which stands in the way of Voldemort returning to power and that it is on this premise that Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban. To find and kill Harry Potter.Harry, Ron and Hermione board the train to Hogwarts, discovering in their compartment the sleeping Professor Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) who is to be the new 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' teacher. Harry airs his concerns about Black's escape and his possible objective to Ron and Hermione. Tension builds during their discussion however as the train is stopped on a bridge and the lights pop out in each cabin. Ron peers out of the window, concerned that "...there is something out there." The train is violently jolted and a great cold descends around them, ice creeping over the windows. In the corridor outside, a scary dark creature slowly appears, floating towards them. It opens the door to their cabin and begins to engage frighteningly with Harry, sucking at his whole body. The sleeping teacher suddenly wakes, stands up, and repels the creature with a very bright white light emanating from his wand. Harry faints. On his coming round Lupin gives him chocolate to eat and explains that the creature is a 'Dementor' which drains happiness from anything it approaches. The Dementors ordinarily guard the wizard prison, 'The Prison of Azkaban' but are out searching for the escapee Black, and entered the train looking for him. Harry heard a woman screaming during the ordeal, but no one else heard it.As Harry begins his third year at Hogwarts we learn of some significant changes. Alongside the official announcement of the formerly encountered, new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin. Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), the groundsman, becomes additionally a professor of 'Care of Magical Creatures.' Also, Hermione seems to be taking nearly twice as many classes as everyone else, including some which are taught simultaneously.During a Divination class, Professor Trelawney (Emma Thompson) foresees Harry's death in the tealeaves of his cup, which form the shape of a 'Grim' or large dog. In tealeaf reading this symbolises death. In Hagrid's first class, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) deliberately provokes Buckbeak, a Hippogriff, into attacking and injuring him. Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, a powerful Ministry of Magic member of staff, files an official complaint. In Defence Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin instructs the class in the defeat of a Boggart, which changes its form to appear as one's greatest fear. When Harry steps up, it manifests itself as a Dementor, however Lupin steps in to defeat it before Harry gets the chance.Harry is told he can't go on the school outings to Hogsmeade, a local village inhabited solely by magical beings, as he hasn't got his admission slip signed, and watches his friends go without him. Instead, he meets with Lupin, and Harry discovers that the reason he wasn't allowed to fight the Boggart was that Lupin had been worried it would take the shape of Voldemort. This concern catches Harry by surprise, because Harry had been thinking even more fearfully about the Dementors. Later that night, Sirius Black breaks into Hogwarts and destroys the Fat Lady's (Dawn French) portrait that guards Gryffindor Tower. The students spend the night sleeping in the Great Hall while the teachers search the castle for Black. Because Black is believed at large in the castle Dementors are sent specifically to patrol the perimeter of Hogwarts. Next day, Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) replaces Lupin as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher while Lupin is intriguingly "...incapable of teaching at the present time." In an odd divergence from routine, he teaches the class about Werewolves.During the next school Quidditch match, a popular wizard sport, several Dementors approach and try to engage their powers over Harry, causing him to faint and fall off his broomstick. Dumbledore (Michael Gabon) breaks Harry's fall, but his broomstick flies off into the magical tree, the 'Whomping Willow' and is destroyed. Dumbledore is angry that the Dementors came within school grounds as they are prohibited from doing so. Harry wonders why the Dementors seem to have a special interest in him and Lupin reveals that this is due to the horrors within Harry's past. Harry considers that he needs to know how to defend himself against them and convinces Lupin as such, who agrees to teach him.At the time of the next school outing, still keen to go to Hogsmeade, Harry attempts to sneak into the village under his Invisibility Cloak, but is caught by Fred and George Weasley (James and Oliver Phelps), who give him the Marauder's Map. It is a map of the entire school and shows the real-time locations of everyone on the grounds. Fred and George also tell Harry that the map shows the whereabouts of several secret passages out of Hogwarts, ideal for leaving undetected. Once in Hogsmeade village, and back under his Invisibility Cloak, Harry catches sight of the Minister Fudge and Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith) chatting in the street, discussing Black and himself. He follows them as they go inside and is shocked to overhear that Sirius Black was his parents' best friend and is still his godfather and a legal guardian. Black supposedly divulged the Potter's secret whereabouts to Lord Voldemort and murdered their friend Peter Pettigrew, as well as twelve Muggle bystanders (non-magic humans). Harry vows to kill Black. On returning from the outing we find out from Hagrid that as a consequence of Lucuis Malfoy's complaint, Buckbeak has been sentenced to death. That same night, after hours, Harry is astonished when he sees the aforementioned Peter Pettigrew's name on the Marauder's Map. He goes looking for him but can't find him. After Professor Snape discovers Harry out of bed, the map is confiscated by Lupin who meets them, and, covering for Harry, tells Snape it is merely a joke parchment and of no significance.Harry has the agreed private class with Lupin, in which he must generate a Patronus, a shield that is used to repel the Dementors. Lupin has him test himself out on a Boggart. He fails the first time, but conjures one on his second attempt. Later on, returning to a recently finished Divinations class to bring back a crystal ball knocked over by Hermione, Harry reencounters Professor Trelawney. She grabs Harry by the shoulder, speaks as though possessed, and predicts that "...the Dark Lord's servant will return to him that night and that innocent blood shall be spilled."When Harry, Ron and Hermione learn that Buckbeak is to be executed, they visit Hagrid in his hut to console him. On the way Draco taunts them about it and Hermione punches him in the face. While there, Hagrid says they cannot remain with him during the execution and that Buckbeak can't be set free, since the officials would know it was Hagrid. Hagrid has also found Ron's lost rat Scabbers, and returns him to Ron. Ron had wrongly believed that his rat had been eaten by Hermione's cat. As the execution party approaches the hut, stones fly in through the window and they leave and run back to the edge of the castle, watching the execution from afar. Scabbers then bites Ron, who chases after him, finally collecting him under the Whomping Willow. The black dog makes another appearance and attacks Ron and drags him, along with Scabbers, into a hole at the tree's base. Harry and Hermione follow, finding a tunnel which leads them to the Shrieking Shack.Inside, in a fast moving scene, Harry finally confronts Sirius Black who he has been led to believe wishes to kill him, and whom he wishes to kill. We discover that as an illegal Animagus, Black can transform into animal at will, thus he is also the infamous black dog. Professor Lupin, who had spotted the group on the confiscated Marauder's Map, suddenly bursts in and embraces his old friend Black. Confronted by Hermione, Lupin admits to being a werewolf. Lupin and Black then explain that Black is not the one who betrayed the Potters, rather it was Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall), who has been hiding for twelve years in his Animagus form as Scabbers, Ron's rat. He is Voldemort's servant, not Black, and he framed Black for his crimes. Meanwhile Snape bursts in also confronting Black but is disposed of by Harry. Harry is skeptical of the story until Black and Lupin force Pettigrew back into his human form, and after some squealing resistance Pettigrew finally confesses that it is true, proving Black's innocence. Black further clears up the misunderstanding by explaining, that on discovering Pettigrew was still alive, he escaped Azkaban in order to kill him. As Lupin and Black are about to kill Pettigrew, Harry stops them, and showing Pettigrew mercy, tells him they will take him back to the castle, where he can be left for the Dementors.As the group heads back to the castle, Harry and Sirius pause and chat optimistically. Harry remarks that Pettigrew would have been of no use dead. Firstly he didn't want his father's two best friends to be killers, and secondly he is the key in proving Sirius's innocence. Sirius suggests Harry comes to live with him. They are disturbed however, when, as the full moon rises, it causes Lupin to turn into the dangerous werewolf since he had neglected to take his potion which inhibits this transformation. Black responds by transforming again into the black dog in order to protect Harry, Ron and Hermione. The werewolf and Black have a vicious fight. During the ensuing commotion, Pettigrew transforms himself back into the rat and escapes, not pursued. Harry runs forward in his angst at Sirius's torture at the hands of the werewolf, inadvertently attracting its attention. However while approaching Harry, it is distracted by some other distant werewolf cry. Meanwhile, Sirius, badly injured, has moved down to the nearby lake where he lies at the edge. Harry follows and kneels over him. As he does so, a swarm of Dementors approaches them. Harry produces a Patronus to try and fend them off, however it is not nearly strong enough and they both begin to submit to the Dementors. Then on the other side of the river appears the brilliant white symbol of a stag and an immense Patronus which drives the Dementors away. Harry faints.Harry awakens in the hospital wing to hear the news, that Sirius Black has been captured and is about to be given the Dementor's Kiss, to suck out his soul. Dumbledore enters and Harry, Ron and Hermione try and convince him of Black's innocence. Dumbledore somehow already knows, but says that their word alone won't be believed. However, he suggests mysteriously, that Harry and Hermione travel in time back by using Hermione's time-turning device (we now find out how she has been attending simultaneous classes), and at least save both Black and Buckbeak from their fates. Hermione turns her hour-glass necklace back three turns (three hours), and Harry and Hermione are together thrust into the past, where they observe and remould the evenings events. They throw stones through the window of Hagrid's hut, alerting themselves of the approaching execution party. They rescue Buckbeak while the execution party is inside with Hagrid shortly before the execution, thus absolving Hagrid of any blame. Hermione diverts the attention of the werewolf Lupin stalking the past Harry with an imitation of another werewolf's cry. And, from a hiding place in the forest, Harry watches the Dementor sequence and realizes, as the stag symbol fails to appear, that he must have been the one who conjured the powerful Patronus. After saving his past self and Black from the Dementors, Harry and Hermione fly on Buckbeak's back to the tower, where Black is imprisoned, and rescue him. Harry and Black share a moment of contemplation, as since Black is going to be back on the run, still wanted and without proof of his innocence, their relationship will now be sadly fraught with complications and Harry's dream of living with his godfather is shattered. However, Harry takes comfort in knowing that Black, although still considered a fugitive, is at least free and safe for the time being. Black and Buckbeak leave, Black riding on his back. Harry and Hermione make it back to the hospital wing just as the timeline restores itself, and a reticent Dumbledore merrily bids them goodnight.As the school year end approaches, Lupin announces that he is resigning, believing that parents of the students would not be comfortable in the now open knowledge that he is a werewolf. He returns the Marauder's Map to Harry since he is no longer a professor. Harry later receives a gift from an unknown source, a Firebolt, an extremely fast racing broom. Hermione holds up a large feather, also contained within the parcel, confirming that Sirius must have sent it. Harry tries it out and is whisked away from sight, ending the film with the snapshot image of Harry flying his new broom, ecstatic. | good versus evil, cult, fantasy, gothic, dark | train | imdb | The error crept in from the very beginning: Chris Columbus took the first two films, and this put the old debate on what kind of movies Harry Potter should be about.
Everything in novels is seen differently every time, because all the reader and viewer sees through the eyes of Harry Potter, and in films through the prism of the director's vision, the viewer must perceive the magical world through the eyes of a young wizard.
The third film, as well as the film, is dedicated to the looters - James Potter (= Harry Potter), Peter Pettigrew, Rimus Lupine and Sirius Black - a group of friends who used to be friends a long time ago ...The film ruthlessly shows how easy it is to lose friendship and how difficult it is to acquire a friend ...Thanks to Alfonso Cuaron, who did a talented work, showing in one stroke all the huge gallery of the characters of the magical world and their essence: the Minister of Magic plunges into a puddle; the soothsayer with big glasses on her nose stumbles on her own table; The evil teacher Severus Snape closes the children from the werewolf; eccentric Dumbledore slams his hand over Ron's gnarled leg; Remus Lupine, at the lesson, takes a snack with an apple; portraits of Hogwarts, it turns out, also like to sleep; Stan Shanpike with his brave words is not very strong in dragging student suitcases; Hagrid and ties are incompatible things; Tom from the Leaky Cauldron has a nehyl auto; Ernie, wearing spectacles with large lenses, is led by the "Night Knight"; Sirius Black finally began to talk moral nonsense ...
Also it is necessary to thank the new actors, so successfully merged into the old line-up:Emma Thompson (Sibyl Trelawney); Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore); David Thulis (Remus Lupine); Julie Christie (Madame Rosmerta); Gary Oldman (Sirius Black); Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) and many others.
By the way, if my memory does not change me, then the two actors from the third film (cleaning woman in the bar "Leaky Cauldron" and Aunt Marge) Quaron quietly consigned to his other project - "Child of Man", but that's another story ...Let me love the fourth film about Harry Potter (director - Mike Newell), but I always revise the Curaron part - it is the brightest of all existing.In a word, long live Rowling and Cuaron!"Potter, come back!" (Severus Snape, potions teacher)..
I think this is by far the best Harry Potter movie yet.The only way to satisfy fans would be to include everything from the book, which would require a miniseries.
Had they continued with this strategy for this movie, based on a much longer book, it would surely have been over three hours long.The virtue of the latest film is that it makes a real attempt to adapt the story, not just marching in lockstep with the book's events.
The first two films fell short in this regard, because they lacked the guts to tinker with the details, even though that was the key to condensing the story while staying true to its spirit.The movie is still faithful to the book, of course.
Character development is superb - Steve Kloves penned a great script.First-time and young viewers will likely enjoy the film for its merits based on plot and 'adventure' alone, but it takes multiple viewings and a critical eye to enjoy the abstract ideas and nuances.
For instance, the ending is bittersweet at best and retains a healthy amount of ambiguity.If you've never read the books or understood the acclaim of the series as a whole, watch Cuarón's 'Prisoner of Azkaban' and you'll understand why this entry is clearly the zenith of the seven..
Say what you will, I see him making the jump from child star to adult actor in a way that Haley Joel Osment only dreams of.Appropriately, this third film in the Harry Potter series has matured along with it's young stars.
Director Alfonso Cuarón has taken the images conjured by J.K. Rowling's magical words and created from her book, 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,' a film rife with visual symbolism and alive with inventive images beyond those established by the first two films in the series.
Cuarón, a native of Mexico City and the acclaimed director of the completely compelling, frequently hilarious and sexually explicit coming-of-age film, 'Y tu mamá también,' was seen by many as an odd choice to follow heartland American Chris Columbus into the Harry Potter director's chair.
But she would give it to a wizard who could change into a dog.Among the new visual images are animal ghosts which wander the halls of Hogwart's Castle and the film's realization of Buckbeak the Hippogriff, like Sirius, falsely accused and condemned.
In mythology, he was nursed by a she-wolf; Lupin means wolf-like (wolf is Canis Lupis).The unheralded thread of creative continuity in this marvelous series, as it moves from Chris Columbus to Alfonso Cuarón to incoming director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, now in production) is Screenwriter Steve Kloves.
If Harry Potter developed along these lines, he might have actually been a great character instead of the flattest one among a crowd of interesting people.The scenes are magical, but not in the try-hard way of the first two films.
Director Alphonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien, A Little Princess) has taken over from Chris Columbus and has stuck less slavishly to the original JK Rowling Books.Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are back as Harry, Ron and Hermoine, with Hermoine in particular getting to do a lot more.
Although this film isn't all that I'd hoped it would be, I believe that it was the best of the three 'Harry Potter' films so far, thanks largely due to director Alfonso Cuaron.
In 'Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban', the trio are now thirteen and beginning their Third Year at Hogwarts, under the fear of an escaped criminal who played a part in the deaths of Harry's parents and seems to be stalking the school, preying on Harry.The child acting in this film has improved slightly with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint probably faring the best in comparison to their young co-stars.
The wizarding world no longer seemed like a perfect haven and the characters had grown beyond being innocent children; this reflected the book itself since many feel PoA was a turning point in the series where it finally felt like Harry Potter- boy and book- were growing up.
Kloves needs to learn how to round the Harry Potter films off properly as this was also a sticking point in CoS.At the end of the day, there were scenes left out, some of which we didn't mind skipping but others (an explanation to Harry of James Potter's friendship to Black and Lupin) were sorely missed.
The biggest problem that I had was that there were a lot of things the movie didn't explain, such as "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." I think that it may have been hard for those who hadn't read the book to understand.
Like most Harry Potter fans, I found this movie disappointing.
If I want to see a Harry Potter movie, I want to see the book, the plot, brought to life.
All in all, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is an good movie, as long as you don't compare it to the book or other HP movie.
Users have commented the movie is darker, this is somewhat true, it definitely has a different feel from the first two films, much of this can be attributed to the new director.
You can watch the entire Harry Potter series and skip this pointless borefest entry and yet NOTHING would be lost.Terrible new characters, a convoluted storyline with zero suspense, a beyond anti-climactic ending that will have anyone with an actual brain saying "......that's it???
Needless to say, the scenes do not flow very well and it leaves the non-reader confused in many places.This movie will unfortunately stick out like a sore thumb if the following films stick to the wonderfully developed world of Harry Potter..
The grounds of Hogwarts were totally different than the first two movies.I believe that the change of director could have turned off many Harry Potter fans from the movies.
The list goes on and on...At least in the other two movies, Hogwarts did not look so small, and it was definitely better filmography....Also if anything was missing it was an entire scene....unlike this one where the story itself was changed....I think JK Rowling would have something to say if she was present during filming...Here's an idea, have her consult during filming, to check the authenticity of the movie....This one was CRAP - sack the Director, get a new screen-write.
I can understand people saying that one must always expect things to be left out of the book when making a movie, why then stick in a whole bunch of slapstick instead of major plot points?.
Again Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) of J.K. Rowling's saga , he is , nowadays , living with their embittered uncle Richard Griffths and aunt Fiona Lewis and is called to return at Hogwar's college .There , he'll find his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) , Hermione (Emma Watson) and enemies as the malevolent Braco Malfoy (Tom Felton) ; besides , the usual teachers incarnated by Maggie Smith , Alan Rickman , Michael Gambon or other recent ones , as Emma Thompson and David Thewlis , as well as Rubeus (Robbie Coltrane).
The pacing is odd, the ending is very abrupt, but the cut parts of the book are the biggest reason that the film should have been longer.They should have taken the time to: 1) set up the Firebolt when Harry is at the Leaky Cauldon/Diagon Alley.
I saw the movie with someone who hadn't read the book, and when Lupin hugs Sirius, she was like, "So predictable.
Last but not least, Harry's Firebolt was introduced in the last scene and it looked like it was fitted with "stirrups!"This was a very disappointing movie.
Some critics say that the acting was greatly improved but as fans of Harry Potter I don't think we were expecting performances worthy of "Citizen Kane" or the "Grapes of Wrath." What we expected is a good fantasy adventure that kids and adults and see together that continues the story about a young wizard learning about his heritage and facing very difficult choices in life.
For those not readers of the book, I feel pity for what is surely total confusion.If there is extra footage on the floor, I pray they do put it into an extended version for DVD ala Lord of the Rings.Learn your lessons and don't fudge up the next film, "Goblet of Fire", which is to already be shot and I'm expecting in the editing process now.If this is the vision of the current director, I say, bring back Chris Columbus as soon as possible..
As Harry steps forward, the Boggart clearly takes the shape of a Dementor, yet later on, Lupin claims he thought it would turn into Voldemort.The only redeeming feature of this film was that the actors (with the exception of Black and Lupin who weren't provided with adequate script and just didn't look like the part respectively) did well..
It should say "Loosely based on the novel by J.K Rowling." The movie left out about 80 of the most important pages from the book and replaced it with things like the Hogwarts chorus and prolonged Knight Bus and hippogriff scenes.
I admit to not being a Harry Potter fan but I have seen the other two movies, and found them enjoyable so went to see the new film today.My main problem with the movie is it is so disjointed.
The way that this movie made the relationship to Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione and Malfoy look pathetic.
This movie may look good with a new director doing a fresh take on the Harry Potter universe but there are so many restrictions weighing this franchise down and it's REALLY beginning to show..
This movie is an utter failure.Let us begin by acknowledging this simple fact.They failed to cast a decent Dumbledore, they failed by adding in rubbish that wasn't in the book, they failed by making a horribly stupid ending, its just a very big failure.It gives movies a bad name.Worst movie that should have been good ever released.The only thing that can be said about this movie that isn't the word fail is that the acting of the cast that was already in it and most of the new actors played the characters well.Fail..
Not Nearly Up to Par. I'm a big fan of the Harry Potter series, and have read all the books several times, up until the sixth, (July 16, 2005) and this movie was for the most part, trash.
So if you want to know what happens to Harry in his third year at Hogwarts, skip the movie, and go buy the book.
One of the film's highlights is the time travel sequence, helped in no end by Cuaron's swooping, active camera and John Williams' ticking stopwatch score.David Thewlis and Gary Oldman are introduced in the large roles of Professor Lupin and Sirius Black, respectively, and the movie belongs to them.
However, I am not the kind of person who automatically thinks that any change of the story from the book is a bad thing.This is an enjoyable enough film for people who have never read the book, even if they will probably not understand some of the plot.
The darkness and maturity also provide for a much stronger and watchable movie, however the shortcomings are still too much for me to overlook and really be taken into the film and the world of Harry Potter.I think it will now become very interesting as to how the stories progress with such obviously ageing actors in the lead roles and a new Director for the next movie and a new Screenwriter onboard after that.
I am a big fan of the Harry Potter series, but am disappointed in the Prisoner of Azkaban film.
I think it would be better if the actor that replaced Richard Harris acted more like he did in the two previous films, The Sorcerer's Stone, and The Chambers of Secrets.
Cuaron's version seems to be directed at hardcore Potter fans who might not mind the How's of the storyline and simply want the MAJOR plot points to fit between the books and the movie adaptation.
Cuaron totally dropped the ball on explaining the Dementors and making them less demonic and more of a new type of creature like the books seem to imply they are.The movie further leaves out any back story regarding the difficulty of becoming an AniMagus (as Harry's father, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew did) so that never is Peter or Sirius Black's mystical ability to change into animal form even commented on other than when Ron says something to the effect of "It's a trap!
With an all-star cast featuring Emma Thompson as a teacher and Michael Gambon replacing the late Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledor, the acting is superb in which not only the three main actors have matured, and the special effects and John Williams' music are ten times better than the first two.If you enjoyed the first two movies, that's fine.
If you have read the book, you'll notice that nothing gets developed; characters,story lines,sub plots and the HP magic.The movie moves along in sort of a jerky and hollow fashion.
The Prisoner of Azkaban is the best written, most intriguing story of all the Harry Potter books.
I have read every book of the Harry Potter series and have liked everyone of them except for this one.
I also don't like any of the rest of this film, or at least its adaptation of the book, which was one of my favorites of the Harry Potter Series.
Alas, Harry Potter III lacks the charm of the books, it lacks the wonderful atmosphere of Old England so beautifully captured in the first two movies -- it lacks everything that made the previous films of the series something special, lovely.
I would not recommend this movie to a 12- or 13-year-old, not only because of the many horror scenes (don't know what they watch on children TV today, but I think this is way too much for a child) but also because I wonder how many of the young watchers who are so keen on Harry Potter get the story right (if they didn't read the book which should not be a prerequisite for watching the film) -- e.g. the side-story of Harry not being allowed to go to the village and getting the map as a help.My conclusion: the director was not interested in the story, not in the characters, not in the atmosphere.
It's plain that the new director had never read the book - let alone the ten or twenty times many of this movie's viewers have.
Before seeing this movie I would have thought it inconceivable that I could walk out of a Harry Potter film wanting my money back, but it happened.
I used to be one of those stubborn people who wasn't going to read the Harry Potter series books.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a terrific book, but Alfonso Cuaron's direction of the movie was absolutely terrible!
Everything good from the first two movies was ruined in this ridicules excuse for a Harry Potter film!
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for expressing liberties, but for a series like Harry Potter, the movie should follow the book as much as possible because the books are just so great! |
tt4172430 | 13 Hours | The opening text states that there were over 200 American outposts in Libya until 2012. Following the 2011 civil war, the deposition and execution of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Benghazi became one of the most violent places in the world, forcing the United States to pull their outposts out of there, all except for one called The Annex, which is protected by a team of CIA contractors, the Global Response Staff (G.R.S.).Jack Silva (John Krasinski) arrives in Benghazi and is picked up by his best friend/fellow contractor Tyrone "Rone" Woods (James Badge Dale). The two are stopped in the streets by a group of militants. Rone contacts their Chief (David Costabile) to bring in the rest of the team for help, but the Chief refuses. The militant leader orders the two to pull over their vehicle for inspection. Jack and Rone pull out their guns for defense, and Rone tells the leader that there is a drone circling them and will get him and his family if they do anything to him and Jack. The two are allowed to leave.At the CIA safehouse called The Annex, Rone confronts the Chief over not letting the team go in. The Chief reminds Rone not to engage civilians and avoid conflict with the militants. Jack meets the rest of the team - Kris "Tanto" Paronto (Pablo Schreiber), Dave "Boon" Benton (David Denman), John "Tig" Tiegen (Dominic Fumusa), and Mark "Oz" Geist (Max Martini).Jack goes on a brief task with two undercover CIA officers - Sona Jillani (Alexia Barlier) and Brit Vayner (Freddie Stroma). The rest of G.R.S. is nearby for protection. Rone spots a couple of suspicious men and gets out of the car, compromising his position. Jack is alerted and gets Sona and Brit out of there.The team is brought to the Special Mission compound where the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens (Matt Letscher) is staying. They meet other guards, Dave Ubben (Demetrius Gross) and Scott Wickland (David Giuntoli), and become familiar with the location.On the morning of September 11, 2012, Stevens notices some dubious men around the compound taking pictures, prompting him to notify his security detail. Meanwhile at The Annex, the team contacts their families. Jack talks to his wife Becky (Wrenn Schmidt) and their daughters. One of the girls spills the beans to Jack that Becky is pregnant with their third child.That night, a large team of militants storm the compound and attack as the Libyan guards on the outside surrender. The militants fire off shots and invade the compound as Wickland takes Stevens and Sean Smith (Christopher Dungli) into the panic room. Knowing they can't break in there, the militants begin pouring diesel fuel all over the floor to burn the men out. The fire is lit, bringing heavy smoke into the panic room. Wickland makes it out but ends up losing Stevens and Smith. The men at The Annex are informed of the attack and want to head out to help, but the Chief refuses to send them out for fear that The Annex will be defenseless. The team disregards their orders and heads over to Special Mission. After arriving, Jack and Rone find Smith dead from smoke inhalation. The team heads back to The Annex but are pursued by the militants with RPG's and AK's. The men fire back against the militants.Fearing retaliation, the CIA officers attempt to contact the nearest airbases to aid in an strike against the militants. They are able to contact Glen "Bub" Doherty (Toby Stephens), a G.R.S. officer in Tripoli that rounds up his own team and heads down to Benghazi to help.More militants head toward The Annex and continue their attack against the Americans. The team fires back and continues to defend the compound, despite coming under heavy fire. The militants fall back and try to regroup, as does the team. Glen and his team arrive to help. The team is contacted to learn that Stevens' body was found, and that he died of smoke inhalation.The Annex is contacted and told that more help is on the way. Soon, the militants return and launch a mortar strike against The Annex. Rone gets hit and is killed, as is Glen moments later. Oz is wounded and has his left arm mangled. Jack finds Rone's body and weeps for his best friend.As dawn arrives, the team is left vulnerable. A large convoy of vehicles head toward The Annex. Tanto has his gun aimed at a couple of men from the vehicles, but he gets a signal from them that they are there to help the team. Tanto cries with relief. These men from the Libyan army gather the Americans and bring them to an airfield. The bodies of Stevens, Smith, Rone, and Glen are recovered and taken. The Chief chooses not to get on the plane back home until Jack confronts him and orders him to after reminding him he is partially responsible for some of the lives lost in the attack.Before departing, Jack calls Becky to let her know he is okay. He breaks down crying when he tells her that Rone didn't make it. As the plane arrives, Jack uncovers Rone's body to look at him one last time.The ending text states that 28 Americans were rescued that day. Libya was declared a failed state and is now a stronghold for ISIS. Ten days after the attack, thousands of Libyan civilians gathered to mourn Ambassador Stevens. The Chief and surviving members of G.R.S. received medals in a private ceremony, and the men subsequently retired to be with their families.The final shot is of two stars on the wall of the CIA HQ for Rone and Glen. | anti war, suspenseful, comedy, murder, violence | train | imdb | The story is interesting and somewhat controversial and is a perfect idea for a movie, but it was directed by Michael Bay. For that reason I was expecting a lot of special effects and explosions and didn't think he was the director that should be in charge of this story.
I'm overwhelmed because no one could have known Bay had this movie in him as a director.This is a masterful film in almost every aspect and certainly in every way that truly matters.
Maybe the first act was a bit long as characters were established and maybe the over use of shaky cam early can be considered technical flaws but when a story is this well told and this well crafted, flaws like that fall quickly by the waste side.The movie draws you in and makes you feel like you were there on that fateful night.
This thrill riveting masterpiece not only captivated the lives of these six soldiers and the people trapped between this battle between the Libyan rebels, but Michael Bay did an excellent job with his use of guns and sound system that he always does so well.
(Revenant is based on a true event, but people and details have been added to enhance the drama.)So 13 Hours just presents what happens at Benghazi without directly dealing with all the political questions and squabbling.
Yet the movie made a strong political statement without ever making a direct political statement.For example, the CIA in Benghazi stayed in continual contact with the state department and the Pentagon regarding the events as they happened.
DOESN'T THE PRESIDENT CARE WE ARE UNDER ATTACK?"But because we in the audience have been placed in the compound with the soldiers and CIA, we are the ones asking those questions.During one of the brief scenes of the news being received at the Pentagon, Michael Bay included a cutaway shot of the White House.
BIG props to Michael Bay and his team, especially having the real men as close consultants on the film.
(*hypothermia) The insanity of what happened to those people, both Americans and Arabs was portrayed with compassion, humanity and leaves me wondering how this could have actually happened.Overall, a great film, raising more questions than answers.Reading more online about the events, and those after, makes it look like ugly politics.Still the film instills a sense of patriotism, American heroism and reaffirms that America is the greatest nation, and people in history..
Following in the footsteps of other January Released Modern War Flicks based on books (Lone Survivor and American Sniper), 13 Hours is thoroughly entertaining if I dare say the funniest of these films.
Which makes this film the perfect vehicle for Michael Bay to direct as it focuses on the action of the incident primarily.The film that I would make the greatest comparison to 13 Hours would naturally be Black Hawk Down (even referenced in this film), which to be honest is not a negative because Black Hawk Down is an amazing film.
Also, the movie makes no bones of the fact that the whole "protest over an anti-Islamic video" explanation was totally bogus, and our country, protected by true blue men and women willing to give their lives, is run by a bunch of jackasses.
Michael Bay has made some stinkers in recent years with the Transformers films, but this is a great return to good form and a big surprise.
Having read the book, been a former soldier, a U.S. Military History enthusiast, studied the history of terrorism, and also been personally attached to those in the DOD, I knew more information about this incident than most average Americans.Bay conveys the incident without political bias, but the film indirectly points the finger at the fault of silence, poor choice/policy making, cover ups, and serious mistakes made by the Obama administration, left wing media, and other figures in DC.
It draws you in along with the action, and the emotional performances.This is a film that ranks up with war film experiences like Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, The Hurt Locker, Act of Valor, Patriots Day, Lone Survivor, American Sniper, and Zero Dark Thirty.
One could talk a lot about the different aspects of this film: the action, the politics, military tactics, etc...but in the end what I thought was most compelling was that the individual soldiers voices were heard (I'm using the term "soldier" as a catchall here...there were former Marines and Navy personnel involved as well the former Army guys).
Any American fighting man who watches this will cringe...because these calls actually happened...and real Americans actually died...and if you've served this country in any capacity you will be angry sitting there and not being able to do anything.The film does a very good job of telling not only the primary story of the attacks through the eyes of those who fought it, but does a remarkable job of delivering the personalities of those men, and the struggles their families faced as well.
This movie is based on a true story about the attack on an American embassy and a secret CIA base in Benghazi, Libya, on the 9/11 anniversary in 2012.
What I liked most about this film was the fact that you felt just as lost as the soldiers and people in this movie.
It's a good movie with good action, and I hope he can start heading toward this direction on film making..
(Yes liberals, I went there)You wouldn't think the acting in a Michael Bay movie would be any good either, but I can't think of a single actor who didn't give a competent performance in this.
And kudos for going out of his way to remain politically neutral, although the story itself leaves the viewer with a lot of questions about our involvement in the Middle East -- regardless of the administration.However, other people already commented in detail on this aspect of the story, so I'll defer to the earlier reviews for that.What I do want to comment on is how films like this bring out outright partisanship among the critics.
However take away the cool to say "BAY is an explosives and CGI director" and you are left with a riveting look at a story that still resonates to American audiences.On a final note; not to get too political; I was impressed that a big budget Hollywood production did not try and persuade the audience in favor of a recent Presidential candidate.
The fact that 13,000+ users of a popular movie review site have given 13 Hours an 86% favorable rating while only 50% of the "Top Critic" reviews on the same site are positive highlights the fact that there is more to this film and viewer reaction to it than the objective merits of the screen writing, acting, directing, and cinematography that dramatize the events that occurred in Benghazi three years ago.
Depending on one's preconceived notions of what transpired in Libya (and in Washington) before, during, and after the attacks of September 11-12, 2012, the film is either a badly edited, misleading, jingoistic, paean to machismo, violence, and racism, with inadequate character development and misrepresentation of facts – or a moving and realistic docudrama, based on factual first person accounts by members of the unit who participated in the events - a heartfelt and well-crafted tribute to the courage and honor of a small group of skilled mercenaries whose heroic performance of duty in battle amid the fog of war was exemplary, despite ineffectual local CIA leadership and an off- site chain of command that was unresponsive to desperate requests for readily available special ops and tactical air support.The film is ultimately a litmus test of one's political orientation.
Maybe the balance of the movie involved some real substance, but the first bit was nothing but childish nonsense with some facts tossed in to make it easier to swallow.You've got a bunch of testosterone-addled clowns who each sports a beard; who give cute monosyllabic nicknames to each other as well as to everyone and everything they encounter; who have adorable wives, children, dogs back home; who work out; who play video games to demonstrate how relaxed they are in the dangerous environment; who use the f-word every two minutes so we know how tough they are; and who think they know everything there is to know about Libya from weeks spent inside American compounds surrounded by Americans.All the locals are portrayed as clownish, sinister, cowardly cartoon characters and the Americans involved above the rank of knuckle-draggers are either slaves to mindless protocol or buffoonish pie-in-the-sky Harvard or Yale dilettantes.I'm not sure which is more troubling, that this serious event has been reduced to this soap operatic cast of caricature-characters or that this portrayal remotely matches the actual people involved.
I was really looking forward to see that movie since it is based on the real life events of the Benghazi embassy attack.
I was pleasantly surprised.It was not to over the top, in terms of how the action was filmed and portrayed.It was a bit too long though.A side from a few close scares in the beginning,the first 40-45 minutes consist of the soldiers talking with their families on the phone.Which to me, got really really boring,really fast.
Maybe knowing the real life set up and cover up to these events helps elevate the appreciation of what hits the screen but the film holds up well even if a viewer is unaware of world affairs.
Maybe knowing the real life set up and cover up to these events helps elevate the appreciation of what hits the screen but the film holds up well even if a viewer is unaware of world affairs.
Even those who don't appreciate war or military action movies will appreciate this one and be angry at its conclusion.And it drives the message home loud and clear, a few good people with right motives will always accomplish more than any single government or bureaucracy ever can.
Director Michael Bay ("Transformers") rips reality from today's headlines presenting an in your face, behind-the-scenes look at the 2012 Benghazi attack in Libya that took the lives of US Ambassador Chris Stevens (Matt Letsher "Scandal") and Sean Smith, along with the lives of other US soldiers and many Libyan rebels.
After seeing this I have to review in 2 parts...As a movie it was sort of OK but full of clichés and with such a high testosterone content you could almost smell it...a fairly well directed movie slightly let down by some poor 2 dimensional acting...you could tell Bay has good special effect directorship but as yet needs to learn character direction.2nd part is the content...after reading up about the subject matter I was astonished at the ridiculous U.S propaganda rubbish..it almost bordered on obscene the way the " heroes" were all macho and well disciplined and all the " bad guys" were toothless idiots.I think the stereotyping has dragged this into the ridiculous and anybody feeling proud of this sort of " anti-everything-unAmerican" should feel rather ashamed.I also got the feeling it was about 30 minutes too long...it took an age to actually end.
13 Hours: The secret soldiers of Benghazi is a film that recounts the 2012 attack on Benghazi that feels a lot like a run of the mill Michael Bay film.Based off the book of the same name, The film recounts the events of September 11, 2012 when an American ambassador is killed by terrorists and a group of soldiers try to fight for their base.The direction of Michael Bay feels like his typical blockbuster approach and it seems to be more action than substance and the cast seem to do a mediocre job with clinched acting and dialogue, The one thing the film does very well is the brutality of the attack that really represents what really happened.Overall 13 hours would have been a lot better if the right director did the film but Michael Bay just doesn't seem like telling a real life event is his strong point.
The rest of that night involves a hard-fought and selfless struggle for survival by the 30+ Americans in that annex, trying to hold on until help arrives – IF it arrives.Some movies centered on the military amount to little more than jingoistic nonsense and some movies directed by Michael Bay seem to exist merely as a platform for impressive visuals and lots of noise, but neither of these descriptions fits "13 Hours".
Michael Bay makes a tremendous effort to show the world as it is, tell a remarkable story as it happened and use his skills and experience to make an excellent movie.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a movie based on true events.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a must watch, for everyone who loves a movie about real life heroes..
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is directed by Michael Bay and stars John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, James Badge Dale, and much more talented actors and actresses.
Yes it has a few Michael Bay things like slow-mo, big explosions but he did a good job of not over using them, only using when needed.
Overall 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi was a great movie with a great action and good story telling.
With January being the month of some of the biggest box office (and critical) slackers of the year, many would not expect to see high- budgeted movies; especially ones brought by Michael Bay who's films are often subject for summer releases.
However, instead of a two and a half-hour stretch of giant robots fighting head to head, Michael Bay takes a more mature direction in epic war adaption to Mitchell Zuckoff's novel based on the harrowing events on September 11, 2012, the night when the U.S compound in Benghazi, Libya was unexpectedly attacked by Islamic forces, which resulted in the death of the American Ambassador J.
Featuring extended scenes of loud, brutal combat with relentless gunfire, and of course abundance of explosions, the movie delivers a pack-punching depiction of soldiers' effort in active combat, to the point where you feel like you are the midst of the all the chaos; and these scenes are done not in a mindless, over-the-top way that Bay is often known for, but in a serious and authentic manner to make viewers feel the anguish of the characters.
13 Hours is an intense, powerful movie that brings out the best of Michael Bay. It is a film that not only sparkles with a strong direction, realistic depiction of the horrors of war, but also pays a well tribute to the soldiers out there who are sacrificing their lives to defend the freedom of our country.
13 Hours is the newest movie by Michael Bay, about the 6 U.S security fighters who were stranded in an American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and had to defend themselves against waves of terrorist attacks.
I'm going to say that if this is a story you are interested in, it would not hurt to watch it, however, if this is not a story that interests you, stay away!The film is your typical Michael Bay movie, filled with enough explosions to leave your ears ringing, and camera cuts that made me nauseus.
I know that Bay is not a director famous for good character development, but I think that these characters should have been fleshed out more for the film to really have the effect it was aiming for.I also think that the constant camera cuts made it very hard to really understand what was going on, especially during the action scenes.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016) is a solid war film from infamous director Michael Bay. I don't love or hate Micheal Bay. I dislike a majority of the movies he puts out.
No. Does Michael Bay create an entertaining war film with some great action?
While this is certainly one of Michael Bay's best films, it still suffers from the same problems as his other movies do.'13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi' is entertaining, but it has more things going against it than for it..
Therefore I would like to sidestep the debate of the film's accuracy and instead focus on the movie as a piece of art.The story begins with Jack Silva (Krasinski) as our introduction to Benghazi just after the revolution.
A sigh of relief is in order as the film pays tribute to those who deserve it while still providing Bay the opportunity to blow stuff up, and display is always-annoying tendencies with a camera.The incredibly courageous soldiers, who comprised the CIA security team (GRS) of contractors that saved many lives, are the heroes of the story and heroes in real life.
11, 2012 when Four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were Killed during a Militant Islamic Raid is still Unclear to this Day. You are Correct, and after Viewing ("This is a true story"), Michael Bay's Movie "13 Hours", it Still Remains Unclear.Nothing in this 2 1/2 Hour Film is Clear.
What Else it Gets Right is Up for Debate.As an Action Film and a War Movie it has what all Arm Chair Soldiers want.
The fact that the movie is based on a true story adds to the suspense and authenticity which is unmatched so far in any movie I have seen in 2016.If you like action packed war movies I would highly recommend watching 13 hours..
I mean, it is a good story and a real life event involving Benghazi soldiers and the death of an ambassador which could have translated well.
Overall, it's a solid action film, and Michael Bay does his thing well.
Michael Bay and Chuck Hogan did a great job in bringing this story to film.
In the end, for those who want to see this movie because it's a true story about 6 soldiers who courageously fought to protect American lives, in hostile Libya, this film won't disappoint. |
tt0084504 | The Pirate Movie | Mabel Stanley (Kristy McNichol) is an introverted teenage girl from the United States in a seaside community in Australia as an exchange student. She attends a local pirate festival featuring a swordplay demonstration led by a young curly-haired instructor (Christopher Atkins), who then invites her for a ride on his boat. She is duped by her sisters, Edith (Kate Ferguson), Kate (Rhonda Burchmore), and Isabel (Catherine Lynch), into missing the launch, so she rents a small sailboat to give chase. A sudden storm throws her overboard, and she washes up on a beach. She subsequently dreams an adventure that takes place a century before. In this fantasy sequence, the swordplay instructor is now named Frederic, a young apprentice of the Pirates of Penzance, celebrating his 21st birthday on a pirate vessel. Frederic refuses an invitation from the Pirate King (Ted Hamilton), his adoptive father, to become a full pirate, as his birth parents were murdered by their contemporaries. Frederic swears to avenge their deaths and is forced off of the ship on a small boat.
Adrift, Frederic spies Mabel and her older sisters on a nearby island and swims to shore to greet them. In a reversal of roles, Mabel is a confident, assertive, and courageous young woman, while her sisters are prim, proper and conservative. Frederic quickly falls for Mabel and proposes marriage, but local custom requires the elder sisters to marry first. Soon, Frederic's old mates come ashore, also looking for women and kidnap Mabel's sisters. Major-General Stanley (Bill Kerr), Mabel's father, arrives and convinces the Pirate King to free his daughters and leave in peace. The pirates anchor their ship just outside the harbour instead of actually leaving. Mabel wants Frederic to gain favour with her father so they can marry, so she plots to recover the family treasure stolen years earlier by the pirates. Unfortunately, the treasure was lost at sea, but the location where it lies was tattooed as a map on the Pirate King's back. Mabel successfully tricks the Pirate King into revealing his tattoo while Frederic sketches a copy.
The next day, Mabel and Frederic recover the stolen treasure and present it to her father. The Major-General is underwhelmed as he believes the treasure will simply be stolen again once the pirates realise it is missing. Mabel dispatches Frederic to raise an army for protection, but the Pirate King interferes. The ship nurse, Ruth, convinces them to stop fighting, reminding the Pirate King of Frederic's apprenticeship contract. Frederic's birthday is 29 February, and he is dismayed to see that the contract specifies his twenty-first birthday, rather than his twenty-first year. As his birthday occurs every four years, Frederic has celebrated only five birthdays and is still bound by contract to remain with the pirates.
That night, the pirates raid the Stanley estate, and the Pirate King orders their execution. Mabel demands a "happy ending" – admitting for the first time that she believes this all to be a dream. Everyone — even the pirates — cheers their approval, leaving the Pirate King disappointed and shocked. Mabel then confronts her father, but the Major-General is steadfast that the marriage custom remains in effect. Mabel quickly pairs each of her older sisters with a pirate, and she also pairs the Pirate King to Ruth, the ship nurse. With Mabel and Frederic now free to marry, the fantasy sequence ends in song and dance.
Mabel awakens back on the beach to discover that she is wearing the wedding ring that Frederic had given her in her dream. At that moment, the handsome swordplay instructor arrives and lifts her to her feet. He passionately kisses Mabel, who is still shaken by her dream. She asks if his name is Frederic. He assures her that he isn't who she imagines him to be, but then carries her off to marry her, thus giving Mabel her happy ending in reality as well. | cult, action | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0220827 | Non ho sonno | In Turin, Italy, 1983, Detective Ulysses Moretti investigates a murder scene and tells a young boy named Giacomo that he will find his mother's killer, even if it takes the rest of his life.Seventeen years later.Angela, a Rome prostitute, refuses to let a man do "disgusting things" to her and he gives her money and tells her to leave. After cleaning up in the bathroom, Angela hears the unseen man mumble in his sleep about killing "lots of people". In a panic, Angela runs, knocks over a table (that has several knifes on it), gathers her things and leaves. On a train heading back to Turin, she realizes that she inadvertently picked up a blue-colored file which is full of articles, photos of dead people, and a copy of 'The Death Farm' poem by John McKenzie. After recalling a past murder case which involved "the dwarf killer" Angela calls her friend Amanda on her cell phone and tells her about the file and says to meet her at the train station. But a minute later, the killer calls Angela, calling her a thief and threatening to killer her for he is on the train. Angela runs down the train corridor until she finds a conductor and asks him to stay with her until reaching her destination. She returns to the cabin to get her things, hears a noise, and runs. She runs into the conductor who is knocked out cold. She tries to hide in another vacant cabin, but the unseen killer catches her, and stabs her to death.At the train station, Amanda arrives and looks around the train and finds the blue file. She goes back to her car in the parking lot, but the killer is there waiting for her, and stabs her in the neck, killing her. Beppe, the car lot attendant, finds a gold pen on the ground as he sees the killer get out of the car with his blue file. A little later, Inspector Manni and other cops arrive on the scene where they investigate both killings, and the conductor tells Manni about Angela mentioning the killer dwarf. The next morning, Manni goes to visit Moretti, who was in charge of the case back in 1983, and he talks about "loose ends" of the dwarf suspect being found shot in the head from a suspected suicide before he could be apprehended for the killings. Moretti, already in his 70s and long retired from the police force, tells Manni that his memory is not what it used to be.Across town, Mel, a young woman who dances in a skin-tight "kitty" costume at a local nightclub, prepares to leave when she goes to her dressing room when the lights go out. She hears the sounds of a cat howling and is scared by Marco, a bouncer who tells her that there is a short circuit in the fuse box. After he leaves, Mel goes up a dark staircase to the exit where at the top she sees a figure wearing a yellow jacket. She thinks it's Marco until the figure turns around, wearing a hood. The killer grabs her, but Mel puts up a fight, scratching the killer's neck, but gets punched out cold. The killer drags her to a tub of water in the maintenance room, where he drowns her, and then cuts off her fingernails as not to leave skin DNA evidence behind. Manni and the police arrive on the scene later and discover a cutout of a cat near Mel's dead body. Manni informs Moretti of this latest murder, and the elderly detective tells Manni that the killer used to leave cutouts of animals in the "dwarf killer" case 17 years earlier.Meanwhile in Rome, the young boy Giacomo, whom Moretti vowed to help find his mother's killer, is working as a busboy in a local Chinese restaurant when he gets a phone call from Lorenzo, an old childhood friend whom he hasn't seen in 10 years, who urges him to come back to Turin to help out with family problems of his. Giacomo arrives and Lorenzo lets him stay at his family house. Giacomo then goes to the police station where Moretti is there and hears him talking to Manni and remembers when Giacomo says his mothers name: Maria Gallo. Reunited, Giacomo and Moretti talk about what transpired during the 17 years when they first met, and they go to the scene of Maria's murder. Giacomo tells Moretti that he could not see the killers face, but he remembers a "whistling" or "hissing" sound afterwards.That evening, Giacomo eats dinner with Lorenzo's family where his father, Mr. Betti cannot find his gold pen. Later, Lorenzo talks to Giacomo about his stern father wanting him to be an athlete and sent him abroad to various schools, while Giacomo talks about fighting his abusive father. Giacomo goes to see his old school friend Gloria play a harp for a opera house crowd. Afterwords, he, Glroia, Lorenzo and his girlfriend, and Fausto, Gloria's boyfriend, go out to a local nightclub to party. Fausto talks about the latest killings and think that the dwarf killer, Vincenzo de Fabritiis (aka: John McKenzie) and says that he does not think that the man is dead. The next day, Giacomo and Moretti go to the Villa de Fabrittis and Giacomo thinks he sees Vincenzo in the window. They meet a derelict, named Leone, who recites a familiar verse of the poem to Moretti, but says that he cannot remember any more.Meanwhile, Beppe meets with the unseen killer about offering to give his gold pen back, and wants blackmail money to keep his mouth shut. The killer gives Beppe a wad of cash, and Beppe gives the killer back his pen. But then the killer writes something on Beppe's hand and suddenly shoves the pen into Beppe's head many times. Giacomo and Moretti arrive on the scene a few minutes later and notice the words I am a bad boy written on Beppes hand. They call the police, where Manni is upset that the two of them are trying to investigate the murders on their own and tells them to back off and let the police do their own work.Giacomo and Lorenzo meets their friends at a bar. When they sit back down at their table, Lorenzo accidentally drinks from Giacomo's glass of beer, notes a funny taste and collapses. In the hospital, Giacomo says that the poison was meant for him, and Lorenzo's father, Mr. Betti, arrives and tells Giacomo to stay away from his son. Giacomo leaves, and Gloria runs off after him. Moretti, up late at night because of his insomnia, recalls another verse of the rhyme and believes that the killer is murdering to the nursery rhyme.The following day, Dora, a waitress in a local fast-food restaurant whom her friends call her "little rabbit" because of her large front teeth, is working when the unseen killer sees her. That evening, Dora leaves work, gets on a train and walks outside to her apartment building. She just lets herself in the door when the killer runs up and attacks her. Dora puts up a fight by biting the killer's arm with her large front bunny teeth. But she gets overpowered and the killer slams her face into a wall, knocking out her front bunny teeth. The killer leaves a cutout of a rabbit by her dead body.Moretti tells Giacomo of a manuscript Vincenzo had said was stolen, believing the killer was using it to kill. At the house, they meet Vincenzo's elderly mother, Laura and they ask her about his books. Gloria calls Giacomo and tells him about Swan Lake which he is about to perform that night. Moretti finds a childrens book, 'Animal Farm', with pages missing., and he thinks that Vincenzo had hidden the pages of the original text from the killer. He looks at an old copy of George Orwell's book, 'Animal Farm', and finds the missing pages, which contain the nursery rhyme. The last verse, following the death of a cat, and a rabbit, mentions killing a swan. Giacomo quickly drives to the Swan Lake performance and runs backstage, and finds Gloria alive and well. But a minute later, they find Mara, the ballet dancer who danced to Gloria's harp music, dead and beheaded in her dressing room.At the local cemetery, Vincenzo's coffin is exhumed, but the corpse is gone. Laura goes to see Moretti at his house and says that she does not want the rumors to start again. She says that she knows her son is dead because, not wanting him to go to prison for murders that he did not commit, shot and killed him herself and made it look like a suicide. Moretti tells her that the gun used was never found, and Laura tells him that she has it. Laura goes back to the estate to retrieve the pistol from a hidden place. She sees a short figure approaching her in the dark, backs up, and falls off a railing to her death.That evening, Moretti phones Giacomo and leaves a message on Gloria's answering machine. Just then, the phone lines goes dead, then the light go off. Moretti sees a tiny person walking out of the darkness. Moretti takes out a pistol from his desk drawer and fires repeatedly, but the figure keeps on approaching. Suddenly, Moretti grabs his chest, and falls to the floor dead. The next morning, after spending a passionate night with Gloria, Giacomo finally hears the message on Gloria's machine where Moretti talks about the murders being in a small neighborhood in 1983, and they are now happening all over the city in 2000, plus Moretti mentions a "discrepancy" in his mothers killing and the handwriting on Beppes hand. Manni then calls and tells Giacomo that Moretti had died from a heart attack.Giacomo and Gloria get into her car and give the bum, Leone, a lift. He is dropped off and Giacomo gets out to give him a bottle of wine he left in the back seat. At the shed of the Vincenzo estate, he sees Leone with a puppet dwarf and he runs back to the car to tell Gloria. Giacomo and Gloria follow Leone to an apartment building, and Gloria goes to her car to call the police while Giacomo climbs a fence and walks inside. Upstairs, he finds Leone dead from a shot to the head and Mr. Betti appears in the room and shoots Giacomo in his shoulder. Lorenzo and Gloria rush in and pound and yell at the front door, and Mr. Betti suddenly shoots himself. Lorenzo and Gloria run in and Lorenzo is clearly distraught to see his father dead, in which he begins hyperventilating and uses his asthma inhaler.When Lorenzo walks out of the room to call the police, Giacomo tells Gloria what Moretti had learned. The killings in 1983 were in a small area because the killer was a child back then, and now in 2000, they are all over the city because the killer, now an adult, can go anywhere he wants. Additionally, a child would take the rhyme literally, not realizing "instrument" referred to a weapon. Just then Lorenzo returns to the room and, in a sneering, wild-eye tone, congratulates Giacomo of figuring it all out. Giacomo takes Lorenzo's inhaler away from him and says that was the hissing sound he heard, and knows that Mr. Betti knew about his sons killings and sent him away to prevent him from killing again. Lorenzo says that he was doing fine on his own and called Giacomo back to Turin because he wanted to play a game between the two of them so Lorenzo could get caught, and he even deliberately took a sip from Giacomo's poisoned beer that night to divert any suspicion away from him. Leone was Lorenzo's co-conspirator who used the dwarf puppet to make it look that a dwarf was doing all the killings of the present. Lorenzo suddenly grabs a knife and holds it against Gloria's throat, threatening to kill her of Giacomo approaches him any further. Giacomo asks Lorenzo why he did not kill anyone for this long and why did he start again after 17 years. Lorenzo replies: "who said I stopped?" He tells of other places in Switzerland, Paris, Germany, England, Spain and the USA where there have been dozens of unsolved killings over the past 17 years and replies "they know the nursery rhyme there too!" Backing up towards a window, Lorenzo threatens to make Giacomo watch, when Manni and the police arrive and seeing Lorenzo in the window, open fire several times, literally blowing Lorenzo's face off. Giacomo and Gloria embrace as the cops run inside the apartment and huddle them out to safety. | gothic, murder, violence, horror, suspenseful, sadist | train | imdb | Teaming up Giacomo (Stefano Dionisi), whose mother was killed by "The Dwarf" when he was a child, Moretti tries to solve these recent slew of murders and put to rest the case forever.From the opening, where we have an intense murder on a train, to the end, where the killer is finally revealed and Max Von Sydow recites a nursery rhyme (which is relevant to the plot) over the credits Argento uses his trademark styles to keep us on the edge of our seats.
From his masterful direction, Goblin's always excellent score and the incredibly brutal murder sequences 'Sleepless' is Dario's best movie since Opera.
The atmosphere throughout is kept at an intense level, although Argento focuses a lot on the story, which is hardly a bad thing (if anything it's better) and the story unfolds at an excitingly nail-biting pace.However, like many of his movies, the acting by a few is subpar but that's something that many fans of Argento come to expect and even if you're not it shouldn't matter.
It has to be seen to be believed, it really does.Like many Italian horror films, Sleepless isn't the best film ever made in terms of acting, and at times the plot isn't always well paced.
Films like "Suspiria" (1977), "Profondo Rosso" (1975) and Phenomena (1985) range among my all-time favorites, and Argento's repertoire includes several other masterpieces of Italian Horror/Giallo, such as "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage" (1970), "Opera"(1987) or "Tenebre"(1982).
The good-old Giallo premise is still working greatly, and the fact that Argento borrows many elements from his older films does in no way downsize the greatness of "Sleepless".
Since the police make little progress, Giacomo and the retired homicide detective Ulisse Moretti (Max Von Sydow), who was working on the cases in 1983, begin to investigate themselves..."Sleepless" brings the old-fashioned Giallo-greatness that we're used to from Argento.
A creepy atmosphere, stunning suspense, ultra-bloody murders, an excellent cinematography and especially another ingenious score by Progressive Rock band Goblin - this film delivers all the great elements that we love Argento for.
The death scenes in my opinion are more tense here than in some of his older films.The acting is very good although the occasional dubbed voice causes some actors to look like their facial expressions almost don't match their voices.One outstanding feature is the cinematography.
Being his fan I could not miss his last effort specially when I noticed that the myths since the time of "Profondo Rosso": The Goblin, were performing the soundtrack.Dario Argento is back to the old typical thriller structure: a serial killer with a nonsense-rhyme for kids is the leitmotiv of all the homicides in a very wet and scary Turin.The characters are well performed specially by the "bergmanian" Max Von Sidow.
With his newest giallo "Non ho Sonno" Dario Argento proves again that he is the best Italian horror/suspense director."Non ho Sonno" is basically about a killer who murders women and leaves the police always a clue:a paper-cut of an animal(e.g.cat,rabbit).The killings are based on a children's poems,and the murder spree started back in 1983,stopped abruptly after three killings,and continues 17 years later.Many people complain about acting,but I don't care.In my opinion the cast is pretty good,and the characters are well-developed."Non ho Sonno" is also Argento's most violent and sadistic work to date.The gore is pretty extreme and there are some really ghastly murder scenes like one where the victim gets her head bashed against the wall-it really hurts watching that!Anyway if you like the works of Italian maestro Dario Argento,you'll love "Non ho Sonno".9 out of 10..
Most of the murder scenes are incredibly gory, but I didn't really feel they were to the point that they were overdone.While "Sleepless" is nothing that will be considered a classic, it tells a solid story, wraps itself up with a good ending, necessary for this type of movie, and impresses the audience with its visuals and style.*** out of ****.
Elderly detective teams up with the son of an old murder victim to find the elusive night killer that is now striking again years later.Over the course of the 90's, Dario Argento seemed to be moving away from his artsy, old-school style of horror for more modernized thrillers.
What I liked was that the killer uses nursery rhymes from a specific book to pick their next victim, which I thought was pretty ingenious and disturbing, especially since the victims have something to associate them with the animals in the nursery rhymes.Though the plot might have certain flaws, one being it's one -dimensional characters and secondly at times it was pretty convenient that the killer was at the right place at the right time- but otherwise it makes up for it with it's swift and creative deaths: that truly come out of left field
you cant go wrong with that opening scene on the train and at the station, with the hysteria and tension of isolation that builds up throughout that scene.Though the death scenes might turn off certain viewers- but not if your fan of Argento, as a lot of detail goes into them and so did the setting of the film- it was beautifully shot.
Fans of Dario Argento and viewers who like a violent suspense film will appreciate `Sleepless'.
But years later the killer returns and Giacomo is back in the thick of things: he teams up with a retired detective he met as a boy (played by Max von Sydow) and they track the clues around Turin.Dario Argento consistently delivers films that I consider top-notch.
Hearing the name 'Dario Argento' the first thing that comes to your head is horror.'Sleepless' is that.Horror!They say that the performance of the actors is awful.The script,too.They are right!But when I saw this movie,honestly,I had not any problem with that!It isn't a drama!
It's a horror movie.Dario Argento is master in this section and I think this movie deserves a better rating.The story is wonderful,the ending is completely unpredictable and the horror...grate!It's a different story.Not the story we all know well with the college boys and girls with the friend who's a serial killer(urban legend,etc)!Of course the bad performing can't give a better grade to this movie but surely it deserves more responding from critics.It's a masterpiece of horror with a cult feeling that makes it mysterious.Dario offers horror and he's doing it well!I personally love this movie!I believe it is the cult splatter of the new millenium!.
If anyone like New York Ripper, they will really enjoy this movie.When you know that Goblin is doing the music and Sergio Stivaletti is doing the make - up effects it´s kind of guarantee that this movie is going to be very good, when you know that Dario Argento is the director and have been working whith them before.For some some scenes can be too violance and gory.
When I where at the Stockholm Filmfestival som people whent before the movie were finished.If you are a fan of classical horror movies from the beginning of the 80´s, whith especially Italian directors you will enjoy this.Our Swedish actor Max von Sydow has a role in this movie to.I hope that someone will have some help to decide if you should or shouldn´t look at this film..
Movies such as 'Suspiria', 'Tenebrae' and 'Deep Red' put Argento on the map as a true exponent of the horror genre, but recently his films have nose-dived into mediocrity, culminating with the truly dire 'Phantom Of The Opera'.
Yes, it is not the best giallo Argento made (that was PROFONDO ROSSO), but, hey, it is unfair to expect someone to make masterpieces all the time, and while SLEEPLESS is not a masterpiece, it is much better than his own disastrous TRAUMA or virtually all of American serial killer movies made in the past ten years or so.
Especially if You liked Argento's 70s Giallo work and his 1982 GORE-Extravaganza TENEBRE, You'll feel real familiar.About the Acting:-The characters look sometimes not more stone-facedas in Deep Red / Tenebre -and MAX(THE EXORCIST)VON SYDOW does still his job!My source was the nice Italian MEDUSA D V D with English language..
Ok, got the Italian DVD via TNT express from cdbox.it (very good service, guys).Watched it with a friend on Dolby 5.1 and 16:9 tv-set.From the title-sequence, for the first time in years, the old Argento feeling (which I first experienced in 1984, watching Tenebre in a big movie theatre), was back.
But then, that´s much more than one could expect.A lot of classic moments in the film, with the first 20 minutes being easily the most terrifing that you´ve seen for a long, long time.It´s a good Argento, the first since Opera, and really the first good movie I saw for years.He still makes them like this..
Sleepless (2001) finds director Dario Argento at his self-referential best; producing a film that seems like a veritable greatest hits package of his more recognisable trademarks and preoccupations, including the revelation of a traumatic childhood event, the reliance on the juxtaposition between an older, more seasoned character and his young protégé turned amateur sleuths, the foregrounding of a burgeoning love affair and the always prevalent notions of sight and perception.
Admittedly, it could be argued that the film falls apart a little towards the end, but for the most part Sleepless is a fantastic thriller, and easily Argento's best film since Opera (1987) more than a decade before.It was touted at the time as the director's return to his more traditional Giallo roots of films like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1974) and Tenebrae (1982); though I'm sure some would still argue that it doesn't quite achieve the creative highs of those particular films, with the occasional flaws - many of which Argento fans will have come to know and love - marring the film in the second half.
The presentation might be a little more cutting-edge, with the modern-day, 21st century streets of Rome and contemporary attitudes of its characters further fuelling the plot; however, the structure of the film, the relationships between the characters and the fantastic way that Argento builds tension and dread is right out of his "animal trilogy" of the 1970's.The murder scenes are as inventive as ever, filled with those trademark POV shots and plenty of bravura, with the cinematography of Ronnie Taylor thankfully being closer to his work on Opera (1987) rather than The Phantom of the Opera (1998).
The grandiose scenes of stalk and slash terror is to be expected from Argento, especially with the memory of his earlier films still in mind, however, what really sets Sleepless apart from his more recent works, like The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) and The Card Player (2005), is the compelling performance from a genuine acting legend; in this instance, the ever-brilliant Max Von Sydow.Von Sydow plays Ulisse Moretti, a now retired police detective still obsessing over a shocking murder case that took place eighteen years earlier.
Though Stefano Dionisi as the earnest and enthusiastic Giacomo lacks the natural ability of Von Sydow (a fact not helped by his rather poor English dubbing), he still manages to carry his strands of the narrative fairly well, while the scenes between their two particular characters resonate with the same kind of mutual respect and contagious curiosity that was found between the lead characters of The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) or even the aforementioned Deep Red. Some of the other performances aren't quite as strong, though the shadow of Von Sydow and the technical virtuosity and ace storytelling of Argento definitely make up for it; turning a film that could have easily become generic and derivative into a genuinely interesting murder mystery.It might not be Argento's greatest film; lacking the unconventional flair and visual eccentricity of Deep Red or the self-reflexive experimentation and daring design of the classic Tenebrae, it does at least deliver on the basic levels of story, characters and vision.
Max von Sydow is real great in this role as the retired policeman, but especially the younger actors cannot cope with such a performance...As a result, "Sleepless" is a real good and entertaining murder mystery with a lot of suspense.
Max Von Sydow by far gives the best performance in the film playing the detective who worked on the original case and is now called into to solve the new murders.
Argento displays his undisputed bravura only in two scenes (one, on a train, at the very beginning; the other, on a red carpet of a theater, much later), but it's really too little for a movie who's intended to be the sequel to "Profondo rosso", one of Argento's most beloved films...It's a shame to see the great Max von Sydow sink in this sea of mediocrity...
Anyone who's ever watched other Argento films will know *not* to expect good acting performances or a coherent plot.
thank god for dario argento and giallo because the movie world would be poorer place without them my favorites being tenebrae and profondo rosso then came this absolute gem which i saw under the title sleepless and with a combination of dario argento and the legend that is max von sydow this was always going to be excellent and has since taken over as my favorite argento film with its superb storyline great camera work and excellent murder scenes super acting all round especially max von sydow i would be amazed if anybody did not enjoy this film and as always with argento films the music is outstanding and as alway a film that will keep you guessing until the very end a film that i can watch over and over again highly recommended.
***SPOILERS*** Famed Italian Gailo horror director Dario Argento pulls no punches in this graphically gory slasher film that has the audience guessing to who the killer is up until the very last few moments of the movie.It's when a number of women are brutally murdered in Turin Italy that it becomes evident to the city's chief of police Manni, Paolo Mari Scalondro, that the killings are the work of the "Killer Dwarf" Vincenzo De Fabritiis, Luca Fagioll, who disappeared from sight back in 1983 after murdering three women under the very same circumstances!
It will spoil the whole movie if I`d utter one single word.Form: If you have`nt seen an Italian horror film or a giallo(murder\mystery)before this really is a good starter.
If anyone likes New York Ripper, they will really enjoy this movie.When you know that Goblin is doing the music and Sergio Stivaletti is doing the make - up effects it´s kind of guarantee that this movie is going to be very good, when you know that Dario Argento is the director and have been working whith them before.For some some scenes can be too violent and gory.
When I where at the Stockholm Filmfestival some people went before the movie were finished.If you are a fan of classical horror movies from the beginning of the 80´s, with especially Italian directors you will enjoy this.Our Swedish actor Max von Sydow has a role in this movie too.I hope that someone will have some help to decide if you should or shouldn´t look at this film..
Dario Argento's return to his most familiar and favourite genre, murder mystery (Giallo), is this 2001 film Non ho Sonno aka Sleepless which he also co-wrote with Franco Ferrini, his long time companion.
The film is not so artistic anymore in any way, so unwillingly or not Argento has this time created only a piece of violent mystery thriller to satisfy the audience by the "entertainment" received by that, nothing more, those few cinematic merits mentioned above excluded naturally.It is quite painful for the viewer to sit through films like this, Trauma and La Sindrome di Stendhal as they feel so slow and boring, mostly because the characters never become too interesting or multi leveled and there are scenes that are unnecessarily too long and not so important to the plot development, and they also usually involve, for example, the protagonist quite irritatingly talking to himself/herself as he/she tries to solve the case by himself in peace.
I rented Sleepless with high hopes, hence Dario Argento is my favorite horror director and his "Suspiria" is, on my opinion, one of the best films I've ever seen.
Although Argento's cinematography is once again out of this world, the films feels bland, the actors (expect for Sir Max Von Sydow) are not so good and the English dubbing doesn't really help either.
Sleepless, or to give the film its original Italian title, Non ho sonno, was a commercial success in its native country and marked the return of legendary director Dario Argento to the giallo sub-genre after a long hiatus.
Argento doesn't do much to separate this one from the giallo pack, but the nursery rhyme aspect is interesting and even a bit demented.The death scenes are fun and very elaborate and the performances are decent as well from the cast, Max Von Sydow is competent and an unexpected presence in this kind of movie and Stefano Dionisi also gives a convincing performance as the male lead.All in all Many say that this is a return to form, and in a way it is but not quite up there with (Deep Red, The Bird In A Cystal Plummage, Suspiria, Tenebrae and Phenomena), but much better than the more recent efforts like (Trauma and Stendal Syndrome)..
Not exactly a return to form for Argento, bur certainly a step in the right direction (after several less-than stellar efforts), Sleepless sees the director plundering his 70s and 80s back catalogue to put together what is probably his most satisfying movie since Opera (1987).Max von Sydow plays Moretti, an ex-detective called out of retirement to help assist in a murder case which is somehow connected to a series of vicious killings that took place seventeen years earlier. |
tt0257076 | S.W.A.T. | The movie opens with Los Angeles Police Department officers engaged in a violent shootout with four masked bank robbers who have held up a bank in Lincoln Heights. Two of them are in the bank holding hostages, while the other two are engaging the cops. Being only armed with pistols, the officers are hopelessly outnumbered, as the robbers have AK-47 automatic rifles and are wearing body armor, and several are quickly shot down. With all other weaponry failing, the officers on scene call for the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) unit. The SWAT unit arrives - some via helicopter, and others in a large truck. From the helicopter, SWAT officers Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) rappel down with two other men onto the roof of the bank and begin tunneling their way down to the storeroom. A couple of SWAT snipers are deployed to the roof of a building across the street, and a third team approaches from the ground.While Street and Gamble are infiltrating the bank, one of the two outside gunmen tries to flee in the robbers' getaway car, but is promptly taken out by a sniper with a single round to the head. The other gunman continues to engage the police until the ground SWAT unit takes him out as well. The ground unit then sends a secure phone to the two gunmen inside the bank, and Captain Thomas Fuller (Larry Poindexter) attempts to negotiate the release of hostages.As Fuller negotiates with the hostage takers, Gamble and Street drop into the storeroom from the air vent and sneak into the lobby, to find that one of the robbers has collared a woman and is using her as a shield. In trying not to be noticed, they fail to respond to several requests from their commander Lt. Greg Velasquez (Reg B. Cathey). The hostage taker put a pistol to his hostage's head and prepares to execute her. With seconds to make a decision, Gamble fires his rifle. The bullet strikes the woman in the shoulder, wounding her, and then hits the hostage taker, killing him. The last gunman spins and tries to draw his weapon but is promptly shot dead by Street.Fuller is furious at Street and Gamble for their reckless actions, especially since the hostage they wounded is now suing the LAPD for negligence. Fuller orders them off the SWAT team, regulating them to "cage duty" (a degrading position involving the distribution of weapons and accessories to other officers). Gamble storms off in anger and ultimately quits the force. When Street hesitates, Fuller offers him a chance to remain on SWAT if Street rats out Gamble for recklessness.Six months later, Street is exercising out on the beach one morning before work. He is still in the gun cage, performing menial tasks for other police officers.One day, veteran Sgt. Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) comes to the precinct and asks Street to fix his customized rifle. Street notes the custom job and is impressed.Hondo meets with Velasquez. In the wake of a number of scathing articles criticizing the LAPD, the chief wants to reform the department. Velasquez wants Hondo to form a new SWAT unit for him to command. Velasquez offers Hondo 2 of his own officers- T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles) and Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt). Hondo agrees to them and decides to pick out 3 more candidates from the personnel files. Captain Fuller will have the final say on who goes into this new unit.In his time in the cage, Street invents a new weapon that he plans to patent to law enforcement elsewhere: a gigantic hook and chain designed to bring down barricades and end hostile standoffs, which he calls the "Key to the City". Hondo comes in to collect his weapon and is impressed by Street's work.Hondo takes some of the officers out for target practice on the firing range. T.J. manages to out-shoot Hondo, but Hondo bets $200 that Street is a better shot. T.J., not feeling threatened by a "gun bunny" like Street, agrees to the challenge. They face off, and Street ends up victorious.Meanwhile, a French mobster, Alex Montel (Oliver Martinez) arrives at Los Angeles International Airport and heads out into the city. He intends to visit his uncle's favorite restaurant, purportedly as a birthday surprise, but in reality, it's because he knows his uncle has been stealing money from the family for some time. Alex thus slits his uncle's throat and leaves the restaurant, but is soon pulled over by motorcycle cops for a broken taillight. Since the car Alex is driving is his uncles' (and there is an arrest warrant out for that name), the officers detain him for questioning and verification of his identity. Even attempts to use bribery aren't able to spring him.Hondo recruits Street into being his driver for a day in order to go on a SWAT team recruitment run. They first investigate an officer named Deacon "Deke" Kay (LL Cool J), who is found in the middle of a foot pursuit with a suspect. Hondo intervenes and ends the pursuit early, angering Deke. But when Deke finds out that Hondo is an agent from SWAT, his attitude changes. Hondo invites Deke to study at "SWAT school."After deciding against another candidate who's a little too soft for the rigors of SWAT duty, Hondo and Street go to speak to a police officer named Christina "Chris" Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez), who has applied and been rejected to SWAT three times previously as women are not usually permitted to join the SWAT teams. Despite this, Hondo offers her a spot on the team.Upon returning to headquarters, Hondo asks Street if he wants to fill the last spot on the team. Street is hesitant, knowing that Fuller is very unlikely to approve him given the incident with Gamble at the bank robbery. Street also confirms that he did not say anything bad against Gamble.When Hondo meets with Fuller, Fuller rejects both Sanchez and Street, but Hondo refuses to back down. Fuller makes a compromise- he will accept the group for now, but if they fail the preliminary trials needed for SWAT, then Street and Hondo will both be taken off the force. Hondo agrees, confident in his group.Training begins shortly thereafter. The new squad members get to know each other, and it's revealed that Boxer's sister was formerly involved with Street- so there is some friction between them. Hondo puts the group through several tests- including infiltration, armor, weapons, physical conditioning and long-range shooting. Despite some initial difficulties, they are soon performing admirably.Before long, the time has come for the team's final evaluation: a simulated hostage situation set up by Fuller. The team will have to infiltrate an airplane taken over by "terrorists" (played by fellow officers armed with paintball guns) ; they will have to take back the aircraft and take out all six hijackers within eight minutes. While looking over the plane's schematics, Street realizes that there is an alternative entry point for the plane: a tiny elevator shaft which only one member of the team could fit through. Sanchez jumps at the chance. They move into the plane, and T. J. is "killed" by a paint-ball in the process. Despite this, the group takes out all the "hijackers" and sets a new record for the course in the process.That night, the group celebrates by eating at a cafe owned by Deke's father. Hondo congratulates them, but also admits that he is not too happy that T. J. wouldn't have survived if they had been in a real operation. After a few hours of eating and drinking, most of the group heads home. Sanchez follows Street to his favorite bar and witnesses a confrontation between Street and his ex-partner, Gamble. Sanchez then invites Street to her daughter's birthday party taking place the next day.Since the next day is Sunday, nearly all members of the new SWAT team are relaxing. T.J. is on a date, Hondo and Velasquez go out golfing, Deke goes shopping with his family, Boxer is at home with his wife watching TV (Ironically watching the 1970's program that inspired this movie). Street takes Sanchez up on her offer and is now entertaining the kids at Eliza's birthday party. But then everyone is recalled by pager to a "Polish hostage" situation, where a man has barricaded himself in a house and is randomly firing a shotgun out the window. The man also claims to have wired all the entrances with explosives. Street volunteers his grapple weapon, and the team uses it to tear down the main wall of the house, ending the standoff in seconds.At the sheriff's department, a deputy finds some details pertaining to Alex Montel's true identity. Velasquez is notified and asks Hondo's unit to intercept and escort the prison bus carrying Alex. But Alex's gang has also learned about the transfer. Two of Alex's men disguise themselves as police officers and use a stolen police car to pull the bus over. They then climb onto the bus and shoot the deputies, before unshackling Alex. As they're about to drive off, Hondo's team arrives and engages them in a shootout. The shootout is quick, but at the end, both fake cops are killed and Alex is captured.Montel, as it turns out, is an international fugitive wanted in over a dozen countries on charges including murder, arms dealing & drug trafficking. As Montel is being led to a holding cell, he faces a TV camera and pledges $100 million as a reward for anyone who breaks him out of jail.Hondo's unit is preparing to evacuate Montel via helicopter when the chopper is shot down by an unseen sniper. They take Montel back inside and form a new plan- to lead the fugitive away via a motor parade. Several of Montel's men attack the vehicles, hoping to free Montel, in the process killing a motorcycle cop and injuring two other officers. But the vehicles turn out to be a decoy, and Alex is being led down a private access area into some unmarked SUV's.Halfway through the second checkpoint, T.J. stops the car. He has decided to take Alex's offer. As they attempt to reason with him, Gamble suddenly shows up and shoots Boxer, before he and T.J. take Alex and flee into the Los Angeles Metro. As paramedics arrive to treat Boxer, Hondo and Street chase Gamble's group into the local subway station. They miss the train and hope to catch it at the next station. But Deke and Sanchez report that the train did not arrive at the station, so they give chase in the tunnels.After nearly falling into an explosive trap set by Gamble, the team arrives outside the tunnel. At this point, Captain Fuller is furious- he suspects the entire team might be in on T.J.'s betrayal. He orders Hondo and his crew to stand down.As they drive out, Sanchez notices a low-flying jet over the city. They decide that the jet must be Gamble's plan for evacuating Montel. Fuller has previously sent all possible reinforcements to the airports in an attempt to cut off the potential escape. Hondo & his group follow the jet, which is actually landing on a bridge rather than at the airport. Hondo gets radio confirmation that Gamble has hostages on board the airplane, and they need to stop the craft immediately to save innocent lives.Hondo drives their car into the landing gear of the plane, crippling it. A gun battle erupts between SWAT and Gamble's team. Sanchez is hit in the shootout, receiving a minor shoulder wound. Alex makes a break for it, but Deke follows (echoing his earlier foot pursuit) and re-captures Montel.Hondo confronts T.J. inside the plane. T.J. asks about Boxer. Hondo is hesitant, but confirms that Boxer has received treatment and will presumably survive from his injuries. T.J. pulls out his gun and shoots himself in the head, preferring death over a prison sentence.Street chases Gamble into a train yard, where they have one last fight. Street prevails, and Gamble is decapitated by a passing train.Fuller arrives, commending the team for their work, but pointing out that the job is not yet finished. They take a SWAT bus out to deliver Montel to the proper authorities.As they sit on the bus, heading home, a report of a robbery in progress comes onto the police band. Hondo points out that their shift has technically been over for 12 hours. Despite this, the team agrees to mount up and head out to their next mission. | neo noir, murder, violence, action, humor, revenge | train | imdb | null |
tt1772250 | La cara oculta | The film opens with Adrián (Quim Gutierrez), a young orchestra conductor, viewing a video of his girlfriend Belén (Clara Lago) telling him she is leaving him. Adrián becomes distraught. While drinking away his sorrows at a bar, he meets Fabiana (Martina Garcia) and they have a relationship where Fabiana moves into the house that Adrián was sharing with Belén. Adrián becomes a suspect in the disappearance of Belén, however, the investigators can find no evidence of Adrián's involvement in Belén's disappearance.
It is revealed that the house is owned by a German lady who shows Belén a secret room built to hide her husband just in case someone came to look for him because he was a former Nazi SS officer. The room is self-contained and sealed off from sound.
It is also shown that Belén, jealous of Adrián's relationship with one of his violinists, Verónica, decided to pretend she is leaving him. She creates the video saying she is leaving as she hides in the secret room. The room has some one way mirrors where she can observe Adrián's reaction. When she decides he has had enough she looks for the key and realizes she lost the key and is now trapped in the room with no way to contact Adrián.
Fabiana finds the key to the secret room, but she doesn't know what it is used for. Fabiana eventually figures out that Belén is trapped in the house because Belén is able to communicate through tapping on the pipes in the secret room. As Fabiana is ready to open the door, she pauses and decides not to rescue Belén because she might lose Adrián.
Fabiana struggles with her decision, but decides to open the door and check on Belén because she can't get a response from her. Also, one of the investigators gave Fabiana pictures of Adrián and Verónica and she herself feels the pangs of jealously. As Fabiana is checking on Belén laying in a bed in the secret room, Belén surprises Fabiana and knocks her out and leaves Fabiana locked in the room. Belén decides to leave the house. She leaves the key to the secret room on a bed for Adrián to find and leaves a picture of the two of them taped to the mirror that acts as the door to the secret room. The final scene shows Belén sitting on the beach alone and Fabiana trapped inside hoping to be rescued.
It was also revealed that one of the police investigators, who is still not convinced of Adrián's innocence in Belén's disappearance, is a former boyfriend of Fabiana, and he warns Adrián that if anything should happen to Fabiana he will kill Adrián. At the end of the movie the audience is thus left to wonder not only if Fabiana will eventually die in the hidden room, but whether Adrián will also be killed because of her disappearance. | dramatic, revenge, mystery | train | wikipedia | A Spanish orchestra conductor named Adrián (Quim Gutiérrez) receives a video message from his sweetheart Belén (Clara Lago), in which she breaks up with him , after that , she is suddenly disappeared .
It does have mysterious happenings in a big , spooky house along with pain, suffering of one or two scorned women.This is an intriguing and suspenseful Colombian/Spanish co-production full of thrills , chills and twists and turns .
Acceptable performance by protagonist trio as Quim Gutierrez as wealthy , voguish orchestra conductor engaged to a Spanish girlfriend well acted by Clara Lago , whose sudden disappearance leaves Adrián stressed , saddened , leaving him the number one suspect in the eyes of the police , but he takes up with another woman shortly thereafter, , as he spontaneously becomes passionately involved with barmaid Fabiana finely played by the gorgeous Colombian actress Martina García .
We're not talking about a great classic film here, but it is pretty good guilty-pleasure that should keep you riveted through the end.I have one minor gripe, important to me but probably not to most people: Since classical music has always been a big part of my life, what drew me to the film initially was that the main character is an orchestra conductor.
And Martina Garcia reminds me of Jessica Alba in terms of her looks and her bare minimum acting skills.I thought the movie might be a bust until, half way through the film, Clara Lagos shows up and the movie becomes a heart-pounding thriller with top notch acting and a series of fascinating and very creepy twists.My advice: stay through the first so-so hour and you won't be able to turn it off.And yes, Quim Gutierrez should have rehearsed the role of an orchestra conductor better and...DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER!.
I love watching films in general, but thrillers are my thing.
But, I'm very sorry to say that I haven't watched a good thriller film in quite a while.
This is a film when the roles of good and bad change really quickly, and when you start making your own conclusions on the topic, suddenly something happens and you instantly change the course of your thoughts, seeing someone else as "the bad guy".
When the film began, I was quite sure I was about to watch another conventional horror story, about a haunted house and all the rest...I could not imagine it would evolve to such an interesting plot.
A Spanish orchestra conductor (Quim Gutierrez) deals with the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend (Clara Lago).I wish that IMDb had half stars, because I was torn between a 7 and an 8.
Don't see the trailer if you are just to see the movie because it will give you all the clues you need to to figure out what is going on!La Cara Oculta is a typical mystery Spanish movie,where you see what is going on in present time at the first half and on the second, the back and forth scenario takes place in order the mystery to be solved.It is not the best Spanish movie out there but it is the right one if you want to enjoy yourself for a night,alone in your house!The house in this movie is the leading role!so watch out!I don't wanna say any more 'cause I will ruin the story.So do not read reviews and do not see the trailer,just put it on your DVD and enjoy yourself!.
A very good movie with minimal star cast and outstanding plot line.An orchestra conductor living a wealthy life with his beautiful girlfriend and abruptly her Girl Friend vanishes leaving him inexplicably, caused by his infidelity.The plot revolves around the hunt for his girlfriend.A very good thriller, described by the fantastic storytelling telling about the present and the past, acting is very good and plot twists are enthralling.Recommended to the suspense and mystery lovers.7.5/10.
This Colombian film - quite rare in European cinemas - has a good suspense source, enabling to create a thrilling story about love and its related topics (jealousy, faithfulness, yearning, etc.), visible is rather extreme circumstances.
True, there were some interesting twists, but the very end could have been more concrete or revenge-related, the current one created a kind of vacuity, no quivering.Characters seems realistic, but apart from Clara Lago as Belén, there were no catchy performances, preferable particularly in case of events happening in limited space.
The movie shows some promise initially with the mystery surrounding the disappearance, but when the mystery is revealed, the reaction is "Seriously?" The premise behind the disappearing woman is so ridiculous that it is hard to believe someone actually wrote a script around it.
Sure, they tend to make strange and weird movies, but it happens that I enjoy watching such films.
One thinks while watching, nothing is served on a plate like in American movies, so one feels engaged while watching, not disconnected and one cares what will happen to the characters.
Dubbed in English and re-named from its original Spanish title La Cara Oculta, The Hidden Face is a decent thriller if you have the patience to endure its lackluster first half.
To truly appreciate this thriller, I strongly caution against watching the trailer or reading other reviews that include one of the film's best kept secrets.The plot plays out in two parts, each from a different perspective that converges into a series of twists and turns before the finale.
They hit it off and before you know it, Fabiana moves in with Adrian, even as the police begin investigating Belen's sudden disappearance.
Like a curious cat, Belen sets a trap to expose Adrian, but inadvertently sets about a chain of events, and in the process, seals her own fate.Dubbing this Spanish film into English would not have been such a bad idea if it weren't for the terrible voice acting.
The movie follows the disappearance of a girl and so on, I tell you that there is something to do with the HOUSE, so anyways a lot of stupidity is shown which I really don't liked and can be prevent if they want to, Second seriously !
Then in the story comes Fabiana a nice waitress who falls for Adrian also, and she's a nice girl, well is she?Good acting, good story, great twist , good filming giving us two sides of the story , and the camera really show us both sides.I enjoy watching this movie, if you have a chance you have to see it, if you like a good thriller there no chance you will be disappointed on this one.
I started to watch this film by chance, as I had nothing better to do and I was really surprised how good it was!The beginning of the movie may be a bit slow and at one point I asked myself if this would be good or not, but then the shift of the stories and the beginning of 'the missing girl story' really starts to make this movie interesting.
As the story of the girl develops, you begin to wonder what happened to her and then the twist with the German woman and her secret immediately make you realize what has happened and then the movie gets really interesting.I must say it was really good, from the beginning to the last second!
The three main actors Clara Lago (as Belén), Martina García (as Fabiana) and Quim Gutiérrez (as Adrián) did a great job with their respective performances.
La Cara Oculta – The Hidden Face – CATCH IT (B+) La Cara Oculta is very interesting thriller giving two perspectives of girls fallen in love with a Spanish Orchestra conductor.
Good thriller suspense movie.
The direction of the actors is mediocre--having them over ham scenes--which makes them look like bad actors.This would have been X rated in my youth but not in a tawdry way---An added plus to the movie.Basically if I say too much about the plot it will ruin it however stick with it to the end....the first half is somewhat cheesy (trying too hard inauthentic unsubtle etc...).If this was an American movie would give it a 6.
I think he's a major talent.The film concerns a Spanish conductor, Adrian (Quim Gutiérrez), who, with his girlfriend Belen (Clara Lago) has rented a home from a German woman who is out of the country for a time.One day, Belen disappears.
You're not sure if it's a horror film, a ghost story, a straightforward drama, a murder mystery, and when you find out, it's even more mesmerizing.
I love Spanish-language thrillers and horrors and whenever I need an escape from Hollywood, I would look up a nicely crafted mystery from the Latin regions."The Hidden Face" is about an orchestra conductor who's girlfriend mysterious disappears leaving him devastated and perplexed.
The thriller consists of the young woman's attempt to escape said room, which proves to be more than a difficult task.The plot sounds first-rate and the execution is not bad, however at times it did feel more like a Colombian soap-opera, especially the parts involving the conductor.
An interesting aspect of the movie is the one-way mirrors used to view the bedroom and bathroom from inside the hidden room, adding more to the captive's frustration after seeing the events occurring without her known presence."The Hidden Face" is a good thriller that emerges as a crowd-pleaser and is definitely worth a look at..
Probably, the major success of "Tesis" ('96) directed by Alejando Aménabar, started the Spanish engine of producing exquisite & intriguing thrillers, and the majority of them were so well-crafted that nowadays we can say for sure that Spain surpassed Hollywood which became predictable and out of ideas and even the remakes from foreign films are terrible."La Cara Oculta" (english titled "The Hidden Face") is a suspenseful Spanish / Colombian co-production full of thrills & chills, presenting the inevitable (but, very creative & well-staged) plot twist that grabs the viewer in a way which reminds a lot the work of Master Alfred Hitchcock and, posteriorly, his more devoted filmmaker, Brian De Palma.Colombian film director and writer, Andrés Baiz, knows how to project an eerie sensation to this piece of work, to have a great notion of pace and how the suspense works and the story goes in a crescendo to the final revealing, which is shocking and unexpected.
The cinematography is splendid and au pair with Hollywood produced films: peculiar choice of camera angles and nicely staged sequences directed with style, that make us wonder how a movie can look so good without the production values provided by a big studio.About the cast, it's hard to believe that a bland looking guy with boring personality on-screen such as Quim Gutierrez can score with the three main actresses in the film: Martina García, Clara Lago and Marcela Mar, but after all it's only a movie and his Maestro character is rich and famous, so we can accept that.
Had the wooden leading actor being replaced, the movie could have been even better, because the way he played the character as being a self centered, arrogant & pompous kind of nerd didn't help it either...In short, never mind the slow start (that will remind you a lot of "What Lies Beneath", itself a Robert Zemeckis' homage to Hitchcock's works), but please give this movie a chance, because the second half it's a surprisingly engaging and gripping experience not to be missed !!.
I strongly advise you not to read reviews nor in any case watch the trailer, because the essence of this psychological drama is in the horror you feel when you finally realize what is actually going on and later in quite predictable, but no less terrible plot twist.
It was a good movie but it could've been much much better if the director had revealed the hidden place later ...
But in the second half I was shocked and I remember feeling sorry after realizing how little time was left for the rest of the film.
If you ever liked good psychological thrillers like a Tale of Two Sisters, Saw, and others, you are in for a treat.The movie begins like the plot suggests, and if you pay attention to details for the first half, you will understand later why these details are being focused.
Who doesn't like that?The only reason I didn't give it a 10 was because there was a part on the second half that was a bit too obvious that was going to happen, but then again, I am a psychological thriller fan so I kind of know when things are too obvious in these movies.
It is a very good character study in love, jealousy, and Latino social norms in relationships.The movie starts off as a mystery and evolves into something more sinister yet compelling and understandable within the context of the Spanish-Colombian social influences and gender behaviors.I did not see any of the trailers or investigate this movie before I watched it----- nor do I recommend it.
The feelings it provoked reminded me of other such good movies I had seen (spanish, too): Sleep Tight, and the unforgettable The Skin I Live In. I consider all of them a must watch!.
When i started watching it i was sure this was another typical horror movie, but what a twist!
The Hidden Face is a great foreign suspense thriller that begs for a domestic remake in the U.S. The Hiddden Face has one of the most unique plot lines to hit the genre in quite some time.
The actors were nice and good but I didn't like Fabiana, the director could have chosen a nicer and more beautiful actress.I liked the backwards in the movie, where you discover what happened, also the music was great especially in the enthusiastic moments.My only problem is that they could have found another clearer end, and also they could have found a more beautiful actress than Fabiana :)I rank it as my number 1 thriller ^_^ <3 I would highly recommend it.
It could have been so much better if they thought about writing for a good story rather than just a shocking plot ending.
First of all, if you've already watched the trailer then this movie will hardly be interesting to you.One of the things I really hate is when I see a good idea ruined by a below-average realization.
The movie has its very own style which makes it stand out but also quite difficult to digest to be honest.The story revolves around Spanish orchestra conductor Adrian who accepts a job occasion in Bogota for one year.
When Fabiana starts to witness strange events in Adrian's house, she also starts to investigate.On the positive side, most of the story takes place in the remote mansion outside of Bogota which is a gorgeous building with a few interesting secrets.
The initial story line is intriguing enough to keep the audience interested during the movie's first half.However, the movie loses its pace halfway through the film when the most important secrets are already revealed.
The movie though fails to tell us what happens after this little twist which might have added some tension to the film.
The film has a mysterious atmosphere, great locations and a few stylish sex scenes but the movie is lacking suspense and tension.
But that would be a mistake, because hidden in the second half of the film is a strikingly original story turn, which leads to some pretty brilliant scenes (especially one involving ripples in sink water as a means of communication....I'll say no more to avoid spoiling the twist....in fact, don't read reviews and plot synopses and don't watch the trailers before you settle down to watch this film); I like it when a film makes us look at events we have already seen from a different perspective.
The Hidden Face (2011)A highly contrived plot and a couple of improbable turning points don't get in the way of the enjoyment of watching two women in competition for the same man.That hardly gives a clue to what happens, but to say more would ruin something of the surprise that is in store.
The Spanish title, La Cara Oculta, is translated literally, and the key to the movie (no pun intended, once you see it) is that hiding becomes hidden in an all to frightening and final way.The best of this is terrific, really great.
This Spanish/Colombian thriller takes its time to get going but it is one of those films which may be slow to start but really improves once you start to realise what has really been going on.
It could've been so much better if there is more focus on character build rather than bedroom scenes.And midway through the movie after the big reveal, there is just suddenly too many logical errors that the story became a fable of modern love triangle.=== SPOILERS ALERT ===My biggest problem with the whole premise is the design of this panic room.
If you haven't seen the movie, please read no further...***SPOILERS TO FOLLOW***Most glaring of all is why in the world the police would be investigating Belen's "disappearance" in the first place?
Made no sense.Never mind about the awful thing Fabiana did before realizing that maybe Adrian after knowing him 2 days wasn't such a great catch as to justify cold-blooded murder (of Edgar Allen Poe-like proportions); then Belen does exactly that!
What Belen did was way worse than anything Adrian or even Fabiana did.This movie is much more enjoyable if you don't over-think it..
This film is much better watched if you don't know anything about it – equally, the trailer is better avoided too.Flirty maestro, conductor Adrián (Quim Gutierrez) is first seen in a state of great personal trauma when attractive waitress Fabiana (Martina Garcia) helps him find happiness again.
I thought this film was beautiful, and the conductor Adrián and the lovely and quirky Fabiana were fascinating to watch. |
tt0086971 | The Black Room | Larry [Jimmy Stathis] thinks it's a dream come true when he rents an exotic "fantasy
room" in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills for only $200 a month. He uses
it for his trysts with various women and then goes home at night to tell
his wife Robin [Clara Perryman] all about them. Robin doesn't believe a word of it, but she
does like how Larry's fantasies are having a stimulating effect on their
lovelife, which is too often interrupted by the demands of their two
children, Mark [Edwin Avedissian] and Jenny [Allisun Kale].Larry's landlords, Jason [Stephen Knight] and Bridget [ Cassandra Gaviola], are brother and sister. Jason
has a blood disorder called thalassemia aka Cooley's anemia. Bridget helps
Jason to find victims whose blood they exsanguinate and transfuse into
Jason when he starts having one of his spells, which are becoming more and
more frequent. They also take great delight in peeking through the one-way
mirror and photographing Larry and his activities in the black room. After
a few weeks, Larry and Bridget start playing together, too.Everything is going along smoothly until Robin borrows Larry's car to
do some shopping and comes upon both the ad and the keys for the black
room. Shaken in her realization that Larry has been telling the truth,
Robin makes a copy of the key and goes snooping. The room is real enough,
and when she happens upon Jason, he shows her pictures of Larry and his
sex partners as proof. Robin is horrified and stays to watch Larry the
next time he brings one of his girls (Lisa [Charlie Young]) to the room.Jason suggests that Robin join in her husband's game and bring her
own lovers to the room. Mostly out of revenge but also curiosity, Robin
invites Lisa's boyfriend Terry [Christopher McDonald]. While they have sex, Larry watches through
the mirror and does a slow burn. Later that evening, after they have
returned home, Larry gives Robin an ultimatum...him or the room. Robin
needs some time alone, so she leaves the kids with Larry and goes to the
room to think.Meanwhile, Bridget and Jason have lured Terry and Lisa to the room
and fed them wine laced with knock-out drops. They carry their bodies down
to the lab and proceed to drain them of their blood. When Robin arrives,
she drinks some of the drugged wine and passes out. Larry calls their
babysitter Milly [Linnea Quigley] to stay with the kids, and then he drives to the mansion.
When he arrives, Jason chloroforms him and chains him in the black room
with Robin. Bridget telephones Milly and tells her to bring the kids and
join Robin and Larry. When Milly arrives, Bridget lures the kids out to
the garden while Jason takes Milly down to the lab.Jason then returns to the black room where Robin and Larry are
chained together. When he releases the chains to prepare Robin for
exsanguination, Larry suddenly leaps up and strangles Jason with a chain.
Larry then releases Robin and goes looking for the kids. He finds Milly in
the lab but, before he can release her, Bridget locks the lab door.
Robin wakes up and twists a coathanger into a point. When she
encounters Bridget, she jabs the point into Bridget's neck. Robin releases
Larry from the lab, and they go looking for the kids. They find them
asleep on the couch and take them out to the car. Then they remember
Milly, and Larry goes back to get her. Meanwhile, Jason has come to
consciousness. He tries to attack Larry, but Larry stabs him in the
stomach and drowns him in a bathtub of blood. Larry carries Milly out to
the car and, after having some trouble getting the car to start, the five
of them drive away.Meanwhile, inside the mansion, Jason and Bridget both revive. A few
days later, an ad appears in the newspaper for an exotic "fantasy room" in
a mansion in the Hollywood Hills for only $200 a month. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl] | pornographic, murder | train | imdb | A special film that works despite budget limitations.
The Black Room turned out to be an engrossing semi-masterpiece.
I was expecting mundane from this forgotten horror, but what I saw was more kinky, twisted and sick than I'd imagined.
Something about the acting, the script , the directing or everything was different than other films.
It also has the most graffically depicted blood transfusions I've ever seen.
They were painstakingly slow over these shots.
I had to turn away....gallons of blood...
It's a shame Clara Perryman didn't do much after this film.
She was excellent and made the troubled relationship with her and Jim Stathis {also great} possibly more interesting than the horror elements.
Linnea Quigley plays a small role as the babysitter.
She says maybe 5 words..
Don't date anyone in the Black Room.
A man rents a room a brother & sister so he can have extramarital affairs away from his own house, however his landlords are draining the blood from everyone who enters the room.An extremely dark and original take on the vampire genre.
Set in the modern day (1981 when it was made) unlike many vampire movies of the time, the setting does give it much more credibility than its Gothic counterparts.
The draining sequences are very dramatic, no fangs here but a massive machine which pumps out the blood into some very gory scenes.
The performances are a lot better than you might think, the 4 leads are surprisingly good as is most of the supporting cast.
The second half of the movie is great, tension mounts very well, the pace improves and the last 10-15mins are superb and quite scary at times.
The film does have a couple of issues though, in the first half pacing is quite sluggish, as the set up sequences to key scenes take an age and at times fail at keeping the viewers attention, editing is also quite strange at the beginning (although that could just have been the copy I watched 1983 UK VHS).Overall a very good surprising watch, if you enjoy weird fairly gory horror there should be plenty for you to enjoy here.
Interestingly this quite rare horror was put onto the DPP's section 3 list here in the UK (meaning the police could seize it from the shelves), a real shame as this well made little horror didn't deserve the negative attention it got..
Amusing and steamy.
Larry, a dashing family man, decides he needs some escapism in his life and rents a room to fulfill his darkest fantasies.
The room he finds is within a Hollywood Hills mansion and is decorated seductively in black with lots of candles and drink.
His doting wife goes along with the fantasy, but what she doesn't know (if you can believe it) is that the lurid tales of prozzies and pickups he's ravished in the room are actually true.
And what Larry doesn't know is that the kooky siblings from whom he rents the "black room" are after blood and not his rent!
This is a quirky and unique low-budget film that delivers in some areas.
It manages to go from creepy to sizzling hot to awkwardly funny from scene to scene.
The acting is excellent for a low budget-80s film, especially by the four relatively unknown leads.
Jimmy Stathis (Larry) manages to pull off loving father and husband in some scenes and complete sleazeball in others.
He's a character that is difficult to root for (and even watch at times), but thankfully he isn't the only protagonist in the film.
His wife (played by the fantastic Clara Perryman) smiles and laughs along with Larry's kinky fantasies that don't involve her, which is an aspect of the story that comes across as silly considering she knows that he really does have this "black room." But once the story gets going and she becomes more involved with the plot, it's easy to get past this.
The demented landlord sibs steal every scene they're in.
Stephen Knight is believably lecherous and Cassandra Gava is both sexy and insane as his caretaker and BDSM-loving sister.
The atmosphere, especially in the titular room, is eerie and alluring.
The score is inventive and one of the movie's high points.
So while some of the plot premises are a bit brow-raising, and the horror in the film didn't seem to fully lift off, this is an original and steamy genre movie in which I found enough things to enjoy.
Look for Christopher McDonald and Linnea Quigley in small roles..
Damn, those good old days.
This movie is something weird.
This movie is something weird.
It is made in 84, full slasher period.
But this isn't a slasher, I even don't know were to place it.
Face it, the first minutes all you see is nudity.
Due the fact that it is an OOP it is even harder to see it unless you live over here in Europe were it became available as an freebee on the Bloodstained Romance DVD, but even that one is a hard to get already.
So I thought, is this a soft erotic flick or what, because the cover is a nude girl looking towards a camera.
After a while when a person hire a room, the black one, to cheat on his wife it becomes clear what it's all about, but again, first you will have to watch a nude girl dancing and doing weird stuff.
It's when the tenant brings his first hooker with him that the film changes into a horror flick.
Once his wife gets to know what the black room is it changes a bit into a revenge (sexual) movie.
Again, weird scene's are shown, the score is creepy too and more and more you will get to know the why and who about the brother and sister hiring the black room.
At the end you will be surprised again about the brother and sister...weird story, strange editing, creepy score ( a lot of delay on voices...).
but the other reason why people want to see it is because Linnea Quigley is in it, but she's only 5 minutes in it and stays dressed.
Still, worth watching..
Vampiric blood transfusion..
The titular Black Room is the room where some of the darkest sexual fantasies are brought to life.It's candle-lit and secretly hidden in the mansion of doom.Brother and sister Jason and Brigette rent it for sexually adventurous people.Unfortunately Jason has a rare blood disease and he needs fresh blood transfusions in order to stay alive.The murderous duo kills most of the people who rent the Black Room and drain them of their blood.Their next victims are going to be Larry and Robin-a married couple with two kids."The Black Room" is an erotic and suitably dark horror film with some nudity and graphic gore including Bridgette's neck stabbing by Robin in the finale.Linnea Quigley has a small cameo as a babysitter.8 blood transfusions out of 10..
An effectively creepy and perverse low-budget 80's horror vampire sleeper.
Sleazy and bored hubby Larry (well played by Jimmy Stathis) ain't too happy with his marriage to his neglected wife Robin (a fine and touching performance by Clara Perryman).
Larry decides to rent a creepy black room in a swanky Hollywood Hills mansion from the strange Jason (muscular Stephen Knight) and his equally odd, but alluring sister Bridget (the strikingly lovely and exotic Cassandra Gaviola) in order to put some much-needed pizazz back into his dreary love life.
Larry uses the room to have sex with young ladies.
Unbeknownst to Larry, Jason in turn drains the young women of their blood and shoots up their precious life fluid with a needle.
Ably directed by Elly Kenner and Norman Thaddeus Vane (the latter also wrote and directed the strictly so-so "Frightmare"), with solid acting from the entire cast (Linnea Quigley has a nifty small role as a near victim babysitter towards the end of the movie), a compellingly bizarre and twisted story, a genuinely spooky atmosphere, several aberrant touches (Jason and Bridget like to spy on Larry as he's doing just what you think with the girls he picks up), and a harrowing conclusion, this pleasingly offbeat, inspired and unjustly overlooked low-budget horror sleeper deserves to be both better known and more widely seen by fans of enjoyably deviant outré cinema..
Disappointing, dull and almost unwatchable.
"The Black Room" is an incredibly bad and dull film without much going for it.**SPOILERS**Finding a new apartment, Larry, (Jimmy Stathis) decides to buy it and turn it into a bachelor pad, hiding it from Robin, (Clara Perryman) his wife.
When landlords Jason, (Stephen Knight) and Bridget, (Cassandra Gava) question him on the purchase, he uses it as a place to sleep with a multitude of women hitchhikers he picks up.
When she hears about the place, she doesn't think much of the stories and think it's just a bunch of stories.
Soon afterward, a series of strange disappearances plague the women who have visited the place, but they ignore it and decide to focus on their marriage and continue on with bringing people over to visit.
Finally realizing that the landlords are murdering the women who visit as a means to acquire blood for transfusions to fix his blood-disease, they try to stop them before it's too late.The Good News: There's hardly anything worthwhile about this one.
The fact that the film's lone action scene in the middle of the film comes from a rather nice chase scene is to be commended, as there's a couple good things about it.
The fact that it's a rather energetic scene with the different characters going out after it through the woods, and it makes for an effective atmosphere.
The sleaze factor here is also rather nice, with the way it manages to create an icky feeling with the relationship it creates with them, as well as the general fact of what they're doing offering up some rather nice sleaze.
The last bit in here that works is the film's nicely done climax, which is where the main action occurs.
From the chase through the house to the different stalk-and-slash tactics used, it offers up some interest.
Further helping it is the film's only real gore scenes, which aren't much to talk about but at least it offers up something.
These here are all that work for the film.The Bad News: This is a terribly dull and completely worthless horror entry.
The fact that there's hardly any horror at all in the film is the biggest and most damaging prospect, effectively making it so dull and lifeless that the film does almost nothing at all during it's running time.
The fact that it rests so much on it's relationships rather than it's horror is where it falls foul, making them the central point when they aren't that good or exciting to begin with.
The sibling angle is so lamely done it's still up in the air at the end of the film, as it seems to incorporate aspects of both a brother-sister bond as well as an incestuous air between them in certain scenes.
The other angle with the marriage-on-the-rocks story is not that much better, full of never-ending scenes that are purely not that scary at all.
That's the film's biggest problem, nothing in here is considered scary, and here, what happens between them is exactly that, not that great at providing anything to counter the boredom these non-horror sequences create.
None of them are there for the best of what makes the film entertaining or interesting, and just make the film incredibly dull to sit through.
The amount of time spent on those angles are nothing worthwhile at all, providing no scenes of value and just continuing a storyline that isn't all to concerned with horror aspects at all.
That also means that we don't get anything remotely close to the horror genre until the end, with only a mildly interesting chase scene to provide the goods until then.
The scares are missing, the gore is non-existent until the end, and the kills are relegated to simply being just the scenes of the victim being drained of blood.
It leaves such a bad aftertaste that there's almost no need for it.
Even the fact that it's a sleazy-feeling film is neutered by the fact that it's only in one scene, and despite all the different scenes in here that provided opportunity to do so, it doesn't offer anything up, making the film even more of a cheat and providing even more flaws to hate against it.The Final Verdict: An unbearably slow and dull film that barely has anything worthwhile, or even remotely horror-based about it.
It should really be avoided at all costs unless this sort of sleazy thriller is appealing, but for any other sort of style this one should be ignored and forgotten.Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence, Nudity, several sex scenes and drug use.
Pretty twisted Horror film, that has a few good moments here and there, with some creepy Blood transfusion scenes, however it's just too dull for it's own good.
Pretty twisted Horror film, that has a few good moments here and there, with some creepy Blood transfusion scenes, however it's just too dull for it's own good.
All the characters are OK, and the story while had a lot of potential is rather dull, however the blood transfusion scenes looked frighteningly real, and as a result they were extremely disturbing.
It's well made and decently written, and it started out really interesting, but it just couldn't keep up the pace, plus I found the ending to be disappointing.
Linnea Quigley has no more then a very small role in this so, I was also disappointed about that, and Stephen Knight does a good job as the lead, as he was pretty twisted, plus I got this in a DVD Horror set called A Taste Of Evil, along with a bunch of other Horror films.
There is lots of blood,however it's not all that gory, and for it's low budget it was pretty well done, however as I said it just couldn't sustain it's interest.
This is a pretty twisted Horror film, that has a few good moments here and there, with some creepy blood transfusion scenes, however it's just too dull for it's own good, I would pass,but I guess it's worth a watch if you have nothing better to do.
The Direction is OK.
Elly Kenner&Norman Thaddeus Vane do an OK job here with decent camera work, and doing a good job on it's low budget, however the pace is too inconsistent for my liking.
The Acting is actually alright.
Stephen Knight is great as the lead, he was creepy, twisted, sick, and gave a very creepy performance, the most creepy thing about it though was he seemed like a normal person.
Linnea Quigley did well in her small role.
Christopher McDonald is OK I guess sin his short time.
Rest of the cast are OK as well.
Overall I would pass, but I guess it's worth a watch if you have nothing absolutely better to do. |
tt0031951 | Son of Frankenstein | The movie opens with the Universal Pictures globe and star logo and theme song; Title and credits follow. The scene opens with a view of the small village of Frankenstein and the castle high on a hill in the background. An "Eingang Verboten" sign warns all to stay away from the castle, but Ygor (Bela Lugosi) stares out from a second story window. The village council meets to discuss a matter regarding the Frankenstein heir. While Inspector Krogh (Lionel Atwill) looks on, the Burgomaster (Lawrence Grant) informs the assembled, "The old Baron Frankenstein gave me this chest of papers to deliver to his son, and deliver it I shall." The other Burghers (Gustav von Seyfferitz, Lorimer Johnston, and Tom Ricketts) express their opposition to any further association with the Frankensteins who have brought death and disrepute to the village. The Burgomaster assures his colleagues he agrees with their sentiments, but he intends to meet with the Baron's son at the train station and give him his father's papers, as promised. Elsa von Frankenstein (Josephine Hutchinson) tucks her young son's blanket around him on the train. Young Peter (Donnie Dunagan) is anxious to see his nanny, Amelia, again. Elsa joins her husband, Wolf (Basil Rathbone) in the adjoining railway compartment. She notes, as she looks out the window, "What a strange-looking country." Wolf replies, "Not much like America, is it?" It is a dark scene of dead trees. The pair are excited about their new life, joking about what the castle is like. Elsa speculates about a haunted room, and Wolf assures her, "Yes, there's sure to be a haunted room. The castle itself is supposed to be haunted...because of the things my father did there." The tone turns somber as Wolf recounts the story of the creation of the creature and the death and destruction that followed, all as the result of the blunder by his assistant, Ygor.It is pouring rain when the train pulls into Frankenstein. Wolf is greeted by the Burgomeister, the members of the council, and most of the inhabitants of the village. When Wolf tries to explain that his father was a great man and that he is sorry for the tragedy that followed, the villagers wander away. A car takes the family to the castle. The servants assist the family inside. Peter runs to see his nanny, Amelia (Emma Dunn). Benson (Edgar Norton) takes the Baron's coat. Amelia takes Peter upstairs to bed. Elsa expresses her mixed emotions about the castle then walks upstairs to join Amelia in putting Peter to bed. Wolf asks about the new servants. Benson tells the Baron that the servants are Tyrolean, "None of the people of the province would serve here, no matter what I offered to pay them." Wolf walks into the library with Benson. He sees a portrait of his father on the wall. The Baron opens the box of papers and reads the note his father left for him, "Herein you will find my faiths, my beliefs, and my unfoldments. A complete diary of my experiments, charts and secret formulas. In short, the sum total of my knowledge, such as it is. Perhaps you will regard my work with ridicule or even with distaste. If so, destroy these records. But if you, like me, burn with the irresistible desire to penetrate the unknown, carry on, even though the path is cruel and tortuous, carry on. Like every seeker after truth, you will be hated, blasphemed and condemned." Out in the rain, Ygor stares in at the Baron in the library.Up in Peter's room, the little boy says his prayers as Amelia and his mother look on. Elsa goes to her room and prepares for bed. In the village the wagon with the Baron's crated goods is stoned by the villagers. Inspector Krogh pays a visit to the castle. He meets with the Baron. [Note: The manipulation of his wooden arm was beautifully parodied by Kenneth Mars in Young Frankenstein.] Krogh tells the Baron he will be protected while in the castle, "As long as you continue to live in this place, you're in danger." The Baron demands proof of the monster's reign of destruction. He is unaware of Krogh's encounter, but is told by the Inspector himself. While cleaning his monocle, Krogh recounts his childhood encounter with the monster and the loss of his arm, "One does not easily forget, Herr Baron, an arm torn out by the roots." Krogh explains that there have been six mysterious deaths in the village and all are unsolved. Despite the Baron's insistence he needs no protection, Krogh assures him he will respond to any call for assistance. Upon his exit, Krogh is introduced to Elsa who invites him to dinner. Up in his room, young Peter sleeps through the thunder and lightning. Ygor spies on the boy from a hidden room behind a wooden panel.The next morning, Peter joins his parents at breakfast. Wolf walks over to the remains of the laboratory to explore it. The lab is a shambles of broken equipment. He peers down into a bubbling lake of sulphur-laden mud. Ygor pushes a stone down towards the Baron, but it misses its mark. Wolf orders Ygor down at the point of his rifle. When Wolf threatens to turn Ygor over to Krogh, Ygor explains he is already dead. He tells the Baron he was hanged once, which left him with a broken neck and he was declared dead. Ygor opens a door of stones and takes the Baron down into the bowels of the lab into the family crypt. To his amazement, the Baron sees the monster (Boris Karloff) lying on a slab. He thinks it is just the dead body of the creature and touches its hand. When the hand moves, the Baron recoils and exclaims, "He's alive!" Ygor explains the creature is sick, struck earlier by lightning. Ygor explains that the creature is, in a way, the Baron's brother and he wants him cured. Wolf is intrigued by the challenge.The village council demands to know what is going on at the castle. Krogh tries to reassure the council and agrees to bring in Ygor to explain his role at the castle. The Baron has rebuilt the lab with his own and repaired equipment left by his father. He hauls the monster up to the lab and places it on the table. Later, the Baron and Benson arrive at the lab to begin work. The Baron carries his father's notes in the case, but Ygor refuses to let Benson into the lab. The Baron assures Ygor that his help is required and vouches for his servant's discretion. The Baron examines the creature while Benson records the notes. Wolf is amazed by what he discovers, especially that two bullets are lodged in the creatures heart, yet it still lives.Ygor is questioned by the village council and the Burgomaster. Ewald Neumuller (Michael Mark) asks Ygor, "Has he asked you to rob and graves? To get him a body?" The council threatens Ygor to cooperate or they will see a better job of executing him for his crimes. Lang (Lionel Belmore) served on the first jury and with Neumuller found Ygor guilty and sentenced him to death. Ygor is dismissed and returns to the castle. The Baron and Benson discuss the process that gave the creature life--namely cosmic rays, "These rays are actually the source of life itself." Returning to the lab, the Baron is torn between his impulse to destroy the monster and his scientific quest to restore it back to conscious life. The Baron fires up the electrical equipment and restores the creature for a few seconds, but it lapses back into coma.Krogh stops by the castle and enjoys tea with the Baroness. She explains that her husband is engaged with an experiment, but she has no details. The Baron, back from a walk, joins the pair for tea. Peter joins the family and asks about Krogh's arm. He mentions being awakened from a nap by a giant. His mother and Amelia attribute it to an active imagination, but the Baron and Krogh register surprise and concern on their faces--one knows and the other suspects this is not the imagination of a child, but reality. The Baron carries his son back to his room and asks about the giant. His son's description of the giant so alarms the Baron that he bolts from the room. Krogh confronts the Baron on his way back to the lab. Wolf discovers the lab table empty, the monster gone, and searches for it calling for Ygor the whole time. Up from the sulphur pit the creature crawls and grabs the Baron. It reacts to its own reflection in a mirror. Ygor finally joins the pair and explains, "You make him well with your lightning. After you go, he get up and walk. Now he's all right again." Ygor reassures the creature that the Baron is a good man, and instructs the Baron never to touch him again. Upon his return to the residence, the Baron informs Benson that the creature is alive and admits to a cold fear of it. Ygor spies on the Baron and overhears the Baron's plan to continue his experimental work and send his family away for their own safety.Ygor plans to use the monster to extract a little personal revenge. He sends the creature after Herr Neumuller. The creature follows his wagon and waylays the man. It stages a wagon accident while Ygor plays a mournful tune on his flute. The Inspector joins the Baron and Baroness for dinner. Fritz (Perry Ivins) serves dinner in Benson's absence. A caller, one of the Inspector's men, tells Fritz that there has been an accident in the village. Krogh departs and Wolf goes to find Benson. Ygor tells the Baron that Benson came to see the creature then ran away.Krogh attends a coroner's inquest. The doctor explains that Neumuller must have fallen asleep and fallen off his wagon. The wheels crushed his legs and chest. The widow, Frau Neumuller (Caroline Francis Cooke) is present and distraught. Krogh dismisses the council of Burghers and tells them he will make out the death certificate with Dr. Burgher (an uncredited Clarence Wilson). Krogh suggests the neck and heart be examined. Ygor is waiting outside the shop of Emil Lang, he is the town apothecary. Back at the castle, Wolf and his wife retire for the night. Elsa asks about Benson, and then admits to being afraid. Ygor plays his flute while the creature walks to Lang's shop. In shadow we see the creature kill Lang.The next morning the angry villagers assemble and then walk to the castle. Krogh stops at the castle to inquire on the whereabouts of Benson. Wolf explains that his wife and son will be leaving for, "a slight holiday." Krogh explains that another mysterious death has occurred and that the Baron and his family should stay put at the castle. The mob arrives at the castle gate. As the crowd mills about outside, the Inspector and the Baron go inside to talk. Krogh goes up to see Peter in his room and asks about the giant. Peter shows Krogh a watch the giant gave him. It is Benson's engraved pocket watch. When Amelia returns the three walk downstairs for some hot chocolate. Elsa starts to suspect strange goings on. Krogh is called away and Wolf returns to the lab. He discovers the cave just off the sulphur pit and finds the sleeping monster. He picks up a rock and attempts to dispatch the creature but is stopped by Ygor. Ygor admits to having Neumuller and Lang disposed of by the creature. Meanwhile the ugly crowd outside the castle gate gets more unruly. Krogh returns to the castle. He finds the Baron in the Library playing darts. He explains, "My business tonight is official, not social." The Baron continues to throw darts at the board while the Inspector tells of another death--this time it is Lang. Wolf sarcastically asks if it was his father's creation, or perhaps one he whipped up. Finally, Krogh admits, "I promised your arrest to the villagers to keep them quiet...for the moment." He also admits searching the laboratory, but found nothing incriminating. He suspects Benson is dead and plans to hold the Baron as responsible. The Baron departs to remove Ygor from the estate and Krogh goes up to Peter's room. The Baron confronts Ygor with a gun and shoots and kills the man in self-defense. Krogh finds the switch that opens the wall. He enters the passage and finds Benson's dead body. In the lab, the creature finds Ygor's dead body and mourns. Krogh returns to the library. The Baron admits to killing Ygor, "He tried to murder me with his hammer, so I shot him. What are you gonna do about it?" Krogh demands to know where the monster is located. The monster carries Ygor's body to the crypt, then departs looking for revenge. He destroys the lab then seeks out the boy via the secret passage to Peter's room. The monster attacks Amelia while Krogh and the Baron play darts. It is Krogh's turn and he pokes his darts into his wooden arm, then throws the darts one at a time at the board. Elsa discovers Amelia and that her son is missing. The creature escorts Peter to the pit. He picks the child up and holds him over the pit. Peter is unafraid. For some unknown reason the creature places Peter on the ladder, and the two climb up to the lab. Krogh climbs up the ladder and confronts the creature. It pulls Krogh's wooden arm off and brandishes same. Krogh empties his service revolver into the monster, but with no effect. The monster steps on Peter while the Baron enters the lab from above. The Baron swings down on a rope and kicks the monster into the bubbling pit. The Baron picks up his son and they look down into the bubbling and flaming pit below.At the train station the next day, the Baron and his family prepare to depart. Wolf tells the crowd, "Herewith I deed to you the castle and the estate of Frankenstein. Do with them what you will. And may happiness and peace of mind be restored to you all. Good bye." We close with the family on the train car as it pulls away from the station and the cast credits. | revenge, gothic, murder | train | imdb | Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone), Henry's son, is on his way to claim his inheritance from his father, and receives a not-too-warm welcome from the small German town that has been frightened out of its wits by Henry's doings with monsters.
Lee has everything played various seriously, even Bela Lugosi's Ygor, which could have easily become funny, intentionally so or not.Adding to the atmosphere are the sets, which are just as grand in their own way as anything in either of Whale's two Frankenstein films.
Lionel Atwill, as Inspector Krogh, easily holds his own with the trio (although any fan of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974) is sure to laugh at occasional moments involving Krogh, since he is so perfectly spoofed in Brooks' film), as does the beautiful Josephine Hutchinson as Frankenstein's wife Elsa (named after the woman who played The Bride in the previous film, Elsa Lanchester) and Donnie Dunagan as their son Peter.Lugosi's Ygor was supposedly improvised then written into the film--Lugosi was originally slated to play a policeman.
This time Henry Frankenstein's son, Wolf (Basil Rathbone) revives the dormant monster with the help of Ygor (Bela Lugosi, in his most underrated performance).
Star billing goes to Basil Rathbone as Baron Wolf Von Frankenstein, the son of the scientist who brought nothing but misery in the German town, but the scene stealer in this production happens to be Bela Lugosi, almost unrecognizable as the bearded character of Ygor, possibly his best performance in his latter day career.
Then there is Lionel Atwill, another horror film veteran, making his debut in the series, playing a one armed police inspector, another interesting presence to the story.The story, set in a Gothic German village, finds Wolf Von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone) returning by train to the town where his parents once lived.
Ygor is also the master of the Monster (Karloff), who "does things for him." His coma condition happens to be a result of an aftereffect of being struck by lightning, and Ygor calls on Wolf to help revive the monster."Son of Frankenstein" is more of a science fiction nature than horror, since the movie spends a great deal of footage in the laboratory having Frankenstein examining his father's creation and how this physical being has survived such ordeals after finding his heart containing two bullets, etc.
While Colin Clive's Frankenstein character allowed himself to become hysterical in the first two entries, viewers expect and accept this, but when Rathbone's character calls for him to do the same, especially during the dart playing sequence with Krough, this somewhat becomes embarrassing to sit through, in spite that Rathbone is a very capable actor who seldom overacts as he does here.While not on the same scale as James Whale's earlier carnations of the Frankenstein films, "Son of Frankenstein" is still watchable, mainly because of its Universal staff players, and added sound effects of thunder and lightning, as well as very moody setting made to the comforts of home for the Frankenstein family.
Once again, Karloff played the monster (for the last time in the movies) and here he was brilliantly supported by the finest horror cast ever assembled: Bela Lugosi (who for once has a decent-sized rolebuilt up by director/producer Leewhich he plays with admirable intensity); Basil Rathbone (supremely jittery as the misguided baron, Rathbone plays the heir with a clipped, compelling authority that is both convincing yet sympathetic); and Lionel Atwill (probably his most memorable part as the punctilious police inspector who uses his wooden arm as a grotesque prop).Although the monster doesn't enter for some time, the atmospheric build-up is absolutely terrific.
It has a Heavy, Weighty Appeal with a Handsome, Gothic, Expressionistic Mounting and a Number of Fine, Melodramatic Performances from the Period's Iconic Horror Actors.Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lionel Atwill all Deliver Outstanding Characters that Come to Life and give the Picture a Rich Atmosphere of Living-Dread.
Ygor takes Wolf to the comatose body of the monster (Boris Karloff) his father created and the son decides to follow in his father's footsteps by reviving the creature.The third film in Universal's Frankenstein series and the first without James Whale.
He gets that chance when the hunchbacked Igor leads him to the monster.The two roles that are unforgettable in Son Of Frankenstein are Bela Lugosi as Igor and Lionel Atwill as the one armed inspector Krogh.
If you like Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, the classic Universal Monsters, great black and white movies, and horror films then I strongly recommend that you check out this film today!.
Howard Maxford says that this film is sometimes unintentionally funny due to Mel Brooks, and I presume that the character of Krogh is what he has in mind when he says that.Mike Mayo correctly says "the acting carries the film", with Lugosi "seldom better", Karloff "excellent", and Rathbone and Atwill "never upstaged." This film is widely considered to be the last good Universal Frankenstein film, before following "the sad path to the Abbott and Costello travesty", to quote Ivan Butler.
In addition, the living corpse of Ygor, played by Bela Lugosi (Dracula) keeps a close eye on his half-living, half-dead companion and uses the new Dr. Frankenstein to return life to the green-skinned creature."Son of Frankenstein" is not a very significant horror movie and is not in the same league as the first two movies of the series, but in comparison to a great many of the sequels that followed, it does stand out as one of the few passable entries.
First off you got Basil Rathbone,, one of the horror greats in here, as Wolf Frankenstein,, then of course you got Bela Lugosi, as Ygor the hunchback assistant,, and last but certainly not least the Monster,, Boris Karloff, also note that this is the last time that Boris plays the monster,, in later films,, it's Lon Chaney,, but this film is wonderful,, i loved the sets,, the shadows,, how dark everything was,, the inspector in this one,, reminds me of a modern day Columbo,, but kinda different,, i loved all of the secret rooms,, and ways that Wolf,, and the Monster, just seemed to sneak around that big house,, This is a wonderful addition to the first two movies,, just a hair below the first two,, but nonetheless very good indeed for all horror fans of all ages a definite must for anyone's collection..
It's a curious thing, watching "Son of Frankenstein." The Frankenstein Monster, played by Boris Karloff for the last time, has comparatively little screen time -- we see him in the lab, menacing Wolf Frankenstein, doing Ygor's bidding, then going on his final rampage.
Lee and starring Basil Rathbone as Baron Frankenstein, Boris Karloff as The Monster (his last turn as the creature), Lionel Atwill as Inspector Krogh and Bela Lugosi as Ygor.
That's quite a cast list, add in a sharp script from Willis Cooper and the stunning sets from Russell Gausman, and you got a sequel that's well worth its salt.Following on from Bride Of Frankenstein (25 years later), the film sees son of Frankenstein Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Rathbone) return to the family home and scene of his fathers monstrosities.
Wolf then becomes obsessed with bringing the monster back to full life, thus to prove his father had the right intention but not the execution of his ideas.It's a ripper of a sequel is this, perhaps lacking in the humour that James Whale brought to the first two films, it is however a well constructed feature boasting great performances from Rathbone (the part was originally planned for Peter Lorre), Lionel Atwill (having a riot with his false arm) and Lugosi (possibly a career high in terms of substance).
Lee takes a weak script and gives it flesh and form with wonderful set design that definitely pay homage to the expressionist German movement that inspired Universal horror movies since their beginning.Boris Karloff repeats the role of the monster and a brilliant addition to the cast is the inclusion of legendary actor Basil Rathbone as Baron Wolf Von Frankenstein, the son of Henry Frankenstein who returns to home only to find his father's creation.
Lee never shows any of these "tender" moments between the monster & Peter on camera, but does give us the on-screen visual of the monster contemplating throwing the boy into a boiling sulphur pit (?!).Despite my criticisms of the monster's role, there's also much in this sequel to praise, starting with the man (who in spite of his third billing) is the real star of the film, "Bela Lugosi" as the sly & cunning Ygor who manipulates the young Baron into reviving the monster so he can continue his revenge against the eight jurors who sent him to the gallows.
Basil Rathbone does a fine job with his leading role as the somewhat naive Baron whose good intentions to clear his father's name go all wrong & doing a bit of his own scene-stealing is Lionel Atwill, who became a regular staple of the Frankenstein movies.
With this growing tension...just throw in the Frankenstein Monster (Boris Karloff) and a twisted blacksmith named Ygor (Bela Lugosi) making this one of best horror pictures ever made.
This film would have never worked, these 2 characters along with Rathbone as Wolf Frankenstein and of course The Monster, Boris Karloff.
Wolf then sets about reviving the monster, but Ygor instead uses him as an instrument of revenge against those who "wronged" him, leading to a violent showdown near the sulfur pits still bubbling in the lab...Well directed and designed film, featuring Boris Karloff's last performance as the monster, also has a good story and superb score.
Lee and the writer Wyllis Cooper) wisely added their own peculiar humor as well and created yet another excellent film, joining "Bride" on that short list of great pointless sequels.The son (Basil Rathbone) of Henry Frankenstein has returned with his wife and young boy to the village where his father had created a monster (Boris Karloff), which turned murderous, thus blackening the name of Frankenstein among the villagers and making the prodigal son a pariah.
Wolf Frankenstein becomes obsessed with his father's legacy; and when he discovers through a broken-necked freak named Ygor (Bela Lugosi) that the monster lives on in a coma, he decides to revive him."Son of
" has three memorably eccentric performances.
This richness extends to the delightful if overlong script and the outstanding performances of the four stars: Basil Rathbone is an intellectual but edgy Frankenstein (I find his overacting here intoxicating and, quite honestly, one of the undoubted highlights of the film - pity he seemed not to care enough for the role to warrant a mention in his autobiography!); much has been said, too, about Karloff's lack of purpose this time around: I disagree, as he has plenty of opportunities to shine (particularly the mirror scene with Rathbone and his final rampage, certainly among the best bits of acting he's ever done!) and, in any case, he's always fascinating to watch in that make-up - and the sheepskin he wears throughout is an added treat; Bela Lugosi manages to steal the picture with a surprisingly fine turn as Ygor, a great characterization in any film but pitted against Rathbone's histrionics and alongside Karloff's semi-comatose monster (acting as an evil influence upon it, much as Ernest Thesiger had in BRIDE), he is extremely effective - in fact, Lugosi and Karloff's rapport here echoes the one the latter shared with Brember Wills in James Whale's masterful THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932) and which sadly wasn't replicated in the next entry, THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942), with the monster now played by Lon Chaney Jr.!; Lionel Atwill has his best role in a Universal horror film as one-armed Inspector Krogh - which rather typecast him from then on as a figure of authority!
- but, again, his scenes with Rathbone are to be relished (notably the celebrated game of darts), developing from protectiveness towards the Baron to admiration, suspicion and, ultimately, sacrifice!The rest of the cast features series staples like Lionel Belmore and Michael Mark but also horror regulars like Edgar Norton and Gustav von Seyffertitz; Josephine Hutchinson is okay as the current Baroness Frankenstein but Donnie Dunagan's acting as the couple's son is an abomination and, while Karloff's impulse to throw him into the sulphur pit at the bottom of the laboratory - in retaliation for Lugosi's killing by Rathbone - may be construed as a bit extreme, the child nonetheless would have deserved just that fate for his irritating performance alone!
This time, young Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone) shows up to claim his family castle, where the maniacal Ygor (Bela Lugosi) has set up shop.
(Rathbone was 47 when this movie was made.) He meets up with Ygor (Played by Bela Lugosi, who turned down the role of the Monster in 1931) a hunchback hanged for assisting the original Frankenstein.
Ygor knows more about the fate of the monster (Boris Karloff) than anyone else, but sharing this knowledge with Wolf comes at a steep price.I almost titled this review "Bela Basil and Boris Oh My" until I realized that shortchanges the best performance in the film, Lionel Atwill's as Inspector Krogh.
Lee, Novel: Mary Shelley, Script: Wyllis Cooper, Cast: Basil Rathbone (Baron Von Frankenstein), Boris Karloff (Monster), Bela Lugosi (Ygor), Lionel Atwill (Insp.
"Son of Frankenstein" is certainly a worthy sequel to the previous Frankenstein installment, "The Bride of Frankenstein." In addition to Boris Karloff's final appearance as the Monster, we are treated to one of Bela Lugosi's greatest performances as the mysterious, broken-necked Ygor.
The last great Universal monster movie and representing the close of the 1930s golden age of horror films, "Son of Frankenstein" is an interesting deviation from its predecessors helmed by James Whale.
The Frankenstein saga continues on third movie where the Universal Studio make your main trademake,monsters and relatives stuffs,in this movie follow the same success's formula starting where the previous one left off,creating the same spooky atmosphere,large sets stage to making the whole concept still alive in the fabulous black and white scary monocromatic color,instead to see Boris Karloff shines here we have Bela Lugosi stealing the entire show in certainly one best acting or nearly,without forget the remain cast in particular way Lionel Atwill as the funny inspector Krogh whom the movie's success deserve too much your great and remarkable performance noticed for many!!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.25.
And don't even get me started about the immense proportions of the castle's door knockers!With Rathbone and Lugosi joined by fellow horror legend Lionel Atwill (as the village's one-armed police inspector Krogh) and, of course, Boris Karloff as the Monster, the film is an unabashed treat for classic monster movie fans, one that revels in its Gothic excess, with secret passageways, a bubbling sulphur pit, a laboratory full of crazy electrical machinery, and—as if you needed to be told—an angry mob of locals waving pitchforks and torches.
Add to that fine performances from Rathbone, Karloff, Lugosi and especially Atwill as the bitter but dutifull Police Inspector you have what is the most literate Universal film in the Frankenstein series.
It has been ages since I saw this film so I recently bought it on DVD.I have read several reviews of this by renowned critics and it is almost universally praised.I watched the movie very recently and felt a tinge of disappointment with what I saw.The film is actually quite boring a lot of the time with lots of talking and very little action.It is the longest of the three Karloff Frankenstein movies and it definitely suffers because of this.The story is stretched out and it drags.The acting is generally OK.Basil Rathbone is not too bad as Baron Wolf though he doesn't convince as much when he approaches near mania towards the end of the movie.Lionel Atwill clearly has a ball as Krogh but the false arm story is overcooked a little.The best performance comes from Bela Lugosi as Ygor but he too seemed to be bordering on pantomime villain at times.One of the biggest weaknesses here though are any scenes where child actor Donnie Dunagan has any dialogue.He is awful and you can feel the unease of the actors every time he has something to say.I don't know what the makers were thinking giving him so much to say as he obviously struggled at times and it was a relief when he had actually got his lines out.It isn't all bad.The sets are fantastic and it is great to see Boris Karloff again as the monster.It must be said though that in this film he really doesn't have too much to do except obey the orders of Ygor.In the first 'Frankenstein' the monster really did look like the walking dead.In 'Bride Of Frankenstein' the monster showed a more human side but here he is almost robot like and absolutely nothing is added to the character.There are a couple of good scenes with the monster.When he compares his face with Baron Wolfs and you can sense the anguish of the monster and the scenes where the Baron gives the monster a medical are interesting and well done.This isn't a terrible movie at all but it falls well short of the first two.Then again,they were a hell of a lot to live up to..
Son of Frankenstein (1939) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Third film in Universal's Frankenstein series has Basil Rathbone playing the son of the original doctor who returns to his father's castle where he runs into the broken necked Ygor (Bela Lugosi) who has befriended the sick monster (Boris Karloff).
SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) *** Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill. |
tt0420332 | Veer-Zaara | Most of the story is revealed as a flashback to 1982 from the prison cell of Veer Pratap Singh. The narrative begins by showing Zaara Haayat Khan (Preity Zinta), an independent, carefree, and sprightly young Pakistani girl travelling to India. Her family is of a political background and a well known family of Lahore. She is on her way to India with the ashes of her Sikh governess Bebe (a Punjabi word to denote mother or grandmother, but here used for Zaara's old governess). Before dying, Bebe (Zohra Sehgal) begs Zaara to fulfill her final wish - to take her ashes to India, to the holy Sikh city of Kiratpur, and scatter them in the Sutlej river, among her ancestors. Zaara decides to carry out Bebe's dying wish.
Upon reaching India, Zaara's bus has an accident causing it to overturn. An Indian Air Force pilot, Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) comes to her rescue and with his help, Zaara completes Bebe's final rites. Veer convinces Zaara to return with him to his village to spend one day together. Zaara agrees and Veer takes her on a tour of India. They visit Veer's home village on the day of the Lohri festival and meet Veer's uncle Choudhary Sumer Singh (Amitabh Bachchan) and aunt Saraswati Kaur (Hema Malini). With his uncle telling Veer that, in a dream he has seen Zaara becoming Veer's wife, Veer realises he is falling in love with Zaara. Taking her to catch her train to Lahore, Veer is just waiting for the right time to tell Zaara about his feelings, but before he can do that they are met by Zaara's fiance, who has come looking for her, Raza Sharazi (Manoj Bajpayee). Just before she boards the train, Veer confesses his love to Zaara. He gets no sense of Zaara's feelings, but as she is leaving he discovers he still has one of her silver anklets. She nods for him to keep it; both believe that this is the end of the road for their relationship and that they will probably never meet again.
On reaching Pakistan, Zaara realises that she is having deep feelings of love for Veer, but that it is her duty to keep her family's honour and marry her fiancé, a wedding that will further her father's political career. She initially tells her mother of an Indian man who is ready to give his life for her and for whom she has fallen for. But her mother becomes angry at hearing it. Soon Zaara starts to see Veer everywhere and finally tells Shabbo (Divya Dutta), her maid and friend, that she has fallen in love with him. Shabbo calls Veer and tells him how miserable Zaara is without him. She asks him to come and take Zaara away. Veer who had told Zaara that he would give up his life for her, quits the Indian Air Force and goes to Pakistan to bring her back with him to India. Zaara's mother, Mariam Hayaat Khan (Kirron Kher), however, begs him to leave Zaara as Zaara's father, Jahangir Hayaat Khan (Boman Irani) is a high-profile politician whose reputation, and health, will be ruined if news gets out that his daughter is in love with an Indian. Veer respects this request and decides to leave for India but Raza, who is outraged by the shame Zaara has brought upon him, frames Veer and has him wrongly imprisoned on charges of being an Indian spy.
The story moves forward to 2004 and Veer now meets Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukerji), who is an idealistic Pakistani lawyer, whose mission in life is to pave the path for women's empowerment in Pakistan. The Pakistani government has decided to review the cases of some Indians, but stacking the deck against Siddiqui winning her first case, she has been given the case of prisoner 786 (Veer). Many view it as an impossible task as the man has been languishing in prison and has not spoken to anyone for the last 22 years. Also, the prosecution is led by Zakir Ahmed (Anupam Kher), her ex-boss who has never lost a case.
Veer opens up to Saamiya and tells her that she can fight his case but cannot mention, much less subpoena, Zaara's family. The number 786 is considered by some Muslims to be a holy number in Islam; this convinces Saamiya that God has chosen Veer for some special purpose, and she becomes even more determined to exonerate him, restore his name and identity, and return him to his country.
After the prosecution presents it case, Saamiya realises she must cross the border and find someone in Veer's village who can prove Veer's true identity. There, Saamiya meets Zaara and Shabbo, who had fled to India and have taken over running the girls' school after the deaths of Veer's uncle and aunt. She had thought that Veer died on his bus that ran off a cliff, killing everyone on its way to India. Saamiya takes Zaara back to Pakistan to tell the court the truth about Veer's identity. The judge releases Veer from prison and apologises on behalf of Pakistan. After Veer is finally released, he and Zaara say goodbye to Saamiya and Pakistan at the Wagah border crossing, returning to their village together. The story states two lovers always find their way no matter how difficult it is and destiny will always put you together. | romantic | train | wikipedia | These feelings reflect upon the plot so brilliantly, making this movie Shah Rukh Khan's second best performance, following behind Kal Ho Naa Ho. The Late Madan Mohan has composed brilliant songs which shed light on the journeys of the two star crossed lovers, highlighting both comical and tragic moments in this classic saga.
Just when you think you know where the story is going, you are pleasantly surprised and therefore enthralled as the story unveils.People either love SRK or hate him, but I think he delivers what is necessary for this role without going over the top.The surprise appearances are great, and Priety Zinta is getting better with every role.Last, but certainly not least, the music is superb.
Yash Chopra's Veer-Zaara is a film about humanity, devotion, sacrifice, and the power of love.
Although the love story itself, the separation and everything else is very typical, Chopra creates an entirely different film in the way it portrays the respect the lovers have for each other, the honour they pay to parents and elders, and their genuine willingness to sacrifice themselves for each other.
Yash Chopra's reclamation of the director's throne after seven long years is a simple return to the classical traditions of mainstream Indian film-making.
Yet, it is an ideal Diwali gift, exquisitely packaged, filled to the brim with sentiments and emotions, presented with only the best of intentions.Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh (Shahrukh Khan) has been decaying in a Pakistani prison for twenty-two years.
As Saamiya tries to unearth the hidden truth behind why and how Veer ended up in this situation, we are taken through a trip down memory lane as Veer recollects the days when he found and lost the love of his life, a Pakistani girl called Zaara (Priety Zinta).What "Veer Zaara" lacks in terms of an innovative plot structure, it more than makes up for with Aditya Chopra's sometimes flawed, but sensitive writing.
Cinematographer Anil Sharma (Lagaan, Kal Ho Na Ho) sets up a rustic, yet opulent scheme to the film's largely rural setting that brings back memories of the evergreen "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge".Actors including the great Amitabh Bachchan (who makes a stunning special appearance in this film with Hema Malini) have always elevated their performances to higher levels under Yash Chopra's baton.
The supporting cast comprising of Divya Dutta, Kirron Kher, Boman Irani, and Manoj Bajpai make full use of their well-defined characters to enact high-caliber performances.Other than the story of two fanatically devoted lovers, "Veer Zaara" is a progressive film for the Indian Film Industry because it makes an effort to break stereotypes with respect to Indo-Pak relations.
Equally important is the economic factor because a culturally sensitive film like "Veer Zaara" is bound to officially open up a potentially huge, untapped, cinema-going audience across the border.
I was also very intrigued at the way that the plot of the film crossed several genres and combined a number of classic story-telling archetypes: "the star-crossed lovers," "the village pastorale," "the saga of family honor," "the courtroom drama," etc.Watching this film I think I learned a lot about modern Indian culture.
Although at times the sentimentality in "Veer-Zaara" is so gushing that it enters into the realm of camp, there is also much substance in the film which is entirely admirable and worthy of esteem: the honor paid to parents and elders, the independence and spirit shown by strong and intelligent women, the respect given to Law and Justice, and perhaps most importantly, the possibility of peace and reconciliation between two peoples and two nations who have been engaged in a long, bitter, and fruitless quarrel..
as my topic suggest,i am speechless after watching it,thanks Yash Chopra and SRK super emotional romantic movie of all time u can't compare this movie from money,words etc,this movie tells you why SRK is the king.those who didn't loved it they can not have a heart unforgettable movie,i am KID when this movie released and i regret not seeing it on theaters and Still regret why god didn't sent me before so that i should have catch this movie there...brilliance beyond words,this was the first movie i have ever cry and still cries when i watch this again and again,this movie can never be replaced with another movie this is epic and will remain epic best movie ever made in the history of cinema..
I also hate films were the lovers have to die in the end (as they did in "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak), because I truly believe that true love can conquer all.Yash Chopra has, as always, delivered an all-round entertainer.
The songs were mesmerising; Madan Mohans' tunes were beautiful, Lata Mangeshkars voice was 'an out of this world' experience, Javed Akhtars' lyrics and Aditya Chopras' poem meant so much to those who understand them.Photography was enchanting; such films make people like me who love India, love it even more.The acting was par excellence, Shahrukh Khan did not disappoint at all, Preity Zinta was the essence of beauty and innocence and Rani was good as well.I would just like to say thank you to Mr Chopra for a wonderful experience..
7 years ago, the veteran director Yash Chopra directed Shah Rukh Khan in a love triangle based movie Dil Toh Pagal Hain.
The film stars Shah Rukh khan, Preity Zinta & Rani Mukherjee playing the lead roles while actors like Anupam Kher, Kirron Kher, Boman Irani comes under the supporting cast.
A very old and weak Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh ( Shah Rukh Khan) has spend 22 years of his life in Lahore jail situated in Pakistan abandoning his freedom and happiness only for the sake of his love Zaara's happiness (Preity Zinta).
But, upon seeing the movie 2 more times, I believe it is even better than those two fine films.Veer-Zaara
it's my tribute to the oneness of people on both sides of the border." - Yash Chopra.
Pre Veer Zaara and Post veer Zaara.I have never seen a movie which combines a message of patriotism, emotions, respect, love and humanity with touching songs and wholesome entertainment.
Only a man with a heart of gold can make such a beautiful movie.Excellent direction, great acting, touching dialogues, melodious songs, brilliant cinematography, awesome locations what more I can say about the movie.
I watched the movie it is really fantastic love story of two nations,i am thankful to the Producer,Director and Writer that they made such kind of movie...these kind of movies are the best way of getting closer to each other and it is the voice of the heart and the heart whispers to close each other coz v r neighbors,our relations should b loving and such movies develops love between Pakistan and India.i Appreciate the dialogs of anupam kheer when he said v should not recall ever the moments of 1947 and other events so v should never develop gud relations.the land of Pakistan and India is the same the fields,envoirment,weathers,and People.v should love with humanity.Yash chopra g,is requested to make some more movies like this to save the mankind of both countries..
I've just watched the movie for the 4th time and i'm still fascinated (- even more every time-) by the plot, the wonderful actors, the beautiful landscape (even though I think, some of the places have been filmed somewhere else - Tyrol, Switzerland ???).
I have seen Veer Zaara three times in the theatre and must say that it is without a doubt the BEST BOLLYWOOD FILM I have ever seen.
Okay i don't believe this movie to be as amazing as everyone says it to be..first of all the story is soo cheesy and there are probably hundreds of movies out there more deserving....swades for example....thought the music was good it only got so much recognition because its creater is no longer alive....Shahrukhs acting was so so not amazing....he should not have gotten awards for this...but rather Swades...i think most people liked this movie cause they are pathetic when matters come to romance...i mean how idiotic is it to have a god damn song inbetween of a court sequence....I'm happy dat chopra guys not taking anymore awards.....
The verdict- not even nearly as good as the collections it would have made in just one day.With the reins of direction in the veteran Yash Chopra's hands, one expects the cast to look their best, act their best and most of all the movie to be a wholesome entertainer.
Not to say that the movie did not have any positives, but they were far less than the negatives.Starting with the flaws, the script was extremely incoherent and un realistic, not to mention some apparent inconsistencies in the direction.To start with,a major question that is left for the viewer to answerer himself is how did Rani know about SRKs real name i.e. Veer?
This is a master peace srk is great but story will blow your mind lots of emotions patriotism love story women impoverishment and many more must watch movie.
However, things are NOT going to be easy--this IS an Indian romance and at over three hours in length, you know SOMETHING is going to come between their love.What happens to Veer is something you'll have to see for yourself-- but it clearly is an awful injustice and is highly reminiscent of Dumas' "The Man in the Iron Mask".
Yash Chopra's Veer - Zaara is my favorite film of 2004.
the most awaited movie of the yr is finally out....a typical yash chopra magnum opus....the rustic background and the change of camera from Punjabi India to Islamic Pakistan adds a lot of color to the movie..the storyline is simply amazing and the music is refreshing..the storyline truly emphasis's the essence of love and also there is a social message in the end .
Having remained silent for the years of his imprisonment, he opens up to Saamiya and tells her the story behind his arrest: the love story between him and a Pakistani woman, Zaara (Preity Zinta).The plot of this romantic drama is gripping, moving, and mostly believable.
But if you like romantic musicals such as Tom Hooper's "Les Misérables" (the Hugh Jackman version), and can find 3 1/2 hours to watch a movie, you'll smile and sniffle some tears for Veer-Zaara.I dislike high pitched nasal playback singers, decades in prison to justify old man makeup, ...
Veer Zara is the story of the undying love of star crossed lovers, Indian air force officer Veer Pratap Singh, and Pakistani bride to be, Zaara Khan, separated for twenty years while he is in a Pakistani prison on a trumped up charge, -- and the relentless battle of a young Pakistani attorney to correct this injustice and restore him to freedom.
In addition this film has three big Bollywood stars at the peak of their physical beauty and charm, (Sharukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Rani Mukerji) as well as two older superstars, Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini - in star supporting roles that are like a flashback to the Bollywood golden age.
Almost every character in the film does justice to their role, be it Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherjee,Amitabh Bachchan and Kirron Kher.
Veer Zaara- 2004 Director: Yash ChopraA movie with a lot of emotions.
I'd compare this movie to Titanic if Titanic wasn't based on real events)Scenic Value = 8/10 (Many beautiful shots but nothing out of this world)Acting = 9/10 (-1 point because SRK overdid the shaking a bit)Accuracy = 8/10 (Accuracy score would have been lower if it was a documentary or based on a true story)WARNING: Next line may contain a spoiler.Special Effects = 4/10 (Come on.
Strangely though, in a grand story like that, that didn't hurt as much since it wasn't significant compared to the other emotions)Music = 10/10 (You can listen to this music over and over again and replay the movie in your mind)Direction = 10/10 (Yash Chopra really knew how to touch people)Overall = 10/10 (I don't watch too many Indian movies anymore.
And trust me, long after the show is over, if there's one name you remember from the film its Zaara Hayaat Khan.Rani Mukherjee is another actress who everyone loves to watch on screen; with Veer-Zaara she proves that the size of the role doesn't matter it's how you portray the character that will have people remember the character.
The role is made for her; no one else could have pulled of the character so well.There are lots of cameos in the film; I'll leave those to your imagination, just in case you haven't seen the film.There are so many things you can talk about when you speak of a film like Veer-Zaara, but the bottom line is its top quality.
Oh my gosh people this is the MOST ROMANTIC lOVE STORY EVER I LOVED this movie sooo much Yash Chopra is amazing director!!
This really is one of a kind movie, i have only watched in once but i loved it from the start to finish, both Shahrukh and Priety gave very powerful performances and Rani was great too.
The music wow, Oh my god it;s the best piece of music that i have heard in a long time, the music was written over 50 years ago by the late Madan Mohan, i remember watching and awards ceremony a while back and the music for Veer Zaara had received an award, the late Madon Mohan's son went to receive the award and gave such a powerful speech, it borough a tear to my eye.Veer has been jailed for over 20 years and Zaara had been reported missing in this film, she was a Pakistani girl from Lahore and he was an Indian pilot, they met, fell in love but could not stay together because Zara had to marry someone else in Pakistan, anyways i don't want to give too much away but what i can say is that they get together and the ending is very emotional, it made me cry, if you haven't seen this film please watch it..
A film that lets people of any race color or creed, know that nothing is impossible when you have faith in God. I sometimes wonder when the actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta go to bed if they ever dream or realize the impact they have on people's minds and hearts.
Yash Chopra has attempted something we've seen before in movies like Bombay: he's begun with what looks like the standard Bollywood boy-meets-girl form only to swerve into touchy socio-political territory, in this case the on-going unpleasantness between India and Pakistan (Veer is from India and Zaara from Pakistan, but their love transcends all borders, etc.,).
One grows impatient with the unfolding of the love-story, the rote passages of Veer and Zaara coming to recognize the hurt they've caused their families by their selfish succumbing to romantic urge (couldn't the lovers in a Bollywood movie just once say the hell with propriety?).
Rani Mukherjee doesn't have much role as compared to Veer and Zaara, but good performance in role assigned to her like some of the courtroom scenes.
Long live humanism And, yes...better facilities for girls' education.These propaganda points can certainly make a good movie but they didn't in this case.Much hype was created before the release of Veer-Zaara about the so called melodies from the golden age but that too came out to be much ado about nothing.
This is one of the best movies ever.This comeback is superb from Chopra.The script is excellent.The editing is brilliant.The story is a cross border romance.It starts when Samauiya Siddqui is ready for her first case.She meets Veer.Who has been in prison for 22 years.He tells her he was in love with Zaara a Pakistani girl.She is going to(I FORGOT.Anyway Veer mets her fiancé.She leaves.One day he is mistaken for a person named Rajesh and is arrested.He is neitherr spoken a word.The flick is a true MASTERPIECE froom Yash.Who made a comeback after Dil To Pagal Hai 7 years.Shahrukh was excellent.Preity was excellent too.Rani was excellent.The others supported well.The cinematography is Excellent.The songs by the late Madan Mohan is a Masterpiece.A MUST SEE RATING-10/10.
Veer Zaara is a movie that i can watch again and again!!
This movie was beautifully shot with rich sets and costumes .The scenes were well executed especially the scene were Veer and Zaara reunite.The acting was Top notch.SRK was superb in his role and was quite convincing.In my opinion Preity has given her best performance too date in this movie.Rani was also amazing as the layer also.Anupham Kher and Manoj Bajpai have very interesting roles and have acted well also.If you are really interested in watching romantic movies like me you will love this one..
Once again, Shahrukh has put out an outstanding performance in the movie Veer-Zaara.
Shahrukhs performance seems to be more demanded that Rani and Prity though they have also put in efforts to make Veer-Zaara and excellent movie.
Drama freaks like me want melodrama, deep love and all that stuff, but this can easily (and often does) go over the top and I hate when that happens.My view of "Veer-Zaara" is that a movie with a cast like this one had (Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee, plus Amitabh, Hema Malini) could have done better.
The backdrop of Pakistan gives the film a new look, a new color altogether.Yash Chopra knows very well how to make a HIT movie...his main target are always the females who like mushy-mushy love stories high on emotional quotient.
It comes across as too contrived.The director should have used a better script, since the premise itself borders on the edge of believability.Rani Mukherji and Manoj Bajpai shine in their roles, as Veer's lawyer and Zaara's fiancé, granting the characters the required empathy and sinisterness respectively.Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini are wasted in their roles.Preity Zinta performs reasonably well for her role which is not sizeable, even though, she is one of the lead stars.Shah Rukh Khan struggles with the dialogues given to him. |
tt1060277 | Cloverfield | Rob (Michael Stahl-David) has taken a job as a vice president for the Slusho company, which necessitates his moving to Tokyo. His brother, Jason (Mike Vogel), and his girlfriend, Lily (Jessica Lucas) throw a surprise going-away party for him. Rob's best friend, Hud (T.J. Miller) is recruited to videotape the event but spends much of his time trying to hit on Marlena (Lizzy Caplan). Rob is uncomfortable when Beth (Odette Yustman) brings a date to the party. Rob and Beth have been friends for a long time and had recently had an affair; their date to Coney Island was recorded on the videotape that Hud is now using to record the party. Rob ended the affair abruptly when he got the job. At the party, he insults Beth, who storms out.Jason and Hud take Rob aside to lecture him about his boorish behavior and encourage him to never let go of those he loves most. Just then, a shock jolts their apartment building. The party rushes to the roof to see what is going on. In the distance they see an explosion and must flee back inside the building to avoid debris. Once they move down to the street, Hud continues to shoot video and captures the image of a monstrous shadow moving down the street several blocks away. The monster knocks over the Woolworth Building, sending a cloud of debris billowing down the street. As everyone decides to evacuate Manhattan by going over the Brooklyn Bridge, Marlena informs Lily that she saw smaller creatures attacking and eating people.As they attempt to cross the bridge, Rob receives a call from Beth. She is at her apartment in the Time Warner Center and apparently injured. Jason becomes separated from the others. As they try to make their way to him, the monster's tail appears out of the gloom and destroys the bridge. Jason is killed but Rob, Hud, Lily, and Marlena make it to safety. In an electronics store, Hud sees footage of the monster shedding parasite creatures from its back that in turn attack people on the street. Rob decides to rescue Beth, even though it means he will have to avoid the monster. Lily, Hud and Marlena agree to go with him. As they move uptown, the heavily armed military appears to fight the monster as it smashes through buildings just ahead of them.The four take refuge in a subway tunnel and decide to walk the tracks to the Warner Center. In the darkened tunnel, they see scurrying rats and hear unsettling noises. Using the night vision function on the camera, they see the scale creatures crawling along the walls. They try to run but the monsters attack; one bites Marlena. The four barricade themselves in a breakroom. After tending Marlena's wounds and waiting for the creatures to leave, they walk up into a subway station just outside Bloomingdale's.The military is using Bloomingdale's as headquarters. Rob pleads for help in finding Beth. Suddenly, Marlena begins bleeding from her eyes and mouth; shortly thereafter her abdomen explodes. A sympathetic soldier tells the others where they should bring Beth if they rescue her -- the last helicopters leave within the hour as the government has determined the only option for controlling the monster is the carpet bombing Manhattan. When they arrive at Beth's apartment building, they learn that it as collapsed onto the tower opposite it. Making their way up the standing tower, they then crawl into the collapsed tower and rescue Beth.Rob, Hud, Lily and Beth make it to a helipad as a battle rages against the monster all around them. Lily is pushed into one helicopter and the others into the last. Although an aerial bombardment seems to knock the monster over, it suddenly reaches up out of the debris and strikes their helicopter. It crashes into Central Park. The monster sneaks up on them and bites Hud in half. Rob and Beth grab the camera and take shelter under a foot bridge. They record their final goodbyes on the camera as the bridge collapses around them under the air force's assault.Epilogue. The military has found the tape several days later. Its final moment is from the trip Rob and Beth took to Coney Island. In it, an object can be seen falling from the sky into the ocean, unknown to Rob or Beth.*The following is all from the POV of Hud's video camera.The movie starts off with Rob videotaping the start of a typical New York day from an apartment in the North Tower of the Time Warner Center. He goes into the bedroom and chats with Beth, whom he has just slept with. The two agree to go to Coney Island for the day.The tape cuts to Rob's brother, Jason, as he attempts to get the same camera working. His girlfriend Lily tasks him with documenting Rob's going away party, and Jason passes the task on to his and Rob's friend Hudson (Hud). Hud obliges, and takes the camera and begins filming the party.During the party, Beth arrives with a date, much to the disappointment of Rob. The two argue, and when Hud asks Lily why, she reluctantly tells him and Jason about Rob and Beth sleeping together. Hud proceeds to tell a number of guests, and Beth leaves. Rob frustrates her even more by wishing "luck" to Beth's date as they leave.Shortly afterwards, the ground shakes and loud roars are heard in the area. The guests of the party go to the roof and look downtown, and see a large explosion in the vicinity. Flaming debris flies towards the roof, and the guests run downstairs and begin to pile into the street. There is another roar and the head of the Statue of Liberty flies through the streets, landing near Hud. Hud walks over to it, then finds Rob, Jason and Lily and the four watch as the Woolworth Building suddenly collapses. They run into a shop to escape the debris. Minutes later, they exit the shop, and find their friend Marlena - whom Hud has a crush on - babbling about "it" "eating people".After discussing what they saw and concluding that a giant creature is roaming the city, the five friends decide to make to leave the island. They are cut off, however, when the monster destroys the Brooklyn Bridge, killing Jason in the process. They run back into the city and go into an electronics store so that Rob can try and find a battery for his mobile phone. He finds one and gets a message on his phone from Beth, who is trapped in her apartment. Meanwhile, Hud watches the news and sees live images of the monster rubbing its back against buildings and dropping dog-sized parasites on the ground. The parasites start attacking people. Rob, however, decides to try and help Beth, and the friends all agree to follow him.They make their way further north, towards midtown, and have an up-close encounter with the monster when the army comes and tries to shoot it down. The group panic, and run into a subway to try and escape. When they are below the streets, they discover that they can get to the other side of Central Park from Beth's apartment by following the train tracks and then turning west down Central Park South, and begin to walk through the tunnels. They are ambushed by the parasites during their walk, and during the attack Marlena gets badly bitten by one. They hastily climb into the abandoned Bloomingdale's via the 59th Street subway station. They are led by a squad of infantry to an army field hospital, which was set up to care for the hundreds of wounded civilians scattered around the city.Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Marlena is dragged behind a paramedics screen and we see her silhouette gruesomely expand and then explode, some sort of viral effect brought on by the bite she received. Some of the parasites, both alive and dead, are shown in containment cages being examined by a few white-coated scientists. The group are permitted by the sergeant to leave and try and help Beth, but to report at a military evacuation zone by 06:00 that morning. Hud has a minor break-down as they leave, but pulls himself together and they continue towards Columbus Circle in order to help Beth.When they reach the Time Warner Center, they find that the north tower has been pushed over and is leaning against the south tower. Hud suggests that they climb the stairs in the south tower and try and find a way onto the roof of the north one, and they manage to get themselves to Beth's apartment. When they get there, they find Beth lying on the floor with her shoulder impaled by a length of rebar. The group pull her up, and lead her back down to street level. They briefly see the monster again as they cross the roof of the north tower, and have another encounter with a parasite as the go down the stairwell. Rob stabs it with a fire axe and the four manage to escape. As they run to the evacuation zone - which is just by Grand Central Station - they see the monster step right over the station as they run by it. They hastily try and get on a helicopter, and are separated from Lily, who is put on a different helicopter. Hud, Beth and Rob get on the next helicopter, and begin to evacuate.As they fly over the city, they witness the monster being bombed by various planes and finally get knocked down into a building and under a cloud of smoke. As Hud shouts in joy, the monster suddenly rears up and smashes the rear rotor of the helicopter, sending the chopper circling towards the ground. It lands in Central Park and the group wake up a couple of minutes later, and help each other get out. The pilots are briefly seen in the helicopter dead.Rob injures his leg in the crash, and Hud puts the camera down to help him get away, but when he goes to retrieve it the monster suddenly steps over him and looks down at the camera. Rob and Beth look on from behind the helicopter as the monster bends down and scoops Hud up in its mouth, and for a few seconds the camera is inside the creature's mouth. The top part of Hud falls out of its mouth - camera and all - and Rob and Beth run over to him sobbing.Rob picks up the camera and carries it with him and Beth, and the two collapse under a bridge near the south eastern corner of the park. They sit there and listen as the bomb-warning siren goes off in the city, and Rob makes a last testimonial to the camera. As he quietly comforts Beth, a bomb drops on the park and the camera gets knocked out of Rob's hand, getting buried beneath some rubble. Rob and Beth each proclaim their love for each other just before another bomb goes off.The camera pauses, and then cuts to a shot of the ocean from the Coney Island Ferris Wheel. In the far distance, you can briefly see a Japanese satellite fall from the sky and crash into the ocean - a part of the film's viral marketing campaign. Rob turns the camera back towards him and Beth, and then zooms in on Beth's face. She says "I had a good day." and then the tape freezes on her smiling face, and cuts to black.At the very end of the credits, there is a short static transmission that, when played backwards, says "It's still alive." | suspenseful, violence, cult, romantic, flashback | train | imdb | Perhaps the 80 minute run time will bother some people, but on the other hand I think that's better than a film wearing out its welcome.
You're placed with a bunch of characters whom you get to know and eventually must join in their frenzied search for a friend while being subjected to some horrifying imagery and new threats.The effects look great and realistic thanks to the hand-held camera, which isn't too bad-looking if you manage to get a seat further from the screen.
Definitely worth a watch.Hand-held camera can be tiring, yes - but in this case, and combined with the great effects, it works.The plot itself isn't exactly news, but as it's all seen from the antagonists point of view and with no further explanation, you really get that "what would I have done"-feeling.Yes, we need explanations, but I really like that Abrams hasn't tried to tag on an ending explaining what happened..
The *entire* movie is filmed in the "handy-cam" style of the trailer - but in my opinion, it works better here than in Blair Witch.
If you haven't heard by now Cloverfield is a film about a giant monster attacking Manhattan all seen through the perspective of a 20-something's hand-held camera.
Now the acting is amateur but thats for the best considering that the film would have made no sense if they had used big name actors/actresses, the characters are not that deep either and mostly serve as fodder, comic relief, moral guidance, panic, commentary, puzzlement, a little bit of annoyance, in other words they're people surviving a monster attack.
The monster itself is actually not seen in its entirety only being viewed from different angles for the audience to piece it together as the survivors themselves are, you pretty much know as much as they do about everything going on making you actually feel like you're there.
Critics compare the film to Blair Witch meets Godzilla but it is so much more than that, Cloverfield is the definitive American Monster Film, best if seen on the opening weekend just to hear the audience's reactions not to mention the presentation is far greater on the big screen, watch it again to see the things you missed or just to enjoy the ride again, admittedly the shock value will wane with multiple viewings but for what it's worth Cloverfield is an excellent piece of film and special effect engineering and is the first great monster film of the millennium.
Pros: -Many thrills -Surprisingly good acting for a 'no-name' cast -Great story -Convincing special effectsCons: -The shaky camera may be nauseating to some people -The acting in some scenes could be a little better -If you are someone who likes for all the loose ends to be tied up at the end, this is not for youOverall, I give this movie 8 out of 10 stars.
Cloverfield is a very intense movie and the first person view really makes you feel like you are in the middle of something that you would try to avoid in real life.
Now people are coming out and saying there was no plot or back story, and felt it was hard to relate or understand the characters, but what people aren't getting is that Cloverfield isn't supposed to be that kind of film.
I felt like I had been right there all along, and that's the feel you get from the unique first person, free-hand camera angle you get the entire film.
And this coming from a geek who loves Fantasy, and monster movies.I have to admit it was an interesting idea, and I can live with the headache from the camera, and the horrible ending, but to be honest the movie was down right boring.
And of course lets not forget the camera style that makes you feel like your watching a home video filmed by your drunk grandmother.
I mean a bit more to the story please , like where did it come from, that kinda stuff, not just monster comes, stuff goes crazy, blair witch style, camera down, movie over.
When Lars Von Trier was preaching his Dogma manifesto all those years ago, I'll bet my left nut he didn't think it would be embraced to create Hollywoods latest pile of steaming, stinking celluloid, Cloverfield.Take out the 12 minute credit crawl (arguably the most exciting thing in the film), and you get 73 minutes of headache-inducing hand-held camera-work, a monster that would've been best left unseen and a whiny group of objectionable Manhattanites, everyone of them perfectly suited - nay, deserving - of a fate between the backteeth of any monstrous beasty.I was hoping the brave creative decision to shoot the whole film from a first-person perspective would have the desired affect - put the audience into the action; redefine the disaster/monster movie for the post 9/11 generation; take genre pics to that next level that many promise to do but none ever really have.But in trying to provide realism to B-movie myths of years gone by, the film-makers only manage to emphasise the cornball situations and horrible clichés that have driven these films for decades.
You can make the camera-work as dandy as you like, but it don't mean squat if the script and acting is every bit as turgid and wooden as it was 50 years ago - when the giant octopus (an obvious inspiration for Cloverfields critter) crawled over the bridge and headed Downtown.I know we have to give a movie about a marauding jellyfish a little slack, but its not the monster scenes that stink.
The filming gimmick (making the movie look like it was done on a home DV camera) shook the screen so much that it left many people I saw this with dizzy.
Only the crash doesn't kill the people in the chopper right away, just the pilot and co-pilot, you know the unimportant people, but the main characters stay alive just long enough to wake up the next mourning so we can get a good look at the monster.
I'm asking, why isn't this guy dropping his camera while a bunch of little critters, much like "Alien" that are falling off the big monster, chasing him and trying to kill him?
For one reason or another, the thought of dropping the camera never came into one of these characters heads and I wish they did since the movie would just end.
There were very few cues from the original monster film, and those that made it in were very subtle and seemingly unnecessary unless you had seen the original.All in all it was a fantastic movie, even though it was made with a very shaky handycam, and JJ Abrams should be commended on his direction; however...When it was over and the credits began to roll, I was left with this tremendous feeling of unhappiness with the movie as a whole, a feeling shared vocally by everyone who passed by my seat on the way out.The problem was the ending.
I had not only spent $8.50 and sat through commercials that should be making the tickets cheaper instead of more expensive, I had spent an hour and a half watching Cloverfield instead of doing something else that would have left me feeling much more happy.In closing, I do heartily recommend against seeing this movie, not even if someone else springs for the ticket or video rental.
If there is someplace you could go, a TV show you would like to watch, or a dog you would like to take for a walk, don't let this movie keep you from it.-edit-The gibberish that is heard after the credits is supposed to be translated into a statement that the director feels is quite clever, but after reading the translations people have made of it (basically a backwards recording according to internet boffins), it is actually redundant and stupid because you already know what this secret message is telling you..
It is just like every other disaster/monster movie ever made, except with a camcorder telling the story of a group of self-absorbed people caught in the middle.
As I wrote, it is just like every other disaster/monster movie ever made, except with a camcorder telling the story of a group of self-absorbed people caught in the middle.
About a dozen people had already left the screen-room when my girlfriend and I had to leave because we were both feeling sick and had already stopped watching the movie for 10 minutes not to throw up.We left maybe 45 minutes into the movie and barely saw three seconds of the monster we so eagerly wanted to watch.
By the time the monster shows up and finally starts killing off the idiots (read: every character in the movie), you've already wasted 20-30 minutes of your life listening to people who were apparently paid to cram as many lines with "dude" in them as they could under a strict time limit.
Every scene contained something needlessly immersion-breaking which, coupled with the nausea-inducing camera-work made for a decidedly poor movie.If given the choice of being bitten by one of the little monster-lice from Cloverfield or watching the actual movie, I'd take being bitten.
Now another thing i don't quite get is the camera...hmmm 10 hours of battery..yea, Captures all the good bits of an exiting adventure,HD quality and doesn't run out of battery or stop working from all the times its dropped and thrown in the movie!
i went in expecting a scary monster movie.what i got was 15 minutes of bad TV dialog, and 45 minutes of shaky-cam running through the streets.
those kinds of things really annoy me when they could have been fixed with a line or two of dialog.finally at the end of the movie there were a couple minutes of cool special effects.
Big deal.In the end you didn't know how the monster got there, if they actually killed it, what it's powers were, what the little monsters were, where it came from, what it wanted....you never even got to see the entire shape of it or the use of all it's body parts.It is the only movie I have ever wanted to walk out of.
The military, being the sweet, understanding people that they are known to be when under hostile fire from aliens, point him in the right direction and wish him much success.The only thing amazing about the film is the battery life on the video camera.
The fact that the guy talks the military into letting him risk his life (for a girl he slept with once by the way!), the exploding people, the fact that you can abuse a camera so badly and still have it work, the fact that you can buy a phone battery in a shop and not have to charge it before use, the convenient buildings propping each other up allowing for a daring rescue, the immense healing capabilities of the main characters who survive impalement and a crashing helicopter with barely a scratch, carrying the camera incessantly throughout this whole 'terrifying' ordeal, the stare out between monster and camera man at the end.
I think it was meant to add grit and suspense to the film, only giving you fleeting glimpses of the monster, but in the end it just helps to tarnish this train wreck of a movie even further by making sure its a blurred mess.I left the cinema feeling cheated of my money.
*shudder* The reality is in order for movies like this to work, the characters have to be borderline, intellectually retarded in order to validate why they would even consider getting close enough to the monsters, or whatever enemy, to make for a good film.
Not only was it hard to watch because of the home video concept of filming, but it was horrible.The Alien monster was like a giant praying mantis with babies that fell off itself and attacked people.
I nearly walked out ten minutes into the movie once I realized the entire film was shot from a shaky hand held camera.But even the worst visual movies can have a deeper meaning, right?
But honestly, it's not like people would expect that from a monster movie anyway, right?
well what can I say...I went into watching this film knowing it was filmed entirely in a shaky "Blair Witch" cam style,but I didn't expect over an hour of motion sickness overkill.Unless you have taken the time to watch ALL of the viral marketing the first 20 minutes of the film are a COMPLETE waste of time.Don't get me wrong I don't expect any film like this to slap you in the face from minute 1 with monster attacks and carnage but the first 20 minutes would have made much more sense to those going in totally fresh if they would have spliced in some of the back story.Namely the reasons behind the career move and the company he was going to work for,the attack on the oil rig and possibly a teaser news clip before going into the final few minutes of the party and then the attack.I understand the idea behind having "amateur footage" but the film tries WAY to hard to get that idea over.Seriously I knew full well that it was supposed to be a handy cam after 5 minutes,they didn't need to vaguely wave the camera around every few minutes to get the point across.Yes this film has been compared to Blair Witch but Blair Witch had something that Cloverfield SERIOUSLY lacks...Ambiance.In Blair Witch even though you never see anything the off camera sounds give the film the mood it needs to drive the story and give the feeling of fear.Cloverfield simply doesn't have that and it leaves me feeling no compassion for the characters and no sense of danger unless they are in the open and within shouting distance of the monster(s) Simply put this movie is a love or hate experience,there isn't any middle ground.Although it's meant for the big screen I'd advise waiting till it's available for rent to avoid disappointment.
I went to this movie with high hopes, and was very let down, not only was the film barely even 80 minutes long, but the whole thing was through the view point of somebodies video camera, jeez, what crap, and i would like to add that it also had the worst possible ending it could of possibly had.
Seriously, do I want to spend money to watch a movie that looks like a 10 year old with a handy cam filmed it?
The bad hand-held camera work was already doing that anyway but a stupid goof like that killed the film before it ever got started.
I think at this point in the movie they had run out of ideas & were just doing anything to kill time.Hud gets an excellent death (bitten in half by the monster) & then you get Rob & Beth talking to the camera, an explosion, rubble falling, Coney Island then nothing.
To quickly sum up, one by one all our main characters die either by a big monster, a little monster or an explosion.The entire movie is filmed from the point of view of a hand-held camera which for some reason has the longest battery life I've ever seen, and somehow is able to still function properly despite being dropped a couple of times and survive a helicopter crash.Overall, Cloverfield is filled with people pretending to be actors, A boring story with little or no explanation of much of anything, and one indestructible video camera.It is clear that the marketing campaign was where the majority of the budget for this movie went as this film was all hype and no substance.
This film is complete crap and yes, the analogy of Blair Witch meets Godzilla is quite accurate, with my apologies to the Godzilla people for the reference.After nearly falling asleep in the first 20 minutes, I kept waiting out of morbid curiosity for the movie to get better, but it never did.Basically, this is the video taped reaction of a couple of late teen/ early 20 somethings reacting (poorly I might add) to a monster of unknown origin attacking New York (presumed).
If you are prone to motion sickness, don't plan on enjoying your popcorn in the theater, as the first-person shaky-camera footage throughout the movie (as in, the ENTIRE movie) will ruin your intestinal fortitude.Much of the plot surrounds a small group of young adults who (like ALL good horror film antagonists) refuse to evacuate the city under siege in favor of rescuing an injured friend who happens to live near the center of the monster attack.
The story is told from the viewpoint of one of the characters that has a hand-held camcorder, and as a consequence the pictorial style of the movie is very similar to "Blair Witch", e.g. jerky camera shots in an attempt to make the film more "realistic".
First off I didn't like this film to begin with seeing how the monster movie genre has no cinematic value to me at all.
Borrowing liberally from films such as The Blair Witch Project, the recent Godzilla remake, and every horror movie you've seen where the main characters act completely illogically and are knocked off one by one, Cloverfield fails to meaningfully deliver on its goal of taking the big monster film down to the level of the individual "ordinary" people caught up in the wake of an attack.It fails mostly because it fails to make us care at all about the central figures and their ludicrous quest to save a girl who is most likely already dead.
Make a monster movie, keep it simple and interesting and people will love it...case closed.The fact that we had to suffer through a shaky camera the entire movie added nothing to the plot, added nothing to the story, and just took away from the cool effects.
Most of the time it looked like normal movie-quality footage, just shot with a hand-held camera. |
tt0097388 | Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan | Following the events of The New Blood, two graduating high school students are aboard a houseboat on Crystal Lake. Jim tells his girlfriend Suzy the legend of Jason Voorhees, before playing a prank on her with a hockey mask and a prop knife. The boat's anchor damages some underwater cables, which shock Jason's corpse and revive him. He sneaks on board and kills Jim with a harpoon gun before impaling Suzy, who tries to hide from him, with a barb.
The next morning, the SS Lazarus is ready to set sail for New York City with a graduating senior class from Lakeview High School, chaperoned by biology teacher Dr. Charles McCulloch and English teacher Colleen Van Deusen. Van Deusen brings McCulloch's niece Rennie along for the trip despite her aquaphobia much to his chagrin. Jason sneaks on board and kills rock star-wannabe J.J. with her guitar before hiding in the bowels of the ship. That night, after a boxing match, a young boxer who lost to champion Julius Gaw is killed when Jason slams a hot sauna rock into his abdomen while Rennie, searching for her pet Border Collie Toby, discovers prom queen Tamara and Eva doing drugs. McCulloch nearly catches them moments later and Tamara pushes Rennie overboard, suspecting she told on them. She then uses video student Wayne to record McCulloch in a compromising situation with her, but rejects Wayne's advances afterward. Tamara is killed by Jason with a shard of broken mirror when she goes to take a shower.
Rennie begins seeing visions of a young Jason throughout the ship, but the others ignore the deckhand's warnings that Jason is aboard. Jason kills Captain Robertson and his first mate. Rennie's boyfriend, Sean, discovers them and tells the others before calling for an emergency stop. Eva is strangled as she tries to flee from Jason. The students agree to search for Jason while McCulloch decides that the deckhand is responsible; however, the deckhand is found with an fire axe slammed into his back. One of the students, Miles, is tossed to his death by Jason and Julius is knocked overboard. Elsewhere in the hold of the ship, Wayne comes upon J.J.'s body and is thrown into an electrical box by Jason; his corpse catches fire and begins a chain of events that causes the ship to sink. With the other students dead, McCulloch, Van Deusen, Rennie and Sean escape aboard a life raft, and discover Toby and Julius are alive as well.
They row to New York where Jason stalks them through the streets. Rennie is kidnapped by a pair of junkies and the group splits up to find help. Julius tries to fight Jason with his boxing skills, but becomes exhausted after Jason does not go down; he is then decapitated by a single punch from Jason. Rennie escapes from Jason when he kills the punks that kidnapped her. She runs into Sean and they reunite with the teachers and the police before Jason kills the officer who is helping them. Rennie crashes a police car after a vision of Jason distracts her. Van Deusen is incinerated in the car when it explodes, and it is revealed that McCulloch is responsible for Rennie's fear of water, having pushed her into the lake as a child. They leave him behind and Jason kills him by drowning him in a barrel of waste. Jason chases Rennie and Sean into the subway where Sean incapacitates him by knocking him onto the electrical third rail. He is revived again and chases them through Times Square where they try to escape through a diner. They flee into the sewers and encounter a sewer worker. He warns them that the sewers will be flooded with toxic waste at midnight before Jason appears and kills him. Sean gets injured in the process and Rennie draws Jason off, wounding him with a splash of acidic waste that forces him to take off his mask, horrifying Rennie. She and Sean climb the ladder as Jason staggers to get them, but just as he is about to kill them, the sewers flood and engulf him. Rennie sees a final vision of a child-form of Jason as the waste recedes.
The two of them then escape to the street, where they are reunited with Toby who had run away earlier, and walk off into the city. | murder, violence, horror, cult, revenge, entertaining | train | wikipedia | I know this movie was also cut by the MPAA like was Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood and it is most of people's at least favorite film mine isn't.
Director Rob Hedden also wrote the song for this film Tamara's Bio Project and he performed.I know I said I dislike Friday the 13th Part 3: 3D and Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning but in my opinion I have simply enjoy this movie more I really like that Jensen Daggett and Scott Reeves were on the train and Jason was chasing them, I like that Scott Reeves electrocuted him and Jason still walked ha ha that was funny.I love that toxic waste killed Jason on the end of the film, but what was I confused was why Jason suddenly turned in to young boy after he was killed by toxic waste?
The last scenes were filmed in New York they didn't had properly money to make it as an awesome movie but I like it.It is not great but it is at least watchable tough it doesn't take place in Crystal Lake.
Before I forgot I love that funny scene in which we see Jason with Hockey Mask and we just see with hockey mask a poster hanging on it and he looks right in the camera boy was I laughing that scene was entertaining.This movie get's C+ 6/10 the most underrated movie ever this is guilty pleasure of mine I am still going to watch it when I will have time..
Renowned film critic Leonard Maltin calls "Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan" the highlight of the series.
As usual, the climax -- this time a chase through the city and sewer -- is the highlight.For better or for worse, "Jason Takes Manhattan" marks the last true "Friday the 13th." This was Paramount's last stab (pun intended) at things before selling the rights to New Line Cinema, which basically destroyed the series with absurd ideas like Jason switching bodies and rampaging through spaceships.
By this point in the lengthy Friday the 13th saga, it's clear that even the writers of these movies (generally the last people to catch on when they come up with idiotic ideas) have noticed that a lot of teenagers going up to Camp Crystal Lake to be rebellious and get slashed all up is getting a little bit old, so in this installment they decided it would be a good idea to have the movie take place on a whole ship full of high school students.
Moving someone like Jason Voorhees from his home on Camp Crystal Lake to an unfamiliar setting is actually a really good idea for generating more interest in the series, because although it's a given in a series like this, I think audiences always like to see familiar characters come back from other stories.
He spent the time between the last movie and this one rotting on the bottom of the lake, and he certainly looks like it through this entire movie.Unfortunately, the filmmakers not only revealed the modesty of their budget through the lack of anything really interesting happening, they also displayed a massive lack of understanding of the geography of the city of New York.
I happen to know, for example, that if you go to San Francisco, you won't find the crime-ridden slums right under the Golden Gate Bridge, and I doubt that you would find open barrels of toxic waste ANYWHERE.But anyway, they certainly find some room for effective comic relief (although notably less than other films in the series), my favorite example of which is the scene where Jason looks curiously at a picture of a hockey player on a billboard wearing exactly the same mask that he has on, a sort of self-realization that has since been overshadowed by the T-1000 pausing to look at a metallic mannequin in Terminator 2.
But even worse, as the kids escape into the underground sewage system (which does not run through wide walkways beneath the sidewalks in ANY city that doesn't want to smell like it's own waste), they run into a sewage worker who informs them that the sewers (in which they are currently standing) fill with toxic waste every night at midnight ('Exactly ten minutes from now!'), and is then killed by Jason before being able to show them how to get out.I won't get into the fact that there is no imaginable reason for any underground pipe system to fill with toxic waste every night at a certain time other than to create false suspense for a movie like this, although that is most of the reason that this climax falls so completely flat.
Friday the 13th VIII, obviously, is not very concerned with that, which makes it one of the less interesting installments in the saga, although at least it takes place in a different setting so we have a reason to slap our foreheads other than because there is yet ANOTHER group of morons going up to Camp Crystal Lake to taunt the legend of Jason Voorhees..
The acting is good, Jason looks great, it has some funny moments, likable characters, and the story also introduced a much-needed change: Jason leaving Crystal Lake - although this can be seen as both good and bad, I think it was a good idea just for this one movie.
This film isn't too bad, the plot sees Jason being bought to life from an electric wire while chained under water again (See Part VII) and taking a trip on a high school boat going to New York.
The gore seems limited in this film but at least Jason is still killing people, they could of shown a bit more of New York but I guess the budget was limited since Reb's first draft had Jason chasing those two teenagers through various parts of New York.An alright sequel to Friday the 13th franchise that tries to add something new by showing a new location, check this one out if you want.
He is brought back to life (as usual)and it isn't long before he's on board a teenage filled cruise ship with one thing in mind....MURDER!The body-count and gore is completely satisfying, there are some of the best deaths by normal means here from Jason punching an annoying character's head off to the old wrench in the head demise.
So if you like gore this is for you.A lot of people will tell you that the Friday 13th series has gone downhill since the first but i disagree, the older films took quite a while to get to the death scenes and Jason had limited screen time but this is perfect, Jason's presence is forced upon you regularly which will please other Jason fans.It's the best slasher from its time.(ki-ki-ki-ha-ha-ha).
Two problems: the film might have been more accurately titled Jason Takes (a cruise to) Manhattan, since he's ship-bound for all but the final half-hour, and he doesn't really concern himself with anyone apart from the vessel's survivors once he's there.
Taking a class field-trip to New York, a group of students find their trip crashed by Jason Voorhees who chases them through the ship and eventually forces them to escape the boat and seek shelter in Manhattan from the deranged killer.While there are some problems here with this one, it's still a reasonably enjoyable entry.
Even more impressive here is the scenes of them being chased through the city which are incredibly fun as well as the early chases through the dockyard with the junkies, into a crowded diner and through the subway are just some of the fun here that takes place within here, as there's even more fun with the chases through the streets in the police car, the absolutely brilliant boxing match taking place on-top of the building where it ends on one of the series' best kills and finishes up down in the sewers for some tense stalking in this section which makes for an overall fun time.
it has a good plot finally it gets jason away from crystal lake i think the movie is excellent and is my favorite of the f13 series besides part 7 i think they saved the best f13th films for last besides jason x i dont know why this movie is so underrated i mean it finally has some decent acting jason looks good (the best in part 7) the plot is pretty good besides critics rated f13th part8 jason takes manhatten one of the best of the series besides part 1.
After Jason kills the captain, the ship is drifting across the Atlantic, set on fire, and only a few survivors make it in a lifeboat to New York where the chase continues...On one hand, part 8 is the best looking sequel so far.
This as as good as you're going to get in the fatally flawed Friday series, so I suggest anyone that watches this movie just watch and enjoy without worrying about how unrealistic and hokey it is.Kane Hodder, who played the best Jason, really took hold of the role in this movie.
Only the final act takes place in New York, and it becomes painfully obvious that much of the time, they're either on-sets or filming in stand-in locations to save money.
Though often criticized for spending most of the film on a cruise ship rather than New York as the title seemingly promises, I find that Jason Takes Manhattan is actually one of the best entries in the series, and easily the most underrated Friday the 13th film.Jason's slimy look in the film is pretty cool (though his unmasked face is wildly disappointing), and he racks up a couple of pretty great kills.
The character of Tamara is pretty much exactly the same as Melissa from Part VII, and the deckhand character is the same type of doom prophet like Ralph from the first two films or that guy with the eyeball in Part III.Once the protagonists and Jason get to New York City, it gets really great, and more time in the film is actually spent there than some people's complaints would lead you to believe.
The movie should be titled instead "Jason Goes Sailing" as most of it happens on a ship on it's way to New York.
Rob Hedden's "Friday the 13th Part VIII:Jason Takes Manhattan" is usually trashed by fans of this series,but it's actually much better than "The New Beginning" or crappy "Jason X".Still it's nothing in comparison to "Jason Lives" or "Friday the 13th:The Final Chapter".This time the menacing killer Jason Voorhees slaughters a school class aboard a cruise ship.Only the finale takes place in Manhattan."Jason Takes Manhattan" is nothing special at all.It certainly features some really bad special effects,and some of the weakest death scenes of the series.Still there are some creative moments in this film,especially the material seen from a character's camcorder.The ending is really horrible,so you have been warned.Anyway,"Jason Takes Manhattan" is only for fans of this series,but if you like slasher movies you can give it a look.7 out of 10..
Unfortunately, the results were much less than anticipated, for PART 8 emerged as a renowned disappointment; Jason only arrives in New York for the end portion of this movie, and even then most of the action was filmed in some dirty back alleys of Canada which substituted for Manhattan (though what little footage actually occurs in The Big Apple is welcome).
In this movie Jason is not a stalker, he is brutal killer who kills anyone he comes into contact with aboard the ship all the way into New York City.Im dropping one star because of the visions of young Jason the lead cast has which didn't really feel appropriate.Other than that, its a very enjoyable movie, and like I said, this was the best of the Friday the 13th movies, If not the best.
Jason takes Manhattan is a movie i enjoyed way back when i was young on vhs & i loved it bk then & now as I'm older & have been collecting the AWESOME Friday the 13th franchise on dvd i still love it!!!
& nearly the whole film is actually the boat ride to Manhattan but i still find it all so much fun & when they all FINALLY get the bright lights of New York City it's AWESOME!!!
But a crazy guy did pop up a few times and shout ''You're all gonnna die'' so that was enough for me.Lot's of people dying, some terrible scenes with idiots escaping to dead ends, but you need idiots when Jason moves as slow as he does.A couple of interesting deaths that I hadn't seen done before, which was both nice and informative on different ways to end people.Not really enough suspense for me but it's a cheesy horror flick so with that genre in mind it gets top marks.Great classic horror good for a laugh..
Sure, the movie is still entertaining and it is a "Friday the 13th" movie after all, but Jason belongs at Crystal Lake, and is not really suited for going globe-trotting.Being brought back to life at the resting place at the bottom of Crystal Lake, once again by electricity as in part 6, Jason does what he does best, but ends up catching a ride aboard a ship headed for Manhattan, New York.What keeps part VIII afloat, no pun intended, is the kills throughout the movie, Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees and the subplot between the Rennie and Charles characters.There are many deaths throughout part VIII, staying true to the franchise.
Friday THE 13th 8 is titled Jason Takes Manhattan, but it is the eighth picture in the "Friday the 13th" franchise In the film, Jason Voorhees gets resurrected again (by lightning or electricity) and continues his murderous rampage, but instead of being in the lake, he is in New York City and he's with a group of graduating teenagers and he follows them in the ship they are in.Most of the characters are awful people, and as a viewer, you can either care more or less whether they live or die (half of them dies), but eventually, a small portion of the teenagers live and this leads into a decent ending in this film.Jason Voorhees is superbad in this one and he's not just a horror icon in this film and he is mad as hell.
Well done prologue and title sequence begins what is ultimately a lesser entry in this series.Ridiculous electroshock charge at the bottom of Crystal Lake brings Jason (now clad in different clothing than he was at the end of part VII) back to life to gut a guy on board a yacht, then stab his girl, who just sits back and waits for Jason to come and get her.Apparently bored by lack of victims currently at Camp Crystal Lake, Jason somehow gets to a cruise ship headed for New York during a torrential rainstorm.Yet another attempt by the filmmakers to copy Crazy Ralph, the rambling nut from parts I and II, as present and accounted for here is a rambling deck hand, whose warnings of a "death curse" on the ship go unheeded.
It still does not match the scares and tone of the first 4 films.This film really could have ended the series but this was followed by one of the worst films ever made - Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday.This one sort of ignores the "plot" of the previous sequels in that Jason killed people who went to the camp - this time he just got bored and decided to go on a nice boat ride as there was no other reason for Jason to stalk the boat.Apparently New York was just too scary for Jason because in the next sequel he is back in Crystal Lake - despite the fact that he turned back into a child at the end of this one which didn't make much sense either.Surely even the producers of the awful '80's horror films realised that horror films need to be scary.
It was nice to see this series and Jason away from Camp Crystal Lake the city sure doesn't slow a killer down it only increases the terror, this was another good entry in the Friday movie series..
Movie has a bunch of brainless high school kids taking a cruise ship to New York from Crystal Lake.
Upon awakening, and after killing two teenagers, he steals their boat and proceeds to the open sea, where he climbs on board a cruise ship containing a high school graduating class, whom he proceeds to decimate, until the ship sinks, and he(along with the survivors) square off for a final showdown in the city of Manhattan, New York.You have to love the honesty to use the subtitle "Part VIII", instead of trying to fool the audience by not referring to the actual number, like it isn't really a sequel.
Then towards the end of the movie, based in New York, with a town of lots of people who jason can kill.
Overall not a great film but fun enough if you enjoy the series and like the idea of moving it to a new setting..
Even Jason X is a better movie because at least that film is fun and highly entertaining, though in a bad way, and at least that movie takes place in space!
One great thing about this film Is that the Director decided To change The location of the movie.Instead of Jason Voorhees returning To Camp Crystal Lake he travels to New York City.But I think by the time this movie was released In theaters People had grown tired of The Friday the 13th series..
"Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan" was Paramount's last entry in the series before they let New Line Cinema take over.
Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan was an okay movie, but nothing too good. |
tt1086772 | Blended | In the opening scene, Lauren Reynolds (Drew Barrymore) is in the bathroom of a Hooters eatery, talking to her kids' babysitter Tracy (Lauren Lapkus). Lauren's on a blind date which isn't going well while Tracy is dealing with Lauren's rowdy sons Brendan (Braxton Beckham) and Tyler (Kyle Red Silverstein). Tyler is waving a burning T-shirt and Brendan uses a fire extinguisher on it, and then on Tracy.Lauren goes back to her date with Jim Reynolds (Adam Sandler), who drank her beer and then only focuses on the TV instead of her. He also pays more attention to the sexy waitresses that bring him cheese sticks in the shape of a heart. Jim offers Lauren some buffalo shrimp with hot sauce. It proves too hot for Lauren and she spits it out, then has to drink French onion soup to cool off. Jim uses an emergency excuse to bail on the date and ditch Lauren.Lauren complains about the date to her best friend Jen (Wendi McClendon-Covey). We learn that Lauren is divorced and she wishes she could have tried harder to make the marriage work.Jim works at Dick's Sporting Goods with his buddy Doug (Shaquille O'Neal) and he has three daughters - Hilary (Bella Thorne), who is mistaken for a boy frequently due to her tomboyish appearance (it doesn't help that Jim refers to her as Larry); Espn (Emma Fuhrmann), who claims to be able to talk to her deceased mother and is also named after Jim's favorite network; and Lou (Alyvia Alyn Lind), who is wild and adorable. She also misses her mother.Brendan is Lauren's older son with a perverted crush on Tracy (he cut a picture of her head and taped it to a centerfold), while Tyler plays Little League baseball but isn't good, and his failures cause him to throw tantrums. Lauren's ex-husband Mark (Joel McHale) shows up every now and then, with the boys expecting him to spend time with them, but he always blows them off for work. Brendan is especially protective of his mother not seeing other men, getting defensive when going through his mother's email to find out about Jim.Jim and Lauren run into each other at the store since Jim needs to grab tampons for Hilary and Lauren wanted to replace the centerfold pic since she tore it up. They argue again and leave.Jim goes to Lauren's house since the lady at the store mixed up their credit cards. Jen comes in complaining that she broke up with her boyfriend Dick because he has five kids and he wanted her to meet them on their planned trip to Africa. Jim learns that this Dick is also his boss, so while Lauren asks Jen to let her go on the trip, Jim calls Dick to ask him to sell the trip to him. Both Jim and Lauren excitedly exclaim that they're going to Africa with their kids.Both families arrive in Africa, and neither Jim nor Lauren is happy to see the other. To make things more awkward, they are put in a romantic suite while the kids stay in their own room.The families are put together for a "blended familymoon", where they get together with other couples, including the very oversexed Eddy (Kevin Nealon) and Ginger (Jessica Lowe), with Eddy's teenage son Jake (Zak Henri), with whom Hilary is smitten. Their host is Mfana (Abdoulaye NGom), while they are frequently followed by the African performer Nickens (Terry Crews) and his band.The kids make an awkward impression with each other, with Brendan calling his mom "hot", and the others not knowing how to react to Espn acting like her mom is there with her. Over time, they begin to bond with each other and each other's parents. However, when Hilary tries to catch Jake's attention, Jim embarrasses her during a basketball game, causing her to run away crying.Jim takes Tyler to ride ostriches, to Lauren's horror. Jim is thrown off the ostrich but Tyler claims he's having the best day of his life. When the boy wants to go parasailing, Lauren opts to try it out first. She enjoys herself until the van pulling her runs out of gas. Jim tells her to move her legs to make the landing easier, but the parachute knocks him down.Before dinner, Lauren brings Hilary to a salon to get a makeover to impress Jake. She comes out looking very beautiful, and she indeed catches Jake's eye, although Jim is not happy with Lauren trying to manage his daughter. They argue briefly, making everyone at the table leave, but they chill out.Jim and Lauren warm up to each other as time passes. They inadvertently get together for a couples massage and have fun with each other while Eddy and Ginger fool around inappropriately. Afterwards, Lou asks Lauren to put her to bed. She does so and sings "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", with Espn and Hilary listening in as well. She kisses them goodnight and leaves.Jim bonds with Lauren's boys by practicing playing ball with Tyler using a cricket bat and the help of Dale Steyn. The boy manages to hit the ball on his third try. Jim then does some boxing with Brendan since he knows the boy wants to take out some frustration on him.On the last night of the trip, Lauren puts on a beautiful black dress that she admired earlier which Jen bought (actually stole) for her. She wears it that evening, stunning everyone (except Brendan). Jim and Lauren are sat down for a romantic dinner while the kids are having fun. A little band of monkeys entertain the couple. They nearly kiss but Jim pulls back, unable to do it.Everybody returns home. Lauren laments not getting to be with Jim, and then she finds out that Jen is giving Dick a second chance, now willing to meet his kids. Hilary is keeping in touch with Jake, even though he lives in Vancouver. Jim realizes he misses Lauren and that he's fallen in love with her. Although Espn is not fully ready to move on from her mother's passing, she also doesn't want her dad to lose Lauren. At the kids' behest, Jim goes to Lauren's house to give her flowers, only to find Mark there, pretending to be back with Lauren. Tyler gets excited to see Jim and wants to play ball, but Jim sadly leaves and Mark bails on his son again. He later tries to make a move on Lauren, but she refuses since he has continuously failed to be a good father.That following Saturday, Lauren and Brendan go to support Tyler at his game, along with Jen, Dick, and his kids. Mark, once again, is a no-show. Jim and his daughters arrive to show encouragement, inspiring Tyler to hit the ball. Although he has no idea what he's doing, he makes it all the way back to home base, allowing his team to win. His teammates cheer and carry Tyler proudly. Jim then finds Lauren and they admit to wanting to be together, and they finally kiss, to the happiness of their kids.The final scenes shows Nickens and his band singing in a hot air balloon over the field. Nickens nearly falls out, but he's pulled back in safely. | comedy, feel-good, adult comedy, romantic | train | imdb | The chemistry between him and Drew Barrymore is as good as 50 First Dates, it was funny, we laughed all the way through, the storyline was fun and held gentle messages to any families in this situation therefore approaching potential sensitive subjects with tact and diplomatic wit.I watch and enjoy a range of film genres but in today's society where many things are far less censored and where daily we read in papers and see on our screens the horrible things people do in the name of whatever their intent and films that relay these and far worse depravities it's fun, refreshing and heartwarming to watch something like this.I read somewhere that Adam Sandler said making his films was like having one big vacation if that's true then why not?
The added touches are the children in this film, who are not only hilarious but also bring out the parental qualities in Drew and Sandler's characters.
Stubbornly suburban, vaguely sexist, more like sketch comedy lacking a finely crafted story arc, and definitely an unashamedly traditionalist pro-family view of "boys need dads and girls need moms." So that's Sandler's POV.
The Africa setting was beautiful and the scenes in the hotel were gorgeous.All in all I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wants a few laughs and a feel good movie..
I think Adam Sandler is a smart, talented entertainer and I also enjoy Drew Barrymore and the two together is a special treat.
We know that, if these were real families, there would be more bumps in the road, more laughs and more lessons to be learned.This is a good family movie--not much to cover your kids' ears over--and a great movie for anyone who has been a parent, and especially anyone who has tried to enter the dating/new relationship stage after the death or divorce of a spouse.Go see it!!.
After a couple of very bad recent movies, finally Adam Sandler did what he is doing the best.
Because some people are hating it just because they didn't like Adam Sandler's last movies, and they are ready to be automatic haters.
Well if you like Adam Sandler (at least his 50 first dates, click era) you'll love this movie.
If you're looking for the Sandler of 15 years ago, or the scoop of septic that the current comedic "geniuses" have to offer (Rogen, Attepow, etc.,) then stay home and watch for umpteenth time the "hilarious" back and forth between Franco and Seth in This Is Then End.For Blended is reasonable, and funny and OK for older kids, as some of them are facing the same issues that the kids portrayed here are.
Thrown together, the two adult characters put forth their best efforts to make the vacation work for their kids and end up making it work for each other.There is some mildly crude humor, but a lot of it is gentle fun, some of it predictable, some laugh out loud funny.My family agreed that that crazy fool Terry Crews stole the show!
If you are looking for a feel good movie, with great one liners, Cherry on top due to Drew and Adam Sandler's presence, see this..
He buried Funny People and his other classics with bad movies like Jack & Jill, Grown Ups 2 and That's My Boy. I had my doubts for Blended, (you can't really blame me) but I can comfortably say that this is his best movie in years.
Sandler has lost his touch in making funny movies, but he has proved that Blended does not need true comedy, just warmth and delight.
Wow,I was expecting to bash this movie,but was I wrong.The movie 'Blended' is actually a good movie.I will not spoil the movie for you,but I will say I am still surprised it was good.When I was sitting watching the movie,and I laughed,I was quite surprised.This is yet another Adam Sandler movie.I have recently hated all of Sandler's new movies.I despised 'Grown Ups',and hated 'Grown Ups 2'.Those movies were terrible.'Jack and Jill',don't get me started on that garbage.Expecting to be angry at this movie,I had very little hopes of this movie being good.I watched it as a final chance for Sandler to redeem himself from his previous disasters.Luckily,I ended up enjoying this movie and kept turning to my friend,looking at him like are we seriously laughing.Overall,a huge comeback for Sandler and meaning this movie is 7.5/10..
Love the snappy comebacks and witty script - I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard and this is really one of the best feel-good movies I've seen in recent times.
I hope Adam Sandler makes more movies like this.
Whenever I want to watch comedy movies, when I feel so sad and need to be laughing is the only name that comes to mind ADAM SANDLER and his team.
I have watched all the movies and there is nothing else that makes me so happy and laughing in this life.Adam Sandler If a new movie comes out, even if it gets very bad points from the critics, it does not matter to me I love even the worst movie I love them very much All Adam Sandler movie are very nice to me.Adam Sandler movies, I have a sense of old comedy, so if you do it in a new movie, then you have a sense of comedies in those old movies.Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler a very good duo saw it in 50 first dates movies before.
I think Adam Sandler shines when he's working with kids, and in these troubling times, I appreciate that he seems to be dedicated to making movies that have the general theme of "just have fun being a decent person." I respect him so much more now than I ever did during the SNL/Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore days..
I simply love Drew Barrymore and Sandler working together.In fact I loved the film so much that I have seen it more then once :)It is a nice family movie with beautiful location and a funny love story .Terry Crews is so funny he makes you laugh.The film also applies to young kids as it has a lot of things going on for them in this film.I will surly recommend it to everyone who enjoys Family romantic yet funny movies.I am not a person that usually enjoy watching comedy movies but this film is one of my favorites for sure..
This was a joke, not a single character played a convincing or necessary role in the movie, Drew Barrymore's performance looked like a little girl trying to keep herself from laughing, all of the children were incredibly annoying, I would much rather this have been a horror movie, where each person would eventually get picked off, at least then I would have something to look forward to (Harsh I know but this movie was that bad, if not worse).
I enjoyed it better than any Adam Sandler movie including 50 first dates and Wedding SInger starring Drew and Adam together as well.
So if you don't like Adam Sandler maybe this movie isn't for you...otherwise I think you will enjoy it.Two families are "blended" as they - after a horrible first date- end up at the same holiday resort.
He's doing wild animal fart and poop jokes, Quite the creative genius, that Sandler.) The problem here is like every Sandler movie: Its only funny enough to entertain a Lemur (Oh another reason to film in Africa.) And Sandler's ego.
I didn't have high expectations for this film since i knew Adam Sandler was one the WORST actors ever, but this movie still managed to shock me by how bad it is.
Both Sandler and Barrymore came up with almost excellent acting, and although we can predict the happy end and even the plot twists(if there are real plot twists) in this movie everything else is just so perfect.
People who like Adam Sandler type humor should just not watch (and critique) his movies...
Even Sandler could not save Blended.TL;DR -- Watch Blended if you need a safe family film, but do not expect to laugh all that often..
I've pictured it as funny lighthearted comedy (as I consider Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore as great comedic actors...), however I was disappointed.
If you don't like Adam Sandler's movies then why are you wasting your time and money to go see it just to give it a bad review.
I like Adam Sandler and I love his movies.
I loved it, good family movie, we all laughed the whole time and if you liked Grown Ups and 50 first dates then you'll like this one too.
But here's the really odd thing about Blended: it possesses a deep, truthful core of emotion, one so powerful that it not only elevates the entire film, but will hit you squarely in the heart if you let it.Jim (Adam Sandler) and Lauren (Drew Barrymore) first meet on a catastrophic blind date.
There's even a kind of Greek (African, in this context) chorus led by Terry Crews (TV's Brooklyn Nine-Nine), popping up to sing about what's going on in the film - it starts out funny, but starts to grate after a while.The script also has an unmistakably sexist slant to it: Lauren doesn't know how to connect with her boys because she's not a dude, and Jim treats his blossoming princesses as guys because...
There's a little wish fulfilment going on by the end, sure, but the inevitable happy ending feels more hard-won and genuine than before.In short: don't go into Blended expecting a good film, much less a masterpiece.
-Blended is the latest Adam Sandler-fest, this time taking a more family friendly approach, looking at a man, and his daughters, whose wife passed away, and a woman, and her sons, who is recently divorced from her husband.
It did pull out some entertainment value and got better as it went along, it was not that good.-It is rated PG-13 for some language and adult humor.-So Blended was not terrible and did have some redeeming elements, but overall its characters, humor, story, and the presence Adam Sandler make it not worth watching.
If you like Adam Sandler movies go and watch it!.
I think that Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore should make a movie every year together!
When you see Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in a film, you know what to expect.
So a lot of Adam Sandler films have been hideous movies that have being urinated on while making a funny face as your idiot friend gets kicked in the balls after making a far joke to be the highest form of comedy ever to a decently heart felt, decently funny, decently acted and decently directed film.
Drew Barrymore while a good fit for Sandler is sadly not much better here she does the best whit what little she has to work with and keeps some cohesion in actually forming a narrative and heaving the family work as more than just a lot of disconnected people to make jokes about as does the rest of the cast.
I saw both Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates and expected the same quality of acting and an interesting plot.
Paired for the third time, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore hit it off again, while regenerating that mushy charm from their previous outings in The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates.
Comprising of 70 percent Adam Sandler goofiness, 20 percent marketing for Sun City, and 10 percent romantic comedy, Blended turns out to be 100 percent family fun as long as kids don't take this film too seriously.
Edible panties lame joke was were I just realized that this is time I will never get back.This looks like the Frankenstein monster after they cut out all the bad stuff from all the past romcoms and family movies they could get their hands on.To sum it up: - jokes are not funny unless your IQ is less than 70 - acting is bad - story is unimaginative Some of the things I'd like to yell at the makers of this thing while they are being water boarded: - Guy names his kid ESPN?
It's good to watch a light comedy movie once a while with your complete family !.
And of course what would an Adam Sandler movie be without a funny face or two to keep things even kiddier.
Unlike other Sandler movies, and comedy films in general, Blended has decided to spread out the comedy styles and mix them together in a script full of fun and laughter.
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore still have that on screen magic that they had in The Wedding Singer(1998), and 50 First Dates(2004).
I hope they both will team up together again, for a another movie in the future.After a bad blind dater, a widower(Adam Sandler) with three daughters, and divorced mother(Drew Barrymore) with two sons, unwittingly end up on the same resort in Africa, and end sharing the same sweat, while trying there best out of things in hopes it won't turn into a disaster.I liked it a little bit more than Grown Ups 2(2013) in which I found amusing, and I laughed way more then the train wreck of a film simply titled That's My Boy(2012).
Overall, Blended is a very good movie and a much better film than people suggest.
I think the premise of this movie, the star studded cast, and the new take on a time old story makes Blended a great film.
Keep giving us great movies Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
OK you have to know going in that Adam Sandler doesn't make R rated comedies and his films are super goofy and frequently ridiculous.
First, the premise of blended families is a good subject for a comedy and it works well in this film- perfect with the cute dynamic between Sandler and Barrymore.
If you like Adam Sandler then prepare for another classic to go with the old classic, if you aren't a fan, try it for a genuinely funny family film.
Most of the time I cringe at his films but I thought that Adam and Drew Barrymore had a good on screen chemistry, their good at playing the visual slapstick, exaggeratedly over the top/hyper single parents.
I'd heard this was quite good, the 2nd film to feature Adam and Drew as the two main leads since '50 First Dates' which I also thought wasn't too bad.Its an easy watch, pretty basic comedy as you might expect.
I laughed so hard, really nice film, Adam Sandler has a great talent, The Chemistry between him and Drew Barrymore is good.Drew is a great actress, and this role suited her well.All over - i loved it..
It's just one of the amazing Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore movie.
Collaborating with Drew Barrymore for the third time after 'The Wedding Singer' and '50 First Dates', Sandler manages to come up with a just a few okay laughs that sadly come far in between.
The chemistry between Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler was just as it was in 51st dates.
However, with the exception of Fifty First Dates where he teamed up with Drew Barrymore again, I found the humour to be a tame compared to the earlier films and at times a little predictable - certainly not laugh out loud like Happy Gilmore.When I saw Sandler had teamed up with Barrymore again, I decided to give it a watch - having loved both 50 First Dates and The Wedding Singer.
With one liner after one liner, cameos by characters from Happy Gilmore, 50 First Dates and The Wedding Singer (and probably more that I missed) and the incredible on-screen chemistry between Sandler and Barrymore makes this a feelgood romcom that is a return to form for Adam Sandler.In reality, it's a predictable enough script, and at times you groan at the storyline, but it doesn't matter because it's funny, heart warming and feel good all at the same time.I loved this film.
so i've just watched all 3 movies Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore have acted in together and they've pretty much won my liking.
Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore should make a good romcom.
Wedding Singers good, 50 First Dates, truly laugh out loud, (and I have seen it several times),and Blended, brought me out of a funk, so it is the best.
If you have a family, this movie will move you.Yes, I would love to see my people of color in more substantial/less stereotypical roles, but this movie has a slightly diverse cast, Terry Crews is an effing SUPERSTAR (so funny), and who doesn't love Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore?
Blended (2014) starring Adam sandler and Drew Barrymore was actually surprisingly fun and enjoyable.
"Even in nature, there are blended families."It's been a while since I can remember enjoying an Adam Sandler film.
'BLENDED': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)The third romantic comedy flick to star Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore (following 'THE WEDDING SINGER' and '50 FIRST DATES').
I think the chemistry between Saddler and Drew is really good which helps the movie.Still believe that anyone wanting to know should they go see this movie to go as I believe it is still worth the watch.It is an Adam Sandler movie at the day ..
The best Adam Sandler film yet..
The best movie ever produced by Adam Sandler.
Unlike his previous movies, Adam Sandler has successfully blended good storyline, casts, and beautiful set of Africa in this movie that make it special to watch.
After recent flops like Grown Ups 2, That's My Boy or Jack and Jill, I'm not actually looking forward to watch Sandler's new romantic comedy film, Blended.
Blended turned out to be a fun, entertaining, exciting, happy and relaxing film for family, friends or even couples to enjoy.Once again, Sandler pairs himself with Barrymore after 50 First Dates or The Wedding Singer. |
tt0116367 | From Dusk Till Dawn | Texas sheriff Edgar McGraw pulls up to an isolated liquor store in Texas called Benny's World of Liquor. Once inside he speaks with the shopkeeper. He then goes to use the restroom. As soon as he is inside the bathroom, The Gecko Brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Quentin Tarantino), two desperado-type crimminals appear with two hostages and gun pointed at the shopkeeper apparently in the store the whole time. Seth threatens the shopkeeper and tells him to be cool. The sheriff returns shortly after and goes to pay. While talking to the shopkeeper, Richie kills the sheriff with a point blank shot to the head. Seth and Richie argue because Richie claims the shopkeeper mouthed "help us". As the shopkeeper yells to defend himself, Richie shoots him in the shoulder. Seth and Richie argue and Seth decides to leave. As they are leaving the shopkeeper jumps up and shoots Richie in his hand. They all start shooting. The hostages escape and the fight is ended when Seth throws a lit toilet paper roll dosed with light fluid at the shopkeeper who was covered in alcohol killing him. They leave as the liquor store explodes.The brothers then check into a motel with their one remaining hostage and they discuss their plan to flee to Mexico and meet Seth's contact, Carlos (Cheech Marin) for sanctuary.A news story is shown about the Grecko brothers and they atrocities. Seth returns to the motel to discover that Richie had raped and murdered the hostage. Seth scolds the insane Richie, for now they need new hostages to escape into Mexico.The brothers then run into Pastor Jake Fuller (Harvey Keitel), his two kids his teenage daughter Kate (Juliette Lewis) and adopted teenage son Scott (Ernest Liu). They kidnap the family and hijack their R.V. forcing them to drive to Mexico. The group is stopped at the border and the R.V. is searched by a custom's agent (Cheech Marin) but the brothers are hiding in the bathroom with Kate. They eventually make it through and on into Mexico.Soon after they enter Mexico, they arrive at an eccentric bar called The Titty Twister in the middle of a vast desert. Seth gets into a fight with the head bouncer (Cheech Marin) outside the club who refuses to let them in, and they all go inside. Once inside, they have a few drinks and enjoy the girls dancing on the tables. Soon Santanico Pandemonium (Salma Hayek) performs. Towards the end of her act, the bouncer returns and tells the bartender and the other what happened. When they confront the group, the crazy Richie pulls out a gun and one of the bartenders stabs his already shot hand to the table and another gunfight ensues.The brothers come out on top again and Seth goes to look at Richies badly wounded hand as Santanico sees the puddle of blood on the table. She then transforms into a hideous beast-like vampire and attacks Richie, biting him on the neck. Seth shoots Santanico off of Richie, but Richie dies soon after. Not long after the bouncer and the bartenders rise from the dead in the same beast-like vampire state and them and all the dancers... who are also vampires, lock the door and begin brutally feeding on the bar patrons. Seth, the family and a couple of bar patrons fight back manage to kill almost all the vampires.Seth goes to find his brother's body as the remaining bar patrons realizes the vampire band is still there. As the group goes to attack, they disappear. Seth says his final farewells to Richie but before he can finish, Richie turns into a vampire as well and attacks Seth who manages to get away. They share a moment looking at each other and Seth then decides he must kill Richie and he does.Seth begins to drink heavily as the remaining group starts to hear a swarm of bats surrounding the bar. The group then realizes that the killed bar patrons are turning into vampires as well and must fight them off. While staking the remaining vampires, one of the surviving bar patrons named Sex Machine (Tom Savini) bites his arm but hides it from the others.The survivors regroup and plan on what to do next. It is not long before Sex Machine begins to transform. He then sneaks up and attacks the other surviving bar patron, Frost (Fred Williamson) biting him in the neck. Sex Machine then moves onto Jake, biting him in the arm. Frost, still in human form, confronts Sex Machine and they begin to fight ending when Frost throws Sex Machine through a window, opening the way for the swam of vampire bats to come in and Frost also transforms. Seth and the kids then run and hide in a back room of the bar.Jake bandages his arm and makes a cross out of a bat and a shotgun and makes his way back to the remaining group. They then prepare to make a last stand against the remaining vampires. Before they go into battle, Jacob forces his children to swear they will kill him when he turns into a vampire and the reluctantly do.During the battle, Seth confronts Sex Machine for the final time and is almost killed but he is saved at the last minutes but Kate. The vampire Frost then confronts Jake and Jake kills him with his cross shotgun. Right after he kills Frost, he then too turns into a vampire and attacks his son Scott, biting him in the neck. Scott then kills his father with holy water, and is swarmed by vampires who tear him apart. He then begs his sister Kate to kill him and eventually she shoots him which results in small blast killing the vampires around him.Now only Seth and Kate remain to fight off the vampires. They are completely outnumbered and it seems all is lost when rays of sunlight start to come through cracks hurting the vampires. They then hear Carlos banging on the door and eventually he breaks through as Seth and Kate run out. The vampires begin exploding and the bar itself explodes as they are running away.Outside, Seth and Carlos negotiate a deal for the money and Carlos gives Seth a sports car. Seth tells Kate to go home and he drives off, following Carlos to El Rey. Then the camera shot zooms out to reveal that the bar is actually the top portion of a very large ancient Aztec ziggurat. | comedy, murder, cult, violence, horror, psychedelic, humor, action, plot twist, entertaining | train | imdb | The second section is also great because of the horrific violence and as I heard mentioned before, the unique ways on how to kill vampires.The script is witty and full of dark humour, "I have 6 little friends and they all run faster than you.", and the intro is certainly one of the best I have seen in months.
The characters are well established, with Clooney as the 'gentleman' (well, not really) crook, Tarantino as his psychotic brother (who, strangely, I found difficult not to warm to) and Keitel is the preacher who has lost his faith, the hostage who will help out later when the satanic hordes unleash themselves.A special mention must go to Salma Hayek for that special dance.
If you hadn't seen this before, without any knowledge of the movie, you'd be in for a huge surprise as I was.An 8/10 for it's script (thanks to Tarantino) and the actors who, while not trying too hard, make this an enjoyable horror flick with a difference..
I prefer more realism in my vampires but having said that, I cannot fault Tarantino, his is perfect in the role as the twisted Richard Gecko, and although I don't usually like George Clooney he was surprisingly cool as Seth.
Their friendship lead them to make movies together starting with "Four Rooms", but together with make-up masters Kurtzman, Nicotero and Berger the two young directors crafted one of the most original movies of the 90s: "From Dusk Till Dawn".The plot starts with the escape of two criminal brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Tarantino himself) and their effort to reach Mexico kidnapping the family of a faith-less preacher named Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) who was traveling with his daughter Kate (Juliette Lewis) and his son Scott (Ernest Liu).
This lack of pretensions makes it even more enjoyable as it never tries to be something else than pure entertainment.The movie is interestingly divided in two, the first half dedicated to establishing the relationships between the characters, particularly the complicated clash of the Geckos and the Fullers, in a typical Tarantino style crime/drama fashion; on the other hand, the second half is an action packed thrill ride on the style of 70s action movies that clearly shows John Carpenter's influence over Rodriguez.
While it is definitely a tribute to their influences, the Rodriguez/Tarantino team create a solid movie that stands on its own as a very original take on horror movies.The acting is very effective, with George Clooney carrying the film as the cool-headed older brother who has to take care of his psychotic younger brother.
While the violence is never intended to be realistic, the poor CGI at times make it look more cartoon-like than what it was supposed to be, but it is not a real damaging flaw and the film is still highly enjoyable.Rodriguez has always done films to have fun, and this is what has set him apart from other filmmakers (Tarantino included).
Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk till Dawn combines vicious violence, Cheech Marin vampires, and some funny humor from the cast into one big collective film.
More than a basic horror movie, it has Rodriquez as a fine director and Quentin Tarantino as a good screenwriter who bring to the screen basic shoot em up fun.
There is nothing wrong with the acting, the music really good and the special effects are gross (but great).The first half of the story revolves around the Gecko brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Quentin Tarantino).
This is about two criminal brothers(Clooney and Tarantino)wind up taking a family hostage to make it across the Mexican border to a meeting point, a bar called the "Titty Twister".
This bar is open from dusk till dawn....and is filled with vampires.This movie starts off as something else at first.
It just didn't fit with the rest of the movie.I'm not gonna lie, the different ways of how they killed the vampires were pretty cool and creative, but I felt like the first half of the movie was made by Tarantino and the second half was made by Rodriguez.This movie had a lot of potential if it stuck with the first plot.
Well, I can tell u one thing this movie is pure fun:the dialogues are great, the acting is terrific(especially Quentin Tarantino) and the special effects are nice.You probably asking WHY THIS MOVIE HAVE 6.6 RATING??
, I think that the reason for this is Quentin Tarantino, when people heard QT IS involved in the production of the movie they thought it has similarity to Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, actually, it's very different from those films, and that is something that can show us the greatness of QUENTIN TARANTINO.In the bottom line,I liked this movie and I recommend it..
There's no surprise element with the film, you get everything that director Robert Rodriguez and writer Quentin Tarantino said you would get; a hard buttocked road movie that turns into a raging B horror movie gore fest.The plot, for what's it's worth, sees two criminal brothers, Seth {George Clooney} & Richie Gecko {Tarantino} on the lam after Richie breaks Seth out of prison.
"From Dusk Till Dawn" is a great crossover between A- and B-movies, that only a genius like Quentin Tarantino could have made possible: there are great character actors (Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis) next to Hollywood superstars like George Clooney, Salma Hayek or Tarantino himself.
Everything about this movie -which is actually two bad stories stuck together to make one turkey- has an adolescent feel to it with its stylised and sadistic violence, gratuitous nudity, cliché ridden vampires, f-laden dialogue, gunplay, biker bars, girls on the toilet etc.Clooney and Tarantino play a couple of murderous brothers.
After a bank heist in Abilene with several casualties, the bank robber Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his psychopath and rapist brother Richard Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) continue their crime spree in a convenience store in the middle of the desert while heading to Mexico with a hostage.
It falls short in most other respects.For one thing, its structure makes it almost two separate movies: before the Gecko brothers arrive at the Mexican bar, it's another Tarantino crime-spree road picture a la "Natural Born Killers"; afterwards, it's "Vamp" meets "Dawn of the Dead." Quentin Tarantino, who stars, opposite George Clooney, as the more unstable of the two criminal brothers, also scripted; evidently, he knows how to write action movies, but less about how to write vampire movies.
the undead, even going so far as to cast Tom Savini as one of the bikers!), FDTD features squirt guns full of holy water a la "The Lost Boys"; has a character carve a cross into the tip of a bullet, which echoes both "Curse of the Undead" (a vampire Western of the late '50s!) and "Taxi Driver"; mentions Peter Cushing by name; and product-places a character wearing a "Precinct 13" T-shirt.At one point the question arises as to whether anyone has actually read anything about vampires, or whether they're relying solely on movie knowledge: a fair question, and one that could be asked of Tarantino himself.
FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996) *** Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu, Cheech Marin, Fred Williamson, Salma Hayek, Michael Parks, Kelly Preston, John Saxon.
Hybrid talents of crime thriller Tarantino and kitchen sink violence of Rodriguez combine in this high octane cocktail about crime spree siblings Clooney and Tarantino (who also did the screenplay) high-tailing it to Mexico with an unwitting family (Keitel, Lewis and Liu) as their hostages/getaway for a rendezvous in hell: a truck-stop strip joint full of vampires!
I will bet that you have never seen a movie like this,it starts out like any other ordinary thriller or action movie and you dont expect a thing of what is going to happen.But the suddenly the whole story turns,and all most all the people becomes vampires,and the movie becomes a big gore fest with some really explicit violence.
It has been made 3 movies in this series and this is the best one,with the third one on a close second.Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino is really two masterminds who have made some of the coolest movies in a long time.And they do not disapoint with this ground breaking movie.If you like this one then be sure to check out the third one,which is very similar.And maybe the second one although it is not that great.
I vaguely remembered something about vampires being in the movie, but as the film began, I thought my memory must've been wrong, because this was a movie about two bankrobbers/murderers named the Gecko brothers, Clooney (Excellent as an anti-hero character) and Tarantino (not as excellent).The first half hour is quite good, thanks to Tarantino's great script and solid acting by Clooney and his hostage Keitel, a preacher with two children who has lost his faith due to the death of his wife.
After they cross the border into Mexico to avoid the police and FBI, they go to a not so family-friendly bar to meet their accomplice in the robberies.Then the entire movie falls apart.It turns out that all of the people that work in the bar are secretly vampires, and an ultra-gory biting and stabbing scene follows, complete with decapitating and removing beating hearts.Now don't get me wrong, there are some well choreographed vampire fight scenes in this movie that can be attributed to director Rodriguez, but the transition between the Gecko Brothers escaping to the vampire hunting is so choppy that it feels like two completely different movies just crammed together.
Unfortunately these are the main things the film has going for it.The first half of the film is quite good and plays like a Tarantino-esque crime thriller, until they reach the club where it turns into a gory vampire b-movie.
Tarantino however can't act, he's a good director and should do more of that rather than turning in performances like this.The film is a messy action movie, it lacks structure, tension or any emotional core - whenever the actors get turned to vampires you don't really care.
Although I do like Tarantino's style and sometimes Robert Rodriguez, I cannot credit From Dusk Till Dawn with anything.
If you have never seen From Dusk Till Dawn, I think the experience will be more enjoyable for you if you follow these simple instructions: Put the DVD/Blu-Ray into the player and press "Play" Yow will start watching a movie about two fugitive robbers, one of them a paranoid, sex-obsessed psycho, who cross paths with the family of a preacher who has lost his faith after the tragic death of his wife.Enjoy the tense and riveting thriller, which boasts some great dialogue, brilliant direction, and good performances from a cast that oozes charisma; even Tarantino does a decent job.
(The only weak point is the Chinese lad who plays Harvey Keitel's son, and who seems incapable to convey any emotion whatsoever, but it's just a minor drawback.) When the characters arrive at the Titty Twister, you might notice the film starting to become a little corny, but don't worry, just hold on for a minute, the best scene of the movie is coming up.Marvel and drool at the phenomenal physique of Salma Hayek, whose body is so perfect in this movie she seem almost superhuman.
Maybe Tarantino jumps on Juliette Lewis and forces Harvey Keitel to finally confront the brothers and bring them to justice (with the help of Satanico, who ironically turns out to be a devout Christian); maybe when Carlos arrives he turns out to be an undercover Mexican Federal working with the FBI and the brothers continue their escape taking the family (and Satanico) with them deeper into Mexico and becoming more and more desperate along the way; maybe "Carlos" double-crosses them and they are all forced to hole themselves up in the bar and fight together for their lives against the Mexican mob...but WHATEVER you come up with, I guarantee you this: it will be better than the absurd silliness that Tarantino and Rodriguez cooked up, ruining what could have otherwise been a very good film.
(Not a bad idea.) And I can't really call it a "defining" personality trait because everyone gets it at the same time in this movie."From Dusk Till Dawn" just plain does not work.
Tarantino and Rodriguez are very talented filmmakers, and they've proved that time and time again, but they have given both their resumes a black eye with this mutated hybrid of "Reservoir Dogs" and "Assault on Precinct 13." If you value the works of either person, avoid this movie like the vampires it portrays..
The CGI effects are already ludicrous, the vampire makeups are silly (rubberized demons - what is this, a BBC production?), and the violence is neither exciting nor scary - it's merely gross.Check the trivia section and note that Quentin Tarantino - that fiercely original screenwriter and director - ripped off all of the film's best lines from older movies.
From Dusk Till Dawn annoyed me in a variety of ways, particularly because the first half was so great and the latter totally destroyed the film.
A modest success at the time of its release, the movie has since gone on to gain a cult following.The story revolves around a pair of criminals (George Clooney & Quentin Tarantino) who seek refuge in Mexico following a big score.
Of the supporting actors, Fred Williamson & Tom Savini stand out in particular while Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Michael Parks & John Hawkes all made the most of their limited screen time.Tarantino's script is rife with his trademark dialogue and Rodriguez directed the movie with panache.
Since I am a gangster movie buff who can't get enough of the Tarantino classics Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, I was all set for some more of the great dialogue and keenly directed diction of these two films when I tuned in for FDTD.
Screenwriter Quentin Tarantino and director Robert Rodriguez had apparently attained the kind of stature within the right kind of circles that gave them free reign going into the production of `From Dusk Till Dawn,' and the results are something akin to what happens when you turn a couple of undisciplined youngsters loose in a toy store and then refuse to hold them accountable for the mess they make.
And, unfortunately, none of the above are to be found anywhere in this `B-' schlock Rodriguez and Co. have fostered upon an unsuspecting public.The degradations begin when the morally bankrupt Gecko brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Tarantino), go on a spree of murder and robbery on their way to Mexico, where they're to meet up with a colleague who will provide them with a safe haven-- for a price, of course.
Thought it is extremely Silly, Gory and so far into the red zone that it is at times just shy of black, the film not only delivers the goods, but it delivers them which a descent sense of black humour, a sensational make up effects job, and a cast of characters that you actually end up kind of liking more than one usually does with these movies (well some of them arn't so likable).
The second half, after they cross the border into Mexico - as others here have pointed out - becomes the Evil Dead segment of the film, where everything turns into some over-the-top, bizarre, gross-out vampire blood-'n-guts movie with bad special effects and cheesy scenes.
It seems as though Tarantino was tired of making good movies and needed to turn out a terrible combination of crime and vampires.
At the Mexican rendezvous, a bar named The Titty Twister, things go from bad to worse as night falls, and blood-sucking vampires from Hell infest the seedy bar."From Dusk Till Dawn" is a wonderful mix of action, comedy and horror.
But the movie has a heap of other great talents on the cast list, including Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini, Cheech Marin and Fred Williamson.This 1996 movie is a definite must watch movie, whether you like vampires or not, and it spawned two less impressive sequels and an awful TV series.
Harvey Keitel couldn't find work for years, George Clooney started out on the Facts of Life and Juliette Lewis keeps surprising us all with the kinds of movie roles shes chooses.
Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Kelly Preston, Ernest Liu. Gory, humorous thriller with the biggest second half 360 since MULHOLLAND DRIVE.
I absolutely love this film, every time it comes on T.V. It never tires me, it's always a joy to watch.This is a Vampire movie with an attitude, and humorous dialogue.
George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel and Juliet Lewis team up with Tom Savini and others to fight evil vampires Cheech Marin and Selma Hayek, among others.
From Dusk Til Dawn is definitely a movie of two halfsIt starts off well enough, with the hellish Gecko brothers (Cooney and Tarantino) shooting and hijacking their way across Texas, picking up the hapless Harvey Keitel and family en route.
"From Dusk Till Dawn" has a great cast consisting of some of Rodriguez's usual like Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin, but the main stars are Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney, Juliette Lewis, and Harvey Keitel.
In "Grindhouse", both Tarantino and Rodriguez directed a different homage film that combined to make one movie.
He has some hilarious moments and great acting.This movie is about two brothers (clooney and Tarantino)who are robbers.
They make the family drive to a bar in Mexico where some unlikely events happen.This movie is filled with great actors, clooney ,Tarantino, keitel and more.
From Dusk Till Dawn is the original 'Grindhouse' Tarantino/ Rodriguez featurette, a film that feels like one person has created one half before the second guy just takes over and finishes things off in their own style. |
tt1018817 | April Fool's Day | On the weekend leading up to April Fools' Day, a group of college friends, consisting of Harvey, Nikki, Rob, Skip, Nan, Chaz, Kit and Arch, gather to celebrate spring break by spending the weekend at the island mansion of Skip's sister, Muffy St. John. The tone is set almost immediately, with Muffy preparing details around the house when she finds an old jack-in-the-box she remembers in a flashback sequence. Her friends, meanwhile, joke around on the pier while awaiting the ferry. En route to the island, as their antics become more boisterous, local deckhand Buck is seriously injured in a gruesome accident.
Once on the island, it turns out that Muffy has set up a variety of pranks throughout the mansion, ranging from simple gags such as a whoopee cushion and dribble glasses, to more complex and disturbing pranks, such as an audiotape of a baby crying in someone's room and heroin paraphernalia in a guest's wardrobe. In spite of this, the group try to relax, until Skip goes missing, and Kit catches a glimpse of what looks like his dead body. Soon, Arch and Nan also go missing. During a search for the pair, Nikki falls into the island's well, where she finds the severed heads of Skip and Arch, along with the dead body of Nan. The remaining group members then discover that the phone lines are dead and there is no way to get off the island until Monday.
One after another, members of the group either vanish or get killed before their bodies are found. After putting some clues together, Kit and Rob realize that everyone's earlier assumption is wrong; the kinsman of the deckhand injured when they arrived is a red herring. It also turns out that Muffy has a violently insane twin sister named Buffy, who has escaped. In fact, the "Muffy" they have been around since the first night was Buffy, pretending to be Muffy. They discover Muffy's severed head in the basement.
Buffy chases them with a curved butcher's knife, and the couple gets separated. Kit flees from Buffy by escaping into the living room where she finds everyone else there, alive and calmly waiting for her. It was all a joke, or more accurately, a dress rehearsal. It is revealed to the audience that the whole film was never a slasher film from the start, but rather pretending to be one. Muffy hopes to turn the mansion into a resort offering a weekend of staged horror. She even had a friend who does special effects and make-up in Hollywood help. Each "victim" agreed to take part as things were explained to them.
Everyone has a huge laugh and they break out lots of bottles of champagne. Later that night, a half-drunk Muffy goes to her room and finds a wrapped present on her bed. She unwraps it, and the present is the jack-in-the-box. Savoring the surprise, she turns the handle slowly and when "Jack" finally pops out, Nan, who knew Muffy from acting class, emerges from behind her and slits her throat with a razor. Muffy screams, but then realizes she is not really bleeding and that Nan used a trick razor and stage blood. The film ends with the jack-in-the-box winking at the audience. | revenge, murder, prank | train | wikipedia | I Know What You Did Last April's Fool Day. In the débutant ball of the socialite Torrance Caldwell (Scout Taylor-Compton) on April, 1st 2007, the jealous and futile millionaire Desiree Cartier (Taylor Cole) dilutes a powerful drug in the champagne of her dislikable acquaintance Milan Hastings (Sabrina Ann Aldridge) and her reckless brother Blaine Cartier (Josh Henderson) takes sexual advantage of Milan.
While gathered in the cemetery, they receive a package telling that each one of them would die until the end of the day if the responsible for the death of Milan does not assume the guilty.The association of "April's Fool Day" with the franchises "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Cruel Intentions" is immediate.
The acting was pretty bad for most of the supporting characters but I still am having a hard time figuring out if it's the actors fault or the directors.
I don't know where they got the idea to use some of the music but it ruined any little bit of suspense that they managed to build.This was one of the worse movies I have seen in a long time.
But because the ending was decent and the movie was somewhat entertaining, I give it 5/10.Ps. I love pretty much all slasher films that I've seen..
I got over my disgust that they were remaking one of my all-time favorite films and went into this one with a completely open mind -- I saw the trailer but I purposely didn't read a single thing about it.
I didn't think any film could be this bad.Strangely, there's a beautiful production design, and most of the actors are good (though the fact that everyone in the cast is model-pretty is a bit disconcerting).
After 20 minutes of getting to know the characters -- all of whom are wholly unlikable -- the story actually begins, and from that point on it becomes a routine I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER rip-off, sans the suspense, gore and intentional humor of that film.
The only thing lifted from the 1986 film is the title, a character with a videocamera (which had nothing to do with the plot itself in the original) and the theatrical twist ending -- though they tried to trump the twist here, which resulted in one of the most predictable and unintentionally hilarious moments in the history of film.This film feels like one of the clones that followed in the wake of SCREAM.
I don't know who the Butcher Brothers are but I suggest they quit making films and go back to making hamburger in the back room at Kroger!I mean this movie was bad!
I think I sprained my eyes from rolling them so much.All the stars of this junk looked like they were cast using rejected audition tapes stolen from the dumpster outside of the MTV studios.This movie is about as suspenseful as an episode of Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood and only about half as entertaining.I make a lot of fun of horror movies being made nowadays to satisfy fourteen year old girls.
This movie is a horrible waste of time.It's slow as molasses.It's directed like a soft core porn film you'd see after hours on Cinemax.
The characters are thinly drawn.You get very bored very early on.Not worth it.The plot:The new "April Fool's" revolves around a party given by two rich siblings for their friend.
I'm not exactly sure if I like this movie because I somewhat feel disappointed but at the same time satisfied at what I just watched.
The acting came off as "camp" but it was appropriate for the look, feel, and style of this movie.....camp is always fun to watch!
sure it's a bit corny at times, but there are some great scares and if you just want to have fun, this is a good movie to watch!
There was potential for it to be a lot better than it was but ultimately it is a movie that is probably only worth watching the once.The acting was generally fine, the budget was good and the premise was very good - naturally, since it was a remake (although I've not seen the original).
The script was pretty simple and easy to follow, perhaps overly so.The big issue with the movie is that none of the characters were particularly likable and because of that it was quite hard to become invested in caring about who lived and who died, which for a horror film is generally the most important thing.
It was 25 minutes into the film before we see the prank that resulted in Milan's (Sabrina Aldridge) tragic death.Now, it is a year later, and the fun begins.It was the dog Elsie that dies first.
If that doesn't say it all then I don't know what does.APRIL FOOL'S DAY is an appalling film, so cringeworthy, so awful that I can barely believe it exists.
The various kill scenes are silly indeed and the movie reaches a real nadir when it comes to the big twist at the climax, which is the most ridiculous, SCOOBY DOO-type thing I've ever seen.
I guess, if you start watching this movie and then think it a silly and tasteless slasher and turn it off before it ends you can get a completely wrong impression.
The end is twisted (2 times) and it is only then that we realize that the movie is not a slasher at all and why actually they used (and intentionally overused) that 'rich and beautiful' even trashy deco all the time.
The script was terrible.Not to mention this was the exact plot as I Know What You Did Last Summer, except it takes place on April's Fools Day rather than the Fourth of July.As I was watching it, I thought the film was decent, but then the ending came, and it was the most predictable ending ever.
April Fool's Day is one of the better remakes that I've seen in the past year.
One year later on their friend's anniversary, those Taylor Cole(WWE's upcoming 12 Rounds and Summerland), Josh Henderson(90210 and Step Up) and Scout Taylor Compton(Rob Zombie's Halloween and Wicked Little Things) and four of their friends who were involved with the accident, begin to die one by one at the hands of a mysterious killer.
When you are watching this movie, you get to see the characters wonder if it is really happening, or just a cruel April Fool's Day joke.
One year after the accidental death of pretty goody-two-shoes Milan, a group of friends find themselves targeted by a mysterious killer.You would think that, no matter how bad the film might be overall, there would be a certain level of satisfaction to be had from watching a bunch of spoilt, over-privileged, and thoroughly obnoxious, good-looking socialites being murdered; April Fool's Day '08 goes to prove otherwise.The latest dud to join a long list of recent awful horror remakes, this joyless and pointless effort from directors The Butcher Brothers (Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores) keeps the whole 'it was all an elaborate hoax' element from the original, but ditches practically everything else.
I was actually one of the very few who thought that a remake to the classic 1986 version of this movie would be quite an interesting concept, and I thought that it would be interesting to see what an updated version would bring more ideas and a fresh outtake, but when I finally got round to viewing this I was sadly mistaken and wrong, and it's just as botched up as all the other bad remakes of 80's classic slashers that came about these last few years.Although the general idea remained the same, the storyline is completely different instead of an interesting group of teens gathering round a secluded beach house, we get a bunch of vapid and boring rich teens gather round for a party at a mansion for a birthday party on April 1st, where the characters constantly play pranks on each other until the prank goes tragically wrong and results in a death and the others gets away with it despite media coverage and a year passes and someone hasn't forgotten and is intent on revenge on the group.Right firstly I just didn't like the style of this movie, it has more of a teenage soap drama vibe to it and none of the characters are worth caring about or likable, and I was instantly bored even when the murders happen, well there was no tension at all, and the scene where the guy was getting chased by a car was just downright hilarious, I just couldn't stop laughing and plus the mystery was way too easily figured out and despite the killer's methods being fresh, it was just plain dull.
The only thing I found semi interesting was the ending, the twist upon twist was done quite okay, and it was just a shame that the rest of the movie was just rubbish.All in all "April Fool's Day '08" is just another terrible remake and better sticking with the original, even though that wasn't perfect, it was still better than this tripe..
, Lets talks about the original movie first as the plots are different.In the Original movie the film begins as a group of college friends gather to celebrate spring break spending the weekend at the island mansion of their friend, Muffy St. John (Foreman), on the weekend leading up to Aprill fools day The tone is set almost immediately with Muffy preparing details around the house, Her friends, meanwhile, are joking around on the pier, then on the ferry to the island.
I didn't care about this movie as I hated it, boring and waste of time, I would have gave it 3/10 now after seeing this remake I going to give it 6/10Now let talk about remake, This movie was more like I know what did last April fools day (is that great title or what ) anyway this plot is some-what different as Each April fool's Day, fabulously wealthy young Desiree Cartier hosts the most killer coming-out parties at her to-die-for southern mansion.
(One death scene is on Screen) but then friends are no longer friends only for to find out Desiree was the one that spiked the girl drink that they killed year ago only then to find out that whole thing is one big prank.
The acting is really bad (Everyone in this movie good looking but still no nudity I would have rated little higher) I am going to give this movie a 4/10.
The group leader, Desiree, who used the incident to wrest control of the family trust from her brother, rushes from murder scene to murder scene, only to find the killer picks off one of her friends at a time.Except, of course, it's all an April Fool's Prank to get her to confess.The twist ending is that in demonstrating the "blanks" in the gun, a real bullet is inserted and kills Desiree.
If April Fool's Day 1986 were fed through a garbage disposable...the end result would be this movie.
This movie has nothing in common with the original "April Fool's Day" from 1986.
Although the acting isn't bad, the worst thing has yet to come: the so called "surprising ending" with a twist you did not see coming !!
"April Fool's Day" is an utterly terrible and nearly pointless slasher entry.**SPOILERS**At a special party, Torrence Caldwell, (Scout-Taylor Compton) finds that Desiree Cartier, (Taylor Cole) welcomes her into the society that friends Blaine Cartier, (Josh Henderson) Barbie, (Jennifer Siebel Newsom), Peter Welling, (Samuel Child) Milan Hastings, (Sabrina Aldride) Charles Lansford, (Joseph McKelheer) and Ryan, (Joe Egender) aren't that happy with, figuring it's merely a set-up for a cruel prank.
As it's filmed through the killer's viewpoint, it has a real hint of suspense to it as they wind their way through the surroundings up to the unsuspecting victim, the interactions set-up our feelings toward it quite easily as it's a proved suspense tactic, and then finally the way they're dispatched is quite shocking and ends the scene nicely.
Loose remake of the 1986 film starts at an April fool's day party where wealthy spoiled Desiree Cartier (Cole) has a prank backfire resulting in someone's death.
A year later the people responsible for the death are being hunted on April fool's day and meet ghastly ends.
Even with all the twists at the end, this movie fails to entertain or scare and the twists can be guessed pretty easily.
Not to be confused with the classic horror-comedy April Fool's Day from 1986, this turd takes the same name but does little similar except attempt to play increasingly unlikely and tasteless stunts in the name of April Fool's Day...which was a forced coincidence in this film and completely ridiculous.The movie's story revolves around a throng of extremely unlikable people.
Not only are they lacking in charisma, but they are lacking each in completely stereotypical ways; coupled with their clearly fake accents and embarrassingly overacted flimsy characterisations, it's a total joke from the beginning.The least likable one of all dies first, so at least you don't have to endure her terrible acting and embarrassingly stupid character pastiche for long, but the rest of the film is spent watching the obnoxious remainder of the cast not quite get killed off.
This film's flimsy script defies any real reason, as well as openly flaunts its first draft status.If you want to see an actual good film, watch the 1986 original April Fool's Day. It's a bittersweet film about life, humour, friends, and the end of one era and the beginning of another.
This new version of APRIL FOOL'S DAY is not really a remake of the 1986 original movie.
In common they just have the final twist and some other little details.I think this movie was more suspenseful than the original but it's even more clichéd!
Aside from the final twist, which was pretty original and unexpected (at least for me!), the first APRIL FOOL'S DAY was very clichéd about the way characters died and about other details of the plot, presenting us some typical clichés of the 80's Horror movies.
Yes, it seems to have the plot of "Last Summer" with the "Cruel Intentions" characters and message!So, originality, this film have none!
One minute and that's all it took to make of "April Fool's Day" one of the worst films I ever seen.A bunch of pretty and rich teenagers in a débutant party made by two brothers Blaine and Desiree (Josh Henderson and Taylor Cole) who wants to make a prank on Milan (Sabrina Aldridge) a girl hated by Desiree for reasons unknown.
But it turns out that the April Fool's prank resulted in the accidental death of Milan and one year later of that event all the group involved with it starts to receive threats of someone who wants them to confess Milan's murder.
And just like many other movies of the genre these teens are getting killed in awful ways (nothing is showed actually so a kid can watch this movie with no problem).I watched this movie as result of a simple mistake where I was switching TV channels and saw this movie description and I saw the name of Josh Henderson (which I didn't know who was) but in my mind I've read Josh Hutcherson (the boy from "Bridge to Terabithia") thinking "Oh if he's in the movie that might be a good movie to watch.
Well he wasn't in it (Lucky!) and it turned out to be a great disaster.The plot is obvious, the plot twist it's quite funny (Blaine's expression while getting shot was completely ridiculous and everybody knows that he was going play a prank on his sister) and the acting?
The beauty looks on everybody's face here was just a distractive thing, now if you wanna see acting in real horror movies go watch "The Exorcist" or "Saw" with the incredible Tobin Bell.
Death scenes are poorly portrayed, the acting is stinted to the point of most being mannequin-like (except perhaps Cole, who seems to give an OK performance), and I am not sure if there was any direction given more then "look here" and "say this line".The writing was pathetic, with badly worded phrases and cheesy lines.The girls are definitely cute, but it's not enough to make up for the rest of the movie.If you like "C" class horror movies that are more funny and ridiculous then scary, then try this one out for size..
The problem is you can't just focus on the twist at the end to make your movie work.
The rest of the movie was dull...They present it on the cover as a slasher, yet the fake kills are terribly bads and the "fake killer" is almost never seen and i dunno...
you just have the impression it drag and drag...Yes Taylor is acting good, and at the end somewhat you feel more sorry for her than the rest even tough she was the bad girls who made the prank which lead to her friends death at the beginning.
Should I feel cheated with a plot that steals the "best" from "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Cruel Intentions"?.Was this in the first place a Horror movie?
Expect a plot filled with teenager oriented situations, stupid decisions, dialogs, weak direction, lame acting, terrible motives for suspense, and worst of all, the fake gore.To be honest, I just kept watching because of Taylor Cole and Scout Taylor-Compton.
I watched this movie last night and I found it to be actually pretty good.I never saw the original movie back from like 1987.The movie is about a group of people who have a party celebrating someone coming into their rich circle of friends.
That's when hell ensues and people start dying...I thought it was a really good plot and I'll watch this movie again :). |
tt0416236 | The Spiderwick Chronicles | The film opens with Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn) walking hurriedly into his study. The room is shelved with bugs and odd creatures in jars. He begins to frantically put together a book, and when he binds it and stamps his mark onto the cover, a strange beastly sound is heard outside, creatures of all sorts groaning.80 years later:
The Grace Family: twins Jared (Freddie Highmore) Simon (Freddie Highmore) Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and their mom, Helen (Mary Louise Parker) have recently moved from NYC to the Spiderwick estate, because of the recent divorce of the parents. While Simon, Mallory, and Helen are excited, Jared hates the move, and refuses to talk to anyone. Inside, Helen and Simon hear footsteps, but see no one in the dark. While they turn the lights on, Mallory and Jared get into a fight, as Mallory (who takes fencing) whips Jared with her sword. She wants the move to work, even if Jared doesn't. Jared is left alone later outside, and hurriedly runs inside when he hears sounds in the bushes.In the boys' bedroom, Jared assures Simon that their dad is coming for them. There is salt all over the window sills, and there is a picture of Aunt Lucinda (Arthur's daughter) as a little girl. She was taken to an asylum when she claimed her father was kidnapped by fairies. Lucinda was the last one to live in the house before she was taken.At dinner, mom finds the kitchen packed with honey and tomato sauce. Mallory can't find her fencing award medal, and mom can't find her car keys. After a brief argument among the siblings, Helen claims that this is not how the family will work. Mallory and Simon get up from the table, and mom receives a call from her ex-husband (Andrew McCarthy). Jared is overjoyed by the call, and dad promises to pick up Jared soon. After hanging up, Jared accuses Helen of not allowing dad to see them. He then hears sounds in the wall, and begins to poke holes in the wall with a broom. His mom thinks he is simply having anger issues again, but Jared claims he isn't. Mallory and Simon appear, and hear the sounds as well. Mallory hits the wall hard with the broom, and an entire section of the wall collapses. This reveals a dumbwaiter, with a lot of items all over. Two of them are Mallory's medal and mom's keys. Mallory accuses Jared of stealing them, and leaves with Simon. Jared uses the dumbwaiter to haul himself up to the attic: a study.Jared finds odd pictures and books in the study, and opens a chest to find a bound leather book. It is titled: "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You." After finding the book, Jared hears sounds and sees something written in the dust: "Jared Grace, leave this place." Jared quickly retreats downstairs, and realizes everyone is asleep. He wakes Simon up for the cool news, but his twin brother doesn't seem to care. Jared begins to read the book in bed, first ignoring a note that commands Jared not to read the book. As Jared tears off the binding, he hears roars of spiritual entities outside. He climbs inside a footlocker, and reads in there (with flashlight). A montage shows Arthur Spiderwick revealing his life of putting together a book of all the unseen invisible creatures around us. He reveals how some are kind, but some want to simply obliterate all things, such as the evil ogre, Mulgarath. He is shown to be a shapeshifter. In the montage, we watch an evil raven fly towards Arthur, and we hear a raven's cry.....in the house.Jared stops reading, and climbs out of the foot locker to hear a blood currling scream echoing through the house. It is Mallory. In her room, her long hair has been tied to the bedpost, and she yells at Jared for doing so. Jared yells back, saying he didn't do it. No one (except Simon) believes him.The next day, Mallory is practicing fencing with Simon in the yard. Jared comes out to ask Simon what "appease" means, and Mallory yells at him again for tying her hair. As Jared stands in the yard, reading the Guide, he senses something crashing into an invisible wall, towards him. Later, Jared makes a new nest for the brownie of the house, a creature in the book. The brownie's nest was behind the wall, but destroyed when Mallory wrecked it. Jared lures the creature in with honey and crackers, and falls asleep. He wakes to find the honey and crackers missing, and discovers the small creature, an elf face, small clothes, and pointy ears. This is Thimbletack (Martin Short) who runs away when discovered. Thimbletack eventually reveals himself, and begins to turn sour when he realizes the Guide was opened by Jared. He turns into a fat green bogart, and hurls stuff at Jared. Jared calms him down with honey. Thimbletack explains how Arthur wanted the book safe forever, and then Jared sees Simon in the yard, looking for his cat. Suddenly, Simon is grabbed by invisible beings, and dragged away. Thimbletack gives Jared the seeing stone, so he can see invisible creatures. Jared sees short, menacing goblins carrying Simon away.Jared runs into the forest, looking for Simon. He finds a campfire, with hanging cages built around it. In one cage, he finds Hogsqueal (Seth Rogen), a pig like creature who gives Jared the "sight" (by spitting into his eys) so he can see the creatures without the stone. Jared wants to free Simon above all, and Hogsqueal runs away. Simon, however, is brought into the campfire, where an old man interrogates him. He asks Simon if he or anyone he knows has the Field Guide. Simon says he knows who, and goes back to the house to get it. Jared confronts him on the way, and the two fight. Jared saw that the old man turned into Mulgarath, and that they will all be killed anyway. As they fight, Red Cap (Nick Nolte) the general of the goblins, sees the book and lunges for it. The twins run away, back to the house. Jared and Simon retreat inside a protective circle (mushrooms surrounding the house) and warn Mallory (outside the circle) to come in. She doesn't listen, and is attacked by goblins. She sees green blood on her sword, and Jared gives her the seeing stone so she can see the goblins. After slicing up some more, she is pulled by the brothers into the house.The house is now surrounded by goblins, and mom is at work, so she can't help the situation. After tending to some bite marks on Simon's leg, Mallory and Jared argue about what to do (Mallory meets Thimbletack at this time, rather humorously). Simon comes up with a plan, that the two should visit Lucinda at the asylum, since she was telling the truth. Thimbletack persuades Jared to keep the book inside the house, and Jared and Mallory take a shortcut through the backyard and into the sewer, while Simon distracts the goblins at the front. However, Red Cap sees the two making off, and chases them. The two reach the sewer just in time, and follow a map to the city. Red Cap summons a mole troll, that clumsily chases Jared and Mallory through the sewer. At the house, Simon and Thimbletack realize Jared took the book, and faked out Thimbletack with a large cookbook.Meanwhile, Jared and Mallory find their way into the city, escaping the mole troll, after it is run over by a truck driver. Mom sees them outside of her window at work, wondering what they could be up to. Inside the asylum, Jared and Mallory greet their great aunt Lucinda (Joan Plowright). Lucinda allows them to see the fairies gathered by her window sill, and then hurried them inside when Jared reveals he has the book. Jared wants to know what to do, and Lucinda explains what happened to her father. Ina flashback, we watch Arthur making the circle, and Lucinda playing near the mushrooms, not knowing about the safety. She is attacked by goblins, and Arthur rushes to save her. In protection, Arthur is taken away by fairies while Lucinda is left to live her life fatherless. After the story, she tells the two that Arthur is still alive, and that he is in a sacred glade held captive by the sprites. Suddenly, goblins burst through the window and tear out pages of the book, and Lucinda fends them off with a handful of salt. Then, mom comes in to find everyone screaming.Helen accuses the two siblings (on the way home) that they are simply using this fantasy to find a way out of the house. Jared says dad left because all Helen wants to do is yell at people, and then slams the car door, and stomps into the house " I hate you, and I dont wanna live with you!" he says.Inside, Thimbletack yells at Jared for taking the book, and then Jared confesses how the goblins stole pages. At the goblin camp, Mulgarath finds the page that destroys the circle.Jared realizes to find Arthur, they must find the sacred glade, and the only way to get here is by Arthur's pet, a griffin (Half lion, half bird). Jared summon the griffin, and the three siblings ride off to the glade, but not before Hogsqueal appears again, and gives them all the "sight"Griffin brings the kids to the glade, and Arthur is still there, breathing and alive. Jared tries to explain who he is and the situation, but Mallory and Simon are transfixed by a magical song of the sprites. Arthur and Jared talk about how Jared is the new book, using the knowledge to kill Mulgarath. Jared accuses Arthur of spending his life on a book that left Lucinda fatherless. He is kept in the glade for knowing too much. Jared and the other make a quick getaway, while Arthur distracts the sprites with a fake cookbook. Arthur is surrounded and presumably killed by the fairies.That night, Jared and the other prepare to attack the goblins when they break the circle and invade. Helen comes home, after running over an invisible goblin in the yard. She is freaked out, and has only the choice to believe that everything is real. The circle is broken, and the attack begins. Goblins are killed and burned with tomato sauce, salt, and knives. They pop through floorboards, windows and everything else. Suddenly, Mulgarath breaks in, and the fight continues as the house is smashed up. The Grace family sets up a homemade bomb with the stove and tomato sauce loaded in it. The bomb goes off, killing all the goblins. There is a sound at the door, it is Richard, Jared's dad. Jared knows the truth from Mallory, he did not intend to get back with mom and moved in with another girl. Richard has no idea what Jared wants to hear, and Jared stabs his dad through the chest. However, this is Mulgarath, disguised. Mulgarath begins to chase Jared through the house, transforming into a snake and following him up into the study. Thimbletack defends Jared, but is simply knocked back. On the roof, the fight continues, and Jared is left hanging on for dear life. He throws the book out into the air, and Mulgarath transforms into a raven, and flies away with the book. However, Hogsqueal, with an appetite for birds, eats Mulgarath whole. Jared falls to the ground, and admits he wants to stay with mom.A few weeks later, Lucinda is let back into the estate, and meets Thimbletack again, who is in a cast for being hurt by Mulgarath. Suddenly, a flurry of sprites appear, with Arthur. Arthur confesses he let Lucy slip away from him, and promises never again to do that. Father and daughter touch hands, and Lucy transforms into a little 6 year old again. The two walk hand-in-hand into the fairy world as Jared and his family walk back into the house. | fantasy, entertaining | train | imdb | null |
tt1205558 | Hick | The movie starts off in a small town in Nebraska. Luli (Chloë Grace Moretz) sits on the steps of her school, drawing (she is obviously something of a loner with few, if no, friends). Her father, an alcoholic, drives up to the school and crashes into a play structure.The scene cuts to a bar, where Luli's 13th birthday party is taking place. She is surrounded by adults who are more interested in drinking than her birthday - one of her presents is a revolver (a Colt 45). At the end of the "party", Luli is left with her mother, Tammy (Juliette Lewis), and drunk father, Nick (Anson Mount). Nick leaves for his car, but gets out when Tammy yells that he can't go anywhere in his current condition. He grabs Luli, telling her to get in the car, and Tammy grabs Luli's other arm, apologizing. Luli is rescued by the bartender, who drives her home with Luli clutching the case with her pistol in it.The next morning, Luli practices holding her gun, aiming it at her reflection in a mirror. She hears a noise in her kitchen and approaches it with her 45 ready. She sees Lux (Bob Stephenson), an investment worker, filling out paperwork. Tammy arrives, sends Luli into a different room, and leaves in a car with Lux, suitcases packed, as Luli watches. When Nick later asks where Tammy is, Luli just says she left with Lux.Luli is painting her toenails when she sees an advertisement for Las Vegas on tv. She turns it off but starts drawing a path from her town to Vegas on a map. She makes a list of pros and cons that has "might die" on the cons side. She stuffs the map, her revolver, and some clothes in her bag and leaves the house.She is picked up on the side of the road by Eddie (Eddie Redmayne). She tells him about Vegas, then says her dad left her and her mom has died. He agrees to drive her, and they get along fine until he tells her what she's wearing makes her look like a "hooker"; she insults his limp, causing him to pull over and threaten to hurt her. Luli gets out of his truck, and he drives away.Sleeping in a ditch near the road, Luli is woken up by Glenda (Blake Lively), who's pulled over to relieve herself. Once again, Luli lies about why she's out by the road, saying that she got in a fight with someone who loved her. She asks for a ride, and Glenda eventually gives in. Luli tries a drug that Glenda hands her and hallucinates, after she recovers they pull over at a run-down gas station. Glenda has Luli walk into the station's shop, ask the cashier for gum, then fall onto the floor, pretending to go into spasms. When the cashier leans over Luli, he falls to the ground as well, unconscious. Glenda enters the store, steals from the cash register then leaves quickly with Luli when she sees the cashier on the floor. Luli is against leaving the cashier there, and persuades Glenda to call an ambulance. Later, she asks Glenda for some more of the drug, but Glenda refuses.Their next stop is a bowling alley, where Glenda is clearly a regular at the bar. She sends Luli out to the car to get the large stuffed bunny she keeps in the back seat for a boy in the bowling alley whom Glenda calls Angel (important later); Luli is startled when she sees Eddie standing in front of the car. Wary, Luli asks if he's stalking her. He explains that two people both heading west are bound to cross paths, and says that they got off on the wrong foot. At night, Luli is awoken by the sound of Glenda crying. The next morning, Glenda asks Luli to tell her the truth about where she came from, but Luli insists she isn't lying.Glenda takes them to a house belonging to Lloyd, Glenda's husband, who welcomes Luli. Inside, Luli again sees Eddie. She privately tells Glenda that Eddie is the guy who's following her, but Glenda instead says that she's the one he's actually following. Lloyd, oblivious, introduces the girls to Eddie. Lloyd spots a bottle of soda (Squirt) and yells at Eddie (who tends to the bar inside Lloyd's house) for "skimping on the 7-Up", then makes him apologize to Glenda, who tears up but hides that fact from Lloyd.Luli later talks to Eddie, apologizing for insulting him in his truck. She goes into town with him, but he makes her stay in his truck while he plays pool. Tired of waiting, she interrupts his game, causing him to lose right after he doubled his stakes. Eddie's opponent offers him the chance to recoup his losses, but since Eddie has nothing left, he uses Luli as his wager. Luli, who's left to go to the bathroom, is assaulted by the man, who keeps trying to kiss her until Eddie interrupts. He beats the man and smashes a sink on his head, presumably killing him) as Luli watches in horror. Afterward, Luli yells at Eddie for trying to sell her off, while he insists he didn't see the man go into the bathroom.After another brief stop (it is now night time), Eddie drives Luli to a motel, telling her that Glenda is there waiting for her, but Glenda is nowhere to be found when they reach the place. Luli demands to know when Glenda "called" Eddie. He tells her that Glenda told him to take Luli off her hands, as she could no longer handle her now that she's with Lloyd. She tries to leave for some air but he stops her, asking if she thinks that Glenda really loves Lloyd.Telling Eddie that she doesn't know, Luli goes outside to use the payphone. She doesn't have any quarters, however, and a boy named Clement offers to give her some if she plays a category game with him. She has fun until Eddie enters and turns over the game table, and she is forced to drag him away. Driving once again, Eddie asks if she thinks she and he deserve each other, to which she asks him to pull over and tells him she could never fall in love with a cripple who's going nowhere. He pulls over and asks her to please stay, but she gets out of the truck and starts walking away. However, he gets out too and starts following her, and chases her into the woods when she tries to run away. The camera doesn't show what happens next, it pans over the forest and Luli (narration) starts reciting letters and categories, although she sounds scared and on the verge of crying.The scene cuts to Luli tied up, arms and legs, to a bed, with her hair black and cut short. She wakes up and looks around at her surroundings (a one-room cabin somewhere in the forest). Eddie enters with flowers, asking if she likes her new hair. He apologizes for whatever happened that we didn't see the night before (but the audience can definitely assume), and tells her that he thinks she's like an "angel" that's been put on earth to save him. He unties her and tells her that he won't tie her up again, that is, until he leaves the cabin again.Enter Beau (Alec Baldwin), the man who's loaning Eddie the cabin, who's come to talk to Eddie about the cabin. Luli asks him a question about a pamphlet in the room, but using her eyes to silently plead with him, desperate for him to notice something's wrong. Behind Beau, Eddie grabs a knife off the dresser and hides it behind his back. However, Beau notices nothing and leaves. After he does, Eddie asks if Luli was "trying to sell him off" by asking Beau about the pamphlet. Crying, he tells Luli that he trusts her, ties her up again, and leaves.Luli wakes up to see Glenda sitting in front of her, crying. Glenda tells Luli that Eddie once did the same thing to her, that's how she knows him, and the child at the bowling alley is hers and Eddie's. Glenda ran away with the child because she was afraid of what Eddie would do to him. That's also how she knew where to find Luli (it turns out that Glenda never paid Eddie to take Luli away). Glenda unties Luli, but Eddie walks in, holding Luli's revolver.He yells at Glenda for trying to take Luli from him and leave him with nothing, walking toward her with the gun. Glenda begs Eddie to put it down, and she tries calming him down, trying to get him to lower the gun. Eddie protests that it isn't even loaded, but in demonstrating that fact, he accidentally shoots Glenda in the chest. He realizes what he just did and drops the gun, backs away, shocked, and starts gathering things hurriedly. He tells Luli that they've got to go. When he turns around, Luli shoots him, crying and saying she's sorry. She gets up and walks toward the door, then collapses.Luli wakes up in Beau's house. She doesn't trust him until he explains that he found her in the cabin, and arranged things to look like Glenda and Eddie shot each other out of their love for each other, and that Luli was never there (his experience in the military explains his knowledge of crime scenes, apparently). He tells Luli that if she doesn't want to return home to Nebraska, he has a sister in LA that would love to "adopt" her and care for her as a daughter. Luli turns him down, however, and he gives her a ride to the bus station.At the bus station, Luli uses a payphone to call home. Tammy picks up, expressing her relief that Luli is alive. However, she quickly goes on to talk about how excited she is that she sold the house to Lux, who is working on turning the property into a Wal-Mart. Upset, Luli hangs up and boards the bus to Nebraska.On the bus, Luli flips through her sketchbook. On a page containing the drawing of the house in the hills, there is now a phone number, an address, and a note from Beau reading "in case you change your mind". Luli uses the "seizure" trick Glenda taught her to convince the bus driver to stop the bus.She then runs back to the station and boards the next bus to Los Angeles. | violence, murder, sadist, flashback | train | imdb | Having truly enjoyed the book, I was able to ignore the horrid reviews I'd read and decided I'd go for it anyway.I'll say this: if it weren't for Chloe Moretz and Eddie Redmayne, this film would truly have been a flop.
Characters that had given reasonably substantial meaning to Luli's depicted life on the road, such as Clement, Beau, even Lloyd, had no more than 2-3 minutes screen time apiece, and many of them were given almost no depth whatsoever.Chloe did a fantastic job of acting, as usual.
The excellent Chloe Grace Moretz plays Luli, a Nebraska teen who decides to head to the bright lights of Las Vegas leaving behind her drunk of a father and a mother who has run off with another man, sadly things don't go to plan when she hitches a ride with Glenda (Blake Lively)The story and performances are all very good, but yet again the stand out is Chloe, her performances in this and other films such as Kick Ass and Let Me In are astonishing for such a young actress (she's barely 15 now!)The movie is gritty as Luli is exposed to the dark under belly of life, drugs, drunks, low life's out to use (and abuse) her.Chloe is well supported by a good cast, Juliette Lewis, Blake Lively and a cameo from Alec Baldwin and I was astonished at the films poor rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 5% fresh, critics eh!?A mature adult drama well worth a look..
Hick, or Luli, the girl is not just the main character but she is also the personification of this story to be, girl to be, to find her own answers and life while passing through all the changes of her age and without any base but two very problematic older friends she met.
She has this chance repeatedly but she knows she has to move forward, no matter what, it's her only way out.Chloë Grace Moretz, Eddie Redmayne and Blake Lively hold the story with an intense acting, strong rhythm and gradual tension, until the outcomes.
Eddie Redmayne and Blake Lively worked with her in perfect connection and that allowed this movie to be so expressive in a very single story..
Without giving any spoilers away, to make you want to watch this movie, or maybe you already have seen it and your Here to write a review.whatever you are doing you should definitely watch this movie if your a high school teacher I think they should show this at high schools as I said this is very educational, and because many students don't know what's wrong like Luli here, this would really help to talk through this, and point out what she did wrong.
The Wizard of Oz featured Dorothy; Hick features Luli McMullen, a 13-year old Nebraska girl who trades the boredom of her Midwestern town and tortured parents lost in alcohol for excitement along the road to Las Vegas, where she hopes to find a sugar-daddy.
Based on the best-selling novel by Andrea Portes, who also wrote the film's script, Hick is a courageous statement about the power of will; a reminder that very young girls can be daring and sensual but also thoughtful and ultimately wise.The film begins with a bang.
As for me, part of me felt like I kept getting slapped in the face, part of me felt like I kept falling in love with Eddie Redmayne, part of me felt like I was super-uncomfortable but was dying to see what was going to happen next and a really big part of me couldn't believe how good of an actress Chloe Moretz is, at only 13 or 14 or whatever.I don't think I've ever seen a girl that age be that good, yes, TRUE GRIT included.
Chloe Moretz in HICK makes that girl from TRUE GRIT look like a one-note wonder.
I love this film because it was like nothing I'd ever seen before but I really felt like it was happening, thanks to the amazing acting of everyone but especially Chloe Moretz.I just read that this film is coming out in theaters and I'm extremely excited because I can't wait to see it again.
I love Chloe and probably only made it to 1 hour because she was interesting to watch, but again, nothing interesting happened.Eddie Redmayne is a great actor but even he couldn't save this limp "story".
With regards to that every actor turns in an outstanding performance.The one frustration is that since this is an ensemble/episodic movie some of the supporting roles are not as juicy as one might like, but that just serves to highlight the Moretz lead, which is impressive.I really enjoyed the episodic narrative and they way the scenic rural landscape is a backdrop to a far from picture perfect life.Finally, Ray McKinnon is in a scene that is really up there with the Hopper/Walken scene in True Romance for its combination of tension and humor.
The supporting cast of Blake Lively, Rory Culkin, Alec Baldwin and others do a tremendous job as well.Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 5* - This score would have been higher if I felt that the movie had some clear direction, but I was somewhat lost at times.
Hick is a good film, that is, if you like indie/rebel movies.
'Hick' had a lot going for it but the superb acting by the entire cast is unquestionably the major selling point that made 'Hick' one of the best movies so far of 2012.Newcomer (at least for me) Eddie Redmayne was tremendous as a believable low-life with no sense of direction.
Chloe Grace Moretz is Luli, a thirteen year old girl who is at a bar with her mother for her birthday.
She starts off hiking, and soon gets picked up by a seemingly nice young man.Hick is a road-movie and a coming of age story which offers a nice ride.
I had relatively low expectations for this film - the negative reviews were not promising, but it features two well known actors whose other movies I liked, so I decided to give it a shot.
Therefore, I would recommend everyone to watch the film solely for his acting.Now the downside to this movie was the story, which had so much potential.
More things could have happened which would make this film richer but the potential was unfortunately never exploited.I notice that most people complained about the sexual undertones of the story and the fact that such a young actress plays a role where she is a target to predators.
Such a good and entertaining drama, is Hick, but of course what makes it entertaining is great little actress, Chloe Moretz, who takes on a braver, role, before that of something, like The Equalizer.
At it's start, again, we see a kind of stereotypical type to Moretz's role, as a friendless schoolkid who's just turned lucky thirteen, where her Mum (Lewis) splits, seeing a much better offer with a much older ordinary looking guy, as she's left with good for nothing father, so she splits, meeting a few different characters, on her travels, and with her sexual prowness, raises a few eye lids.
I think the supporting roles could have used better acting, to add to the realism, which would have added more invitations to interpretation.When I heard that this movie was rated R for disturbing content involving a teen, drugs, alcohol, violence, I was worried that I was going to be shaken the wrong way and almost didn't watch.
With her in a picture it's a win-win for all that is involved even if it's just a viewer.Eddie Redmayne - I don't know what it is about this guy but he's a true scene stealer, He has a wonderful ability to bring life into his characters and an element of realism that is far superior then most actors we see today.
The rest of the cast although good were pretty much just filler and could have been pulled off by most actors today.Anyway if you like character studies and the struggles of youth then you'll enjoy this movie.
This movie easily scores a 10 because of the amaing acting from all of the cast especially from Chloe Moretz and Eddie Redmayne.
However, there's plenty of things to be bothered about "Hick".Coming from a strange family, almost an broken home, the 13 year-old Luli McMullen (Chloë Grace Moretz) decides to leave her home in Nebraska and hitchhike all the way to Las Vegas just to see what's going on in the apparently happy place, the complete opposite of her current state.
On the way, she meets with a wannabe cowboy named Eddie (Eddie Redmayne, the best thing in the movie), they'll keep meeting each other throughout the film; Glenda (Blake Lively) of whom they'll share some load of problems and develop a certain bond between them; and some other characters (played by Alec Baldwin, Rory Culkin and others) that we think they'll have some deep importance in the story but they're just mere cameos or of very small influence in the plot."Hick" could be a good story about the process of growing up, the difficulties faced by a child while going through the adolescence, and in this case under extreme and harsh circumstances.
A gritty and hard nosed coming of age story, this great little film has Hit Girl (Moretz) branching out into new territory, namely, something meaningful.
The basic setting has a lot of potential and I am sure the book is great, but in the movie the story just goes very fast new characters are introduced very fast and relations between characters are created in an instant without giving them time to develop.Due to a good soundtrack and performance by Chloë Grace Moretz Hick still managed to focus my attention till the end featuring several minor plot twists.I would recommend this movie only to the real Chloë Grace Moretz fans who want to see all of her works..
I was expecting some happy, feel good type of movie.If that's what you're expecting as well then forget about it.This movie (At times) was disturbing & tough to watch.I was thinking about turning it off at the beginning (For some reason I just could not get into it) but I stuck around.In some ways, I'm glad I stuck around & in some ways, I wish I would've just turned it off when I was going to.I'm glad I stuck around to see how it turned out in the end especially after reading it was based on a true story.I wish I would've turned it off when I was going to because some scenes were disturbing & tough to watch especially knowing it was based on a true story.Hick is a movie that I'd only watch once.Not only because of how real it was but because it's a movie worth watching once but not more than once.
I can enthuse about delightfully pretty Chloë Grace Moretz AND at the same time tell you the kid can act, she is one day gonna be a big star OKAY she already is, I've just seen none of her other stuff, but boy, am I hooked, reeled in, swallowed the bait hook, line and sinker, yeah baby!By some coincidence, as luck would have it, I'm watching Billie Piper in the British TV series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL and this little Chloë, she looks like the kid sister of that one, especially in the facial close-up scene's in Eddie's truck.And can Chloë Grace act!
Chloe Grace Moretz gave one of her best performances so far in this film!
Hick, a low budget 2001 indie film where the young female protagonist, Chloë Grace Moretzone, gives a performance worthy of a dozen actors.
It's not often the world gets to see young actresses really make their mark in the film business, there's really only a handful in the past few years, Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Abigail Breslin and the cream of the crop of them all, Chloe Grace Moretz.
Largely thanks to her breakout role as Hit-Girl, she is pretty much a household name and rightly so, and with her role in Hick she can add another stellar performance to her belt.The film itself has a lot of problems, the script isn't that strong and the supporting characters are somewhat wasted, but for a first time screenwriter it's a damn good effort.
Anything that's wrong with the movie is made up for by all of the fantastic performances from everyone, Juliette Lewis is great as the white trash mother, Eddie Redmayne is funny and terrifying as the drifter and Blake Lively is pretty good in her small role, I would have loved to know more about her character but oh we'll, and of course Miss Moretz is amazing.
Some people disagree with the fact that Chloe has really only done adult films thus far, but I think it goes to show what a mature actress she is that she can do these roles and still stay a regular teen.The main problem I had was the lack of memorable soundtrack, it would have benefited from some classic country tunes to accompany a lot of the scenes, I noticed quite often that there was hardly any music and it took away from the overall greatness of the film.All in all it's an enjoyable little film, rent it and just enjoy the good and ignore the bad.
HickThe best thing about being a 13-year-old runaway is that your dismembered body parts get to visit every region of the country.Fortunately, the young female hitchhiker in this drama is armed.For her 13th birthday, Luli (Chloë Grace Moretz) is given a handgun, which she then brings along with her when she flees her alcoholic parents (Juliette Lewis, Anson Mount).On the road, Luli encounters Eddie (Eddie Redmayne), who promises to take her from Nebraska to Las Vegas.But when Eddie goes off the deep-end, Luli trades him in for a drug-addled con-woman, Glenda (Blake Lively), who teaches her how to survive on her own.Eventually Eddie catches up and becomes Luli's new guardian, when Glenda sells her out.With dreadful performances and a sleazy storyline that boarders on pedophilia, Hick is a road trip best avoided.Besides, everyone already knows runaway hicks only hitch rides on turnip trucks.
The only reason some people may enjoy Hick is because they're Chloe Moretz and Blake Lively fans or they love movies based upon brutal, harsh & abusive lives of women.
On the whole, hick maybe a critical and commercial disappointment, but for many years people will remember as Chloe Grace Moretz adult rape movie.
The story is good, Chloe Moretz makes a regular job because sometimes she doesn't act according the situation and you may lose interest in the plot but definitely she makes the best performance in the movie.
In Blake Lively's case I expected more about her because she's a good actress but in this movie she loses her role.
I hope that Moretz make a better performance in Carrie because she has a brilliant future in acting career and roles like this one helps her to do better jobs in upcoming movies also she's BEAUTIFUL..
Synopsis; girl has what she thinks is a bad life, runs away, to more crazy and worse life...the big issue is the way the story and directing go about it...it's like they're trying to pull off some cult classic feel like pulp fiction, or kill bill....but this never gets it right...which is horrible for all the actors/tresses because every time they have to convey an emotion or look, they get it right.
In Hick Chloe Moretz plays Luli McMullen, a 13-year-old girl who gets into trouble after she runs away from her alcoholic parents and decides to go to Las Vegas.
In this road movie, Chloe Grace Moretz plays a teenager running away from her rough home life believing she's destined for a better life.
In her most underrated performance, Chloe Grace Moretz is fantastic as the main character, and the rest of the cast are surprisingly good as well.
Unfortunately, he, Chloe Grace Moretz,, Eddie Redmayne and all the others are stuck with a script which doesn't deserve any of them.Hick is a totally pointless film if there ever was one.
By no means spectacular, oh no, but for a reason I can't explain I actually quite enjoyed Hick, it was engaging and provocative and hit all the right notes in the right way.The character Luli (what a name!) played by the sublimely talented Chloe Grace Moretz is the type of character, and the type of person in real life that I seriously detest, what do these young girls expect, I'm running away from home because I want to go to Vegas, but to get there I need to accept lifts off strangers, snort cocaine, rob places, and be privy to murders..., what!?
Through myriad events she keeps bumping into him and this sets the story off.Chloe Grace Moretz plays the lead and never have you seen a teen-aged girl so tantalizing.
That way 20 minutes of movie goes by in 5 minutes and you don't miss anything!Chloë Grace Moretz, about 13 or 14 during filming, plays just turning 13 Luli McMullen.
having not read the book before watching the movie I had no idea what to expect, however I was not let downboth Eddie and Chloe I will admit held the whole performance and those complaining about some scenes ( for those who have seen it understand) she was 14 when the movie came out prob less when filming it I mean its get an older actor or get the age appropriate actress!!
I thought, hey, I've always been a bit intrigued by the stars of this movie (i.e. Chloe Grace Moretz, Blake Lively, Eddie Redmayne) so why not check it out? |
tt0083821 | I, Desire | Law student David Balsinger [David Naughton] works as a coroner's aid at the County Coroner's office in Los Angeles. David is busy studying _Constitutional Law_ when they bring in Milton King, attacked by a hooker, two holes in his neck, and all of his blood drained. Shortly thereafter, a priest arrives to see the body, but David learns later that Milton King was Jewish. Strange. Oh well. Time for David to pick up girlfriend Cheryl Gillen [Marilyn Jones], a nurse at Memorial Hospital. Tonight is a special night. It is the night that Cheryl is moving in with David. She had an interesting night, too. Someone walked off with two pints of AB+ blood. When David tells Cheryl about Milton King and the priest, she suggests that he tell the police what he knows. Detective Jerry Van Ness [Dorian Harewood] is a law student, too, so they chat amiably on the way down to the station where David is asked to look at mugshots and a lineup. On his return to the hospital to pick up Cheryl, David notices the priest getting into an elevator. David tries to follow but loses him. While looking for the priest, David and Cheryl hear screams coming from the bloodbank. Marge Bookman [Anne Bloom] has been attacked by someone who escapes by breaking through the iron bars on the window but, when David tries to tell Van Ness what he saw, he gets the brush off.The next day, a second victim is brought in. Same M.O. David tries to talk about it, but no one seems interested. Van Ness doesn't want to talk about the priest. Dr Herrera doesn't want to talk at all. Dieners Daryl [Timothy Stack] and Larry [Marc Silver] make jokes. Not even Cheryl wants to hear any more about hookers or vampires. People are starting to think that David needs to see a shrink.That night, when David goes to pick up Cheryl from work, he is sent to Marge's room. Cheryl isn't there, and Marge is gasping for air. He notices her oxygen line has been disconnected. As he is re-attaching it, he is attacked by a vampire. She pins him against the wall and tries to bite his neck. Fortunately, a nurse enters the room, and the vampire leaps out the third floor window. When David tells Van Ness about the woman, Van Ness doesn't believe him, so David decides to do a little investigating on his own. He goes down to Hollywood Blvd where he sees the priest. The priest tries to elude him, but David pursues. They go to a nearby donut shop to talk. Priest Paul [Brad Dourif] tells David that the vampire's name is Desire and that he has been following her, most recently from Fort Worth to Tucson and now to Los Angeles. He also tells David that a vampire has no power over a righteous man and agrees to talk with Van Ness. When David phones Van Ness, however, Paul disappears. So David decides to talk with a hooker. She turns out to be an undercover cop and arrests him for soliciting.Cheryl decides that she can't live like this and moves out. David goes back to Hollywood Blvd, looking for Desire. He doesn't find her, but he does run into Mona [Barbara Stock], a candystriper from the hospital. Mona invites David to her apartment for a drink. Mona's apartment turns out to be the penthouse, which she explains was left to her by her father. She only volunteers at the hospital to have something to do. Mona kisses David, then starts to unbutton his shirt. David jumps up and asks to use the bathroom. Upstairs, he finds the priest dead and laid out on a slab. Knowing that David now knows she is the vampire, Mona cuts the seduction act and starts going for the jugular. David attempts to escape, but the doors are locked. He goes outside on the balcony, all the while hollaring over and over, "I am a righteous man!" Mona/Desire leaps, David ducks, and Mona goes over the railing, falling to her death. When David goes back into the room, he finds that Paul has turned into a vampire. Paul leaps at David, but David holds up a deadwood branch, and Paul is impaled on it.David summons the police who find a coffin behind a concealed door. Van Ness warns David that, if he sticks to his version of the events, his life will become a living hell. Instead, he cooks up a story of how Desire killed Paul then came after David, they struggled, and she fell off the balcony. Cheryl comes back to David. While they walk away, another vampire stands in the shadows, watching them. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.] | murder | train | imdb | Underrated Gem of a Horror Film.
David Balsiger (David Naughton) works the night shift at the city morgue, watching over the "cold room".
He's just moved in with his girlfriend, Cheryl Gillen (Marilyn Jones), a nurse.
A corpse shows up with puncture wounds on its neck, drained of its blood.
A priest comes in, apparently from the man's family, to give last rites, then disappears.
Moments later, the man's rabbi shows up.
David tells the police, and begins to become wrapped up in the case, which appears to be some kind of serial murderer who is at least mimicking vampirism.Despite a slight clunkiness in a couple spots and a too-understated climax, which caused me to subtract one point from this film's score, this is an incredibly underrated and too-little-known horror flick.
It has some resemblances to Taxi Driver, including that film's wonderful grittiness, but as a vampire film.Perhaps with a different cast, Desire, The Vampire (aka I, Desire) would be a much lesser film, but Naughton, who is the focus here--we're following him 90-percent of the time, is fabulous.
As he becomes more wrapped up in the strange events, so do we, and we empathetically experience the odd, alienating reaction that he begins to receive from others.
Brad Dourif is extra-creepy in the film, and in many ways he's the biggest villain in a film that has many besides the obvious, titular one.This film deserves much more recognition.
The American werewolf vs a sexy vampire..
Superior made for television movie that bears a more than passing resemblence to the newer and triter "Def by Temptation".
"I Desire" stars David Naughton fresh from his impressive performance in "American Werewolf in London", as David Balsiger, a Los Angeles morgue attendant who notices a series of bodies that cross his station appear to be victims of a vampire.
He initially discounts this possibility but as more bodies come in he undertakes a personel investigation into the matter.
Eventually his snooping leads him into a near fatal confrontation with a decidedly female fiend.
Foolishly, he tells the authorities of his encounter and is promptly dismissed as a crank.
His fellow morgue attendants get wind of the story and play some morbid but convincing hoaxes on him.
Even his girlfriend doubts him, suggesting he seek professional help.
Balsiger is just starting to doubt his sanity when a priest shows up and confirms his suspicions.
The priest, who has tracked the killer from its last murder spree in New Orleans tells the young man what they are dealing with is more than a mere vampire.
The beast is actually the demonic personification of lustful desire.
Taking the form of a beautiful woman the creature poses as a prostitute and uses the art of seduction to corrupt the souls of men.
Only a truly righteous man, the priest informs him, can hope to resist the demon's wiles and thus combat it.
Armed with this knowledge Balsiger sets forth to battle the beast in an all or nothing showdown of good versus evil.
Being a made for television film overt sexuality and gore are thankfully nonexistant.
Instead the movie wisely concentrates on characterization and quality plot development..
Charming little vampire flick NOT TO BE MISSED!.
This little gem has it all!
David Naughton was an excellent casting choice for the lead role, but some of my favorites such as Dorian Harewood and Marilyn Jones (remember the cute little Nurse that Radar meets in Japan on TV's MASH?), the alluring Barbara Stock, and a powerful Brad Dourif performance also contribute to this made-for-TV delight which richly deserves to be released on DVD!
(Hint, hint!!) The plot was probably patterned after "The Night Stalker", with a vampire in modern-day urban America coming to the attention of law student and part-time night employee David Balsiger.
He and his attractive "girl-next-door type" fiancée Cheryl Gillen make a likable young couple, and Harewood is very convincing as ambitious young Police detective Jerry Van Ness.
But defrocked priest Paul (Brad Dourif) has a memorable few minutes in the middle of the movie that really sticks in my mind.The ending of the movie comes as somewhat of a surprise, and is well handled by the cast members.
There's a bluesy musical theme supporting all this, and a refreshing ABSENCE of modern potty-mouth language that make so many modern flicks unattractive for adults and unsuitable for children.Keep a lookout for it on TV, and if it's ever released on a "legitimate" DVD, stay out of my way at the counter, or you'll get run over by me when selecting it!.
where lechery is punished.
This flick pretty well bridges the gap between a centuries-old concept and a modern environment.
I regard this to be a difficult task in our contemporary era of pragmatism, so, this gets an above-average rating from me for its attempt.
But I guess that SOME elements of the vampire belief just CAN'T be left in the past, and they, unfortunately, remind me that this IS a fantasy, evoking my idiosyncratic prejudice against that genre.
The story is about a squeamish law-student/morgue worker and his nurse/girlfriend, who, in their positions, see some deaths which involve blood loss.
As the guy's fascination intensifies, so does his alienation of his shack-up and the cops, who tire of his tries to convince them that his theory is worthy.
I think, however, that you will agree that there is nothing unprofessional about this movie, and that you will, therefore, also conclude that this is an adequate investment..
bloodless vampire movie.
Rather bloodless vampire movie from TV movie veteran, John Llewellyn Moxey and starring, David Naughton who co-starred in, American Werewolf in London, the year before.
The idea is great in that in this updated version, the one in search of blood poses as a hooker to ensnare and in between these bouts supplements the supply with raids on hospital blood banks, as you would.
All good, but here played so carefully that those special ingredients (sex and violence!) only get hinted at here.
For some the wailing sax (such a sign of 80s films) is effective, for some of us lazy and tiresome, but the films just about engages and is helped enormously halfway through with a fantastic interjection by the priest figure.
If only the whole film had been as vital, or indeed, dare I say, Mr Naughton's performance as effective..
I can't say enough about this great movie!
Roy..
If I could only use one word to describe the movie "I, Desire" that word would be Surreal !!.
The critics should hail it as the triumphant climax of Surrealistic art.
It is truly an Existentialist's delight.
That Barbara Stock is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and the way she walks down those steps at the end of the movie is the most memorable scene I have ever seen.
It is so sad that it has been pushed aside by the mainstream media.
It is hardly known to anyone because every person I have asked about it has never even heard of it.
Barbara Stock should have appeared in more productions.
They should have worked that sexy woman to death.There are also some important analogies to real life in that movie.
For example, when "Paul" was in the coffee shop, which he "hates", he dramatically stresses the importance about staying out of trouble by keeping one's mouth shut!
At the end of the movie, David is almost misled by a woman of great tempting qualities but is able to resist and finds he is better off to stick with the " Suzy Homemaker" type..
Desire, The Vampire.
This film has a strong opening, a murder, then looks like it is going to deteriorate into the usual fifth rate predictable trash, but the consensus is that this somewhat off-beat tale of modern horror is both a superior effort and vastly under-rated.
A female vampire posing as a prostitute to procure her, or perhaps that should be its, victims, a cynical detective working his first homicide - which soon becomes a killing spree - a deranged former priest who is not so deranged, and our hero - a righteous man - one who will not be tempted by the sins of the flesh.
Yeah, "Desire" delivers the goods.David Balsiger is the law student who having tangoed with the evil one in the hospital where his girlfriend works as a nurse, goes on her trail only to be arrested by an undercover policewoman for soliciting a prostitute.
Fortunately, although he doesn't find her, she finds him, but how can a righteous man overpower a fiend who can rip iron security bars from a third floor window and leap out of it with impunity?
Who knows, but good will triumph over evil.
Gripping stuff, even three decades and more on..
One hot-looking Vampire.
This movie has one of the hottest looking female vampires ever played on television.Played by [whoops,spoiler],this vampire spooks,bedevils and exasperates David Naughton and the police.
You'd think this was part of the Kolchak movie/ tv series as Naughton stumbles into the vampire's lair by mere chance.
Still,the gothic atmosphere and humor of the movie does keep the viewer spellbound.It really is a shame that this isn't on video because I'd love to have this in my collection. |
tt0084357 | La morte vivante | Two men break into an old crypt, seeking to dump toxic waste and rob the graves. When an earthquake causes the toxic waste to spill, Catherine Valmont (Françoise Blanchard), a young woman who died several years ago, is resurrected. She viciously kills the thieves and drinks their blood. As Catherine walks aimlessly through a field, Barbara (Carina Barone) spots her and takes a few photos, though Barbara's boyfriend, Greg (Mike Marshall), takes no notice. Catherine returns to her old house, the Valmont Mansion, and memories of her childhood come back to her, especially her childhood friend, Hélène (Marina Pierro). As Catherine wanders the house, a real estate agent shows an old couple around the property, though they show little interest. After they leave, Hélène calls the house, presumably inquiring about it. However, she hears nothing but a cherished music box, leading her to believe that Catherine may still be alive.
The agent later returns to the Valmont Mansion, along with her boyfriend. Catherine interrupts their sex, killing both and drinking their blood. Hélène arrives and is shocked to discover the dead bodies. When she finds Catherine, naked and playing the piano, she assumes that Catherine didn't really die but was actually hidden for the past two years. Hélène washes the blood off Catherine, puts her to bed, and drags the bodies down to the crypt, where she discovers the bodies of the grave robbers. Catherine creeps down and begins to drink the blood from one of the bodies, but Hélène stops her. Hélène cuts her arm and lets Catherine drink her blood, until she can think of a way to supply her friend with blood.
Barbara goes around the village asking about the woman in her photograph, but the answer is always the same: It is Catherine Valmont, and she died two years ago. Greg thinks Barbara is making too much of it, and discourages her from investigating further. Meanwhile, Hélène tries to understand what is happening to Catherine, trying to teach her to speak again. Deciding to bring her victims, Hélène pretends to be out of fuel and flags down a helpful motorist, drawing her back to the mansion. Hélène offers the woman a drink and locks her in. The woman soon begins to panic, but Hélène throws her in the crypt, where Catherine grabs her and rips her stomach out. Soon after, Barbara shows up at the Valmont mansion, seeking Catherine. Unsettled by Catherine's behavior, she attempts to phone Greg, but Hélène confronts her. They argue, and Hélène tries to take Barbara's camera. Barbara flees.
Catherine, now more in touch with her humanity, realizes that she must be destroyed. She begs Hélène to kill her, but Hélène instead goes back to the village, to bring Catherine another victim. Barbara sees Hélène and eventually convinces Greg to accompany her to the mansion, in order to help Catherine. Hélène tortures the kidnapped girl, but Catherine rejects the unwilling sacrifice and frees her, telling her to return to the village and seek help. Drawn by the screams, Barbara and Greg go to investigate, but they are brutally murdered by Hélène. Overwhelmed by all the death and murder, Catherine attempts suicide, but she is rescued by Hélène, who offers herself to sate Catherine's hunger. Unable to resist, Catherine devours her friend alive. | violence, murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | He has a unique world view and holds a special place in the world of "fantastique" cinema that is indisputable.Still, I find his films a little boring.Case in point THE LIVING DEAD GIRL springs from a simple and fascinating concept of a dead woman, who must drink blood to survive, returning to a château to be with an old friend.As fascinating as the concept is, Rollin doesn't do a whole lot with it.
Jean Rollin's "La Morte Vivante"/"The Living Dead Girl" is an excellent erotic ultra-gory vampire tale and I like it very much.The film has some wonderful atmosphere and some striking images of eternal painful life.There is plenty of graphic gore to satisfy fans of extreme horror.Along with all of the gore there is a large amount of beautiful naked women running around.Rollin's trademark photography is naturally here but this film is much gorier than his other films that I've seen.Francoise Blanchard who plays bloodthirsty Catherine is incredibly beautiful.Overall,I enjoyed this film and you should too if you like zombie/vampire cinema.There is also an unofficial sequel to this one called "The Revenge of the Living Dead Girls"(1987)..
This Jean Rollin feature is an erotic horror about a woman who returns from the dead due to an accident involving an earthquake and toxic chemicals.
She is The Living Dead Girl and she has a vampire like taste for blood.
There are the usual selection of paper thin characters, weak dialogue and low production values; while the story emphasises things that are atypical for a standard horror film, such as a melancholic 'monster' and some poetic imagery.
Living Dead Girl, The (1982) *** (out of 4) French horror film from director Jean Rollin, which mixes tons of sex and nudity with plenty of the red stuff.
This is probably the best place for a newbie to Rollin to start as this perfectly captures the atmosphere of his best movies but also throws in plenty of over the top gore scenes, which will probably make a casual viewer sick.
La Morte Vivante (Living Dead Girl) is considered to be one of Rollin's most commercial efforts.
This being one of the first Rollin flicks that I've seen I can't really compare this to any of his others, that said I will say that his plain but adequate filming style goes about things in a leisurely paced fashion but comes alive at the right moments.
Prior to my viewing of 'The Living Dead Girl', my only taste of the master of erotic vampire films, Jean Rollin, was the low quality and overall less than brilliant 'Lips of Blood', and because of that I wasn't expecting great things from this movie.
The Living Dead Girl hinges somewhere between a love story (between two women, no less) and a very gory zombie flick and while it could easily have gone wrong, Rollin has created a film that will both shock, amuse and even touch you, and that's not something that can be said of many zombie movies!
Naturally, being a zombie she brutally murders everyone in the vicinity, but it gets really interesting when we find out that before death, she and a friend were very close, and now that the heiress is back from the dead; the old friendship can be rekindled.On a technical level, The Living Dead Girl isn't all that great, but considering the low quality of the picture, it's not all that bad either.
The script is rather trite, and the film is also rather oddly paced, as it starts off like any other silly zombie movie, only to mature into something much more interesting later on, which may annoy some viewers.
Rollin makes best use of the actresses too, with numerous nude scenes, which help the erotic element of the movie no end.
On the whole, it's not for everyone...but if you like erotic horror sleaze with lots of blood and nudity; see this movie!.
Many scenes like the music box greeting over the telephone and the exploration of the catacombs stand out as very well done, but nothing can compare to the finale: Frantic flesh eating, echoing screams, amazing special effects, and no happy, Hollywood ending.
Can bad acting, sloppy plotting and woeful gore effects really be that easily ignored?The story revolves around a girl brought back from the dead who needs blood to sustain herself, her childhood friend's efforts to meet her need, and a French-American's efforts to expose what is going on.
I hesitate to call them "art films", but in their own eccentric way they almost are.'The Living Dead Girl' concerns the resurrection of a French heiress via a spill of "toxic waste".
i expected to see a good horror movie, when i bought "the living dead girl" but i was disappointed.
I will say that some of the drama or at least the pathos's does work, especially with the relationship between the two women, (the living dead girl and her friend/ lover.) and the ending is very off beat and well done.
I must say seeing blood squirt on a woman's tits brings a warm feeling to my heart and all I can think is, " they just don't make em' like they use to." unfortunately this does not cure the film of its problems, but it helps.
But, but
what?" What sets this film apart, though, what makes it worth watching, is the interesting transition taking place in the relationship between the main characters, which intimates a depth of story that Rollin probably didn't intend.
The story is that Catherine (the Living Dead Girl in question) has to kill and feed on her victims, and with each victim she grows more nearly alive.
LIVING DEAD GIRL was my first Jean Rollin experience and I have to say that I somewhat enjoyed it.
The Living Dead Girl is one of the worst horror films ever because it has nothing to offer the audience, not even schlock or eerie premises, what passes as "gore" is supposed to douse us with some appreciation of this awful film, and yes, it is terrible.
Rollin made this simply to cash in on nude horror films, but it doesn't have any atmosphere, story, or fright to propel it along and most of the naked women are dead-dull ugly.
The problem of the film is that it is not interesting, nor even believable, and he neglects to give us any truly frightening moments, instead he overloads us with distracting and annoying fake blood and fully naked waif-like 70's girls who are hideous to behold.
There is no story, just one scene after another that is comprised of the Dead Girl looking for more idiotic victims and tons of shots comprised of the boring French provinces shown in wide angles, including a lackluster French band playing corny music.
A toxic spill revives a beautiful, dead heiress who, with the help of her childhood friend, must quench her insatiable thirst for blood.Is this another Jean Rollin vampire film?
Burglars break into an unoccupied castle crypt to steal from the dead and also dump some barrels of toxic waste but an earth tremor cause the waste to leak and bring back to life the beautiful Catherine Valmont, who then proceeds to kill the men and has a lust for blood.
And in the event of no proper story, multiple scenes not bringing any value to the film apart from extensibility, rather lousy acting (no memorable performance), rambling cinematography, and meaningless nudity (just to stress the French origin and spirit?), the result is mediocre, not grisly and not totally annoying thanks to duration (around 1 hour 20 minutes).
If you are looking for gore or sex then look elsewhere as this is not the film for you.If you want amazing effects then look to Hollywood.If you like Euro sleaze/schlock then try another director.This is one of Rollin's best movies, it is dreamy and erotic and when the horror arrives it is excellent!Jean Rollin rarely disappoints and many people find his films too slow for their tastes, I am not one of those people and although I love gore filled horror shows I also love a movie with a more sedate pace and a unique vision.
This is what The Living Dead Girl offers, you will never see another film like it.Just relax and enjoy....
The 'look' of the film is very similar to that of "Picnic at Hanging Rock", and the scenes of the ghostly Catherine roaming the French countryside with her bloodstained gown are very "Blood and Roses"-ish.
BTW, there is an extended gore scene at the end which makes you feel like Rollin is going slightly over the top, overplaying.
Living Dead Girl which is directed by frenchman Jean Rollin is one of the better horror films of the 1980's.
Living Dead Girl is not tantamount to earlier Rollin Films such as Fascination or La Rose Du fer but is definitely a must see for anyone who enjoys european horror films..
Grisly, potent shocker from Jean Rollin regarding how a dead young lady of two years, the body surprisingly fresh without rot during that time(?), is revived from a spilled can of toxic waste, put there by some corpse looters, after a minor earthquake.
She has vampire mentalities(..not to mention terrifying fingernails which can tear into flesh with ease) meaning this uncontrollable thirst for flesh and blood from human beings..the girl, Catherine(Françoise Blanchard), calls the evil inside.
A "blood sister", Helene(Marina Pierro)did not know her best friend from childhood had been dead and after a phone call leading to Catherine's discovery(hearing the sound box playing music both listened to as children)she races to the villa to see about her.
The idea of losing her friend a second time, and not being able to come to terms with the fact that Catherine is dead, I think Helene is the tragic character of the film.
Jean Rollin, French Horror Sexploitation Auteur hits hard with a Zombie- Lesbo love tale about a resurrected woman, Catherine Valmont (Fransoise Blanchard) and her long time girl friend Helene (Marie Pierro) and their exploits of lust-filled murder, kidnapping and the consequences that follow.Foolish Grave Robbing Thieves, who also dump toxic waste meet their eye- gouging demise with the beautiful Living Dead Girl after a small tremor awakens her from her coffin.
After a few more naked dead people pile up, Helene unscuccessfully attempts to feed Catherine with a dead bird, then kidnaps a random woman and gives her to Catherine who then tears the victim apart.Most fans of Rollin expect his films to be loaded with French styled gore and nudity and also are aware of the slow pacing in between scenes.
Sometimes I tend to say that the films of Jean Rollin are Jess Franco movies with more money, but this one is really well done with suspense, dramatic and atmosphere!
However, what makes "The Living Dead Girl" worth to be seen is the fact that director Jean Rollin knows how to combine atmospheric erotic with scenes of explicit gore!
I also loved the gross contrast of trash (The entrance sequence with the toxic waste) and art (The final take when the living dead girl eats her friend piece by piece).
La Morte Vivante, or The Living Dead Girl as it's more commonly known as to English speaking audiences, starts with three men in a white van pulling up outside the Valmont family Castle where they unload some barrels of toxic waste.
Back at Valmont Castle & Helene turns up to find Catherine & two dead bodies, Helene quickly discovers that Catherine needs to drink fresh blood to survive & decides to help Catherine in her quest for victims...This French production was co-written & directed by Jean Rollin & is OK but is maybe a bit weird for most people's taste's.
The basic premise is decent enough & had plenty of potential with with a re-animated flesh eating blood drinking zombie roaming around but in the hands of Rollin he turns it into a tragic love story.
Rollin doesn't forget about the gore either, a man has his eyes poked out, people have their throats ripped open & torn out, there are graphic scenes of bodily mutilation & blood drinking along with a girl being tied up & tortured.
The acting is variable but Blanchard does a pretty good job at expressing emotion & most of the ladies are easy on the eyes.La Morte Vivantes is an OK horror film with some good gore, a slightly deeper & involving story than one might expect & it passes an hour and a half easily enough.
Even with this being the first and only Jean Rollin movie I've watched so far (and having viewed a couple of trailers from his other efforts), I feel like I already have a pretty good idea of what this Frenchman stands for.
Rollin at least has something Franco never had: The man's got style.LA MORTE VIVANTE (AKA THE LIVING DEAD GIRL) tries to be a lot of things.
However, Rollin somehow manages to give it an 'arty' touch (e.g. after Hélène discovered the bodies of the dead couple, she walks in on a naked Catherine playing the piano – just look at the shot where she's sitting naked behind the piano, her back facing Hélène), while in any given Franco movie you can't do anything but pass it off as cheap sleaze.But all the possible merits this movie has, can't prevent you from feeling you are indeed watching a trashy Euro-Horror flick.
From the two main female characters, only Françoise Blanchard (as Catherine Valmont, the Living Dead Girl) manages to do a decent job.
I'm rather a latecomer to this movie, as I don't seek out Jean Rollin movies (based on what little I have seen), but as this is supposed to be something of a classic of it's type, I gave it a go - but it is certainly not converting me into a fan.The slim story sees a dead girl named Catherine unexpectedly revived in her coffin when disturbed by grave robbers.
"The Living Dead Girl" is generally considered one of Jean Rollins' more accessible efforts and the prime jumping-in place by no less an authority then Fangoria magazine.
She goes about jabbing the guys' eyes out and feasting upon their bodies.Catherine, the titular Living Dead Girl, is the childhood BFF of the woman living in the castle, Helene.
The movie quickly devolves into set-pieces of Helene tricking woman (always woman) back to the castle, killing them, and feeding them to her personal living dead girl.There's a subplot involving an American couple vacationing in the country side.
The focus is definitely on the relationship between the two women which is framed as a tragic love story.As exploitation sleaze, "The Living Dead Girl" provides.
Helene is a good friend and supplies victims to The Living Dead Girl.
But the Living Dead Girl is so unhappy in her situation that it tends to drag the movie into zombie melodrama land.
The plot:Looking for a place to dump barrels of toxic waste,two grave robbers decide to put the waste in the crypt of an empty family castle (which since the death of Catherine Valmont has now become a tourist spot.)Putting the waste down,the robbers decide to open Valmont's grave.As they open the grave,an earthquake (!) takes place place,which causes the toxic waste to spill.Hit by the waste,Valmont comes back from the dead.Desperate for blood,Valmont drains the blood of both robbers.Stepping out of the crypt,Valmont starts to walk to the family mansion,in search of her childhood friend Hélène.View on the film:Made with an eye on the US market, (an English version was filmed at the same time,which is now sadly lost)director Jean Rollin & cinematographer Max Monteillet drive the film into an enchanting culture crash,by Valmont's Gothic Horror revival being surrounded by cars,cameras and phones,all of which allow outsiders to enter Valmont's world.Stabbing the movie with rough shots of gore,Rollin impressively makes the lingering effects shots pull open Valmont's feeling of being dead to the world.Weaving the childhoods of Valmont and Hélène in lavish flashbacks,Rollin soaks the film in a decaying fairy tale atmosphere,as elegant tracking shots cover the morbid silence from the Valmont castle,and restrained close-ups unveil the passionate love that Valmont & Hélène have for each other.Whilst being open handed with the gory sides,the screenplay by Rollin & Ralf takes an excellent delicate approach to the love between Valmont and Hélène,as Valmont's realisation over what she is leads to Valmont sinking into despair,and causes Hélène to try and keep Valmont safe from the outside world, until the utterly haunting ending breaks the wall down.Despite being called "Vain" by Rollin, Marina Pierro gives a fantastic performance as Hélène,whose longing love and desire to keep Valmont alive Pierro opens up with expressive body language.Taking on a role that Rollin originally offered to Teresa Ann Savoy,the alluring Françoise Blanchard gives a superb performance as Valmont,thanks to Blanchard's anguished face revealing the sorrow digging into Valmont and the aching,blood- drenched love of the living dead girl..
Definitely one of Jean Rollin's Better Films.
My opinion of Jean Rollin, as being a master of style but not at all of substance, rapidly changed when I first saw his near-brilliant 1978 Zombie/Gore film "Les Raisins De La Mort" ("The Grapes of Death").
Unlike "Les Raisins De La Mort", "La Morte Vivante" film does not feature ZombieS, but just one living dead girl.
Probably more well known and infamous for his erotically surreal vampire features, but I decided to make my first taste of his output the zombie splatter effort "The Living Dead Girl".
By accident Hélène heads to castle to find Catherine, where she learns that she was dead to only be brought back to alive and that she needs human blood to survive.
The Living Dead Girl marks the second film I've seen by the cult French director Jean Rollin.
Few horror films cast vampires or zombies in a sympathetic light, the girl/story has more in common with a ghost tale, which are usually founded on an injustice or unfulfilled pact. |
tt0351887 | Chin gei bin | Reeve Ekin Cheng is an ace vampire hunter who has just lost his third assistant to some nasty European vampires. Especially their leader, Duke Dekotes Mickey Hardt, with his pointy teeth and superstrengths, determined to bring a new age of darkness upon the earth. Fortunately, Reeve can keep up with them, thanks to the banana-flavored antidote that gives him vampire powers for 90 minutes after drinking. He just has to remember to drink it by the end of that period or risk turning into a vampire permanently.Reeve's innocent sister Helen Charlene Choi , a fiesty young beauty, just caught her boyfriend cheating on her, having dinner in a restaurant with another girl. After teaching the bum a thing or two, Helen collapses at a table occupied by two guys and swigs down a glass of their wine. What Helen doesn't know is that the guys are the Fifth Prince of the Vampire Nation, Kazaf Edison Chen, and his attendant Prada Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, that they are both vampires, and that the wine she just drank is actually blood. Fortunately, Helen is too upset to notice the taste, and Kazaf is so charmed by her that he instantly falls in love, so much so that he asks for her phone number. Prince Kazaf isn't one of those common vampires who suck blood out of people's necks. In fact, his dad sends him a case of Chateau Grimon blood every week. Kazaf and Prada live in a church, and Kazaf's coffin is a marvel of high tech accoutrements. What Kazaf doesn't know is that the Duke has been killing off the royal family in order to obtain their blood essences so that he can open the book Day for Night and obtain the blood of the ultimate vampire, which will allow him to go out in the sun. Prince Kazaf is the last one left of the royal family. Before his father, King Morgun, was assassinated, he sent the book to Kazaf for safe keeping.When the Anti-Vampire Federation sends over a replacement partner for Reeve, he sends the new girl, Gipsy Gillian Chung, up to the roof to meet his sister. Helen is tossing out everything her ex ever gave her, but Gipsy can't bear to see her throw out a big, cuddly teddy bear, so the two have a kung fu fighting match over it on the roof top. But Helen is getting over the bum pretty quickly, especially after Kazaf calls her and asks for a date...at noon tomorrow. No problem for Helen, but a big problem for Kazaf, who cannot go out in the sun. But Prada has an idea. Two thousand years ago, Sir Nicholas of Poland concocted a sunscreen that allowed him to tolerate sun. Fortunately, Prada has the recipe. A little absinthe juice, extra virgin olive oil, red wine, sesame glue, and potassium, all mixed into a blob of face cream, baked in the oven for an hour and then placed in the sun for a century. Well, maybe three hours will do, but it surely won't be as strong. That afternoon, Kazaf, slathered with sunscreen, keeps his date with Helen. She crashes the wedding of Jackie Jackie Chan and Ivy Karen Mok, but it turns out to be a good thing. Jackie's best man has lost the ring and Kazaf is able to substitute his vampire ring at the last minute, saving the marriage. The next night, Helen shows up on Kazaf's doorstep with a gift of home-baked banana cake. On their first assignment together, Gipsy and Reeve run out of antidote. They hurry home for more, only to find that Helen has just baked it up into a bunch of banana cakes. Reeve is forced to eat the entire batch, but it does save him from turning into a vampire.When it becomes obvious that Kazaf is in love with Helen, Prada warns him that he must tell Helen about his vampirism. When he does, Helen doesn't believe it. She thinks Kazaf is just trying to dump her because he thinks she's too pushy and has a big mouth. Besides, Helen also has a problem with the relationship, but before she can tell Kazaf that her brother Reeve hunts vampires, Kazaf faints. It seems that, since his father's assassination, the King has stopped sending blood, and Kazaf is starving. Helen has an idea. She takes Kazaf to the nearest hospital where they steal two pints of blood from the bloodbank. Unfortunately, the vampires have the same idea, which leads to a wild chase - vampires chasing Helen and Kazaf who are riding in an ambulance driven by groom Jackie, who has turned out to be an ambulance driver. Helen and Jackie save the day when Helen squirts blood into the vampires' mouths and Jackie shoves handsfull of antidepressants down their throats. The vampires are left dancing in the streets.When Helen gets home, she finds Gipsy ironing Reeve's shirt. It seems that Gipsy has also fallen in love with Reeve. Helen and Gipsy iron out their teddy bear fight over a box of Cornflakes, and Helen begs Gipsy to speak to Reeve about the fact that Kazaf is a vampire. When Reeve finds out, however, he becomes irate and heads over to the church where Kazaf lives. Meanwhile, the Duke has also found the church and is waiting there for Prince Kazaf to return but is pleased to capture Reeve, too. Gipsy races home to get help from Helen and Kazaf. Kazaf, holding a knife to his own chest and promising to spill his own blood (which will neutralize his essence), orders the Duke to let Reeve go. The Duke refuses and offers the life of Prada instead. Kazaf doesn't know what to do. He refuses to drop the knife, so the Duke kills Prada. The Duke then forces the vampire essence from Kasaf, uniting it with all the other essences and using them to open the book.Meanwhile, Gipsy and Helen search for Reeve. When they find him, however, it's too late. Reeve has taken the vampire extract, but the antidote has gotten spilled. Reeve has already turned into a vampire. Reeve tries to strangle both girls, but Gipsy is able to stab him through the heart. Reeve dematerializes, and Gipsy and Helen cry. But not for long. There is still the Duke and his minions to take care of. Gipsy and Helen attack in full strength until only the Duke is left. When Gipsy suddenly finds herself in possession of the ball of essence, she swallows it. Gipsy turns into a vampire and goes hand-to-hand with the Duke, but it's a well-directed plunge of Helen's sword that finally destroys him. Once the Duke is gone, Gipsy becomes human again.Epilogue: Gipsy, Helen, and Kazaf have formed a new team of vampire hunters. [Full synopsis by bj_kuehl] | violence, action | train | imdb | null |
tt1305591 | Mars Needs Moms | Unbeknownst to humans, there is a thriving, technologically sophisticated society of Martians living below the surface of Mars. The Martians Supervisor (Mindy Sterling), while observing Earth, sees a mother (Joan Cusack) persuading her son, Milo (motion by Seth Green, voice by Seth Dusky), to do his chores. The Martians decide to bring her to Mars, where her "momness" will be extracted and implanted into the next generation of nannybots. Meanwhile, Milo, who doesn't like following the house rules and doing chores, tells his mother in anger that his life would be better without her, breaking her heart.
Later that night, Milo goes to apologize, but discovers his mom is being abducted. He runs after her, but they end up in separate parts of the Martian spaceship. On Mars, Milo is taken to an underground cell. He escapes and is chased by Martian guards, but he follows a voice that tells him to jump down a chute, and lands in a lower subterranean level. There, he sees a trash-covered landscape that is inhabited by furry creatures.
Milo is whisked away by the creatures to meet Gribble, a.k.a. George Ribble (Dan Fogler), the childlike adult human who had told him to jump down the chute. Gribble explains to Milo that the Martians plan to extract Milo's Mom's memories at sunrise, using a process that will kill her. Gribble, who is lonely and doesn't want Milo to leave, pretends to help Milo rescue his mother, but his plan goes awry leading to Gribble being captured and Milo being pursued by Martian guards.
Milo is rescued by Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), one of the supervisions who raises Martian babies. Milo tells her about his search for his Mom and what a human relationship with a mom is like, as Ki and her kin were mentored by only nannybots and supervisors and don't know of love.
Milo returns to Gribble's home but finds him missing. Gribble's robotic spider, Two-Cat (Dee Bradley Baker), takes Milo to the Martian compound where Gribble is being prepared for execution. Milo is captured by the guards, but Ki tosses him a laser gun, allowing him to escape.
Milo and Gribble retreat to an even lower uninhabited level, where, Gribble explains his Mom's abduction and murder by the Martians 25 years earlier. Gribble blames himself for her being chosen, and regrets that he hadn't been able to save her. Milo convinces Gribble to actually help him just as Ki finds them. They discover an ancient mural of a Martian family and realize that Martian children weren't always raised by machines. Gribble explains that Martian female babies are currently raised by nannybots in the technologically advanced society, while the male babies are sent down below to be raised by adult male Martians, which are the furry creatures he encountered earlier.
Milo, Gribble, and Ki save Milo's Mom just before sunrise, causing the energy of the extraction device to short out the electronic locks to the control room. This lets the adult males and babies enter, where they run amok, attacking the guards and robots.
Milo and his Mom steal oxygen helmets and try to escape across the Martian surface, but the Supervisor causes Milo to trip and his helmet shatters. His Mom gives him her own helmet, saving Milo but sacrificing herself. The Martians are awed, as this is the first time they have seen love.
Gribble finds his own mother's helmet, and gives it Milo's Mom, saving her. Ki brings a ship for them to escape in, but the Supervisor intervenes. Ki argues that Martians were meant to be raised in families, with love, but the Supervisor insists that the current situation is better, because it is more efficient. The guards decide to arrest the Supervisor because they prefer the loving vision of family-life. The other Martians celebrate.
Milo, his Mom, Gribble, Ki, and Two-Cat travel to Earth. Gribble decides not to stay, because he wants to pursue a relationship with Ki on Mars. Milo and his Mom return to their house just before Milo's Dad (Tom Everett Scott) comes home. | entertaining, sentimental | train | wikipedia | Easily the biggest flop of 2011, and pretty close to of all time, this Disney motion-capture film is about a young boy, Milo, who must save his mother (Joan Cusack) from Martians.
I would probably give it 6.5 out of 10 if I could, but I didn't feel it was as bad as movies I've given 6 out of 10 stars, so I gave it a 7 out of 10.The movie uses motion-capture computer animation to apply more realistic textures and movements to its characters, following movies like A Christmas Carol (which wasn't as good), Beowulf (which was much better), and The Polar Express (also much better).Mars Needs Moms features a plot that wasn't demographically targeted correctly.
One critic said, "Mars Needs Moms stands as the potentially final Zemeckis-produced motion-capture effort, and, like The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol before it, its characters boast the waxy complexions, unreal movements, and dead eyes of mannequins..." (Nick Schager, The Village Voice)What the...?
What gives?While I'm not going to defend Mars Needs Moms on every point, I don't understand the beating its taking from reviewers here at IMDb. It's a fairly average film from a director who isn't very good to begin with, with plotting that could have been better and could have been worse, and some character design that could have been more intelligent.
In all fairness, Rango was intended for slightly older children than mine, but I'm a pretty old child myself, with a lot more filmmaking, movie-going, and storytelling experience than the average IMDb reviewer, and I didn't find Rango nearly as brilliant as Johnny Depp's ground-worshipers claim.My advice to you, if you haven't seen Mars Needs Moms, is ask your kid if he or she is interested, and if so, take them.
Due to the copious negative reviews about "Mars Needs Moms," I decided to write a quick positive one.I've read a bunch of different kinds of bashing over this film; from sexism and hidden political agendas to poor animation and a poorly timed release.
This film really isn't as bad as everyone says it is as long as you just go into it with the right mind set.The animation is incredible, as well it should be with a $150 million dollar budget and over 6 minutes worth of end credits of people who worked hard creating it.
"Mars Needs Moms" is a delightful underrated animation about that crazy love thing and a tribute to the mothers and to the families.
This was quite a surprise: A Disney family movie rated PG with creepy animation, lots of dark scary scenes, aliens, homicides and attempted homicides and more!
I guess it will grab kids' attention, but it will also scare them to death.Aside from the crazy story line, which is not child-friendly, we have a new kind of animation that makes computerized characters look very much like real people.
It has a fun story, good characterizations and great animation with possibly the most realistic motion-capture character ever in Gribble, the childlike adult victim of the Martians' earlier Earthian foray.
and I will tell you right now that more kid's movies need to be like this one.It's a good, honest movie that doesn't stand a chance because of gimmicky advertising and forgettable, in-your-face motion capture animation.Yes, I'm looking at you animated movie marketing.If you want to connect with your kids, see this movie.
And it teaches many aspects of life like how important is the love of your mother and how important is to value your family and this makes it a real good family movie, teaching children importance of this and that.Pretty often I come here to IMDb and read the reviews to decide whether to go and watch the movie or not, but this one?
The cast featuring Seth Green, Joan Cusack, Dan Fogler,and Elisabeth Harnois (permission to fall in love with martian version) all did a great job with motion capture and voice acting.
It was a huge box office disappointment as I read, but seeing that little children's love for their mom has been polished and watching them talk about "families" concept (aside from creating an "Infonavit spirit" in them -local joke for Mexicans ;-) ) then I think this drama film is not bad after all but highly recommended because now days society sometimes lacks of love towards our parents, oldies and true family ties.
And it excites us whenever filmmakers succeed in finding the balance between entertaining the masses and allowing audiences to think about certain more profound messages.This computer animated science fiction movie had us revisiting long forgotten textbook topics like communism, and gender differences.
Throw in the popular 3D technology (which is aptly used in this production), and you'd get an entertaining ride through Mars' mystifying lands.Narrated by Seth Green (TV's Family Guy) and featuring performances by Seth Robert Dusky (the child actor provides Milo's voice while Green provides the physical motion), Joan Cusack (Toy Story 3), Dan Fogler (Kung Fu Panda) and Elisabeth Harnois (TV's One Tree Hill), this movie proves that you don't need an A list cast to make a good movie.It is a pity then, that this is the final project produced by Robert Zemeckis' studio ImageMovers Digital.
And to think that we were just beginning to enjoy its films after less than satisfactory productions like The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007) and A Christmas Carol (2010).With a screenplay based on the book by Berkeley Breathed, this 88 minute ride may not feature the most adorable creatures (we are predicting that toddlers may be a little terrified by how the Martians are animated), but it is one recommended adventure to Mars with Mom
and back.www.moviexclusive.com.
As the saying goes "You win some you lose some"Title: Mars Need Moms Directed by: Simon Wells Starring: Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Elisabeth Harnois and John Cusack Rated: PG for sci-fi action and peril Rating: 06/10 88 Minutes.
I would suggest either fully animating a film or leaving it in live-action -- the perfect solution to Mars Needs Moms would have been to have the scenes on Earth portrayed by real-life actors while the scenes on Mars could have become animated (although it isn't as if this suggestion would have "saved" this Martian mire -- IF neither Jim Carrey nor Tom Hanks could salvage this "genre" how-on-earth is Seth Green supposed to do so?!).While the film has a somewhat respectable premise -- "mothers are invaluable" -- the movie also decides to feature women/female(s) as the cause of destruction and mayhem in the universe (it is a 50/50 crap shot everybody!).
Milo is a spoiled brat who only realizes an instant too late -- as his mother is abducted by Martians literally mere moments earlier (!!!) -- that he was a jerk and was wrong in mistreating his mother.Luckily for Milo (and for the benefit of the movie), he comes onboard the MOTHERship and soon finds himself on Mars where he quickly comes into contact with the only other human (other than his captive mother) on the planet (voiced by Dan Fogler -- Take Me Home Tonight, Balls of Fury, Fanboys) who's stalled mission from the 1980's has left him stranded on the furious-female led planet.While there are some nice graphics and some inspired shots (and a few hilarious 80's references to passing fads "those hideous-looking fake Cabbage Patch Kids" had me laughing), Mars Needs Moms comes across as nothing new -- it is just sci-fi lite family adventure.
The reason for all the negative reviews is that this film's real message is that a mother and father should raise a family.I am a married (gasp) dad who went to see this movie with a 10 yr.
It was so realistic we were getting mild motion sickness at some parts, but in a good way.If you are a fan of science fiction, or of excellent graphics, go watch this movie with your kids.
This is the kind of thing I'd expect to see from a no-name animation company, not Disney.Mars Needs Moms features the inventive motion-capture style of animation where actors are fitted for special suits and act out all of the motions done by their characters in the movie.
After wishing he didn't have a mom, nine-year-old Milo's (motions done by Seth Green, voice acting done by Seth Dusky) wish comes true when his mom (Cusake) his kidnapped by martians in a spaceship.Milo hitches a ride, and after meeting up with another human on the planet named Gribble (Fogler), Milo is told that mars needs moms to have their "mom-skills" be transferred into Mars's many nannybots so they can control their young.
The story-telling and plot had me lost a good portion of the film, and I can't imagine a six-year-old in the theater getting too involved or even caring what happens.When it comes to the storyline, that is where Mars Needs Moms fails greatly.
However, I took a leap of faith because I am a sci-fi fan and also the title sounded very good, plus the still shots seemed pretty nice.I had a very good time seeing the actual thing :)I think that the problem is that any animation is seen as something for kids.
I remember being on a bus at SIGGRAPH 2001 and watching several prominent folks from Sony and Disney rip that film apart while a Squaresoft animator in the back cringed and hoped nobody would notice his Final Fantasy tee shirt.But Disney seems to have repeated history with Mars Needs Moms.
Some hurtful exchange of words from son to mother, before he discovers the Martian's ploy and made himself a stowaway on a spaceship back to Mars, where he turns from prisoner to rescuer with the help of a perpetually high Gribble (Dan Fogler), who teaches him a thing or two about survival on the red planet, wanting Max to become his BFF if not for the latter's insistence to save his mom.So begins a quick adventure of about an hour with an audacious rescue mission to exploit its 3D-ness (watching this on 2D, there weren't many sequences designed to do that, really), also with the help of convenient online, realtime translator sets the humans use to communicate with their Martian helper in Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), a somewhat non-conformist female Martian being influenced by the Flower Power propaganda the Martians have while researching Earth, graffiti painting the dull look of Mars with psychedelic colours.
An unnecessary subplot occurs with the romantic dalliances between Martian and Man (really, eww), as well as some commentary about nature versus nurture with the male martians not being cared for by Moms and becoming more like Apes when left to their own devices when forced away from civilizations - there are two layers here, one being the females ruling the world, with the male species through the lack of nurturing going back to their primal selves.Still, what made this film bearable for the most parts is the emotional core of the story stemming from Milo's regret in saying what could possibly be the meanest comment anyone can make toward their moms, which intensified his sense of urgency and regret as he races against the clock to save his her.
You'll be hard pressed not to tear up (oh the manipulation, Disney), though the insult to intelligence if you're older than 5 years come from the final act, involving the lack of breathable air which I thought on one hand was brave of Disney to attempt something a little bit more shocking as is, but on the other pulled its punches with what was very implausible, that robbed it of its credibility.The only aspect which impressed was the sheer amount of work going on behind the motion capture, where you can see plenty of behind the scenes effort when the end credits were rolling, where the actors are strapped to multiple sensors of all kinds placed on their bodies while they act out their scenes made up of sparse looking, makeshift sets that double up for the real thing.
Even my wife (who usually despises anything sci-fi, and bad kids movies in general) had tears in her eyes near the end, when the flick pulls surprisingly on some heart strings.It wound up being a nice night for us as a family, and a pretty enjoyable film.
It's not that Mars Needs Moms was a crowning achievement in cinema, but my surprise derives from the film's abysmal IMDb score -- which has provided only more evidence that IMDb reviewers and critics are either unduly harsh, or simply abusing a clearly fallible rating system.That's right: I'm implying that a good many hipsters and faux-intellectuals out there actually exploit community rating systems such as IMDb's as a means of expressing generic angst and/or exacting misguided vengeance against...
First off, I shall say right up front, that anyone who gave this movie a '1' out of 10 is insincere at the very least ( and needs to get a life) and at most here to defame a otherwise amazing movie with a cute message.As the title suggests, Mars needs moms, and as the plot unfolds you will be drawn into the PG storyline, amidst clever character design, amazing mo-capped animation over the top of well done voice overs and amazing digital imagery.
With a not so great story, sometimes not so good motion-capture Effects and unmemorable music, "Mars needs Moms" is a pure mediocre picture!The technology clearly wasn't there yet, but still everyone didn't get it.
The cast are solid enough especially Seth Green and Joan Cusack and Elizabeth Harnois as Ki was quite promising as well, the music while unexceptional was pleasant on the ears and the visual style if only in the backgrounds, effects and colours is quite good especially in the first ten minutes, which was a thoroughly decent start to a movie that went down the plug-hole just like that.However, I wasn't so impressed with the character designs.
The film seemed too short as well, so any depth and charm are seemingly absent while the moral feels shoe-horned in and feels superfluous to the already uneven tone to the story.In conclusion, a disappointing movie, better than the trailer but while the kids may like it, adults probably won't.
I thought I wanted to see this movie in 3-D, but I'd stayed away from the theater for a while.It's sorta a disappointed year for Disney in 2011 although Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Lion King 3-D were the only successes that they made and did a great job for its incredible work.The reason why Mars Needs Moms was one of the worst movies of 2011 because I know it was a profitable mess ($150 Million), it doesn't have enough advertising endorsements, the 3-D cost a little too much, and CGI is totally the blame for its lucrative script plus a good but solid cast.Eventually, it is one of the fifth biggest bombs of all time since the cruds "Battlefield Earth" and "Showgirls." I think it's time for Disney to start making new plans for the audience.
"Mars Needs Moms" looks good (the motion capture technology is a little jarring at first, but each effort from Robert Zemeckis looks better than the last) but most of the time it's surprisingly empty.
This film, directed by Simon Wells is about a kid named Milo (played by motion capture, and looking very much like Seth Green, but voiced by Seth Dusky) who witnesses his mom get kidnapped by Martians, just after her made a nasty comment to her and hurt her feelings.
On Mars, he meets a helpful alien named Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), and a kid who also had his mom captured by aliens, but is now all grown up, named Gribble (Dan Fogler).For some reason, I'm feeling generous and I'm giving this movie a 2,5/5.
i rented this because I like 3d animation and as a grown man I didn't mind a darker story line ,details of a heartless matriarchal society, firing squads, your mom getting exploded at sunrise - I can get behind a little dark stuff in a kids movie (like Bambi's mother) but this just seemed gratuitous.maybe they should have just gone full tilt and made an aniamtion for adults like Beowulf or Avatar.
First of all ,the animation of this movie is just wonderful.it looks so real.And also the visual,great job.I read most reviews before i watched this movie, so i didn't expect anything good.
It appears as though the caregivers that the creatures in this cartoon crave aren't the current crop of teen moms but a more classic materfamilias archetype.In dire need of maternal affection to fill their nanny-bots with, the Martians abduct human females and extract their essence.The next in line to undergo this process is the mother (Joan Cusack) of Milo (Seth Dusky), who has stowed away on the alien spaceship.Once on Mars, Milo, an alien agitator (Elisabeth Harnois) and a human tech-wizard (Dan Fogler), undertake a mission to rescue her.Based on the children's book, this motion capture adaptation elongates the narrative to ridiculous lengths with creepy character designs and dark themes.Besides, if Martians want to kidnap parents without raising concerns...abduct deadbeat dads.
No movie that cost $150M should have a stupid name like 'Mars Needs Moms'..
I like the story of Milo's change, but when George says that he was a good boy and his mom was taken to Mars...((( 6) There was a mistake.
Mars Needs Moms (2011): Dir: Simon Wells / Voices: Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Elisabeth Harnois, Joan Cusack, Tom Everett Scott: Family animated space movie about the importance of mothers.
And i think soon Mars needs moms will get more views cause parents who saw Rango will be mad as i am and my friend and also other parents who saw how bad that Rango movie is will do same - even Johny Depp not saving it ....I give this movie 8/10 Animation: ** Intelligent story: ** Good ending: * Emotional: * Message: *. |
tt1535616 | The Divide | As nuclear explosions ravage New York City, residents of an apartment block rush downstairs to escape from the building, only to be forced into the basement by further explosions. Only eight of the residents – Eva (Lauren German) and her boyfriend Sam (Iván González), Josh (Milo Ventimiglia) and his brother Adrien (Ashton Holmes), Josh's friend Bobby (Michael Eklund), Marilyn (Rosanna Arquette) and her daughter Wendi (Abbey Thickson), and Devlin (Courtney B. Vance) – manage to force their way into the building's bomb shelter before the superintendent, Mickey (Michael Biehn), seals the door. The group acclimatises to the cramped surroundings while Mickey asserts his dominance over the shelter and its denizens, much to the chagrin of Josh, Bobby, and Devlin. After some time, the shelter's door is broken open and the shelter is invaded by armed soldiers in biohazard suits; the men's speech is unintelligible and their allegiance remains ambiguous. The men attack the group and seize Wendi, leaving the shelter with her. Devlin and Mickey manage to kill three of the men and Mickey takes a rifle. Josh volunteers to use one of the dead soldier's suits to leave the shelter and search for Wendi.
Outside of the shelter, Josh finds the area entirely sealed off by plastic sheet tunnels connected to a laboratory. Josh's outfit allows him to explore the lab, where he discovers several unconscious children, including Wendi, in stasis units; their hair shaved off and their eyes bandaged. One of the soldiers checks the ID on Josh's suit and, realising he is an imposter, tears out his breathing apparatus, exposing Josh to the air. Josh flees back to the shelter, killing two of the soldiers on the way. After Josh returns, the soldiers weld the door shut from the outside, trapping everyone within. Time passes; Josh begins to suffer the effects of the radiation and admits to Adrien that he only went outside to find rescue for Adrien and himself. Eva, in a fractured relationship with the meek Sam, grows closer to Adrien. Bobby volunteers to hack up the bodies of the dead soldiers so their decaying remains can be thrown into the toilet's septic tank. Devlin grows suspicious that Mickey is hoarding resources. Marilyn, having been told by Josh that Wendi is dead, enters into a sexual relationship with Bobby.
Marilyn attempts to convince Eva to sleep with Josh, warning her that the men will want sex. The group grows increasingly angry with Mickey as resources grow scarce, culminating when Devlin discovers Mickey's locked safe room and threatens to taser him if he does not open it. A struggle ensues and Mickey shoots Devlin in the head with the rifle. The group do not believe Mickey's argument of self-defence, and an increasingly ill Josh, and an increasingly deranged Bobby, torture him to gain the code to the safe room. Eva throws the rifle down the toilet to stop Josh using it. Seizing authority, Josh and Bobby are physically and emotionally abusive of Marilyn. Josh makes it clear that he wants Eva, and Sam is unable to stand up for her. Eva and Sam try to protect Marilyn from Josh and Bobby, but are unable to. While Eva is tasked with watching Mickey, Mickey reveals that there is a gun hidden in his safe room.
Josh and Bobby force Eva to hack up Devlin's corpse when Sam cannot, leaving Eva distraught. Josh and Bobby, both losing their hair to radiation sickness, shave their heads. Mickey informs Eva that there is another way out of the shelter, through the septic tank to the sewer. Eva tries to retrieve the gun, but cannot get past the pair. She finds Marilyn's corpse, the two having beaten her to death. Eva notices her hair is falling out and realizes she is also sick; the shelter is not protecting them from the outside because of the broken door. Eva sends Sam to retrieve the gun while she cuts the power to distract Bobby and lures Josh away with the promise of sex. Josh grows suspicious and rapes Eva, but she fights him off with help from Adrien. Sam retrieves the gun, but as Bobby, Josh, Eva, and Adrien yell instructions at him, Sam shoots and kills Adrien. Josh brutally beats Sam. Bobby turns on Josh and is about to shoot him when Eva cuts his throat with a tin can lid. Eva frees Mickey, who shoots Josh. On his last action, Josh smashes an oil lamp, setting himself alight and causing a fire in the shelter. While Sam and Mickey attempt to put out the blaze, Eva chooses to escape. Eva recovers the biohazard suit and locks herself into the safe room, leaving Mickey and Sam trapped inside the burning shelter.
Breaking through the toilet into the septic tank below, Eva drops into the tank and finds a ladder to the street. She emerges into the remains of the city and stares blankly at the total devastation. | insanity | train | wikipedia | We don't like to think that people are capable of certain things, but in extreme conditions people can be pushed to do the unimaginable.This is the the important point of the film, rather than the storyline, or "how the world ends".
One person even called it torture porn (Im not sure how many movies this reviewer has seen but I reckon he certainly doesn't know what the torture porn genre looks like).
I saw some reviews about this movie and all were that it was "sooo bad", "waste of time" and "terrible movie" and at the same time people told me it was an "shocking post-apocalyptic masterpiece" First i didn't want to watch it because of the ratings.Ill never trust the ratings again !This is the most criminally underrated, hated, boycotted movie EVER !
What you don't know is that, after quite an interesting start, things simply go to hell in every possible way - the plot is thrown out the window, the characters start behaving completely stupid 5 minutes into the movie, and the are really no explanations for anything that goes on from that point.The acting is actually not bad - it's simply that the characters these actors put life into make no sense.
I have no problem with gore, violence, exploring the dark side of human nature, sci-fi etc.So, that's why I am going to recommend to skip this awful pretentious piece of trash and watch a much, much, MUCH better Spanish post apocalyptic movie, called The cold hour - a film that has all the same elements and then some, ends up just as bleak, but actually works!.
I wasn't a fan of Gens' previous works, Hit-man was generally disappointing but that was to be expected of any video game-based movie, but THE DIVIDE goes to show that Gens may not be a lost cause after all when it comes to filmmaking.
Fantastic job by the cast ensemble, you've got Eva (Lauren German) who tries to remain sane and level-headed through the ordeal, and there's Marilyn (Rosanna Arquette) who suffers mental problem after the failure to protect her daughter, and then there's Delvin (Courtney B Vance) who at first may seem to be the reasonable one of the bunch, and you also have the cocky sh*theads Bobby and Josh, played by Michael Eklund and Milo Ventimiglia respectively, the shelter itself is owned by an ex-firefighter Mickey (Michael Biehn) who'd rather not share if he had the choice.
Right from the start of the beautifully done CG nuclear explosion, you know that it's not going to end well, because there is no way that these characters could stand each other, not with the limited resources they have and the frustration that comes from being self-imprisoned.
However, as the horror story unfolded (not exactly horror genre film, save for a few scenes, but horrific in the psychological debacle of its characters), the crowd got quiet and silently absorbed the very well-crafted human drama.
You know the kind of thing: there's no or little food, a couple of the guys start to go knutz blah, blah, et cetera, et cetera.Quite why people get the notion into their head that another, look at the monkeys degenerate into barbarism as they struggle to survive isolated from civilization, plot is a scintillating prospect for an original script is baffling in the extreme but there you go, it happens and with depressing regularity.
I try to always look for the good things in movies but after wasting 2 hours of my life i simply had to warn others to please pick another movie.i am a sci-fi fan and i have read a lot of post apocalypse stories but the sheer amount of scientific errors, goofs and illogical plot twists makes this one of the worst i've seen in my 35 years and trust me i've seen a lot.The casting director did a great job and the excellent actors did their best to stay professional.
Story arcs that stop halfway or go totally different ways without a single reason.Granted i am not a big fan of art movies but this movie is so shallow there aren't even multiple levels you could try to work through.This ain't art,not even close.At the very best you could call this a torture fantasy like Saw but without a plot whatsoever.The people involved in this will not be putting this on their resume, thats for sure.
I just hated this movie so much, not because it touches profound themes or because of it's exploration of the human psyche (which there is none, apart from the twisted sick mind of the director), I simply hated because it started out great and slowly degraded to utter crap, violence fest, torture, rape, masochistic sex and all kinds of human deviations not worth watching.
Any decent people still living out there that want to sit back and enjoy a nice SCIFI after work should STAY AWAY from this utter garbage, go rent a nice movie with a message but not this.I have to endure this piece of junk for 1 hour after I decided to stop it, my wife couldn't watch it anymore.
(I don't think what I'm writing here is a spoiler; everyone knows the premise of the movie, and Bobby is recognized almost immediately as an erratic personality.)This movie reminded me just a little of the superb BBC docudrama, "Threads" (1984), which was an equally brutal look at the aftermath of a nuclear war – far more so than the inferior American "The Day After," which made headlines a year earlier.
It is well made, but well made does not make a good movie.Reviews of this movie stating it is 'torture porn' are a little exaggerated, I've seen worse, but this film does seem to like wallowing in the worst possible facets of humanity, simply for the enjoyment of it.
I do not think the characters are realistic in the sense that not all humans are inherently bad/stupid, as this film suggests, though maybe this might be true about Americans ?
A far more powerful message could have been put over, in a far more simple environment.Characters are extremely well casted, each actor chosen presumably for their acting skills as opposed to the "teeth and chiseled jaw" look, and this shows through in the development from normal everyday people, to insane disease ridden madmen that we see near the end.
Biehn excels in this movie, however both Milo Ventimiglia and Lauren German are outstanding, the former surprising me somewhat as his Heroes character never really gelled for me.This is an excellent portrayal of the degradation of human society, ignoring the unnecessary backdrop, is very likely to be how we would revert back to our more base instincts in the face of severe hardship and confinement.A modern day Lord of the Flies - unmissable.8/10.
When you're making your list of the worst films ever made, save a spot for this monstrosity.This isn't 'MST3K' "bad" where at least you can make fun of it our play a drinking game around it, this is just plain torture.Why does this movie get 5.8 stars?
Questions like "Who bombed USA?" and "why would that person do that?" are the most simple questions in this film, but still takes a lot of thinking to make out.The characters is very realistic, and due to the way Xavier Gens has directed the movie, the characters goes through a BIG transformation.
I would have liked to see more character development prior to the basement, but the progression through the movie does a decent job.I read "torture porn" and was expecting MUCH worse.
A truly disappointing piece of film that had the potential to be a very interesting exploration of human nature in captivity.Starts off well with a good set up but then spirals into scene after scene of unnecessary violence and no plot leaving the viewer feeling sick more than anything else.
Good music is gone since the 90's, now movies are going the same way.To say that me, with no experience in film making or directing, could have come with a much better movie is the purest true.My advice to anyone with at least half a brain, skip this nonsense and watch something really well made, such as 'Perfect sense', a fantastic movie, at least 1000 times better..
Rosanna Arquette just does what she does best, effortlessly playing a psychotic sl*t.This movie was a challenge to sit through, and I only persisted because of my love for the genre and hope that it would get better.Extremely disturbing does not a bad movie make, but when combined with an incoherent script and reliance on shocking human depravity this movie just fails on nearly all levels.I won't say a complete waste of time, but given a complete script re-write, what could have been...If you sate for a great movie in this genre, give this a miss and watch Gattaca instead..
Normally, I don't do reviews for a movie but due to the VERY AWFUL nature of this film, let this be a warning to other viewers of this title.I watched this film due as I thought this is a post-apocalyptic survival kind one.
That and the power of denial.Like in Hannanh Arendt sociological and political philosophy, this is not an easy black and white bad and evil piece of crap made in Hollywood, nor the spectator is in his sofa's comfort watching different twilight zone wolds assuming they have fictional characters with totally alien behaviors from his own human moral and ethical patterns.
The scene exists solely to get a gun and a hazmat suit into the basement bomb shelter which could have been done in other ways.The bottom line is this is an effective horror movie but a relatively bad science fiction movie that accounts for the division in fan reviews.
One of the plot hole will make you think if the director were smoking crack - because it doesn't add up with the previously established spatial sequence (when they walk into the basement it was stairs and walls; but when one of the guy walk out it is not).The ending was also god awful, it makes the whole movie pointless.
Both in terms of human beings and cinema.In your stock standard, straight off the shelf post-apocalyptic environment a small group of survivors huddle in the basement of their apartment building alongside Micky (Michael Beihn), the building superintendent who seems to well prepared for just this possibility.Before the shellshocked masses have any real opportunity to swap insurance information a group of white suited men with big guns breaks through the metal door, kills a few, takes some others and leaves, this time sealing the remaining few from the outside.
But as some of the darker predictions of Aldous Huxley, George Orwell and Ray Bradbury begin to morph into reality, and as the world's "haves" and "have nots" glare in mutual hatred across the growing chasm of economic disparity, one can almost hear a low, feral growl of discontent and barely suppressed rage on the street: human beings, we all too frequently forget, are but one more among the animal species, and predators at that.The Divide, by French ultraviolence auteur Xavier Gens (Frontiers, The Horde, Hit-man, etc.) drives that point home with shocking force.As nuclear destruction rains down upon Manhattan, a disparate group of typical apartment dwellers are forced to shelter in the basement for agonizing weeks, watching their supplies and hopes dwindle.The building's superintendent is crusty survivalist Mickey - portrayed convincingly by Michael Biehn, best known as John Connor from the Terminator.
Perhaps this is why the movie maintains interest - there's an ambiguity that is compelling - none of the characters are snowy white nor purely evil.Throughout the story, Lauren German's wickedly lovely eyes convey a fetching, stunned naivete as her main character Eva (perhaps a derivative of "Eve" - inheritor of a new world?) witnesses the increasingly Hellish events unfold.Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli in Heroes) and Michael Eklund (narcotics detective Rene Dejardins in CBC's Intelligence) are chillingly convincing as a pair of goons who grow increasingly brutal and amoral as their sanity erodes from fear and radiation sickness.
While it doesn't break any new ground, it certainly delivers on its promise, with memorably shocking and chilling moments viewers aren't likely to forget.Were it not for the aforementioned plot hole, this film would earn higher marks, but as it stands, I still rate it at an eight out of ten, and would definitely recommend it to friends for a "scary movie night".The Divide (Thriller, 2011, 110 min.) Directed by Xavier Gens; written by Karl Mueller, Eron Sheean; starring Lauren German, Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia, Courtney B.
"The Divide" is a horror post-apocalyptic science fiction movie, about what happens to a group of 8 survivors after a nuclear attack on New York, when they procure shelter in the basement of the building that they live.The mood among the survivors will degrade slowly and the inability to get help, plus the lack of basic resources and the basic psychological problems of each person, will be accentuated.From the standpoint of filming, it presents a claustrophobic atmosphere, very detailed and it conveys what is happening: images of violence, as one might expect are gradually more frequent, as the rape ones.The performances are very good, and can see the characteristics of each individual and their evolution in this environment.
I'm sure of that, just look at the news.The only thing that is still in the air, and I wanted to have further information, is who are the military and their objectives in the film, because even in the end, it is still unanswered.In short: this triller is a great post-apocalyptic horror, but not for the weak.
Then go watch this Utter Piece of Incredible Crap..It is easy to understand what the world is coming to and why, if so many people actually like this movie!!!!
It begins predictably enough: as a nuclear explosion ravages New York, the residents of an apartment block take refuge in the bunker-like basement, which also happens to be the home of survivalist janitor Mickey (Michael Biehn).From the start, the combination of characters is not a happy one: quiet, determined Eva and her weak husband Sam (Lauren German and Iván González), shell-shocked mother Marilyn (Rosanna Arquette) and her young daughter Mary, short-tempered Delvin (Courtney B Vance), arrogant bully boys Bobby (Michael Eklund) and Josh (Milo Ventimiglia) and Josh's sensitive brother Adrien (Ashton Holmes).
But it's a stunning achievement for director Xavier Gens (whose last output was the creaky action flick Hit-man, which even Timothy Olyphant couldn't save) and a must for any self-respecting horror fan.Just don't expect to come out of this bleak drama smiling: as the nuclear ash falls silently across a desolate New York City, we are left with the feeling that, to misquote Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, there is nothing worth fighting for in the spirit of man..
I think that's part of what the movie is trying to convey -- that getting stuck in a bunker during a post-apocalyptic scenario can potentially cause a Divide-esque situation.
The movie starts off with a cliché twist, which all fans of post-apocalyptic genre love: nukes fall, people take shelter in a basement trying to survive.
Viewer gets thrown back into the beginning of the movie to watch an hour and 20 minutes of poorly acted literally retarded characters doing stuff that majority of people would call sick.
Humans appear to survive without air ventilation in a sealed basement while working out, having sex and beating life out of each other.If I was to describe all of the directing blunders, I would need a dozen of pages.Unless you are a huge fan of post-apocalyptic movies and MUST watch every single one, or if you cherish cheap BDSM, this one is not worth watching..
This movie felt like it was rushing although it was a long, drawn out affair.Now, I've read enough novels and seen enough movies to understand the premise that when society breaks down so go all the checks and balances that keep us from picking up a stick and smacking someone over the head with it because we don't like his eye colour BUT...I would like to believe that it would take longer than 5 seconds BEFORE we get to that point.********Here there be Spoilers********* The ONLY actor that seemed to possess a modicum of sense was Michael Biehn and I'm not sure if he adjusted the script as they shot it or the writer and director had a long series of meetings to work on his part.But even there, there were plot holes.1.
This film THE DIVIDE does try but fails quite badly It gets off to a good start as a young woman watches the nuclear destruction of New York take place .
I have read some people think humans would not behave like the people in this film, and I am not going to argue that point, as I do know better!
There is a (presumably) nuclear attack at which point the occupants of the building find themselves trapped in the basement.After being trapped for a while, one by one they turn nasty and violent and begin to rape and kill each other for no reason whatsoever.That is literally all you need to know about this movie - there are no great psychological insights, no comment on human nature and it is certainly no great character study.Even if you believe that humans are inherently evil and this is the kind of thing that would happen, the bad script, storyline and AWFUL characterization in this movie make it impossible to like.No redeeming features..
The metatheatre I alluded to at the start of my review is played out by segregating peoples reactions in almost the same way the characters of the film are divided into their positions.
If you are one of those people who have to know why something happened or try and make sense of the madness, you may not like this movie. |
tt0245866 | Devil's Prey | The movie opens with a young woman being sacrificed by members of a Satanic cult. The focus then switches to five college kids: Eric, David, Samantha, Joe and Susan. Sam gets given a flyer for a rave and the gang decide to go. The rave is held in a barn and Eric starts selling drugs to people there despite being on parole. David gets into a fight with one of the other guys there and the gang are thrown out. As they leave, the man throwing the rave remarks that they may have found some candidates. While driving home, David nearly runs over a woman called Fawn who is covered in blood and has been running from a group of Satan worshippers called the Shadows. The gang are soon ambushed by the Shadows who run their car off the road. While trying to escape, Joe is caught by the Shadows and taken away. The others hide out in a cabin and Fawn tells them they have been trying to sacrifice her to Satan. The gang are divided on what to do next as Sam and Eric think they should leave Fawn since it's her the Shadows want while Susan and Eric think they should help her because they nearly killed her. They are soon attacked by members of the Shadows while Joe is being sacrificed elsewhere. They manage to fight them off and escape from the cabin. While out walking they are attacked by a girl that Eric recognises from the rave. The five of them follow the river and eventually come to a small town. They find Seth, the minister who knows about the Shadows and he takes them to the local sheriff. Sam and Eric stay behind at the diner while David, Susan and Fawn go with the sheriff. They go to the crash site and find that their car has been taken away but they find Joe's glasses to prove their story. Back in the diner, Eric goes outside to make a phone call but the pay phone is broken. The people in the diner knock Sam out and kidnap her. Meanwhile the others run into Seth on the road and he shoots the sheriff and Fawn reveals that she is in league with him and the Shadows. She knocks David out but Susan gets away. David and Sam are taken to the barn where the rave was held and Sam is tortured and eventually killed by Fawn. Back in the town Eric and Susan sneak in the back of a pick-up truck to get to the barn. When they get there Eric is hit in the back with an axe and Susan is drugged. When she comes around she has been chained up, ready to be sacrificed in the hopes that the Shadows will get immortality. Seth prepares the ritual to sacrifice Susan but Eric drives the car into the barn. Susan kills Fawn and her and David escape while Eric blows up the truck, killing everyone else. Seth gets out and goes after Susan and David but they crash the truck into him and he is impaled on a stake. The ending flashes forward six months later to David and Susan living in an apartment of their own. David leaves for class and Susan has a nightmare of Fawn in the apartment. As she closes the door we see Seth standing inside and he says "hello, Susan" as the movie ends. | murder | train | imdb | Five L.A. teens make the mistake of accepting an anonymous invitation to attend a backwoods rave called 'Straight to Hell' and, wouldn't you know it, that's just what the local sect of Satanists had in mind when they lured them there!
Before you can say trite morality lesson, the kids (who've apparently burned too many brain cells as is) are run off the road by a van and chased around in the woods by hooded, masked cult members who want to sacrifice them to gain immortality.
After the token black fifth wheel is snuffed out, the survivors (plus a young woman who escaped an earlier sacrifice attempt) stumble onto a very small town inhabited by (surprise!) more Satanists and it's time for round two.Don't waste your time with this irritating semi-throwback to 1970s drive-in horror films.
The movie doesn't look bad, a few of the actresses are pretty hot and it has one effective plot shift near the middle, but those things are a dime a dozen in horror films and not nearly enough to sustain interest during the entire length of this stupid, boring movie..
A Dreadful Teen Movie, With a Screenplay Full of Flaws and Ridiculous Dialogs.
Five friends (Susan (Ashley Jones), David (Charlie O'Connel), Samantha (the horrible Jennifer Lyons), Erik (Brian Kirkwood) and Joe (Rashaan Nall)) are invited to go to a rave party in a distant location.
In the party, Erik starts dealing drugs and David fights with a local, and the group is invited to leave immediately the place.
In the way back home, in a lack of attention of David while driving, he hits Fawn (Elena Lyons) on the road.
Fawn is hurt and tells them that she was escaping from some fanatics for Satan, who wanted to sacrifice her.
In the morning, they successfully reach a small town, meet the local minister Seth (Patrick Bergin) and the sheriff (Tim Thomerson) and report what happened along the night.
This film is a dreadful teen movie, having a screenplay full of flaws and ridiculous dialogs.
The ham `actress' Jennifer Lyons has a terrible tone of voice, her character is ridiculous and her lines are unbelievable.
Some parts of the story are reasonable, but in a certain point of the plot, it becomes so unreasonable that even a fan like me of horror movie gets completely disappointed.
I don't know why people actually liked this movie just for a bit?
I'm a big B-movie fan and I don't care if the acting or the fx are bad (sometimes it makes movies even more fun!) but nothing is happening in this movie.
The script and story line are so transparent and obvious that after a five minute introduction, set your dvd to 16x and you'll get the rest of the movie in a further five minutes, and miss nothing.
You know you're in trouble when you can spot continuity errors in the opening sequence of a film (check out the disappearing bra) without even looking for them.
"Devil's Prey" is otherwise a well-shot movie, but it's just hokum of the ninth degree.
The devil worshippers are a joke compared to the satanic cults in other horror films (and, although they clearly outnumber the heroes, they persist in attacking them one by one), and I hope Patrick Bergin knows that, after a role like this, his career has little hope of reviving.
In Satan's Cheerleaders a bunch of kids get stuck in a town full of Satan worshippers.
In Devil's Prey, a bunch of kids get stuck in a town full of devil worshippers.
Without the campy approach and the B list actors that made Satan's Cheerleaders entertaining, this film doesn't really have anything to offer.
Just one long boring and derrative flick where everybody and everyone seems to be going through the motions.Rated R; Sexual Situations, Nudity, Violence and Profanity..
Standard for the teen horror genre.
While driving away, they accidentally hit a young woman (Elena Lyons) with their car.
Pretty soon, they are all being pursued by devil worshippers.
This teen horror flick looks good and moves quickly, but it has too many tiresome cliches that killed the genre in the first place (the ethnic minorities don't last long, promiscuous girls must be punished, etc.) and it is gratuitously unpleasant.
For example, there is a sex scene that doesn't show anything - the nudity is provided by intercut scenes of a topless girl being stabbed repeatedly, and which has nothing much to do with the rest of the film.
Besides such pointless moments as these, there are a few thrills to be found and, like many teen horror movies these days, the cast is made up of TV stars, and they do a capable job..
Over-exposure of breasts, depicting drug use in a way that is far from reality and poor acting - none of those mentioned appeals to me, sorry.
I consider this one to be a complete failure as regards making a college flick with goals set on appealing to young people.2/10 - my advice is stay away from this one!.
I love horror films and blonde hotties.
I got this to see Jennifer Lyons but was disappointed to see no breasts and she was not too sexy nor could she act!
This movie was ridiculous after the rave party It went on and ON CHEAP and predictable Didn't look to bad but the rest of the movie and the killers were played out fast.
The ending was pretty good but this movie took too long to get to the end..
What I got was a story that went in the wrong direction.Devil's Prey (hereon "DP") started off almost brilliantly.
A group of twenty-somethings running from a cult of Satan worshippers intent on making these innocents part of their ritual slaughter.
Unfortunately the plot soon goes off-track.The Satanic cult, known as "The Shadows", take off their masks and cloaks way too early, revealing not a bunch of evil dark-side doers, but instead a handful of stupid psychos who make up as they go along what the devil "wants of them".Besides the cameraman seemingly being obsessed with naked dancing women's breasts at a rave party, the overall general camera work is almost as jumpy as "The Blair Witch Project", especially in the action scenes.
As a result of this, a couple of times I was unable to pick up at first who stabbed who, and was often left wondering how a member of the group received their injury.Plot holes also majorly scarred DP.
By the middle of the movie he has not only turned into a side-kick himself, but is a newbie to the cult.However terribly put together DP was, it is only fair to follow criticism with praise.
What looked at first like a horrible "I know what you did last summer" clichéd sequence actually turned out in a proper logical way.
But that's about it.Devil's Prey is a movie that begins with a lot of potential, but goes in the wrong direction, turning into a messed up dud.
It has a very nice start, flows well (despite the plot holes), but makes you wish it was more.
Ripoff of a dozen or so 70's drive-in flicks about teenagers falling prey to town that seems populated by only devil worshippers.
Decently paced with an appealing enough cast and some thrills and chills, but way too familiar to be effective.
Typical "horror" film with a non-existent plot and awful acting.
And the beginning, although the best part of the film with loads of good looking babes, is exceptionally pointless.
A group of teenagers go to a party outside city and are later on chased by satan worshippers.
I don't even want to tell anything about the rest of the film, because someone might be surprised about the turnaround in the plot.
I personally could not watch the whole movie because I started feeling nausea.
Decent for a Teen Horror movie.
I bought this movie to see Elena Lyons as a star in the film and she did an excellent job, of course.
I'm a fan of horror movies of all type, but this type of film is becoming old, it's no Friday the 13th.
It's the famous teen horror movies where someone is chasing-someone to kill someone-thing.
It was made pretty good, effects and filming of it was quality.
Overall it was decent for this type of film, worth renting if there's nothing on TV..
I gave it a 2 because the actors were OK, the actresses quite pretty and they seemed to make at least a half-hearted effort.The rest of the movie however is awful.
It's also quite perturbing to see Jerry O'Connell's brother in this movie as there are flashes when one thinks it's him, but then the realisation seeps in that it's just someone who looks like him!Avoid.
Horror like in the 80's.
This is one of the greatest horror movies I have seen this year...
It is great to see that it is still possible to make movies this way....
Pretty Cool Little Movie.
I dig this kinda movie way more than the big budget Hollywood horror films, and it's just as spooky.
A bunch of masked devil worshippers chasing people around the woods is about the jist of this flick, but there's more to it, with some cool plot twists that I didn't see coming.
Some great photography sequences at the rave party scene..
Devil's Prey starts late one night as five teenage friends, David (Charlie O'Connell), Susan (Ashley Jones), Eric (Bryan Kirkwood), Samantha (Jennifer Lyons) & Joe (Rashaan Nall) drive along an isolated backwoods road on their way to a rave in a barn.
Eventually they reach their destination & inside the barn everyone seems to be having a good time until David gets involved in a fight over drugs & the five friends are kicked out.
They drive off heading back home but hit a girl named Fawn (Elena Lyons who is a bit of a babe) who stumbles into the middle of the road, after stopping they try to help her & decide to drive her to a hospital.
However they are forced off the road by a van, the friends are now stuck in the middle of nowhere & to add to their problems Fawn informs them that a satanic cult known as 'the shadows' operate nearby & are always in search of fresh, young sacrificial victims for their sinister devil worshipping ceremonies...Directed by Bradford May I thought Devil's Prey was an OK teen horror, I certainly thought it was watchable at the very least.
Courtney Joyner moves along at a fair pace & is never boring, at first it plays pretty much like a standard slasher film with a group of clichéd teens, the obligatory black dude, the 'strong' female, the idiot, the couple etc., being hunted down by people in robes & masks that reminded me of the killer from Scream (1996) but about halfway through they come across the small town of Hallow's Point where the film takes a different direction.
I'm not saying that Devil's Prey suddenly becomes a masterpiece or anything like that, far from it in fact but it was nice to see the film try & break out of the normal horror mould that appears set in stone these days.
The character's are non descript & forgettable although they don't annoy too much, the plot twists are far too easy to figure out & I was one step ahead of Devil's Prey all the way & there is one bit which bugged me & still does even now.
It's the fact that Fawn deliberately walked in front of a moving car as part of an elaborate plan, OK fine but there is no way on Earth that she could be sure that being hit by a speeding car wouldn't kill or seriously injure herself, is there?
That's a massive chance to take for very little benefit, I mean the guys in the van force the car off the road anyway, right?Director May does OK & Devil's Prey looks alright, it doesn't have much style or visual flair but it's good enough.
There isn't much gore, someone gets a bullet through their head, there are a couple of really tame Satan worshipping rituals & the films best sequence in which Patrick Bergin has intimate relations with Elena Lyons all inter-cut with Jennifer Lyons breasts & body being cut with a knife, nice.Technically Devil's Prey is fine, it's well made & competent throughout.
The acting was OK & a couple of the girls here, especially Elena Lyons, are pretty hot.Devil's Prey is a decent attempt at a teen horror, it's not the best but it's far from the worst & I personally think it's worth a watch if your a fan of the genre & aren't too demanding.
Good movie, so why the low rating?
Devil's Prey is not a high budget movie, yet still there are thrills and twists which I enjoyed watching.
In my opinion, the violence and sexual content isn't raw; it's mildly presented and if you're over 18 years of age, it's no big deal.The movie is never boring as we see a group of seven twenty-somethings first at a party who then get drugged and attempted to be captured and murdered by a group of loony satanics; there's a twist in the tail here as two of the young twenty-something "friends" are in fact part of the satanic group drafted in to capture the others.This I didn't get until almost the end, when to my surprise, they were uncovered!
There are other characters in this movie who you sense from the start they're "in with it", and like in "Race With The Devil", the satanic loonies are more part of the town than an isolated group.It's a good film, low budget yes, but well acted and worth renting.
"Devil's Prey" (2001) is the first movie to show the brutal reality of devil worship and virgin sacrifice-dull, boring, and stupid.
A gang of devil worshipers, led by Seth the local minister, doesn't like a gang of ravers, led by David (Charlie O'Connel).
Driving away from the rave, David runs over Seth's girlfriend Fawn (Elena Lyons) who is mysteriously immune from blunt object trauma and who just gets into David's car.
In retaliation David's gang begins killing a bunch of girls because they are dressed in long black robes and running around in the woods at night with sharp objects.
In retaliation Seth's gang sacrifices Samantha (Jennifer Lyons) because she speaks with the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and they figure she must be a virgin.
By the end David's gang seems to have pretty much wiped out all the citizens of a small California town along with Seth and Fawn.
The movie nicely balances scenes of Jennifer Lyon's tight abs with charming shots of the little chapel in the dell, so there's something for everybody.
But seriously, "Devil's Prey" may not be the worst ever example in the horror genre but you are unlikely to randomly chance on anything worse than this mess.
You immediately know that the seemingly normal townspeople are in league with the devil worshipers and that Fawn is their high priestess.
Devil's Prey is an illogical story lamely masked by confusing plot elements.
Devils Prey was a movie i picked out for no apparent reason, even the cover looked too "I know what you did last summer", but i still gave it a go....and to my suprise it wasnt too bad.
The story isnt too complicated, A bunch of teens, after having a party in a country town, drive back home, but on their way there they run over a girl, her injuries arent severe, then they are followed around by some devil worshipers wearing scary masks,**SPOILER**one of them gets caught, and theres no sign of him through-out the movie, so that was a big no-no...What happened to him?
**END SPOILER**The acting was acceptable, except that of the Blonde girl, though she shows her fears well, the movie wasnt written to well, it had its good points (Barn scene) but others, were just copy-cats of other movies like (I Know What You Did Last Summer) just check the ending out, absolutely un-neccesary.The film also had familiar scenes to the likings of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I Know What You Did....
Im sure it could have been done better, but it was still an acceptable movie, not very scary, but some of the scenes were appealing, especially for its type of Genre.ACTING: The acting was acceptable, there was alot in the cast, and they all did OK, nothing overwhelming at all, but they did their jobs satisfactorally.ACTORS: Not really a familiar cast, no-one really all that famous, and if you recognise them, they are from TV Shows, not the best chosen cast, but i guess they suited their roles ok.SCRIPT: Again it did copy alot of movies, and the ending was quiet dissapointing, there were many potholes in the movie, giving the impression of a bumpy ride, and well..A Bumpy script, not too good.CINEMA: Fair enough, i didnt find any exceptional cinematography, a few nice country settings, the town looked ok, though you wouldnt brag on about any of it.THRILLS: Quiet a few, it almost starts out as a good thriller/horror film, you might get a few trembles, because the movie deals with Devil Worshipers and Evil, not many films go that far, especially of its Genre.MUSIC: The music was good, not sound-track worthy, but whenever music was played, it was played appropriately with the scene it goes with, so the music was nice.OVERALL: A Satisfactory horror film, of course it would have been done better as it did have its flaws, but like most of its Genre, their never classics, and Devils Prety definantley wasnt a classic, but it was an OK movie for its genre.*** (3 Stars) |
tt2310332 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | The third Hobbit film picks up shortly after the second left off. The people of Lake-town are in a panicked frenzy as the dragon Smaug (voice: Benedict Cumberbatch) flies down to exact his revenge. The Master of Lake-town (Stephen Fry) and his deputy Alfrid (Ryan Gage) try to evacuate with the town's treasure while the rest of the townsfolk also try to escape. Smaug descends and breathes fire all over the town, destroying a whole row of houses and killing many people.Meanwhile, Bard the bowman (Luke Evans) tries to break free from his cell while his children are leaving with Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), Kili (Aidan Turner), Fili (Dean O'Gorman), Bofur (James Nesbitt), and Oin (John Callen). On the boat, Bard's son Bain (John Bell) sees his father as he climbs the bell tower to get high enough to shoot at Smaug. Before he was captured in the previous movie, Bard told Bain to hide the last Black Arrow. Realizing that Bard needs the arrow, Bain grabs a cargo hook, swings out of the boat, and goes to retrieve the Black Arrow from the small boat where he left it hidden.From atop the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Dwalin (Graham McTavish), Balin (Ken Stott), Dori (Mark Hadlow), Nori (Jed Brophy), Ori (Adam Brown), Bifur (William Kircher), Gloin (Peter Hambleton), and Bombur (Stephen Hunter) watch as the dragon terrorizes Lake-town. Their leader Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) is unable to watch with them.Bard shoots his arrows at Smaug as the dragon flies by hitting the dragon, but they are unable to penetrate his scaled hide. Bain arrives with the Black Arrow, which is big enough to do the job. Smaug wrecks the bell tower, cracking Bard's bow. The dragon taunts Bard and his son as Bard aims the black arrow while balancing it on Bain's shoulder, using a makeshift bow he rigs out of his broken one. As Smaug flies toward them, Bard shoots the arrow. It strikes the dragon, hitting the weak spot in his armor. He screams in pain as the light leaves his body. Smaug plummets into the lake, where his body crushes the Master and the gold supply. The dwarves see that Smaug is dead and they rejoice.The surviving people of Lake-town gather the supplies they have left. Alfrid tries to swipe some, but Bard stops him. The people recognize Bard as their savior for killing Smaug. They grab Alfrid and try to punish him, but Bard stops them. He decides they will take refuge in the town of Dale.Kili and the other dwarves leave for the mountain to rejoin the rest of the company. Kili asks Tauriel to join him. Legolas (Orlando Bloom) stops her, telling Tauriel to say goodbye to Kili. Kili hands her the carved stone that he showed her when they first met.In the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves return to Bilbo, who tells them that Thorin has started to lose his mind after being corrupted by the hoarded gold in the mountain. He is also becoming madly obsessed in his search for the Arkenstone. It turns out that Bilbo had it all along, but heeded Smaug's warning that the stone would drive Thorin mad. Bilbo goes to Balin and asks about the Arkenstone without admitting he has it; Balin says possessing the stone might make Thorin even more irrational.The orcs and their leader Azog (Manu Bennett) are marching toward Erebor when Bolg (John Tui) arrives to inform Azog that the Elf army is approaching closely. Azog orders Bolg to go to Gundabad, an Orc stronghold, to rally a greater army of Orcs to join them.In Dol Goldur, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is still caged after learning that the Necromancer (voice: Benedict Cumberbatch) was Sauron. A giant Orc threatens him until Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) arrives and vanquishes it. Then the Nazgul (nine ghost-like men who fell victim to Sauron) show up to attack, but Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Saruman (Christopher Lee) come in to fight them. The two of them defeat the Nazgul as Galadriel tends to Gandalf. Radagast (Sylvester McCoy) comes back in his rabbit-drawn sleigh to take Gandalf away. The image of Sauron appears and tries to tempt Galadriel, but she overpowers him and casts him out. She falls in a weakened state. Elrond suggests they warn everyone of Sauron, but Saruman tells them to help Galadriel and says they can leave Sauron to him.Legolas and Tauriel learn that Bolg is going to Gundabad. They decide to follow him after learning from a messenger that Tauriel has been banished from the Elf kingdom by Thranduil (Lee Pace).Thranduil arrives in Dale with his army close by. He speaks to Bard about forming an alliance, as Thranduil wants to get into the Lonely Mountain to reclaim some white gems denied him by the dwarves many years before, including a necklace made of them.Bard rides over to the Lonely Mountain's main gate, hoping to persuade Thorin to join forces with him to avoid any more bloodshed. Thorin refuses to listen or to give away any part of his treasure, despite his promises when the people of Lake-town helped the dwarves. Bard leaves angrily.The dwarves suit up in their armor to prepare for battle. Thorin gives Bilbo a shirt of mithril mail that he says is so strong that no blade can pierce it. As they speak, Thorin continues to sound distorted and dazed as he vows not to share the treasure.Gandalf arrives in Dale, and Bilbo sneaks out of the mountain at night to a tent where Gandalf, Bard, and Thranduil are talking. Bilbo gives them the Arkenstone, claiming it as his share of Thorin's treasure. Thranduil tells Gandalf that he will finish this fight to protect his people.The next day, the Elvish and Lake-town armies stand before Erebor. Thorin and the dwarves come out on the wall. Bard displays the Arkenstone to offer in trade for the gold. Thorin thinks it's a trick until Bilbo admits that he gave it to them. Feeling betrayed, Thorin orders the Dwarves to throw Bilbo over the side of the wall they'd constructed to replace the wrecked gate. They refuse, and Thorin nearly does it himself. Gandalf arrives to stop him, allowing Bilbo to escape and join his wizard friend. Bard asks Thorin if he will have peace or war, and Thorin growls that he will have war. Then, an army of Dwarves led by Thorin's cousin Dain Ironfoot (Billy Connolly) arrives to help Thorin and his company. They are on the verge of attacking the Elf army when the Orc army arrives. The armies of dwarves, elves, and humans join together to fight the villains, and the Battle of the Five Armies begins.Legolas and Tauriel get to Gundabad and discover Bolg summoning the rest of the Orc forces, along with a horde of giant bat creatures.In the mountain, Dwalin attempts to reason with Thorin, who has become more disillusioned and angry. Thorin threatens to kill him if he does not leave. Dwalin does so, disappointed. Thorin goes down to the Gallery of Kings and walks over the hardened gold floor where he had tried to trap Smaug. He hallucinates seeing the dragon swimming beneath him, as well as himself sinking into the gold. Thorin snaps out of it and overcomes his madness. Using a giant bell as a wrecking ball, the Dwarves smash through the wall they built across the gate into the mountain and emerge to join the fight.Bard sends the women and children to safety while the men fight. He hands Alfrid a sword, but the coward is more concerned about staying hidden and getting some treasure. Meanwhile, many innocent civilians are slaughtered in the battle.With Dwalin, Fili, and Kili ("his best warriors," Gandalf says), Thorin resolves to ride to the top of Ravenhill, the orcs' command post, and kill Azog. He knows that the loss of their leader will make it possible to defeat the orcs. Elsewhere, Legolas and Tauriel return. Thranduil finds Tauriel going off to help the Dwarves and warn them of Bolg's army, but Thranduil doesn't think they are worth it and believes her love for Kili isn't real. Tauriel holds her bow and arrow to Thranduil, but he cu. Legolas stands in the way to defend her. They join forces with Bilbo, who made it through the battle with the One Ring, and go off to warn their friends.The heroes find the Orcs, but in the chaos, Bilbo is knocked unconscious while Fili is impaled by Azog. Enraged, Kili runs to the top of the tower, decapitating nearly every Orc in his path. He comes before Bolg as Tauriel joins in the fight. Bolg overpowers her and throws her against the wall. Kili comes to her defense, but Bolg stabs him through the heart. Tauriel watches him die. In her fury, she grabs onto Bolg and pulls him down the edge of a precipice. Legolas watches from a distance and gropes for an arrow, but he's all out. He gets a giant Orc to ram a tower that falls and forms a bridge, letting him run to Tauriel's aid. He battles Bolg on the crumbling tower, adroitly running up cascades of falling debris. From atop on the icy falls, he sees Thorin, weaponless, nearly killed by an Orc, so Legolas throws his sword into the Orc's chest. (Thorin retrieves the sword from the body and continues to fight with it.) Legolas takes out his knives and drives one into Bolg's head. The Orc falls through the tower, which crumbles completely. He hits the ground and is crushed by a piece of the tower.Radagast and Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt) swoop in on the Great Eagles as they take down the rest of the Orcs. Beorn morphs into his bear form and runs the Orcs down.Thorin battles Azog on a frozen pool above the icy falls. Azog swings his chained boulder to try and slam Thorin, only to break the ice around him. Thorn grabs the boulder and throws it to Azog, causing him to sink into the water. Thorin watches Azog float by him beneath the ice, seemingly dead, until the Orc opens his eyes, stabs Thorin in the foot, and bursts through the ice. He pins Thorin down and tries to impale him, but Thorin holds him back. However, realizing the Orc is too strong, Thorin lets Azog impale him, until he has a clear moment to kill the orc: Thorin drives his sword through Azog's body into the ice as the Orc finally dies.Thorin walks over to watch the rest of the battle. He collapses as Bilbo comes by his side. Thorin says he is sorry to Bilbo for how he acted and for what he's put him through. He acknowledges Bilbo's friendship before he dies. Bilbo weeps for his fallen friend. The surviving Dwarves come and kneel beside Thorin.Legolas tells Thranduil that he is leaving the kingdom. Thranduil tells his son to look for one of the Dunedain, a man who is referred to as Strider (Aragorn). After Legolas leaves, Thranduil finds Tauriel crying over Kili's body. She rejects love and asks why it hurts so much. Thranduil responds, "Because it was real." Tauriel kisses Kili's lips and plans to properly bury him.Bilbo leaves the mountain and tells Balin to tell the Dwarves goodbye for him. He turns around to find them standing behind him. Bilbo properly bids them farewell and invites them to come by his home should they ever find themselves traveling toward Bag End.Gandalf guides Bilbo back to the borders of the Shire. He knows that Bilbo had the ring with him, but Bilbo claims he lost it. Gandalf provides him with a word of caution before they depart. When Bilbo gets close to Bag End, he sees people walking off with his belongings. Since he was presumed dead, his belongings are being auctioned off. He demands to have them back while trying to find something that proves his identity -- he hands the auctioneer the contract he'd signed with Thorin's company. He goes inside his hole and takes out the ring.The final scene shows the older Bilbo (Ian Holm) holding the ring in his hand. There's a knock at the door. Bilbo says he wants no visitors, but jumps up when he hears Gandalf's voice. He goes to the door to greet his old friend, and the last thing we see is Thorin's map of Erebor (thus beginning the very first scene of the second Middle Earth trilogy of The Lord of the Rings). | murder, anti war, violence, flashback, good versus evil, insanity, romantic, revenge | train | imdb | Peter Jackson, with this new trilogy, which adapts a somewhat long children's fairy tale into a three-part action epic, each movie being three hours long and delving into completely irrelevant stories that are only hinted at in Tolkien's body of work, has really destroyed his reputation as the Tolkien translator.
Characters we've come to love or loathe arc into nothing; others (e.g. Beorn and Radagast) are given literally seconds of screen time; and for the first time in this prequel trilogy, a whole chapter (The Return Journey) is pretty much elided entirely.I'd like to be clear on my admiration for what Peter Jackson has done with The Hobbit so far.
Armitage and Bilbo provide the best performances of the film - mostly internal; mostly in the eyes - and their farewell is one of the more moving moments in a trilogy that has largely prioritised humour over pathos.The battle itself is undoubtedly impressive - great roaring hordes punctuated with spectacular giants - but in a sense it compounds the problem of the relatively truncated runtime.
The final movie was well worth the price of admission, which in my case was a free ticket to a preview screening.I found this movie to be a stretch and as the final movie in a trilogy that was getting less interesting the further you went into the series, I left feeling extremely disappointed, and glad I didn't pay for the premium experience (3D, Imax, etc).There was a little too much CG this time around, and it wasn't even all that great.
However, in the opinion of this reviewer, waiting until it appears in a second run theatre will provide better value for money.It's a movie that wraps up a series, but when compared to Peter Jackson's original LOTR work it pales and is as pale as an orc who has been working in the basement of Orthanc.
The Hobbit trilogy is crap.It's little more than a long list of invented battles and love stories to attract a widest possible audience, as well as loads of idiotic storyline to make the story slide into the Lord of the Rings movies as smooth as an Elven ass.
Before seeing _The Battle of the Five Armies_ today, I told people, "The first two films lacked fidelity to the book, but this one should be better." I figured Jackson wouldn't have to add lots of extraneous invented action scenes because the final third of the book contained plenty of action.Boy, was I wrong.Unnecessary invented characters from the previous films continued to take up screen time in this one, and many new ones were added.
Get out of the frame!In conclusion, this is a worthy final installment in The Hobbit Trilogy, and a film I consider to be the best of the three.Pros: Great acting, well-directed battle sequences, Howard Shore (Need I say more?), good visuals.Cons: Lack of resolutions, obnoxious characters, too much CGI, some cheesy moments.All in all a fine holiday film.
In the last 14 years since the FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING came out, I was telling my nerdy friends (and everybody else) how amazing the Lord of the Rings movies are, how muche love and effort went into them.I was amazed about the fact, that Peter Jackson said NO to too much CGI, that he used real sets, models, amazingly detailed costumes and beautiful cinematography.ALL of that went down the drain with this one...
If Jackson would have sun the story of The Lord of the Rings like he did the Hobbit, We would still be waiting for the last two movies in his twelve part series...So with that off my chest..
Now I personally enjoyed the first two hobbit instalments as much as each movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, though without a shadow of a doubt the original trilogy is far superior (probably due to the fact the book it is based on, is far stronger) I still find each of them incredible films and after the agonising and excruciating cliff- hanger of the Desolation Of Smaug, I was highly anticipating the third concluding chapter: The Battle of the Five Armies.The Battle of the Five Armies forsakes the tradition of prologues that would often go back in time from the main narrative and instead thrusts us into the action, sending us with a flurry of excitement into Smaug's attack on Laketown, it is truly a spectacle to watch, building up the suspense and then being the perfect pulse racing build up and is one of the standout set pieces of the year as we finally see Smaug the terrible lay wake to the town, and as the title card appears over the ruined Erebor, the film continues to be the ultimate goodbye to Middle Earth, high on energy, whizzing through scenes at a breakneck pace until the credits roll.In an attempt not to reveal any spoilers about the film, I will not delve into anymore of the plot events, needless to say this movie has countless scenes that Jackson is known for.
Whilst the previous cast all fulfill their roles masterfully, Evangeline Lilly and Aidan Turner both continue this slightly cliché romantic subplot but one that is given far more weight in this movie and really contributes to the plot this time and does not feel tacked on which did seem to occur with Desolation of Smaug.The action as well is the best of the whole middle earth saga, the battle of the Five armies feels like Jackson looked at Minas Tirith, saw everything that worked and decided to turn it up a notch.
Full of epic moments, awesome fights, giant armies clashing and the final showdown with the long awaited Thorin vs Azog does everything right with brilliant performances all around and the best one on one action scene in the series between Legolas and Bolg is a pure delight to watch.
Whilst the action is marvellous and the best of the series, it's the emotional tone that ends the last ten minutes that makes The Battle of the Five armies such a brilliant goodbye as it is the end to the Hobbit tale, whilst still being a set up for the Lord of the rings and being one last farewell to the series that has touched so many viewers across the globe as Billy Boyd ends the series with a nostalgic note with his song.My only few complaints is that much like in the Desolation of Smaug, the lonely mountain theme from An Unexpected journey does not appear, instead the 'house of durin theme' seems to be the most prominent, though I have understood it could be a copyright issue which in that case cannot be helped.
Also though the film went by in a blur, I wish it could of been longer, most of the dwarfs don't get as much screen time as they should of and the ending feels like such a flash but perhaps that may be because I was desperate not to leave Jackson's middle earth vision for the last time, there was a lot of questions that were left unanswered admittedly and it does feel like they took the climax of the second movie, when the Hobbit was only two films and then extended it for as long as they could without overstaying their welcome, but these are all very minor gripes in what is a magnificent experience to see on the silver screen.The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the ultimate send off for the Middle Earth saga.
In a trilogy where the quality of films has got progressively better, the Hobbit which easily could of been a supplement to the Lord of the rings, feels like a significant half of the Middle Earth saga.
Peter Jackson did a great job interpreting the three Tolkien novels and putting them up on the big screen, a great feat done with great success.When I heard that the Hobbit, originally one Tolkien book, was going to be split into three films just like the Lord of the Rings, I was surprised and worried about how they could expand one novel into 3 full-length feature films.
So going in to the movies, I did not expect them to follow the book 100% - I expected changes to be made and additions inserted here and there to provide more excitement or emotion to the story.I have heard a lot of people write and complain about how bad the last Hobbit was, but given the framework of its development and that it was supposed to be much longer than anyone expected, people should not be going into this moving expecting it to be a great nod to Tolkien, but rather one for Peter Jackson.
Obviously, it doesn't stick to Tolkien's Hobbit in its entirety and makes links to the original Lord of the Ring trilogy, but overall, given what Peter Jackson was trying to accomplish, he did a wonderful job.
First, I would like to say that I love all the books from Tolkien, Lord of the Rings movies and I think that the first two Hobbit movies were not that bad.The third one, however, was horrible, full of pointless violence, cheap CGI with no real story = typical Hollywood action movie with no meaning.
Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage brought their characters to lives and Benedict Cumberbatch JUST stole the show as SmaugI really liked the inclusion of Legolas and how PJ cleverly linked 'The Hobbit' as a prequel to the LOTR series by mentioning 'Aragorn' The battle scenes were really well done (And NO, CGI wasn't tacky) and I really would watch it again, for the visuals and the fact that it is the last goodbye to Middle EarthTHANK YOU PETER JACKSON, YOU HAVE DONE A MARVELOUS JOB.
I know movie making is all about the money, and I know not every book is easily adaptable to film, but I feel the writers took way too much creative liberty in this adaptation.I don't know if it was arrogance, laziness, apathy, or maybe they just read the wrong book; whatever it was, they forgot or failed to realize why the LoTR films were so widely loved: they closely revolved around an amazing piece of fiction written by a genius (JRR Tolkien).
I spent lots of time in defending P.J., trying to explain that this is just first movie and it will be much better in part II, especially in part III, the last movie about Middle Earth, Hobbits and all of those nice and the other not so nice creatures that entertained us for so many years.But how wrong was i....The Desolation of Smaug (2013.) has some (somebody could say: a lot, and will say nothing wrong) flaws, has some inconsistency in script, but i have forgiven P.J. because i was too sure that The Battle of Five Armies (2014.) will be a spectacle, one great finish of Middle Earth saga.But P.J. has laughed and spat in the face to all of Tolkien and LOTHR fans.I have watched movie last night and for the first time in my life i wanted to get out of the cinema in the last third of the movie!
With prolonged scenes of misery, not doing it any favors to connect with the audience as it was so common by the end of it all I had no interest in the characters what so ever.The CGI and special effects gave the impression of a video game, taking away any realism that may have been left from those teary eyed characters.In previous franchise for example Lord of The Rings the close up shots showed lots of detail in the hordes descending upon Middle Earth,fangs and mean looking faces no one would want to wake up to!
The orcs then immediately arrive starting the legendary battle of the five armies.Although the work of actors such as Martin Freeman (Bilbo) and Richard Armitage (Thorin) within the film was incredibly well done, it was quickly ruined by Peter Jackson's sloppy editing, special effects and dreadfully long fight scenes.
Where Jackson does insert plot content, it comes not from the original Tolkien book, which for me was what made the first two films of the trilogy so good, but from God knows where.
The Hobbit trilogy is crap.It's little more than a long list of invented battles and love stories to attract a widest possible audience, as well as loads of idiotic storyline to make the story slide into the Lord of the Rings movies as smooth as an Elven ass.I understand that some adaption is required from book to screen, but when dealing with a book more or less only surpassed by the Bible and the IKEA catalog, one should tread carefully.Do yourself a favor.
I simply couldn't believe how bad this third installment was, although I'm maybe a little biased as right from the off i wagered that in making the Hobbit into three films something surely had to give and sadly, for me, it looks like this is the one which has collapsed completely.If you had read the book then it would have been apparent how much 'padding' has been inserted into this final part and not even decent padding.
Given how spectacularly awful the film is, from beginning to the end (even with the dragon's brief speaking part), Peter Jackson has proved himself to be the hack, trying to exploit JRR Tolkien's simple story to fill with grotesque and violent content for the third film, allegedly citing the appendixes that serve as the major portion of the movie.In view of the execrable quality of this so-called movie, courtesy of Jackson's insanity with his love of inane and bloated epics that comprise The Hobbit trilogy, there is the good news.
He and his team take what is essentially a children's book (The Hobbit, that is, which Tolkien wrote for his children initially years before LOTR) and make it into a 474 minute trilogy (credit time included), which means that a character like Bilbo Baggins, the little Hobbit-that-could who finds that he can be courageous and has the 'Right Stuff' as it were on an adventure, is a bit diminished in the epic scope and grandeur of what is really, in this case, about the dwarf Thorin Oakenshield and his quest to retake the castle of his father from the dragon, Smaug.The Battle of the Five Armies picks up as a cliffhanger from the previous film - a rather uber-dramatic one at that - with Smaug getting out of the castle and set to attack a town.
Jackson puts in some of the bigger orcs with features that look cool, or a moment like Legolas jumping up stairs that are crumbling under him that are just funny (intentionally or not), and yet it's all just SO much and little of it sticks.The good news is there's a bit more Bilbo in the film, which gives more time to Martin Freeman who has nailed this character every step of the way and made him a joy to watch.
The Battle of the Five Armies marks the end of Peter Jackson's second trilogy in Middle Earth and it could not have come soon enough.
The journey downward began with The Desolation of Smaug which absolutely slaughtered the novel in a manner that was plainly insulting to Tolkien & added even more insult to injury by abruptly ending at one of cinema's most frustrating cliffhangers.And so after a wait of another year, we come to the third & final instalment of The Hobbit film series but instead of a satisfying closure, what we get is a terribly written & horribly executed premise inflated to epic proportions which, apart from confirming that expanding this single-film story into three features was indeed a stupid move by the filmmakers, also brings the Middle-Earth franchise to its all-time low for there is nothing in this second sequel that works out in its favour.The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies begins with what should've been the ending of The Desolation of Smaug but wraps up the fiery wrath of Smaug even before the film's subtitle appears on the screen.
The plot then follows Bilbo Baggins & the Company of Dwarfs who after reclaiming their kingdom prepare for an impending war against elves n men who just want their share of the treasure but when a greater threat arrives at the Lonely Mountain, they all are left with a choice to unite against the common enemy or be destroyedHelmed by Peter Jackson for one last time, the final chapter in the Middle-Earth saga is also the weakest as the director completely abandons all the core elements of storytelling to rely solely on a series of eye-popping visuals & CGI-laden battles to carry its story forward.
God, I freaking hate this movie!This movie is the most,over bloated,overrated and over crapped on to source material ever!The thing that frustrates me most is the leave like fifty loose ends.What happened to the elvish diamonds?The armies?The fishermen?Who ends up with the mountain?The random worms that appear in the battle and then disappear?This movie reeks of Lord of the Rings setbacks,and Peter Jackson dying to rip your hard earned money away from you to demolish J.R.R. Tolkein's life's work,in this world's greatest piece of crap.The give half an hour to the elves and their stupid internal conflict about made up characters that are insanely irrelevant to Tolkein's book.
Although I should have loved The Hobbit movies, the book being my favourite work by Tolkien, I found the whole bloated experience frustratingly tiresome, with The Battle of the Five Armies being the most disappointing of all.Having already realised the majority of The Hobbit in the first two films, there really is very little story left for Jackson to tell, so he pads out this third chapter with pointless romance, internal conflict and even more CGI-heavy battles, all of which proves relentlessly dull if you've already seen the director's other five Middle Earth movies. |
tt0422015 | Le couperet | Bruno Davert (José Garcia) is a highly-qualified chemist. After working for fifteen years for a paper company, improving products and saving money to shareholders, the company lets 600 workers go before outsourcing many of the jobs. The result for the company is a 16% increase in dividends to shareholders. Two years afterwards, Davert is still jobless. The only profitable company in his sector is Arcadia, but joining that company is impossible for him. Suddenly, he thinks of a way of getting rid of his competition. He offers a fake job - the kind of job he would apply for - on the job section of a newspaper and that way he gets dozens of curriculi vitae. The person who occupies the job he'd like to have is like him: middle-aged, balding, a bit overweight; but he always smiles and projects a successful image. His name is Raymond Machafer (Oliver Gourmet). Bruno selects the five curriculi which are most likely to get the job, and he decides to eliminate them all.His wife, Marlène (Karin Viard) try to be as supportive as she can. She holds two part-time jobs which cannot pay for all their bills, so that their teenaged children Maxime (Geordy Monfils) and Betty (Christa Theret), find some things lacking, for example the satellite TV. Bruno is jealous of Marlène's boss (Hervé Pauchon), always smiling, and he's afraid that he wil make a pass at her sooner or later. Bruno goes to the basement where there are some military artifacts from back when his father fought in the WWII. He takes a gun and some bullets, and learns to shoot in the woods nearby.His first killing spree happens in Belgium. Every time he shoots, his arm hurts. Bruno kills the first applicant, Birch (Marc Legein) when he leaves home to pick up his mail. Nobody has a clue that he has done anything strange. The only thing which Marlène notices is that he is more nervous than usual, but she blames his jobless situation. She notices that he has light up the chimney before time, and that he has got somebody else's CV, but he just dismisses it as that he has prepared a new résume and CV.He goes to a job interview. The HHRR manager, Iris Thompson (Olga Grumberg) makes him tough questions. Bruno gets cocky, tells the truth about what he feels, so that he realises he has destroyed all his possibilities of getting the job.The second time that he kills somebody he has problems in finding the right moment. A female biker (Luce Bouchel) looks at him in a weird way. When he comes to that location a second time, the weird woman shouts and threatens him, as she thinks he is the pervert who is harassing her daughter. She finds out about Bruno's gun, so Bruno has to kill her. Her husband - which is his victim - goes out to the garden when he hears the shooting, and Bruno kills him. Later on, the case appears on the news. Judy Rick (Marie Kremer) accuses the man who harassed him of killing both her parents, whom she was living with. Bruno repents, and thinks that he has to give himself up, because he can't allow an innocent person to pay for his crimes, but the suspect jumps from a height. He dismisses his initial intentions.He finds another applicant working at a small restaurant. He's trying to come back to the paper industry, and working as a chef in the meantime. Bruno tries to kill him when he leaves his job, but he can't find the right moment. At last, he runs over him accidentally.After the incident, Bruno has to take the car to the garage. The workman (Jean-Pierre Gos) talks to him concerning how his wife has also been made redundant after 11 years at the local hospital. The workman is afraid of losing his job as well, but he says that he's going to shoot himself in front of his bosses if that moment finally arrives.Marlène insists in attending to a psychology expert, Quinlan Longus (Dieudoné Kabongo Bashila), in order to help them out. Bruno has to express feelings of loss, threat and anger. Marlène will support him through thick and thin if he changes his ways a little bit.Maxime is caught red-handed stealing videos and videogames. A social worker gives Bruno and Marlène until six in the morning to send the police home. Bruno and Marlène argue it was Maxime's first time, but when they are back home, they pressure Betty into telling them where Maxime's loot is hiding - in a double wall in his wardrobe. Bruno throws away three whole rubbish bags of stolen goods, so when the police arrive there is nothing to hide. That way, Maxime gets out of his predicament lightly. Another different of police officers (Michel Carcan, Serge Larivière) appear later on to question Bruno about the deaths of paper workers. He asks for protection, but there is no staff to protect everybody who may be threatened by a mysterious psychopath who is killing paper industry workers with an old Nazi gun. Inspector Otto Zirner (Robert Borremans) even makes a comment about the possibility of the gun exploding every time it is used. Marlène thinks it's further questioning concerning Maxime's illegal activities.A new applicant appears. Gérard Hutchinson (Ulrich Tukur) is working, which is going to be a great asset when applying for a job. Bruno wants to get rid of him, but he realises he can't use the gun, so takes a kitchen knife. Bruno calls him to a restaurant with the pretence of a job interview, and then he follows him: Gérald works in a menswear clothes shop. Gérard talks to him, and says that he should get used to his new job, as after five years he may have lost his touch with the paper industry, and also mentions that a police officer told him about a psycho who is killing paper industry workers. Bruno has to hide the huge knife from him, but he finally doesn't kill him, at least at that moment. Bruno will decide to leave him alone, as Gérard is eager to keep his preset job, and quite the paper industry race.He breaks into Raymond Machafer (Oliver Gourmet)'s home, but as he arrives accompanied by a woman, he can't kill him at that moment either. Bruno falls sleep at that home of another of his would-be victims, and dreams he's already working for Arcadia and is showing some people around. Raymond appears, completely drunk, and believes his story that the door was aghast and that he entered in order to make him some questions about the possibility of working for Arcadia. Raymond is afraid of losing his job, as some positions are being outsourced as well. Raymond points a gun of his to Bruno, but he convinces him and they both end up drinking even more. When Raymond is completely passed out, Bruno opens the gas spit. When Raymond lights a cigarette, he blows himself to death.Back home, Bruno makes some exercise while waiting for an Arcadia phone call. Finally, Anne Futerman from Arcadia sends him an e-mail asking to reply back in 24 hours. A police officer visits Bruno to tell him that Gérard has committed suicide. They think he was the one who killed all the paper industry workpeople, and the police officers wants to calm Bruno down, as there is no danger anymore.A professionally woman (Vanessa Larré) is so obsessed with him as he was with the other applicants before. | comedy, satire, murder | train | imdb | Westlake and Gavras know that in order to pass the message you have to lighten up the atmosphere (a la Truman Show), or else the viewer won't sit the whole movie.
It's a thriller that actually deserves to be called by that over-used adjective 'Hitchcockian' as we gradually identify more and more what the lead character who starts off as what, a hit-man, a serial-killer?
Jose Garcia who I last saw overdoing it in a so-so comedy called APRES VOUS is very good as the ordinary guy pushed to the limit and Karen Viard also always watchable as his blandly oblivious wife, who also becomes involved via a different set of crimes involving their family..
His behaviour changes, and his wife Marlène(Karin Viard) feels Bruno moving away from the family, from herself and from the true life.Costa-Gavras shows as the unemployment can make a man crazy.A perfect look on the stupidity of our society when a man is only the money he can earn.
Costa-Gavras show us the vacuum we are running to, destroying everything to obtain what ?Probably the best political movie of the ten last years.
Many years ago there was a film starring Alec Guinness called "Kind Hearts and Coronets", which took the case that a member of a wealthy family murders off his relatives to inherit the estate.
"Le Couperet" offers a similar plot, although this time a disgruntled unemployed engineer becomes an inept assassin to remove his competitors for a top job with often-hilarious consequences.In this very dark comedy Jose Garcia does well as the bumbling killer, at times reminiscent of a young Jack Lemmon, and there are many surprises along the way.
Many watching the movie might well relate to its characters and their plight.Excellent sequences include the job interview, which has more than a ring of truth, the discussions about unemployment and its social consequences by the discouraged out-of-work executives, and the scenes with the marriage counselor.
Better yet, this social satire is packaged as an absurd black comedy - serial killer story.
Maybe the best 'noir' movie I've seen in the last years, and definitively the best Donald Westlake adaptation so far, "Arcadia" is the story of a man obsessed with a job, who thinks that the only way to get it is killing every candidate who can be better than him, and must cope with his many mistakes and family problems.
It sounds like a tragedy, or a drama, but it is the best piece of black (or not so black) humor combined with noir I remember, which is surprising: I didn't know that Costa-Gavras had so much sense of humor.
Costa -Gavras 's body of work does not lack in unity.Except for his two fist movies,which were thrillers , a romantic tale ("Clair de Femme" ) and a comedy that does not count ("Conseil de Famille' ) all that he has made display social and political concerns.From his early French classics ("Z "(He is alive) "L'Aveu" ,"Etat de Siège") to his American period ("Missing" "Betrayed" "Music Box" ) to his French comeback ("Amen" ) there is a cohesion which even André Cayatte ,his closest contender in the field,did not reach.And then "Le Couperet" .Don't be mistaken.It's not that much different from CG's previous efforts.Based on a Donald Westlake novel-a writer whose black humour was fierce- ,it contains lines Henri Jeanson or Michel Audiard would not have disowned.Comedy walks a fine line ,but it walks hand in hand with tragedy .You must watch it seriously to realize what heavy things CG is saying.While making his film verge on parody,he is also putting the French society in a less exalted light than we have been used to seeing it in.Suddenly our world seems frightening (the gas station man who hides a gun in his cash register,the icily impersonal female headhunter -I wish I had had my gun!-)It is really the society of the leave-you-behind and perhaps -I hope not - an omen of things to come in the future.I do not speak of the murders obviously.There are other ways of destroying a human being."When I saw them enter the restaurant ,the German ex-engineer says,I knew that I didn't stand the slightest chance ".The last picture has (and will be) widely talked about.Actually it reminds me of the ending of Mankiewicz's "All about Eve " when Phoebe tries Eve's crown .When you get to the top,there is nowhere to go but down.A film noir,a farce,a psychological drama ,a social satire and a movie where CG talks politics.One of his most accessible and one of his strongest works.At seventy plus,CG is as young as the reporter who bothered the fascists in "Z".He is abetted by Jose Garcia on top of his game.Like this?Try these....."Extension du domaine de la lutte" Philippe Harel 1998"L'adversaire" Nicole Garcia 2002 "Working girl" Mike Nichols 1988.
The thirty-nine years old executive Bruno Davert (José Garcia) has been working for fifteen years in a paper company.
He concludes that there is too much competition in his sector for a few job positions and decides to literally eliminate his competitors, killing those more qualified than him."Le Couperet" is a sarcastic view of the greed of the companies and the effects of downsizing in the self-esteem and sanity of a man.
The awareness of the economical situation in France (but could be in most of the nations) and black-humor of Costas-Gravas gives a fantastic satire to the greed of the corporations, aiming exclusively profits without any care for the human beings.
José Garcia is stunning in the role of a bitter man fighting to find job position and serial killer.
I've seen "Le Couperet" and it impressed me.There is a lot of suspense.And influence from Alfred Hitchcock movies.Costa-Gavras himself came to my country (Brazil) to give a lecture and answered questions about cinema and his movies in March 29, 2005.He talked about how he started making movies and the French movies.In his opinion, France is a good place to make movies because the government helps filmmakers and there is at least 150 movies made every year.In March 31, an avant-premiere of "Le Couperet" took place in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.It was great to see this movie having Costa-Gavras present.Amazing..
Costa Gavras is a master of the political film.
People are portrayed realistically but their conflicts are simplified because the political film intends to portray society and its problems - unemployment, hunger, class exploitation and so on - in other words, they talk about the big (lack of bread, for instance) and forget the small (emotions like loneliness and sadness, for instance).Many political films concerned about their objectivity are quite emotionless, or else their emotions are one-sided - bad and ugly live here, beauty and love live there, or the other way around.FEW POLITICAL FILMS are able to bridge this gap: to talk about society and at the same time not forget the individual man and his/her very complex universe and contradictions.
His films are efficient and convey their message to the public, but they lack warmth."Le Couperet" is nonetheless an interesting film - a man that works as a chemist loses his job and after 2 years of unemployment decides to kill whoever stands in his way to get another job - so he places an ad of an imaginary enterprise in the newspaper offering a chemist job (his professional area) and rents a post box to read the answers he gets.
Many enterprises are closing or cutting expenses (that means firing people).Costas Gavras films are good because they make questions about the world in which we live, they make us think, but his films don't really touch me - I would say they provide food for thought but not food for the heart..
I'm a big fan of Costa-Gavras' political films, they really are the best in their genre.
I was taken by surprise by this film, because I had no idea Gavras can make funny films also, since he normally is so political/critical.This movie is a delicious dark comedy!
I like that he looks Spanish/Portuguese, being it a French movie.A man that can make political movies, but also such good comedies, like Gavras does, really is a gifted man!
As a fan of previous Costa-Gavras films, I was disappointed in this most recent effort.
He drives a nice car, has a nice family, and lives in a nice big house in the suburbs of Strasbourg.(He also doesn't have a cell phone and rarely checks e-mail, apparently, even though this film was made in 2005.) Others in his situation -- those whom he decides to kill -- are similarly privileged, likely supplemented by a generous severance package.
Yet the remedy to this very real problem -- loosening some of the restrictions of France's extremely rigid labor market -- is precisely what Costa-Gavras argues against, in the name of social justice.
Guess the tube is just full of cussing Americans and their guns, slowly infiltrating our pristine society!) And finally, the film either takes place in a bizarre alternate reality in which cell phones and e-mail are not common, or the filmmaker actively chose to set the story 5-10 years in the past (why?
Westlake on which this movie is based but I have read several of his works and til now I never had him pegged as a plagiarist but here he's at it twice over; firstly he lifts a title, Ax, already used by Ed McBain in one of his 87th Precinct novels and then the plot itself is pure Richard The Third, or - and new readers start here - the one about the guy who kills everybody standing between him and the throne.
Like a lot of people in similar circumstances - he is after all a chemist as opposed to a common or garden administrator - he figures it's only a matter of time til he lucks into another job but after three years of no money, a wife, Karin Viard, and two kids to support and a house to keep up he figures the only way through the wood is, to paraphrase Richard Crookback, 'hack my way out with a bloody axe.
I saw this Costa-Gavras movie in a theater.
Since he cannot think of doing another job, since every interview for a job ends with a meaningful "we'll call you", he decides that the only way to get back his job is "simply" to kill his competitors.My first impression was that the movie is too long and many scenes are in fact boring, and the story is not interesting enough or complex enough to make a movie by itself.
The idea that, in our modern society, many people define themselves by their job (and not by what they achieve in other fields, their family life for instance), is probably an interesting theme.
In his movie however, I cannot tell if the director Costa-Gavras opted for a comedy or a drama about a serial killer.
Maybe we'll get a better movie if you keep it short, concise and cut all the boring scenes.If you want a good drama which is also a good social satire from France, pick any of the Chabrol's.
Probably, the two encounters with two of the victims (the waiter and the salesman) can brig more evidences about the real situation portrayed by the main character than the rest of the action, a TV movie with two much superfluous elements, badly oriented and excessively based on a fake tension.
What's a pity for a film that it could be a good drill work of our "consumible" society.I can suggest a Spanish film "Los Lunes Al Sol" as an example of a clean approach to the world of people who after losing their jobs progressively become ...
Le Couperet can be classified as one of Costa Gavras' minor film..
There is no doubt that Costa Gavras is a major film director with tremendous global appeal.
However, despite all these remarkable distinctions, Le Couperet is a major disappoint for Costa Gavras.
This is one good reason why irrational killings by the film's unemployed protagonist Bruno Davert-a role played by José Garcia, do not have an air of justness as if such reckless killing methods are adopted then there are ample chances that every second unemployed person would like to kill the ones who have jobs.
There are too many 'easy to guess' clues in the film's script for which Costa Gavras collaborated with Jean Claude Grumberg.
A good thing about "Le Couperet" is that lead actor Jose Garcia's presence is the film's sole saving grace.For an actor of his stature who has left an impressive mark on numerous comedy films, it is surprising to know that he has convincingly conveyed the gruesomeness of a mad murderer who bumps off innocent people with remarkable ease..
*** May contain some spoilers ***"Le Couperet", the last Costa-Gavras, talks about the insanity provoked in a middle-age manager after the loss of his very specialized job in a company that rearranged its stuff aboard by economic convenience.
Costa-Gavras remarks all throughout the movie the concept of consummation nowadays and how this attitude becomes a growing problem to maintain the status of our style-life.I went to the theater foreseeing a remake of "Falling Down" (Schumacher, 1993), where a lonely man becomes crazy after been fired and starts to kill people indiscriminately into the crowd.
Machiavellian Bruno (José García), the depressed and introspected main character, reacts in a peculiar way by selecting extremely well their preys -their job's rivals.
A cute melange of dramatic and hilarious situations spices the entire movie, as well as an intelligent use of the voice-off to look into somebody's head decided to kill someone else.Direction simply excels.
Music is very discreet and works mainly as an insinuation of Bruno's moods than a heavy score omnipresent.In summary: a very solid Costa-Gavras, sadly current and confirming that the director has not said his last word yet (and fortunately!).
I recommend this movie to those that love the soul of a good director reacting efficiently on the actor's work, and the landscapes of social denunciation painted on canvas made of present.9/10.
This film, based on a 1997 novel by the prolific American crime writer Donald E Westlake, could be described as Costa Gravas lite, as it has many of the elements of black comedy.The protagonist, Bruno (Jose Garcia), has lost his well-paid job as a senior chemist at a paper manufacturing company owing to a corporate merger.
His wife (Karin Viard) suspects Bruno might be having an affair, though since the story has been relocated to France from New England she is only mildly upset about the possibility, and they troop off to a marriage counselor.
The minor characters are well realised, particularly Ulrik Tukur as Hutchinson and Olivier Gourmet as the man whose job Bruno is after.
Karin Viard is effective as the baffled wife, and Geordy Monfils filled the bill as their errant son.I also liked Olga Grumberg in a small but significant role as a contemptuous job interviewer.Costa Gavras has sugared the pill a bit here, but the film remains much stronger stuff, than, say, "Up in the Air", Jason Reitman's recent take on giving people the sack..
Little does Bruno know that soon he will be on the unemployment line because the company has decided to outsource the work to a Rumanian firm.
Thus begins the story of a man's sudden descent into a crisis caused by the situation in most of the industrialized nations.Bruno devises a scheme to eliminate the possible competition that are looking for the same position he is after.
Not content with that, the Daverts find out in the worse way their son has been stealing software programs and faces jail time if found out.Bruno goes through a killing spree eliminating the competitors.
The last scene of the movie offers a puzzle that is left to the viewer to solve."Le Couperet", directed by Costa-Gavras, is a black comedy for our times.
Mr. Westlake's books lend themselves for screen treatments such as the one Mr. Costa-Gavras has given the material.
It's rather a black comedy of mystery and suspense in our humble opinion.The best thing in the film is Jose Garcia, an actor with a face that goes perfectly with his character.
starts eliminating them.Costa Gavras, the director of the big political causes touches here an important issue of our days which hurts badly a lot of people.
This film is not a shocker when you see it, it is actually quite entertaining and funny to watch sometimes, but makes you reflect at the real situation described here more after the movie than during the screening.
Continuing my mission to watch every item in Costa-Gavras' filmography, I turned to Le Couperet, one of his most recent movies.
Westlake about a family man who's sacked after years of loyalty and dedication to his work so that the corporation can relocate to a cheaper place.
Realising there's too much competition on a market that's overfilled with job-seekers, he decides to kill the competition so he can be the only man to apply to a vacancy.It's an absurd premise, fit for the absurd world we live in and which this movie depicts very well, in which productive people are sacked, corporations are free to exploit people, and normal people are forced to extreme measures to survive.Costa-Gavras continues to build on the work that has made him one of the best European directors of of our times, by exposing what's wrong with the world and inviting viewers to think about these matters.From a technical perspective, it's a straightforwards, well-directed movie.
Costa-Gavras was never one to dazzle with visuals; he prefers to dazzle with ideas and this movie shows him in command of character, story, and pacing, making Le Couperet one of his most enjoyable movies in a long time.. |
tt0273517 | Darkness | Theres something in this house... Something ancient and dark that remains still, hidden and silent. It can only wait, having been concealed in the shadows for years. In fact, its milieu is darkness. Only in it can it show itself and move. It even takes its name: DARKNESS. Its lived here since someone tried to call it, more than forty years ago. Because this house hides a secret, a terrible past, an inconceivably evil act Seven children, faceless people, a circle that must be completed. And blood, lots of blood But something went wrong. One of the children got away. The circle wasnt completed. Thats why what lives here isnt finished. Its just waiting It tries to carry out what it couldnt before, making plans in the shadows, to become complete, to be, to exist A new family has just moved into the house. A small child. An unstable father capable of losing his temper at any time. A perfect target. The right place at the right time. The pieces only have to be put in place. And then wait... | gothic, murder, stupid, cult, horror, good versus evil, insanity | train | imdb | This movie is not your typical American horror flick (which makes sense since it's a Spanish film).
It's a far cry from the gory, cliché-ridden and painfully explained horror movies that American audiences are used to.Darkness disturbed me on different levels.
The lead actors - especially Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, and Giancarlo Gianinni - do stellar work, and the young boy who plays Paul could give Haley Joel Osment acting lessons.I found the movie suspenseful right from the beginning, never knew what was going to happen next, and thought throughout, "I don't know who to trust!" with my suspicions flying back & forth between the dad - someone presented to us a a father with a history of mental illness, the 'obvious'villain; his wife, played by Lena Olin, who has a built-in mistrust factor thanks to her chilling ice-in-her-veins portrayal of Sidney's mom on "Alias"; the grandfather, played smoothly and charmingly by Giancarlo Gianinni; and even the boy friend.This film was written and directed by an independent film-maker,and the combination of the suspenseful, tight script; the keen-edged performances by the actors; the director's use of editing within the camera, and using lighting, to achieve special effects;and his variable pacing, all contribute to make "Darkness" a worthy entry in the horror/suspense genre, and NOT AT ALL like the usual, big-budget American schlock.I highly recommend this film, available on DVD..
Iain Glen as Mark is absolutely superb, as are Lena Olin as Maria and Giancarlo Giannini as Albert Rua. I would recommend «Darkness» to anyone wanting to watch a good, unusual, and challenging film..
The movie centers about a family living outskirts Barcelona and the terrible events that happen to the daughter (Anna Paquin) and the rest of family : father (Iain Glenn) , mother (Lena Olin) and grandfather (Giancarlo Giannini).The motion picture gets a certain likeness to films as ¨Amytiville¨ saga and the recent ¨The others¨ and ¨The sixth sense¨ , the director Jaume Balaguero takes parts each other films .
The picture plot is pretty twisted and the final has an extraordinary surprise .Interpretation by Anna Paquin as scared adolescent is average , she's very young and lack her experience , better play her grandfather and parents : Giancarlo Giannini , Lena Olin and Iain Glenn , both of whom are riveting .
The filmmakers do a better job of portraying his work than most who try and do a straight forward presentation.I haven't seen the edited American release (and I probably don't want to) but the international version is a visual treat for any true fan of horror.
Darkness is a bad horror movie with a few scares and a lot of yawns.
I mean, some things that were made to look like a big part in the movie, then left alone were dumb, but the painting was really freaky, and there were lots of really tense scenes, like when Paul was in the bedroom by himself and when the father was getting pi$$ed and cutting the veggies really hard.
How many times can weird shadows appear in dark rooms, without even trying to mean anything?In other words, if you're not a "horror connoisseur", and just enjoy a good scare that does not necessarily have to be a piece of art, and don't mind a banal plothole-ridden outcome, then you're going to like this movie a lot.
In terms of its storyline, "Darkness" is pretty much like every other haunted house movie ever made.
They want to hang around to see what "happens." It is Oscar-winner Anna Paquin, as the moody but perceptive teenaged daughter of the clan, who gets to have her name above the title here - a dubious distinction at best, I'm sorry to say."Darkness" has just about all the standard accoutrement's one would expect to find in a film on this subject.
Almost unbearable!While watching this film for ten minutes, i wished an electricity blackout to happen at home just like in the movie.
What starts out as a passable movie degenerates into one of the most incoherent, UNscary, incompetently made, stupid attempted horror films of recent years.Absolutely terrible.
Surely not everyone is going to agree with me that Darkness is a 10, but if you have an appreciation for the visual aspects of cinematic art, you can't afford to pass up this film.After a brief prologue featuring a young boy talking to authorities about the mysterious abduction of some children, accompanied by a fast-cut montage, we jump 40 years into the future.
At the urging of Mark's (Iain Glen) father, Albert Rua (Giancarlo Giannini), Mark and Maria (Lena Olin) have moved their family back to Spain, where Mark was raised until his parents divorced and his mother took him to the U.S. They have two kids, college-aged Regina (Anna Paquin) and the much younger Paul (Stephan Enquist), who are having the expected difficulties adjusting, even though Regina's love of swimming is helping her quickly make friends, including a boyfriend, Carlos (Fele Martínez).
While the plot is complex, at least given the backstory, and Balagueró doesn't walk the viewer through the plot by the hand--you have to exercise that thing inside your noggin a bit--Darkness is nowhere near the non-linearity, surrealness or poetic ambiguity of many European and Asian horror films.
There are also a number of other references, including the "evil hallways" as seen in Asian films like Whispering Corridors (Yeogo goedam, 1998) and Dark Water (Honogurai mizu no soko kara, 2002), which probably got the same from The Shining (1980), which is also referenced here in different ways.
Spain continues with the revival of atmospheric, story-driven horror but this film is definitely a lot less impressive or memorable than for example "The Others", "The Devil's Backbone" or Balaguero's own "The Nameless".
It even steals the premise of The Believers but with less of an explanation of why things are happening.Oh and the acting....ugh, the dad, my God I thought he was the guy from those instant coffee commercials that were popular a few years ago and the mom is no better, she is always to tired to notice the lights turn on and off or that her son is being bruised when he sleeps or there the foot prints on the ceiling.This movie sucked..
Yes this is the best movies I had seen.I like like this movies.The question is why i liked there is too much but some of them is because in this film the young boy had a excellent actress without experience.And I liked because this movies is making too afraid when you are watching it.And he has a past this story and very very good story and this movie is make to believe people what was in the past like this things you have seen in this movie........bye to everyone and especially to young boy Stephan and hope to him good life and if he want to be actor he will be a good actor.His actress was perfectly in that movie...Don't be afraid :).
The mother is in denial that her family is going nuts, while the teenage daughter tries to persuade the family that there is something wrong the house and that they must leave it.Ordinarily, I love horror movies, even the kind with lousy special effects.
You'll probably like this film if you're easily scared by cheap jump shots, the occasional loud noise, and you suspend disbelief enough to ignore the plot holes, shocking acting, and the unpleasant semi-pederast themes..
It isn't an American horror movie.The ending is not spelled out at the beginning of the movie - you cannot use an actor's billing in the film to figure out who makes it and who doesn't - there aren't any silly long dialogues where everyone blurts out their plans and explanations for everything they are thinking.Though on the surface it seems like just another apocalyptic horror - the storyline is a bit more complex than it seems.This, especially to the average American moviegoer who is looking for a girl in vinyl pants and stiletto heels interacting poorly with a ton of computer graphics.
and people bouncing and flipping all over the place for no apparent reason other than showmanship in a time of crisis.What is there: suspense in place of CGI monsters, actors in place of models and 'musicians', storyline in place of "PARTY!", and the ending is fantastic in its "anything BUT a Hollywood ending" sort of finish - and definitely not something your typical "Dark Castle Entertainment" fan is going to be able to wrap their brain around (despite how incredibly head-slappingly simple it is)..
An american family (Iain Glen & Lena Olin) with a teenage daughter (Anna Paquin) & a little boy (Stepnah Enquist) moves into an old house somewhere in Spain, and soon enough find out that there's something wrong with it.
The visuals are good - a couple of scenes are pretty likely to haunt you days, maybe even months after watching the film.
Like with many horror films, the movie starts out strong with an intriguing storyline, only to have the writers throw together a flittery, half-witted explanation to everything.
While not in the league of Haley Joel Osment, I think he has a good future in film waiting for him if he chooses to pursue it.This is one movie that true Horror Lovers have got to see.
After the movie ended, people just sat there in silence "dazed and confused", probably wondering like myself, "What just happened?" My friend just looked at me and said, "We just lost our money, Dawg!!" It really takes a lot nowadays to classify a movie as a true Thriller/Horror flick and this movie did not even come close.
It is the least terrifying and most boring of all the horror films I've seen since the year 2000, and perhaps even earlier.The whole plot idea is just another version of The Shining with some Poltergeist stuff mixed in for good measure.
Only reason I gave it a 3 is 1 point for the cast, 1 for the cinematography, and 1 for the Spanish actor, that was in Pedro Almodovars recent "Bad Education" (the other main character, not Gael) Please do not waste your time, people need to stop trying to make it on bad PG-13 horror films.
It is interesting that not one shot of this movie actually looks like Spain and could have been entirely filmed in a studio back lot.
Anna Paquin is the only person that delivers a decent performance in the film but I hate Anna Paquin so you can imagine my own private hell viewing this film.There is one good moment in the movie, however, when a villain is trying to explain the convoluted plot to Anna Paquin's character and she doesn't understand any of it and asks a bunch of stupid questions and he blurts out "You IDIOT, you have not understood anything!" lol.
Judging by Anna Paquin's performance in this so not scary 'horror' movie you'd never believe she was an Oscar-winning actress.
Not long after Regina (Anna Paquin) begins living in her family's remote country estate, she learns that there's something horribly disturbing about the old place.Darkness has the hallmarks of a great film, it is suspenseful and creepy, the cast is very strong, the story is fresh and original and the direction is very stylish.
Sadly i found it fell short of greatness and i can only put it down to the pace of the delivery, to me it seemed to drag along at times without serving any real purpose.Darkness is still a good film and i simply loved the finale, it just could have been better.6/10.
Regina (Anna Paquin), the teenager daughter of Mark (Iain Glen), who is sick and has some mental problems, and the nurse Maria (Lena Olin), notes that weird things is happening in the house and with her young brother Paul (Stephan Enquist), but her mother does not believe on her.
Reggie decides to ask for support to her grandfather Albert (Giancarlo Giannini) to protect her brother against the house and her father.I bought this DVD expecting to see a good horror movie of haunted house mainly because of the names of Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, Fele Martínez (from "Thesis" and "Abre los Ojos") and Giancarlo Giannini.
The very best that can be said for it is that it's only 88 minutes long, but these are precious minutes that you will never get back, minutes during which you could be doing more enjoyable things such as driving knitting needles through your cheeks or administering suppositories to dysenteric pachyderms.The ultimate cosmic mystery is how anyone with any shred of taste or sanity could have read the script for this abomination and thought to themselves, "Oh, yes, let's make a movie!" The story could possibly make sense to some people -- say, Charles Manson on acid.
I was so excited to see this movie and you can imagine my disappointment after sitting through an hour and a half of agonizing and painful boringness, I fought hard to stay awake as I watched possibly the worst acting in history, accompanied with a cheesy plot and then just as I was beginning to give the movie another chance when it started to get semi-interesting, the movie just ended, with no explanations or any real ending.
Like so many bad horror films today (DARKNESS FALLS, JEEPERS CREEPERS, etc), the director tries to create tension or atmosphere on the stupidest ideas ever, like showing kids being troubled by something unseen or shadows, or empty corridors.
The reason I stayed in the theater and finished the film was not only because i had just paid $5 to go see it, I didn't care if I waisted that by leaving because I already knew I wasted it when the movie was playing, but I thought maybe it would have a decent ending, but even that was horrible.
As in most movies of this kind, you will enjoy it, get scared and forget after leaving the theatre.The story is classic; a family moves to a house abandoned for forty years, where something evil is already living.
This movie looked very good when i got it, the back of the case made me very interested and i was excited to Watch it.Let me start by saying it took for EVER for the story to move on.
The move to the house and then you watch them do stuff for like 4 days until something happens.I mean if i was the director of this movie i would have taken 4 or 5 of those days and cut them out, and made all that stuff happen in 2 days and then use the rest of the time on the details and explaining things clearer.I thought it was going to be scary.
Then the start took so long to get going by the time the first big thing happened i am was bored with the movie.I would skip this one, unless you can like borrow it from a friend and watch it when your sick or something..
The rest is in the mind of the viewer who is supposed to figure out what all the nonsense means.It's a cheap trick--employing artful camera shots of disturbing images without filling in any of the explanations until the last twenty minutes or so, is really a lame experiment because nothing really adds up when you stop to think about it.What starts out as a horror movie about a small family moving into a country house in Spain and experiencing strange goings on, is set up as straightforward supernatural horror until you realize that nothing much is about to happen despite the ominous surroundings and images of supposedly dead people that permeate the house.It's really no more than a cheap exploitation film, which the filmmakers hoped nobody would notice if they gave the photography some class and talked ANNA PAQUIN and LENA OLIN into the main roles of combative mother and daughter.Like everything else in the story, the ending is an ambiguous one which leads me to suspect the writers were thinking of a sequel.
The trailer makes it look great and there are individual scenes or shots that look like they could be from a good thriller movie, but when mixed in with this script, they continually give seconds of hope to an hour and a half of misery.
Oddly,the Darkness was made in 2002 but it was not released until two years later.Jaume Balagueró and Fernando de Felipe's slow story is good and moves at a nice tension building pace, although it maybe a little to ambiguous for some viewers, especially the ending.
She is doing a great job and thanks to the director at avoiding to make yet another teen-horror movie.Technically, it is very well rendered with short cuts of daunting image impressions, good sound track and even decent acting from Olin and Glen.
Some special effects were used and they are fortunately not part of the story like in many horror movies.
The film builds to a rather nicely thrilling finale, which ultimately saves this film from being a dull-drums ghost story.The cast helps as well, young Anna Paquin being best as the films teenage heroine.Darkness is a pretty decent watch for genre fans, although I wouldn't put it at the top of my must-see list.** 1/2 out of ****.
A Spanish ghost story that wouldn't make much sense to us Americans and that if only you are a huge fan of horror movies and foreign films than you are probably some of the only people who would understand and enjoy this film.
All in all an OK movie if you love horror and foreign films.1 1/2 out of 4 stars.
(Why the story was set in Spain is beyond me, or though there maybe a perfectly good explanation for this and I just happened to miss it.) The new "family home" is big old and creepy the perfect setting for a second rate thriller/horror.
(Dir: Jaume Balaguero)Shedding light on the year's worst film.When did horror movies become unscary? |
tt0083851 | The Draughtsman's Contract | England, 1694. Mrs Herbert (Janet Suzman) and her daughter Mrs Talmann (Anne-Louise Lambert) try to persuade Mr Neville (Anthony Higgins), an artist, to make a series of drawings of Mr and Mrs Herbert's house and estate. Mr Neville finally agrees when Mrs Herbert offers, in addition to paying for each drawing and giving him room and board while he draws, to sleep with him. (Oddly, she makes this offer in the presence of her husband's agent, Mr Noyes (Neil Cunningham), who is drawing up the contract.) Mrs Herbert intends the drawings to be a gift to her obnoxious and estranged husband, who dotes on his property and who is conveniently planning to be away from home while the drawings are created.Mr Neville inconveniences the entire household with detailed and stringent requirements for his 12 drawings. For specified periods every day, the views he has chosen must be kept clear of carriages, animals, smoking chimneys, and people -- except for the one that requires Mr Talmann (Hugh Fraser) to stand still and wear the same clothes for several days running.The atmosphere of the film is chilly; there's little indication that any of the characters like one another, and many of them are fairly hostile. Starting over the issue of Mr Talmann's wardrobe, Mr Talmann and Mr Neville snipe at one another continuously. Mr and Mrs Talmann have a bitter confrontation. It's hard to tell what the exaggerated costumes are meant to contribute: comically tall headpieces for the women, and for the men, very long, curly wigs -- waist-length, in some cases -- which, along with full-skirted coats, make them look like Edwardian schoolgirls.Mrs Herbert is distressed by the sexual part of her agreement and tries to break the contract; Mr Neville refuses. Mrs Talmann makes her own bargain for sexual favors with Mr Neville (which doesn't affect her mother's). Later, we learn that Mr Talmann is impotent -- and also that Mr Herbert doesn't believe that women should own property, so the inheritance of the estate depends on Mrs Talmann producing a son.Mr Herbert's injured horse turns up, and shortly thereafter his body is found in the moat. Mr Noyes, the agent, who as a young man wanted to marry Mrs Herbert, comes to her demanding assistance because he believes he will be suspected of murdering Mr Herbert. Mrs Herbert shows no interest in helping him, so Mr Noyes blackmails her: if she doesn't give him the drawings (why does he want the drawings?), he'll make the draughtsman's contract public, exposing her as an adulteress.Mrs Talmann observes that many of the drawings include objects that have no business being where they are: a ladder leading to Mrs Talmann's bedroom window; a pair of boots belonging to her husband; and several items of clothing belonging to Mr Herbert. Mrs Talmann implies that Mr Neville is planting clues related to the demise of Mr Herbert. But Mr Neville is clearly drawing what he sees, and we have no evidence that he's responsible for the presence of any of the misplaced objects.An odd feature of the landscape is a moving statue (Michael Feast), which turns up twined with vines against a wall, on the roof while Mrs Herbert and her guests are eating an outdoor meal in the foreground, and on a pedestal from which it first removes an obelisk.Having completed his contract and gone away, Mr Neville comes back for a visit. Mrs Herbert offers him one more tryst in exchange for one more drawing, and he agrees. He completes a view of an equestrian statue in the garden, though he draws the horse without its rider. It's not apparent whether this is because he can't see the rider -- the moving statue may not be visible to everyone -- or because Mr Neville is alluding to the death of Mr Herbert.Although his drawing is done, Mr Neville continues to sit by the statue. As it grows dark, he's surrounded by a group of masked gentlemen, most of whom are recognizable as members of the Herbert household or their friends. The gentlemen taunt Neville, put his eyes out with a torch, kill him, and throw his body in the moat. If their motivation is related to Mr Herbert's murder, they don't mention it. They burn all the drawings. | allegory, psychedelic, satire, murder | train | imdb | This is not always an easy film to like, it has a coldly clinical approach to its subject and protagonists which produces an intentionally distancing effect.In one scene, the Draughtsman invites the Lady of the House to examine a painting, owned by her husband, in which a complex allegory appears to be being acted out.
I see this as an analogy for the film as a whole - it is an arch, stylised, intelligent and beautiful puzzle (a murder-mystery) in which the audience is encouraged to consider the motives and objectives of the characters, but from which many important clues appear to have been deliberately removed.This might all sound frustrating, but I find the film endlessly intriguing and entertaining.
It's like a very clever and stunningly photographed Agatha Christie mystery, but without an annoying sleuth who comes along at the end and solves everything "oh-so-neatly".The photography is exemplary (the cinematographer, Curtis Clark, seems to have done little else of note), with the camera hardly moving at all, except for an occasional tracking shot.
The music is also superb, with Michael Nyman producing probably his finest score.An engaging, puzzling, visually stunning and, ultimately, rather disturbing film..
We have an 'Agatha Christie' style country house murder mystery, an investigation of class and religious opposition at the end of the 17th century, a philosphical study of the problem of artists' perception of the world (is what we 'see' what we actually perceive it to be?).
In this allegory, Mrs Herbert persuades the Draughtsman (Mr. Neville) to draw her husband's estate, sexual favours being the lure.
Evidence of Mr Neville's indiscretion eventually emerges in the 12 drawings for all to see -discarded clothing, ladders leading up to bedrooms- all rendered faithfully by the draughtsman who tries 'never to distort, nor dissemble' what he sees through his optical device.
Here, Mrs Herbert draws the link between those times and her role as the real custodian of the 'fertility' of her husband's estate.
The first Peter Greenaway's feature "The Draughtsman's Contract" (1982) - is absolutely delightful, devilishly clever (just imagine the best Agatha Christy's mystery with all sorts of clues and suspects but without Poirot or Ms. Maple to explain in the end whodunit and why.
It combines the elements of social satire with murder mystery, meditates on the power of art and role of an artist, studies family drama and mothers daughters love and understanding, perfectly wraps it in sensual pleasure - and what the pleasure it is.
I know I will watch it again because it is a feast for eyes (I've seen big budget movies that looked plain comparing to this one shot on the limited funds), ears (Michael Nyman wrote one of the best score ever for this film) and for brain - there are mysteries and puzzles in every frame and in every dialog.There is couple of Greenaway's thoughts on his first film and on the films that influenced him from the interview that was published in L'Avant-Scene Cinema", No 333, October 1984: "Majority of my films may be viewed on several levels.
The film is about an artist who creates rich images that include incongruous elements.
The living statue is only the most obvious illogical element, and in fact draws attention away from other smaller visual diversions.Mystery artifice.
The prominent character is a draughtsman named Mr. Neville, who is asked by a lady named Mrs. Herbert to make twelve drawings of her house from different angles.
Then Mrs. Herbert's daughter approaches Mr. Neville and tells him her father may have been murdered.
Then Mr. Herbert's body is found in a ditch and things get even more complex.This film is one of those that you need to watch and try and unravel yourself.
The pictoral conceit referred to in the film repeatedly is matched by a pictoral conceit played on the viewer: the wigs were never that big, the house, garden and grounds stunning and the weather too perfect.Deception exists at many levels.
A nice touch which I suspect follows the line in the film, something like this), "Do you think Mrs Talbot is a lady who likes her gravel being kicked around by a pack of dogs."The arrogance and exploitation of the ladies of the house by the Draughtsman, readily apparent, is more sinisterly exceeded by the arrogance and exploitation of the Draughtsman by the ladies.
Michael Nyman composes some wonderful music to fit alongside the action, the sets and costumes are flashy and eye-catching, and Greenaway particularly pays attention to giving the material a unique feel with the lighting design.
Imagine if you will an episode of PBS's Mystery set during the Restoration, with a script by Einstein, and direction by Frederico Fellini.Two excellent stage actors - Anthony Higgins and Janet Suzman - in combination with the very sultry and seldom seen Australian actress Anne Louise Lambert, act their sexy sox off in this delightful delicate pastry of a movie.
Peter Greenaway originally intended this film to be over three hours long, but he was eventually made to edit it down to 103 minutes.
This especially really goes for this unique little film.it's a very witty movie and halve way through it also becomes obvious exactly how intelligently the movie is written and constructed.
At first it doesn't look like the movie is heading anywhere and it's merely a good and enjoyable movie filled with some slightly subtle eccentric and quirky characters.
But about halve way through it becomes clear that the intentions within the story and the intentions of the characters have way more in to them, when the movie becomes more of a murder-mystery and layered and the character's motivations all start to take form and become clear.
It's a really well constructed and visually crafted movie from Peter Greenaway.The movie doesn't have the Jane Austen kind of story and approach but more like "Barry Lyndon" with the same certain quirkiness in it, if I need to compare it to anything else.
The movie has a sort of a surreal kind of atmosphere over it, which gets strengthened all the more by the outrageous costumes and wigs, thick accents and extremely difficult but beautiful to listen to- dialog and of course the special kind of characters that are in the movie.
It's also a very sexy and sort of erotic movie to watch at, with almost always a sort of sexual tension in the atmosphere during the entire movie, despite not having any real nudity or explicit nude scene's in it.The whole movie is almost entire filmed in a stage-play kind of approach, with no moving camera's and long sequences filled with dialog.
I had to watch this movie for my film class.
There was a mysterious naked man painted like a statue; who knows what his purpose was.
3. There is alot of wig usage.Maybe I'm not as 'deep' as some of you film buffs, but frankly, this movie was terrible and was a bore.
Mrs. Talmann blackmails Neville into entering a similar contract pointing out items in his drawings which indicate "misadventure".
When Mr. Herbert is found dead in the moat, Neville is horrified to discover that he's the leading suspect.This is an unusual film.
Some good examples of the dialog are listed in the quotable lines section of IMDb. Greenaway makes very intricate films.
His background is in the arts and his films tend to be more like paintings layered with many ideas rather than the more literal representational photographic style used in most mainstream/classical/Hollywood film-making.
The good news is made up by the costumes (especially the hats!), music and photography/imagery (like walking around inside a Gainsborough painting!) Otherwise, pure rubbish as far as I am concerned; LONG, boring, pointless dialogues between people speaking in full, interminable sentences and with a "plot" which may have involved a murder (or not - I really could not have cared less after about half way through!) but does involve a very nasty, brutish and sadistic final scene (the purpose/reason for which also entirely escaped me!) And all this even before mentioning "The Statue" - even Monty Python could not have sent up that piece of filmed junk.
The film is full of sexual / fruity symbolism, which complements a statue of a naked man which can be part of any landscape at any time.
Peter Greenaway's classic comic murder mystery is a parade of fanciful language, English accents, long, white wigs, and beautiful countryside.
While this film is highly artistic and, at times, feels almost like a step into an 18th century painting, it balances style with substance gloriously.
In 1694, rural Wiltshire, Mr. Neville (Higgins), an eloquent, stuck-up draughtsman strikes a contact with Mrs. Virginia Herbert (Suzman), to complete 12 landscape drawings of her estate during the absence of her husband Mr. Herbert (Hill), with a proviso that Mrs. Herbert must meet him in private and consent to actions gratifying his pleasure, which Mrs. Herbert condones.
A sinister turning point hits when Mr. Herbert's body is found in the moat around the estate, soon the presumption that clues of the said murder can be unobtrusively garnered from Mr. Neville's 12 drawings, unfortunately puts the latter in a perilous situation.
Greenaway contrives at great length to frame the 12 drawings with his principally stationary camera angle and a vaguely anachronistic apparatus, an expedient stems from his artist upbringing and magnificently instils each and every scene with painting-like allure and precision, which balances out the elocutionary hyperbole in a positive way.
The design is beautiful, with the sets and costumes serving a dull dull story, bereft of plot, characters, and interesting dialogue.
She informed me that Greenaway edited out a pivotal scene towards the end of the movie, which filled in the gap in the plot.Aside from this egregious edit, this is a lush and sumptuous film, one of Greenaway's best.
Welsh-born British screenwriter, painter and director Peter Greenaway's second feature film which he wrote, is a British production which was shot on various locations at the Groombridge Place in Kent, England and produced by David Payne.
It tells the story about Mr. Neville, a contemptuous young artist who comes to a mansion in the English countryside owned by Mr. Herbert who lives there with his wife Mrs. Virginia Herbert, her daughter Mr. Talmann and the daughter's husband Mr. Talmann.
Mr. Neville is granted his wishes by Mrs. Herbert after having started on the drawings, but as time goes by he gains a bad reputation amongst the residents and becomes such a burden to Mrs. Herbert that she decides to put an end to the contract.
When Mr. Neville makes it clear that he is not willing to annul the agreement, Mrs. Herbert's daughter tries to blackmail him into signing a new contract where he is the one that has to abide her requests.Acutely and precisely directed by experimental filmmaker Peter Greenaway, this surreal and unconventional period piece which is set in England in 1694 during the coregency of the Kingdoms of Ireland, England and Scotland, draws a variegated portrayal of an unorthodox contract that gradually instigates a deceitful game driven by power, sex, and gender issues.
While notable for it's colorful milieu depictions, fine art direction by English costume designer Bob Ringwood, cinematography by American cinematographer Curtis Clark and costume design by English costume designer Sue Blane, this dialog-driven and plot-driven fictional tale contains a remarkable score by the director's frequent collaborator, British pianist and composer Michael Nyman which emphasizes it's mystifying atmosphere.This rhythmic, sarcastically humorous, erotic, somewhat overstated and inventive 17th century social-satire is impelled and reinforced by it's quick-witted dialog, cogent narrative structure and the splendid acting performances by English actor Anthony Higgins, South African-born British actress and director Janet Suzman and Australian actress Anne Louise Lambert.
This film actually is so pretentious, gave you an era of 17th century England, gave you a murder mystery, then in the end, another killing, gave you a naked guy in oily paint, urinating, mimic like a statue, sometimes on the roof, sometimes on a pedestal, or climbed on the gate.
But I'd like to tell you, this film sucks big time!
This film is like a fart, so stink, yet mucho reviewers told you it smelled so good and so lovely.
I have problems with Greenaway, but I usually give him the benefit of a doubt, since I find some of his movies intriguing and atmospheric, like Pillow Book and The cook..., and some, like this one, is pretty boring and pretentious.
Peter Greenaway's masterpiece is simply one of the best films I have ever seen.
Michael Nyman's score has stayed with me for 24 years and will always remember the insouciant pseudo baroque echoes making one feel as if the music is of repetitive grandeur and of the greatest intimacy.Every performance captivating, it is a movie that I wish I could again see in the big screen.
The beauty of colour is simply too great.I insist, a film that anyone who loves art should see.Marcellny.
The Draughtsman's Contract is a very good movie, and has beautiful shots and cool characters, but is a bit slow.Don't misunderstand me, this one is like all the Greenaway movies: so good to miss it.
This is a great film with excellent moments, but I don't think the end is the best...Anyway, this one rocks..
A Peter Greenaway film that works on so many levels and for me at least, shows a developmental of Greenaway's work as there are scenes in it which remind me of his early works.We start with "H is for House", & then when we see the draughtsman's sketches up close some of them could be maps for "A Walk Through H" some of the scenes are almost static & remind me of "Vertical Features Remake".
Peter Greenaway's films have characteristic features: beautiful aesthetics, Michael Nyman scores, grotesquely humorous plots.
His first film shows his gifts came fully formed: 'The Draughstman's Contract' is a bizarre costume drama that displays all of his talent, while, at the same time, being arguably about nothing.
Greenaway's films really are pure cinema: his interest in what he can do with the form exceeds any external message, and there's no attempt to hide the the sense of artistic experiment.
Greenaway is visually incredibly satisfying, his films are entire of themselves.
I liked the premise, the cinematography, the crazy statue and of course the beautiful music, which wouldn't ever stand alone for my strange musical tastes, but as a soundtrack, particularly for this film's static visuals, it is perfect!
One of the best Greenaway films, also check out The Cook the Thief .....
The religious, political and social issues of 1694 (the dawn of the Age of Reason) are examined and the chauvinism of the time is expressed by Mrs Talmann (Anne Louise Lambert) who acidly chides her father for cataloging her mother as the least of his assets: `a house, a garden, a horse, a wife, the preferential order'.An arrogant draughtsman (Mr Neville, played with suitable conceit by Anthony Higgins) is commissioned by Mrs Herbert (Janet Suzman) to sketch 12 drawings of her husband's house and gardens in exchange for reluctant sexual favours.
This very accessible Peter Greenaway film is both original and rewarding, and though not as well known as his later works such as The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, it is a great introduction to his exceptional art (as is Drowning by Numbers).
He is engaged by the lady of the estate, Mrs. Herbert (Janet Suzman) to draw 12 views of the estate as a present for her clod of a husband, who will be away on business for the next 15 days.
A contract is prepared which spells out Mr. Neville's exact requirements for the 12 views and Mrs. Herbert's contractual obligation for his pleasure.
I have no doubt that Peter Greenaway knew exactly what he was doing with The Draughtsman's Contract.
Discussing the meaning behind Greenaway's films like The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, or Prospero's Books or The Draughtsman's Contract, is almost a small industry among film students and certain cineastes.
What I know is that I think The Draughtsman's Contract is a mannered, magnificent puzzle of a film, where everyone speaks in complete sentences.
It's been carefully restored, is anamorphic and has several interesting extras, including an introduction to the film by Greenaway..
In the late 17th century a pompous and avaricious draughtsman, Mr Neville (Higgins), is hired by Mrs Herbet (Suzman) to sketch her husband's opulent manor (situated in Groombridge Place, in Kent) from differing viewpoints.
Basically set in rural Wiltshire, England in 1694, young and arrogant artist Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins), also something of a romantic hero, is contracted by Mrs. Virginia Herbert (Janet Suzman) to produce 12 landscape drawings of the estate of her absent and estranged husband Mr. Herbert (Dave Hill).
Part of the contract agreement is to meet with Mr. Neville in private, and to comply with his requests for the purposes of drawing, such as when servants and residents will not be present and obstructions will be removed during his sketching.
Mrs. Herbert exhausted by meeting Mr. Neville to give him pleasure tries to terminate the contract before all drawings are completed, but the draughtsman refuses to stop and void the contract, he continues as before.
Then Mr. Neville seems to be blackmailed into making a second contract by Mrs. Herbert's married but as yet childless daughter Mrs. Talmann (Anne-Louise Lambert), she has become attracted to him and he agrees to satisfy her pleasure, as opposed to his own.
Higgins gives a great performance as the arrogant artist paid in sexual favours, the aristocratic 17th century world looks authentic with great costumes and the beautiful estate, the drawing scenes are interesting, the sexual scenes are good, and the murder plot towards, with the drawings becoming witness evidence, is intriguing, also with great use of minimalist music by Michael Nyman that fit the remarkable visuals, and a witty script, it is a fantastic period drama. |
tt4870838 | Batman: Bad Blood | Batwoman intercepts a group of criminals in Gotham City that includes Electrocutioner, Tusk, Firefly, Killer Moth, and others. When a fight ensues, Batman arrives. They are confronted by the apparent leader of the criminals, a man called the Heretic, who detonates explosives planted within the facility. Batman flings Batwoman to safety and apparently perishes in the explosion.
Weeks later, a concerned Alfred Pennyworth sends a distress signal to Nightwing. Meanwhile, Damian Wayne watches a news report of Batman's disappearance and sets out to return to Gotham. Batwoman's civilian alter-ego, Katherine Kane, meets with her father Jacob, explaining she feels responsible for Batman's apparent death. In the past, Katherine was traumatized by an incident in which her sister Elizabeth and mother Gabrielle were abducted, held for ransom, and eventually killed by their captors, while she was the sole survivor. After her time in the military, she became a promiscuous drunkard who was saved by Batman from street thugs, which motivated her to never need to be saved again, resulting in her becoming Batwoman.
Batman apparently resurfaces and is quickly noticed by Robin and Katherine. Both of them intercept Batman and quickly deduce that it is Nightwing wearing an old version of the Batsuit. They begin their own investigations into the Heretic, unconvinced that Bruce is truly dead. The Heretic and his henchmen attack Wayne Enterprises, forcing Lucius Fox to open the way into the vault by threatening his son Luke. Though Nightwing and Damian arrive, they are unable to prevent the Heretic from escaping with Wayne technology, and Lucius is injured. Before they leave, the Heretic kills Electrocutioner when the latter is about to kill Robin.
The Heretic returns to his headquarters, where it is revealed that he is working for Talia al Ghul. They have Bruce captured and the Mad Hatter is causing him to hallucinate. The Heretic then breaks into the Batcave and kidnaps Damian. He explains that he is a clone of Damian, created by a genetics program run by Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins. They used Damian's DNA to genetically engineer a perfect soldier with accelerated growth and development, but he was the only subject of the program to survive. Due to his feeling of not being a real person, he wishes to have Damian's memories and personality implanted within his own brain, but Talia arrives and kills the Heretic. Nightwing and Batwoman then arrive, having located Damian through a tracker in his costume. They are quickly joined by Luke, clad in an advanced combat exosuit and styling himself as Batwing. The three rescue Bruce and Damian, but Talia and her henchmen escape.
Weeks pass and Bruce seems to have recovered, though he remains adamant that Katherine and Luke not be involved. After Katherine is forced to fight her father after he suddenly attacks her, Dick learns from this that Bruce is still under the effects of the Mad Hatter's mind control, though Damian is unconvinced. Luke realizes that the League of Assassins are planning to brainwash a number of world leaders at a tech summit held by Bruce. As the brainwashing takes place, Nightwing, Robin, Batwoman, Alfred, and Batwing arrive and fight Talia and her henchmen. During the fight, the Mad Hatter is killed, interrupting the mind control. Bruce, still brainwashed, defeats Nightwing. Talia then orders him to kill Nightwing and Damian, but Bruce, through Grayson's pleas, resists the brainwashing. Incensed, Talia escapes in a vessel, only for Onyx, a subordinate of the Heretic, to confront and attack her in revenge for the Heretic's death. The vessel subsequently crashes and explodes, implying their deaths. Bruce is later seen comforting Damian over Talia's supposed death. Alfred remarks to Grayson that despite Talia's madness, she was still Damian's mother.
As the Bat-Signal shines in Gotham City, Batwoman, Nightwing, and Batwing meet Batman and Robin on top of the police station to respond to a crime committed by the Penguin. On a nearby building, Batgirl observes the group and prepares to join the pursuit. | good versus evil, brainwashing, flashback | train | wikipedia | In addition to temporarily being Batman, Dick must not only solve the mystery of his former mentor's disappearance, but keep his crime fighting family cohorts together.Though Batman was fairly absent throughout this movie, I thoroughly enjoyed the new roster of crime fighters added to the roster.
In the end, the story, animation and music of Batman: Bad Blood made this animated Bat film an excellent addition to the DC animated film series.7 stars..
If you enjoyed the other films DC's released since its universe restarted, this one is definitely a nobrainer.The pros are definitely good animations with some really strong pictures, crazy ideas and an interesting story that allows some character development.You could say the film tries to be an action film with story - unfortunately the fusion doesn t quite work.
Maybe he marks the point where the writers didn t have time for more plot, since Batwing really misses some dialogs to make his integration into the Batfamily somehow authentic.On the bright side of characters there is Robin, who gets just little screen time but I think they got really a lot out of it.
I think Batwoman also deserves a character-development shout out, even though I feel like she would have been more plausible if she wouldn t be the clear loser on the "Kick Ass-O-Meter".I personally feel like if the film had given the story more room, it would be a contender for the likes of Batman and the Phantom.
The movie was great as expected, I like all the characters and the story.
The animation is great also like the other recent DC comics animated movies.I would suggest to make another batman animated TV series that is related to the storyline of the movies.
I really enjoyed watching all DC Comics animated movies and TV series.
'Batman: Bad Blood' is one of the bigger disappointments and towards the weaker half of the DC animated films.
There was actually a good idea on paper here, this good idea just on the most part didn't make it on screen and this is a big shame.Starting with the good things, the best thing about 'Batman: Bad Blood' is the animation.
Morena Maccarin actually does a quite good job as Talia Al Ghul all things considered, that the character is disappointingly written does not rest at her door in terms of blame, it's the writers' fault entirely.
Some of the action is well animated and has its thrills.However, 'Batman: Bad Blood' does have a lot against it.
Namely that it has too many characters (most of them handled in a way that underwhelms), trying to include too many subplots of very variable quality, crammed into a far too short running time, meaning that the film .
For a title that indicates that it's a Batman film, even when one is reading the film's summary, there is far too little of Batman and far too much of the significantly less interesting Batwoman, who is not an interesting or well explored character at all and is instead one-dimensional, clichéd and very difficult to like let alone engage with.
The main story was potentially interesting but wasn't gritty enough or focused on enough, even getting lost amidst the attempts at developing the new characters that come off unsuccessfully.
4/10 Bethany Cox. From A Die Hard DC Comics Fan all I got to say decent Batman Movie that DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH POLITICAL CORRECTNESS..
This movie isn't anything new or groundbreaking like Under The Red Hood or Mask of the Phantasm but it is an improvement from Throne of Atlantis or Son of Batman.
Cons are somewhat poor story and villains, new characters could have been establish better, and the lack of Batman is disappointing.
Batwing has always been black since the new 52 and he was completely original character (like Batman Beyond Terry McGinnis) added to the Bat family.
but when the focus is almost entirely on them my interest wanes.Unfortunately that's what we have in Bad Blood - a film that focuses (poorly) on support characters at the expense of pretty much everything that has made Batman so interesting over the years.
There is no tension and little of interest save for the action sequences which aren't poor but also not entirely memorable.I own every animated Batman series and film ever released ...
Overall Batman Bad Blood is the best of these new 52 animated films, but it isn't perfect.
As far as animated movies go DC has definitely been killing it ,all the justice leagues were awesome , the superman's were super-good and until recently the batman's also have been great, until recently because for whatever reason this is the third batman movie featuring Bruce's biological son Damien who is super-lame and non existent in canon , don't get me wrong I generally love a good "else world" movie, its usually cool to see our favorite hero's and villains in a "what if" scenario but Batman the dad sucks and Damien(his son) is such a brat you just want to see him get beat up or at least punched in the mouth, I could barely make it through the film to the obvious ending.
Like every other Batman animated movies.
The whole plot with the antagonist is way out of character & does a great disservice to a long standing fan favourite.The new additions to the bat family are scraping the bottom of a chum infested barrel.
well directed as always by Jay Olivia and the series is getting better.Son of Batman was OK Batman vs Robin was good and this is slightly better than BvsR in my opinion, story is little flawed and rushed but an interesting plot.possibilities are endless !
Although Batman was largely absent during the course of the movie, it was a wise idea to let the new blood take over, at least for a while.
Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Damien Wayne (Batman's son) fill in and try to solve the mystery of the Bat's vanishing act, and two new additions also make their appearance, Batwoman (well voiced by Yvonne Strahovski) and Lucius Fox's son, Luke.
In fact, all of the outfits are solidly drawn and Batwing's armor--shades of Ironman and War Machine--is pretty cool as well.Capably written and voiced well by the entire cast, the plot of the movie has Batman disappearing at the hands of a villain known as the Heretic.
It seems they're into mind control, and without giving too much of the plot away, they're out to get their piece of the world and need Batman in order to achieve their goal.While fans may be disappointed at not having Batman keep the lion's share of screen time, it actually works better having the replacements try to find their way in a Bat-less world.
There were no drawbacks in the voice casting from my point of view...fine work all around, and Robin Atkins-Downs as the Mad Hatter is appropriately creepy.The music was good, the direction by Oliva kept things hopping, and the animation, much like in Batman: Gotham Night, was solid.
Batman Bad Blood makes it into another collection of the dark, grim, and forgettable movies.
That's perhaps the best thing I can say.The movie was OK, but not great.The fighting and action didn't really look that good.
A lot of these animated superhero features have a lot of cool stuff in them, awesome scenes, cool characters, but Batman: Bad Blood just lacked stuff that make you go: awesome!With that being said, lots of cred and respect to the animators!
The best animated movie After the Batman:Under The Red Hood.
if you want to see robin,Nightwing,bat-girl in action along with batman watch this.Fully thrilling Story And Adventurous Ride In Batman Movies.
In general the story is like this: Bruce is out and the rest of the Bat family has to deal with out his guidance and we see how much of an impact his actions had.We also get introduced to two lesser known Bats ,Batwoman (not this from 2003 Mystery Woman) and Batwing (not the jet ;)) and I think they were good, considering what happen later with BvS and The Killing Joke.
Never the less it works for the flick so I will give it a pass.As for the voice casting and animation, we get a decent job and as I have wrote about it in Son of Batman, they have some big shoes to fill and the whole team does its best every time.And now for the future Batman film:I don't want to watch Bruce any longer.
It isn't that I don't like Batman, far from it, but this film was a proof that the rest of the Bat-Family can carry a film with out Batman and they have to get their own time in the spotlight ,for example I want a solo Nightwing movie and or see the famous black sheep of them Red Hood either in a stand alone project or in contrast with Nightwing.
Strahovski is a joy as Batwoman, Sean Maher is great (as always) in his role as Nightwing, and Jason O'Mara continues to be a good choice for Batman (watching Bruce's relationship with his son Damian unfold has been really, really entertaining).
But I persisted and stuck with it to the very end.I didn't really know many of the characters in this animated movie, so I have no clue of how true they were to their comic book origins.
And that worked quite well in favor of the animated movie, I think.The dialogue in "Batman: Bad Blood" was as to be expected and cheesy as superhero movie dialogue go.
Judging by the reviews for Son of Batman, Batman vs Robin and this movie, it's like people are in the mood to hate something and just so happen to watch this with that attitude.
What a great idea to make a movie set on Nightwing and the Bat-family rather than Batman himself for the thousandth time.
Dick, Bruce and Damian have trained their whole lives to fight crime, they are the ones who I believe can take them down, not a troubled girl with a stupid motivation or an ex soldier with nothing else to do (I'm not saying that soldiers aren't good enough, but if that were the true in DCs universe, any ex soldier could be a superhero).The rest of the movie was acceptable, but bat woman being a little c*nt from start to finish and being rewarded in the end just makes my blood boil.
First of all, I have watched the previous movie Son of Batman and Talia al Ghul was a different character compared to this movie.
In the previous movie, she would risk her life for her son and her beloved(Batman), and after watching this movie, I am baffled and curious to what happened to her that made her decide to make a clone of her son Damian and recruit a gang of villains and try to kill her family?
Oh, and fire this god awful director, he doesn't know anything about the characters he's working with, ESPECIALLY NIGHTWING, so him making a Nightwing centric movie was just a bad call..
There was a little bit of hope with Batman Vs Robin and even the animated Suicide Squad movie but after watching this trash..
after watching Batman Bad Blood, I am officially giving up on all upcoming DC animated films.
The last thing I have to call BS on about Batwoman is her fight at the end of the movie with Talia Al Ghul.
Man I hate this movie.I guess I should actually review this piece of trash, given the fact I wasted my time watching it but I just wanted to give you a little introduction about my history with DC's animated film universe.
I am not familiar with much of her origin but she is not the worst character in this by far.Nightwing was almost interesting too but really not sure what back-story they went with as it was only mentioned by himself in addressing Alfred saying "it always starts with death." Could've introduced Tim Drake whom hasn't been in much lately or another bat- disciple instead.
Biggest moment was getting his a** whooped for putting on the bat-suit then complaining about it while Bruce was gone, be lucky all Batman did was break your arm after that pathetic speech to save your life, I would've shot you half way through and blamed it on the mind control if I was Batman..Jk I wouldn't use a gun either.Damian was still the same angry kid but used to be a real contender for the next Robin til he was killed off in the new 52 and batman incorporated story lines, really sad and not sure why Batman needed the pain of his only biological son dying..Wtf were they thinking, I digress though.
That scene where Damian actually tries to give a f*** about Justice not Vengeance was so forced and ridiculous as it doesn't even matter because he couldn't save sh** and doesn't care himself as he looks blankly at the rope and says "Damn.." the writers were probably like "well at least we made it look like he gave a crap because We didn't." Not even going to address Batwing really..clearly against anything to do with helping his father or Wayne enterprise..until he finds all the cool batsh** in the vault and pretty much declares himself part of the family for just showing up with little training at all in a bat-suit like "Heeey guys, mind if I join?
It's funny how loner Batman has disappeared in the last couple movies and suddenly wants family, like where did that come from?
Seriously, Batwing shouldve just been crushed too somehow pretending like he actually was stopping a gigantic floating tower from crashing with his suits propulsion..ridiculous.I have every single animated superhero movie and non-animated as well, but you are an idiot if you think this was even a decent story, but probably great for little kids as they keep getting more g-rated each movie..
Not a good movie if you are a fan of DC animated movies or Batman.
Accepts everyone under his wing and doesn't like to be a loner anymore.So, here they are: a kid, a woman (who happens to be gay), a young adult, a black guy and a white dude.What I'm trying to say, is that instead of writing a good plot, the makers of this peace of garbage preferred to introduce new and completely useless characters in order to appeal to a wider audience and grab more money under the Batman banner.Because the story is weak guys, very weak.
I don't see how anybody could not like this movie, the plot is great and the inclusion of the bat family is great as well seeing as most batman films are solely centred around batman.
Robin and most of the bat family try to do everything they can, you could introduce both Batwing and Batwoman while doing this.
While it's a risk giving them leading roles instead of the titular characters, Batman: Bad Blood succeeds in presenting the story of a team, a family in the business of fighting crime, dysfunctional it may be.The movie follows the events from Son of Batman and Batman vs Robin.
I'll probably do 'Batman VS Robin' after this-that being the second worst-, but first lets discuss...this.The movie's villains-are crap.
I can't tell if they were coming up with a script or trying to start a band.Batwoman is easily the worst character in this movie.
I had my doubts, but I now have to recognize that the animated movies based on the "New 52" Universe of DC Comics ended up being better than I expected.
I liked Batman: Bad Blood, but I found it too ambitious for its short running time.
In barely 72 minutes (including the end credits!), the film plays with too many characters, and he introduces not one, or two, but three new members of the "Bat-family".
I'm not going to mention any spoilers, so I will just say that Batman: Bad Blood would have worked better as a simple introduction to Batwoman (real identity: Katherine Kane), one of the most controversial additions to the "Bat-family" in the comics, who undoubtedly deserved a movie for herself.
I wasn't a fan of Batwoman when she made her debut in 2006, but as the time went by, I liked the treatment this character received by other writers in more modern stories pretty much; that's why it was so frustrating to see her relegated to the background whenever Batman: Bad Blood changes its road (which happens many times), and it doesn't adequately conclude what it starts.
It's a film where the Batman team comes together which is compose of Dick Grayson aka Nightwing, Damian Wayne aka Robin, Kate Kane aka Batwoman, Luke Fox or Lucius Fox's son aka Batwing all get together to fight crime by kicking major asses.
Compared to some of the comics or animated films such as "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm".
Robin but there are facts which I don't get like with Talia she let Damian go to his father so he could train him but in this movie, she created a clone of an older version of her son to kill the Batfamily?
JM de Matteis scripts a Batman story which hardly features the titular character (not the first time this has happened).
It's quite a good story and neatly balances plot, mystery, character and action.
Well folks, that's it, only one animated Batman movie remains, and I think you know what it is.
Not bad Batman film, really liked Batwoman!.
However I made sure that one downside wouldn't let me be put off by watching this hour long film!I really liked the fighting scenes, the characters were pretty good and the fact Batwoman & Renee Montoya's realtionship was just adorable even if there wasn't really romance involved but there honestly should've been!I'll give this a 8/10..... |
tt0060128 | Drop Dead Darling | From the moment the movie begins, you are basically blown out of your seat. An old mand and young bride are leaving the chapel for the hotel. As she climbs th hotel staircase she is dropping pieces of clothing left and right. The old man is trying to catch up. In the suite, she sexily removes her stockings, one by one. He cannot get his suspenders off so he cuts them off with a scissors. She is in a babydoll nightie pantiong on the bed. He finally collapses with a heart attack. She picks up the phone "my husband is dead. I am so sad." Wow. Talk about a black widow. She is a minx and Tony Curtis is a hare. First he kills of Zsa Zsa Gabor in a rocketship. Then some fluffy English woman on a horse. A silly ass indeed he says. These two are out for money, so wht happens wjhen thy meet? First he is introduced to her as rich. He has a fake butler played by Lionel Jeffries. Then when she is expecting the gardener to sneak into her bed, he sneaks in instead. Later when they are finalyy introduced, he gets into her bed as himself and ten seconds later she screams "YOU" because she recognized him even in th dark. Whatever comes next is wacky, because the two are really in lov and after they stop trying to kill each other, they realize it. | comedy, murder | train | imdb | Dreary, mean film with fabulous bits....
Its really hard to get through this film because the main character, played by Tony Curtis, is despicable -- he is a serial killer!
However, this is a comedy and there are scenes in the film that are truly funny.
In one of the funniest bits is Zsa Zsa Gabor playing his first wife.
She didn't act in much, but this role was perfect for her and is hilarious to watch.
Even better is a scene with Tony's character reflecting upon his youth and his adoptive aunt, played by Anna Quayle (a hugely under-appreciated comic actress who appeared in a good handful of films in the late 1960s).
The scenes with Quayle are worth watching just by themselves, the rest of the film isn't....
Half-hearted black comedy with some good moments..
I know nothing of the history of this movie, but I suspected it started out with this pitch: "Let's do 'How to Murder Your Wife' but with Tony Curtis.'" While there was no actual murder in the aforementioned movie (made a year earlier), there are several in this one.
Curtis has a fine time playing his dark side in the first half of the movie and mostly getting away with it.
The last half of the movie goes nowhere, though, and Nancy Kwan really has nothing to do in the movie, even if she is on the video box cover nowadays.
However, Zsa Zsa Gabor has her one perfect, if brief, role of her otherwise inexplicable career in the first part of the movie..
but troubling.
Tony Curtis is Nick Johnson, a man who uses his irresistible charm to use women to his personal, financial gain.
He goes through a string of women whose untimely deaths give Johnson more wealth than he could earn on his own (at least with the same, minimal effort).
He meets his match in wealthy, young, beautiful, fabulously gorgeous widow Francesca di Rienzi (Rosanna Schiaffino).
The problem is he actually finds himself falling in love with her.My 5/10 rating should indicate that I found Arrivederci, Baby!
mildly amusing.
mildly amusing.
I wasn't rolling in the floor laughing, but most of the movie is at least passable entertainment at its worst.
The final act where Curtis and Schiaffino go toe-to-toe is the film's highlight.
They're on equal footing.
With most of the other women, Curtis has the upper-hand before they realize they're being had.
It's not fair.
I think my favorite bits might have been either the croquet match or dance floor fight scenes - really good stuff.
Other than the creepy bits where Curtis tries to play a "boy", he's good.
I didn't care for the instances where he breaks the fourth wall, but that's not his fault.
Schiaffino is in fine form.
What a woman!
After I watched her in The Witch, I wrote, "I don't know where these Italian producers found these incredible women.
It's not a stretch of the imagination to believe Schiaffino could force any man to fall for her." I could say exactly the same after watching this film.I've already mentioned my problem with Curtis as a "boy", but I had other issues with his NIck Johnson.
I get the feeling that Arrivederci, Baby!
was meant to be a light-hearted romp.
But there's a really dark undercurrent that I found troubling.
Johnson isn't just a typical, loveable con-artist stealing money from rich women.
He's also a murderer and a rapist.
Not the characteristics you find in most rom-coms.
A couple of final points: 1.
The European locations are to die for in this movie.
And here, they're presented in all their 60s glory.
What visions!
2. The supporting cast is especially strong.
Lionel Jeffries, Zsa Zsa Gabor (yes, even Zsa Zsa), Nancy Kwan, and especially Anna Quayle add a lot of flavor and variety to the film..
The Ladykiller.
Saw 'Drop Dead Darling' as part of my Tony Curtis completest quest after being recommended many of his films here in the recommended for you section.
It was not something that was intended initially but actually it has proven to be a generally worthwhile experience, even with a couple of missteps.
While there were and are better actors about and he didn't always look comfortable in his early films, Curtis was always immensely likeable and had a charming charisma with many good and more performances under his belt.
The cover and premise (haven't admittedly read the source material) were great and the cast is a talented one, have always liked Lionel Jeffries in particular.
'Drop Dead Darling' turned out to be watchable with enough strengths to keep it afloat, but it did disappoint and could have been much better.
The cast is its main selling point and the best thing about it.
Curtis exudes both charm and creepiness in a despicable "Bluebeard" sort of role, with enough to him to make it easy to see what others see in him, one doesn't associate with him.
Rosanna Schiaffino is an alluring presence and is no slouch in the acting stakes.
Jeffries could have had more to do but makes much of what he has.
Zsa Zsa Gabor, in briefly but one of her better performances actually, and Anna Quayle bring some welcome very funny light-heartedness, especially Quayle.Other than those two's scenes, the other highlight is the tense chemistry between Curtis and Schiaffino, followed by the croquet match.
There are enough moments of amusement, especially in the first half.
'Drop Dead Darling' looks good, with beauty and atmosphere in the way it's shot.
However, 'Drop Dead Darling' fares less good in the darker elements, where there is not enough tension or suspense let alone creepiness or surprises.
It feels bland and sometimes tasteless, and some of the final act is aimless.
Tonally the film feels muddled, mixing light hearted comedy with a dark undercurrent that jars too much and makes it all rather mean-spirited.
The comedic scenes fare better but are similarly uneven and could have been more.
While the cast are more than game, Nancy Kwan has practically nothing to do and makes no impression at all.
Found the script weak in spots, with some clumsy attempts at breaking the fourth wall.
The direction is workmanlike at best with no real distinction or inspiration.
The music does its job alright on its own, but it's also somewhat forgettable and didn't seem to fit particularly well or be harmonious with the film's tone.
The pace can be dreary in the latter stages.In summation, not bad but nothing special.
The cast and some good scenes make it watchable, it's just let down by most of everything else.
5/10 Bethany Cox. Fenella.
I remember seeing this movie on afternoon on TV in the early 80's.
It took a while to figure out what was going on as the plot goes from present to past.I must admit as much as the movie was light hearted and had it's funny moments, I found it quite disturbing as the main character goes around killing beautiful woman for no better reason then to get their money.The most disturbing to me was the demise of Lady Fenella.
She did nothing annoying to her new spouse, outside of being an active woman.
As she would come on to her new man He seemed to become more and more annoyed and angry until his plot to kill her.
A few good lines in the movie were from Zsa Zsa, actually one of her best roles as she made fun of herself.
She was asked why she divorced her last husband for which she replied "I needed the closet space" and the other one, after her constant talking said, "if you don't get me out of her I'll never speak to you again" So all in all not a bad pic, but still disturbing.
A comedy that will never get old (despite the presence of Zsa Zsa Gabor).
I think that Zsa Zsa Gabor looked old even when she was a teenager.
Next year, in 2017, she will be 100 years old and nobody can call her a spinster, having to her credit only...nine marriages.
About her talent as an actress, let us not pronounce, never.
It's good that she went into the orbit with that rocket, at least in this film...
The fact is that she landed in 77 productions, including this.
Tony Curtis is more seductive and charming than ever.
Rosanna Schiaffino, the beauty from "Simón Bolívar"(1969) and "The Long Ships"(1964), is beautiful here too.
The subject?
Well, I was thinking myself to marry a very old and filthy rich woman, ideally an Englishwoman, the kind which does not know anything except to say: "You're rude!" This film is absolutely delicious.
The scene when Zsa Zsa Gabor(Gigi) is nagging Tony Curtis (Nick Johnson) under the sea is enchanting, and the same is the one in which Fenella Fielding(also Fenella in the film)is jumping with the horse into the abyss.
Excellent!.
Spoiler inside.
Beware..
I saw this film on TV when i was 10.
I remember the actress Rosanna had married a very old man and was rushing him to the wedding bed, taking off her stockings and clothing, and the poor old man was cutting his clothes off he was so anxious.
And then his heart failed.
Thus began the evil plots of two young lovers Rosanna and Tony Curtis.
He kills all of his wives to inherit their money, and she does the same with men.
He secretly pretends to be a gardener and sleeps with her one night.
Then she thinks he is rich and sleeps with him and moments after they are in bed behind the curtain, you hear her voice say "You!!" It is an hilarious romp with the two of them, and she is dressed perfectly, the spoiled girl.
But the plan is to kill each other but they end up in bed together..
The train and the harp.
My brothers and sisters recalled a movie they saw when they were little.Tony Curtis, Zsa Zsa in a rocket and the electric train hooked up to the harp.I hadn't a clue what they were referring to.Then I saw Arrivedercci, Baby, with Curtis, Gabor, Lionel Jeffries, Nancy Kwan, Rosanna Schiaffono and the astonishing Anna Quayle.Yes, the movie changes gears.
It begins with Curtis as bluebeard, loving and killing women, but it seemed to want to say he met his match in Schiaffono, and Kwan is a big question mark.
Quayle is the first woman in Curtis' life, as she adopts him from the orphanage.
Too funny.It would be a big spoiler to tell what happened to Quayle, but it involves an electric train being hooked up to her harp while she is unhappy.Quayle is funny throughout her scenes, from an early harp song, which gets a startled expression from Curtis, to her final moment.In between, a drunken Quayle looks Curtis right in the face "and I am left ALL ALONE!" Quayle is perhaps better known as the equally sensational Baroness to Gert Kobe in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".Gabor's moment, if you can believe it, is just as funny."Nicky!
Nicky!
Dah-ling, my voice is all better now, dah-ling!" If you can manage to listen to what she is saying, that alone is a worthy chuckle or two.Big spoiler: When she is locked in the rocket ship, she is pounding on the other side of the door.
"Nicky, if you don't open this door, I'm never speaking to you again." I originally thought that was a promise, then I realized it was a threat." .
. dah-ling .
. dah-ling .
. dah-ling .
. dah-ling .
. ." The exploding croquet ball follwed by "sounds like we're in for a storm" always made me laugh too, and I do like the ending with Jeffries. |
tt0142688 | The Ninth Gate | Dean Corso (Johnny Depp), a New York City rare book dealer, makes his living conning people into selling him valuable antique books for a low price, and then re-selling them to private collectors. Corso meets with wealthy book collector Boris Balkan (Frank Langella), who has recently acquired a copy of the (fictional) book The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows by 17th-century author Aristide Torchia, one of only three extant copies. The book is an adaptation of one written by the Devil himself and purportedly contains the means to summon the Devil and acquire invincibility and immortality. Balkan believes two of the copies are forgeries. He hires Corso to check all three, and acquire the legitimate one by any means necessary.
Balkan's copy was acquired from Andrew Telfer (Willy Holt), who killed himself soon after. Telfer's widow Liana (Lena Olin) seduces Corso, in a failed attempt to get the book back. Meanwhile, Corso leaves the book for safekeeping with bookseller Bernie Rothstein (James Russo), who is then murdered; his corpse is found posed like an engraving in The Nine Gates.
Corso travels to Toledo, Spain. The Ceniza brothers, book restorers, show him that three of the engravings are signed "LCF". Corso deduces that Lucifer himself designed and cut them. Corso travels to Sintra, Portugal, to compare Victor Fargas' (Jack Taylor) copy of the book to Balkan's. To Corso's surprise, he discovers that the signature "LCF" is found in three different engravings, which vary in small but significant details from the images in the Balkan copy. The next morning, a mysterious young woman (identified only as "the Girl") (Emmanuelle Seigner) who appears to have been shadowing Corso since Balkan hired him, awakens Corso and leads him to Fargas' house. He finds the old man murdered and the "LCF"-signed engravings ripped out of that copy.
In Paris, Corso visits the Baroness Kessler (Barbara Jefford), who owns the third copy. At first the Baroness refuses to cooperate, but Corso intrigues her with evidence that the engravings differ among the three copies. He explains his idea: each copy contains three different "LCF"-signed engravings, therefore all three copies are required for the ritual. Corso finds "LCF" on three different engravings in the Baroness's book confirming his theory.
Kessler is killed, and the Girl rescues Corso from Liana's bodyguard. When Liana steals Balkan's copy from Corso's hotel room, he follows her, and witnesses her using the book in a Satanist ceremony. Balkan suddenly interrupts the ceremony, kills Liana, and leaves with the engraved pages and his own intact copy.
Corso pursues Balkan to a remote castle, depicted in one of the engravings, and finds Balkan preparing the final ritual. After a struggle, Balkan traps Corso in a hole in the floor. Balkan performs his summoning ritual: he arranges the engravings on a makeshift altar, and recites a series of phrases related to each of the nine engravings. Balkan then douses the floor and himself with gasoline and sets it alight, believing himself to be immune to suffering. Balkan's invocation fails, and he screams in pain as the flames engulf him. Corso frees himself, kills Balkan, takes the engravings, and escapes.
Outside, the Girl appears and has sex with him by the light of the burning castle. She tells him that Balkan failed because the ninth engraving he had used was a forgery. On her suggestion, Corso returns to the Ceniza brothers' now vacant shop. By chance he finds the authentic ninth engraving. On it, there is a likeness of the Girl. With the last engraving in hand, Corso returns to the castle. He has completed the ritual requirements, and he crosses through the Ninth Gate into the light. | dark, mystery, neo noir, murder, paranormal, atmospheric | train | wikipedia | An interesting plot (based on "El Club Dumas", by Arturo Pérez-Reverte), Darius Khondji's brilliant cinematography, Wojciech Kilar's killer background score, Polanski's masterful direction and the overall atmospheric nature of the movie make up for a great watch!
My viewpoint is that there may be untied ends and unanswered questions...but it is nothing that can't be figured out.The Ninth Gate is the kind of movie that you would wanna watch again..and then discuss it with fellow-viewers..then watch it again.
The story gets better every time you watch it, pay attention to even the smallest details like the color of the mysterious girl's socks, there is a good reason why Corso has a shoulder bag and an overcoat he never seems to part from, until the 'notorious' very last scene; shoulder bag and overcoat are gone...
I have played this movie several times for friends and no one has gotten bored.The attraction is (1) decent acting; (2) some great sets; (3) an involving story; (4) interesting characters and (5) low profanity.What keeps most viewers interested is simply wondering what is going to happen next in "Dean Corso's" (Johnny Depp) quest to figure out the hidden message.
The first time I watch it, I was captivated by the music ( and Johnny Depp, gotta love him...) I also really liked the story and most of the actors' performances.
The second time I watched it I started to pick up on the details, like the engravings, the real purpose of the mystery woman and the excellent work on the scenery and lightning.
Excellent acting by Johnny Depp and Frank Langella.Roger Ebert gave it 2 stars, because he didn't like how vague the ending was.
I admit also missing few things, but fortunately got most parts right in first try.Movie has good mix of ominous events and old mysteries hidden in books that leave you wonder for a while.But I'm not totally convinced about the accuracy of many interpretations what I've read .
Devilish stuff - or just normal mysteries worldwide.How movie ends is exactly like that.Most interesting question I find after watching movie was the idea of Devil in the movie.
Corso in the movie differs rest of characters in way the he doesn't actually believe in Devil.
For me The Ninth Gate is Polanski's love letter to the occult, far superior than his other films that dip a toe in those waters and are somehow held in much higher regard.
If you like the film it's also well worth checking the net for sites expanding & discussing it's themes- The Ninth Gate continues to be appreciated & inspire new audiences many years after it's release..
As with many of Polanski's films, "The Ninth Gate" includes beautiful settings, great orchestration, and intriguing characters.
Johnny Depp is brilliantly cast as the shady rare books dealer and Frank Langella gives his best performance as the millionaire Satanist intent on finding the final page of a spell that was reportedly written by The Dark One himself.
OK OK I'll let you in on a secret - devil lives in the burning fire of destruction and is embodied in your lover (ok still doesn't make sense till you see the movie).Well Johnny Depp is a quite good actor I must say, and shooting this thingy all around Europe gives it a fresh 'travel channel' vibe while you go about chasing down demon relics and whatnot - even makes me long for a stay in some of those funky little hotels!
The books-sleuth Dean Corso(Johnny Deep) is contracted by a famous magnate and tomes collector named Balkan(Frank Langella) to authenticate the rare text 'The ninth gate of the kingdom of shadows', a 17th century occult book reportedly have been written by the demon.
Corso asks help his friend Bernie(James Russo) and an old books-expert(Jose Lopez Rodero) .The book's first copy is possessed by a solitary individual(Jack Taylor) and the second by an old widow paralytic(Barbara Jefford).Corso confronts natural and supernatural problems in this terrifying adventure pursued by an enigmatic woman(Emmanuelle Seigner).This exciting movie packs mystery, tension, spooky scenes, strikingly suspense and creepy images.The picture is entertaining , however contains some moments a little embarrassing such as the surprisingly scenes about the satanic reunion, similarly made to 'Eyes wide shut' by Stanley Kubrick.
And, of course, this being a movie about the devil and an author burned at the stake, fire and smoke and ashes HAVE to be there as a means for Polanski to add some humor to the story.
I would expect that someone who has seen his other films would understand (i.e., the fearless vampire killers is a good one to compare this one to..), but alas, people jump on the critical bandwagon and say 'this is not polanski's finest'...WHATEVER!
This film is astounding...a clear departure from The Club Dumas, the book on which it is based, as Polanski has taken a sub - plot and brought it to the fore, focusing instead on the occult aspects of the story.
Certainly the best and most stylish horror of the 1990s, it placed Roman Polanski back at his roots, allowing him to once again explore the dark depths of the occult and the human psyche, and providing the viewers with the pleasure of following the new protagonist on a thrilling journey in search of...
I quickly saw them attack the film, complaining (their complaints always badly misspelled, with horrendous syntax, third-grade lexicon and short, monotonous sentences, regardless of the language used) that the movie was "confusing" (please stick to your level of entertainment, an X-Men cartoon), that "nothing happened" in it (nothing certainly ever happens in their heads; as for the film, the fate of the world being chosen and sealed was but one of the things that happened), that it was "too slow" (no, my "dears" - *you* are), or that "the acting was bad" (compared to their favorite pearls of cinematic performance, such as "Scream 3" or "Jason goes to Hell"), or that there "wasn't enough action"...
Congratulations and thanks to Polanski & Co. for making a truly enjoyable film.(and that's something considering the kind of drivel that is available for our entertainment these days!) For those who keep moaning about being left-out of the ending or the meaning of the film-stick to your Disney's Classics or else grow up, read more books and be more imaginative!
Unscrupulous book dealer Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is drawn into a dangerous world of witchcraft, magic, and mystery after he is hired by collector Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) to seek out the only remaining copies of Satanic textbook 'The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows', a work reputed to have the power to summon the Devil.After several viewings, I still don't fully comprehend everything about The Ninth Gate: it's one of those film that is deliberately ambiguous.
Despite my frustration at my lack of understanding, I still have a fun time trying to further unravel the riddle, spot as-yet undiscovered clues and diabolical references, and work out the answers to questions posed by the plot.While the film's inconclusive narrative does little to diminish my enjoyment of this wonderfully complex supernatural thriller, which benefits from excellent direction from Polanski, a great leading performance from Depp, and a suitably ominous score, I do struggle with the way in which the bibliophiles portrayed treat their treasured tomes, smoking fags and slurping alcohol as they study the text, handling the books sans protective gloves, and leaving vital pages to gather dust on top of old bookshelves—I treat second-hand paperbacks better than that!7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb..
I cannot for the life of me understand why so many people don't like this movie - personally, I'd have to say it's one of the best movies I've seen.I wouldn't want to go too much in detail about it, suffice it to say I think it's good there are still movies made where use of one's brain is actually required when watching it, and everything is not over-explained.
That's all about that.The Ninth Gate is a good movie with an old Europe feel and an occult slant.
The film begins quite arrestingly, and then the plot slowly twists and turns, cleverly drawing you in.Acting and casting: Johnny Depp is very credible as the aloof, arrogant, back-stabbing and very unlikable rare-book specialist Dean Corso who would cheerfully sell his own grandmother had he clearly not already done so.
Much better than in many lesser films of the genre, as one would expect of Polanski.Setting: Some excellent locations were used, adding to the atmosphere.Summary: If you are at all into suspense, mystery, horror or the supernatural then you will surely greatly enjoy this film..
Roman Polanski has done it again.Johnny Depp gives a fantastic performance as a book dealer who needs to prove the authenticy of a book entitled "The Nine Gates" that is supposedly written by the devil himself.
Polanski once again directed an interesting mystery film-thriller starred by Johnny Depp and seconded by Polanski's wife, Emmanuele Seigner, and Lena Olin.
The merit of this film is that instead of looking for a rare jewel, the agent (Depp) was trying to understand the mystery of a book.
Corso becomes obsessed with the book and discloses the truth about it."The Ninth Gate" is a great movie with a confused conclusion that is not clear.
Roman Polanski is more famous for his scandals and his tragedies than for his career as a director.With the correct script,Polanski is a great director with a style which is not at the same tone of the modern things but it's at the same tone that a great movie needs to have.The ninth gate is a perfect movie directed by him.From the first scenes of this movie,it's obvious that Polanski is an authentic director with the necessary intelligence to give his movies his own vision.On this slow,but never boring movie,the revelations do not come fast;they come at the time they have to come.The person who is going to see this movie and expects to see battle body to body between Johnny Depp and the devil will be disappointed.The movie's development has a lot of precision,putting ideas in the mind of the spectator and leaving the spectator the homework of taking out conclusions.On past decades,with films like Rosemary's baby,Polanski gave a new ''air'' to horror movies.The ninth gate does the same.It's a very welcome change to crap horror movies and the film is not a copy of movies which were very successful.This movie uses the intellectual and analytic way to supernatural things and the horror comes from the human mind.The actors are perfect on their roles:the great Johnny Depp brings an excellent performance full of details.Emanuelle Seigner(Polanski's wife)brings a fantastic performance.Lena Olin and Frank Langhella are both perfect.The ninth gate is a perfect and serious movie which makes the spectator think of what is seeing.And that's something fantastic..
I was willing to go along with The Ninth Gate until I realized that it was playing out just like another Johnny Depp picture, Sleepy Hollow, where-in, one-by-one, people are killed by an unseen, unidentified force or entity.Apparently, the writers/producers of both pictures felt that there was no need to let the viewers know what was actually happening and why.
Right now, the average grade of this movie, here on IMDb is 6.6 A coincidence?"Ninth Gate" is another, after cult classic 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968), example of critically acclaimed and controversial director's Roman Polanski...
A rare book dealer Dean Corso (Johny Depp) gets an assignment to compare - by first finding the missing ones - the three last copies of a medieval "Ninth Gate of the Kingdom of Shadows".
Of course the hunt for the book, gets more and more complicated as strange things begin to happen and Corso gets himself involved in something beyond imagination..."Ninth Gate" brings out of memory the "Devil's Advocate" with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino but in many ways it's totally different.
Roman Polanski's stylish direction is a big plus factor in being able to appreciate THE NINTH GATE for the handsomely photographed thriller that it is in a tale about a man's quest for the only genuine volume of a work penned by the Devil when only three such volumes exist.
The mission is assigned to a sleazy book dealer always on the lookout for a sweetheart deal (JOHNNY DEPP who wears glasses to appear scholarly) and it is his acceptance of that mission from an equally shady publishing magnate (FRANK LANGELLA, who literally phones in his performance), that makes the film a clever psychological thriller.For all its cleverness, it does leave one stumbling in the dark toward the end which has a climax that is more confusing than enlightening.
This film is an ode to the uninitiated, demonstrating how the occult world and its knowledge is more commonplace and 'real' than we might believe, it surrounds us, it is us.At all times, 'The Ninth Gate' makes the viewer question its directions and motives, even the lead character, Corso (Johnny Depp), cannot be trusted, everything is expendable, with a lingeringly somber feeling of danger and fragility at every twist and turn.
This may be what is portrayed in the events detailed in the film.'The Ninth Gate' is one of Roman Polanski's greatest works, threading together an engaging psychological thriller with a philosophical and theological backing that keeps the whole piece held in an air of mystery and suspense.The sets are Gothic and gloomy, the music is aptly fitting, the acting and scripts even more so; nothing breaks the persistent, unshakable scene and tone that is set by Polanski, who has obviously taken into careful consideration every possible factor to create a deeply immersive, memorable experience for the viewer.9.7/10.
The only element of the plot that held any "suspense" was Johnny Depp's (I didn't feel enough connection with the character to bother remembering his name) quest to compare the three books, and although the solution became painfully obvious about halfway through the movie there was still another hour or so spent on the subject.Even the rather slow and hard-to-believe plot line could have been partially saved by an interesting ending.
Johnny Depp gives a joyless, enervated performance as an American dealer in rare books who accepts a job from collector Frank Langella to compare his 17th-century book, "The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows," adapted from the writings of Lucifer, to the two known remaining copies, one in Spain and the other in France, only one of which is thought to be authentic; soon, Depp feels he's being followed and, indeed, an enigmatic blonde begins popping up along his journey.
The Ninth Gate is a masterful film Polanski is genius.
The acting was second rate, Depp has done better, its obvious he didn't like the movie either, he was probably forced to take this role.
Greatly enjoyed this very mysterious film dealing with people trying to secure very rare books dealing with the supernatural and a desire to secure the powers of the devil.
Johnny Depp, (Dean Corso) and Frank Langella, (Boris Balkan) are the two men trying to obtain these books in order to find the Secrets of the Ninth Gate.
There is a mysterious Girl who makes quite a few appearances in this film played by Emmanuelle Seigner,(The Girl) who is the real wife of Roman Polanski.
Millionaire book collector Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) hires Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) - a rare-book dealer - to track down two copies of a satanic book and compare engravings to his copy.The Ninth Gate is not an intelligent or a sophisticated movie.
Still, it is actually the Polanski imprimatur that turns out to be the best reason for watching `The Ninth Gate.' In terms of direction, cinematography and music, this film displays more subtlety, elegance and panache than most modern films dealing with the topic of devil worship.
Nonetheless, Polanski shoots his film just right, and employs a wonderful orchestral score which adds to the atmosphere no end.Depp's on solid form as the brash, rather unlikeable protagonist and Frank Langella delivers a powerhouse supporting turn.
and it is.The ninth gate introduction cards are Roman Polanski, the man who taught America the smart approach to horror movies with "Rosemary's baby"; Johnny Depp, who is known for his wonderful performances when it comes to weird characters; and, for those who are into Spanish literature, Arturo Perez-Reverte, who is regarded as one of the best Spanish writers of our time and whose novel served as inspiration.Unfortunately for the movie, Polanski overdid the supernatural approach...
Depp delivers a convincing Corso, but something is missing from his performance that makes him look flat: this may work for the Corso portrayed in the novel, but for a supernatural script, a little bit more character would have been in order.On the bright side, I think this was masterfully directed with a pretty good cinematography, good pace and an excellent plot overall.
The plot is also excellent, and challenge you to think hard about the meaning of the book Depp is investigating, and more importantly (but not so obvious in the beginning of the movie) what's the identity of the girl (Emmanuelle Seigner).
After being hired by Frank Langella (as Boris Balkan), "Johnny Depp unlocks the gates to hell, in Roman Polanski's newest thriller.
Darius Khondji's cinematography, and wheelchair-bound devil worshiper Barbara Jefford (as Baroness Kessler) are strengths.***** The Ninth Gate (8/25/99) Roman Polanski ~ Johnny Depp, Emmanuelle Seigner, Barbara Jefford.
I really expected much more from Roman Polanski and Johnny Depp.
I would have much preferred a bigger ending, although the low key, mysterious one works reasonably well in the context of the wider film.Depp is very good in the lead and suits the `ordinary' delivery of the story.
I thought it could be better if we could know the identity of Emmanuelle Seigner as the mystery girl, is she the devil herself or a keeper of the ninth gate or the book, why did she help Johnny Depp? |
tt0066921 | A Clockwork Orange | "A bit of the old ultra-violence."The story takes place in London in a dystopian future. "Our humble narrator" Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) and his droogs, Georgie (James Marcus), Dim (Warren Clarke), and Pete (Michael Tarn), are seated in the Korova Milk Bar stoned on milk laced with narcotics.Shortly, the gang leaves the Korova for a night of ultra-violence. They encounter a wino (Paul Farrell) in an underpass, and beat him with their truncheons. Later, they arrive at a derelict theater. On the stage, another gang, led by a rival named Billy Boy, prepare to rape a voluptuous girl. Instead, the two gangs battle it out-- Alex and his two droogs are victorious.The trio next head out into the dark countryside looking for action. Alex pilots their stolen Durango 95 sports car. After playing "hogs of the road," wherein they drive on the wrong side of the road and run a number of other motorists off into ditches and over embankments, Alex suggests making a "surprise visit." They stop at a lonely country house that displays a backlighted sign that simply reads "Home." Alex tricks his way into the house by claiming to be the victim of a car accident. They beat the homeowner, a writer named Frank Alexander (Patrick Magee), and gang rape his wife (Adrienne Corri) while Alex croons "Singin' in the Rain."When they've finished having fun, the gang returns to the Korova. An opera singer seated at an adjacent table sings the chorus from Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Listening to the woman, Alex is ecstatic -- "I felt all the malenky little hairs on my plott standing endwise"-- but Dim ruins the mood when he makes a farting noise. Alex hits him in the crotch with his truncheon. Henceforth, Dim is resentful but Alex dismisses him.Alex arrives at his apartment just before dawn. Climbing into bed, he fantasizes scenes of violence while listening to Beethoven's 9th Symphony.In the morning, Alex's mother (Sheila Raynor) tries to wake Alex for school, but he feigns illness. At the breakfast table she discusses the situation with his father (Philip Stone). Alex's parents seem foolish and impotent. When Alex later awakens and wanders about the apartment in his underwear he encounters his probation officer, Mr. Deltoid (Aubrey Morris), in his parent's bedroom. The officer lectures Alex about his school truancy and threatens him with jail.After Deltoid leaves, Alex begins another busy day. He picks up two girls at a local shopping mall record store and brings them home. In a sped-up sequence backed by the "William Tell Overture," he has sex with both of them.Later that day, he encounters his droogs in his apartment house lobby. They ominously tell him that they've been "talking." They feel that Alex has been bullying them, especially Dim, and they suggest that Alex has been taking more than his fair share of the spoils from their robberies. Georgie proposes an idea to make lots more money. He wants to rob a rich lady who owns a health farm in the country. Alex perceives Georgie's independent thinking as a threat, but wanting to appear democratic, he goes along with it. As the three droogs walk along a river bank outside the apartment block, Alex attacks. He throws first Georgie and then Dim into the fountain. When Alex offers to help pull Dim out of the water, he slashes the back of Dim's outstretched hand with a hidden dagger. They all retire to the Duke of York, a restaurant. Having re-established his dominance of the group, Alex reconsiders Georgie's idea.Arriving at the health farm that evening, the droogs try the same trick they'd used at Alexander's house previously: pretending that one of them has been injured in a traffic accident. However, the proprietress (Miriam Karlin) is suspicious and calls the police, telling them that she'd heard the news reports about the writer and his wife being victimized in the same manner. When the boys aren't let into the house, Alex climbs up a drainpipe, enters a second floor window, and confronts the homeowner. They fight, the woman defending herself with a bust of Beethoven, until Alex bludgeons her with a huge plastic phallus sculpture. As police sirens are heard in the distance, Alex runs out the front door. It is there and then that his droogs take their revenge. Dim smashes Alex in the face with a milk bottle and the droogs flee. As Alex writhes and screams on the ground, the police arrive.Alex is arrested. At the police station, an uncooperative and belligerent Alex is questioned by several constables. When an overzealous beat constable presses his thumb against Alex's broken nose, Alex kicks the officer in the groin. The other officers then beat Alex until Deltoid shows up. Deltoid tells Alex that unfortunately for him, the proprietress of the health farm has died, making Alex a murderer. He spits in Alex's face and tells him how disappointed he is. Alex laughs it off, but is soon headed for prison.PrisonAlex gets sentenced to fourteen years in prison. He deposits his possessions with Chief Officer Barnes (Michael Bates), undresses, and undergoes a cavity search. After answering several questions about his health and personal well-being, Alex is given prison garb. He's now prisoner number 655321.Two years later, Alex is shown scheming to get favors by feigning piety. He helps the prison chaplain (Godfrey Quigley) with his service and he studies the Bible. But rather than reflecting on the redemptive power of the Lord, Alex visualizes himself torturing Jesus at the crucifixion, killing people in battle, and laying about with concubines in an Old Testament setting.Alex tells the chaplain that he's heard of a new treatment, the so-called "Ludovico Technique," that helps criminals get out of prison. The chaplain says that it's experimental and that he's not sure it's right for Alex. But Alex, eager to finagle a short-cut to freedom, vies to be selected for the experiment. When the government's Interior Minister (Anthony Sharp) visits the prison, Alex makes a show of himself. The minister picks Alex as a perfect Ludovico subject. Alex is taken before the prison governor (Michael Gover) who tells the boy that, although he'd rather punish him, the political party currently in power have "new, ridiculous ideas" about criminal reform, so Alex will shortly be released.The Ludovico TechniqueChief Officer Barnes then transports Alex to the Ludovico Centre. Alex is given a room and is interviewed by Dr. Branom (Madge Ryan). She promises him that he'll be fine, then gives him an injection.In his first day of treatment Alex appears in an auditorium in a straight jacket. His head is strapped to the back of a restraining chair so that he can neither turn his head nor look away. An eye doctor installs clamps on his eyelids that forcibly keep Alex's eyes open. Then, while the doctor constantly drops eye wash into Alex's grotesquely clamped eyes, Alex is subjected to two violent films. The first shows explicit scenes of a severe beating, the second, a gang rape. Halfway through the first film Alex begins to feel sick. By the end of the second, Alex is shouting for something into which to vomit. At the rear of the auditorium, Dr. Brodsky (Carl Duering) explains to observers that the drug administered to Alex causes a form of paralysis with deep feelings of terror and helplessness. Following the screening, Dr. Branom assures Alex that his feeling of sickness is a sign that he's getting better.On the following day Alex is back in the auditorium, this time for two shows: morning and afternoon. While viewing scenes of Nazis during World War II, Alex begins screaming in earnest. The background music is none other than Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Alex screams that he shouldn't be made to feel sick while listening to such beautiful music. Brodsky loudly apologizes, saying that it can't be helped while quietly he speculates to nearby staff that perhaps this is the "punishment element."Two weeks later, presumably after twelve more treatments, Alex is paraded before a group of dignitaries by the Interior Minister. Alex is there for demonstration purposes. He is first confronted by an angry Irishman (John Clive) who throws him to the ground and forces Alex to lick his boot. Next he's approached by a statuesque platinum blonde (Virginia Wetherell) clad only in panties. Alex collapses in a fit of nausea when he tries to touch her breasts. The Interior Minister proclaims a new era in law enforcement and social justice, but the prison chaplain exclaims that the procedure has debased Alex's human nature by taking away his ability to choose good over evil. The Interior Minister counter claims that the only thing that matters is results.Welcome HomeAlex returns home to find his parents plus a stranger (Clive Francis) sitting in the living room reading newspaper accounts of his release. Alex tries to make awkward small talk. When he hints about moving back home, his father tells him that Joe, their new lodger, has already paid the next month's rent. Alex is upset but Joe, who has ingratiated himself with Alex's parents, pushes the situation by castigating Alex for the things he did before going to prison and for breaking his parents' hearts. Before Alex can hit Joe, his psychological conditioning kicks in, leaving him dry heaving, to the dismay and disgust of Joe and Alex's parents. When he has recovered, Alex storms out.Alex later stares at the Thames river below a bridge, presumably contemplating suicide. He's approached by a bum seeking spare change. Alex fishes some cash from his pocket and hands it over. Taking a closer look, the bum recognizes Alex as the same malchick who beat him under the bridge two years earlier. Alex looks at the bum in horror and tries to escape, but is trapped in the very same underpass by the bum and his elderly compatriots. They hit and kick Alex as he cowers on the ground, disabled by his conditioning. Two constables show up to break up the fight. To Alex's further horror, his rescuers turn out to be Dim and Georgie, his former droogs, who are now constables. Demonstrating that police training hasn't altered their basic violent natures, they handcuff Alex, drive him out of town, march him into a wood, push his head into a cattle trough filled with filthy water, and beat him with their batons. They then remove the cuffs and leave him battered and gasping. With thoughts of home echoing in his head, Alex staggers to the first house he can find. It displays a welcoming, backlighted sign that reads "Home."At home, Frank Alexander sits at his typewriter, now in the wheelchair that he's used ever since he was severely beaten two years earlier. Julian (David Prowse), his muscular attendant, answers the doorbell. As Julian opens the door, Alex collapses into the entryway. Julian carries him into the house.When confronted by a concerned Mr. Alexander, Alex realizes he's at the very same residence in which, two years earlier, he and his former partners in crime gang-raped Alexander's wife. He relaxes, however, when he realizes that Mr. Alexander couldn't possibly recognize him due to the fact that Alex and his droogies wore masks back in those days. Mr. Alexander, who knows Alex only as the subject of the Ludovico treatment, invites the lad to have a bath and some supper.As Alex soaks in the bath, Mr. Alexander calls a friend with whom he discusses the political repercussions of Alex's Ludovico conditioning. He believes that the government has a totalitarian agenda, as exemplified by its willingness to rob its citizens of their free will. As he finishes the conversation, Alexander arranges a visit with the person on the other end, stating, "He'll be here," before he hangs up the phone.Mr. Alexander sits in his wheelchair relishing a fantasy of using Alex as a political pawn when he becomes aware of singing coming from the bathroom. In his bath, Alex has struck up a bright rendition of "Singin' in the Rain." Mr. Alexander's face twists in agony and rage as he thinks back to the night of the home invasion that left him crippled and realizes just who Alex is.Later, at the dinner table, an obviously distraught Mr. Alexander encourages Alex to eat and drink. Flanked by the apoplectic Mr. Alexander and the burly Julian, Alex eats a plate of spaghetti while Mr. Alexander plies Alex with red wine. As he eats, Alex grows increasingly fearful, wondering if the hostile-looking old man knows his real identity. Suddenly Mr. Alexander brings up the subject of his wife's rape and subsequent death. He believes that, though she officially died of pneumonia, it was her broken spirit that killed her. She was, according to Mr. Alexander, a victim of the modern age, just as Alex is a victim of the modern age. He tells Alex that two friends are expected and that they will help the boy.A minute later, man named Dolin (John Savident) and a woman (Margaret Tyzack) enter. They question Alex about the Ludovico treatment and whether it is true that, in addition to conditioning him against sex and violence, it has also made him incapable of listening to music. Alex replies that he only feels a foreboding sense of extreme depression when he hears Beethoven's Ninth Symphony specifically-- at which point he passes out, face down, into the plate of spaghetti. He has been drugged by the wine. Dolin congratulates Mr. Alexander who then asks Julian to bring the car around to the front. The conspirators have plans for Alex that will embarrass the government.Alex awakens the next morning in a small, second floor bedroom in an unknown country house. The room is flooded with the strains of Beethoven's 9th Symphony blasted from a stereo in the room below. As Mr. Alexander beams with satisfaction, Alex is driven to suicide. He leaps from the second floor window to the stone patio below.CuredSome time later, Alex wakes up in a hospital in a full-body cast. Newspaper clippings reveal that the government is being vilified for inhuman experimentation. The Interior Minister is being subjected to especially fierce attack. Alex's parents visit, apologizing for not taking him back and promising him his old room when he is released from the hospital.Next, Doctor Taylor (Pauline Taylor), a psychiatrist, shows Alex a series of cartoons having sexual or violent connotations. Alex is to supply the captions. He pleases Dr. Taylor by indicating through his descriptions of the cartoons that sex and violence are the foremost interests on his mind.Once the Ludovico Treatment has been successfully reversed, the Interior Minister visits Alex. As the aristocratic Minister spoon-feeds dinner to the juvenile thug, he assures Alex that he wants to be his friend. With oily smoothness the Minister apologizes for what his government has done. He promises Alex a good job on a good salary, provided that Alex helps the government. He assures the lad that the subversive writer, Frank Alexander, who had threatened him, has been put away. Alex milks the meeting for all it's worth.As a symbol of their understanding, the Minister calls for his assistants. They sweep in with flowers and a massive stereo system blasting Beethoven's 9th Symphony, followed by a troop of reporters and photographers. Alex poses with his new friend, the Interior Minister, aka "Fred," as cameras flash and Beethoven's 9th Symphony reaches its choral climax. Alex's eyes roll back into his head as he fantasizes about an orgy in the snow with a gorgeous blonde, to the applause of Victorian ladies and gentlemen.Alex is heard in voiceover: "I was cured, all right." | pornographic, avant garde, comedy, murder, neo noir, psychological, dramatic, cult, alternate reality, violence, atmospheric, insanity, psychedelic, satire, brainwashing, revenge, sadist, prank | train | imdb | A Clockwork Orange is by no means an easy film to get through, as many will be turned off by the scenes of violence and rape.
This is definitely one of the best technically shot movies, another masterpiece of Kubrick like the Space Oddessey.For the uninitiated, set in near future Britain, the movie shows Malcom MacDowell as the head of a group of youngsters involved in sexual violence.
The rest unfolds as a saga of the very human characteristic.Lastly, I would like to say that you may be compelled to leave the movie in between, but if you are watching it for art and cinematic experience, I recommend you to sit through..
Kubrick manages to use one of the earliest forms of art, classical music, and give it an unforgettable style and importance in the film.
Malcolm McDowell gives us a shining example of superior acting, and the movie is as perverted as any of Kubrick's masterpieces (and then some!).
After the third time, I was lost for words.After the fourth time, there was little doubt in my mind, that this was the finest film ever made, and regardless of how many great masterpieces I see, A Clockwork Orange still towers above them.
This is true with a lot of films but for Clockwork Orange, I only had to watch it 2 subsequent times to fall in love with it.
Kubrick's's best film ever.absolutely mind-blowing.quite disturbing though but that's what moves us.he has amazingly blended the disturbing scenes with the lovely music of Beethoven.a riveting journey of a vicious young hoodlum in modern England who is caught due to the betrayal of his friends and his journey through aversion therapy that drives him to try and do himself in and his cure at last.i never thought i would understand and really appreciate this film but i did and i say that it is one of the best films of the century.Kubrick has excelled himself and i truly feel it is his best film ever.it also has an absolutely mind-blowing performance by young Malcolm Mcdowell as Alex,the best acting performance i have seen..
Many people may say that Alex was the villain of "A Clockwork Orange", but he's only really evil for the 1st 3rd of the film, right?
Everyone is villainized by Kubrick's lens, from the criminals that rape and murder victims, to the punishers of these criminals, enforcing cruel, almost torture-like methods to "cure" these criminals, to those who were victims of these brutal criminals, having their revenge using more harsh techniques of brutality."A Clockwork Orange" is a film that got me thinking and feeling.
Anyone looking to watch A Clockwork Orange might be wanting to revisit some of Stanley Kubrik's work and might be interested in studying this film.
While all these positives make for a great movie-going experience and when Kubrick is at the director's helm not much can go wrong, the film's biggest downfall is indeed its controversy.
Frankly, these extremely rare and offensive movie experiences are not quite the reason I enjoy films in the first place; stories can still be thought-provoking while not morally offend and damage the viewer internally.
In addition, a viewer looking to study the work of Stanley Kubrick can still experience some of cinema's greatest and transcendent experiences without feeling like their conscience has blackened.It's understandable that not everyone feels this way; just as stated before, opinions about this film are all across the board.
I realise it is in the top 250 list but personally I feel this film owes more to its notoriety (people thinking it was banned despite the fact it was actually willingly withdrawn by Kubrick in certain countries) than to any real merit in the film.
I was 14 years old in 8th grade when I found this amazing film that would change my perspective on movies for my whole life.
I am forever thankful for this film for this exact reason and as I know this was not much of a review and more of just a dumb life story I still feel all Bias aside that this movie is pure genius and very much worth a 10/10..
Stanley Kubrick's ninth film, "A Clockwork Orange," is a brilliant and dangerous work, but it is dangerous in a way that brilliant things sometimes are, because it is a movie of such manifold, contradictory effects that it can easily be seen in many ways and may well be wrongly used by a number of people who see it.Although the film, like Anthony Burgess's novel from which it is adapted, is cast as futurist fiction, it is much more a satire on contemporary society than are most futurist works, all of which, if they are worth anything, are meaningful only in terms of the society that bred them.
It may even be a mistake to describe the movie "A Clockwork Orange" as futurist in any respect, since its made-up teenage language, its décor, its civil idiocies, its social chaos, or their equivalents, are already at hand, although it's still possible for most of the people to ignore a lot of them.It seems to me that by describing horror with such elegance and beauty, Kubrick has created a very disorienting but human comedy, not warm and lovable, but a terrible sum- up of where the world is at.
With all of man's potential for divinity through love, through his art and his music, this is what it has somehow boiled down to: a civil population terrorized by hoodlums, disconnected porno art, quick solutions to social problems, with the only "hope" for the future in the vicious Alex.In my opinion, Kubrick has made a movie that exploits only the mystery and variety of human conduct.
If looking at full frontal nudity is your thing, or unrealistic violence turns you on, then this film would probably appeal, but if you like a movie to entertain or to be thought provoking, I should give it a miss..
It makes you feel so horrible and use you get the feeling of what was the point of watching this movie in the first place.The writing is good along with the cinematography which is great giving you the feeling of the chaos we call life.
Here you have a film that has a really antagonistic subject Alex (Malcom McDowell) who revels in sex, violence, and talking in some sort of weird language that's most likely based on sounds emanating from 5-month-old tots.
In my opinion, this movie is a painful mess and has wasted my time.But I am unlike most people, I don't see the point in a lot of mainstream things.
Basically I don't enjoy things that suck my intellect and compassion.So if you have already had all your intellect and compassion sucked out of you by this aggressive insensitive world, like most people, you will be tricked into thinking this movie has something clever to offer as it merely harmonizes with the dark insecure feelings you already own.I also dislike how the scenes in this movie are so abstract in order to shock you but then leave you questioning the meaning, good movies should leave you with a strong message, or a powerful sensation of mystery...
I can actually tell you about the ONLY time I watched it - it was when I was studying the art of film making.
I've literally heard so many good things about this film and I have wondered, "Did we watch the same movie?" And it's not that I don't like violent movies, because I do, but when it has a point to make.
And in the words of the writer Anthony Burgess: "What I was trying to say was that it is better to be bad of one's own free will than to be good through scientific brainwashing" he also says "When Alex has the power of choice, he chooses only violence.
See hp://www.allotropic.com for definitions.Dr. Stanislav Grof replaced LSD with allotropic breathing, but, allotropic breathing has to be voluntary, unless it is forced involuntarily like by crucifixion.In the "Clockwork Orange" treatment the victim is forced to watch violent films while under high doses of LSD.
I knew what I was getting into with Kubrick, and I've either strongly liked or disliked every movie he's made.This was a whole other experience.This film was total garbage.
Of the six people who came to my house to watch this movie, I was the only one that didn't walk out.Most of the aspects of why this film sucks have already been discussed at length.
I can usually enjoy that in films.What bothered me most was after I watched this film, I read a ton of reviews and internet analysis of this movie thinking that there has to be more to this than what meets the eye.There wasn't.
A bleak version of Britain's near future where gang violence and crime is an everyday occurrence, a time and place where Alex, the protagonist of this movie played by Malcom MacDowell, feels right at home as a leader of a gang spending their time with acts of sexual violence and other criminal activities.
This movie is raw, violent and wildly entertaining with it's characters, story, shots, set pieces and Kubrick's direction.
Few films in history have better succeeded in portraying the absolute worst elements of humanity than Stanley Kubrick's disturbing masterpiece, a nose-dive into the sadistic violence of youth and the inhuman lengths that government society go to in order to craft their perfect world.
By no means easy viewing but with an important message, this brilliantly made piece of film shows its audience that the world can be a truly haunting and horrible place, leaving you with an uncertain feeling in your stomach and must be seen to truly be believed..
A clockwork orange is one of the greatest films of all time every scene worthy of an art gallery.
And what's so stinking about it?"Well, according to my fellow reviewers, it glorifies violence (especially towards women,) it's too weird, the language is too hard to understand, it doesn't stick close enough to the book, it's misogynistic, it's too long and boring, the main character is unlikable and it's just stupid!Is it?This happens to be my favorite film ever and I have seen a lot of movies.
This is more of a movie that you sit back and think about it and perhaps rewatch again one more time because you can't really wrap your head around everything in this film.
I have watched it several times and love how disturbing it is.It is still a favourite no doubt but I've seen many more movies since then.
A Clockwork Orange was easily one of the 70s' most controversial movies and easily one of the most disturbed movies of all time; so much so that Kubrick actually withdrew the film from circulation in the UK until he passed away in 1999.
Maybe it even glorifies it, but its hard to say.This film centers around a young man named Alex (Malcolm McDowell) who is a leader of a violent gang and to put it quite bluntly, a sadistic rapist.
Back on the streets, Alex finds it very hard to live a good life especially with all the violence he had a hand in creating.One of the things I admire about Kubrick is how he doesn't rely on a huge cast and he is always trying to find fresh talent to work with.
It was well-done, but watching Alex break down to scenes of Nazi Germany was very intense.Speaking of intense, most of the violence in this film is displayed at such high intensity.
He is a very good artist from the classical era.A Clockwork Orange is a violent, brooding movie set in futuristic England and despite all of the controversy surrounding it, it is a very unique film.
Based on a popular novel by Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange is a must-see as a visually-impressive futuristic movie about a man whose life is made out of violence.
'A Clockwork Orange' is violent, it's brutal, but what it's not is a film that glorifies its violence as many critics and audiences believe it does.
I think the music and playful tone of the scenes directly express the allure that violence holds in the minds of youngsters like Alex.
In the movie, Kubrick depicts a society around Alex that cannot completely wash its hands off the crimes of Alex and claim absolution from the guilt of giving rise to boys like him.
Alex is a product of the society that he lives in and of course a product of the government that 'protects' him.On one hand, Kubrick opens up the discussion in the social context, but at the same time, he manages to convincingly condense the discussion to a personal level too.
After Alex undergoes the Ludovico Technique and gets completely stripped of his right to choose, everything that comes up in the film subsequently involves Kubrick making the audience ask themselves the tough central question: Should I feel sorry for Alex?
British TV-actor James Marcus,before having a good career in television (London's burning is the best example!)was(...back in 1971)playing one of the most memorable roles in the cult film,Oscar nominated,classic Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange...in which he played with great presence and solid acting style Georgie(one of the 4 Droogs).
The way he played the character was so good and very convincing that many people believed he should have won an Award nomination as best actor in a supporting role;he played very straight and gave to his character a kind of cold and nasty air,,,very different from the one in the original Anthony Burgess novel;that's why he was considered great...he was able to change it completely and give to it his own type of personality and identity!
Between the 4 Droogs,Malcolm McDowell(Alex),Warren Clarke(Dim),Michael Tarn(Pete)and him,Marcus played the most nasty character,the most hated...and if the result was so good it was basically due to his particular serious and solid acting and also(which was very determinating)to his extremely deep English accent(considered by many the strongest English accent in film history!).
Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' is one movie that is talked about more than it is watched, especially in Britain where it was banned for many years.
Rather terribly empty...Stanley Kubrick has many good movies like "Full Metal Jacket", "Eyes Wide Shut", "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" and "2001: A Space Odyssey".
In this movie we have a Beethoven-loving crazy hoodlum, who likes to beat up, rape and kill people with his "friends".
Many people say nonsense like "this is the greatest movie of all times".
At this point I waited several years till it came to TV before revisiting it I wanted to watch it away from media hype and make my own mind up.What I found was a film that was taking it's points from the debate that was going on at the time over treatment of criminals.
Visually the film works well, even if some of the scenes of sexual violence I felt were more than they needed to be and it felt like it was revelling in the very things it was criticising.
However at it's heart the story is a good idea and it is told in a weird way that holds the attention.Alex's weird childlike use of made up words make it feel like he really is a teenager trying to create a world different from his parents and plenty of the images show the reality of his world.
A Clockwork Orange has to be one of the worst films I have ever had to watch.
The first thing I want to point out in this film was the performance of the actor, Malcolm McDowell and his portrayal of Alex in the movie.
Thus it's being taken from another mans words, so less than 25% of this movie is unoriginal work taken from another and throwing the author into the trash much like he did with Stephen King's the shining and most of his so called symbolism and symmetry isn't anything different than what any film school grad student loves to experiment with.
He skips some of the best parts in the book including WHY THE MOVIE IS CALLED CLOCKWORK ORANGE!
Looks like this movie dumbs-down the book for people who haven't read it.
The main character, Alex, is a completely different person in the film than he is in the book.
After loving the story so much, and knowing the high regards the film gets, I had to watch it again, and once again I didn't like it.
"A Clockwork Orange" is as unenjoyable and dislikeable as films come and you can't help but feel guilty watching it (and rightfully so).
A Clockwork Orange is one of the most overrated and twisted movies of all time.
Now I have come to know this movie as one of the most surreal and masterful films of all time.
Having read many reviews, I think people often miss the point of the film's satire, at least my interpretation of it.The movie is a satire about how the mixture of politics and the ideology of `political correctness' fails to recognize the existence of and to understand the nature of evil and, as a result, fails to deal with it appropriately.
I am a movie lover, but this film would have to be the worst of all time.
If ever there was an over-rated Kubrick film, for my money, "Clockwork Orange" is probably it.
It was a good story line but it just lacked everything that would keep me awake during a film and I honestly don't understand why people think this movie is so great.
The story concerns Alex DeLarge, a criminal who is sent to prison, was cured from his obsessions, and was released, When released, he is taunted by his former victims and friends.A Clockwork Orange had an impact on me like no other movie before. |
tt1667889 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | Manny becomes over-protective about his teenage daughter Peaches going to the falls to see a teenage mammoth called Ethan. Manny's wife Ellie calms him down and tells him that Peaches is not going to be his little girl forever. Peaches, along with her best friend, a molehog named Louis, go to the falls, but Manny stops them and takes Peaches home. Meanwhile, Sid reunites with his family, but is abandoned again, with his obnoxious Granny that wanders away, The Herd looks for her. Manny catches Peaches with Louis heading to the falls; he finds her with Ethan and Manny embarrasses Peaches in front of her friends Upset at Manny, Peaches said that she wish Manny was never her father. Soon after, the separation of the continents separates Manny from his family. Manny gets stuck on a floating iceberg with Sid and Diego. A large moving landmass drives Ellie, Peaches, and a herd of other animals towards a land bridge, where Manny had told them to go.After Manny and his friends survive a rough sea storm, they also find Granny, who was inside a tree trunk on the same floating iceberg the entire time. Manny and his friends are captured by a group of pirates, led by a Gigantopithecus named Captain Gutt along with his first mate, a female saber-toothed cat named Shira. Gutt and the pirate gang attempts to get Manny and his friends to join their crew (by singing them a song to introduce Gutt along the way), but they refuse. Gutt then attempts to make them walk the plank, but they manage to escape, destroying the pirate ship in the process. Gutt and the pirates are separated from Shira, and the pirate crew worries about her, but Gutt leaves her for dead. Meanwhile, Shira gets rescued by the herd.The herd reaches an island and when they arrive Shira escapes, but Diego finally captures her. The herd found a way home and the pirates, who force captive hyraxes to build a new ice ship. Elsewhere on the same island the herd plans to steal the ship and use it to get home. They find some free hyraxes and ask them to help them steal the ship (thanks to Sid's communication), that night they set up plan to steal the ship and free the captive hyraxes. The next morning, the herd and the hyraxes' plot to steal the ship and free the captive hyraxes was prepared.Shira later escapes and rejoins the pirates, but finds herself being berated and called a failure by Gutt for not trying to kill the herd and as punishment, he relieves her of her position while giving it to Squint. The herd puts the plan into action and successfully takes the ship and frees the hyraxes. Shira captures Diego, he tells her she should join Manny and the herd, and leave the pirates. She lets him go and buys them have some more time to escape and help them prevented Gutt from catching them. After the herd and the hyraxes leave freely, Gutt, quickly creates a new ship, by breaking off a chunk of ice from a nearby ice wall and calls out for his narwhals to propel it. He threatened Shira to be killed and so the pirate gang sets out after the herd, determined to get revenge on Manny.Back at the continent, Peaches visits an underground hideout with Ethan and his group. To be accepted, she says she is not friends with Louis. Louis overhears her, and he leaves heartbroken. Meanwhile Manny, Sid, Granny and Diego, are on their way home, Diego worried about Shira, and Manny and Sid figure out that Diego is in love. Soon enough, they encounter sirens, depicted as sharp-toothed creatures who take the shape of loved ones Diego sees Shira, Sid sees an attractive female sloth, Granny sees a hunky surfer sloth ,forming a facial hair, and Manny sees Ellie and Peaches. Fortunately, Manny realizes this and manages to steer the ship away from the sirens.Ellie, Peaches, Louis, Crash, Eddie, and the herd of other animals reach the land bridge, but find it to be destroyed. Manny, and the gang finally reach home, and also find the land bridge destroyed, but Manny happily finds Peaches. Much to their horror, Gutt and his pirates have beaten them to the bridge, and captured Ellie & Peaches. Manny attempts to turn himself in to Gutt in exchange for the release of his family, but Gutt prepares to kill Ellie and Peaches, as he still wants revenge on Manny. Louis comes to their rescue. Gutt teased Lewis and tosses him a sword (smiler to the one from third film to fight him, but Lewis is able to defeat him and free Peaches with his own skills. The Battle stars, Sid and Granny are saved by Granny's presumed "imaginary" pet, Precious, a gigantic whale, and they defeat the pirate crew. Peaches defeats Gutt by using her half-opossum skills and saves Ellie, causing Manny to realize that he had been wrong about Peaches. Gutt recovers and engages Manny in a fight, a landmass suddenly burst out of the ocean, causing a chunk of the ship where Manny and Gutt were on to break and slide down the landmass. Manny manages to defeat him by moving to the edge of the iceberg, causing Gutt to soar upward, and finally, Manny smacks Gutt far away with a log. The iceberg slips off the landmass, causing Manny to fall off the iceberg. He is about to land into the ocean, but gets rescued by Precious, Sid and Granny. Meanwhile, Gutt recovers, but finds a siren disguised as a female Gigantopithecus, Gutt goes up to it and gets killed.Manny reunites with his family and reconciles with Peaches, Shira becomes Diego's girlfriend and joins the herd, Manny and Diego tells Sid and Granny that there not screw-ups but a heros. Louis also becomes a hero among the other Mammoths, and let him hang out with them. With the continent being destroyed by the landmass the herd and the other animals then find another continent (where the hyraxes have also gone) which they accept as their new home with new beginnings.Scrat subplotScrat's goal for storing his acorn triggers the break-up of the Pangaea landmass into the seven continents we know today, by falling in to the Earth's inner core and chasing his acorn around it. This causes the land on the earth's crust to break and separate into seven continents, Scrat finally catches his an acorn and gets shot out of the earth's inner core and lands on a small iceberg that breaks in two that separates Scrat from his acorn.Scrat, lost at the sea, comes across an island and finds a skeleton of a sabre-toothed squirrel. The skeleton points towards an acorn-shaped map at the bottom of the ocean, which leads to a mysterious acorn-filled island. Scrat decides to follow the map and find the island. As he begins his journey, he is captured by the group of pirates that capture Manny, Sid, Diego, & Granny but manages to escape when the ship breaks in two.
Later, after the pirates gone after the herd for revenge, Scrat sets off for his journey by trying to fly on one of the leaf-gliders, but he gets pushed on an ice wall by the wind, but finally flies away.Later, after the herd escaped the sirens Scrat meets a siren, which uses the shape of Scratte, an old flame of his from the third film, but Scrat turns away and ignores it. Then, the siren takes the shape of an acorn, causing Scrat to hug it and attempt to bury it (which aggravates the siren). Scrat is then attacked by the other sirens, but is able to get away alive.Finally the film ends with Scrat completing his journey and reaching the island on the map, Scratlantis (a parody of Atlantis); a floating city filled with other sabre-toothed squirrels and acorns. Scrat, excited and gleeful, grabs many acorns on the island in a frenzy and eventually grabs a giant one used as a plug blocking a hole, which causes the city to flood and sink, leaving Scrat in the middle of a desert in North America. | action | train | imdb | null |
tt1160368 | 12 Rounds | New Orleans. May 16, nighttime. A team of FBI agents, led by Special Agent George Aiken (Steve Harris) and Ray Santiago (Gonzalo Menendez), monitor a street for an international terrorist, named Miles Jackson (Aiden Gillen). Using facial recognition software, they scan different people in the street. Finally, they catch sight of him. Aiken, playing with a small yellow toy car, rattles off Miles' crimes - murder, bombings, even the decapitation of his own brother for messing up a mission. Aiken and Santiago speak to one of Miles' confederates, Samuel, who is reluctantly cooperating with them in exchange for his brother, Joshua's, release.Meanwhile, Officer Danny Fisher (John Cena) and his girlfriend, Molly Porter (Ashley Scott), are at their recently-purchased home. Danny's on his way out and looks around for his badge, while surreptitiously sneaking his dog some noodles. After showing him where his badge is, Molly tells him to be safe. He goes out and sees his partner, Officer Hank Carver (Brian White), waiting for him in their squad car. They drive off. Danny and Hank, being best friends, talk about Danny moving in with Molly. Hank expects Danny to pop the question soon, but Danny laughs it off. They get a message from Dispatch to help the FBI out in their operation. Hank whines about them having to jump through hoops for the Feds, while the latter seldom help them out, case in point - Katrina relief.The Feds see Miles calls Sam on his cell phone, but can't tap the line as Miles always uses encrypted phones. Sam reports that Miles' on his way; he's bringing the weapons and they'll be making an exchange. Aiken waits eagerly. Miles arrives at the meeting place in a cab and approaches Sam. He starts to talk business with Sam, but Sam says he can't do this and exposes the FBI's plan to arrest Miles. He then shoots Miles in the stomach and has his men drag Miles to the waiting van. He shouts out the FBI's cameras, after telling them to release his brother in exchange for Miles. Sam gets in the back with Miles and they drive off. Turns out Sam and Miles are working together and Miles was wearing Kevlar. Aiken finds out that the safehouse holding Sam's brother was attacked and two agents are dead and Joshua's escaped. Sam pays Miles for springing his brother. However, Miles stabs Sam to death, as he would have left him out to dry if his brother was still inside. They reach the next rendezvous, where Miles' girlfriend, Erica Kessen (Taylor Cole), waits. She's already killed the van driver and passenger. He shows her the briefcase Sam gave him - it's full of diamonds. They get in a car and drive away.Danny and Hank, on their way to help the FBI, look at Miles' record. They see surveillance images and video - including one of him dancing with Erica. At a traffic light, Danny spots Erica in her car. He tells Hank to follow her car. They pull her over and Hank goes over to check her licence and registration. She flirts a bit with Hank, who flirts right back. Danny stands behind the car and tells her to pop the trunk. Just then, Miles springs out of the trunk and starts shooting at the officers, hitting Hank in the butt. Erica drives off. Danny checks up on Hank and then takes off on foot, in pursuit of the car. He runs through a lot of narrow alleys, through a house, on the road. He loses his gun, after an encounter with a dog. He sees Erica's car coming on the road towards him. He pushes a parked boat into their path and causes them to crash. Picking up Miles' gun, he holds it at him. Erica tries to run, but finds herself in the way of an oncoming SUV. She gets hit hard and dies. Miles is shocked and enraged. He tells Danny he'll remember him. As backup arrives, Danny holds him at bay, while saddened at the girl's death.One year later, Danny and Hank, since promoted to detectives, blow off some steam at a pool parlor. Hank flirts with some girls and tells Danny that, in two days, it will be one whole year since they were promoted. Danny still feels bad about Erica's death. He leaves for home. At home, he wakes up in time for Molly to leave for her job as a nurse on the night-shift at University Hospital. He finds the bathroom floor covered with water, thanks to a broken pipe. Molly sits under it, just about giving up . She tells him that she called Phil, the plumber. Phil arrives and, seeing the mess, tells Danny that he should have got the pipe replaced two months earlier as he said he'd take care of. Danny confessed to Molly that he was trying to save money. She seems a bit upset, but he tells her to trust him. She says she does and leaves for work.Just then, Danny gets a call on his cell phone. It's from Miles Jackson! He tells Danny that he's escaped from prison and is now back for some payback. He says that he's close. Danny grabs his badge and gun and runs outside the house, looking for Miles. Miles tells him that he killed his girlfriend, but Danny retorts that it was an accident. Suddenly, Danny's car and house (with poor Phil inside) explode, throwing Danny to the ground. After he recovers, he hears Miles tell him that it's their "anniversary" - the day that Danny got the better of him. Now he wants a rematch. The house, the car and Phil were Round 1. He tells him that he took the one thing that can never be replaced and, in return, will do the same. He challenges Danny to try and stop him. Danny hands his dog over to some neighbors and starts running towards the ferry station, where Molly is.Molly gets on the ferry. Miles' henchman, Anthony Deluso (Travis Davis), approaches her and asks if he can use her cell phone to call his daughter. She obliges. He keeps the phone busy, preventing Danny from getting through. Miles watches from the other side, as he gets rid of his SIM card and puts a new one into his phone. Danny reaches the station a little too late. He tries to yell out to her, but is drowned out by the ferry. Seeing the ferry name, Thomas Jefferson (I think...), he commandeers a car and speeds off towards the other side. On his way over the bridge, he calls Hank and tells him that Miles Jackson escaped from prison and is trying to take Molly. He needs him to call the Department of Transportation and have the ferry stopped at the station, or he might lose Molly.Reaching the station on the other side, he sprints inside and has the security personnel shut down the station. Hank and backup arrive, but it's too late - there's no sign of Molly. He tries her cell phone. Miles answers. He has Molly tied up in the back of his car. This was Round 2. The game is 12 Rounds. If, at the end of the 12 Rounds, Danny does all that Miles says and lives, he'll let Molly go.Round 3 - Miles will be calling a cell phone in 15 minutes. Danny has to get to the spot where he and Miles first met and, from there, find the phone. Miles hangs up and disposes of the cell phone. Danny and Hank drive to the spot where they pulled Erica over the year before. They see some graffiti on a wall, with the day's date (05-16-08) on it, along with a latitude and longitude. They find that the place is the firehouse where Danny's brother, Dave, works. Danny calls Dave and tells him to evacuate the firehouse, as there might be a bomb inside. Dave complies and, soon, all the firemen and trucks are cleared out from the firehouse. Danny and Hank arrive on the scene. Danny announces to all the firefighters to pull out their cell phones as Miles might call one of them. When time runs out, Danny hears a cell phone ringing. It's coming from inside a cell phone store. He runs inside and answers it. Miles congratulates him and tells him he's won extra time on the next round. The fire alarm segues into Round 4...Round 4 - Miles says that a fire has broken out in the New Orleans Savings and Loan. Danny has to get there and extract two security deposit boxes located on the top floor, the numbers of which are in the memory of the cell phone he's holding. He has 20 minutes. Danny almost has a breakdown, but Hank keeps him from losing it. Hank has a lead on the guy who helped Miles kidnap Molly. He'll go look into that, while Danny continues with the "game". Just then, the FBI shows up. Special Agents Aiken and Santiago approach Danny and ask him about Miles Jackson. Danny is livid that Miles broke out of prison and the Feds didn't tell him. Aiken coolly tells him to get over it and work with them, if he wants Molly back. Reluctantly, Danny hitches a ride with Aiken and Santiago, while Dave and the other firefighters head off in their firetrucks.As they drive, the Feds tell Danny that Miles used a prison riot as cover to escape. Aiken tells him that it's unusual for Miles to show himself out in the open like this. This is a golden opportunity to get him. However, Danny only cares about Molly's safety. At the scene of the fire, Danny gets out and runs in with Dave and the others. Santiago tells Aiken that this is exactly what Miles wants and that they should stop Danny before people get hurt, however Aiken wants to use Danny as a distraction, so they can blindside Miles. Danny and Dave run through the smoke-covered corridors, looking for the security boxes. They find them, however they both have timers counting down, with less than 7 minutes remaining. Miles calls and says that Round 5 has started.Round 5 - One of the boxes is a bomb, while the other contains a clue to the next round. He has to get to the Nicholls Street Wharf in less than 7 minutes. If he doesn't get there in time, the bomb goes off. Since time is a constraint, Miles advises him to use a firetruck. With 6 minutes left and a long way downstairs, Danny decides to go out the window. Seeing a huge spool of cable, he tells Dave to anchor down one end, while he throws the rest of it out the window. Carrying the two boxes in a bag, he goes down the cable. Finding himself out of cable and some feet to go, he lets go and crashes through some scaffolding, much to the horror of the onlookers. Recovering quickly, he hijacks a firetruck and races through the streets of New Orleans, causing quite a lot of damage along the way. With less than a 20 seconds to go, he reaches the edge of the wharf. Miles calls him and tells him he's too late. Danny waits with bated breath for the bomb to go off. However, a bell goes off from inside one of the boxes. Knowing it's the bomb, Danny grabs it and throws it into the water, where it explodes harmlessly. That signals the start of the next round.Round 6 - From atop the Hotel Monteleone, Miles watches Danny standing near the firetruck as the cops and Feds approach. Danny demands to talk to Molly, but Miles promises him that he will show her to him. He tells him that the other box contains the clue. The box is handed over to the bomb squad, who saw it open and declare it clear. The Feds give Danny a new cell phone, through which they can track him and the calls. The clue in the box is a room-keycard for the Hotel Monteleone. Cops, Feds and SWAT rush into the hotel. They raid the room and find it empty. To his anguish, Danny finds a couple of Polaroids of a gagged and bound Molly. The Feds look at the security camera footage and see Miles holding a sheet of paper up, which reads "WE ARE STILL HERE". They see him talking with a heavyset man, named Willie Dumaine (Peter Navy Tuiasosopo). Danny goes to speak to Willie about Miles. Willie shows him where they went - they took an old elevator to the roof. Danny and Willie get on the elevator. As they ascend, a small charge fixed to the elevator motor goes off, stopping the elevator. Danny sees his cell phone has no signal there. He tries to get the elevator service phone, but finds a small laptop there instead. He opens it and sees a video of Molly tearfully reading off a sheet of paper as Miles stands nearby. She says that, at the conclusion of the message, they have 60 seconds to get off the elevator before it freefalls to the bottom. She says the next clue is inside the lobby. The video ends and a timer starts counting down from 60 seconds. Danny climbs through a service hatch and starts to pull Willie through. It's a gigantic effort considering Willie's girth. He manages to get Willie up onto the top of the elevator. With almost no time left, Danny tells Willie to take his hand as he climbs along the shaft wall. However, Willie's back is blown and he can't get up. The bomb on top explodes, sending the elevator and the unfortunate Willie down to the ground in freefall, as Danny watches in despair. The elevator crash is pops loose a gas line. The hotel and surrounding blocks are evacuated. Danny walks out, despondently. His phone rings. Aiken tells him to wait as they prepare to trace the call. Aiken tells him to keep Miles on for 30 seconds. Miles, from inside a streetcar, speaks to Danny. Danny is enraged and frustrated, but tries to stall. However, Miles figures it out and hangs up before 30 seconds, thereby cutting off the tracker.Round 7 - Miles calls again and tells him that the clue to the next round is in the hotel lobby. It's a picture of a lonely man. He'll call him in 2 minutes. Danny goes to the lobby and searches. He finds the picture and finds "CLAIBORNE & TOULOUSE" written on a Post-It on the back. The phone rings. Santiago tells him not to answer it, but Aiken demands he do it. Danny answers the phone. Miles tells him to be there alone in 10 minutes and he "may have a 50-50 chance in having the time of [his] life". As Danny leaves, Aiken admonishes Santiago.At Claiborne and Toulouse, Danny waits anxiously. He sees a bus pull up - Bus number 5050. Realizing that's what Miles meant, he gets on. To his bemusement, he finds Molly on board, shaken and scared. He sees she's wearing a bomb underneath her jacket. Sitting nearby is Miles, who tells them to sit. He goes over to Danny and pulls out the wire he's wearing. However, the Feds hear his voice and realize he's on the bus. Aiken orders a strike team to prepare an assault. In the bus, Miles handcuffs Danny to a bar. He shows Danny his PDA, on which he's pressing his thumb. If his thumb goes off the screen, 10 seconds later, a small charge sends a nail into Molly's heart, killing her, and 30 seconds later, the bomb explodes. He gives Danny an envelope, with a phone number on it, as the clue to the next round. Aiken orders a couple of snipers to take position on the overpass, under which the bus will go soon. One will shoot a hole in the window, while the other one will kill Miles. Aiken doesn't care who gets killed, as long as Miles is one of them. As they approach the overpass, Danny notices the snipers and pulls Miles and Molly down to the floor of the bus, just as they open fire. He gets grazed in the shoulder, as the snipers unload on the bus. The bus grinds to a halt and everyone runs outside. Miles ushers Molly out of the bus and blends with the others. Danny, handcuffed and wounded, is helpless to stop them. By the time, the Feds get to the bus, Miles is in the wind. When Danny is freed, he comes out and punches Aiken in the face. He tells them that if Miles had died, everyone on the bus would have been blown up. Hank shows up, while Danny gets his wound treated. Danny is upset that he was so close to Molly and couldn't help her. Hank consoles him, telling him that he has located the man who helped Miles - Anthony Deluso. He has his location and they will go find him. Danny tells him to be careful as he leaves.Round 8 - Santiago approaches Danny and offers his help. Danny calls the number on the envelope. Miles tells him that there are 5 numbers inside the envelope. Four of them are for cell phones wired to bombs in different city locations. Only one will disarm all 4 of them. If he dials wrong, the bomb attached to the receiving phone will explode. If he doesn't dial within 1 minute, all 4 will explode. Realizing that the numbers are codes, Danny and Santiago start inputting the numbers as text messages. With no time left, Danny dials one randomly. Miles answers and tells him he got it wrong.Round 9 - He tells them that Streetcar 907's brakes have been disabled and the radio is out. Danny's task is to stop the streetcar before it causes a lot of damage. Danny and Santiago drive off. Santiago tries to call the DoT about it, but is put on hold. Danny says that the best way to stop it would be to shut down its power.Meanwhile, Hank and his team prepare to raid Deluso's apartment. However Deluso gets wind of it and bails. Hank and another cop follow Deluso through the streets on foot.In Streetcar 907, the driver realizes the brakes are shot and the radio is out. He tries to stop the car but it won't. Danny swerves his car in front of the streetcar, trying to slow it down. He tries to climb on top of it and take out the power from the roof, but to no avail. He gets back in the car and drives towards a nearby power transformer. He and Santiago jump out just in time as the car slams into the power transformer, shutting off electricity for the whole neighborhood. The streetcar, now powerless, slows down, but not by much. Danny and Santiago run along it, clearing people out of the way, until it grinds to a halt.Round 10 & 11 - Miles calls Danny. Danny jokes that it's getting too easy. Miles tells Danny that Round 10 was him and Hank taking Deluso. So Round 11 is where he takes his best friend, Hank. Fearing the worst, Danny tries calling Hank, but it keeps going to voice-mail.In a welding factory, Hank walks carefully, gun at the ready, looking for Deluso. He finds himself at gunpoint. Deluso taunts him, telling him that Miles always plans for stuff like this. Suddenly, an anti-personnel mine activates. Hank taunts him back, saying that he doesn't feature in Miles' plans. The mine explodes, killing Hank and Deluso.Danny gets word from Aiken that the welding factory blew up and Hank was seen entering it. It's a good bet that he didn't make it. Danny is heartbroken. Aiken goes up to him and tells him that, some time ago, Miles stole 3 Stingers from the military. They were tracked to Pakistan, but Aiken lost Miles on the day of the deal. A few days later, one of the stolen Stingers shot down a plane over Islamabad. He shows Danny the yellow toy car he carries around with him. It was the only thing that was intact in the wreckage. He had forgotten that it isn't about Miles, but about the people he's hurt and those he's going to hurt. Aiken volunteers to help Danny find Molly.Round 12 - Miles calls Danny. He tells him that, in a few minutes, it will be exactly one year since Erica's death. All Danny has to do is find Molly. She has a bomb strapped to her chest and only Danny's fingerprint on the touchphone, wired to it, can disarm it. He tells Danny to pay a visit to Erica, so he can say he's sorry. He hangs up. They realize he means Erica's tombstone. Danny, Santiago and Aiken get into a car and start for the cemetery. Danny's phone rings. It's Chuck Jansen, another detective. He tells Danny that something was not making sense. All the numbers in the envelope were of cell phones rigged to the streetcar. Miles also had a camera in the elevator shaft, where Willie died. He had blown the bomb early. Danny realizes that Willie was meant to die. He asks Aiken what he's missing. Aiken realizes its about money. He tells Santiago to get all the info about Willie Dumaine. Santiago finds that Willie had a second job as a security guard. They think back to the hotel incident. The gas line had come loose, so they evacuated a few city blocks around it. One of those buildings was the Department of Engraving and Printing - the Mint.Meanwhile, Miles, dressed as a security guard, uses Willie's card to gain entrance to the Mint. He uses a false name to sign in. He follows another security guard as they're led to the safe. The money there is over one hundred million dollars. Having killed all the other guards, Miles dumps the money down into the sewer.Aiken tells Santiago to lock down the Mint, while he and Danny go after Molly. As they drive, Danny wonders how Miles will get the money out of the place. Aiken tells him only emergency vehicles can get through. Danny suddenly thinks back to when he hijacked the firetruck. He turns the car around and heads for the Mint.Miles emerges from the sewer, near the Hotel Monteleone, where the firetruck (which Danny hijacked) is parked. He uses the hose to siphon out the water and money into the truck.Danny tells Aiken that Molly's not at the cemetery. She's a nurse and Miles' ticket out. Aiken calls the hospital security.At the hospital, Miles uses an explosion as a diversion and heads into the hospital. Inside, he forces Molly to help him wheel the soaking wet money (inside a bodybag) up to the top of the hospital, to the helipad. He kills two hospital guards in the process. They head for the Medevac chopper. He tells her to take them up.Danny and Aiken race into the hospital. Molly tries to stall, giving them time to reach the chopper. Miles shoots at them, wounding Aiken. Danny leaps and grabs onto the chopper. He and Miles fight inside the chopper, with Molly using the chopper to help Danny out. However, the engine gets hit by gunfire and the chopper starts to lose control. Miles activates the touchphone-bomb. Danny, though wounded, punches Miles' lights out, before he and Molly jump out of the chopper into a terrace pool, just as time runs out. Miles gets blown to bits inside the helicopter. Aiken, happily, throws his yellow toy car away.Danny and Molly slowly and painfully trudge downstairs, while Danny starts to tell Molly about the house while credits roll~ | murder, violence, revenge, cult, action, suspenseful, sadist | train | imdb | Danny Fisher, played by WWE superstar John Cena, is a New Orleans detective faced with a problem: an old terrorist named Miles he arrested a year back has broken out of jail and has taken Fisher's girl.
'Die Hard 2' was a worthy entry in that series (though it may be the most forgettable), but hey, Harlin does pack the movie with enough action and thrills to make it at least somewhat entertaining.John Cena, as we know, is not an actor...I do not expect him to deliver award worthy work, therefore he does not disappoint.
it a shame for it has all the ingeedance of a box office hit, good action,good plot,fast pace and a no brainer.12 rounds moves at a hell of a pace which is great because if you think about it to long its just plain stupid.but it does, so you don't care well that is if you are a action junkie, and i guess you are or you would not be reading.its good to see renny back on the big screen doing what he does best blowing stuff up.he made the better pirate movie in my option.
As Cena blows up half the city in pursuit of his kidnapped girlfriend (and she's not somebody you'd bother getting out of bed to make a cup of tea for, let's be honest), there are the usual concessions to the PG-13 market and scenes oddly familiar from other movies (the bit where they transfer the action from SPEED onto a tram is particularly pathetic).
Renny Harlin has been relatively quiet these days, but I won't be shy in stating for a fact that I had enjoyed some of his action movies in the past, with the likes of Die Hard 2 (despite all the loopholes), Cliffhanger with Stallone, Driven (also starring Sly) and The Long Kiss Goodnight even.
Despite being better known for duds starting with Cutthroat Island, Mindhunters and even The Covenant which turned out to be a comedy, 12 Rounds turned out to be better than expected, also because John Cena looked the classic action hero that Hollywood so sorely misses.No, I'm not a WWE John Cena wrestling fan, because my interest in WWE was left back when it was known as WWF, and like The Rock (now wanting to be known simply as Dwayne Johnson), Cena follows in his footsteps in making that leap to the big screen.
While his first outing as The Marine was pretty much straight to DVD fare, this one was designed for the big screen with its big set action pieces befittingly challenging the big man, and having an old hand of action at the helm helped to bring out some enjoyable moments despite clichés abound.As the trailer would already have suggested, Danny Fisher (Cena) is a beat cop who gets in the way of a heist by international arms trader Miles Jackson (Aiden Gillen who was just a mile wide of being a memorable psychopathic villain), and in his pursuit causes the latter's main squeeze to die in a traffic accident.
Only that he harbours some diabolical plot to play with his prey, hence the kidnapping of Danny's girlfriend Molly (Ashley Scott) and the devising of 12 rounds of city-wide games with the overcoming of each round leading Danny closer to his girl.So begins a running around New Orleans to perform the usual one-man cop stunts that calls for everything from intellect to brute force.
I'll be anticipating more John Cena movies to come, and will probably go dig at his older film as well, but here's hoping that he doesn't go the way that most action stars do - easy come and easy go - that he gets some longevity at the box office, before being unceremoniously pushed aside (if it does happen, like Seagal's career) to the straight to video shelves..
Danny Fisher(John Cena) is a man who has the great life, he is police detective for New Orleans, he has a beautiful girlfriend named Molly(Ashley Scott) who is a nurse.
The first 15 minutes from 12 Rounds have enough material for a whole movie: during a complicated operating designed to capture a dangerous terrorist we have many shootouts, chases, destruction of private property and a few revelations which a more serious and disciplined movie would have left for the ending.But 12 Rounds is not one of those movies, because its intention is not leaving that things like logic, credibility or common sense to be obstacles on its mission to entertain us.The problem is that 12 Rounds does not fulfill with its intention of entertaining.It seems simultaneously unusual and obvious that a wrestling company accepted to resurrect the formula of some 80's action movies, with a stoic hero, unidimensional villains and over the top action sequences which should be exciting but result to be tedious and badly filmed.So, it is perfectly logical that the homework of making this movie fell on director Renny Harlin, who sent his career to hell after big pieces of crap he made in Hollywood, like Cutthroat Island, Deep Blue Sea and Driven.12 Rounds is another piece of junk in Harlin's career.Ex-wrestler John Cena is absolutely bland on the leading role; the screenplay is very weak, because it is only based on creating arbitrary action sequences joined by a bad premise; the villain lacks of any personality; and the supporting cast is absolutely anonymous.In summary, I did not feel any excitement, suspense or interest in the hero's mission, or in the survival of the damsel in danger, or in watching the villain receiving what he deserves.To worsen the things, at being PG-13, we do not have brutality or gore in 12 Rounds, but insipid violence.When the movie gets close to the ending and the villain says "we lead to the great ending", I felt myself really well, because it meant I was about to take the DVD out and go on with my life.In summary, 12 Rounds is a horrible action film, which is absolutely boring and without any energy, so do not watch it by any means..
I was pretty excited when I heard was this was going to be about, but unfortunately it is bogged down horribly by very poor acting, which leads to shallow characters and poorly delivered lines, which leads to the death of any tension that could possibly come from the movie's plot.Also, when Die Hard with a Vengeance did this, they had like three or four challenges that Bruce Willis had to do, and they were stretched out over a long period of time; generally exciting and fun to watch.
It would have been perfect as Die Hard 6.I will give this film 6 out of 10.Enjoyable and fun action.For more reviews, please like my Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ordinary-Person-Movie- Reviews/456572047728204?ref=hl.
But if you're just looking for a film for a lazy Saturday night, you could do worse.My Grade: C DVD Extras: Both Theatrical and unrated versions (unrated runs about 2 minutes longer); Commentary by director Renny Harlin (unrated version only); Second commentary by Writer Daniel Kunka & actor John Cena (unrated version only); a short featurette on the film's stunts; 2 alternative endings with optional commentary (they're both the same as the original ending but with one or two added lines); a gag reel; and trailers for Wolverine: Origins, The Marine 2, Prison Break Season 4, Burn Notice Season 2, Possession, Street Fighter: the Legend of Chun-Li, & The Betrayed.
Oh yes I did).And Ashley Scott is definitely no Sandra Bullock and furthermore Aidan Gillen no Dennis Hopper.That said, it's not terrible, SPEED (1994) to me is just one of the best blockbuster action movies of the 90's so the chance that it would match up to it would really be second to none.Anyway back to this movie, it's okay fairly mindless popcorn entertainment, Renny Harlin is good when it comes to action-sequences and yet again he delivers on those aspects.I'm usually not bothered to much over shaky cams but this movie contains a overabundance of that and occasionally you wish they would just use steady cam but what can you do?
This is an out and out action movie set around New Orleans and the fight between a cop and a psychotic arms dealer to save the cop's girlfriend.Taking his revenge the arms dealer executes a complicated 12 Rounds of challenges for the cop.What we end up with is a pretty exciting, if overall implausible, film.Plenty of good stunts, some nice cliffhangers, a few MacGuffins - everything that an action movie should have.Both the star, John Cena, and the cast deliver it all with straight faces and do a good job - it has some good ideas and good set pieces and if you like action movies then you'll definitely like this..
This is an absolute crap movie.The story line is terrific and it certainly had potential but unfortunately they hired the worst camera man they possibly could.The movie was filmed by someone with Tourette syndrome.What fool with a brain snap thought this was going to be a goer?I would be surprised if there is ANYONE who could watch this rubbish without feeling seasick.Don't get me wrong, there are some things about this flick that could be said to be okay, like the story line, but no matter how good that story line is, it pales into total insignificance when you try to watch it on the full screen.I have my own copy of this and I could only get half way through it and when I pull it out of machine, it goes straight into the garbage, where it belongs.A perfectly good movie, completely spoiled because they thought it would be real cool to record it on camcorder carried by a spastic..
The film stars John Cena as Detective Danny Fisher as he is caught in the middle of a dangerous game as Miles Jackson played by Aidan Gillen seeks to get even with Danny by kidnapping his Girlfriend Molly Porter played by Ashley Scott.12 Rounds is not a original story by any means nor does it feature an Oscar Award winning movie but it is still a surprise watch it just one of those films you should try to watch with a open mind and forget the fact it's a WWE Studios movie that stars John Cena.
So it does more than just features a pro wrestler in a leading role but don't let that stop you from watching this movie While it does fall sure of being that kind of movie you would want in the action genre and the film doesn't feature the best performances in the world nor a original plot it does have some good to it I give 12 Rounds an 7 out of 10.
Renny Harlin directed Die Hard 2 rather apt considering the plot for 12 Rounds borrows elements from its sequel Die Hard with a Vengeance.WWE wrestler John Cena plays a cop who arrested a wanted Irish terrorist and in doing so the bad guy's girlfriend gets run over by a vehicle.The said bad guy escapes prison and takes revenge on Cena by holding his girlfriend hostage and getting him to partake in various tasks if he wants to see her alive again.These 12 Rounds of tasks seem to make no sense at first.
In fact you wonder why the FBI officers pursuing the terrorist were not on his hit list considering they were more responsible for him being arrested in the first place.Eventually Cena realises that he did once watch Die Hard with a Vengeance and figures that the bad guy may have an ulterior motive in his mission and it may not be just revenge because the tasks Cena has performed had some after effects which left parts of the city vulnerable.Harlin is a frustrating director and has been in a downward spiral for some years.
It's along the lines of Die-hard or Speed, filled with stunts and chases as our cop hero (John Cena) is forced to complete a series of "tasks" in order to save his fiancée from being murdered by an escaped criminal looking for revenge.Some of the "tasks" are pretty good as Cena tries to stop a runaway streetcar, is dangled from a building, escapes a falling elevator and jumps from a helicopter into a pool.
He is relatable to the situation and he is dynamic with his performance, however, this film is the villain Miles Jackson (Aidan Gillen) he steals every scene he is in and he makes the viewer just hate this character and want Cena to prevail.
The ending, however, is trivial and the selection of actors was probably caused by low budget; Aidan Gillen as Miles Jackson is the only decent one, all others are rather uninviting, even the leading actors (John Cena looks like a buff).Thus, 12 Rounds is not among the best action movies, but definitely not among the worst; if you like chases, explosions and shootings and letting your mind rest, then you get a decent entertainment..
You will be sitting on the edge of your seats.Awesome movie, action packed with suspense Uniformed New Orleans PD officer Danny Fisher earns his promotion to detective to his near-rather lucky, albeit brave, arrest of ruthless terrorist arms-dealer Miles Jackson, whose girlfriend Erica Kessen got accidentally killed during the dirty FBI-operation.
This movie was no good at all.Professional WWE wrestler John Cena plays as detective Danny Fisher in Twelve Rounds.
When Fisher's ex-con Miles Jackson escape from prison and kidnaps his girlfriend, he is forced to complete "12 Rounds" of near-impossible tasks in order to save his loved one.To begin with, some stunts in the movie are interesting but most others were probably rehashed or borrowed from past action films.
Well; you take two parts poor director, one-part wrestler-turned-actor, a sprinkling of a ridiculous plot and a bake for one and a half hours with one incredibly dreadful script.The basic premise is that Danny Fisher (John Cena) is your normal-on-the-beat wrestler turned police officer who manages to apprehend one of the most dangerous international arms-dealers Miles Jackson (Aiden Gillen) by luck, however during the arrest Miles girlfriend walks in-front of a bus, or a truck, or something and gets splattered all over the road.
Watching 12 Rounds, one can't help but be reminded of other, better action flicks.Indeed, director Renny Harlin is probably best known as the man who made Die Hard 2, which has the unfortunate position of being sandwiched between John McTiernan's two masterful instalments in the franchise.
Turns out, that John Cena is a great action character, and I would not hesitate to watch his next movie (I missed "The Marine"- will have to check it out).
However a year later Miles Jackson manages to escape prison (with an unexplained Houdini act) and soon reappears to make Fisher's life a living hell...From here on in, if you've watched "Die Hard 3", the plot is pretty self-evident, as Jackson challenges Fisher to complete twelve rounds of tasks, or else his kidnapped beloved Molly Porter (Ashley Scott) will meet a tragic end.
this was a pretty solid action film,in my opinion.it won't win any awards for originality,but it had some exciting moments.it was fast paced,and never boring.the acting was good as well.John Cena makes a decent action hero also thought Ashley Scott was decent as Molly Porter,the love interest,though it seems many people disagree on that score.The action sequences were well done,i thought.Renny Harlin(Die Hard 2)directed the film.if you just want to shut your brain off and be entertained for a little over an hour and a half,this movie would work nicely.if you're for something to challenge you,this isn't the right movie.myself,i found it an entertaining diversion.for me,Twelve Rounds is a 6/10.
Plus Renny Harlin does know how to shoot action.Yes it is ridiculous, yes it might not make any sense at all, but if you are not thinking too much about those things, while watching the movie, you might actually enjoy it.
The story, it has to be said, will seem strangely familiar to anyone who has seen any of the later Die Hard films (3, I think), but let's face it - 12 Rounds isn't the first film to make use of another film's plot.Cena makes a decent enough action hero in the Arnie/Sly/Bruce mould, although his acting skills aren't great, and he looks a bit like Mark Wahlberg on steroids.
In good action films like Die Hard there's always some 'downtime' where we can take a breather, maybe learn about the characters, but in 12 rounds it just doesn't stop.
Taking place largely across New Orleans, involving ludicrous, highly elaborate actions sequences with cars, explosions, falling elevator shafts, trains and everything else you can pretty much think of being a centrepiece in your average action movie set piece, 12 Rounds is frantic, and sees its lead star WWE "never back down and fight the good fight" poster-boy John Cena go through a heck of a lot just to get his girlfriend back from a determined terrorist only out for himself.
Unremarkable Renny Harlin film stars John Cena as a cop who gets on the bad side of a terrorist by "killing" his girlfriend accidentally.
Please don't waste your time unless you are a die-hard John Cena fan.I was going to fall asleep by the end of the movie.
It was like watching a copy & paste movie from Speed, Die Hard & something else.What a waste of cast as they were all good actors/actress but the plot is predictable, trying so hard to be exciting but it isn't.
No actually, watch DDO all day and night.Cena just needs to stop making these stupid films as it makes John McClain (from Die Hard) and other legendary action stars look like a complete and utter joke.
Renny Harlin has made pretty bad films with the exception of Die Hard 2 and 12 rounds tops every single list that has the headline "worst movie ever made". |
tt0859163 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | In ancient China, Qin Shi Huang, a brutal and tyrannical warlord, unites the country's kingdoms into an empire and becomes The Dragon Emperor. He orders the construction of the Great Wall of China to bury and curse his dead enemies. The Emperor's mystics teach him supernatural mastery over the Five Elements. Years later, he begins to grow fearful that all he has accomplished will be lost upon his death. He hears of a sorceress, Zi Yuan, who is said to know the secret of immortality and sends his henchman, General Ming Guo, to bring her to the palace. When Ming finds her, they fall in love. After she seemingly casts a spell on the Emperor in Sanskrit, a language he does not understand, after discovering their love affair, and having feelings for her as well, has Ming executed and after she refuses his proposal, he stabs her. Revealing that she has foreseen these events, Zi Yuan immolates and detains the Emperor transforming his army into the Terracotta Army, and the sorceress flees.In 1946, archaeologist Alex O'Connell, Rick and Evelyn O'Connell's son, locates the Emperor's tomb with the financial backing of archaeology professor Roger Wilson. Three assistants are killed by booby traps and Alex is attacked by a mysterious woman, but succeeds in bringing the Emperor's coffin to Shanghai. Meanwhile, the British government entrusts the O'Connells to take the Eye of Shangri-La back to China. Wilson is actually a member of a rogue military faction led by General Yang and his deputy, Choi, who see the Emperor as the one who can restore order and greatness to China. The mysterious woman from the tomb, Lin, stabs the mummified body within the coffin and discovers it is a decoy. By accident, the magical fluid within the Eye lands on the statue of the carriage driver, revealing itself to be the Emperor's actual body. The Emperor is revived, trapped in his terracotta undead form. He accepts Yang and Choi's service but kills Wilson. Lin attempts to kill the Emperor with a magical dagger, the only weapon that can destroy him.Along with Evelyn's brother Jonathan Carnahan, who owns a Shanghai nightclub named Imhotep's, the O'Connells and Lin travel to a stupa in the Himalayas that will reveal the path to Shangri-La when the Eye is placed on top of it. With the help of Yetis summoned by Lin, the group hold off Yang's soldiers but the Emperor discovers Shangri-La's location. While attempting to trigger an avalanche with a thrown grenade attached to some dynamite, Alex fails to notice the Emperor throwing a dagger at his back. Rick shoves his son to safety and ends up with a mortal stab wound to the chest. Lin takes everyone to Shangri-La where the sorceress heals Rick's wound. The group discovers that Lin is Zi Yuan's 2000-year-old daughter, both rendered immortal due to the power of Shangri-La's waters. The magical dagger which Lin carries is the same dagger that the Emperor used in his attempt to kill Zi Yuan years earlier. Zi Yuan also reveals that she would have died if the Yetis had not saved her, and warns Alex that if the Emperor is allowed to drink from the Pool of Eternal Life, he will not only be able to raise his army, but be granted the power to transform into ancient and fearsome Chinese animal spirits. Alex and Lin have grown attached to each other, but Lin pushes the relationship away due to her immortality; after watching Zi Yuan mourn General Ming for centuries, she does not know if she can bear falling in love with Alex only to watch him grow old and die.The Emperor eventually arrives and attacks them in Shangri-La, taking the dagger and shattering his terracotta form before bathing in the mystical waters. It restores his human form and youth, replenishes his powers, and gives him the ability to shapeshift. He transforms into a gigantic three-headed dragon, kidnaps Lin, and flies to his tomb where he raises the Terracotta Army, now aided by General Yang's soldiers. The Emperor announces his plans to conquer the entire world and that once he leads his army across the Great Wall, they will be invincible. The O'Connells and Zi Yuan pursue the Emperor to the Great Wall where she sacrifices her and Lin's immortality to revive the workers killed and buried beneath The Great Wall, creating her own undead army, led by a vengeful, revived General Ming. The Army of the Dead, with aid from the group's modern weapons and air support, fights the Terracotta Army while Zi Yuan battles the Emperor; she is mortally wounded but succeeds in securing the dagger. Disguised as one of Yang's soldiers, Alex rescues Lin, who Yang had held prisoner, bound and gagged in a tent under armed guard.The group gather up again, finding a grieving Lin cradling the dying Zi Yuan in her arms. As this is going on, the Emperor transforms into a horned Ogre to get past Zi Yuan's army and goes beneath the Great Wall in order to use his elemental powers to negate Zi Yuan's spell and draw Ming's army back underneath it. Alex interrupts the Emperor, who transforms into an ogre and knocks Alex into a wall. Rick tries to stab the Emperor, getting thrown into a lit torch stand for his efforts. Meanwhile, Evelyn and Lin fight with Yang and Choi, eventually knocking the general onto some moving gears that crush both him and Choi. While Emperor is gaining the upper hand over Rick with his Wushu skills, Alex grabs the dagger's blade and slips into the nearby water. Rick takes the dagger's hilt and plunges it into the Emperor's chest while Alex stabs him with the blade's tip from behind, simultaneously piercing the Emperor's heart from both sides and releasing the dagger's curse. The Emperor is consumed from the inside and out by molten lava, resulting in the deaths of him and his army. Ming's army briefly celebrates before finally moving on to a peaceful afterlife.The O'Connells return to Shanghai, where Alex and Lin have fallen in love. Jonathan decides to move to Peru with the Eye of Shangri-La, which he has somehow managed to keep, as he wants to go somewhere with no mummies. In postscript, it is revealed that shortly after his arrival, mummies were discovered in Peru. | revenge, boring, violence | train | imdb | I was actually looking forward to seeing this movie, I got the opportunity to see it today, I was excited, but unfortunately, we now have Chinese mummies that can do anything that will fit into the CGI budget.
Another disappointment was the recasting of Evelyn, I know Rachel Weisz turned this script down, but she was seriously needed, Maria Bella, who is a decent actress, actually made Evie a very flat character and not as enjoyable.
Then not only that, but we have Brendan and Maria who do look incredibly good for their age, they have a 20 year old son in the movie?
Now the whole family with Jonathan and the protector who was supposed to keep the emperor from rising, must destroy the Emperor or he will take over the entire world.The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has some OK moments, I loved the beginning story and the ending battle scene is held pretty strong, it's worth the look for that, but I would say this is more of a rental.
I was very excited when I started seeing teasers for this sequel to be shown in July, mostly because it was quite unexpected.This movie has all the required elements of epic action, sense of humor and great special effects.
John Hannah is still around playing his brother-in-law, Jonathan, in his old annoying manner.For the new stuff, the setting shift to China as the titular "Mummy" now refers to an ancient Chinese emperor who desired immortality, played by Jet Li (who really personified his anti-hero role with relish here).
Furthermore, he also does not act like a son, but more like Brendan's younger brother.But the worst and damaging mistake was the decision to cast Maria Bello in the beloved role of Evelyn O'Connell, which is wholly owned by the more beautiful and credible Rachel Weisz.
He has no chemistry with Maria Bello, who was just awful (She's no Rachel Weisz, that's for damn sure.) and he has even less chemistry with his own son played by Luke Ford, who has the charisma and the charm of a brick, not to mention the fact that he looks just as old as both Fraser and Bello.
Jet Li lacks the menacing presence of Arnold Vosloo from the previous films but that problem is more than less on the shoulders of the director, who was in my opinion more concern with the style of the film than any substance it could have had and because of that, Jet Li and most of the cast got the short end of the stick and it shows.They should have ended it with the second film but instead, we have a movie that manages to make even "The Scorpion King" look as good as Iron Man..
Brendan Fraser (back as Rick O'Connell) his wife Maria Bello (yes they replaced her with someone with half as much talent) her brother John Hannah (what is he doing in this?)and their son Luke Ford (who has now aged by about 20 years) are somehow prancing around in their ordinary lives (in the Far East?) but suddenly the son awakens an evil Mummy Emperor (because hey thats what your bound to do in a movie like this) who wants to use his army of the undead to take over the world and get revenge on the sorceress who put him to sleep so many years ago.
This is probably one of the worst films I've seen in my life, and I don't tend to toss around accusations like that lightly, but this third installment of The Mummy series initiated back in 1999 deserves such dishonor, cause it's such a bad example of film making, it borders on offensive.I'm a guy with simple tastes, I'm not one of those people who think cinema begins and ends with Bergman and Goddard, I actually enjoyed the previous Mummy pictures, even the second one, which I know was cheesy as hell, but like film critic Michael Phillips said about cheesy movies, a movie sometimes is just "10.000 pounds of cheese on a cracker, but sometimes, I'm exactly in the mood for 10.000 pounds of cheese on a cracker." But The Mummy: Tomb of Dragon Emperor is, at best, feces on a cracker, the cracker being the amazing trailer of Quantum of Solace before the movie, probably the highlight of the experience.I won't go into any details regarding the plot, cause, well, the plot is pretty much explained fully on the trailer.
Luke Ford, playing Rick's son, not only looks like two minutes younger than him, but less charm than R2-D2, Michelle Yeoh is wasted, Jet Li doesn't have the Mummy gravitas that Arnold Voosloo had, and finally, Maria Bello; filling in for Rachel Weisz, who had the good common sense to stay away from this dregs, she is horrible, she looks so concern with her fake Posh accent, which she got wrong anyhow, so, at the end, we are left with nothing in the acting department.Rob Cohen, man, is he getting worse and worse, when you though Stealth was really the lowest a director could get, he managed to enlighten us with an even lower level of mediocre work.
If a director cannot make a sword fight between those two modern icons of martial arts films, he should really think about retiring for good.The story is stock, which is to be expected from a B movie of this sort, but like Raiders of the Lost Ark proved, even B movies can be Oscar Hopefuls, but there was no attempt at all with this one.
The pacing of the story is terrible, the special effects are sub par, and at the end, you are left with a 2 hour yawn fest, to which you would fall to sleep within minutes, if it weren't for the loud noises coming from the speakers.The movie is shameful, and not worth the price of the ticket, this movie is the reason why some theaters have money back policies, and had the theater I saw this had one, I would have asked not only for my money back, but for a year of free admissions, for having seen this awful mess..
I mean, Imhotep (in the first two films) did evil things, but he had this romantic tragedy thing going on because he was in love with Anck Su Namun, and you could see some reason for his actions and you could even maybe sympathize with him a little bit (particularly at the end of "The Mummy Returns" when he realized that Anck Su Namun didn't really love him -- at least, not like Evie loved Rick -- and it had all been for nothing).
Brendan Fraser, whose performances I really enjoyed in the first two movies (although a great actor he is not), seemed like he was tired of the whole thing -- monumentally bored and just milking the franchise for another paycheck (I know that's a horrible thing to say, but I can't imagine why else the egregious performance -- I mean, you can only blame so much of it on the rotten script).
But the viewer of "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" dislikes the good people in it, is indifferent to the others, and wishes they would all get drowned together.There was nothing even remotely funny about this movie -- the "jokes" (if you want to call them that) were either tired, stupid, or completely flat.
Jet-Li, Yeoh had good fight scenes.Cons: Forced dialogue, Maria Bello trying too hard, No chemistry between Fraser-Bello-Ford (the son).
Yes, there are several things we can quibble about (Brendan Fraser's son looking as old as he does, abominable snowmen from out of nowhere, and a very ho-hum love story) but this movie was not made for the Oscars, people.
Before you go and see a mummy movie that is an action/adventure, I do not think expecting a lot of great acting and academy-award winning chemistry is reasonable.
If you are looking for another action/adventure movie (cause you've seen a ton of them like me) or you like the Mummy movie series enough to want to see another, you probably won't be disappointed.
In the end it seems like they're could be a possibility for another mummy movie and I hope they're will be, because I know i will totally be seeing that!
She did okay, but the accent was kind of weird at times though.The action and special effects was probably the best thing in the movie.
Like a longer version of Jet Li fighting Michelle Yeoh and Brendan Fraser at the end of the movie.
I didn't have no major problem with the effects what so ever.The Mummy 3 was a fun movie to watch, but the film has it's flaws.
Its as if they had no idea what they wanted to do and improvised the story as the filming went (however, they were bad at it).I am a huge Mummy and Brendan Fraser fan.
There were amusing moments here and there, but mostly cheesy catchphrases that you would like if you were about thirteen years old.I have to commend Maria Bello for attempting to portray Evenlyn in a satisfactory manner, but she's no Rachel Weiss and that is painfully obvious in all her scenes, and she has little chemistry with Brendan Frasier.
Just that made it good.While most people don't like Maria Bello as Evelyn, I must say she is better than Rachel Weisz.
I have read that Maria Bello and Luke Ford have signed up for more fun-filled CGI Mummies however after this showing it will be direct to DVD.Rob Cohen had a hard act to follow taking over from an already popular franchise and he attempted to take it in a completely new direction, however he has failed.
Alex (Luke Ford) Is not too bad as he looks like his dad Rick (Brendan Fraser) But he hams it up and attempts to play the lead role and poorly attempts to replicate him.
Evelyn - now played by Mario Bello has not got the same chemistry with Rick (Fraser) They seem like complete strangers throughout and her tackey English accent seems to be enough for her to be the replacement for Rachel Weiz....
I like the two first Mummy-movies, as well as Brendan Fraser, John Hannah and Jet Li, but I can't say much good about this film.The idea involving the terracotta soldiers is very interesting, but sadly, it is poorly executed.
The movie introduces YET ANOTHER crazy pilot, as if two weren't enough, the characters of Evelyn and Alex O'Connell are horribly overacted by Maria Bello and Luke Ford, there is no chemistry between Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello what so ever and not even any kind of sibling chemistry between aforementioned Bello and John Hannah.
I wish that Rachel Weisz would have re-prised her role as Evy, but I understand why she didn't.Fraser, Hannah, Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li are good, but honestly, only Jet Li makes the movie worth watching.
I should start off by saying that I love the Mummy and the Mummy Returns, but having done some reading before I went in, my expectations weren't high.Many people have commented that one of the reasons it failed was because of Ms Weiz's absence, however my feeling is that it went much deeper than this.Every one of the actors in this movie seemed to struggle to deliver their lines convincingly.
Don't get me wrong, the Mummy movies are supposed to be "hammy" but this wasn't pork, this was swill!!Even John Hannah, who I have great respect for, just couldn't seem to pull off the character - it was almost like none of them WANTED to do this movie, and just went through the motions.The sad thing is that the story had potential, and the CGI wasn't bad at all.So to sum up, if this is the best we can expect from the sequels, then the Mummy needs to RIP!Jet Li - understand why you didn't say much!.
plot is also simple and absolutely predictable special effects are so many there is no time to realize what is happening and are just conveying the attention but not adding anything to the movie all in all very disappointing, plot writers should work more on a story intriguing more the spectators it is a movie seen time and again....the bad is predictable, the heroes are predictable, the lady protecting the tomb predictable, the evil characters predictable, end of movie predictable...
So when I went to see this I was expecting a new twist on the story due to the fact it took place in China and I was keen to see whether Maria Bello could do a performance worthy of the previous 2 films.
If they have another sequel, please let it be back in Egypt, let them bring back Arnold Vosloo and Rachel Weisz and let it be a fun action film, not like this rubbish.I give this film 2 stars for the only things I can think that are good.1) decent special effects 2) it ends.
Anyway, I felt the film would have benefited from a bit more of actual Jet Li and a bit less CGI effects of his character.Brendan Fraser and John Hannah reprise their respective roles pretty much on par with the previous movies, which is OK in my opinion.
While Alex was a smart, funny and most likable boy who grew up to be self-serving and just plain annoying.The only saving grace was Brendan Fraser, John Hannah, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, who made the most of a terrible script which should have been re-written with Rachel Weisz in mind.
Whether it was poorly directed or badly funded, it just failed from beginning to end, terrible acting, Maria Bello, who i usually like was terrible, portraying a posh English lady, there was no connection with Brendan Frasier and both looked uncomfortable throughout the film.
The women who played her part was quite simply useless....I hated her from the outset.Overall the film's acting is very poor...mainly because the other cast members are let down by the guy who plays Rik and Evlyns kid and the stupid women who took over Racheal Weiz role.Plus, Jonathon had almost not relevance to the plot...I got the impression his character was there for the sake of it.Absolute rubbish and a complete let down....don't waste your time..
Still, this "Mummy" tries very, very hard to do all, to be all, from an intergalactic-sized avalanche, to abominable snowmen flying through the air (if Yeti are always men, how does the species survive?), to one of the least convincing romances in movie history - between two ghastly young principal actors, Luke Ford and Isabella Leong.Their underachievement, along with embarrassing performances - in the leading roles, no less - by Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello is all the more significant in the starry presence of Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li. A mix, indeed, ugh.One must believe in mummies in order to source the current overwhelming curse on Hollywood, of countless comic-book, super-hero, special-effect permits to print money with movies devoid of (non-monetary) value.
They start off quite good but just get worse as the movie progresses.The best thing in this film is Jet Li, who you don't see enough of.This really was just milking the Mummy cash cow for all its worth, which is a shame because I was a fan of the first two.Die hard fans will probably go see this, but if you asked me I'd tell you to save your money and rent the DVD when it comes out instead..
Both sons have dropped out of college but carry on the swashbuckling of their dads.But the mummy boys just don't have the acting chops of the Jones boys, nor do they have a chance with a lame script that raises from the dead the clichés of serials from years ago and yesterday, or at least they sound like them (upon seeing an army of the undead--Rick O'Connell: "So these are the good undead guys, right?").Although the CGI is impressive, as in all these summer adventures, it's all too much too fast, the cutting so quick the images can't even be appreciated for their artistry.
There is far more chemistry between Bello and Ford in their scenes than the damp scenes in which she and Fraser are lumped together.Love interest, Isabella Leong was not cast for her superb acting skills, I think it's fair to say, but she's good in the action scenes and always very pretty to look at.
A lot of the family dynamic seen in the second Mummy is noticeably absent, and although I personally enjoy Maria Bello, she was no Rachel Weisz (which I feel hurt the film significantly).4.
Ignore the bashing,because you have to deal with Rachel fan boys(she refused the role,because she didn't like the script and Maria Bello who makes a great job sucks,because Rachel is perfect which is laughable)and first film purists which means the first movie is always the best and all the sequels suck.
Even Brendan Fraser who is "supposedly" a good actor ends up looking stupid and you can tell: he does not really like this movie.
Why they made this film I'll never know, it seemed like just another unnecessary movie which completed but also slightly tarnished the Mummy trilogy.
Maria Bello's performance in this is completely forgettable, and as much as I like her shes completely wrong for this role and you never buy that her n Brendan Fraser are deeply in love the way we did in the previous 2 with Rachel Weisz.
Perhaps if you haven't seen how good the first two mummies were than you'd like this movie, but i still doubt it... |
tt1425257 | Su Qi-er | Su Can (Vincent Zhao) is a general who leads a military force to save a prince from a large fortress of enemies in the mountains. In return, the prince promises that the Emperor will make him governor of Hu Bei. Su's step brother Yuan is envious of Su, but Su loves him and asks the prince to make Yuan governor instead. Su wants to leave the military and lead a life pursuing the perfection of Wu Shu, eventually in the hopes of starting his school and teaching his skills. Su gives his great prestigious sword to a comrade Ma, then tells Yuan of his plans. Yuan expresses that he is always in Su's shadow but accepts the governorship. Early next morning, Su leaves on a horse.Five years later, Su and his wife Ying (Zhou Xun) (Yuan's sister) have a child, Feng. Su's father informs them that Yuan is returning from the military to be a governor. He warns Su that Yuan may not have come back simply to reconcile with family but to seek revenge. This is because years ago, Su's father killed Yuan's father when the latter went too far in learning a evil martial arts technique called the Five Venom Fists. Su's father then took Yuan in, but he harbors concern that Yuan is still vengeful. Su is naive and assures his father that everything will be alright.When Yuan returns, a homecoming party is held. Yuan greets his sister Ying, Feng, and Su's father. Su's father knows what is impending and asks Yuan to take his revenge on him alone, sparing Su and his family. Using his mastery of the Five Venom Fists, Yuan kills Su's father and decapitates him. He expresses his desire to be with his sister (Ying) and her son Feng as a family. When Su hears the news of his father's murder, he rushes to the scene of his father's death and is attacked by the Iron Twins. He chases them to a rapid where Yuan is offering Su's father's head to his real father as a symbol of revenge taken. A battle ensues between Yuan and Su. Yuan has a dark armour sewn into his body, making him partially invulnerable to blades. Using his Five Venom Fists, Yuan deals a deadly poisonous blow to Su who is defeated. Feng begs for Su's life and Yuan spares him but throws him into the rapids. Ying jumps into the rapid to save Su and Yuan is heartbroken at the loss of his beloved sister. He takes Feng in as his only family.Ying awakes in forest area and tries to bring her husband to civilization and safety. They are found by a herb researcher and wine maker, Dr. Du (Michelle Yeoh), who treats Su's wounds. Su comes to consciousness but is broken to find his right arm severely weakened with all tendons torn. At first, he is desperate and turns to drinking, but with Ying's support, he focuses on training in order to save Feng. He meets Wu Shu God (Jay Chou) and an old sage and asks to be their disciple. At a sacred site, he trains with the Wu Shu God for years, always trying to defeat him but never able to. Later, by checking Su's pulse, Dr. Du reveals to Ying that Su is going mad and that there is probably no Wu Shu God or Old Sage since she is the only one living in the area. Ying follows Su into the forest one day and finds him fighting (seemingly) with himself, oblivious to the fact that he is only battling with the Wu Shu God in his mind. Ying pleads with Su to come to his senses but he does not believe her. By the time Su realizes the truth, it is too late. Ying has left to try and save Feng by herself.At Yuan's palace, Ying is now a captive of Yuan. Su arrives shortly after and fights his way through the guards. He also battles the Iron Twins and with his improved skills, impales both on a satay, a saber-like spear. Yuan orders his men to bury Ying alive in a box and then kills the men who buried her so that only he knows her location. A crazed Su battles with Yuan in his training chamber and ultimately defeats him, even gnashing though a poisonous snake in the process. Feng screams that Yuan must not die because only he knows Ying's location, but a maddened Su delivers a fatal blow to Yuan's throat, thus executing him in anger. Realizing the words of Feng, he rushes out and a dying soldier reveals the vague location of Ying. Su and Feng rush to search for her but manage to dig her out too late. Ying dies from lack of air.The era changes from the dynastic to the colonized. Su has lost his mind after the loss of his wife and the previous delusions he had. A homeless Feng leads his father through the streets by rope and takes care of him. A Kung Fu master is killed in a fighting arena - part of a foreign (caucasians) club - leaving Su's old friend, Ma, as leader of the Wu Shu Federation. The arena is a stage below which tigers lurk freely, waiting for any unfortunate fighter to drop below.In the meantime, Su goes into an inn and creates trouble by stealing wine and countering people bent on stopping him with martial art moves. He then meets a fellow drunkard (Wu Shu god, Jay Chou in disguise) who spars with him and gives him a few philosophical tips. The two of them start using Drunken Fighting (Zui Quan) techniques, and Su regains his sanity. The inn lady calls Ma to deal with Su and Ma recognizes Su. They have a talk and Ma gives Su back his sword. Su asks Ma to take care of Feng since he is unfit to be a father but Feng persists in the boy (Feng) staying with his father instead.The next day, Su and Feng show up to support Ma in his arena battle. Su goes about drinking in the club's bar area, oblivious to Ma receiving a serious beating in the ring. When Feng tries to save Ma from being killed, the opposing wrestler grabs Feng and holds him in the air. Feng screams for help from his father. His son's cries awake Su from his drunken state and Su rushes into the arena. As Ma and Feng are being taken out of the arena by bystanders, Su battles and defeats the wrestler. Anthony, owner of a wrestling stable, orders his lot to pour into the arena, resulting in a mismatch of three wrestlers to one (Su). Using the drunken martial arts technique learned from his fellow drunkard in the inn, Su's defeats the fighters although he is heavily injured. At the end of the battle, the other fighters are either dead or unconscious, and only after a vision of Ying and the dramatic cries of Feng in an otherwise silenced arena, does a semi-conscious Su manage to stand up. He is declared the winner.The film ends with a seemingly restored Su practising his moves of old but with long hair reminiscent of the insane period of his life, with Feng observing. Su has seemingly found his passion. | insanity, revenge, violence | train | imdb | This movie is a work of art in many ways.The Martial Arts displayed are really one of the best I have seen in a long time, yes it relies on flying and jumping everywhere, yet the fight scenes feels visceral enough not to feel to much like a dance.The actors are really awesome, and they managed to make one of the BEST antagonist of all times.Now let's get to the part that almost ruins it : The Pacing.The flow of the movie suffers greatly from a bad editing, and it is too bad because it had the potential to be a true masterpiece.This movie should have started backwards, beginning at the end, and having Su telling his story.Instead of that, the pacing can be hard to follow, and at the end I was left with a strange feeling of incompletion.Otherwise, the movie is still one of the best martial art movies of the past years, and if you are a Martial Arts fan do not miss it !.
I loved the whole concept of the film, it was booming with creativity and not to mention the fight sequences were bloody brilliant.The story line is actually very consuming once you become endeared by the characters, whom I might add are supremely crafted.
Crouching Tiger was followed by films like House of Flying Daggers and Hero, while those with bigger interests in the subject certainly sought out more films that most Americans might not know.True Legend seems to pick up on this.
That may be far reaching, but True Legend is certainly no traditional Martial Arts film.For Chinese MA fans, this is a mixed bag.
We're given a historical context for the film, and the story presents itself similarly to Fearless, another MA biopic, but the film isn't grounded in reality and some strange turns are taken, those most notable being main character Su's encounter with The Wushu God. It's a bizarre, CGI heavy intermission between the more grounded first and final acts.
This film reaffirms that, even after all these years, Ping can still produce something that is entertaining and exciting, that he is still a master of the MA sequence.Whether you enjoy this film or not will depend entirely on how much you can enjoy the fairly odd mix of styles along with the inclusion of a fifth act to end the film.
It does take a bit of a right turn with the final act, but it's none the less very entertaining, and includes a cameo (most likely our last glimpse) of David Carradine, who you might know worked with Ping on Kill Bill.
It's unique blend of quirky style, fantastic action, and masterful filming technique all make up one entertaining Chinese MA..
They are truly breathtaking: brilliantly composed and shot.Action from the beginning to the end in this modern fighting movie with some Asian tragedy.
TRUE LEGEND marks the first Chinese made film to take advantage of 3D technology as well as returning Yuen Woo-Ping to the director's chair for the first time in fourteen years.
Unfortunately it seems that the legendary action choreographer has failed to utilise the new technology with any sense of skill and has also lost his way somewhat in the plot department.The film follows Vincent Zhao as Beggar Su, a fabled folk hero in China and creator of the legendary Drunken Fist style.
It's an untidy mixture of Jet Li's Fearless with Jackie Chan's Drunken Master with an all too brief cameo by the late David Carradine.Ultimately TRUE LEGEND is a disorganised film that poorly uses every martial arts cliché in the book.
Five years later, Yuan has control of an army, and he is seeking vengeance....That is only the opening section of this film, directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, who is best known in the West for choreographing the fight scenes in "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." "True Legend" is full of fight scenes, some of the quite funny, some of them quite beautiful; and it is also full of cameos of kung fu superstars such as Gordon Liu, Michelle Yeoh and, in his last role, David Carradine.
I find that a little kung fu fighting goes a long way, but if you're going to see a kung fu film, you couldn't find better than this..
Yuen Woo-ping is a master of the ideal fight movie and it's awesome to have him directing again after 15 years!
There's copious amounts of fighting with distinctly different styles including MMA, knife combat and awesome aerial stunts, and the ever popular drunken boxing, an evil master, family betrayal and of course the classic David Carradine in one of his final roles.
While some may have issues with the "3 acts" or the CGI, I think that they all add to the master work of art that is True Legend..
Zhao lacks the on-screen charisma or likable good looks of Jet Li, but there is no doubting of his martial arts ability and his physical presence is comparable to Donnie Yen. Many would probably have forgotten that Zhao's career got off to a storming start by simply existing under the shadows of Jet Li in roles like Wong Fei Hung and the villain in Fong Sai Yuk, before embarking on the cult classic lead role in The Blade.
So instead of rambling on about past laurels, Zhao makes a stunning return and one might just assume, his career is on the rebound.The movie goes like this: Beggar So (Vincent Zhao) is army general, but gives up the position for family life.
So honestly, True Legend really isn't that bad and in fact, it is quite a decent film with some good parts in between.
Best kung fu fights saoline martial arts coming back again, did you remember the good old movies with saoline?
If you like kung fu , saoline , tons of good action not bs, fighting scenes that takes your breath and the amazing scenes that will blow your mind off with the five fists of the snake or the drunken master don't loosing your time and go watch this movie.Don't look for plot here there's no plot but only fists and action.Amazing action taking place that even bruce lee would love it.I gave it a 9/10 because i didn't liked the transition from weak one or hurt ed one to the powerful one from the wushu god thing .
In the rest i didn't found any weaknesses.Guys if you like Chinese martial arts movies this is a must this is real kung fu art!!!Don't MISS IT.
Had the priority (between story and fight-scenes) been shifted the other way around, I think this movie might have been top-league.When you've seen blood splatter out the mouth of some poor kungfu-blasted victim for the umpteenth time it gets to be a bit of a cliché.
The fight-scenes weren't badly done, there was just way too much of it.The movie feels a bit rushed, like there perhaps wasn't enough time to finish it properly.
(doesn't this ever get old in Asia?)The fighting scenes were really good, so as a kung-fu movie I have to rate it high.
The fight scenes were great, perhaps not as superb as fight scenes in Jet Li movies (like Fearless), but close enough.I feel the director sort of copied from older works like Forbidden Kingdom (drunken master but same director), The Drunken Master, Fearless (the whole tiger claw thing --> five venom finger fist).
I really don't know why they perpetuate this drunken master idea.I only wish they used the characters God of Wushu and Old Sage more in the film.
I don't like it when a hero is victorious alone, he should be victorious with team effort (which would be more realistic).Regardless, the fight scenes make up for the film.
This is one of those Kung-Fu movie where the plot isn't all that effective, but the fighting sequences makes up for it.
Despite the plot not being all that great and the pacing a bit off, the fight sequences are top notch in this and very entertaining to watch.
The graphical scenes are poorly done.Watch it if you have nothing else to do and you truly love the Chinese action movies, but set your expectation very very low, really low.Even rating 5 seems too high for me.
The movie is very picturesque and like many Chinese subject films, has great color.
Seriously, why not just make a sequel?So there I was, thinking that I'm watching the best kung fu film in recent years (Ip Man aside), when, instead of the film ending, a new story arc is tacked on, reducing our hero to a bum and worst father of the century!
Okay, I get it, he's Beggar Su and somebody felt the need to move on to the Drunken Fist style, but why ruin a perfectly good Shaw Brothers-type fare?Verdict: if you want action, this is where it's at...
I had been putting watching it off for some time now, but that turned out to be a mistake on my side.The story in "True Legend" is about Su Can (played by Wenzhuo Zhao) who serves as a general, but leaves his army life behind to open up a martial arts school.
Su Can and his wife Yuan Ying (played by Xun Zhou) end up at a secluded mountain, where they live with Dr. Yu (played by Michelle Yeoh) while Su Can is struggling to regain his fighting abilities and battle for his mind.
Tensions are high and the stakes even higher, as the two brothers end up face to face.Actually the story was rather interesting, although the movie had a tendency of lingering on certain parts a bit too much, where it ended up being somewhat of a drag to watch; especially on the mountain training scenes and the tavern epiphany scene.What really impressed me about this movie was the sword fighting scenes and the martial arts scenes.
Lots of nice details everywhere."True Legend" is a great epic movie that hold elements from movies such as "Hero", "Ong Bak" and the like.
It works very well when combined, and there is a lot of action from start to end.If you enjoy Asian movies, especially the epic ones with lots of sword fights and martial arts, then it is very likely that you will enjoy "True Legend" as much as I did..
True Legend is basically every martial arts film ever made, from Five Deadly Venoms to Drunken Master, all rolled up into a big budget, blockbuster kick-ass fest of fists and feet from beginning to end.
The plot is thin and video-gamish, but who cares, there is enough baby powder puffing from heads getting struck by body parts and bodies plunging into and shattering pots of wine and even some off the wall fighting style that looks like break-dancing to satisfy even the most hard-core kung fu fans.
This has been seen way too many time in martial art movies, on the top of my head are Fearless and Ip man (both are very good movies though).
I love Wuxia and Chinese martial art genre but this movie was very badly made.
Chinese martial arts films have no lack of material to adapt, with folk heroes and legendary characters making that leap from history to film, with the latest being Ip Man, and we all know how well that turned out for Donnie Yen. In fact, I'd like to think True Legend provided the perfect opportunity for Vincent Zhao to shine, especially since his Su Chan does battle using a vast array of weapons (some real, some CG-ed), and his Beggar Su, well, executing his famous technique.
To give him credit, Chou still has what it takes to deliver his martial arts moves quite convincingly, and that's basically all that he does, though bound to elicit a chuckle or two for his ridiculous get up.Something that is a little more strange, is how acclaimed director Feng Xiaogang got his name in the acting credits as a pickpocket, but a character which didn't appear in the movie proper at all, opting instead to have a scene being featured for a few seconds during the end credit role, which seemed more like a deleted scene meant for the DVD.
Only time will tell on this aspect, and made it seem that To Chi-long's screenplay contained dispensable elements, as do a few missteps that made its way on screen.It's been a long while since Yuen Woo Ping helmed a film as a director, and here he applied plenty of wire-fu liberally to craft a film that provided for some fantastical elements in its martial arts.
While the main hero wallows in self pity/misery after losing his beloved wife, I would like to think it brings some sense of realism into the movie as opposed to having it be any negative aspect.
For that alone, if you're wanting a good martial arts flick solely for the fight scenes and you don't really care about the in-betweens of them, then this movie will entertain you.If you chance upon the DVD, I would suggest checking out the special features section..
All in all, a great film, excellent music, and beautiful styles of fighting I have ever seen for some time.
It's not particularly over-the-top or flashy, but a more classic take on martial arts, and one of the best i've seen in a while.However, the whole of the movie has no idea what the hell it is doing.
And i'll admit that the plot actually had me interested, even though it was fairly corny; i was under the impression that it was kind of a feel good movie with lots of ass kicking.The problem arises with the ending of the second arc and the beginning of the third into the end.
In fact, excepting the very ending and the third arc, the fighting and the acting were good enough that i considered giving this movie an 8, because it was simply very solid for what it tried to be (until it started to be idiotic).
At the same time, however, you know that Su will eventually go to fight his brother to reclaim his son, so there's actually a bit of potential - the movie has definitive elements of the fantastical already, so i was willing to accept some sort of Wushu god plot line, or perhaps some sort of revelation/epic training thing - but no, apparently Su IS insane, yet apparently his drunken rolling has actually turned him into the master of kung-fu he was deluded about?
It would work if there was some sort of element of the God of Wushu being NOT a total delusion, but in fact he was, and we are even shown Su rolling around like a drunk - so it really makes no sense.And that is really the crux of the problem with the movie - again, it has no idea what it wants to be.
The biggest difference Asian Cinema has when it does a Martial Arts movie is that the storyline is usually based on some kind of fact or myth, which is what makes 'True Legend' well worthy of a watch for anyone who is into Asian Cinema.
I really liked the epic feel of this film as well as the different slant it takes towards the end when David Carradine and company come into the story.
The director, Yuen Woo Ping, didn't copy off of the very movies he choreographed or directed himself, such as Forbidden Kingdom and Drunken Master.
Its a real martial art form and Beggar Su as a character in films, originally played by Yuen Siu Tien (aka Yuen Woo Pings father) is based on a real person who was one of the Ten Tigers of Canton in the late Ching Dynasty.
Yuen Woo Ping does an excellent job returning to the directors chair, after 14 years of mainly just choreographing fight scenes and producing films (a la The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Unleashed and so on).
Vincent also does a decent job of acting, although most people may go into this film expecting good martial arts more than acting.
The 1st part is rather good, it reminded me of the 70-80s style martial art movies.
As a martial arts movie it is OK, I guess, but the story requires massive improvement.
This movie could have been good but it didn't seem to be able to make up it't mind what it wanted to be.It started off OK and the MArtial arts were pretty good in places.
He gets caught up in a fight against westerners led by David Carradine (why?) The end part where he lays on the floor while his son screams get up daddy goes on almost as long as the rest of the movie.In my opinion one of the worst films of this genre I have ever seen..
There are a number of things to admire in TRUE LEGEND: the grafting of scales onto his body as body armor by the white-faced evil son-in-law; the incestuous love he feels for his sister (which lends his character a bit more depth than the average martial arts movie villain); the cinematography, which is gorgeous.
There are some great things about this film, and some things that definitely detract from what is otherwise a really good action flick for those who enjoy the genre."True Legend" takes one good story, and then decides that one story is not enough.
This movie started off with one of the coolest raid scenes of all time; ninja like Chinese soldiers assaulting a mountain base and saving the prince from execution.
I was looking to see some great Chinese Wushu commando action, and it was not pursued at all to my disappointment.There was lots of CGI but there was no believability in the aging of the characters.
Overall the movie was like the writer had great ideas for scenes, without a cohesive central story. |
tt0157358 | Barood | A eight-year-old boy is witness to his father, a reputed police officer, being murdered in broad daylight by four notorious smugglers on Juhu beach, Bombay, India,.Fourteen years later, the boy is now a champion motor cyclist and a breeder of Labradors. He, with the assistance of his pet Labrador Django, seeks revenge. In true Hollywood style, he beings to track down and eliminate the gang of smugglers. His endeavor leads to various places like Vegas, Madrid, Paris, Barcelona, and the coastal areas of Spain. A retired police detective is asked by another member of the gang who was not involved in the killings to investigate the series of murders. Along with him is the Mafia boss who heads the gang. The twosome are hell bent in their mission to stop him hammer the last nail in the coffin by killing the Mafia Boss, who incidentally is now a reputed vineyard owner cum wine manufacturer operating out of Madrid. The mafia boss incidentally has a lovely daughter who strips in true Core-de-Azur fashion to the delight of the Indian viewers. Little wonder that the hero falls for her.and all hells break loose. The climax is predictable, in the tradition of Indian mainstream masala hindi cinema. | revenge, murder | train | imdb | good movie. i got to see this movie yesterday on TV. very good movie indeed. i think it was very much ahead of its times. surprisingly,when most of the filmmakers were making movies in the jungles it was shot at a lavish scale in new york,las vegas, barcelona, madrid, Paris, Switzerland etc. but the film lacked good acting. rishi kapoor was just OK. shoma anand did not know how to act that time. reena roy was good but her role was very short. the story had many loopholes. like how did rishi kapoor's character earn so much money so that he can travel round the globe & how could he go scot free after killing various persons in the main cities of the world? was the police of these cities sleeping the whole time ? |
tt0780536 | In Bruges | The movie, a very dark comedy, begins in Bruges (a beautiful medieval city in Belgium) with two Irish hitmen, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are standing in a city square checking out the scenery. Instantly we see that Ken is enchanted with Bruges while Ray loathes the place. It is revealed that due to what happened in London they have no choice but to follow orders, stay in Bruges, lay low and wait for further instructions from Harry (Ralph Fiennes). Ray asks Ken how long he thinks they will have to stay in Bruges; Ken responds that he doesn't know, maybe two weeks. Again, we see that Ray is not happy about spending two weeks, let alone two hours, in Bruges. To add insult to injury it is Christmas and there is only one available room in the city (although at least it has two twin beds). During one of the first scenes in the hotel room Ken alludes to the incident in London indicating that they wouldn't be in Bruges if not for what happened, driving Ray to abruptly cut Ken off and retreat to the bathroom where he cries, distressed over whatever it was that occurred.Later Ray makes comments about Harry sending them to, say...the Bahamas...instead of this "bleeping" city of Bruges. Ken advises Ray to make the best of it, for starters why don't they climb up the tower in the square and take a look at the view. Ray snidely says, "no, he can see the 'bleeping' view just 'bleeping' fine from where he 'bleeping' is. Rays takes a seat (rather frustratedly) on a park bench and Ken goes off to climb the tower. The cost of going up the tower is 5 Euros for which Ken has change but is one coin short. Ken asks the cashier/guard to give him a break but the guy impatiently points out to Ken the sign that clearly states 5 Euros. Ken isn't pleased at having to break a large bill or the cashier's refusal to cut him some slack but he pulls out a 50 Euro note and gives it to the cashier anyway putting the 4.90 in change back in his pocket (important later). Ken walks up the very narrow, winding stairs to the top of the tower and looks out over Bruges enjoying every second. He looks down on the square and sees Ray sitting on the park bench with his arms crossed over his chest. At that point a hint to the nature of Ray and Ken's line of work is alluded to when Ken makes a gun of his fingers and "shoots" Ray.The scene changes to Ray down in the square who is approached by a family of three very large Americans who virtually stand on top of Ray without a clue as to who Ray is and begin to ask him if he has been to the top of tower. Again, Ray snidely responds that no he bleeping has not. The Americans are shocked and ask him why he doesn't want to go? Ray says he just doesn't want to and they shouldn't either (clearly because of their size though Ray doesn't come out and say it - yet). This back and forth exchange goes on with the Americans clearly wondering if Ray is saying what they think he's saying until Ray blurts out that they shouldn't go up because they're a bunch of bleeping elephants. The father explodes and haplessly tries to chase Ray, with Ray simply running in small circles dodging the American who can barely catch his breath after five seconds. The father gives up, the mother and daughter call Ray nasty names and they head off to go up the tower, meeting an oblivious Ken coming out the door who innocently advises the large family to watch out for the narrow stairs only to be called a bleeping a-hole by the daughter. Ray shrugs to a stunned Ken as if he has no idea why the Americans are so upset.That evening Ray and Ken happen upon a movie being filmed on the city streets. Much to Ray's utter amusement the movie includes a dwarf to which Ray exclaims "Holy shit, they're filming a movie about bleeping midgets!" While watching the filming of the movie, Ray catches sight of Chloe (Clemence Poesy) and is in awe of her and also mistakenly believes her to be a celebrity when in fact it turns out she is far from it. Rays stays to watch the filming and Ken goes back to the hotel room to see if Harry called. Ray sneaks on to the movie set and gets a cup of coffee from the food area behind Chloe who is helping herself as well. They have a little flirtatious exchange including discussion about midgets whom Chloe explains prefer to be called dwarves. Ray and the dwarf, Jimmy, are introduced and Ray's amazement at Jimmy is obvious and totally irreverent. Chloe and Ray continue to talk resulting in Ray asking Chloe out for dinner the next night. Chloe walks away, dropping a calling card over her head much to Ray's delight.The scene moves to Ken back at the hotel picking up a handwritten message from Harry, which the pregnant hotel proprietress has left for them. Harry is extremely ticked off that Ray and Ken were not in when he called and the "f" word is used liberally. The proprietress took the note verbatim and left nothing out. Ken is a bit embarrassed by the whole thing and goes to bed. Ray comes home and makes little effort to be quiet and not awaken Ken. He clearly wants to tell Ken all about his night and his planned date with Chloe the next evening and Ken clearly wants to go back to sleep. Ken tells Ray that Harry called and he will call again the next evening. Ray suggests it isn't necessary for both of them to be there and considering he already has a date would Ken wait by the phone and let Ray go out with Chloe. Ken agrees as long as in exchange they go sightseeing during the day. We see that though of different personalities Ken is fond of Ray in a de facto father-son way but won't come out and show it (and vice versa).The next day Ken and Ray are touring an old church. Ken is giving Ray the history of the church including the fact that some part of the church behind the alter is so old it may have been touched by God and touching it would be like touching God himself. Ken clearly wants Ray to appreciate the significance of this but Ray doesn't get it or doesn't want to and passes on the opportunity to (in Ken's eyes) begin to redeem himself for what happened in London and walks out of church instead leaving Ken behind. Ray walks out and sits on a bench. Across the street, he sees Jimmy walking and waves to him enthusiastically. Jimmy doesn't acknowledge him leaving Ray annoyed.The scene then flashes back to the incident in London. Ray is sitting in a confessional admitting to a priest (an uncredited Ciaran Hinds) that he is a hit man and he kills only for money. Not for revenge or out of anger, just for money. The priest who is quite dismayed by this confession asks Ray who he killed and Ray replies, "You" and shoots him. The priest stumbles out of the confessional and manages to make his way to the doorway into the church itself where Ray shoots several more bullets into his back. Before falling dead to the floor, the priest faintly says "a little boy". Ray looks past the dead priest on the floor and to his horror sees and young boy, perhaps 4 or 5 years old still kneeling in prayer with a clean but blood-filled bullet hole through his otherwise pristine forehead. One of the bullets went through the priest and struck the child. The little boy then crumples to the floor, dead, with a note in his hand indicating he was praying to God to do better in Math and other simple, childhood concerns. Ray goes to the boy but it is too late and the scene ends with Ken rushing to Ray and dragging him out of the church. This is the incident that drove Harry to send Ken and Ray to Bruges to lay low and what is - despite all of Ray's bluster and bravado - killing him inside. Ray is tormented with grief and guilt over accidentally killing the child.The next night Ray and Chloe are sitting at a table in a restaurant where Chloe is smoking her cigarette much to the dismay of a nearby couple who don't appreciate smoke in their face. In an unexpected and oddly honest exchange Ray reveals he shoots people for a living and Chloe reveals she deals drugs to movie sets and neither seems the least bit concerned about the other's career choice. Ray also reveals his inability to be tactful by first shamelessly insulting Bruges (Chloe's hometown) and then going out of his way to think of a crass joke about Belgium and child molesters. Instead of being repulsed by Ray's sensitivity Chloe shows she can give as good she gets. Chloe goes to use the bathroom and the annoyed man at the next table mutters how un-bleeping "unbelievable" it (she) is. Ray hears the guy's comment and tries to ignore it but can't and asks the guy what the hell he meant to which the guy rudely tells Ray he doesn't appreciate Ray's girlfriend blowing her cigarette smoke in his and his girlfriend's faces to which Ray points out that they are sitting in the smoking section to which the guy says he doesn't bleeping care and the conversation turns into a bit of a political tit-for-tat with Ray assuming the guy is an American and therefore arrogant and imperialistic and mentions something about Vietnam which confounds the other guy and the whole thing ends up with Ray just flat-out punching the guy, then the guy's girlfriend entering into the fray and Ray punching her in the face as well. At this time Chloe comes back to the table, surveys the scene and they both promptly leave. Ray thinks Chloe hates him when in fact she seems intrigued by him and gives him a big kiss. She then goes to make a call (important later).Back at her apartment, Ray and Chloe are very close to having sex when Chloe's boyfriend/co-conspirator (Erik) appears behind Ray with a gun to his head. Ray realizes he has been scammed, Chloe admits she and Erik have a habit of robbing tourists, Ray is pissed off because it's been months since he's had sex (he doesn't seem too concerned about the gun aimed at him) meanwhile Chloe yells at Erik asking him why he came. Obviously the phone call she made was telling him not to come as she didn't want to rob Ray. In fact it seems she really does like him. Meanwhile Erik still has the gun in his hand which Ray deftly takes with a very quick maneuver involving a head butt only to find out - when a now irate Erik brandishes a very large knife - it is loaded with blanks. Ray shoots the gun at Erik's eye at very close range and whatever makes up a blank sears Erik's eye causing him terrible pain. Erik is being very un-gunman-like, holding his hand to eye and whining pathetically. Chloe takes Erik to the hospital but on her way out tells Ray to call her.In the meantime, Ken is at the hotel when Harry calls. Not wanting to tell Harry that Ray is on a date, Ken pretends Ray is on the toilet thinking this will suffice. But no, Harry wants to know if Ray is taking a poo or just a wee. Harry then asks if Ken and Ray love Bruges as much as Harry does (from a long-ago visit). Ken is befuddled but goes along with it culminating in Harry asking Ken to get rid of Ray for half an hour so they can talk in private still unaware that Ray is already out. Ken goes through a silly charade of pretending to get rid of Ray then there is much talk about how magical and fairy-tale like Bruges is. Harry asks Ken if Ray likes Bruges as much as they do and Ken begins to tell Harry that Ray isn't as charmed with the place much to Harry's disapproval. Ken recovers quickly and makes up a story about Ray walking through the city in the fog and saying something like "it's like living a dream" which pleases Harry very much because Harry just wants Ray to experience something beautiful because he "was" a good kid. The use of the past-tense alerts Ken to Harry's plan. We see Ken's concern that he just gave Harry the green-light he wanted to eliminate Ray. Harry makes it clear that Ken must kill Ray because Ray killed the boy, accidentally or not. Ken does not want to do this, knowing full well how stricken Ray is and feeling like Ray can redeem himself. Harry informs Ken that since they were sent to Bruges without weapons, arrangements have been made for a gun to be picked up at a contact's house in Bruges and the job must be completed ASAP.Ken is conflicted with his orders, leaves the apartment and goes to a bar where he drinks 4 presumably Belgian beers in 20 minutes. Ken spies Jimmy at the other end of the bar sitting with a prostitute. In talking to Jimmy Ken learns he is American. Jimmy asks that Ken not hold it against him, Ken says he won't as long as Jimmy doesn't say anything too loud or crass. Ray then enters the same bar and upon seeing Jimmy promptly confronts him asking why he didn't wave back to him earlier. Jimmy apologizes saying he was high on horse tranquilizers (given to him by Chloe) and he didn't know what he was doing or who or where he was. Jimmy, Ray, Ken and now two prostitutes end up in Jimmy's hotel room doing drugs and making use of the prostitutes when Jimmy begins a political discussion about the inevitable race war the world is heading towards between the blacks and whites. Drunk and high, Jimmy is getting belligerent and preachy claiming the Pakistanis, the Vietnamese and basically anyone who isn't white will side with the blacks. Ray seems more amused with the prospect of a midget versus midget war while Ken is seriously annoyed because he was married to a black woman whom he loved more than anything and she was killed by a white man. He asks Jimmy given that info whose side will he be on in this supposed war. Jimmy retreats and says Ken will have to make that decision on his own. Ken is revealed to be a sensitive man capable of great love while also being a hit man. The night ends with Ken and Ray leaving abruptly and returning to their hotel.The next day Ken goes to the contact's house to the gun to kill Ray. The contact is an oddball eccentric who advises Ken if he were to murder someone he would do it in one of the alcoves in the park because they are isolated this time of year. The contact seems focused on these alcoves and an irritated Ken takes the gun and leaves. He goes back to the apartment where the proprietress greets him in the lobby remarking on what an odd person Ray is. While Ken was gone Ray had given her what appeared to be his last 200 Euros and left to go to the park. Ken goes upstairs and sees a suicide note from Ray saying he went to the park so she (the proprietress) wouldn't have to clean up the mess. (Ray has Erik's gun and bullets he stole from Chloe's apartment.) Ken rushes to the park and sees Ray sitting on a bench by a playground. Ken reluctantly readies his gun and walks up behind Ray aiming to shoot him when Ray puts his own gun to his own head. Realizing Ray is about to kill himself, Ken rushes forward and stops him just in time. A surprised Ray turns around, sees Ken's gun and realizes Ken was just about to kill him. Each one wonders aloud what the other was about to do and it's obvious to both that Ken doesn't want to kill Ray or see him kill himself. Ray breaks down, Ken tells Ray to get on a train, leave Bruges and start over that Ray is no use to anybody dead. Ken explains what Harry is up to including the fact that he sent them to Bruges because he wanted Ray to have a vacation in a nice place before he died. This is quite comic considering how passionately Ray hates the place and the look on his face says it all. Ken tells Ray he can't bring back the little boy but maybe he can save another. Ray knows that Ken is risking his own life by not killing him. Ken hands Ray the 200 Euros he'd given the proprietress and puts him on a train but not before taking Erik's gun from Ray first, fearing that Ray will just try to kill himself again.The train pulls out; Ken has made his decision and goes back to the hotel to tell Harry who is not pleased. Ken tells Harry to meet him in the square when he gets to Bruges knowing that Harry will come for him. Meanwhile on the train, Ray is at least getting the hell out of Bruges when a steward approaches Ray and accuses Ray of "heeting the Canadian". Ray has no idea what this guy is talking about when the anti-smoker from the restaurant appears and fingers Ray as the guy who attacked him. Apparently the anti-smoker was not an American but just a jerk Canadian. Ray is taken off the train and to jail... back in Bruges. Chloe bails Ray out and they wander over to the city center where they have a beer, Ray is unaware that Harry has now arrived from London and headed for the same square to meet Ken. First Harry goes to the gun contact's house where the guy goes on about the alcoves again to Harry and lo and behold the contact happens to be the uncle of Erik who is also there licking his wounds. We learn Erik was permanently blinded by the blank and wants Ray dead. Harry engages in an exchange where he puts the blame for the blindness squarely on Erik's own shoulders because he got shot by a blank from his own gun that he used in a half-assed robbery in which he held the gun to another man's head. To Harry, Erik got what he deserved and Erik is left speechless and red-faced. Back to Ray and Chloe who are drinking a beer at an outside cafe when Jimmy appears and invites them to watch the movie being filmed elsewhere. They decline but not before getting in one last laugh at the midget dressed in a school boy's uniform with a little cap on his head.Harry has now caught up with Ken at the square and knowing that Harry will kill him, Ken asks that they at least go to the tower to get it over with. On their way they walk right past a kissing Chloe and Ray and no one sees the other. Harry and Ken approach the guard/cashier (the same guy from the beginning) who says the tower is closed because some American had a heart attack while climbing the steps the day before. Harry asks the guy to do him this one favor and the guard pulls the same shtick and pointing his finger squarely in the middle of (and on!) Harry's forehead taps out that "the tower is closed! Got it?! Ken knows this will not go over well with Harry and walks onward while in the shadows we see Harry beat the crap out of the guard. Harry and Ken then ascend the tower and upon reaching the top they each marvel at the beautiful view. To Harry's surprise, Ken gives up his gun, he says he will not fight. He says he has too much respect for Harry and owes him too much to fight anymore. He goes on about this until we think Harry is just going to shoot him when then Harry throws up his arms saying now he can't shoot Ken after the nice things he just said. Frustrated, Harry tries to explain to Ken why it is Ray has to be killed. Harry thinks Ray should have killed himself the minute he realized he'd killed the boy, that's what Harry would have done (important). Ken defends Ray saying he can be redeemed and what does it matter it's done, Ray's gone and no one knows where he's going. At this point Harry shoots Ken in the thigh (not a mortal wound) saying he couldn't just let Ken get away with letting Ray go. Everything seems to be resolved, Harry is carefully helping Ken down all of the stairs one narrow step at a time when Erik sees Chloe and Ray and they ask him to join them, but he walks away.Knowing Harry is with Ken at the tower Erik meets them on the stairs and tells them that Ray is back in Bruges and he is right outside. Everything changes, both Ken and Harry go for their guns (Ken to shoot Harry to keep him from killing Ray and Harry to shoot Ken) and in the struggle that follows Harry shoots Ken through the neck but it doesn't kill him though there is a lot (a lot!) of blood. Harry runs down the stairs which apparently there are many of because in the time it takes for Harry to get halfway down a badly wounded Ken has dragged himself back up to the top of the tower leaving globby streams of blood in his wake. Ken reaches the top of the tower to try to warn Ray but the fog has moved in and he can't see anything. Ken then reaches into his breast pocket and puts away his gun, reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out the change and begins to drop the coins one by one from the tower which draws the attention of the people in the square below, including Ray and Chloe. Everyone looks up at the tower in time to see Ken launch himself off and onto the pavement below. Ken hits the ground with a sickening crush. Having seen the whole thing Ray runs over realizing at the last moment that it is Ken on the ground and he is barely alive. Ken tells Ray that Harry is in Bruges and to take Ken's gun from his pocket. A very upset Ray doesn't know what to do but he pulls the gun from underneath Ken only to find it too is broken in pieces from the impact. Frantic, Ray tries to get Ken to tell him where Erik's gun is but Ken tells Ray he's going to die now and does. Just then Harry runs out of the tower stairs and sees a dead Ken on the ground and a distraught Ray standing over him. Rays makes a run for it back to the hotel where he thinks Ken hid the gun. Harry gives chase shooting at him despite the presence of other people.Back at the hotel Ray has just enough time to get the hotel room key from the proprietress and scream at her to get away somewhere safe for her and her unborn baby's sake. Ray runs up to the room, finds the gun then hears an altercation downstairs which is the proprietress blocking Harry's way with her pregnant belly and a stunned Harry looking at this woman in total shock. The woman says it is her hotel and she will not leave to which Harry has no response and Ray hearing all of this is furious. He calls down the steps to Harry saying they have to take their gunfight somewhere else where the proprietress will be unharmed. Not sure how to do that they clumsily devise a plan to move the fight elsewhere with their guns still trained on each other and a stupefied proprietress questioning their sanity and intelligence. The plan is since the hotel sits alongside a canal, on the count of three Ray will run back into his room, jump out the window and Harry can run outside to the bridge and try to catch him in the canal. Plan made, they both just stand there, each waiting for the other to start counting with the proprietress looking on in disbelief. Harry tells Ray to count to three. Ray counts, Harry runs out the door in time to see Ray leap from his window into the canal and onto a passing boat. Ray thinking he's far enough away from Harry not to be hit is surprised when Harry shoots him from the bridge square in the stomach.At the first dock, Ray gets off the boat and continues to try to get away albeit badly hurt and again Harry gives chase. They end up at the location where Jimmy's movie is filming which is a very surreal scene with bizarre costumes and circusque people lingering around. Jimmy sees Ray and realizing something isn't right walks over to him at the same time Harry approaches Ray from behind and shoots him several times in the back just as Ray had shot the priest. We hear Ray faintly say "a little boy" before he falls over and crawls agonizingly over to the dead and horrifically disfigured body of Jimmy who was hit by one of the bullets in the forehead. Still wearing the little boy costume and unrecognizable facially, Harry sees what he thinks to be a child and saying "you have to stick to your principals" puts the gun in his mouth and kills himself.The final scene is of Chloe screaming over Ray, as he's loaded onto a gurney and into an ambulance and his voice over talking about Heaven and Hell and Purgatory and no matter what he just doesn't want to die in Bruges. | comedy, fantasy, gothic, murder, dark, suspenseful, dramatic, suicidal, cult, violence, atmospheric, flashback, psychedelic, humor, satire, romantic, revenge, entertaining | train | imdb | For those who might not know the name, director Martin McDonagh is an Irish playwright who won the Oscar last year for his short film "Six Shooter" about a chance encounter on a train, and that film's star Brendan Gleeson has returned as Ken, one of two hit men sent to the medieval city of Bruges in Belgium along with his partner Ray (Colin Farrell) to rest and lay low after a hit gone horribly wrong.
From there things continue to go south as Ray and Ken get into all sorts of messes and meet strange characters, all of whom will play a part in the larger picture.There aren't too many non-Belgian films set in Belgium, and Bruges is a beautiful but odd place to set an entire movie.
Those who don't recognize the voice will be thrilled when they learn who plays Harry, because it's a pleasant surprise.This is easily Colin Farrell's best role and performance in a long time, one that allows him to show a lot of range, not just as the big-mouthed prat we assume Ray to be, but also as a thoughtful man distraught about what happened in London.
Having seen the error of his ways, he feels the need to make right, even if he hides it with a lot of complaining and arguments, and that carries over to Gleason's Ken, continuing his great run with McDonagh.McDonagh has created a clever script that interweaves its small cast of characters into an intricate crime caper that mixes humor, violence and true heartfelt human emotions into a brilliant debut feature.
The ending might be somewhat grim for some tastes going by the lightness of what's gone before, but the way everything is tied together makes it all worth it.Anyone worried that Tarantino and Ritchie's best work might be behind them, can revel in the promise of McDonagh's take on the crime-comedy genre, as this talented filmmaker shows that "Six Shooter" was no fluke and this movie begins what's likely to be a long and promising film career.
Two Irish hit men (Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell) are sent into hiding by their British boss (Ralph Fiennes) in Bruges, Belgium after a botched job only to learn that the most damning job awaits one of them just around the corner.
Director and screenwriter Martin McDonagh bleeds the setting and the material for all its worth and makes his feature film debut in superb style.The dark comedy built around the existential quandaries of hit men has been done to death over the years.
The supporting cast is to die for, with Jordan Prentice spot-on as a coked-up dwarf actor shooting an abhorrent art film on the streets of Bruges, and Clemence Poesy coyly seductive and unforgettable as Farrell's unlikely local love interest.Ultimately "In Bruges" meanders down too many cobblestone paths, and one scene near the end involving a bell tower stretches credibility but adds necessary dramatic effect.
The forced waiting, a symbolic purgatory in both assassins' struggle for absolution, gives Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell a chance to act through some marvelous comic dialogue.The film itself looks like it was filmed in an area of the old city of Bruges that is no more than a 500 square metre radius.
Colin Farrell has the capacity to reach these heights as well, and in fact, in this film, shows many of the mannerisms and intensity of Russell Crowe (whom I consider to be the best actor on the planet).I appreciated the comedy and satire working hand in hand with the moral complexity of the characters' inner struggles.
It was funny in the right places and appropriately dramatic when the story shifted into high gear towards the end.Set in, no surprise here, Bruges, Belgium, the plot focuses on two London hit men, Ray played by Colin Farrell, and Ken, played by Brendan Gleeson.
And therein lies the humor, Ray has no interest in being in the medieval city, and Ken wants to sight see.I've never really liked Colin Farrell but who knew he had such a good sense of comedic timing?
Brendan Gleeson's character provides the moral center and plays the straight man to Farrell's Ray. This works well as the movie turns more serious towards the end.
Fiennes creates a character with a dubious moral center and is a quite believable figure of menace when he travels to Bruges to square off with Ken. Also, of note, is Jordan Prentice, an irritable dwarf who's in town to act in a movie filming there.
Small characters like Eric Godon's alcove loving gun dealer, Jordan Prentice as a horse-tranquilizer taking midget actor (he played Howard the Duck, that is awesome), and Clémence Poésy as the love interest and enigma Cholë all are fun and never quite feel just thrown in as jokes, but instead integral parts to the story.
The supporting work is fine from Jordan Prentice as the dwarf actor (sadly Mr. Prentice is most famous for playing Howard the Duck) and a very cute Clemence Poesy as Farrell's odd love interest.Very few writers can write dialogue like this and even fewer can juggle as many layers without making a film seem busy, crowded or forced.
Well, to be honest I wasn't sure what to expect from this film, nor am I fan of Colin Farrell, in fact I really didn't like him at all previously....but now I have a new found respect for him and with Gleason and Fienes both in excellent form coupled with a very quick and witty script and some surprisingly violent scenes, this film really has something for everyone (except the young kids).I go to see 2 or 3 movies every week and this is just about the best one I've seen since Last King of Scotland and The Departed came out a couple of years back.10/10.
No wonder writer/director Martin McDonagh's screenplay went on to be nominated for an Oscar, and co-star Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical!
The filmmakers even spoof the "adult language" in one of the DVD's bonus features, a montage of every time the word "F***" is used in IB.Gleeson and Farrell make a great seriocomic team as Ken and Ray, two Irish hit men who have suspenseful and surreal adventures hiding out in Belgium in the magnificent city of Bruges after their latest job goes horribly, heartbreakingly wrong.
Though that might put some people off it adds to the hilarity of the situation, the contrast between this beautiful and melancholic music and scenery and the dialog that goes on between the two main characters.There is, of course, a great deal of violence, but that is to be expected of a movie about hit men.
THe fact that everything took place in Bruges makes it all the more funny, especially with all the jokes that are made about both the town and Belgium in general.There is much more that I can say but I think that the film should speak for itself, go watch it.
Within the film and its mood though, it didn't fit however and juxtaposes too much in terms of tone.However, the performances are very good, excellent in the case of Gleeson (as always) and Fiennes having tons of fun as his sinister character.
Bruges not just looks wonderful, it also is treated like a character of its own quite rightly.Similarly successful is the script, which is surprisingly intelligent with a strong balance with thought-provoking philosophical musings, very funny black comedy and character moral complexity (not making the characters likeable but it was clear early on that the intent was for them never to be so) .
Wished it had just gone a bit further.In Bruges is a dark comedy set in the beautiful medieval town of Bruges, Belgium, featuring an Irish duo of hit men who have been ordered by their boss to hide out there after a high-profile job in London went sour.
This is one of those awesome films that a viewer will either love or hate...there is no in-between.If you love it, you must have a twisted, wicked sense of humor, an open mind enough to truly appreciate well-written, intelligent dialogue and an imagination that will go along w/a plot that LOOKS like it is two jig-saw puzzles mixed together...until it all comes together brilliantly in the last 30 minutes.
Add in a performance from Colin Farrell that is SO different from the arrogant A-type character he usually plays...his "dumb" character is actually funny in this one.At the industry screening here in LA several "older types" walked out early...maybe because of the liberal use of the F-word...but the majority stayed to debate the ending and "why" it had to end the way it did.For those who hated it: you're too stupid to understand an intelligent, thought-provoking film when you see one..
He is completely disinterested in sightseeing in the beautiful medieval city (it's in Belgium) where he and and his laid-back accomplice, Ken (the ever professional Brendan Gleeson) have been sent with instructions to lay low until they get their next word from their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes playing a character whose job and demeanor seem very similar to those of Ben Kingsley in "Sexy Beast." That said, Fiennes, makes this role his own with his passion and intelligence).Director Martin McDonagh, as mentioned, has a flare for capturing the ultimately sad human essence of hit men.
It's rare to find a film that can go from hilarious comedy to dark violence and genuine emotion without compromising either the humour or the drama but this one does it time and again.The cast are excellent, Gleeson is good as the sensible adult figure while Farrell is brilliant as the comic and immature lead.
The supporting cast are all good, everyone is believable.The humour is often very politically incorrect but never in a nasty way, the dialogue is superb and there are some great set pieces and unexpected comic twists to catch you by surprise and make you laugh out loud.The dramatic side handles a very dark and emotional subject very deftly with believable switches from humour to sadness and the leads really earn there money by pulling those switches off seamlessly.There is a lot of action and violence especially towards the end and this throws in ideas that I had never seen used before.If you liked the film "Intermission" you'll definitely like this, but this has more and better jokes and the plot is far more interesting.I've rarely left a cinema feeling I got as much value for my money as I did with this film..
It charts a handful of days in the lives of two hired killers, after a job in London goes wrong, and they are sent to "cool off and lay low" in a rather unexpected place: Brujes, Belgium.The reason they are sent there becomes apparent once we have already been drawn well into the plot, and have developed empathy for the main characters, which makes everything that happens to them in the final act all the more resonant.Without spoiling it, as I believe this film is one of the least predictable ones I have seen in years, the reason they are sent to this little-known place (in Cinema, at least) partly involves the fact that "Brujes is like a fairy tale city".Since I dearly treasure the feeling of going to the cinema and being pleasantly surprised throughout the length of a film, both by its quality acting and original plot, I shall simply tell you that I was amused and laughed throughout, I felt pity, I felt pain, I felt hope.
There are several very interesting characters floating around Bruges with Ray & Ken many of whom have good lines and memorable presence in the film: Tourists, drug dealers, a dwarf and a ticket seller, all with their part to play and who play it well.
Dark comedies are hard to master, and this is certainly the most worthwhile I have seen since Lethal Weapon creator Shane Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; especially with far lesser attempts such as War Inc. fouling up the pond.Bruges, the capital of West Flanders in Belgium (pronounced 'Broo-jiz') serves as the quirky setting for second time director Martin McDonagh, and the cinematography and art direction immerses the viewer into this abstract setting.
This beguiling fable follows two hit men, the distraught and emotionally fragile Ray (Colin Farrell) and the gentle fatherly Ken (Brendan Gleeson) sent by their irritable and emotionally erratic employer Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to Bruges to fulfill a hit.
These circumstances sway the line between a dreamworld and the bleak reality of the duos proffesions, but never to the extent where the film could be considered a physiological bind-bender by any means.Colin Farrell has always been a solid actor, but needs to rethink his agent, as his roles carry from routine action flicks which leave him emotionally grounded, to art house flops that become far to precious and quirky for their own good.
While they await further instructions, the two talk over things, travel round the city, get involved with some of the cast and crew making a film and generally fail to stay out of trouble or maintain a low profile.In Bruges was sold as a hilarious comedy and this in combination with the names involved made me want to check it out.
The darker it gets the less it works and the ending is not as strong as the first half of the film but mostly the darkly comic and brutal material does work thanks to the really good playing from the three main actors, while Bruges itself provides a picturesque background.
Ray (Colin Farrell) & Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are two Irish hit men who are sent to lie low in the beautiful city of Bruges by their gangster boss Harry Waters (Ralph Fiennes).
Oh, and since Gleeson and Farrell are Irish, and Irish people are inherently cuter and more interesting than anyone else on the planet (this movie thinks) their banal, F-work larded comments are all the more valuable.And, of course, every twenty minutes or so the screen is spattered with blood as another character dies.You get the idea.Here's the thing the director and script writer, the inherently cute and smart (because Irish) Martin McDonagh, doesn't know anything at all about crime or hit men or how bodies react to bullets.
McDonagh doesn't even know the make of the guns he shows on screen.But McDonagh knows that he'd never be able to sell a movie about two Irish accountants, say, or two Irish sanitation workers, or two Irish school teachers, strolling around a poorly lit (because this is a low budget movie) Bruges trading banal observations about how effing wonderful effing beer effing is, so he makes his characters hit men, and, voila, suddenly everything they say is ultra fascinating, or funny, or profound, in a way that it would not be had they been common working slobs.This could be called the Big-Mac-in-France trick.
There is also drug-taking as in Tarantino's movie, but this film is non-league compared to Pulp Fiction's Premiership status.As in Pulp Fiction, the hit-men work for a scary Mr. Big character, here played by Ralph Fiennes (in one of his worst performances) instead of Ving Rhames.
I have no problem touching on taboos for humour but it should be funny, and some of the lines were just plain offensive with no real comedic value.The only good thing about this was Bruges.Martin McDonagh fails in this movie.
Colin Farrell plays a character similar to his recent turn in CASSANDRA'S DREAM, except that he shows his range by assuming an Irish accent, and Brendan Gleeson adds some weight -- no pun intended -- and kills any comedy by his serious and excellent acting.
You might come out of it wanting to go home and have a bit of a cry about how nothing really made you feel like justice had been done, or your brain had been pleasured.For a start, you'd better be prepared to hear one of the two main protagonists, Ray (Colin Farrell), whinge and whine about how he just HATES Bruges, every 5 minutes or so in the movie.
I'd like to see a dozen more this year.Though the plot is simple, Bruges,Ken--Brendan Gleeson, and Ray-- Colin Farrell's profane, crass Irish assassins are as funny as it gets.
The two main characters (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) turn in compelling performances that convince the viewer that this not a movie, but a documentary of a real event.Overall, I highly recommend it for anybody who enjoys thought provoking cinema, and doesn't mind if it's a bit on the dark side..
The acting is absolutely brilliant (kudos to Colin Farrell, most likely his best performance ever), the script well written and overall it is just what a movie should be, a balanced combination of humor, action and drama!
Being Farrel and Gleeson two irish hit mens working in London, and after a job went bad and told to hide in Bruges.
In Bruges starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes is a well played dark comedy for those who relish the poetic use of obscenities.
The visuals are nicely shot catching the quaintness of little Brugge in all it's diminutive Glory.The acting is also spot on with the main leads providing excellent portrayal of their characters; Fiennes is brilliant, Gleeson is noble and Farrel is frankly hilarious in what is the best part I've seen him play.This film comes highly recommended, so much so that I had to spit out 10 lines of a review on here for the first time.
The Irish hit-men Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and Ray (Colin Farrell) are sent by the Londoner mobster Harry Waters (Ralph Fiennes) to Bruges, a medieval Belgium city, in Christmas after an awry job in London.
So about the script.Movie is about two professional killers Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and Ray (Colin Farrell) who come in Bruges on some sort of vacation. |
tt0167247 | The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock | One night, Littlefoot's grandfather tells the children a legend about "The Lone Dinosaur", a legendary Longneck who protected the Great Valley from the most ferocious Sharptooth to ever live. During the fight, the Sharptooth was killed and the Lone Dinosaur suffered a scar across his right eye. Soon after the battle, a huge monolith resembling a sauropod with life-sized Sharptooth teeth arranged around his neck came out of the ground during an earthshake. The dinosaurs called it "Saurus Rock". The legend also states that if anyone damages the monolith, bad luck would descend upon the Valley.
The next day, while the children are playing, Littlefoot accidentally falls off a cliff and is saved by a mysterious Diplodocus named Doc. Littlefoot is intrigued by Doc, who is scarred across one eye and displays prior knowledge of the Great Valley's topography. This causes him to assume Doc is the Lone Dinosaur. He tells his friends this, narrating an apparently extemporaneous legend to support his assumption. Inspired, Cera's infant nieces, twins Dinah and Dana, go to Saurus Rock unnoticed. The next day, a worried Cera informs Littlefoot that Dinah and Dana are missing, and the group deduces where they are headed.
When Littlefoot and his friends finally reach Saurus Rock, they see Dinah and Dana on the top. As they climb up to rescue them, Dinah and Dana fall off the top and land on Cera, and a bolt of lightning strikes the life-sized stone tooth she is standing on, causing it to to break off. As they walk home, an Allosaurus chases them. The children cross a gorge via a suspended log, and the Sharptooth follows them, but the log breaks under its weight and it falls to its apparent death. When they get home, they are confronted by Cera's father, who scolds Cera for her disobedience and for losing the twins. He tells her that he is very angry and disappointed and says she still needs to be watched herself.
Over the next few days, incidents of bad luck plague the Valley. After a tornado hits the Valley, the adults blame Doc, as the misfortunes apparently occurred after his arrival, while Littlefoot blames himself and his friends, recalling the breaking of Saurus Rock. Eager to exonerate Doc, Littlefoot attempts to take one of the Sharptooth's teeth to replace the broken stone. In the process, he discovers the Sharptooth is still alive. During the chase, Littlefoot is attacked by another Sharptooth, and Grandpa and Doc intervene, having been led there by Littlefoot's friends. The two Longnecks work together to pull down a category of rocks and crush the carnivores to death. After the Sharpteeth are down by the rocks (where the two longnecks imprisoned them in), one of the teeth from the Allosaurus falls out and lands on the ground. Then the children use the tooth (from the Allosaurus) for Saurus Rock.
Doc departs, remarking that Littlefoot already has a hero on whom to depend on, referring to Grandpa. Littlefoot asks Grandpa if the bad luck will finally be over. They both lament that while there is no such thing as bad luck, there is also no harm in making sure. Littlefoot and Cera later build a legend of their own based on this new paradigm, portraying Grandpa as a savior. | psychedelic | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0056193 | Lolita | Set in the 1950s, the film begins in medias res near the end of the story, with a confrontation between two men: one of them, Clare Quilty, drunk and incoherent, plays Chopin's Polonaise in A major, Op. 40, No. 1 on the piano before being shot from behind a portrait painting of a young woman. The shooter is Humbert Humbert, a 40-something British professor of French literature.
The film then flashes back to events four years earlier. Humbert arrives in Ramsdale, New Hampshire, intending to spend the summer before his professorship begins at Beardsley College, Ohio. He searches for a room to rent, and Charlotte Haze, a cloying, sexually frustrated widow, invites him to stay at her house. He declines until seeing her daughter, Dolores, affectionately called "Lolita". Lolita is a soda-pop drinking, gum-snapping, overtly flirtatious teenager, with whom Humbert becomes infatuated.
To be close to Lolita, Humbert accepts Charlotte's offer and becomes a lodger in the Haze household. But Charlotte wants all of "Hum's" time for herself and soon announces she will be sending Lolita to an all-girl sleepaway camp for the summer. After the Hazes depart for camp, the maid gives Humbert a letter from Charlotte, confessing her love for him and demanding he vacate at once unless he feels the same way. The letter says that if Humbert is still in the house when she returns, Charlotte will know her love is requited, and he must marry her. Though he roars with laughter while reading the sadly heartfelt yet characteristically overblown letter, Humbert marries Charlotte.
Things turn sour for the couple in the absence of the nymphet: glum Humbert becomes more withdrawn, and brassy Charlotte more whiny. Charlotte discovers Humbert's diary entries detailing his passion for Lolita and characterizing her as "the Haze woman, the cow, the obnoxious mama, the brainless baba". She has an hysterical outburst, runs outside, and is hit by a car, dying on impact.
Humbert drives to Camp Climax to pick up Lolita, who doesn't yet know her mother is dead. They stay the night in a hotel that is handling an overflow influx of police officers attending a convention. One of the guests, a pushy, abrasive stranger, insinuates himself upon Humbert and keeps steering the conversation to his "beautiful little daughter," who is asleep upstairs. The stranger implies that he too is a policeman and repeats, too often, that he thinks Humbert is "normal." Humbert escapes the man's advances, and, the next morning, Humbert and Lolita enter into a sexual relationship. The two commence an odyssey across the United States, traveling from hotel to motel. In public, they act as father and daughter. After several days, Humbert tells Lolita that her mother is not sick in a hospital, as he had previously told her, but dead. Grief-stricken, she stays with Humbert.
In the fall, Humbert reports to his position at Beardsley College, and enrolls Lolita in high school there. Before long, people begin to wonder about the relationship between father and his over-protected daughter. Humbert worries about her involvement with the school play and with male classmates. One night he returns home to find Dr. Zempf, a pushy, abrasive stranger, sitting in his darkened living room. Zempf, speaking with a thick German accent, claims to be from Lolita's school and wants to discuss her knowledge of "the facts of life." He convinces Humbert to allow Lolita to participate in the school play, for which she had been selected to play the leading role.
While attending a performance of the play, Humbert learns that Lolita has been lying about how she was spending her Saturday afternoons when she claimed to be at piano practice. They get into a row and Humbert decides to leave Beardsley College and take Lolita on the road again. Lolita objects at first but then suddenly changes her mind and seems very enthusiastic. Once on the road, Humbert soon realizes they are being followed by a mysterious car that never drops away but never quite catches up. When Lolita becomes sick, he takes her to the hospital. However, when he returns to pick her up, she is gone. The nurse there tells him she left with another man claiming to be her uncle and Humbert, devastated, is left without a single clue as to her disappearance or whereabouts.
Some years later, Humbert receives a letter from Mrs. Richard T. Schiller, Lolita's married name. She writes that she is now married to a man named Dick, and that she is pregnant and in desperate need of money. Humbert travels to their home and finds that she is now a roundly expectant woman in glasses leading a pleasant, humdrum life. Humbert demands that she tell him who kidnapped her three years earlier. She tells him it was Clare Quilty, the man that was following them, who is a famous playwright and with whom her mother had a fling in Ramsdale days. She states Quilty is also the one who disguised himself as Dr. Zempf, the pushy stranger who kept crossing their path. Lolita herself carried on an affair with him and left with him when he promised her glamour. However, he then demanded she join his depraved lifestyle, including acting in his "art" films, which she vehemently refused.
Humbert begs Lolita to leave her husband and come away with him, but she declines. Humbert gives Lolita $13,000, explaining it as her money from the sale of her mother's house, and leaves to shoot Quilty in his mansion, where the film began. The epilogue explains that Humbert died of coronary thrombosis awaiting trial for Quilty's murder. | comedy, murder, dramatic, cult, flashback, satire, romantic | train | wikipedia | Yet Kubrick captures the effect of it in camera angles and movements, in timing and point of view.The broadest layer of Nabokov's novel, the parable of the aging culture of Europe trying to revivify itself by debauching the seductive young culture of America, is really missing in the film.
All in all, I thought it was a very good movie, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the work of Stanley Kubrick and/or Peter Sellers..
Lolita is also rich in Kubrik's trademark dark humour.The three central characters of the novel are all portrayed more than adequately in the film; James Mason as the smitten professor, Shelley Winters as the suburban widow with pretensions of culture and Sue Lyons as the young nymphet.
The said scene gives the film the same "circular structure" used by David Lean in "Brief Encounter".My favourite moments include; Quilty's re-introduction to the film at the school's summer ball as the camera pans across the dancefloor and subtly reveals a look of comic ambivalence on his face as he dances with his lover, Humbert awkwardly trying to book the only remaining hotel-room at the police convention and Humbert again trying to teach the cynical Lolita the joys of Edgar Allen Poe's poetry.I thoroughly recommend this film.
As Lolita, Sue Lyon is convincing although Kubrick makes her character a bit older (probably to satisfy the censors, which still slapped this with an X rating originally, much to my surprise).
There's this boppy little pop tune we never hear the end of - although most of the time we only hear it subliminally - for the first half of the movie, and it sounds like exactly the kind of tune that drove Humbert up the wall.Kubrick's cast is a strong one.
My sin, my soul.' Although i haven't seen the film in a long time, I think Jeremy Irons from the 1997 version is a much better actor for the role.Sue Lyon made a great Lolita, although she did tremble on the line between looking young enough for the role and looking too old for it.
Although Nabokov similarly leaves this to the reader's imagination, I thought a little more could have been done to stress the nature of Humbert and Lolita's relationship.Shelley Winters was brilliant, and her acting added so much to the character of Charlotte Haze.
I'm looking forward to seeing the 1997 version of the film again (I saw it once years ago!), as I think it is a movie that will benefit much more having been made in a time of a more permissive society, allowing more creative freedom in what can be shown..
An excellent film that has Kubrik's name stamped all over it.We see how the skillful Director is able to translate and adapt the book to reach a bigger audience and become a timeless Classic.Rather than worry about truly reflecting the book on the silver screen, Kubrik changes and experiments with the screenplay to obtain a refreshing, intellectual and fun version of the boring Nabokov's novel.The Master of Directors shows also great skill in his precise direction of the well selected star cast.Who would challenge that Sellers is precisely the hyperactive, witty character who could undoubtedly seduct a young teen.
Could there be a better fit to Lolita's mother than Shelley Winters, who conveys so well the impression of being the desperate, lonely widow?Even James Mason IS the perfect sexually repressed, intellectual pervert, who tries to hide so well his persistent, hypocritical thoughts and desires behind that mask of academic honorability.In conclusion, this is not a replacement for the book.
Sue Lyon played the coy Lolita so well, but when you read her biography and see that she had a series of short, failed marriages after this film was made, you have to wonder if her performance was so good because she was playing a character not far from herself.
At least Lolita's character doesn't.Humbert was a handsome man, a gentleman of Old Good Times in the book.
Where some critics have said Sellers' Quilty is over-used, I would say quite the opposite; he could have been used even more, although the irregularity and unpredictability of his appearances is tangibly effective.Mason is dependable as Humbert, and this mere "dependability" proves perhaps insufficient in a film dominated by one of the finest performances.
It misses, or rather skirts around, the point of "Lolita" somewhat.For all the film's faults, it's an entertaining, provocative (more in the sense of Humbert's guilt than in his desires) drama with an irreverent, thoughtful edge provided by the frighteningly good Sellers.
This was supposed to be so sexual and so controversial, and I can see why the "controversy" with an older man getting sexually attracted and involved with a teenager but there is very sexuality in this movie....just implied, and very little of anything happens in this film.Sue Lyon, in her first shot, is very alluring lying on her side in a bikini but after that she has the appearance of any other good-looking teen and nothing extraordinary....so if men are looking to be titillated by this film, go elsewhere.In fact, an annoying and shrill Shelly Winters is seen quite a bit, too much so rather than Lyon.
From what I've heard the original novel is much better and a lot are omitted here which makes this looks like more sided with the character of Humbert but the way I see it Kubrick have made the audience uneasy and to an extent made them despise themselves for sympathising with these characters by the end of the film.
In fact, if one hadn't possessed any knowledge of the novel before seeing this film, there's a possibility that they wouldn't even obtain the notion that "Professor Humbert" feels deep affection for Lolita, romantically.
You're adapting a book, which means that you should follow the original material, and usually, most people overwhelmingly groan about a film's lack of loyalty to its source, but here- because Kubrick is such a god and he never makes any mistakes- everyone is suddenly praising a work that suffers from a great deal of disloyalty.
Marred by censorship limitations of its time, provocative in both tone n content & marking Stanley Kubrick's first attempt at black comedy, Lolita is an intimately crafted, ingeniously narrated & wonderfully acted satire on lust, obsession & frustration that is now counted amongst the finest & most controversial examples of its genre.Based on Vladimir Nabokov's novel of the same name, Lolita tells the story of a middle-aged college professor who travels to a small American town for a teaching position & while looking for a place to rent, decides to become a lodger at a cloying widow's house once he meets her 14-year old daughter & becomes instantly infatuated with the nymphet.Brilliantly directed by Stanley Kubrick, Lolita opens & ends with the same sequence thus bringing the story full circle & while that method takes away the conclusion, it keeps the mystery alive for the rest of its runtime.
Script edits out many of the novel's eroticism but then it also makes the characters all the more interesting by presenting a deeper look at their complexities.Coming to the technical aspects, Cinematography makes excellent use of greyscale photography, editing steadily paces its narrative, humour is exquisitely timed & music gives it a light-hearted touch & the performance by its cast is no slouch for James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon shine in their given roles while Peter Sellers steals every scene he is in with effortless finesse.On an overall scale, Lolita is another designated masterpiece from the legendary filmmaker who made an entire career out of delivering one influential film after another without ever repeating himself.
To hold such a view however does not make you an abuser, a point lost on some of his critics.Both Nabokov's book and Kubrick's film have a view of the relationship between American and European culture rather like that of Henry James America is young, juvenile in fact, optimistic, uncomplicated and naïve.
Her problem here is that she is so physically mature that the idea of her going to bed with Humbert is not particularly disturbing, apart from the fact that he is/was her stepfather.Kubrick, by 1961 self-exiled from the US, shot most of the film in England and this rather compromises the road movie element (the Haze house and garden, ostensibly in New Hampshire, looks to be just down the road from Elstree studios).
His character, Hubert Humbert is a sexual predator in the original novel, but both James Mason and Stanley Kubrick re-imagines the character as somewhat likable fellow who "just loved Lolita".
And Sue Lyon scores well as the beautiful, but extremely shallow juvenile that James Mason flips over.Rounding out the principals of the cast are Shelley Winters as Lyons obsessively romantic mother and Peter Sellers who gets to do several characters of his own creation as Clare Quilty, the man who ultimately brings James Mason's world crashing around him.Lolita does hold up well today though a newer version made in 1997 was far more explicit.
But in looking at Peter Sellers in his multiple roles via the curious, insanely oddball Quilty, and Shelley Winters as Lolita's mother, they are simply flat-out brilliant (I would choose a better word if I could, believe me).
Winters, on the other hand, finds that balance with Mrs. Hayes as a lonely middle-aged woman looking for companionship, though unable to shake her over-protective tendencies.As for Mason and Lyon, their scenes together are at the least a little overtly melodramatic (which might have been the idea, it may take another few viewings to really grasp the weight of their performances) and at best helps define what the film is about.
The reader of "Lolita" knows nothing of the real Lolita.Making a movie of the book requires the director to make a fantasy into a filmable person; this destroys the Nabokov's story and creates another man's(Kubrick) fantasy.Just another book to film disappointment I think.Good I did not pay to see this!.
Lolita and Humbert couldn't kiss, couldn't really show their sexuality, couldn't show Quilty being killed, etc.Sue Lyon, who played Lolita, was actually sixteen, although she always looked like a thirty year old hooker.
Shelley Winters was too-on the mark, Sue Lyon looked right, and throw in the psychotic great actor Peter Sellers as Quilty, regenerating every scene he was in.
Stanley Kubrick made a a movie in 1962 about a controversial topic.Lolita tells about Humbert Humbert (James Mason), who's a British professor of French literature.He travels to an American small town for a teaching position.There he falls madly in love with a 14-year old Dolores Haze (Sue Lyon).He marries her mother Charlotte (Shelley Winters) in order to stay close to the daughter.Kubrick's movie of the novel was disapproved by many.Luckily it was made because it turned out to be a brilliant movie.The acting work is superb.James Mason's role work is something to remember.Peter Sellers brings some comedy to the movie as Clare Quilty.He was one of the best.And so was Shelley Winters, who sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 85.She shone in every role she played and she will be greatly missed.In Lolita everything works perfectly.It's a true classic.Lolita is a highly recommendable movie for all..
I find Lolita the most disturbing character in the film for many reasons - she is directly responsible for the ultimate fates of her mother, Humbert and Quilty (although all contribute in some way to their own destruction).
Keep in mind it was made in 1962, and the mere fact that the film was made was a miracle, so there's no nudity or sex scenes that would be necessary for modern audiences.I like James Mason very much, and it's only because of my fondness for him that Lolita didn't ruin my opinion of him.
'Lolita' is a controversial Stanley Kubrick film based on an even more controversial novel by Vladimir Nabokov.
Kubrick was forced to tone down the sexuality somewhat, and Lolita's age is bumped up from 12 to 16 at the story's start, but the movie still feels shocking, and it's no wonder that it was greeted with a storm of controversy upon its release.The acting is nearly flawless, and it feels remarkably naturalistic for a movie from this time period.
Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Vladimir Nabakov's novel, Lolita tells the story of Humbert Humbert, how's that for a name, (James Mason) a middle aged sod, who falls madly in love with the teenage daughter, Lolita (Sue Lyon) of a woman he meets (Shelly Winters).
Perhaps the film should have been shortened to a screentime closer to 2 hours and a bit, but I think that the main problem lies in the screenplay which has presented all the right elements and knows where its heading, only does not seem to do so in a cohesive, well-paced and fulfilling matter.Still a good pic and a good pick, but Kubrick will do even better in the future and will become Great and larger-than-life like his movies..
James Mason, Shelley Winters and Sue Lyon all turn out wonderful performances that give Nabokov's characters new life.
But the screenplay that Nabokov wrote was a lot more accesible and could therefore reach a bigger audience.The controversial novel was talked about a lot in its time and i think Stanley Kubrick, always controversial and provocative, was the perfect director to make a film out of it.
Upon having just viewed "Lolita" several times in a row after hearing so much about it (and admittedly knowing NOTHING of Kubrick's work, except that he did "2001"), I must say I was thoroughly delighted and amused at what I thought would be a darkly sinister motion picture.Nabokov, the screenplay, and all controversy aside, I was immediately shocked, in the same way I am shocked by seeing any older film or TV re-run and hearing a dirty word or insinuation, by the opening title page of the man's hand delicately applying nail polish to a female foot.
Mason, Sellars, Winters and Sue Lyon have never been better and Lolita is one of the rare Kubrick films that deals with people rather than institutions or war.
Then too, the novel was too racy for the censors so Stanley Kubrick made a whole bunch of changes which manage to turn the film into a semi-successful black comedy with good performances from Mason, Winters and PETER SELLERS (as Clare Quilty).But overall, it's got a lot of dull stretches before it reaches the point where the obsessive Mason (as Prof.
In reality, there is nothing further from the truth: Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel is one of the most gripping depictions of love and its tragic consequences.That the story is tragic is evident from the prologue, where an Englishman (James Mason) coldly executes the whimsical Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers) after asking him if he remembers a certain Dolores "Lolita" Haze and what he did to her.
While looking for a house, he met a widow named Charlotte Haze (Shelley Winters) and her daughter, the 14-year old Lolita (Sue Lyon).
Lyon does a good job too, transforming from promiscuous sex-kitten to loving stepdaughter with a conviction that is rarely seen in such a young actress, making the passage look natural and unforced.In the end, as always with Kubrick, his films demand viewing after viewing as there is constantly something new that we didn't notice the first time.
Strong acting from both Peter Sellers, James Mason, and Sue Lyon, it has yet to be topped in any sequel or related movie based on the same plot..
Her line to Sellers about "Lolita" sums up the story in a nutshell: "Wednesday she's going to have a cavity filled by your Uncle Ivar." ********* Lolita (6/12/62) Stanley Kubrick ~ James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon, Peter Sellers.
Loosely based on the novel of the sane name, Kubrick turns the tale into a very dark comedy about a middle aged man (James Mason) who's deeply in love with a nubile adolescent girl (Sue Lyon).
James Mason lands a tour de force role as Humbert, the English pro- fessor who marries Charlotte (Shelly Winters) just to get close to her budding fox of a daughter named Lolita (Sue Lyon).
To me, the real question is, "Why did they ever make a movie of 'Lolita'?" This is the only film I have seen by Stanley Kubrick that I would rate as sub-quality.
The casting, from the improbable choice of Peter Sellers as Claire Quilty, to the exactly right choice of Shelley Winters as Charlotte Haze, to the beautiful Sue Lyon as Lolita, to the "old world" James Mason as Humbert Humbert, was inspired.
The witty and intensely focused interpretation of Nabokov's black comedic novel was probably as true to Vladimir's spirit as the silver screen could hope to come, and yet the film was clearly and exactly a Stanley Kubrick work of art.The scene (apparently a Kubrick witticism) in which the dead Charlotte's friends find Humbert in the tub with a scotch and a hand gun, and mistakenly think he is about to blow his brains out from grief when in fact he is in jubilant celebration, is a wonderful variation on Nabokov's text, as is the use of Peter Sellers disguised as a Freudian shrink at the girl's school.
Like the book, the film is strongest in the beginning, as Humbert Humbert (James Mason) takes a room with a widow (Shelley Winters), only after spotting her teenage daughter (Sue Lyon) lounging around in a bikini.
The hand belongs to 40-something professor Humbert Humbert (James Mason, note that some of the odd names in the film are due to the narrative structure of the source novel), the foot to Dolores "Lolita" Haze (Sue Lyon), a precocious 14-year old with whom he is obsessed.
In the book Lolita is only twelve when Humbert first meets her; in the film her age is never given, although she appears to be about sixteen. |
tt0101316 | L'amant | One cannot speak of "the plot" of the film in the usual sense, since it is the autobiographical story of Duras. As such, the story is driven by the remembrances of the events in her life, rather than a formally constructed story. The story illuminates one and one-half years in the life of the adolescent Duras (Jane March), as they are recalled by the seventy-year-old writer.The film is also about life in South Vietnam, under French colonial rule. But it is also an example of this life turned upside down, as the girl is white and poor, while the man is Chinese and rich.The film opens in the present day (circa 1980) with Jeanne Moreau's voice-over as the elderly Duras reading the opening paragraphs of the novel. This is immediately followed by a flashback to an afternoon in 1929, on the Mekong River shore. On that particular day, the fifteen and one-half year old girl was returning to Saigon, as was the twenty-eight-year-old rich "Chinaman" (Tony Leung Ka Fai). They arrive at the Mekong ferry crossing, she in a public bus, and he in his black Morris Leon-Bollet limousine. The girl wears an old sleeveless silk dress, gold-spangled high-heels, and a man's pink fedora decorated with a black ribbon. She wears her hair in pigtails and her lips are painted with a brilliant red lipstick: this is a striking resemblance to the photographs of the young Duras, who wanted to be a woman before her time. The young man, impeccably dressed in a white cotton suit, emerges from his limousine and approaches the girl.At this point, we view the preceding night, at the girl's familial house in Sa Dec. We are introduced to the poisonous atmosphere which permeates it, and meet her older brother, the family tyrant (Arnaud Giovaninetti), her weak younger brother (Melvil Poupaud), and her listless mother (Frederique Meininger).We return to the ferry, where the Chinaman offers the girl a lift to Saigon. She accepts his offer of a ride to town, and in so doing, embarks on a lengthy, forbidden love affair.Each of the following days, the Chinaman arrives in his black limousine at the girl's lycée, where she attends class, and drives her to the boarding house, where she eats and sleeps. Soon, one afternoon, he picks her up at the boarding house and they drive instead to his garconnière in Cholon, the Chinese quarter of Saigon. The garconnière is a bachelor apartment provided for him by his father. It is there that the pair have their first sexual encounter.During the ensuing eighteen months, the couple meet countless times in the garconnière. In the course of the film, we are shown three such encounters, each for different reasons.The situation the lovers find themselves in is truly romantic and tragic. In the colonial society, it is totally out of the question for her, a white girl, to marry a Chinese man. The Chinese tradition forbids him to marry just anybody, especially a white girl. His wife will be chosen by his father (Xiem Mang), for social/financial reasons. Besides, following their first sexual encounter, he says that since she is no longer a virgin, he can no longer accept her as his wife. This is all right with her, she answers, since he is Chinese and, "[...], I don't particularly like the Chinese much." Therefore, they know that their love affair is doomed from the beginning, but they pursue it nevertheless to its cruel and inevitable conclusion.Eventually, the girl wants to show her "prize" to her family, and satisfy the family's curiosity.She arranges a dinner in town for her family to meet her lover. The result is an unmitigated disaster. The mother and the two brothers gorge themselves on food, get drunk, and never speak to the Chinaman, except for her older brother, who insults him and tries to provoke a fight. Following the dinner, the group goes dancing. The young brother and the girl dance together, alluding to the peculiar, somewhat incestuous relationship which exists between them, and awaken the jealousy of the Chinaman. This later leads to a violent scene between the girl and the Chinaman, back at the garconnière.Since the Chinaman is generous, the family pretends not to think about the relationship which likely exists between him and the girl. Deep inside, however, the mother is revolted by her daughter's relationship with the Chinaman, and she has several violent scenes with the girl, exacerbated by her oldest son's vicious interference.The Chinaman marries the young (sixteen years old), rich Chinese girl who his father chose for him, in a beautifully elaborate Chinese ceremony. The wedding proceeds in very festive mood, in sharp contrast to the Chinaman's demeanor, and the girl watches, impassive.A few days after the wedding, the girl leaves for France. She leans on the rail, dressed in the same clothes she wore on the first ferry ride. As her boat departs, she sees for the last time the long, black auto on the pier, and feels his gaze upon her.Many years later, the Chinaman comes to Paris with his wife. He calls her on the telephone and, as she says, "[...] told her that it was as before, that he still loved her, he could never stop loving her, that he'd love her until death." So ends this beautiful and tragic love story. In a "Hollywood" movie, the lovers could have eloped and lived "happy ever after," but this is real life, with its somehow inescapable rules. | cult | train | imdb | The story of L'Amant potrays a most complex and provocative relationship between a young French girl (Jane March) and a Chinaman (Tony Leung).
Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of Marguerite Duras, who was born in French colonial Vietnam, this film chronicles the sexual awakening of a young French girl who falls passionately in love with a Chinese scion of a rich trading family who have his marriage already arranged.
Whereas other movies featuring a young girl and an older lover are mostly playful, ironic or simply intent on breaking a taboo, this movie brings an ode to the senses themselves in a much more subtle way.Difficult as this may be, Annaud brings us as close as we can get to the atmosphere of love in a colonial and exotic setting.
In fact, the "colony" herself is a major character in the movie; the colony with her mighty Mekong River, her smells and colors, her strange sounds and her enigmatic people.On a more metaphoric level, the Colony represents a temporary space, a place where Western people only pass through, a space that cannot be owned forever, a place of love and hate, just like the lovers' relationship.
And in the end, the lovers have to go their own way, just like the colonialists have to leave the colony they love.The movie is poetically slow, and at times becomes an almost ritual repetition of a single act.
Just look beneath the surface: even though both characters are trapped in cultural barriers and subsequently repress so many emotions (especially the girl), they escape into the blissfully unreal world of the rented room where emotions run deep albeit confused.You will not find the usual American 'formula film' composed of glitz, action, intrigue, syrupy sweetness and a predictable ending.
From the outset the scenery directs the action taking the viewer into a world of a young girl and a Chinese man that embark on a doomed love affair in 1929 Colonial Vietnam.
The sex scenes were very natural, and not 'dirty'.The were many similar love stories that come along, (for example -The Notebook, Harry & June) but non of them can be compared to The Lover.
Oohoowow, this is one of the best love story i have the priviledge to watch and one of the best movie ever produced.It is erotic, passionate, sensuous, sensitive, stunning, zesty, reflective, cinematographic, haunting and a very tragic love story.The movie is based on the semi-autobiography of one of the most famous French author, Marguerite Duras who passed away in 1996.I certainly disagree with several critics who did not hesitate to label the motion picture as "nothing more than a soft-porn." This is pretty obvious to me that the critics are unaware of or have ignored the story behind the story and the message the author and the film director are trying to convey.Just because this movie contains scenes that are erotic with nudity, and passionate, it does not mean that the film is pornographic.
Moreover, critics have ignored the historical background of life in French-ruled Vietnam and the general French attitude towards the Vietnamese and the Chinese in the 1920s and 1930s.To paraphrase another fan of this movie, who reasoned that, if this film is a porn, it would not has been nominated for an Oscar and won an award from the mainstream French Cinema.
I would add: it would be totally ignored bythem.One of my favourite erotic scenes in the movie was when the girl gradually and teasingly, pursed her lips on the glass window of the limousine for her lover.Another favourite of mine is: the scene in the limo, showing Jane and Tony slowly and hesitatingly held hands together without looking at each other.The camera works that captured these two moments were extremely well done.
And the girl started up as if to go and kill herself in her turn, throw herself in her turn into the sea, and afterwards, she wept because she thought of the man from Cholon and suddenly she wasn't sure she hadn't loved him with a love she hadn't seen because it had lost itself in the affair like water in (the) sand and she rediscovered it only now, through this moment of music......"By the way, the Chopin music did played in the movie.
A meticulously groomed Chinese man in a three piece white suit is staring at her, telegraphing that if this isn't, for him, love at first sight, it is at least his obsession for the next two hours of film time.
Since much of the rest of hte movie is devoted to full body nudity and graphic scenes of sexual intercourse, her youth, both as an actress and as a character, was an issue when the film was first released.
Cultural prejudice, the age disparity, class difference, racial divide, dysfunctional family, a pre-arranged marriage, a young girl in a man's fedora, all stand in the way of the most of elusive of humane pursuits - love.
Our censors will inevitable relish at any 'sexually explicit', controversial love story that is left of mainstream (coffee-table pornography, in our righteous film critic's parlance) and, for different reasons altogether, at a serious, probing, insightful and provocative political picture.
When the young girl, her sexuality fully awakened, approaches her lover's car and purses her lips on the window.The precise, top-notch editing serves the picture well, always adding to the story's narrative drive or allowing for a moment of contemplation.
Seemingly a perfect set-up for a guilty-free sexual liaison gets complicated when the Chinese bon vivant falls in love with the young girl and meets the torments of unrequited love.'The Lover' is a cinematic gem of rare color and unforgettable spark; the love story of singular beauty and distinct resonance..
This movie is a beautiful recreation of near '30's Colonial Vietnam (i don't know how accurate, but i was convinced), the "look" of the movie can be summed up with that one scene near the start where the camera pans up on the girl and shes describing her wardrobe; her cabaret shoes, dress and unique mans hat (that no other woman, Vietnamese or otherwise is wearing at the time), you get an impression of subtle defiance from her that only expands and endures as the movie courses on.
The cinematography of 'living' in this movie really draws you in, be it when they're washing out the house, dancing in the restaurant or (my favorite scene) when the car overheats and the young brother gets out with a watering pail to get some water from the gutter, it just made me smile, all these scenes are elevated by the camera work and positioning of the characters.
Anyways the dialogue is amazing, like when the girl says "my brother smokes too much" to which the Chinaman replies "too too much" (i just thought that was so naturally clever) or when she first makes love to the Chinaman and describes him (part of him) as "the golden novelty," this is a prime example of how this movie, unlike so many others, elevates the eroticism within it to something more than 'porn with a plot' as many other erotic movies seem to be, the focus of this movie is the story, it just happens to be erotic (not that i'm complaining), and if all that wasn't enough to get you renting (or buying) underlying and driving the plot is the brilliant and engaging retrospective narrative by an older Duras (Author of "The Lover").
A great movie after all trying to show as clear as possible the impossible multiracial love relation in old French Indochina at that time, although a wealthy Chinese guy and a financially poor white very young girl are involved.
The story absolutely reeks and oozes erotic sexuality, both in the book as well as the movie --- yet there is actually no real sex scene, as to have done so would have made this into child pornography and filming of it into a felony.
The movie begins as we follow a young and beautiful French high school girl in 1929 French colonial Viet Nam when she begins her journey on an uncomfortably packed native bus to begin her school year in Saigon.
We watch them walk the last of the way through Cholon which she describes Cholon vividly as "smelling of Jasmine, minced meats, charcoal and soup, busy with the commotion of the mid day meal." In that room what follows is probably some of the most erotic scenes ever to be shown in a movie such as this and we almost aren't prepared for it, It isn't just what we see happening between them that holds our interest, but that room itself with sunlight piercing through the narrow slats of the room's window shutters, casting enough light on old used furniture, that bed and the writhing bodies of the lovers lying upon it to creating an unforgettable almost surreal dream-like state.
She is not to hear of her Chinese lover again for many years later as we see her now an old woman at the movie's end sitting alone working at her desk in a dingy office in Paris with snow falling in the gloom of early evening outside her window.
I always wanted to meet a woman like The Young Girl of this movie.
The Young Girl lives in the neighborhood, suffering the stranglehold of restrictions, ready for destroy anything conventional, first of all her innocence.Marguerite Duras & Jean-Jacques Annaud created the most magnetic female hero for me, who acts it if she's hell-bent for passion, but keeps secretly her feelings.After all, I think the story is not about her, but how society can deform human relations....
In other movies, she has portrayed the character - Jane March was lost so of course it appears that she's not a good actress.In regards to the sex...Of course, some people only remembered the sex in this film.
Jane and the actor connected in every scene (not just their sex scenes).The Lover isn't a great movie.
In Jean-Jacques Annaud's flaccid soft-porn melodrama a young French girl is sexually awakened by a polite but torrid affair with a Chinese gentleman in colonial Southeast Asia.
Jane March & Tony Leung(both very talented) completely captured the love expression toward one another that Marguerite Duras was trying to proyect in the film.
For a prudish American viewer the simple idea of a young girl being in love with a grown up man might be too much by itself, which can be well compared to the lame US adaption of "Lolita." This is not even speaking of the erotic scenes, which as well make the movie what it is: very sensual erotic.One of the earlier comments here stated the girl was portrayed too cold and too experienced.
However, when Tony Leung Ka (The Chinaman) appeared on the screen and started making SPARKS with Jane March, I realized that this was a very deep and beautiful love story that really went way beyond the bedroom mattress.
It does to me, sort of.The Lover ( english translation ) is a story about a Chinaman and a young French girl that seem to fall in love.
When a film presents itself as realistic, I am one of those people who wants believability.The young girl, presumably a virgin, in this film seemed a little too self-assured (even experienced) when it came to lovemaking (or even sensually kissing car windows that separate her from her not-as-yet(!) lover) to me.She also seemed way too emotionally cold for someone so young unless she'd been taking lessons from her A-hole brother.In short, this "young girl's" behavior was that of an experienced and cynical older woman.It's interesting that according to the voting breakdown for this film on this d-base that women seemed to like it more than men.
The director of L'AMANT or THE LOVER as it's known in Britain was directed Jean Jacques Annaud who would later go on to make ENEMY AT THE GATES a pretty good war film that suffers from having a sex scene that seems out of place .
Of course sexual mores were different in those days and the idea of inter racial sex may be rather blase nowadays but this taboo is even more diluted by the casting of English actress Jane March who looks anything but French / White European , in fact she looks like she's of Asian extraction herself !
It shows how a Chinese man in his thirties falls in love with a 15-year-old girl.
Every little scene and moment is beautiful."The Lover" is a special movie, because its love is above the prejudice of appearance, race and wealth.
True to the heart of a young girl falling in love with an older man.
The Lover from beginning to end, was a sex film.There was no story to really speak of.Jane March,though nice to look at for sure,was cast because she is completely uninhibited.The movie has Gratuitous sex at seemingly every turn.Now ,if its a sex movie you want,the Lover will fill in admirably.If you want a storyline, don't be fooled by the seemingly endless reviews that claim it to be a beautiful movie masterpiece.Rating : 1.
Marguerite Duras' autobiographical recount of a forbidden amour fou in 1929 French Indochina, between a fifteen-and-a-half-year-old French girl (March) and a Chinese man (Leung) twice her age.
1992 is such a banner year for Tony Ka Fai Leung, currently has three leading performances in my year's top 10 list, his portrayal here establishes a disarming mien as "the lover", a man whose job is to love, nothing else, incapable of changing his or his lover's fate.Accompanied by Jeanne Moreau's resonant voice-over, reciting Duras' segments of texts throughout, mainly we are channeled into the girl's perspective of the affair, her precocious nature and non-conformist behaviour, all through, in spite of her poverty-ridden background, she is the one monopolises the higher standing in this romance, ascribed to the self-imposed superiority of a colonist, even during their first sexual intercourse, she makes the first move.
Such a formidable role proves to be a double-edged sword for the débutante Jane March, whose comely but aloof pretence matches the character fittingly, but also would curb her future career as an erotic desire.Frédérique Meininger, who plays the girl's mother, in her very limited screen-time, manages to unfold a great range of emotional spectra from jadedness to chagrin, agony, then utter disillusion.
The first time I heard about The Lover I was in high school and it was one of those films that a few classmates of mine would always bring up as the "dirtiest" movie they had ever seen.
A number of other images also qualify as "perfect shots": the matinée-idol entrance of Tony Leung, who plays the title character, or the way the tears in March's eyes catch the light at just the right angle.With mixed results, the movie goes to great lengths to prove it's about something more than beautiful people having lots of languorous afternoon sex.
The Lover takes this 15-year-old girl to his bed but insists that he must marry a virgin; the girl's family is appalled by the thought of her having sex with a Chinese man, but eventually turns a blind eye to the relationship because it helps their financial difficulty.
Shot in French Colonial Vietnam, a young French girl (Jane March) fall in love with a local man.
I liked this movie and it bordered on being considered, in my opinion, "clean erotica." Jane's character falls in love with a wealthy Asian in Vietnam.
I think that folks will like this movie if they have an open mind and consider that the morality of the story is based upon the morals of the characters of the time.
Yes. Nearly more than half of the reviews picture this movie as a soft porn movie, and it is.Virtually no plot except a china man picking up a little girl like a prostitute.I am sure there were lot of thought provoking questions when we see Miss Jane March Nude.
I don't know why people ask if the sex scenes are real or not because this is not the point here, it is the love story that's interesting, not the problem of the actors having intercourse or not.
The scenes between the girl and her Chinese lover are beautifully filmed, and the accompanying music triggers a dream like quality.
I think the most sensual parts of the movie are when the Chinaman first sees the young girl on the ferry and is watching her from the automobile and then leaves the car and approaches her.
Jane March did a great job as an unexperienced in the love department young girl.
By that reckoning, we sense that we know the real purpose behind the making of this film.Based on a book by Margaurite Duras, the movie tells the story of a French student (Jane March) in Indochina in the 1920s who falls in lust with a rich Chinese aristocrat (Tony Leung) twenty years her senior.
French director Jean-Jacque Annaud does brilliantly with films about animals ("The Bear") and cavemen ("Quest for Fire"), but falls flat with this erotic movie called, "The Lover," which is about a teenage white girl (Jane March) having a forbidden affair with a wealthy Chinese man (Tony Leung)in 1929 French Indochina.
This movie is one reason I had such a great love life during those years.
I thought it was an alright movie but I didn't quite like the fact, Jane March as the young girl wasn't that bothered to have sex with the Chinaman.
First I want to make it clear that even though this is a love story between a 30-something man and a 15-year-old school girl, the actress who plays the school girl was actually 18 during filming.
It is not an erotic movie, more a tragic love story of two people who can never really be together. |
tt0084855 | The Verdict | Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) was once a promising graduate of Boston College Law School and a lawyer at an elite Boston law firm. But he was framed for jury tampering some years back by the firm's senior partner because he was going to expose their corrupt practices. The firm fired him and his marriage ended in divorce. Although he retains his license to practice law, Frank has become an alcoholic ambulance chaser who has had only four cases over the last three years, all of which he has lost.
As a favor, his friend and former teacher Mickey (Jack Warden) sends him a medical malpractice case in which it is all but assured that the defense will settle for a large amount. The case involves a young woman who was given an anesthetic during childbirth, after which she choked on her own vomit and was deprived of oxygen. The young woman is now comatose and on a respirator. Her sister and brother-in-law are hoping for a monetary award in order to give her proper care. Frank assures them they have a strong case. Meanwhile, Frank, who is lonely, becomes romantically involved with Laura (Charlotte Rampling), a woman he meets at a local bar.
Frank visits the comatose woman and is deeply affected. He then meets with the bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston (Edward Binns), which owns the Catholic hospital where the incident took place. As expected, the bishop's representative offers a substantial amount of money – $210,000 – to settle out of court, but Frank declines the offer as he fears that this may be his last chance to do something right as a lawyer, and that merely taking the handout would render him "lost". Everyone, including the presiding judge and the victim's relatives, is stunned by Frank's decision (Frank fails to communicate the offer to his client's family before rejecting it).
Things quickly go wrong for Frank: his client's brother-in-law finds out from "the other side" that he has turned down the $210,000, and angrily confronts Frank; his star medical expert disappears; a hastily arranged substitute's credentials and testimony are called into serious question on the witness stand. His opponent, the high-priced attorney Ed Concannon (James Mason), has at his disposal a large legal team that is masterful with the press; the presiding judge (Milo O'Shea) makes deliberate efforts to obstruct Frank's questioning of his expert; and no one who was in the operating room is willing to testify that there was any negligence.
Frank's big break comes when he discovers that Kaitlin Costello (Lindsay Crouse), the nurse who admitted his client to the hospital, is now a preschool teacher in New York. Frank travels there to track her down, leaving Mickey and Laura working together in Frank's Boston office. Frank confronts Costello, asking, "Will you help me?"
Meanwhile, in Boston, Mickey is looking for cigarettes in Laura's handbag and discovers a check from Concannon's law firm. He infers that she is a mole, providing information on their legal strategy to the opposing lawyers.
Mickey flies to New York to tell Frank that Laura has been betraying them. He suggests to Frank that it would be easy to get the case declared a mistrial, but Frank decides to continue. Shortly thereafter, Frank meets Laura, who has also traveled to New York. In a display of cold fury, Frank strikes her in the face, knocking her to the floor.
Costello testifies that, shortly after the patient had become comatose, the anesthesiologist (one of the two doctors on trial, along with the archdiocese of Boston) told her to change her notes on the admitting form to hide his fatal error. She had written down that the patient had had a full meal only one hour before being admitted. The doctor had failed to read the admitting notes. Thus, in ignorance, he gave her an anesthetic that should never be given to a patient with a full stomach. As a result, the patient vomited and choked.
Costello further testifies that, when the anesthesiologist realized his mistake, he met with Costello in private and forced her to change the number "1" to the number "9" on her admitting notes. But Costello made a photocopy of the notes before she made the change, which she brought with her to court. She was subsequently fired, leading her to exclaim in court, "Who are these men? I wanted to be a nurse!" But Concannon quickly turns the situation around by getting the judge to declare the nurse's testimony stricken from the record on technicalities. Feeling that his case is hopeless, Frank gives a brief but passionate closing argument, telling the jury "you are the law" and entreating them to seek "truth and justice" in their hearts before they vote.
In the penultimate scene, the jury – apparently disregarding the judge's instructions to ignore the nurse's testimony – announces that they have found in favor of Frank's clients. As Frank, Mickey, and Frank's clients quietly rejoice, the foreman asks the judge whether the jury can award more than the amount the plaintiffs sought. The judge resignedly replies that they can, but the amount they decide on is not revealed. As Frank is congratulated by his clients, Mickey, and colleagues and strangers alike, he catches a glimpse of Laura watching him across the atrium.
That night, Laura, in a drunken stupor on her bed, drops her whiskey on the floor, drags the phone toward her, and puts in a call to Frank. As the phone rings, Frank sits in his office with a cup of coffee. He moves to answer it, but ultimately decides not to. The film ends with the phone continuing to ring. | realism | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0264761 | Kissing Jessica Stein | Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a 28-year-old sensitive, but neurotic, New York journalist who is at the end of her emotional rope. Her brother Dan (David Aaron Baker), is engaged. Her best friend and co-worker Joan (Jackie Hoffman) is pregnant. On top of that, Jessica hasn't dated in a year, and she can't sleep. After an optimistic but nightmarish dating spree, which Jessica was inspired to set up by her overbearing and meddlesome mother Judy (Tovah Feldshuh), Jessica decides she needs a change in her life.Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen) is a 30-something, fairly successful art gallery manager who is fed up with having quicky sex with various men, including her delivery guy, in various times and places. Confused about her sexual orientation, as if she thinks she may be a lesbian in denial, Helen puts a personal ad in a local newspaper asking for a date with someone. The following day, Jessica happens to read the intriguing personal ad, whose only drawback is that it's in the women seeking women section. On a daring whim, Jessica decides to answer it. She meets the hipster Helen at a local bar for drinks and, to her surprise, they click instantly. After going for an evening of banter, connection and heated debate about Jessica's personal life and her desire for happiness, the discussion culminates in a kiss that Helen gives which confounds and intrigues the reluctant Jessica.Over the next few weeks, the two women proceed to muddle through an earnest, but hilarious courtship, making up the rules as they go along with private make-out sessions to casual dates to the local cinema. Jessica doesn't really know how to think through this new situation. Meanwhile, everyone at Jessica's office notices that she is walking on cloud nine and is very happy. Josh Myers (Scott Cohen), her boss (whom she dated for a while in college) also notices and starts to feel strange that he's not a part of this new, happier Jessica.On another dinner date, Jessica and Helen go out, they nearly get picked up by two sleazy guys at a local bar, and then proceed to return to Helen's apartment for another make-out session, which gets interupted by one of Helen's boyfriends. Helen asks him to leave, but after he does so, Helen comes down with a mild cold which puts off her and Jessica's further make-out session.One weekend, Jessica is invited to her mother's country house on Long Island and she takes Helen with her to help her face off against her mother, and thus cancels hers and Helen's plans to go to a hotel. After having dinner, Jessica then proceeds to consummate her romance with Helen that very night in her bedroom.Some months later. A happy and improved Jessica flaunts her happiness in and out of the office, as her romance with Helen kicks into full swing. But Helen becomes more frustrated that Jessica wants to keep their romance a secret at any cost. One day, a very pregnant Jackie runs into Jessica and Helen while food shopping, and after catching Jessica in a lie about her and Helen, Jackie becomes privy to Jessica's romance with Helen.But the tension between Jessica and Helen over their closeted romance explodes one day, when Jessica is with her mother at a bridal store, trying out a dress for her brother's wedding. Helen passes by, sees Jessica in the dress and asks her what it's for. Her mother is surprised that Helen didn't know about the wedding and is even more surprised when Helen said she didn't get the invitation. Helen runs out of the store, Jessica follows and the two have an argument about it outside. Jessica refuses to bring Helen to the wedding with her as her date, and Helen gets upset and tells Jessica that its over between them.At dinner that night at Jessica's parents' house, Jessica starts getting very upset and leaves the dinner table. Her mother, Judy, follows her out and sees that Jessica is crying. Neither says very much... until Judy says, "I think she's a very nice girl". " That very night, Jessica rushes to Helen's apartment and invites her to the wedding. Helen agrees and goes.At the wedding, all of the grandmothers in attendance are asking Jessica and Helen about their relationship and are completely supportive... and even nosy. Jessica and Helen look happy. Josh is late to the wedding, so is still completely in the dark about the relationship. That night, Josh tells Jessica that he is still in love with her. She comes out to him and he's completely shocked.A few months later Jessica and Helen have moved in with each other, but their romance slowly slides into more of a platonic friendship. Apparently, that is not enough for Helen so she moves out. Jessica is crushed but gets over it.Another few months later, a new and improved Jessica has settled in a new apartment, and has quit her journalist copy writing job. One day, Jessica runs into Josh, who has also quit his job, in a book store and the two promise to meet up. The last scene of the movie is of Jessica meeting Helen for drinks where Jessica begins to talk about meeting Josh and agrees to go on a date with him. | cute, queer | train | imdb | To appease the appetite, `gaydar' commands an ever watchful eye to find those precious tidbits.However, thank heavens for the charming wit and refreshingly real characters in "Kissing Jessica Stein".
The film is a positive reinforcement on the value of relationships to an individual's personal growth and spiritual evolution."Kissing Jessica Stein" is a highly intelligent romantic comedy that goes deep to explore emotional relationships: Not only between Jessica and Helen but also between Jessica and her Mother, Jessica and Josh, other co-workers and all of their friends.
Jessica's painting, Josh's true love for writing and Helen's continued enjoyment of a lesbian sexual relationship is also testament.
Few decide that answering an ad in The Village Voice placed by a lesbian or bisexual woman is an antidote to the scarce-available-man dilemma.That's just what copy editor and hopeful painter "Jessica" (Jennifer Westfeldt) does in "Kissing Jessica Stein" leading to an awkward first encounter, then a close friendship and ultimately an intimate relationship with a stunning, smart and funny art gallery manager, "Helen" (Heather Jurgenson).
The film tracks their relationships with each other and with the people in their lives - family, friends, co-workers.The story could easily have sunk to the level of a zany, fluffy, sex comedy or, perhaps, strived to be a "message" drama.
The opening scene at a Day of Atonement synagogue service is priceless."Kissing Jessica Stein" is an Indie production based on the two leading actresses' collaboration in writing "Lipstick," their 1997 play.
These are two very smart and insightful women: I hope more comes from their fertile and caring understanding of human, not just female but human, needs.This film is very New York with scenes from a number of neighborhoods.
A reviewer noted that audiences at the premiere were distracted by the WTC-dominated panoramas.In a largely full theater with a number of clearly lesbian couples along with many more single people and (probably) heterosexual couples it was really nice to be part of an audience that burst into frequent laughter not based on sexual orientation but rather together as people enjoying a really clever, funny-and-serious, good film..
The characters are hilarious, but three dimensional and the sense of humor that the movie carries is phenomenal.The scenes in New York and beautifully shot, also and the Jewish family is very much like my own.
Some people may feel like we are born one way or the other and if we are unsure, or perhaps want to experiment then we are 'stupid' or 'frivoulous' those assumptions are what this movie is trying to combat.
It isn't about being gay or straight, it's about opening up yourself to possibilities whether they are fruitful in the end or not, the experience alone can make you a better, more compassionate person, who knows what it is to be honestly seeking happiness in whatever form it may come.
Bravo to the two writers and actresses in this film, it is one of the rare film's that I have enjoyed from start to finish and one that I can watch over and over and continually take joy in.I believe no movie is right for everyone, some people won't take from this film what I have.
This film had something for everyone: a loving view into a Jewish family, including religious practices we rarely get to see on screen; a relationship between two women who are trying to find the right someone who "gets" them; and having the courage to go after the things you want the most.
Jackie Hoffman was fun and funny as Jessica's best friend and coworker Joan, who lives vicariously through Jessica and Helen's adventures.Jennifer Westfeldt (Jessica Stein) and Heather Juergensen (Helen Cooper) wrote, produced and starred in this wonderful, touching, funny view of single life in New York today.
Jessica interrupts and says "Shut up mother, I'm atoning." This sums up and sets the tone for the greatness of this film - Jessica is authentic and very funny.I connected instantly with Jessica as I am sure many single or recently single women can (and I'm not even Jewish).
But in this case, part of my connection to Jessica is that writer and star Jennifer Westfeldt, like me, has probably seen "Annie Hall" one hundred times, and a great deal of Diane Keaton's Annie shines through in Jessica."Kissing Jessica Stein" is a romantic comedy about a girl who basically just doesn't know what she wants, but its better than that statement.
When they start getting too far from the audience with a character philosophizing about his current stance in life, they pull us right back in with a great line "You got dark." It also helps that Westfeldt is married to Jon Hamm and is friends with some of the best comedians in the business.After you finish watching "Kissing Jessica Stein" (which, believe me, you have to), find Westfeldt's next foray into her version of romantic comedies "Ira and Abby" (2006).
It's Jessica Stein's realization that she is the only reason she is unhappy; she has an image in her mind of what "should" make her happy, and this film is the story of her letting go of that and taking a risk that maybe something completely different could make her happy.
Finally a film driven by likable, intelligent characters and their relationships, not guns, explosions and two dimensional stereotypes and plots by (and for) 8 years olds.KJS has a dash of fantasy from time to time, a cracking sound track, and although I wouldnt have called it a comedy - it's funny when it needs to be.
We have the normal 'two people meet and fall in love' scenario, but the difference here is that these two characters are the same sex, and that's what sets the film apart from it's counterparts.
Like (too) many romance films, Kissing Jessica Stein features an ambiguous ending.
I first saw this at the 2002 Wellington film festival and it didn't make a lot of impact then, but watching it again on cable impressed just how well written it is, and the lead character Jessica Stein is so delightfully played.
"Sex and the City" must have been an influence on the scriptwriters/lead actresses but this is different, and the lesbian (or more correctly bi-sexual) theme makes a refreshing change from the usual, and should appeal to straight men as much as bi's (in fact the reasons why this should be the case are addressed directly in a scene in a bar).
Actually the biggest problem with the movie isn't the plot, that's rather a cliché (I mean if we put apart the lesbian love thing) but we don't expect real deepness of a romantic comedy.
There isn't real chemistry between them, they just meet, then after five minutes (of movie, by the plot it's a little longer time, maybe few hours) BANG they are in love.
The movie has one more interesting character besides Helen, Josh, who is Jessica's boss.
His analysis about Jessica in the twentieth minute of the movie stays true the whole time.I'm sure the only thing that causes it to have such a high rating, is because it's not a straight love story, subsequently some people rate the idea behind it, not the finished product.
Believe me if Helen was a guy, it would be rated at 5 points tops, and that would be its real value.Either looking for a comedy, a heart touching love story, or a deep drama with good characters in the center, this movie is not for you.
And even though they are perfect for each other,Jessica still somehow cannot reconcile herself with this relationship and lifestyle which she mantras as being "not her".Directed by Charles Herman Wurmfeld as well as adapted by co-writers Westfeldt and Juergensen,this definitely has a Woody Allen sensibility to it,from the layer dialog and pathos-riddled characters to even the sly usage of music to context the NYC backdrop.
This charming, lightweight comedy about sexual orientation and experimentation stars the adorable, funny Jennifer Westfeldt as a good Jewish girl who decides that maybe the whole heterosexual dating thing isn't working for her, so she's going to play for the other team for a while.
A grown-up romantic comedy that takes place in a world with real world dilemmas, confusions and frustrations (which is not to say, of course, that it's a completely real world Funny and true and a good movie worth seeing on that basis, but Tovah Feldshuh's performance knocks it up at least two notches..
Perhaps it's because I'm not sure about whether or not I liked Jessica Stein...she was annoying and I wanted to come through the screen and steal Helen away from her more than once...
Then she meets Helen, a hedonist, bored with males for different reasons, and they become launched on a journey of discovery together following an awakening in the form of a kiss.If the film limited its scope to growth through discovery and self- realization, such that Jessica overcame her neurotic perfectionism and Helen surpassed her hedonism, it would have been a much better movie.
Unfortunately, it is far too self-conscious and desultory, like Jessica herself, expecting to accomplish too much while delivering too little, wondering over far too much time, and ending without adequately addressing the relationship issues it began with.
Overall, I did enjoy the movie but I'm not exactly sure why.First off, the characterization of Jessica Stein was so whiny and uncertain that I couldn't fathom why Helen (or anyone else) would want to pursue the relationship.
Hollywood should follow this lead.Also true with great romantic comedies, this film is not simply about love, but about people.
I first saw Aaron Eckhart in the hilarious, micro-budget comedy "In the Company of Men." I thought to myself, "He is one hell of an actor!" Before I knew it, he's cast in big films like "Any Given Sunday" and "Erin Brockovich." Hopefully, the same happens to Heather and Jennifer (the stars).
But if you're a woman or not the average guy, I definitely recommend this delightful, funny, well-written, well-acted romantic comedy.
This is such a fresh and enjoyable romantic comedy with the twist that it centres on two basically straight New York women who experiment with a lesbian relationship.
Kissing Jessica Stein has the makings of a fine romantic comedy - it starts out quite funny, and continues in a quirky, funny vein through much of the film.But ultimately, this movie was disappointing.
The film has good production values & the acting isn't half bad but the whole Jewish stick has been done better in many more movies.
I would highly recommend movies like High Art, Better than Chocolate or Treading Water if you are looking for good stories about lesbian relationships..
For the first time in quite a while, a movie has made me think long after the credits.For some reason, the film left me feeling a bit odd.
We spend 80 minutes getting to a point where Helen and Jessica finally make it over a number of hurdles, only to have everything yanked down in a few two minute scenes?Had the movie planned for this collapse, it could have led to a more satisfying ending.
From a masculine point of view the entire sexual experimentation shown in the film is as bland and uninteresting as the men Jessica is shown dating.One last comment I would like to make is that the thing this movie does best is bring itself down.
So Sweet, A Little Awkward, But So Wonderful-- Like a First Kiss Should Be. This movie is four years old, as I'm writing this-- but while watching the movie, I suddenly recalled a review of it (in a newspaper, not on the IMDb) where the reviewer openly wondered how ANYone would want to kiss Jessica Stein, as she's annoying, shallow, babbles incessantly, and has zero confidence in any aspect of her life.I read this four years ago, so that's a bit of a paraphrase, but what I loved about this movie was how the scenes of Jessica being neurotic walk RIGHT up to the line of cartoonish, but unlike many sitcoms, these scenes never quite step over.
It's a fine line, and almost made me turn against the movie a few times, but the key word is almost-- the awkwardness isn't cartoony, but becomes real, as Jessica's character really was raised in a conservative religious household, and though she realizes she is open, she just isn't so sure how to react to what is an entirely new world, for her.There were some incredibly touching scenes in the movie, and I really marveled at the direction, from the obvious emotional scenes, to even a subtle little camera bump when Jessica and Helen first meet.
If the late-in-the-film conversation between Jessica and her mother doesn't get to you, you've got a heart made of stone.Ultimately sweet and endearing moving, a romantic comedy that doesn't rely on the "cute," but rather, what is real...
Jennifer Westfeldt who plays the character of Jessica Stein does her job so well it ruined the film for me.Mixed up?
Two women, Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt) and Helen (Heather Juergensen), meet through a personal ad and tentatively start a lesbian relationship.
The problem--Jessica can't fully commit to it--Helen can.It's a cute movie--reasonably entertaining with some good performances by the two leads (who also wrote it), and also by Scott Cohen (as Jessica's boss and ex) and Tovah Feldshuh (as Jessica's VERY Jewish mother).
I'm still looking for my Helen to this day.The movie explores its subject matter in a clever and humorous way and doesn't feel overly cheesy, despite not differing much from your typical romcom other than the main characters' sexuality.
So pretty in fact that I was looking forward to seeing her take part in some girl on girl action in KISSING JESSICA STIEN so imagine my disappointment that there's no explicit lesbian love making in this movie .
I shouldn't complain since this type of voyeurism should exclude someone from being a serious movie critic so I'll confine my criticisms to a non sexual criteria KISSING JESSICA STIEN is an independent film and like many independent films it's quirky and character driven but it's maybe a bit too character driven and has little in the way of commercial appeal .
I recommend this to any fan of movies about love, just know that the film is about lesbianism.
Jennifer Westfeldt,(Jessica Stein),"Keep Your Distance",'05, wanted to find love and the men she did meet were all creeps.
Things started to change and like some male and female marriages, one partner needed more sex than the other and had the "I have a headache syndrome." Jessica & Helen gave an outstanding performance and showed that people who are in love, male vs.
"Kissing Jessica Stein" is a lesbian romantic comedy written by two straight women who manage to get the details right.Jessica Stein is a neurotic copy editor, frustrated artist who can't seem to meet a man who can live up to her expectations.
Overall, "Kissing Jessica Stein" is one of my favorite romantic comedies and also, a great lesbian movie..
Watch this movie and come out feeling like anew person..
But "Kissing Jessica Stein" was not as good as I thought it would be.A nice Jewish girl is fed up with dating the guys her mother fixes her up with, and answers a personal ad from bisexual Helen.
The plot develops their romantic and sexual relationship, but Jessica isn't ready to come out yet.There was one great scene in a NYC bar, in which two guys are trying to pick up the couple.
Regardless if you are gay, straight, open-minded or conservative, the whole situation in this movie is presented in such a natural light that anyone seeing the movie will feel uplifted by the women's relationship and will find a piece of them selves at one point or another in the character's lives.It is highly recommended, too bad that the big guys out there didn't give it the full recognition that it so deserves, though, resulting in so many people missing the opportunity to see this great film.But go rent it while it is still available at your local Blockbuster!.
This was an absolutely delightful romantic comedy starring two new actresses - Jennifer Westfeldt & Heather Juergensen (who co-wrote the movie, too) - both of whom are seeking meaningful relationships.
Heather runs a seeking-woman ad, and Jessica responds...albeit in a timid, neurotic way.While I was a little disappointed in the ending, this was a laugh-out-loud movie that was just quirky enough.
This movie, however, is about Jessica and Helen - and great chemistry.8.5 of 10 stars.
"Kissing Jessica Stein" is a comedy (so they say), about a high-strung copy editor in New York, who can't seem to find the right guy to date.
I kept finding myself thinking "this movie is what Woody Allen might've made if he started out in the '90's, not the '60's." And I kept thinking, "I *know* people like this!" So it's an interesting, even captivating flick - it may not seem all that accessible to a Midwestern audience, but that's a minor quibble.The stars of this (apparently indie) film include: Jennifer Westfeldt as Jessica Stein (also co-wrote the movie), Heather Juergensen as Helen Cooper (Jessica's bi, out, and proud girlfriend), Tovah Feldshuh as Judy Stein (Jessica's Mom - an amazing performance), and Scott Cohen (I) as Josh Myers, Jessica's boss and former bf."Kissing Jessica Stein" isn't perfect - there are some moments when I gnashed my teeth over biphobia exhibited by some characters, but these imperfections make it more, not less, believable.
The pacing could've been a bit better, and it ends on a questioning note, but for all of this, I liked "Kissing Jessica Stein" a lot.
What I liked most about the movie was that it was a story about a relationship, not lesbianism specifically.
As a big fan of the romantic comedy genre, this concept thrills me to no end.In the film, Jessica Stein, a neurotic Jewish New Yorker is sick of dating loser men, and come to think of it, lacks true female friends as well. |
tt1343097 | Luftslottet som sprängdes | Picking up immediately after the events in the previous movie 'The Girl Who Played With Fire', Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) is airlifted to a hospital in Gothenburg. Surgeons remove the bullets from her shoulder, hip, and head, where her father, Alexander Zalachenko, shot her. In the hospital, she meets Dr. Jonasson (Aksel Morisse), who cares for her throughout her stay, preventing anyone except her lawyer from visiting.Niederman (Micke Spreitz) is now a fugitive, wanted for killing two police officers after escaping in the previous movie.In Stockholm, a man named Evert Gullberg (Hans Alfredson) meets with his former colleague of 35 years, Fredrik Clinton (Lennart Hjulström); the two decide that they must silence Zalachenko and Lisbeth.Zalachenko (Georgi Staykov) is still alive, in a hospital room down the hall from Lisbeth. He is met by a member of the "Section", a group within the Secret Police (abbreviated as Säpo), to decide how to conceal his existence. Zalachenko puts all the blame on Niederman, and threatens that if he were to be convicted, he would spill everything to the police and media.Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) asks his sister, Annika (Annika Hallin), to be Lisbeth's lawyer, as she is accused of attempted murder as well as the three murders of Nils Bjurman, and Dag and Mia in the previous movie that she was never cleared of.Gullberg arrives at the hospital at the same time as Annika, passing right by her. He then tells Zalachenko that they will not help him, before shooting him in the head. Annika saves Lisbeth by barricading the door to Lisbeth's room, preventing Evert from killing her too, and he shoots himself. Afterward, police are soon put outside Lisbeth's room, and Fredrik visits the Section headquarters to confirm that Evert shot Zalachenko, stating that he had chosen to do a final job because he was dying of liver cancer.Fredrik visits Dr. Peter Teleborian (Anders Ahlbom), and explains his plan to punish her for trying to kill Zalachenko by having her committed to St. Stephen's mental hospital again. Teleborian tries to meet with Lisbeth to conduct a psychological evaluation, but Dr. Jonasson denies him entry and insists he make the necessary official requests.Mikael and Annika lose both copies of the Björck investigation files, files needed to prove that Lisbeth was in fact being punished by corrupt men of law, as they were stolen under orders from Fredrik. Mikael then calls Milton Security in desperation.Meanwhile, a representative from the Section speaks to the goverment prosecutor, Ekström, stating that if Zalachenko's secrets were to come out during Lisbeth's murder trial, relations with foreign countries and Säpo's secret contacts would be ruined, and that there are many useful background facts about the case, including her previously attempted patricide, that would help convict her.The Millennium team work to find out more about the Section, but find it difficult since many of the politicians and Säpo workers would have leaked information about it in their autobiographies. Mikael then decides to uncover more information on Gullberg to find out more about the Section.Mikael tells Dr. Jonasson the conspiracy against Lisbeth. He finds it unlikely, but Mikael assures Jonasson that it is true. Mikael then convinces him to sneak in her internet phone into the hospital. Upon receiving her phone, Lisbeth immediately contacts her hacker friend Plague to see if he can find information on Teleborian, and then tells Mikael that Annika has permission to use a video of Nils Bjurman her former guardian and one of the people she is accused of murdering raping her.At the office the next day, Christer finds out that Gullberg and a man named Hans von Rotting visited the Prime Minister in 1976. Mikael decides to visit one of the secretaries, Bang Janeryd, and shows him the files. He says he had no idea what Zalachenko was doing, and that he wants nothing to do with the trial. Mikael forces him to either have his involvement revealed or tell Mikael what he knows and become a confidential source. He confirms that Gullberg and Rotting had visited the Prime Minister, as well as Fredrik Clinton. He tells Mikael that Zalachenko had cooperated with them and gave them invaluable information, and that everything was to be top secret at the time.Plague contacts Lisbeth, and tells her that he did not find anything on Teleborian's work computer. She then suggests that he hack into his personal computer. He will do it, regardless of the difficulty. Later, a woman named Monica Figuerola of the police asks Mikael to meet with her and her boss Torsten Edklinth. They say that there is in fact an underground crime group that is involved with the government, and that Torsten's meeting with the Prime Minister resulted in a full investigation. They also inform Mikael that they need time to identify those involved, and that he must print the magazine after the investigation is over, because if not, it will be put in jeopardy. They are also aware of the torture Lisbeth was subjected to. Mikael then gives them a few of the names of those involved.While still in the hospital, Lisbeth starts working on an autobiography to tell her life story to Mikael. She continues to have nightmares of memories about her time at St. Stephen's, her father and half-brother, and of her rape by Bjurman. When she wakes up, Niederman is outside of her window, and aims at her with a gun, but she moves out of his view before he shoots.Mikael continues his story, and then follows Teleborian, with Christer's help. They also follow the Section member he is meeting with, which leads to a flat that Fredrik Clinton had been to four hours before. Lisbeth finishes her autobiography and sends it to Mikael, and Jonasson informs Lisbeth she can stay no longer and she will be taken away in a couple of days. Dr. Jonasson is surprised that she is not worried about the trial. Mikael finishes his story as well.Another day or two later, Lisbeth is transfered out of the hospital and to a prison in Stockholm to await her murder trial.Sonny, the motorcycle gang member from the previous film, is informed that he was searched by the police, but found clean, and that his friend had sent Niederman to hide out in his home. There, he finds his brother dead and his girlfriend tied, gagged, and apparently assaulted. She tells him that Niederman was the culprit, and Sonny vows revenge.Fredrik, in dialysis, is given a copy of Lisbeth's autobiography, and is told that none of it can be proven.Meanwhile, Erika has been receiving anonymous, violently pornographic hate mail, which causes an uproar in the office.In prison, Lisbeth is interrogated by the prosecutor, and says nothing.Annika is given Lisbeth's computer and the DVD of her rape, which she watches.Niederman breaks into an abandoned warehouse, and kills a witness, a random biker.Erika has been receiving more hate mail, as she and the whole office is being spied on by the Section. Dr. Teleborian meets with Lisbeth, and again remains silent.Erika's bedroom window has been smashed, and she, in desperation, has called Milton Security. Mikael meets up with the owner, and is informed of this, and that someone had broken into his apartment and smuggled cocaine and cash there. The building owner concludes that they are trying to frame him, since they cannot hurt the newspaper. The police find that Jonas (the Section member Teleborian had met with) had met up with the Nikolic brothers, sharpshooters in the Bosnian War and the ones who are pursuing the members of Millennium.Mikael decides to meet with Erika at a restaurant names "Samir's Gryta". The police try to warn Mikael that they will attempt to kill them there, but Mikael had left his phone at the office. They call the restaurant, and Mikael, in an attempt to answer the phone, runs into one of the brothers, who pulls out a gun. Mikael fends him off as the police hurry towards the restaurant. Figuerola arrives with the police and recognizes the other brother waiting in a car outside the restaurant, and arrests them both. The Section is dismayed when they find that the two brothers had failed their job.In court, Lisbeth enters with ear and facial piercings, a mohawk hairstyle, black makeup, and dark clothing. As the court procession proceeds, Mikael decides to print Lisbeth's story in the magazine. Mikael visits Erika, who is being monitored by police, to say that he had gone against her decision to not print the magazine. Teleborian heads into court, stating that her autobiography is merely the product of Lisbeth's supposed paranoid delusions. Annika lashes back by demolishing Teleborian's credibility, where he states that she was restrained at St. Stephen's for around 30 days, when in reality, she had been restrained for 381 days. She uses Lisbeth's word and files from the hospital to prove this. The judge does not accept old files as proof against Teleborian's credibility.Afterward, Plague follows Teleborian up to his hotel. From the lobby he is able to use wireless internet to hack Teleborian's computer, and catches him looking at child pornography. Plague makes a full copy of the computer, which he soon gives to Mikael, who passes on the information to Annika and the police.In court, Annika shows the video proving Bjurman raped Lisbeth, and showing her statements of abuse were completely true.As Annika presents her case for the defense, the police arrest the people involved with the Section and seize their place of operation. She proves that Teleborian had confined Lisbeth to an institution as punishment for setting her father on fire, and that he wants to detain Lisbeth at St. Stephen's once more. Annika calls Mikael to the stand and states that Teleborian had written his psychiatric opinions before he had even been allowed to interview Lisbeth. Then Annika calls Edklinth to the stand, and he states that the opinions were formulated in cooperation with Jonas Sandberg, using his computer as proof. Teleborian is left speechless. Edklinth tells Teleborian he is to be arrested, on charges of possessing over 8,000 items of child pornography, and his computer seized as evidence. After Teleborian is arrested, the court then decides that Lisbeth has no further need to been detained in custody.The Millennium workers celebrate their victory, with Erika returning to work. Lisbeth is encouraged by Annika to check the property she has inherited from Zala and is led to the warehouse where Niederman was hiding. Niederman attempts to trap her in the warehouse and kill her, but she is too fast for him. Lisbeth uses a nail gun to trap Niederman, nailing him to the floor. She considers nailing him in the head but runs out of nails. Upon leaving, Lisbeth instead phones Sonny and tells the bikers where to find Niederman, and then she calls the police after the bikers arrive.Lisbeth returns home, Mikael briefly visits her to tell that the motorcycle gang killed Niederman and were arrested soon after. They then have a brief, strained conversation, in which she thanks him for everything, and agrees to stay in touch as he is about to leave. | dark, suspenseful, gothic, mystery, psychological, violence, atmospheric, flashback, revenge, historical | train | imdb | Perspective: I am 25, Danish (thus understanding Swedish) and have not read the books.The final movie covering Stieg Larssons Millennium trilogy ties all the pieces together and explains the deeper reasons for Lisbeth Salanders unreasonable treatment by society.Compared to its predecessors, I found the first movie highly gripping for its unique roughness and interesting characters, while the sequel didn't really catch me due to a plain storyline and little creativity.
This movie however is back on track, keeping a good pace of events and complexity.If you have already followed Salander and Blomkvist during the previous books/movies, you will surely enjoy watching how the conspiracy is being unraveled through intense investigations and court trials.
'THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five) The third part in the wildly popular Swedish crime series the 'Millennium Trilogy' (following 'THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO' and 'THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE', both released earlier this year in America and last year in Sweden and other parts of the world.) based on the successful books by the late Stieg Larson (who died in 2004 before the first book was published in 2005).
The film once again stars the beautiful and stunning Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander (the title role) and Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist.As the movie opens Lisbeth is being taken to a hospital for urgent care due to being shot multiple times, including a head shot, by her father at the climax of the second film.
The people out to silence Lisbeth are very powerful though and Mikael and his team soon find themselves in grave danger as well.The film has received only mediocre reviews from critics, with many calling it a boring disappointment, but the fans so far mostly think otherwise.
"The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" ends the Millennium Trilogy from Swedish television.Taking up where the second chapter left off, Lisbeth Salandar (Noomi Rapace) is in the hospital, recovering from her wounds.
Mikael and Lisbeth work separately again to clear her name and keep her from being either imprisoned or committed.Good ending to this trilogy, as it wraps up the story very nicely.
Rapace's magnificent presence and total immersion into the role again dominates, with Nyqvist also excellent as Blomkvist, demonstrating his quiet determination to help Lisbeth.Despite the pervasive dark atmosphere (which the story demands) and some really major violence in the first episode, which is not my thing, I really am very glad I watched the Swedish version of this trilogy and do not plan on viewing the American version.
Like coming to the end of an exceptional book, you'll hope for more, surely another way to eke out a Lisbeth Salander film to enjoy.
The Girl Trilogy - Hornet Completes It. These Swedish films are based on author Stieg Larsson's very popular "Millennium" trilogy of books.The "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is the first, and "The Girl Who Played With Fire" is the second, while "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" is the last in the series.All three should be viewed in sequence.
We have a more fleshed out group of characters to contend with now and the plot of the series has become so expansive you can hardly believe these two rather insignificant people have so much on their plates.The final installment in the Millennium trilogy continues off where the 1st and 2nd movie leaves off as we find Lisbeth being air lifted out of Zala's compound and near death.
Meanwhile the authorities seek Lisbeth to indict her for attempted murder and a slew of other alleged misdeeds but Blomqvist still stands by steadfast and armed with the truth.We see more into the reason why a mysterious group of unknown individuals seeks to discredit Lisbeth and silence her to protect the man called Zala and what his significance is to the mysterious group.The whole of Lisbeth's past and the present circumstances surrounding Zala and the mystery men come together like an immovable object and an unstoppable force as the story reaches its ultimate climax towards the end.
We will be treated to excellent acting and a compelling ending to the trilogy written by Stieg Larson.The action of the first two films is replaced with a tense thriller as we see the attempt to quiet our two heroes permanently, while they use all their resources to expose a secret agency much like that in the Bourne Trilogy.
The third instalment of the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest dives further back into Lisbeth Salander's past and gives us a slight idea into why she is the way that she is.
It's not as amazing as The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, but it's a definite improvement in coherence over The Girl Who Played with Fire.I thought it was a reasonably strong end to the trilogy, and I admittedly felt some strong satisfaction at seeing some of the events that happen in this movie.
I re-watched The Girl Who Played With Fire just prior to seeing this final film of the trilogy and it left me itching to discover what would happen next.The relationship between Lisbeth and Mikael is utterly fascinating and a refreshing change from the usual movie 'love interest' thrown in to appease audiences.
Part 3 of the Stieg Larsson Millennium trilogy brings to an end this fascinating multi-dimensional mystery-thriller centered around one of the most absorbing characters ever viewed on screen, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace).
Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and his team at Millennium are putting together a comprehensive story to help in Lisbeth's defense and to prevent her from being institutionalized.This is where we really are introduced to the players of The Section, the secret society of Swedish Police.
"The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" is another magnificent film of the Millennium Trilogy that closes with golden key this awesome story.
The Godfather , Lord of the Rings and even Toy Story, but for me The Millennium Trilogy is up there with best.The Girl who kicked the Hornets nest is the final film of the three and for me the most gripping.
Although this film has far less action than the other films it ties up any lose ends that the first two movies leave and the court room scenes had my heart pumping.The acting from Noomi Rapace and Michael Nvqvist is outstanding and i have thoroughly enjoyed watching them over the three films.
Again, I elected for English-dubbed in and it was excellent, seamless.Downsides: No landscape scenery to speak of, no humor, music was never a factor, no tension or suspense; no real action scenes (not that we need to see them in every movie); too much rehashing of the second segment; a secondary plot involving a secret organization within the Swedish government that really went nowhere; no chemistry between Mickael and Erika (Endre) who were supposed to be an item; way too long and this one also ran around itself until the trial and, of course, too talky.
Continuing the story of Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and punk Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), Daniel Alfredson's "Luftslottet som sprängdes" - "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" in English - pits the young woman against the people who abused her as a child.
The third & final chapter of the Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is also the weakest entry in the series which, in its effort to bring a satisfying conclusion to the story of Lisbeth Salander, fails to do justice to a lot of elements and relies way too much on Noomi Rapace's performance to get itself past the finish line.Based on Stieg Larsson's novel of the same name, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest finds Lisbeth Salander recovering from the events that transpired in the previous film while awaiting trial for the three murders she was wrongfully framed for.
But in order to prove her innocence & secure a better future, she'll need to disclose the scarring details of her past life.Directed by Daniel Alfredson, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest begins right where the previous feature signed off but the loss in quality that was evident in the second instalment when compared to the first one continues its trend here for this second sequel is too slow & tedious for what's supposed to be the final entry in the series and also happens to be a tad too long.It does however ties up the loose ends and finally unfolds the mystery of its lead character by unfolding her disturbing past & the reason why she is the way she is.
Noomi Rapace once again chips in with a terrific performance which overshadows the rest of the cast's input.On an overall scale, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest isn't the finale Lisbeth Salander deserves for it lacks the sense of hurriedness that final chapters usually have, is overlong & overly plotted in the middle, and could've been a much better send-off if the narrative was more tightly structured.
Luftslottet som sprängdes (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest) – CATCH IT ( B ) Well another very good Suspense continued story of Lisbeth Slander
it was dealt very Police investigation way...
Then she returns from the dead to smash an axe into the head of her father.¨ The Millennium trilogy written by the late Stieg Larsson, finally comes to an end with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest picking up right where the second one ended.
I still enjoyed The Girl who Played with Fire, but I think that it is very difficult to judge that one on its own because it didn't have an ending and only served to set up part of the plot for this final third film where we finally get all our questions answered about the secret group that Lisbeth's father was involved with.
The second movie left a lot of inconclusive things, but The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest finally gives us all the answers in a little over 2 hours and 20 minutes.
The same director (Daniel Alfredson) and screenplay writer (Jonas Frykberg) from the second part of the trilogy are back, but this time they included Ulf Ryberg to help out a little more with the screenplay, and I think that his addition contributed a lot more in order to make this movie flow better (which was one of the weaknesses I found from the previous film).
I know that you cannot include everything from the book in a two hour movie, so many people may end up disappointed, but I think the film worked really well on its own.
"The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" is the final completion of the Millennium trilogy which main advantage was the original novel by Stieg Larsson.
Noomi Rapace has The Millennium Trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson to thank for in propelling her to stardom the world around, where she's synonymous with her character Lisbeth Salander, the eccentric female hacker who sports a large mean looking dragon tattoo on her back.
While there's this precise turning point in the film, perhaps it's because as an audience we're already aware of the truth and what's already hidden up the characters' sleeves that took away some of the shine from the "surprise" unbeknownst to the opposition, that it became more of an exercise in necessity just waiting to happen.The other half of the dynamic duo Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) also didn't have much to do other than to work on his new Millennium issue dedicated to tell the truth about Lisbeth, in hope that it will bring a positive outcome at the end of it all.
There's nothing much left to be revealed in the final installment other than to define Lisbeth Salander's background a little bit more and to explain why she's so hunted by her enemies, If anything, the cast continues their top notch fleshing out of Stieg Larsson's characters, with Noomi Rapace leading the pack in the promise of her potential outside of this franchise..
This last (?) installment of the 'Millennium' trilogy may contain less characters suspense, as we already know the heroes, but moves the action in the political and psychological thriller and court drama territories, and does it in a solid and yet sensitive way.Much is of course to be said - again - about the splendid acting of Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth and of Michael Nyquist as journalist Mikael Blomqvist.
And I think that the final result was pretty good, because the film kept me very entertained and interested.As for the cast, our old acquaintances Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace bring perfect performances in the leading roles once more, and I also liked the work from Lena Endre, Annika Hallin, Anders Ahlborn, Jacob Ericksson and specially Micke Spreitz.
However, the story is the film's main star, and despite not being an excellent film, I liked The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest pretty much, even though I felt some melancholy when it ended for knowing that the late author Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) will not write anymore about the adventures from the characters Lisbeth Salander and Michael Blomkvist..
Lisbeth gets some breathing room, so the Millennium group has time to shine in the series' dramatic conclusion.Not as consistently brilliant as the first film, yet not as confused and silly as the second, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest occupies a happy medium.
The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson is a series of pulp mysteries centered around Lisbeth Salander, an interesting, intelligent, self-reliant character who jumped off the page in the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.In print, Larsson's prose (perhaps only in translation) can be pedestrian.
Although the books were doorstop bricks, the film works without a lot of explanation.Noomi Rapace -- a Swedish actress virtually unknown here in North America -- plays Lisbeth Salander, a tough, eccentric researcher/hacker.
Their loss...This, the final act in the trilogy, wraps up all the loose ends.In The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Lisbeth Salander is introduced as an objet, not much more than bandaged furniture around which the other characters move.
As you get to know Salander, you come to understand that the bad guys don't have a snowball's chance.You watch the story unfold to see how she is going to defeat them.This is a dark, dark, dark film.I read the book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo only because I liked the trailer for the film by that name.
Not counting the extended TV version and the imminent American remake, this is the Millennium trilogy's cinematic swansong (unless the alleged manuscript for a fourth book in the series turns up), the last hurrah for Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, and a chance for director Daniel Alfredson to "redeem" himself after a rather frosty reaction to The Girl Who Played with Fire.
Needless to say, the dizzy heights of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are, again, out of reach, but as a standalone thriller The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is satisfying enough.Starting exactly where the second film ended (and thus fully justifying the project's TV origin), we catch up with a half-dead Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace), who, after being buried alive, has been rushed to the hospital with a bullet in her head.
Naturally, the old men responsible for the whole mess are eager to silence everyone else, and Lisbeth's psychotic half brother is still at large as well...While the first two films were very Scandinavian in mood, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest harks back to American conspiracy thrillers, albeit with that certain Swedish touch, and the movie's look at a very different kind of "old men in suits" is one of its stronger assets.
I have finally done it, I have done everything Millennium trilogy related I could possibly do: I have read the novels, seen the David Fincher film and now completed the Swedish version of the trilogy.The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest picks up where The Girl Who Played With Fire left off: Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) had been shot in the head by her father Alexander Zalachenko (Georgi Staykov) and is being rushed to hospital.
And while the girl in the conclusion to the Millennium Trilogy isn't literally kicking a hornets' nest, she is stirring up trouble for retired members of the Swedish Security Service.Waking up in a hospital, after being shot by her former Soviet agent father and hulking half- brother, hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) struggles to stay alive long enough to see the doctor who raped her go to jail.Meanwhile, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and his editor receive death threats for their coverage of Lisbeth's trial.Though it ties up the loose ends, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest does so in a confusing, tedious fashion, with far less oomph than the trilogy's antepenultimate and penultimate installments.Besides, why kick hornets' when it's more fun to tear their wings off?
And it brings the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion when, for the first time, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) utters the words "Thank you" to Michael Nyqvist (Mikael Blomkvist) for the favor he has done her in saving her life.
As this film, the final installment in the Millennium trilogy, begins, (SPOILERS AHEAD) Lisbeth Salander is in a hospital, recovering from the bullet in the head she got at the end of part II.
This film opens where 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' ended; protagonist Lisbeth Salander is being taken to hospital as has her father.
The Millennium Trilogy as they are known of popular books, have been adapted very well into three Swedish films, the first is the best, the second is okay, and this final chapter is a good pick up. |
tt2403021 | The Green Inferno | In the opening shot, a tribesman walks through a rainforest with a child from the same tribe. They hear a loud rumbling noise. It's a bulldozer plowing through the forest.In the United States at Columbia University in New York City, we meet Justine (Lorenza Izzo), a college student. With her roommate Kaycee (Sky Ferreira), they sit through a lecture on the cruel traditions placed on women in African tribes, which horrifies Justine. Later, the two notice a group of janitors sitting for a hunger strike in order to obtain health insurance. The girls think these types of groups are stupid.After classes, Justine is invited by another student, named Jonah (Aaron Burns), to check out an activist group led by Alejandro (Ariel Levy). His cause is for the tribe in the Peruvian jungle. Justine makes a comment about the group starving themselves through the jungle for their cause, which Alejandro takes offense to. He orders Justine to leave.A few days later, Justine approaches Alejandro to apologize and decides she wants to join the cause. Another few days later, the two of them, plus a full group of activists, including Jonah, Alejandro's girlfriend Kara (Ignacia Allamand), Amy (Kirby Bliss Blanton), Amy's girlfriend Samantha (Magda Apanowicz), Lars (Daryl Sabara), and Daniel (Nicolas Martinez) head off on a flight, partially funded by Justine's dad, to Peru. Because the plane is small, it makes Amy anxious.Once the group arrives in Peru, they take a boat through the jungle toward their destination. They stop so Justine and Lars can use the bathroom. Lars almost gets his penis bitten by a tarantula and he runs back to the boat.When the group finds the bulldozers, they set off an explosive to stop their acts. As Alejandro recording the militia in their act against the jungle, one of the men holds Justine at gunpoint. Alejandro gets it on video to show off to the internet what kind of actions these people are willing to take against others, all while Justine cries. The man takes the gun away, and he and his men arrest the group.The group is being sent home in their plane. They celebrate their victory while Justine is traumatized from the incident and angry that the others were ready to let her get shot for their cause. Jonah announces that their video has been blowing up all over social media. All of a sudden, the plane's engine blows out, causing the pilots to lose control and head for a crash landing. The plane comes apart, sending at least two other people flying out. The plane crashes, killing both pilots. The man that flew out got impaled and the woman that fell out landed in a tree, badly injured and nearly dying. The rest of the group tries to move somewhere safe until they see some of the villagers in the forest. Kara asks them for help, but she gets an arrow in her neck. The others make a run for it, but they get hit by tranquilizing darts by unseen natives. Alejandro tries to remove the arrow out of Kara's neck, only for her to get another one in her head.When the group wakes up, they are being taken across the river by a Cannibal Headhunter, to the village where the rest of the tribe resides. They're all put in wooden cages, except for Jonah. He gets fed some kind of liquid before being laid down and having his limbs held down by some villagers. The Village Elder (Antonieta Pari) walks over to Jonah and holds a spike over his face. She digs the spike into his right eye and gouges it out before eating it in front of the villagers and Jonah's friends. The Elder proceeds to take his other eye, his tongue, and then has Jonah's limbs hacked off before he is finally decapitated. The others are horrified and cover their eyes.Jonah's remains are later cooked and soon eaten by the rest of the villagers. Alejandro determines that the villagers think they are the enemy. Lars mentions he can smell Jonah being cooked, making Amy sick. She first throws up and then has a massive bowel movement in the cage, which makes the others sick while the village children laugh and mock Amy.Justine tries to appease one of the children by playing her flute necklace that belonged to her mother. The child likes the music, but the Cannibal Headhunter and other native warriors arrive and pull Justine, Amy, and Samantha out of the cages. They take the ladies' panties off and the Elder takes a spike similar to what she used on Jonah. She puts it up Amy and Samantha's vaginas, then up Justine's. The Elder breaks Justine's hymen, proving to the tribe that she is a virgin. They take Justine into a hut and cover her in some kind of white powder before returning her to the cage.The next day, Alejandro mentions that the whole trip was just a PR stunt and that he doesn't actually give a shit about the tribe or the cause. He makes a crude comment on how it's good that Jonah was eaten first since he'd feed the tribe for a week, angering Daniel and Justine.Any attempt at escaping the cages leads to the group getting shot with darts by the watchers. They create a distraction that allows Samantha to climb out and look for help. Hours later, the villagers bring the group bowls with liquid and meat scraps. Amy drinks from the bowl and sea a bio-hazard symbol, which she recognizes as one of Samantha's tattoos. Then she sees the children wearing patches of flesh with the rest of Samantha's tattoos. Amy then smashes the bowl and slits her throat with a jagged piece.Knowing the villagers will get Amy next, Lars and Daniel stuff a bag of weed down her throat. the village Headhunter enters the cage and hacks Amy's corpse to pieces. After she is cooked and consumed, the villagers all get stoned. This allows Justine and Daniel to escape from their cage. Lars tries to follow but the cynical Alejandro gets him with a dart so he doesn't die alone.When Lars awakens, he sees two villagers sitting over him with the giggles. He tries to appease them with silly hand gestures until they start to get the munchies. One villager bites into Lars's arm, but he shoves him away and runs for it. Unfortunately, a large group of villagers attacks him and eats him alive.Justine and Daniel manage to get to a river and find some wreckage of the plane. Justine falls into the water and gets swept downriver. When Justine grabs a rock to hold onto, Daniel manages to rescue her by extending a tree branch and brings her ashore. That evening, they follow the trail of wreckage and finally arrive at the crash site of their plane. They find their GPS, but the battery's dead. They then hear a ringtone coming from the pocket of Kara, whose corpse is hung up alongside the other dead activists. Justine gets Kara's phone out of her pocket, but the villagers show up and dart her and Daniel.Justine awakens the next morning back in the village to find the medicine woman covering her nude body in white powder and paint. She is trying to sew Justine's vagina shut as part of a customary ritual. Daniel is tied up to a pole and covered from head to toe in a green mold by the village Headhunter. A colony of big ants start climbing up his body and biting into him. Before anything else happens to Justine, a child runs and brings the villagers the severed head of a man wearing a hard hat. The other villagers run out to see what other remains are available for consumption. The child that Justine played the flute necklace for shows up and unties Justine's hands. She unties her feet before the medicine woman returns. When she gets a good opportunity, she blows a special powder into the medicine woman's face and rips the bone out of her nose, allowing her to run. She tries to get Daniel, but he's in so much pain that he prefers to die. The child blows the powder in Daniel's face to make him pass out before he cuts Daniel's throat.The child leads Justine deep into the forest to escape. Alejandro begs Justine to save him, but she leaves him to the villagers. She lets the child keep the flute necklace and thanks him for helping her. Justine then runs and finds the militia shooting and killing the villagers. Justine finds the village Headhunter laying in the grass after being shot. With the local mercenaries approaching, Justine holds her hands up and states that she's American. She takes out Kara's phone and pretends to record the mercs in their acts before smashing the phone. The leader orders his men to take Justine away. She is boarded on a chopper to fly home, where she sees the bodies of the villagers sprawled everywhere and the soldiers burning the huts.Upon returning home, Justine testifies as the sole survivor from the crash. She denies witnessing any cannibalism.Justine then dreams that Alejandro made it home, and that she has monster teeth that she uses to rip out his throat. When she wakes up, she looks out her window and sees activists outside protesting for Alejandro to be returned home.During the closing credits, we hear a phone call between Justine and a woman claiming to be Alejandro's sister. She mentions seeing a surveillance photo (which we see) of Alejandro still in the jungle. His sister tells Justine that they need to talk. | violence, murder | train | imdb | The Green Inferno is a standard Eli Roth fare - gore galore, cannibalism, and occasional humor - set in the Amazon rainforest.
The choice of protagonists points to the change immediately in that it centres on a group of eco aware students who travel into the middle of the Amazonian rain-forest to stage a viral protest against some environment destroying workers, needless to say things take a bad turn and they wind up captive by a tribe of cannibals.
If you're not a fan of his films already, this won't win you over, but if you his brutal, tongue-in-cheek horror, The Green Inferno is a perfectly serviceable gore-fest.
Like Roth's previous films, The Green Inferno takes its time before unleashing hell on the victims.
Roth's 2015 resurrection of this controversial horror sub-genre draws most directly from 1980's "Cannibal Holocaust", a movie so realistic that director Ruggero Deodato was arrested and put on trial for the murder of some of the actors in the film.
(Deodato was only exonerated after he gathered all of his actors together for a TV show appearance and then demonstrated in court the special effects used to create the actors' "deaths".) That movie's working title was "The Green Inferno", a title which was eventually applied to the most gruesome scenes in "Cannibal Holocaust", specifically, the film within the film that purports to show footage from a missing documentary film crew.
Blumhouse Productions stepped in and the company's multi-platform releasing arm, BH Tilt, released "The Green Inferno" on September 25, 2015.After a brief scene of bulldozers flattening a rain forest in the Amazon, the narrative of Roth's cannibal film starts innocuously on the streets of New York City.
There's much less nudity than in previous Eli Roth movies and the gore, as disturbing as it is, could have been a lot more graphic, given what's happening on screen.
The story's solid, the acting's fairly decent for this genre and the film works as a horror movie, a thriller, a political commentary and there's even some dark comedy.
Can't Match the Films It Tries to Pay Homage To. The Green Inferno (2013) ** 1/2 (out of 4)A group of college students decide to head to South America where they're going to protest some developers who are damaging the rain forest and threatening a tribe that has lived there for thousands of years.
Their plan doesn't quite work when their plane crashes in the jungle and soon the survivors have the unlucky fate of being served up for dinner.Eli Roth's homage to the Italian cannibal movies of the 70s and early 80s is a rather mixed bag.
There's an incredibly awful jump scare towards the end, which will have you rolling your eyes.THE GREEN INFERNO is a decent movie but at the same time it doesn't quite live up to all the hype that people have created for it the past couple years..
The Green Inferno is another one of Eli Roth's torture porn films, except this movie looks on cannibalism, which is meant to pay homage to one of the most controversial films of all time, Cannibal Holocaust.
It could have been just a straightforward exploitation film.The movie has a pretty long opening exposition, concerning a young woman who was invited by a group of activists who wanted to save the Amazon rainforest by orchestrating a scandal to the loggers for online awareness.
"The Green Inferno" is an unoriginal and stupid film of cannibals by Eli Roth.
Well, actually it isn't a typically crap contemporary horror movie-its far worse than anything I have ever seen which maybe defines a typical trajectory for the type director Eli Roth is.
The Green Inferno (2013) directed by Eli Roth is a solid homage to the old Italian cannibal films of the 1970's and the 1980's.
the cannibal sub genre isn't exactly known for its amazing plot structure or character development, it's mostly known for its shock value, beautiful locations, suspense and good gore effects.
The Green Inferno doesn't live up to the excellence of say, Cannibal Holocaust, but it does do a great job of finding it's place within the sub genre as a good film that achieves mostly everything it set out to achieve.
to conclude my review ill just say that The Green Inferno (13) directed by Eli Roth is a great cannibal flick, but isn't top notch by any means.
OK, now I had no idea this movie was 'anticipated', nor did I ever see Cannibal Holocaust (although I saw fragments), so I guess this is as fair of a review as any - although I do like Eli Roth and try to see most of his work, finding some good and some bad - so I'm pretty open either way.
Unfortunately, however, it does remain an Eli Roth film and he continues to make annoying mistakes over and over again
I'm referring to an overlong first half hour in which practically nothing happens except for a lot of blah blah (although it's not as bad as in "Hostel"), the use of infantile toilet humor (the tarantula sequence or the ridiculous diarrhea moment) and downright idiotic stuff (like getting an entire cannibal tribe stoned by hiding a little bag of weed in a corpse about to be cooked).
It was cool to see a cannibal movie in cinemas, a throwback to a genre which didn't last long, and hasn't had a notable entry in decades- and still hasn't, because that novelty is the film's only attraction.This is all formulaic and fairly predictable: a group of (mostly irritating and unlikeable) people end up stranded in the Amazon rainforest, first attacked by jungle natives, then held captive for an extended period of time, tortured, escàpe, blah, blah, blah.Gore fans and Eli Roth fans may get into this a bit more, but I found my attention wandering, when I wasn't repulsed by the gore, or annoyed by some of the obnoxious characters, and the poor cinematography in the Chilean and Peruvian locales.
Please if you enjoy the saw films and like to see people get cut up then go ahead and watch it it may become you new favorite movie.
There is a message in the movie, but it's feels like more an ironic slap to the face for American society than any thing else.One of the masters of the Torture porn movement, Eli Roth uses the Green Inferno to bring back a genre most of the mainstream public my not be aware exist and makes it art by taking out most of the exploitation elements and replaces it with a view on environmental rights.A group of white kids(Actually, they are Spanish kids with thick accents) head to the rain Forrest to radically stop bulldozers from tearing it down, only to get captured by a native tribe that seems to love white meat.Best part of this semi-horror film was watching the natives eat human flesh like it's no different from a pig(and you'll notice the village is littered with pigs).
It was an ensemble of college kids I could not wait to see killed.If you like cannibal films at all you should check out the Green Inferno, it ups the whole genre thanks to the use of modern day special effects.At the same time if you ever wanted to punch an obnoxious hipster in his face than you should use this movie as therapy..
Eli Roth is at it again with all the blood, gore, and cheesy horror tropes you've come to expect, but this time with an anti-activist message wrapped up within.Right out of the gate let me answer the question; no this is not a good movie.
Eli Roth's passion for this film shines through so much that I can't help but think every detail, bad acting and all, was all designed that way.
It seems smart at first but a little on the nose in my opinion.So overall I wouldn't recommend The Green Inferno to the average movie-goer but for those die hard Eli Roth and horror fans, you'll certainly find something to love..
Eli Roth's The Green Inferno has premiered at several film festivals over the past two years before finally getting a wide release in the United States.
Possibly I was very young when I watched both Eli Roth-directed Hostel films because, honestly, I found both very nice horror pieces...
Roth is forced to re-shoot the ending of the film (possibly why release was delayed and delayed), so that now when the girl escapes torment, torture, genital mutilation, dismemberment, and cannibalism, she tells everyone back home that she was actually rescued and well treated by the tribe.
College girl Justine (Lorenza Izzo) joins a group of obnoxious college eco-warriors on a trip to the Amazon to protest the development of the rain-forest; after their plane crashes in the jungle, the young activists find themselves captured by a tribe of savage cannibals who mistakenly hold them responsible for the destruction of their surroundings.Eli Roth continues his quest to be Hollywood's most 'hardcore' horror director, but once again fails big time.
With The Green Inferno, contemporary mainstream horror's biggest hack tackles the jungle cannibal genre, which gained much notoriety in the '70s thanks to gruelling, gory classics such as Cannibal Holocaust, Jungle Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox.As expected, the film delivers lots of gruesome gore (dismemberment, eye-gouging and decapitation aplenty), the effects provided by the ever reliable KNB effects group, but with a diabolical script, uneven tone (Roth can't seem to decide whether his film is a parody or serious), poorly paced direction (the first half an hour is a real test of patience), and terrible performances all round, the film loses any power that it might have had to shock the viewer.4.5/10 for the gore, rounded down to 4 for the out-of-place toilet humour (the 'explosive diarrhoea' scene and the 'tarantula attack while peeing'), the cringe-worthy dialogue ('They have the munchies') and the 'friendly' native child who helps his dinner escape..
It also missed it's chance to show that kids in college boycott things they know very little about makes them seem like the dumb people in this show.I cannot guarantee that added a little more commentary in it would make it a better movie but I don't see how it can be worse.Roth delivers plenty of gore like all his films but is nothing any seasoned film-goers has not seen many times before.I truly believe with a smarter plot, perhaps more humor, and creating more of a thin line could have made this a much smarter horror movie and allow it to stand on it's own merit other than being nothing more than an update of Cannibal Holocaust.Dean.
This is a great fun movie if you like Eli Roth's brand of film making.
As a huge movie fan of all genres, I have to say well done to Eli Roth and the cast of The Green Inferno.
The Green Inferno is something special, it feels like a breath of fresh air when you see the huge number of all those supernatural horror films that come out.
The shock value was pretty much the star of Cannibal Holocaust but no one today gives the movie backlash for that, but when it happens with this movie, people get outraged because they didn't get their OSCAR worthy horror film!
I'm aware that this movie had a number of release issues, but having watched it I'm guessing it was a ploy to built interest in an otherwise dire move.It's been a strange week as I watched Knock Knock which although not as bad as this tripe, it certainly has the same incredibly bad acting, production & implausible story parts which combined make them difficult to persevere with for 90+ minutes.There was a time when you looked out for Eli Roth movies, however his recent stuff has made me check to see if he died & his electrician son has taken over & tried his hand at directing.It is truly awful from start to finish.
After waiting for more than a year, and absolutely loving Eli Roth's first movie, and liking his next two, I really thought this would be something good.
There's only one really gory scene in the whole thing, surprising for Eli Roth, and even more surprising is that Roth has said the movie wasn't cut for the R rating meaning there's probably not an extended cut forthcoming.The Green Inferno moves fast enough to rank watchable status, and the plane crash is pretty impressive, but that's all that really recommends this movie.
Going in I knew Eli Roth had a gore fetish, so I expected some harsh killing, but the film was even more gory than I expected, and was a little hard to watch.
Beware that the film isn't really a horror movie in the sense that it's scary, it's more like Saw with cannibals.
I felt compelled to write about this film because I am a huge fan and supporter of the horror genre (yes the 2 are different) I saw huge potential for Eli Roth when I first saw cabin fever, it was intense and scary and gross and then that dim wit deputy comic relief character came along.
This film had ALL the potential in the world to be a brake out horror sensation and scare the hell out of audiences but at the directors insistence we get misplaced fart jokes, an out of place masturbation scene and a juvenile teenage pot gag.I will continue to watch things with Eli Roth's name attached to it but not forever.
'THE GREEN INFERNO': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)The new horror flick from director Eli Roth (the man behind such popular slasher classics as 'CABIN FEVER' and 'HOSTEL').
It's also full of dark comedy (like all of Roth's films) and it's a great tribute to exploitation cannibal movies of the past.
When the group is traveling over the Amazon, their small plane crashes and plunges deep into a jungle, populated by violent, cannibalistic natives that take them hostage in their small village.A film like this can't entirely rely on the violence of the cannibals to carry itself, which is why it's nice to see Eli Roth and Guillermo Amoedo pen some characters that are equal parts amusing and satirical.
To honor her I watched the movie that I knew her from, Eli Roth's The Green Inferno.
I like Eli Roth's Hostel, and some of his idea on thriller film, but for Green Inferno, I think it was just an "OK OK".I had a great expectations on it before it really released, I had a great expectations on the gory / gross of this film too, I thought it may be more "unacceptable" gore scene than it previous film, but after watch the entire film, found that it just not as good as what audiences have expected it.The story is fine, actually the gory scene is not bad too.
The usually soldid horror director Eli Roth, turns in a fantastical cannibal movie.
The green inferno isn't super good but still i'm not that convinced that this is the worst thing Eli Roth has made..
Cannibals and zombies, ah, those good old and exciting days of gore and thrash and non-p.c.-fun.I was never much impressed by Eli Roth's movies, be it the Hostel ones or Cabin Fever.
The Green Inferno is an okay to good movie - if you know what to expect: a simple story and a lot of gore and disgust.
Eli Roth loves cannibal movies, and clearly set out to give the forgotten genre some big-budget loving care while paying homage to greats like Deodato and Lenzi.
As we come to expect from an Eli Roth movie, there is a lot of gore and a lot of exploitation.
Oddly enough I never got around to watch Eli Roth's "The Green Inferno" movie before 2017, although that I had been told that it was a rather good movie.
I had watched the late 1970 and 1980's numerous cannibal movies, so I was no stranger to the genre."The Green Inferno" starts out rather slow paced, in terms of establishing characters and plot.
Why Eli Roth opted for that ending is just beyond my comprehension, because it was a severe disappointment to an otherwise great film.All in all, "The Green Inferno" is a good movie and an entertaining one.
I don't hate Eli Roth but prefer him as an actor rather than a director (personally I only like Cabin Fever.) The Green Inferno is a failed attempt at re-capturing the camp and cheese of 60's 70's and 80's cannibal films.
Again it's enjoyable as a rental, the practical effects are great, the gore elements are all over the place, there was a bit of bad CGI but besides that the movie is OK...not great but OK, there are many ways you can screw a film like this specially in the ending for me it back fired and made little sense, over all I'd say give it a watch and see it for yourself..
There it was also about cannibalism but you really had a horror feeling while in The Green Inferno it's just about the gore.
All in all for gore fans The Green Inferno will score okay but for horror movie freaks it will be sadly not good enough..
While certain aspects of the The Green Inferno could have been better, I still left satisfied and happy as a fan of the original cannibal films of the 1970s and 1980s.Writer/Director Eli Roth brings 21st century college students to the Amazon to protest the destruction and killing of a tribe in order to exploit their land.After protesting and being put under arrest, their plane crashes into the jungle.
Eli Roth didn't disappoint on the gore in this film.
The Green Inferno was definitely not a letdown, but it wouldn't have taken much to make it a lot better.Don't expect the shock value of Cannibal Holocaust but get ready for one of the most violence films of the year. |
tt1198138 | Obsessed | Taken from www.themoviespoiler.comThe movie opens with a African-American family moving into their new home. The family consists of Derek Charles (Idris Elba), his wife Sharon (Beyonce Knowles) and their baby, Kyle (Nathan and Nicholas Myers). The drive up to their new home and Sharon removes the sold sign and they go inside. While the baby sleeps, Derek and Sharon play a game of hide and seek in the empty rooms; this includes a tour of the attic, which is only beams and insulation. The game ends in their bedroom where the two enjoy a quickie while awaiting the moving van.When the movers arrive, Sharon directs the layout of the furniture and Derek heads into his office. Arriving at his office, he jumps into a crowded elevator and notices a white, blond hot chick (Ali Larter) carrying a stack of files. She remains in the elevator after everyone else gets off. She checks him out when hes not looking and he does the same. He asks if shes a client, she says shes a temp and this surprises him. When she drops all the files, he bends to help her and their hands touch. Derek looks uncomfortable and she smiles.When he gets off on his floor, she does the same. He asks her whom shes there to see and she says 'Derek Charles'. He tells her to watch out because he heard Derek Charles is a real asshole and tells her good luck.She later realizes his little joke and drops the files off with his assistant. Derek is a very successful asset manager with a large firm.As Derek leaves for the day he tells good luck on her next assignment and she says the company is actually keeping her for a few days, but he doesnt hear her, as he never stopped walking. She looks a little sad and turns back to her computer.The next day Derek arrives at work to find the temp, who introduces herself as Lisa Sheridan sitting at the desk of his assistant, Patrick (Matthew Humphreys). He asks what happened to Patrick and she replies, stomach flu. He says, "Well grab a pen and pad and lets get to work."Lisa sits across from Derek and he rattles of a list of to dos, many of which she has already taken care of. He asks if hes going to fast and she says, "No, I'm waiting for you to catch up".She proves to be very efficient and attracts the attention of most of the men in the office including Dereks best friend Ben (Jerry O'Connell) and his boss Joe Gage (Bruce McGill). Both of who comment on Dereks good luck. It seems, his wife was the last hot chick working in the office and Derek snatched her up and married her and now he has the new hot chick working for him.Over the course of the next few days, Lisa proves to be a creepy but very capable assistant. She even listens in on Derek and Sharon's conversations.When Derek and Sharon are talking one night, she asks why he didnt return her call and he says I didnt get the message. He then tells her the new girl got the message wrong and gave him the wrong name, (I think she said Cheryl). His wife asks him where is Patrick and he tells her out sick, she asks, I thought we agreed no female assistants? and tells him to get rid of her. She asks what does Lisa look like and he replies, "plain".Patrick returns and he breathes a sigh of relief that Lisa is gone, but then he sees her at the desk of Marge (Bonnie Perlman) who is Joe's assistant. It appears Marge also has the stomach flu. Derek looks like he feels just as sick when he sees her.At home he and Lisa are discussing her future and her desire to go back to school and finish her degree. He would rather Sharon stay home with Kyle, but she reminds him that he promised after the baby was born that she could go back to school.A few days later, Sharon brings Kyle to the office and is sitting in Derek's office talking when Lisa comes in for a report Joe is requesting. She comes over and introduces herself to Sharon who calls Lisa by the wrong name. She corrects Sharon and begins to coo and fawn over Kyle before heading back to work. Sharon says theres one thing that girl aint and its plain. Derek says he wouldn't know because the only woman he notices is Sharon. She rolls her eyes and they take Kyle around the office. Lisa goes into Derek's office, looks at a photo of his family and opens his CD case and looks at the music inside and notices one labeled Credo.The next day theres a CD on his desk and he inserts it to find its a live recording of the band. Lisa sends him an IM saying she knew he liked the group and its a bootleg copy. He tells her the band rocks and get back to work. She smiles as she watches him bop to the beat.The next day at work, Derek walks into the break room and finds Lisa in tears. He says "hi" and makes his way to the refrigerator for his lunch. As he turns to walk out and almost makes it out of the door before turning and asking if shes okay. She tells him she was just dumped and wonders if theres something wrong with her. He tells her that she is a smart and beautiful woman and if he was single He cuts himself off and pats her arm and says everything is going to be okay. As hes leaving Ben walks in and looks at the two of them questioningly.Patrick and Lisa have bonded and he asks her how often did she listen in on Derek's conversations. She laughs and says we need to have cocktails and clue her in on all the office gossip.The office Christmas party approaches and no spouses are allowed. Sharon reminds Derek to remember to eat something before drinking and have fun.At the party Derek dances with Marge for a little while before Lisa cuts in. She maneuvers them to the mistletoe and tells Derek that if he doesnt kiss her the staff will talk more than if he did kiss her. He says well Ill have to take that chance, laughs and walks away heading to the mens room. When he walks into the stall, Lisa suddenly appears and follows him inside. She is all over him, trying to kiss him, pulling his shirt out of his pants as he tries in vain to avoid her. They hear a drunken guy at the urinal whos trying to peek into the stall to see whos inside making out. He keeps shushing Lisa and she keeps trying to get into his pants. When the guy leaves he forcefully pushes her away as she asks, "What's wrong?" He tells her to stop and leaves the mens room. He grabs his jacket and hurriedly leaves the party. As Lisa returns to the party smoothing down her dress, Patrick who saw Derek leave first, makes a catty remark and Lisa says, "Oh, dance with me you queen." They both laugh as they dance.That night as he slips into bed Sharon asks how was the party and he says the same old same old. She asks, Did anything exciting happen? He says nope and pulls her close as she goes back to sleep.The next day Derek sees Lisa at the office and she acts like nothing happens. He gives her a wide berth the entire day. Later that day she comes into his office and apologizes for her behavior. Derek tells her dont worry about it. She smiles and leaves. Derek later confides to Ben about what happened at the party. Ben jokes that he is so jealous and Derek tells him its not funny. He tells Ben that hes going to HR to get rid of Lisa and Ben tells him to be careful; she may turn it around on him. He goes to see the HR Manager Hank (Rick Ruccolo) and says he needs to talk to him about Lisa. Hank tells him Lisa has resigned. Derek breathes a sigh of relief and tells Hank that he thought she might have been in over her head.That evening in the parking garage, Derek gets into his car to leave. As he turns to fasten his seatbelt, Lisa jumps into the car wearing a trench coat. He asks her what the hell is she doing and she opens the coat to reveal a sexy bra/panty outfit complete with fish net stockings. She tells him, its okay now that they no longer work together. He tells her to get out of his car. She continues to squirm in the seat and he yells louder to get out of his car. She asks, "Why are you being this way?" He reaches over her, opens the door and starts to push her out. She screams, "you are an asshole!" and gets out of the car enraged. He peels away with her standing there.That night, he vows to tell Sharon whats going on. He walks into the house and Sharon is sitting at the dining room table holding the phone and a glass of wine. He sees the sad look on her face and asks whats wrong. She says "I just spent the last hour and a half talking my sister off the ledge". It seems her husband had confessed to having an affair and is leaving her. Well of course, he doesnt tell her about Lisa. Big Mistake.After a New Years Eve party, Derek and Sharon return home when his email beeps. Derek sees its from Lisa and tries to ignore it. Sharon says it may be word on the big account Derek has been working on and he should open it. When she goes into the bathroom, he opens the email and its a sexy picture of Lisa, which multiplies into countless windows that cover his screen. As he frantically tries to close them all, he tells Sharon its just spam.At work the next day he e-mails Lisa, saying simply, "leave me alone". The message goes right past her as she responds with a big happy face that winks at Derek.A few days later, Derek is packing for a work retreat. Its being held at a local hotel and the guys at the office are all looking forward to it. She tells him to behave and dont get too drunk doing all that male bonding.At the retreat, Derek, Joe and Ben and another co-worker are sitting around the pool drinking when they decide to visit a mens club for some adult entertainment. The waitress brings Derek a drink and says its from the woman at the bar. As he turns he can only see a partial view of the woman. Dereks phone rings and he answers telling the guys its Sharon. As he walks away to talk to her, he sees Lisa approaching him. He quickly hangs up, leaving Sharon puzzled. He asks, "What the hell are you doing here?" She tells him well of course, Im here to see you. He tells her shes crazy and needs help. She tells him how much fun they can have, and he looks at her as if shes sprouted another head. She tells him to come up to her room and tells him "I'm in 610". He informs her that he is not coming to her room. She says sweetly, "or should I come to yours?" He tells her flat out that nothing is going to happen between them and to get some help. His phone rings and when he turns to answer Lisa slips a powdered substance in the glass. He turns to leave and comes back and grabs the glass saying goodbye for good Lisa. He heads back to the table and says hes in for the club with the rest of the guys.Later that night, Ben and Derek are walking down the hall. Derek is visibly drunk, swaying into the walls and everything. He tells Ben the last drink did him in. He goes into his room as Ben reminds him of their 9:00 meeting. Derek falls across the bed moaning. He turns over to see Lisa hovering over him. Hes incapable of fighting her off as she rubs and massages and kisses him. Derek passes out with Lisa astride him.The next morning he wakes up in obvious hang over hell. He looks at the clock and realizes its already 9:30. He jumps out of bed and makes it to the meeting by 10:15. His boss Joe tells him hes glad he could make it as Derek slinks into his seat muttering about oversleeping. Two hours later, the meeting is still dragging on when the desk clerk interrupts to tell Derek his wife is in the lobby. Derek excuses himself and the man says shes right over there. Of course its Lisa. Now, NOW hes getting angry. She says, "I know youre bored in there so I thought Id rescue you, Wanna go have lunch?"Derek tells Lisa she really is insane. She starts rambling again about how he wants her, how he told her if he was single theyd be together and on and on. She then threatens to go into the meeting and tell them everything. He grabs her arm and yanks her toward the meeting telling her to do it, tell them the truth I want you to. Of course she hesitates and again asks, "Why are you being this way? " He says I dont want you! She then heads toward the room asking, "Who do you think they would believe?" He tells her in no uncertain terms that there will NEVER be anything between them and she needs to leave him alone. He turns and goes back into the meeting.Later on, Derek enters his room and lo and behold, Lisa is in his bed. He says, "Aw, hell no" and tries to yank her out of the bed. He then notices an empty pill bottle and the fact that shes unconscious. He calls 911. We later see Lisa on a gurney and Derek telling Ben hell explain it all later.That night, the phone awakens Ben. It's Sharon asking where Derek is, as hes not answering his cell and she hasnt heard from him. He tells her that maybe she should talk to Derek at the hospital. Of course she freaks out and heads over to the hospital. As she skids around the corner she sees Derek and runs to hug him. Before he can tell her what has happened, the doctor approaches him and tells him that it was a close call but Lisa will be all right. Sharon says, "Lisa, what the hell is going on?" Derek tries to calm her down when Detective Reese (Christine Lahti) walks up and asks to talk to Derek. The detective is asking questions and Sharon is asking questions and Derek looks constipated. When the detective asks why Lisa tried to overdose in Dereks bed, Sharon comes unglued. Derek is trying to calm her down and the detective keeps asking one loaded question after another. Derek tries to tell her that Lisa is crazy, but this falls on deaf ears. Lisa even gave Derek as her emergency contact. Sharon has heard enough and walks away with Derek following her. The ride home is tense and Sharon explodes as soon as the sitter leaves. She accuses Derek of sleeping with Lisa, which he of course denies. He tells Sharon about all the things that Lisa did and she asks "why in the hell am I just hearing all this?" She reminds him about their vow to always tell each other the truth. He says hes so sorry and orders him out of their house. Plates are thrown and tears are shed before he finally leaves.The next day at work Joe advises Derek that what happened at the retreat could open them up to a huge lawsuit and he takes Derek off the big account.Detective Reese visits Lisa in the hospital and questions her about their relationship. Lisa tells her that Derek is going to divorce Sharon and they will be together. She asks if Derek is there to see her. Detective Reese tells her that she doesn't think Derek wants to see her; as a matter of fact she knows he doesn't. Lisa asks, "well why did he send those flowers?" There is a huge bouquet on the table with a card reading, "I'm so sorry about yesterday, I love you. Derek."Detective Reese looks at the card and Lisa very skeptically. After talking with Lisa, Detective Reese meets with Derek and tells him about the flowers. He tells her he never sent Lisa flowers. Derek says that Lisa must have taken the credit card info when she worked in his office and sent the flowers to herself to make it appear to everybody that he cares for Lisa. Detective Reese also reveals a journal Lisa kept detailing all the intimate details of their romance, which of course never happened. Derek again stresses that Lisa is crazy and he's worried about what she might do. Detective Reese reassures him that he doesn't have to worry as Lisa is now in San Francisco with her sister.The next few scenes are of Derek in his hotel room, playing with his son and Sharon alone at home. We later find out that he has been out of the house for a few months. One day he drops his son off at home and tells Sharon that his birthday is approaching and asks if he can spend it with her. She agrees to go to dinner with him. She tells him she has a gift but will give it to him once she sees how the evening goes. During dinner he begs Sharon to let him return home. He tells her she and Kyle are his world and he wants his family back. She slides the box over to him and its his house key.Back at the house, the babysitter Samantha (Scout Taylor-Compton) is texting and listening to music as the doorbell rings. She opens the door and it's Lisa. She waltzes in saying she's a friend of Sharon's and she has a present for Kyle and heads upstairs. Samantha tries to stop her when Lisa says, "You mean Sharon didn't tell you I was coming?" She pulls out her cell phone and has a pretend conversation with Sharon. When she finishes, Lisa offers the phone to Samantha and asks if she needs to speak to Sharon, of course she doesn't or the movie would end here. She turns and says it will only be a second. Lisa heads to the nursery and stands looking down at Kyle. The next scene shows Lisa rocking Kyle and kissing his head. Lisa then leaves without Samantha even noticing.Derek and Sharon arrive home and ask Samantha how did things go. She says "fine and your friend stopped by". Sharon respons by saying "Friend? What friend?" They both bolt up the stairs and find the nursery empty. Sharon screams call 911 as they frantically search for Kyle. Derek runs for the car to search for him and sees Kyle in his car seat with a huge lipstick kiss on his forehead.Cut to the hospital and the doctor telling Sharon and Derek that the baby is fine. Detective Reese offers Derek and Sharon police protection and Derek asks if he should by a gun. Instead he opts for installing a security system.At the office, Patrick gets a surprise call from Lisa who he hasnt heard from in months. He tells her he could get fired for talking to her. She tells him dont worry you wont get fired and asks him hasnt he heard the news. He asks what news? She tells him Derek is divorcing Sharon to be with her. He laughs and says that cant be true because they are planning a big weekend visiting Sharons parents. Motor-mouth spills the beans that Kyle is with Sharons sister, Sharon is driving to her parents and Derek will travel by plane the following day. Lisa abruptly hangs up.Back at the house Sharon is preparing to leave for the weekend. She gets into her car and calls Derek to tell him she is heading out. He asks did she turn on the security system, she remembers that she didnt and heads back to the house. Cut to the house and Lisa breaking in through the back door and entering the house carrying a bottle of champagne and two glasses. She goes into their bedroom and takes off her clothes. Wearing Lisa's nightshirt, she sprinkles rose petals all over the bed.Downstairs, Sharon enters the house and is entering the alarm code when she hears the pop of the champagne bottle up stairs. She slowly climbs the stairs to investigate the noise. When she enters the bedroom Lisa is in their bed. Sharon says, "Oh, you really are crazy."Lisa tells her that she's sorry that their family is breaking up but she and Derek are in love and are going to be together. Sharon tells her to get out of their house. When Lisa approaches her, Sharon grabs her and slings her toward the door. At this moment the phone rings. Both women make a mad dash for the phone and Sharon grabs it first. It's Derek making sure she is okay. She tells him that she found Lisa in their house and then simply says, "I'm going to have to call you back," and then hangs up.Sharon turns towards Lisa, and a climatic and very brutal cat-fight begins. The two women kick, slap, punch, head butt and finally tumble their way down a staircase. While Sharon is stunned, Lisa gets up and runs back upstairs. Sharon is right on her heels and the women end up in the attic. Arming herself with a 2-by-4 piece of wood, Lisa proceeds to use Sharon's legs as batting practice. Balancing herself on some badass four-inch heels, Sharon backs up along a strip of wood, taunting Lisa to come and get her. Lisa swings and falls onto a weak portion of flooring and falls through. Hanging on for dear life, Lisa dangles from the ceiling and we get a view of the floor below and the huge glass coffee table below. Suddenly having a change of heart over letting Lisa fall to her death, Sharon suddenly grabs Lisa's hand and tries to pull her up. And in return the psychotic Lisa tries to pull Sharon with her. Sharon finally finds her cajones and pries Lisa's fingers apart and Lisa drops, crashing into the table below. Lying amidst the glass and twisted metal, Lisa slowly opens her eyes and tries to move. But the swinging chandelier gets her attention, weakened by her fall through the ceiling; it is hanging on by a cord. When it stops swinging, it suddenly falls spearing Lisa beneath it, killing her at last.Sharon slowly walks out the front door as Detective Reese drives up asking what happened. Sharon says, "You know what happened", and she walks into Derek's arms. | insanity, romantic | train | imdb | Stringer Bell, we hardly knew ye.Even Ali Larter didn't come off as psychotic as she could have...perhaps because underneath her lines was the feeling that she was thinking, "What in the world is THIS crap?" Beyonce was a relative nonentity (albeit a well-dressed one), but I'm sure that she and her father bankrolled this movie in further misguided efforts to try and prove that she is a Serious Actress (not to mention a vehicle for further promotion of the House of Dead Wrong--excuse me, the House of Dereon).
I'll show you crazy!"Wow.If you want to watch Ali Larter squeezing her limited talents into the form of a badly written blonde with some relationship issues and Beyonce talking all tough to her (and to her husband), you might enjoy this movie.
If they had made this a parody, I really think it could have been good, but it takes itself super- seriously, even when challenging us not to laugh at Beyonce flinging Ali Larter all over her house, or not to cringe when she viciously berates her boyfriend, for whom she has not the wispiest scrap of trust but who has committed no crime.
To be honest you get kind of irritated by the actor's roles kind of how you get irritated in horror movies when the girl just has to go back into the house when she knows the killer is inside - the characters' roles were the least realistic - it's almost as if they are all idiots and have no idea how to handle simple problems even if it were basic math.Guys, next time, try to focus on making the movie enjoyable, and not just your trailer....
"Obsessed" is basically an adolescent guy's fantasy of how awesome it would be to be married to Beyonce Knowles and to be stalked by Ali Larter at the same time - and, to be noble enough to Do The Right Thing.
It is "Fatal Attraction" for the new millennium, when Hollywood no longer knows how to write, produce, direct, act or anything else that makes a movie watchable.
The trailer made the movie seem GREAT!!However it was LONG & DRAWN OUT to say the least!If the plot was thicker , and there wasn't SO much down time between interesting scenes , it would have been OK.You really don't get to feel like you 'know' the characters very well and it was so long that there wasn't nearly enough in the movie to keep me interested for even half the time!I would watch it as a Lifetime movie , although sad to say I don't think it would cut it!Honestly, my friend & I had completely HAD IT by the time it neared the end and got up & left before it was even over , and we had been watching it for nearly 2hours!.
It's like the writer and Magic Johnson sat down with Kobe Bryant, talked about the night that Kobe had in Colorado and then said, let's make it even worse.Unrealistic and terrible story...During the final scene this movie seriously had me thinking back to the opening credits where some 10 producers (executive and standard) were listed...
And make no mistake, Obsessed is such trash that it is a 3rd rate ripoff of Fatal Attraction, which many forget was *already* a rip-off on Clint Eastwood's Play Misty for Me. Here's what you need to know: nice business guy with lots of cake and a fine mansion and a super-fine wife and young tot gets derailed off of living in banality by a foxy-but-trouble type of girl who's working part time in the office.That's it.
It takes itself so seriously that it's hard not to knock on it in most of the scenes - and it becomes further frustrating since out of the three main characters, one actor (Idris Elba) is actually very good, almost too good, for the material, and another (Ali Larter) fits in in her completely 1 1/2 dimensional role without much struggle.
It is a mindless, campy, fun thriller that you should take with a pinch of salt.Derek Charles (The Wire's Idris Elba) is a successful executive vice president at Gage Bendix and happily married to Sharon (singer-turned-actress Beyonce Knowles).
But when Lisa (Heroes' Ali Larter) becomes "obsessed" with Derek, everything he's worked so hard for is placed in jeopardy.What follows is a crazy thrill-ride up until one of the most-talked about catfights in film history.
It's most definitely a must-see in theatres, especially for someone looking for a good time.With a rockin' soundtrack, great script and cast, Obsessed is a blast of stupid fun and, without a doubt, the sexiest – and most entertaining – thriller of 2009!
You might even say she is boiling bunny mad and she proceeds to turn his family's life into a living hell .This is an average thriller, and inferior to ¨ Fatal attraction ¨ by Adrian Lyne , the date movie of the late 1980s , that garnered six Academy Award nominations and played Michael Douglas , Anne Archer and Glenn Close whose roles bear remarkable resemblance to Idris Elba , Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter .
Fine Idris Elba as hard working man , Beyonce deserves kudos for side-stepping cliché as the strong but frightened wife , and Ali Larter is good as sexy woman who results to be psychotic as she chews up the scenery .
From Play Misty For Me to Fatal Attraction the stalker and wealthy business man has, let's face it, been done to death and has always been far more superior to this piece of trite.The screenplay feels more like a first draft of a Slyvester Stallone movie then a Hollywood script with characters screaming lines such as "I'm gonna wipe the floor with her skinny ass".
But when Lisa (Ali Larter), a temp worker, starts stalking Derek, all the things he's worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy.
Ali Larter and Beyonce Knowles should have known better than to accept a role in this movie.
While my buddies and I were deciding that we could not pick Beyonce over Larter, my wife asked me the tough question, "If Lisa (Larter) hadn't been a psycho, would Derek (Elba) have tried to keep both women?" Good thing that Ali Larter is only 33.
Don't expect any surprises but enjoy some sexy performances from Idris Elba (playing Dereck), Ali Larter (playing Lisa) and Beyonce (playing Sharon).
Steve Shill directs this thriller playing with a lot of stereotypes.The film ticks all the boxes in that it has: the obligatory gay man who is the office gossip; the blond woman, the perfect wife, the faithful husband and the friend pressuring him to have an affair with the beautiful girl.
Ali Larter looks very predictable and not very credible in her role, the wife (Beyonce) starts off been conventional but by the end of the film she abandons her middle class status and is fighting like someone in the gutter.
So don't cut off watching this film due to few bad reviews from some Beyonce haters...Some of the scenes were really great by all 3 actors, Idris, Ali, and Beyonce.And, of course the cat fight at the end.
Well the movie was just like any other movie nothing really big about it there was a couple of scenes were Ali looked wonderful and Be but that was the up side to the movie there was little or no action the acting by Be was god awful horrible if you really want to see this movie wait till they show it on hbo or whatever channel theyll show it on but other then that stay away the guy playing the main guy wasn't all that great either but it will make money just because of the urban areas and because of any Be fans out there the ending you can pretty much figure out 10 mins in to the movie but if you must watch watch it with your friend so you can have a good laugh after words about Bes acting skills lol........
There might be lawsuits.Into Knowles' House Party comes Lisa Sheridan (Ali Larter), a temp ("I think you mean 'temp-tress!'" swoons Derek's office colleague) who moves like an out-of-control slinky, possesses a set of manicured gnashers that enter the room before she does, and who trails a distinct whiff of fricasseed rabbit in her wake.
Before the first five minutes are up, she's zeroed-in on Del Boy like a sap-seeking warhead ("I think you'll find I'm not your typical temp!").Forging an alliance with the offensively-stereotyped gay receptionist ("Let's grab a bit of girl-talk over a 'Cosmo'!"), she soon wheedles enough info out of him to enable her to properly stalk her prey; ordering Derek 'dirty martinis ("Make them filthy," she orders the barman), emailing him sexy photos of herself, drugging and raping him in his hotel room (in a bizarre episode that recalls the impregnation scene from Rosemary's Baby), abducting his little boy, and trying to do away with his wife.
(Here's a crazy idea: how about if movies that exploited pronounced psychiatric illnesses for entertainment purposes donated a percentage of their profits to mental health charities, or just refrained from automatically killing-off characters in dire need of intensive therapy, medication and a holistic helping hand?) As for Knowles' performance, well, she certainly remains a first-class singer.This one should be included in emergency handbooks, alongside instructions for building bivouacs in snowdrifts and placating mountain lions: 'What to do if you inexplicably find yourself watching Obsessed'.
It does not improve or get any better at any point during the movie, there is a way this script could have worked - the premise is good but the directing is so amateur its shocking The actors become stiff puppets instead of humans 'living experience' This director shud be locked away in directing jail for wasting Beyonce's 'no doubt' precious time!
Obsessed didn't really look like a great movie in fact it looked kinda terrible but that it may be good in a trashy fun kinda way.
When she's rejected she becomes obsessed (no pun intended) and starts to pretend they are actually together setting him up for a number of predictable plot twists all leading up so his wife played fantastically by Beyonce Knowles can kick her skinny ass.
Temp worker Lisa (Larter) becomes obsessed with Derek (Elba) her boss and threatens his marriage.I thought this was just a vehicle for getting the beautiful and sexy Beyonce some screen time as a stepping stone to an Oscar down the road.
Don't believe that this movie is terrible because its so not terrible, first thing is first Ali Larter played an amazing character that I REALLY cared about since the moment she first had her opening, I even felt stressed after the movie because I loved whatever happened to her.
Attractive and successful financial adviser Idris Elba (as Derek Charles) becomes acquainted with leggy blonde "temp" Ali Larter (as Lisa), when several office secretaries take time off.
Ali Larter i never heard of her before , but wow very beautiful,, i was kinda disappointed with Beyoncé's performance , i think she should have know that her husband was messing around long before she found out., A man moves into a new house,, goes to his job and finds a cute girl in the elevator,, turns out she is the new temp worker.
she's definitely a stalker,, i know the feeling a woman once stalked me like that almost in the exact same way,, kinda eerie and creepier, very good movie to watch..
Derek Charles (Idris Elba) and his wife Sharon (Beyonce' Knowles) have just moved into a lush new home somewhere in a posh Los Angeles neighborhood, following Derek's promotion as an asset manager at an accounting firm and the birth of their young son.But all that Derek has worked so hard for is about to come crashing down when a sexy new temp named Lisa (Ali Larter) begins working for him.
But things are complicated by the fact that Derek has a reputation as an office womanizer, being that Sharon was once a temp working under him as well, and that any attempts to get rid of Lisa could be jeopardized by a sexual harassment lawsuit.Steve Shill directed this mostly laughable thriller with capable star talent.
I've always liked Larter, from her performance in "Varsity Blues" (1999), to her role in the first two "Final Destination" films, to her most recent work as Niki Sanders/Jessica Sanders/Tracy Strauss on TV's "Heroes." The problem with her character here is that she seems crazy from the start, and the film offers up no believable explanation for her dangerous obsession with a married man.And then there's Beyonce Knowles.
This movie is an effective remake of Fatal Attraction with competent direction, superior cinematography, and good performances by the entire cast.Uber-hunk Idris Elba is convincing as a successful asset manager who becomes the target of a predatory psychopathic temp worker, well-played by the lovely Ali Larter.
Songstress Beyonce Knowles demonstrates her acting chops as Idris's devoted wife, who gets a unpleasant surprise when she realizes her man has become entangled with another woman.The plot generally follows Fatal Attraction, culminating in a glorious "cat-fight-to-the-death" scene with Beyonce and Ali viciously clawing at each others throats.
Trivial point: is it just me, or did Idris Elba's character look like Magic Johnson, who was an Executive Producer?) Of course, I was entertained by Shoot Em Up. And it is clichéd, but clichés are like an old friend coming by: if you expect it, you're fine with it.(Ali Larter HAD to be HAWT because she's so supposed to give Idris thoughts of cheating on Beyonce, who, in my mind, is world-class HAWT.)Another commenter talked about how Beyonce's character got all ghetto in a crunch.
But when Derek rejects Lisa's sexual advances at the company Christmas party, it leads her downward spiral of romantic obsession.I like to watch a bad, cheesy, campy, trashy movie every once in a while because I'm that type of person.
It's for the trashy entertainment and when the last 20 minutes are played, it makes the whole movie well worth watching because the cat fight between Knowles and Larter surpassed my expectations.
The acting is good, especially Larter as a devilish temptress, Lisa, who has feelings for a big shot boss, Derek, played by the great Idris Elba.
Beyonce' is one hell of a singer but her performance in this drivel comes across as wooden and forced as the poor, set upon housewife who's incredibly naive, goody two-shoes, uber-faithful husband (Elba) is being stalked by a hot chick (Larter) that he just won't mess around with (yeah...right....like any red-blooded male would say no to free booty from a gorgeous woman, even if she was a psycho...).
I still cannot fathom how I struggled to the end of the film but I feel I should have received a medal for endurance.Idris Elba plays a faithful husband and father who has moved to a nice home, has a great job but an office temp (Ali Larter) has become obsessed with him and threatens to destroy his marriage with Beyonce.You keep thinking Elba's other famous screen character, Detective Luther would had sorted Larter out in seconds but here he plays her with kids glove as her behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and then a detective turns up when she tries to commit suicide.
Derek never tells his wife Sharon about this and, when Lisa leaves the firm it seems that the problem has gone away – however things are only going to get worse.Obsessed came and went pretty quickly in the UK and was pretty much killed by poor reviews and wood of mouth.
"Obsessed centers around Derek Charles (Idris Elba), a successful asset manager who has just recently received a huge promotion, and is blissfully happy in his career and in his marriage to the beautiful Sharon (Beyonce Knowles).
But when Lisa (Ali Larter), a Temp worker, starts stalking Derek, all the things he's worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy." I think Both Beyonce and Ali did amazing n their huge fight scene.
And after watching in some ways you will compare this film to "Disclosure" and "Fatal Attraction".Set in Los Angeles Derek(Idris Elba)is a successful man who's an executive at a local company and he's got it all money, a new house, and he's happily married to Sharon(Beyonce Knowles) with a new baby boy.
I Absolutely Loved It .Beyonce Was Perfect For The Part , Although I Don't Like Idris Elba , He Was Stunning In This Movie, Also .
I think the inevitable ending with a chick fight (won't say who), not a spoiler, was the best part of this movie.I really hope that women are not in real life as gullible as the character played by Beyonce, whom up to this movie I was actually starting to like as an actress.
I was pretty much expecting to see a B-grade type movie, with a done to death Fatal-Attraction like plot, bad acting, bitchy women, a catfight and lots of unintentionally funny moments.
Moreover it's got the ravishing Ali Larter who at the least would provide good eye-candy.Sharon (Knowles) and Derek (Elba) move into their new suburban house.
After watching this movie, I gained a lot of respect for Beyonce as an actress & my respect for Ali Larter & Idris Elba grew.
What really gets me is all the plot holes like how can Derek's wife, Sharon, (Beyonce Knowles) contact Lisa by phone when she rarely had anything to do with her at all before that?
This movie is sort of a retread on Fatal Attraction with Idris Elba, Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter, no I didn't make up these names, playing the parts of Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer. |
tt0892767 | Horsemen | The movie opens with an older man and his dog out on a winter morning hunt, when a strange sight catches his eye. A serving tray on a stand in the middle of a frozen lake. He steps up to investigate, but notices the phrases "Come and See" on several trees surrounding the tray. When he lifts the lid, his eyes widen, but his fate is not shown.Detective Aidan Breslin (Dennis Quaid) is an emotionally detached widower whose life with his two sons have been devoid of personal contact since the death of his beloved wife. He receives a call of a possible murder. He arrives at the lake and is instead asked to identify a man's teeth, due to his former dental forensics expertise it is as yet undetermined if the man is in fact dead. Using the evidence on the teeth, he is able to determine the sex, race, diet and approximate age of the victim which matches that of a man who had earlier been reported as missing, but they have no evidence to what happened to him, and the only clue were that trees surrounding him reading "Come and See" on the north, south, east and west banks. The bizarre murder of a beloved wife and mother of three (including an adopted Asian daughter Kristin) displays prominent features of a ritualistic killing. She had been strung up on a series of hooks, the bedroom painted red and according to an autopsy report, she had been drowned by her own blood due to a precise stabbing through the lung and heart walls, as well as a bizarre twist that she had been pregnant and the fetus was removed. On the walls of the rooms "Come and See" is displayed prominently on all four walls. Using physical evidence, Breslin is able to determine that there were four attackers, and they used a tripod for a camera to record the murder. Breslin attempts to console the grieving daughters, but is interrupted by the arrival of their father.Meanwhile, Breslin's home life finds that though he attempts, his work continually interrupts his chances of attaching emotionally with his sons Alex and Sean. Another murder occurs, with the same M.O. through a man who is hanging in a living room surrounded by black colors. This leads Breslin to a tattoo parlor and finds the builder of the hook rigs who confirms he had constructed four in total. Another murder occurs, but this time in a hotel room with no hook rigging and only three notices of "Come and See" on the walls. Sean's insights point Breslin to the Bible and he discovers that these killings are much like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the colors of the room corresponding to the colors of the horsemen. "Come and See" goading them toward the lifting of the veil and the coming of the Apocalypse. Kristin contacts him unexpectedly and he goes to meet with her, and console her in her mourning. However during the conversation, she shocks Breslin by presenting her sibling's fetus and revealing she was involved in the murders. After her arrest, her interrogations make her appear unhinged, almost wanting for death. Breslin assumes that she is the one representing the Horseman of Death, as she approached each of the victims and delivered the killing blow to them.Alex, growing more and more distant from his father after Breslin insisted not to continue to celebrate their late mother's birthday every year slowly starts to open himself up to his father. Breslin returns the feelings to his children and attempts to make plans with them, however further reports pull him away. A failed attempt to catch the Horsemen at their home base grants further clues. A website, which Breslin noticed the homepage of before the computer was destroyed, and a partial hard drive recovery which leads them to that website in which a future date is displayed. One boy, Cory, who had come out as gay to his family confronts his homophobic brother Taylor, and turns out to be one of the Horsemen. After stabbing a man, but leaving him alive to provide his description to police and takes Taylor. Taylor awakens to find that he is hooked up into a rack with his eyes fixed open in the middle of a green lit room, as his brother comes out of the darkness and while wielding a bone saw he proceeds to cut himself in the chest and kill himself before Taylor's eyes while trying to cut his own heart out. The following morning, a traumatized Taylor is questioned by Breslin, who goes over to Kristin's house and he and his partner Stingray discover the video recordings of her mother's murder, he then learns that she had been sexually abused by her father, and has him arrested. Breslin's boss tries to get him onto another case, but he becomes convinced that there is still another pending victim as four rigs had been constructed and only 3 had been used in the 4 recent murders. He approaches Kristin that the third victim was the Horseman Pestilence. The third Horseman identified, she refuses to relinquish who their leader is. He comes to the conclusion that due to the nature of the first murder, he was meant to be assigned to the case all along, and becomes concerned that his family will be targeted next.Stingray is attacked when investigating the Breslin home at his request, and when Aidan arrives he searches the house, entering his son's room for the first time since his wife's passing, only to discover to his horror that everything in the room, floor, ceiling, computer, bed spread are white in color; the color of the Horsemen leader. The clues point him to a theater called the Metropolitan, which had earlier been confirmed to be where Aidan first met his wife. When he arrives, he is knocked unconscious by an unseen assailant, when he comes round he finds himself handcuffed to the stadium seating as he finds his son dangling over the stage on the final of the four rigs. Watching, terrified as Alex starts bleeding to death, gives him a speech regarding to his own emotional detachment after being the only one present when his mother died. As Alex succumbs to his injuries, Breslin rips his handcuffs off the seating and fires his gun to detatch the rigging from the ceiling. Alex awakens weakly as his father holds him, but it is undetermined if he survives. In the final scene, Sean wakes up from a bad dream as his father comforts him quietly. When he asks where Alex is, Breslin replies: "Don't you worry about Alex. Alex is going to be okay." In the director's commentary, however, Jonas Akerlund stated," There is no happy ending, however you twist and turn it. There is no happy ending so, to me, Alex had to die in this movie." | revenge, murder, violence, flashback | train | imdb | A recently widowed detective (Dennis Quaid) still grieving over his wife's death discovers a shocking connection between a serial killing spree and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.The film starts out strong, with a great atmosphere and some nice gore effects with things like extracted teeth and whatnot.
By-the-numbers gore flick isn't especially bad, but sterile acting and disjointed direction hinder it entirely.Dennis Quaid (gloriously miscast) is Aidan Breslin, a detective specialising in some teeth identification discipline.
This isn't helped by the fact that every role is miscast, from the 'doing it for the money' Quaid as troubled Breslin, Ziyi Zhang as troubled Kristen, and Lou Taylor Pucci as troubled Alex.Every character appears to have personal demons apart from Stingray and Tuck, who both look like actors in the wrong movie.These foibles aside the horror effects are rather inconsistent - the first body looks plainly like a dummy, and no amount of garish red lighting hides that fact - thereafter they do pick up a bit, but it's a bad start.And the characterisation, as mentioned, is really poor - the viewer isn't moved to care about anyone, and certain character introductions are clunky and badly handled.
Tell me that Dennis Quaid, the actor starring in one of my favorite films, The Big Easy, is starring this one, and I am definitely interested.A combination like that should mean that I am in for a treat of some kind.Barry Shabaka Henley is always a welcome addition, and he was no disappointment here.
My curiosity was jump started in the first scene, and the somber, introspective mood of the story line, spiked with horrific scenarios and sickening plot twists, was exactly what I hoped.The final twist was too easily guessed, of course, but it didn't take away from the finale - a powerfully emotional scene portrayed very convincingly by Dennis Quaid, who brought his usual energy and charisma to the role.If you're looking for a quality horror flick or suspense thriller, this one is well worth your while!.
Considering there were very few interesting movies at the video store last night, I decided to go with one that I hadn't heard about, Horsemen A Dennis Quaid film that flew under the radar?
The movie stars an aging Dennis Quaid who is an Indianapolis homicide detective who falls into a brutal case involving many different homicides all linked by the words "Come and See" written all over the walls surrounding the bodies.
The ending is about as satisfying as sucking liquid feces through a straw, but I won't spoil it since I'll let viewers take it all in for themselves.After the film was over, the person I watched the movie with turned to me and stated that it was truly the absolute worst movie he had ever seen in his life.
However, despite the great premise Horsemen of the Apocalypse never lives up to it.The acting is unfortunately not very good, Dennis Quaid I do like and I thought he was ideal for the role, but he doesn't have much to work with and sadly with a disconnected performance he lets that fact show.
Waaaa-heey back in the hazy shades of time, it seems, by the looks of things, because it appears the producers made this one for eleven year olds, who don't watch movies made in the previous century because they're outdated, way back in 1995, David Fincher made "Seven", which, while filled with flashy gore , even if displayed creatively, had a more elevated meaning to whom was willing to see it.
Co-Produced by Michael Bay and starring Dennis Quaid in this dark, serial killer styled whodunit, you could be easily fooled into thinking this is the new "Se7en", especially after the trailer begs people to 'come and see'.
Add to that below average performances from top actors in supporting roles, corny dialogues, loose editing, and what you get is a wannabe horror-thriller that has all the potential to have been an astounding and thought provoking film.Once again, Dennis Quaid plays a workaholic yet hardened detective having presided over one too many gruesome crime scenes.
In fact, the film opens to a CSI like crime scene where Quaid's Aidan Breslin is called to the site of what looks to be a bizarre and torturous murder.
Resulting in a cat and mouse chase with a major plot twist, Breslin and his family are directly linked to the motive behind these killings including potential for a million more deaths.Besides the loosely bound script, the main problem is the cliché of having to endure another torture-porn flick hot on the heels of self righteous proclaiming others like "Saw" and "Untraceable".
But the worse part of Horsemen is how badly does nearly every thing, from lazy actors, a script so inconsistent on what it is telling that I cannot understand how anyone approved this (characters coming out of nothing at half of the movie, others disappearing, blatant incongruence in the investigation...), and a direction that does very little to hide the weakness of the story.
It basically followed a distant father/ detective who heads up a serial investigation into murders that revolve around the four horsemen.Okay so I'll be honest I wanted to see this movie for two reasons, one it had a serial killer and two I like Dennis Quaid's work.That being said I'm not sure what Dennis read that made him want to do this particular film.
I maybe got a good 30 minutes into the movie and realized quickly where they were going with it and who they were going to say was the "white horsemen." The ending was...lacking I didn't feel connected to the characters or emotional for what was happening.
I've always liked serial killer movies, and this had some really good scenes and kills and characters and twists.
The ending was almost predictable, but only because of good foreshadowing...the clues were there if you watched for them I think it was a pretty intelligent flick, with people being expected to figure things out for themselves, I think some of the low ratings probably come from people who need lots of "flashback" scenes to understand the plot of a movie.
In what is the lowest low point of Dennis Quaid's career and probably career suicide by director Jonas Åkerlund, Horsemen starts out not exactly well, but watchable - but when Ziyi Zhang randomly hands Quaid an aborted fetus, the film becomes a jaw dropping series of hilariously awful scenes of torture, bad parenting and violently bratty teenagers.
Dennis Quaid plays the emotionally distant father and detective, Aidan Breslin, who is on the trail of a serial killer who seems to use the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse as inspiration for a series of grizzly murders.
The Dennis Quaid, straight upstanding stone faced detective thing was actually pretty good in comparison and relation to Ziyi Zhang's shockingly honest, evil, bad girl.
"The Horsemen" might teach us just how not to do this.The cast of this movie consists of quite a few well-thought about actors, starting with a brief appearance of Peter Stormage(Once a girl from Sweden told me he's the best), Denis Quaid, Clifton Collins Jr. and one Ziyi Zhang.
If I had to sum this movie up in one word, that one word would be "wat".The plot is a good enough plot, similar to the amazing movie 'se7en' but the story just falls apart mid way through and turns into a film about a grumpy teen on internet forums, simply put it is a shoddy piece of dumbed-down cinema and isn't worth the time taken to view it.I'm greatly disappointed here and I do not recommend you waste your time on this drudge of a film, honestly, go watch Se7en, it's a similar premise and much, much better.The only thing going for this film is the acting from Dennis Quaid, not his best work but definitely carries the whole movie..
On top of this, the direction is also pretty bad, with music director Jonas Akerlund contributing to the confusion by shoddy editing with lots of jump cuts and the like.Dennis Quaid plays the same tired old character he does in all of his movies these days, and the film is crying out for some experience in terms of the supporting cast.
And I should probably check that one out because this movie was really uninvolving, moved too fast and performances are uninspiring and boring.Dennis Quaid plays a frustrated single father of two kids, who is out to investigate a series of killings which resemble a link to the four horsemen from the apocalypse.
Her attempt to play a psychopath was not convincing at all and she really wasted her time doing this movie.The murders in this film go from one to the next, with no real dramatic effect and simply to speed up the story.
And as the trailers would have pretty much revealed, the serial killer victims are all tortured with meat hooks of sorts, and he's faced with more than 1 killer who model themselves after the biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.Sounds like your average detective movie right?
Breslin is convinced more bodies will turn up & when they do the case gets even more complicated with all sorts of revelations, meanings & possible motives behind the killings...Known elsewhere as Horsemen of the Apocalypse this dark horror thriller was directed by Jonas Åkerlund & had a troubled production with extensive re-shoots, one character had to be recast because the original actor was unavailable & a running time that ended up twenty minutes less than it originally was was reeks of massive changes but having said that & all things considered I quite liked Horsemen.
At about 90 odd minutes long Horsemen starts off very well with a rich & suspenseful murder mystery but then it tends to focus on Breslin's family life which in the context of the twist ending is important but it slow's things down & I started to lose a bit of interest as the focus moved further & further from the killing's.The film tries to have a relevant message about society, abuse & neglect in particular I suppose which does come across reasonably well.
When things start to come together, it becomes less so.The story revolves around Breslin (Dennis Quaid) brought onto a case due to his forensic dental expertise about a series of murders that eventually involve the four horsemen of the apocalypse in the book of Revelations.
While the premise is nice and the acting is solid (most of the times, especially the ever reliable Dennis Quaid and considering the genre we're watching here), the whole movie is based on a "surprise" that actually isn't one.Well it shouldn't be one, although some actually really didn't see the ending coming.
The second time around,Åkerlund seems to understand that less is more and with the help of only one big star,the absence of flashy cinematography and a script that might be a bit predictable,but in the end is very unsettling and disturbing,he has created a horror thriller that(though in the serial killer genre its pretty impossible to avoid All cliché's.)chocks,chills and very much stands on its own two feet.The Horsemen is no masterpiece,though.Its just 90 minutes intense,brutal and honest entertaining.The story evolves around detective Aidan Breslin(For once Dennis Quaid is not on auto-pilot and delivers a solid performance.He also looks 12 years younger than in Vantage Point.Can someone say Plastic Surgery...?),who ever since his wife's death has been consumed by his job and doesn't spend much quality time with his two sons,Alex and Sean.(ALL mentioned happens in the first 25 minutes,really not spoiling so much.)One day he gets called to a crime scene where he sees the words "Come And See" written in white paint on four trees and in the middle there's a plate with human teeth.Teeth thats been pulled out while the victim was still alive and conscious.Soon enough,Breslin and his partner Stingray(Clifton Collins Jr. from Traffic looking bored out of his mind.And what's with that seventies porn mustache on his lip?You kidding me?)arrive to the scene of what seems to been an unusual sadistic and organized ritual murder.The victim was a mother of two biological children and one adopted daughter named Kristen(cute 30-year old Ziyi Zhang from "Crouching tiger..."who looks 18 tops.And it's disturbing that a girl adopted by American parents talks like Kim Jong-Il from Team America.Herro,Arec Bardwin...).During a walk with Breslin,Kristen reveals a horrible secret that is presented in such a way,that it really gets the hearts pumping,both the audiences and Breslins.Soon,by cheer coincidence,he finds out that the brutal murder just was the first of many.The unidentified suspects have studied the Bible a little too hard and see themselves as The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse;War,Pestilence,Famin and Death.So it looks like it's one down and three to go.But whom?And from the viewers point of view more intriguing;Why....?
But its when the movie is over and you take a breather and you think about what you just saw....That's when you realize this film wasn't so much about the physical torment and pain we humans cause each other(in this movie it's a lot!),as much as it tells us what can happen when we get mentally damaged.When we get abandoned.When we get manipulated,get misunderstood,get lost.And no one cares or takes time to see the desperate and obvious cry for help and attention.That's how i interpreted it,I could be wrong(that's a joke,I'm never wrong).In The end,The Horsemen isn't that complicated.It makes it's point very clear and very effective,much thanks to Åkerlunds uncomplicated and unsettling storytelling.Collins Jr.'s acting however,for some reason brings The Bold And The Beautiful to mind.but the rest of the cast does a really good job(Young"thumb-sucker"Lou Taylor Pucci is going places...)so you almost(only almost)forget his dead,soulless eyes and blank expression.
Well, I don't want to give any real spoilers (heck, it practically spoils itself) but 'Horsemen' sadly is an unfinished movie, like an exciting auto chase in the middle of a film and without warning the good guy swerves off an unseen cliff and the film's over.Speaking of spoilers, all the way through this, about four scenes before something happens, I kept thinking, "Oh, he's this" or "He'll discover this" or "The killer is
" Despite the fact I thought the movie was well shot, the locales made the most of the depressing city it portrays and Quaid did an above-average job, as he almost always does, the movie was very flat, (again) predictable and too clichéd.We have a recently single parent who's putting his job (law enforcement) in front of his two boys.
Dennis Quaid stars as a widowed detective facing an investigation the likes of which he has never seen: Four murders modeled after the themes of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
However, on the negative side, the script is quite lacking and maintains too steady of a course, feeling more like a collection of scenes than a coherent film; Ziyi Zhang puts forth one of the most annoying performances I've seen in a long time; and the extremely rushed and thoughtless final moments leave a very bitter taste in the audience's collective mind.Similar to the Al Pacino vehicle '88 Minutes' (2008), 'The Horsemen' simply came along too late for its audience (not to mention had a below-average script) to be as enjoyable as it could've been.Final Verdict: A low 6/10.-AP3-.
I find it hard to understand the motivation for the people committing the murders, and you never really get to hear their reasons other than them feeling abandoned by their parents.If the motivation for the killers had been scripted better and had they avoided the shitty twist with Quaids son this film could have turned out much better.
We never see the killer, in fact, there isn't one killer, we gradually get to understand that there is a whole bunch of killers, a sort of complicated conspiracy of killers who use the text of the bible book Apocalyps to give clues to the investigators, but why they do that and to what purpose is beyond me, it gets more and more cloudy with every new discovery that our hero does.The acting is overall good, and I really liked Dennis Quaid, he gives a fine performance as a scrupulous detective and as an affectionate but awkward single father who doesn't know how he can combine his work with the care for his two somewhat estranged teenage sons.
Although it seems like a copy cat of many other movies, I was totally enticed from the get go, starting with Denis Quaid(who plays Detective Aidan Breslin), who is called to the crime scene where he finds a bag of teeth and the message "COME AND SEE" written on 4 trees surrounding.
Having now watched it again, there's a good reason WHY I hardly remembered it from the first time and why I won't be watching it again.This is a pretty slow going film for the most part which isn't a bad thing if the story keeps your attention and entertains you.
Well, there were still some decent parts scattered throughout, it was a very dark & moody thriller (which I like), and the twist at the end wasn't too bad (at least on paper anyway as the execution of it wasn't the best).Overall, The Horsemen isn't a horrible film, but there is more things wrong with it than there are right ones..
But yea...it was one of the major gripes i have with this film.Having said these, I really found that both Dennis Quaid and Zhang Ziyi was able to draw me in as a viewer interested in their stories.
At least this is what Chicago police detective Aidan Breslin, Dennis Quaid, feels will happen when the final horseman-the one riding the either gray or black horse-shows up in town.Something like the movie "Se7en" with four, not seven, headaches to worry about we have some religious lunatic running around town murdering people in order to create the perfect conditions for the Four Horsemen to fulfill the biblical prophecy of their coming. |
tt0076666 | Saturday Night Fever | Anthony "Tony" Manero is a 19-year-old Italian American man from the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Tony lives with his parents, and works at a dead-end job in a small hardware store. The stagnant monotony of his life is temporarily dispelled every Saturday night when Tony is "king of the dance floor" at 2001 Odyssey, a local disco club. Tony has four close friends: Joey; Double J; Gus; and the diminutive Bobby C. A fringe member of his group of friends is Annette, a neighborhood girl who longs for a more permanent physical relationship with Tony.
Tony and his friends ritually stop on the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge to clown around. The bridge has special significance for Tony as a symbol of escape to a better life on the other side—in more suburban Staten Island.
Tony agrees to be Annette's partner in an upcoming dance contest at 2001 Odyssey, but her happiness is short-lived when Tony is mesmerized by another woman at the club, Stephanie Mangano, who executes intricate dance moves with exceptional grace and finesse. Although Stephanie coldly rejects Tony's advances, she eventually agrees to be his partner in the dance competition, provided that their partnership will remain strictly professional. Tony's older brother, Frank Jr., who was the pride of the Manero family since he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest, brings despair to their parents when he tells them that he has left the priesthood. Tony shares a warm relationship with Frank Jr., but feels vindicated that he is no longer the black sheep of the family.
While on his way home from the grocery store, Gus is attacked by a Hispanic gang and hospitalized. He tells Tony and his friends that his attackers were the Barracudas. Meanwhile, Bobby C. has been trying to get out of his relationship with his devoutly Catholic girlfriend, Pauline, who is pregnant with his child. Facing pressure from his family and others to marry her, Bobby asks former priest Frank Jr., if the Pope would grant him dispensation for an abortion. When Frank tells him such a thing would be highly unlikely, Bobby's feelings of despair intensify. Bobby lets Tony borrow his 1964 Chevrolet Impala to help move Stephanie from Bay Ridge to Manhattan, and futilely tries to extract a promise from Tony to call him later that night.
Eventually, the group gets their revenge on the Barracudas, and crash Bobby C's car into their hangout. Tony, Double J, and Joey get out of the car to fight, but Bobby C. takes off when a gang member tries to attack him in the car. When the guys visit Gus in the hospital, they are angry when he tells them that he may have targeted the wrong gang. Later, Tony and Stephanie dance at the competition and end up winning first prize. However, Tony believes that a Puerto Rican couple performed better, and that the judges' decision was racially rigged. He gives the Puerto Rican couple the first prize trophy, and leaves with Stephanie. Once outside in a car, she denigrates their relationship and he tries to rape her. She resists and runs from him.
Tony's friends come to the car along with a drunk and stoned Annette. Joey says she has agreed to have sex with everyone. Tony tries to lead her away, but is subdued by Double J and Joey, and sullenly leaves with the group in the car. Double J and Joey rape Annette. Bobby C. pulls the car over on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge for their usual cable-climbing antics. Typically abstaining, Bobby gets out and performs more dangerous stunts than the rest. Realizing that he is acting recklessly, Tony tries to get him to come down. Bobby's strong sense of alienation, his deadlocked situation with Pauline, and Tony's broken promise to call him earlier that day—all culminate in a suicidal tirade about Tony's lack of caring before Bobby slips and falls to his death in the water below them.
Disgusted and disillusioned by his friends, his family, and his life, Tony spends the rest of the night riding the subway into Manhattan. Morning has dawned by the time he appears at Stephanie's apartment. He apologizes for his bad behavior, telling her that he plans to relocate from Brooklyn to Manhattan to try and start a new life. Tony and Stephanie salvage their relationship and agree to be friends, sharing a tender moment. | realism, cult, humor, romantic, melodrama, revenge, sentimental | train | wikipedia | Travolta plays Tony Manero, a loser in a nowhere job who only feels alive when he is on the dance floor at the local disco.
Soon Tony becomes frustrated with his "station in life" and tells Stephanie he wants out (of Brooklyn).What makes Saturday Night Fever work so much for me is Tony is very typical of a lot of males who would rather have a good time and party now than build something toward the future.
In my small town, mobile discos sprouted everywhere - and we all wanted to be John Travolta....and it was one of the catalysts for me to leave home and explore the world.Watched it again last night, and as a 50 year old it all came flooding back - melancholia obviously setting in because I felt like a 15 year old again - the memories came flooding back.
Though at times it is slightly exaggerated, it still manages to capture a vast amount of authenticity and ultimately the sights and sounds of the time.Saturday Night Fever follows self-proclaimed "dance king" Tony Manero (John Travolta) and his love of dancing and the trials and tribulations of his life in the Bronx.
The lighting is perfect at creating the "disco world", the set-piece of the 2001 Disco is one of the film's many iconic highlights.John Travolta dedicates himself to his dancing and character, fitting the role with a graceful ease.
The shooting techniques in the disco are magnificent for filming the dance scenes and fit perfectly alongside the other technical elements.Saturday Night Fever is a far more professional film than one might expect, it has intelligence as well as entertainment, which is something that makes a more than just admirable achievement.
There isn't much to the movie other than the need for fame--as brief as it may be--and the most obvious theme of the film, which is learning to treat women as something more than just sex objects.Tony and his pals all join together at 2001 Odyssey, a crummy disco club with dizzying strobe lights and a constantly-waxed dance floor where Tony is often encouraged to let loose and show everyone his moves.
I work a long time on my hair, and you hit it!" I know that scene has been quoted before, but I quoted it again since it made me laugh so hard.In one of the finest scenes in the entire movie, and certainly one of the most touching, Tony has lunch with an older girl (who later becomes his dance partner) and tries to impress her by acting mature.
An uneducated Brooklyn teen (John Travolta, in an Oscar-nominated role) lives in a dream world over the weekends as the king of a disco dance floor.
this movie was a classic!.If we are here to compare it with such movies as The Godfather,Apocalypse Now or Gone with the wind,of course most of the people or cinema critics will think this movie as a joke.But it isn't.Saturday Night Fever was considered in 1977 for liberal or funky people an icon movie such as Rebel Without A Cause was for young people in the 1950's.Today it can even be considered a cult movie.Of course that's only my opinion,but i can tell u i'm also a fan of The Godfather.John Badham made a great job directing this movie.He didn't made only a serious discomusic movie about,but also a movie where problems of young people were having on those days.John Travolta made the lead character of one of those young guys.With his ups and downs during the whole movie Travolta expresses a guy who have urges on being "someone" in this world,and yeah,he did a great job.So good that he was even nominated that year for Best Lead Actor.Need to say more....
Quintessential film about the Seventies' disco craze that made Travolta an American icon (Best Actor nominee) and superstar as Brooklynite Tony Manero, a free-wheelin' Italian kid who loves to dance but doesn't know what he wants from life despite his talent and some eye-opening advice from dance partner Gorney.
Second, the difficulty that some men have in relating to women as comrades and friends and not simply sex facilitators.There is a scene in the movie where the hero, Tony Manero, sits on a bench with Stephanie, the girl he loves, and tells her all about one of the bridges out of Brooklyn: Its height, length, how many cubic yards of concrete went into its making--and you can taste his desire to cross that bridge and leave Brooklyn behind.
Five minutes of the movie brings it all back -- the disco era, the incredible Bee Gees music, and the charm, charisma and dance moves that was young John Travolta.
I can still remember how excited she was talking about it in class.It's the era of platform shoes, polyester shirts, and big blow-dried hair, and in the midst of it is a young Brooklyn man (Travolta) who has a gifted natural ability for dance is surrounded by friends heading nowhere and Italian-American parents who are afraid that he's just like his crowd.
You're nowhere, going' no place." As Tony Manero, John Travolta is a sexy number with his swiveling hips and white suit, and he has a neighborhood girl (Donna Pescow) in love with him, as well as one of his friends, Bobby (Barry Miller) who's gay and doesn't know it, but always shows off for Tony and cries when Tony doesn't call him.I love what Roger Ebert says about the effect of this film, which was his review partner Gene Siskel's favorite: "We all have a powerful memory of the person we were at that moment when we formed a vision for our lives.
He makes mistakes, he fumbles, he says the wrong things, but when he does what he loves he feels a special grace." Directed with both realism and romance by John Badham, "Saturday Night Fever," especially for those of us who were young during the disco era, holds a very special place..
I didn't live the time when SNF has premiered; but this movie fascinates me, from the first time I saw it when I was 5 or 6 years old in TV, and this fascinated me; and now, at my 28-years-old, it has something that makes me enjoy it in a different way, it has everything, it's interesting, entertaining, exciting and it's definitely a very would.One of the things that fascinates me about this great movie is its music, I love the music of the Bee Gees and since I saw Tony Manero walking with the paint pot I got hooked with the character.The scenes on the dance floor are spectacular, each one seems iconic and not only the scenes in the club are good, the background story or above is just as good, it's interesting, you can see the evolution of John Travolta's character and the life he has.Here they show with great success the life and behavior of many adolescents of that time and some of the consequences that will occur if they continue with that lifestyle I have immaturity.In short, a very complete film, very serious and a classic of the 70s..
It's fun to watch John Travolta cut amazing shapes on the dance floor and it's fun to listen to the beautiful bee gees soundtrack, especially night fever.
You know the scenes: Tony Manero (John Travolta) walking down the street primping his hair while "Stayin' Alive" plays; he later is the king of the dance floor while "Disco Inferno" is playing.
I just wish, however, that the film was less like the prolonged music video and was more plot-driven at times or had greater importance than "who will be Tony's new dance partner?"!
Of course, this shallowness might actually be a great metaphor for the era--an era typified by loud clothes, drugs, sex without consequences and Studio 54.Overall, an interesting time capsule hindered by characters that are mostly low-lifes and co-dependents.At one point in the film, Tony muses "there are ways of killing yourself without killing yourself".
The protagonist of this movie is nothing less than abhorrent, his supposed redemption is a cheap, unearned, insulting sham.Aside from the single good dance scene (which does NOT involve John Travolta) this film is an awkward mess of supposed class warfare, blue collar self aggrandizement, soft lighting (so romantic!), and explicit glorification of violence and rape.
Tony Napero is a real smooth Brooklyn fellow, who likes to dance some disco.Then he finds this perfect dance partner, Stephanie Mangano.This could be his dream girl.Saturday Night Fever (1977) is a disco movie classic, directed by John Badham.You can't think of a better guy to act the lead than John Travolta.His mother Helen and sister Ann are also seen in the movie.Karen Lynn Gorney makes a really good female lead.Great work by guys who play Tony's friends, Barry Miller (Bobby C.), Joseph Cali (Joey) and Paul Pape (Double J.).Donna Pescow is terrific as Annette.Val Bisoglio and Julie Bovasso are brilliant as Tony's parents Frank and Flo.Martin Shakar is very good as the priest brother Frank.And Lisa Peluso as sister Linda.Sam Coppola is great as the boss Dan Fusco.Robert Costanzo is in a small role as Paint store customer.Fran Drescher makes her movie debut as Connie.What makes this a really great movie is the music by the Gibb brothers, Barry, Robin and Maurice.The group is known as the Bee Gees.Their hits like "Stayin' Alive", "How Deep Is Your Love" and "More Than a Woman" really get you going.And Travolta really has the dance moves.He really rocks the dance floor.The drama of this movie works, too.Like when they're on that bridge and something dramatic takes place there.Watch this movie once, twice or as many times as you like and you will find that disco will never be dead..
when i was a kid 'saturday night fever' was a movie about dancing, about going out, and about being young and with your friends.
The movie was okay (I too feel that little Ms. Soap Opera star of that time Karen Lynn takes the film down..), but there IS something in it for everyone from the lead character Tony just trying to find his way and loving to dance, to the "fat" girl (I did NOT think she was all that fat, but again, that is one of the charms of this film) doing all the wrong things to get noticed, to the friends, the family and how they all intertwine on Saturday Nights to shake it all off and away...if only for a few hours.
This cult disco movie, which made Travolta a star, talks about growing up in the working class and attempts to escape from mediocrity and pointlessness of everyday life, even if only on a Saturday night.
RELEASED IN 1977 and directed by John Badham, "Saturday Night Fever" is a drama/musical detailing events in Brooklyn where a group of Italian-American youths led by Tony Manero (John Travolta) work dead-end jobs, rumble with Hispanics and meet babes at the local discothèque where Tony is a champion dancer.
Will openly admit to having very fond memories of school discos, singing along (often forgetting words) and dancing (with some energy if not such a discernible beat) to music, a music college graduate has to start somewhere, that was great then and still is now.'Saturday Night Fever' may not be a perfect film, or a masterpiece, but to me and many others it is high-energy and hugely enjoyable entertainment that took me back to nostalgic, and happier, times in my life.
John Bradham directs with a clear affectionate love for the period and subject, and the film does offer a more complex view of disco than one might think with some easy to relate to themes.Best assets are the music, dancing and John Travolta.
i had never seen this movie before.though i had heard a lot of things about it.anyway,i finally watched it today,and i really liked it.i thought it was very well paced.i liked the dialogue.i thought it was clever.the acting was good,but Travolta was outstanding,but very understated.the dance scenes were really good.Travolta looked like natural on the dance floor.i also really liked the 70's disco music.the movie was written very well,overall.it felt really authentic.the only negative thing i can say about the movie,is that it loses some steam towards the end.but as for the ending itself,i liked it.it wasn't your typical Hollywood ending.i think it was realistic.in my opinion,pretty much anyone can relate to this movie,especially if your just an average person with big dreams.depending on your age,this movie might bring back a lot of memories for you.i think it's still relevant today.for me,Saturday Night Fever is a 8.5/10.
Rated R for strong language, sexuality/nudity, drug content and some violence.Saturday Night Fever was John Travolta's breakthrough film.After this film and Grease, he would not be famous again until Pulp Fiction in 1994.There are two versions of Saturday Night Fever.The original R-rated version and an edited PG version which is hard to find on VHS(not released on DVD) but is the one which is used for the edited for TV version of Fever.It is cut by approx 6min.Anyway Travolta's acting is very good in this film and the storyline is pretty good as well.A bit boring at times but the soundtrack is excellent.I actually bought the soundtrack a couple of years ago.The film is about a young man living in Brooklyn.Everyday, him and his friends go to a disco to hang around and dance.Travolta is a very good disco dancer.One day him and this girl he likes try to win the dance competition which is being held there.Saturday NIght Fever is an interesting film which portrays disco in the 1970's.This is actually the film which helped popularize disco.Worth watching..
We all have feelings about films and straight away from the chilled upbeat music I knew why older audiences talk highly over this period musical drama.The unknown artist at the time, Travolta laid down his mark in film history by playing the part of the central protagonist Tony Manero, an upbeat but concerned character who has troubles with his family and friends but releases his stress on the dance floor.The main reason why this film was captivating was the slickness of the character.
The classic suits, the discos, and the cars and buildings to conform to the rough surroundings and create a very effective mise en scene.Its all about the beginning and getting 'Into the groove' and getting to know the different opinions from the parents and late teens about dancing and through this method of arguing and debates the film expresses emotional ideologies and viewers can associate their own views with the characters.The first half of the movie was fast flowing with different ideologies about dancing, families and work very convincing in short scenes.
From the classic opening scene when a young paint store worker struts down the Brooklyn street with a bucket of latex, to the stirring BeeGees rendition of 'Staying Alive, you know that director John Badham's Saturday Night Fever' has attitude.
)After sending the kids out (they love the opening "Stayin' Alive" sequence), I fell in love again, with the music (okay, like the Bee Gees are my absolute favorite group of all time), with John Travolta (my husband has a cleft in his chin, too), and all the generation-defining disco dancing.
And, in addition to all my posters of John Travolta, the Bee Gees, and Princess Diana (yes, loved her, too - great when they danced together at the White House), irony of ironies, I own the greatest, most obscure (and probably the most common) piece of movie trivia - a 2001 Odyssey (Honda).I think all who love this movie should get together and watch it in unison every Saturday night a la "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and all act out the parts.
gives one of his best performances ('sides Fiction) as Tony, a Brooklyn toughie who works at a paint shop, gets laid, hangs out his his low life friends and burns the dance floor every saturday night.
This is I would argue, one of the most powerful and dazzling opening scenes in movie history, and Travolta plays it to perfection.Sure
Saturday Night Fever is a dated film.
Saturday Night Fever is one of the most ultimate disco movies, where John Travolta stars as Brooklyn teenager Tony Manero, who is known as the king of the disco floor at a local dance club.
There is surprisingly more to "Saturday Night Fever" than just John Travolta in the white suit rocking out to the Bee Gees (you see some iconic images over time, they sort of symbolize the movie, what can I say?).
All of those elements make Saturday Night Fever a classic and one of the best films of the 1970s.Set in Brooklyn,New York,Saturday Night Fever tells the story of Tony Manero(John Travolta),a young teenager who goes to the local Disco club every Saturday night with his friends to dance where Tony is king of the dance floor but outside of the dance club his life is miserable.
When Tony meets and befriends fellow dancer Stephanie(Karen Lynn Gorney),Tony starts to re-examine his life and decides to grow up.Released in 1977,Saturday Night Fever is a brilliant,unforgettable and iconic film that was not only a critical and Box Office success but also made John Travolta a movie star,helped launch the Disco craze in the late 1970s and gave viewers one of the best and biggest soundtracks of all-time.
A classic soundtrack.In final word,if you love 1970s films,cinema in general,John Travolta and Music,I Highly Suggest you see Saturday Night Fever,an excellent and unforgettable classic that you will never forget and watch again and again.
Saturday Night Fever, the huge musical hit and film that launched John Travolta into A-list stardom, is kind of like the ROCKY of dance movies.
Saturday Night Fever tells the story of Tony Manero- a slick, good looking guy from Brooklyn who has a gift for dancing..
Saturday Night Fever, one of the greatest disco dancing movies ever made. |
tt0025913 | Triumph des Willens | TRIUMPH OF THE WILLThis is a documentary of a three day gathering of the Nazi Party faithful in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1934. The film can be subdivided into a number of sequences documenting arrivals, parades, preparations and speeches. Only one scenethe review of the German cavalryactually involved the German military. Characteristic of all the sequences are beautifully composed shots of Nazi flags and symbols, and of faces of enraptured people. Except during the speeches, there is martial music playing by a military band.[1] An airplane is flying through beautiful clouds, then over the city of Nuremberg, and lands at the airport. Nazi party bigwigs descend, finally Adolf Hitler, and there is a welcoming ceremony.[2] Adolf Hitler enters the city, standing in an open four door Mercedes Benz in a motorcade. Adoring crowds wave and give the Nazi salute, including children, women, uniformed soldiers. A woman hands him a bouquet of flowers while holding up a small child in her other arm. Flags with swastikas are flying or hanging on every street.[3] At a rally in a large indoor venue, the party faithful members hear speeches by a dozen party bigwigs. Only a couple of sound bytes from each are shown, ending with a brief speech by Hitler.[4] Night falls on the city of Nuremberg. There are parades through the old streets by small groups carrying torches. Patriotic songs are sung.[5] Dawn over the city. Aerial views of the quiet streets.[6] At an enormous campground of tents, young adult men are getting up, washing in communal basins. Breakfast is being prepared in enormous vats. They eat and sing and play good natured games, with lots of smiles all around.[7] At the enormous stadium built by the Nazis in Nuremberg, the crowds march in and sit and wait for a speech by Hitler.[8] There is a youth rally at another enormous venue, with another speech by Hitler.[9] Military parades follow. In fields outside the city, motorized and cavalry troups display their equipment in marches and advances. Then various military groups each in a different uniform march through the old part of the city, past the Cathedral. In a square next to the Cathedral Hitler reviews the marching groups.[10] Speech by Hitler to military groups.[11] Night falls again, there are fireworks and parades by torch bearing groups.[12] In another motorcade, Hitler is hailed by the populace. Many observe from windows opening onto the motorcade route. Others hail him after having climbed onto any high place, even up lamp posts.[13] In the same venue of the first speeches, Hitler gives a speech closing the proceedings. This speech, just like all the others documented, have no programs or explanations but are designed to create enthusiasm for a new Germany, united, that can do extraordinary things, that can solve problems and build for a better future, where the ordinary worker is treated with dignity, and all are motivated by patriotic love for the German nation. | historical | train | imdb | null |
tt0183503 | Me Myself I | Pamela Drury is single and works as a serious journalist. She spends her birthday alone and becomes lonely and reflects upon her life and the choices she made and secretly wishes she had gotten married and had children. In a box of photos of old boyfriends, she reflects upon why she broke up with one in particular, Robert Dickson, 13 years earlier. She also meets an interesting man, Ben and follows him home, only to see through his window that he is with his family and looks very happy. Shortly afterwards, she is hit by a car while crossing the street.
The woman who was driving the car is also Pamela, but is Pamela Dickson; she is from an alternate universe in which she married Robert 13 years earlier. Pamela Dickson takes Pamela Drury to the Dickson family home and the two of them talk in the kitchen. Suddenly, Pamela Dickson's kids come home and she disappears, leaving the unmarried Pamela Drury in a house she has never seen before with three children she does not know. The children assume she is their mother, although they do not quite recognize her sometimes.
She soon finds out that her alternate version Pamela Dickson lives in a dull marriage and writes lightweight fluff articles for a mainstream ladies magazine, rather than being the serious reporter that Drury is. She meets Ben again, but in this time-line he was never married and still mourns the loss of the great love of his life, who was killed just before their graduation from college.
At first, Pamela Drury was pleased to be with Robert again after all these years apart, but she is soon unhappy and annoyed with married life, and quarrels with Robert. She embarks on an affair with Ben, not mentioning to him that she has a husband and kids (because she still doesn't think of herself as married or a mother). Ben visits her and learns the truth, and walks away angry and disappointed. Soon, Pamela Drury embraces having a family and falls for Robert again, and even stimulates him and enlivens her marriage. Then when Pamela Drury is in a restaurant bathroom, Pamela Dickson shows up again, and the two women switch back to their former lives. Pamela Dickson had been living the life of single Pamela Drury and enjoyed it but ultimately missed her husband and kids so she came back. Pamela Drury is single once more and embraces her life with a new appreciation of all that being single and having a career has to offer. She learns that while she was gone, Pamela Dickson began dating Ben, who actually is divorced from the woman she saw through the window, the same woman who alternate-Ben had thought was his soul mate. Ultimately she sees that both lives are appealing and offer a lot to appreciate. | romantic, alternate reality | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0117306 | Passion | In Milan in 1863, two young lovers are in bed together ("Happiness"). The handsome captain, Giorgio, breaks their reverie by telling Clara that he is being transferred to a provincial military outpost. In the next scene, Giorgio is in the mess hall at the army camp with Colonel Ricci, the unit's commanding officer, and Dr. Tambourri, its physician. He thinks longingly of Clara (First Letter) and she thinks longingly of him ("Second Letter"). Giorgio's thoughts are interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream. The Colonel tells him not to worry; it's just Fosca, his sick cousin. Giorgio offers to lend her some of his books.As he begins to adjust to the tedium of life at the outpost, the sensitive Giorgio feels increasingly out of place amongst the other men ("Third Letter"). He starts becoming friendly with the Doctor, who describes Fosca as having a nervous disorder. She frequently collapses into seizures, exposing her suffering and need for connection.Fosca arrives later after dinner to thank Giorgio for the books. When he suggests she keep a novel longer to meditate over it, she explains that she does not read to think or search for truth, but to live vicariously through the characters. She then goes off into a dark musing on her life ("I Read"). When Giorgio awkwardly changes the subject and observes a hearse pulling up, she is seized by a hysterical convulsion. Giorgio is stunned and appalled ("Transition").The following afternoon, Giorgio, the Colonel, the Doctor and Fosca go for a walk together. As they stroll through a neglected garden, Giorgio politely engages Fosca in conversation while mentally narrating a letter to Clara. When Fosca confesses that she feels no hope in her life, he tells her that "the only happiness that we can be certain of is love." Fosca recognizes that Giorgio, like herself, is different from others, and asks for his friendship ("Garden Sequence").Giorgio and Clara exchange letters about Fosca. Clara urges him to avoid her whenever possible. When Giorgio is preparing to take a five-day leave, Fosca shows up unexpectedly, dissolving into hysteria and begging him to return soon. Fosca is next seen reading, stone-faced, from a letter Giorgio has sent her kindly rejecting her love while he and Clara make love back in their room ("Trio").Upon Giorgio's return, Fosca reproaches him. She interrogates him about his affair with Clara and learns that she is married. In a sharp exchange, they agree to sever all ties. Weeks go by with no contact between them, but just as he is beginning to think that he is finally free of Fosca, he is informed by the Doctor that she is dying. His rejection of her love has exacerbated her illness. Giorgio, whose job as a soldier is to save people's lives, must go to her and offer a few words of hope. He reluctantly agrees.He enters Fosca's bedroom, and she implores him to lie beside her while she sleeps. At daybreak, Fosca asks him for a favor before he leaves: "Write a letter for me." He complies, but the letter she dictates is a fantasy one from Giorgio to herself (I Wish I Could Forget You). He hastens from the room.The soldiers gossip about Giorgio and Fosca while playing pool ("Soldiers' Gossip"). The Colonel thanks Giorgio for the kindness he has shown his cousin and explains her history. As a child, Fosca was doted on by her parents and once had illusions about her looks. When she was seventeen, the Colonel introduced her to an Austrian count. Fosca was taken with him, though she had her reservations. Once they were married, the count took all of her family's money. Fosca eventually discovered that he had another wife and a child. When confronted, he smoothly admitted to his deception and vanished. It was then that Fosca first became ill. After her parents died, she went to live with the Colonel, who felt responsible for her circumstances ("Flashback").Meanwhile, Clara has written Giorgio a letter ("Sunrise Letter") addressing her approaching age, in which she admits that she's afraid that he will not love her anymore when she is old and no longer beautiful. Giorgio makes his way to a desolate mountain heath and is in the midst of reading when Fosca appears. After Giorgio lashes out at her in anger ("Is This What You Call Love?"), she collapses, and he carries her back in the rain.The rain, the ordeal of getting Fosca back to camp and perhaps the exposure to her contagious emotions have conspired to give Giorgio a fever. He falls into a slumber and dreams that Fosca is dragging him down into the grave with her ("Nightmare"). The Doctor decides that Giorgio needs to spend some time away from her and sends him off to Milan on sick leave ("Forty Days"). As he boards the train, he is followed once again by Fosca. She apologizes for causing his illness and promises to keep her distance for good. Giorgio pleads with her to give him up. She explains that this cannot happen. Her love is not a choice, it is who she is, and she would gladly die for him ("Loving You"). Giorgio is finally moved by the force of her emotions. He takes her back to the outpost ("Transition").The Doctor warns Giorgio that he must stop seeing Fosca, that she threatens his mental and physical health. Giorgio requests that his leave be shortened; he feels it his duty to stay and help her as much as he can. Back in Milan, Clara questions him jealously about Fosca. Giorgio asks Clara to leave her husband and start a new life with him, but as she has a child, she cannot.During Christmas at the outpost, Giorgio is told that he has been transferred back to military headquarters. Later on, he reads Clara's newest letter, in which she asks him to wait until her son is grown before planning a more serious commitment ("Farewell Letter"). Giorgio finds he no longer desires the carefully arranged, convenient relationship that they shared ("Just Another Love Story"). He puts her letter away.Having discovered the letter Fosca dictated, the Colonel accuses Giorgio of leading her on and demands a duel. The Doctor attempts to mediate the two, but Giorgio insists on seeing her one last time. He realizes that he loves Fosca, for no one has ever truly loved him but her.That evening, he returns to Fosca's chamber and, knowing the physical act might very well kill her, surrenders to what she has awakened in him (No One Has Ever Loved Me). They embrace, their passion consummated at last.The duel takes place the following morning. Giorgio shoots the Colonel and lets out a shrill howl eerily reminiscent of Fosca's earlier outbursts.Months pass, and Giorgio is in a hospital, dazed, recovering from his nervous condition. He is informed that Fosca died shortly after their night together; the Colonel recovered from the wound. Dreamlike, the other characters in the story reappear as Giorgio begins reading from Fosca's final letter. Gradually her voice joins his, and together they look back on their revelations ("Finale").The company walks off, Fosca last, leaving Giorgio alone at his table. | romantic | train | imdb | null |
tt0478304 | The Tree of Life | The film begins with a quotation from the Book of Job: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth?... When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
A mysterious, wavering light, resembling a flame, flickers in the darkness. Mrs. O'Brien recalls a lesson taught to her that people must choose to follow either the path of grace or the path of nature. In the 1960s or thereabouts, she receives a telegram informing her of the death of her son, R.L., aged nineteen. Mr. O'Brien is notified by telephone while at an airport. The family is thrown into turmoil.
In the present day, the O'Briens' eldest son, Jack, is adrift in his modern life as an architect. One day he apologizes to his father on the phone for something he said about R.L.'s death. In his office, Jack begins reflecting; shots of tall buildings under the sky, Jack wandering in the desert, trees that stretch from the ground up to the sun high in their leaves, and scenes from his 1950s childhood all link together and lead back to the flame.
From the darkness the universe is born, the Milky Way and then the solar system form while voice-overs ask existential questions. On the newly formed Earth, volcanoes erupt and microbes begin to form and replicate. Sea life is born, then plants on land, then dinosaurs. In a symbolic first act of compassion, a dinosaur chooses not to eat a weakened creature that is lying on the side of a river bed. An asteroid tumbles through space and strikes the Earth, causing the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
In a sprawling suburban neighborhood in the American South live the O'Briens. The young couple is enthralled by their new baby Jack and, later, his two brothers. When Jack reaches adolescence, he is faced with the conflict of accepting the way of grace or nature, as embodied by each of his parents. Mrs. O'Brien is gentle, nurturing, and authoritative, presenting the world to her children as a place of wonder. Mr. O'Brien is strict and authoritarian, and easily loses his temper as he struggles to reconcile his love for his sons with wanting to prepare them for a world he sees as corrupt and exploitative. He laments his decision to work in a power plant instead of pursuing his passion for music. He tries to get ahead by filing patents for various inventions.
Jack's perceptions of the world begin to change after one of his boyhood companions drowns at the pool and another is burned in a house fire. He becomes angry at his father for his bullying behavior and begins to keep a running tally of Mr. O'Brien's various hypocrisies and misdeeds, lashing out at his mother for tolerating such abusive behavior.
One summer, Mr. O'Brien takes a long business trip. While he is away, the boys enjoy unfettered access to their mother, and Jack experiences the first twinges of rebelliousness. Goaded by other boys his age, Jack commits acts of vandalism and animal abuse. He later trespasses into a neighbor's house and steals her sheer nightgown. Jack is confused and angered by his feelings of sexuality and guilty trespass. He throws the stolen lingerie into a river to rid himself of it. Mr. O'Brien returns home from his business trip. Shortly thereafter, the plant that he works at closes and he is given the option of relocating to work in an inferior position within the firm or losing his job. He and his family pack up to move to the new job location. He laments the course his life has taken, questioning whether he has been a good enough person. He asks Jack for forgiveness for his harsh treatment of him.
In the present, adult Jack leaves work. Riding the elevator up, he experiences a vision of following a young girl across rocky terrain. Jack tentatively walks through a wooden door frame erected on the rocks and sees a view of the far distant future in which the sun expands into a red giant, engulfing the earth and then shrinking into a feeble white dwarf. Someone says "follow me" in the darkness, which is ended by the lighting of two candles. After emerging from rustic doors, Jack follows the girl and then a young version of himself across surreal landscapes. On a sandbar, Jack sees images of death and the dead returning to life. He is reunited with his family and all the people who populate his memory. His father is happy to see him. He encounters his dead brother, whom he brings to his parents. The parents are then seen saying goodbye to the young brother as he steps out of a home into a vast expanse. Accompanied by a woman in white and a young woman, Mrs. O'Brien looks to the sky and whispers, "I give him to you. I give you my son."
Jack's vision ends and he leaves the building smiling, while nature returns to the surrounding buildings as the sky is reflected in them.
The mysterious wavering light continues to flicker in the darkness. | avant garde, cruelty, thought-provoking, flashback, psychedelic, romantic, storytelling | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0972883 | Red | Frank Moses, retired black-ops CIA agent, lives alone in Cleveland, Ohio. Lonely, Frank often chats on the phone with Sarah Ross, a worker at the General Services Administration's Pension Office in Kansas City, Missouri. He creates opportunities to talk to her by tearing up his pension checks and calling her to say they had never arrived.
One night, a "wetwork" (assassination) squad raids Frank's house and attempts to kill him, but he easily wipes them out. Knowing they have tapped his phone, he believes Sarah will be targeted. In Kansas City, as Sarah refuses to go with him, he forcibly ties her up and gags her with duct tape. Meanwhile, CIA agent William Cooper is assigned by his boss, Cynthia Wilkes, to hunt down and kill Frank.
To find out who is targeting him, Frank tracks down his old associates for help. He goes to New Orleans, Louisiana and visits his C.I.A. mentor, Joe Matheson, who now lives in a nursing home. Joe tells Frank that the same hit squad murdered a reporter for The New York Times. Locked in a motel by Frank, Sarah escapes. Another agent, posing as a police officer, tries to kidnap her, but Frank returns in time. Cooper attacks them, but Frank tricks the police into arresting Cooper and escapes with Sarah. The two head to New York City and find clues left behind by the deceased reporter, which leads them to a hit list.
They then find Marvin Boggs, another former black ops agent and a paranoid conspiracy theorist. Marvin tells them the people on the list, including Frank and Marvin, are connected to a secret 1981 mission in Guatemala. Another person on the list, Gabriel Singer, is still alive. The trio tracks down Singer, who tells them that the mission involved extracting a person from a village. Singer is then assassinated by a helicopter-borne machine-gunner, and the team escapes as Cooper closes in.
Frank goes to ex-Russian secret agent Ivan Simanov, who helps him infiltrate CIA headquarters. In the CIA archive, the records keeper, who has much respect for Frank, simply hands him the Guatemala file. Frank confronts Cooper in his office and the two have a vicious fight. Though victorious, Frank is shot during his escape. Having escaped an attempt on his life, Joe arrives and helps extract the team. They hide out in the home of former wetwork agent Victoria (Helen Mirren), who treats Frank's wound and joins the team.
The file gives them clue to the next lead, Alexander Dunning, an illegal arms dealer. Frank, Marvin and Joe enter Dunning's mansion, with Joe posing as a buyer, while Victoria and Sarah keep watch outside. They interrogate Dunning, who reveals the target for extraction was the now–Vice President Robert Stanton (Julian McMahon). Stanton ordered the hit on the people involved in the mission to hide the fact that he massacred village civilians.
Cooper and the FBI surround Dunning's mansion. Cooper tries to negotiate Frank's surrender, and Frank tells him about the Vice President's treachery. The terminally ill Joe pretends to be Frank, walks outside, and is killed by sniper from the Vice President's personal hit squad. The confusion, as well as Victoria's cover fire, buys the team enough time to leave the mansion, but Sarah is captured. They escape with the help of Ivan, who is Victoria's old flame. Frank calls Cooper from his family's phone and warns him against harming Sarah.
The team, along with Ivan, kidnaps Stanton. Frank calls Cooper, offering to trade Stanton for Sarah. At the meeting point, Dunning arrives. After a short dialogue, Dunning injures Stanton, revealing himself and Cynthia Wilkes to be masterminds behind the assassinations. Disgusted with Wilkes' corruption, Cooper pretends to arrest Frank, but shoots Wilkes. Marvin and Victoria kill Dunning's bodyguards, and Frank kills Dunning by crushing his windpipe. Cooper lets Frank's team go. As they leave the scene, Frank and Sarah are eager to start a new life together.
Ivan reminds Frank of his favor. A few months later, Frank and Marvin are in Moldova with a stolen nuclear device. They flee from Moldovan Army troops with Marvin wearing a dress and in a wooden wheelbarrow being pushed by Frank. | revenge, cult, storytelling | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0424880 | Candy | The Candy Candy manga provides a "coming of age story" in the shōjo genre. Candy, an abandoned orphan taken in by the orphanage Pony's Home near Lake Michigan around the start of the 20th century, spent the first years of her life at the orphanage, to where she would often return to repose and to decide her next course in life. When Annie, her best friend at the orphanage, was adopted, she ran outside crying, and met briefly a young man in kilt who told her not to cry. Candy retained fond memories of the young man and, not knowing his name, remembered him as her "Prince on the Hill". The young man will have great influence and importance in her life later on.
When she turned thirteen, Candy was taken in by the Lagan family as a companion for their Lagan family daughter, Eliza. The Lagans treated her poorly and eventually made Candy a servant girl. When the Lagan family accused Candy of stealing and sent her off to work in their family farm in Mexico, Candy was rescued from being sent to Mexico by William Audrey, the sole heir of the very wealthy Audrey family and the owner of the Audrey estate. William Audrey became Candy's adoptive father, but his true identity remained a mystery and she would not meet him until the end of the story. He was also the uncle of Candy's first love, Anthony Brown, and a relative of Anthony's cousins, the Cornwell brothers Archibald (Archie) and Alistair (Stear), as well as the Lagan children.
Later on, Anthony died in a hunting accident when he was thrown off the horseback. Thereafter, Candy, along with Archie and Stear, and the Lagan children, were sent to London to attend the prestigious St. Paul's College, a secondary school, where she met the rebellious bad boy Terry Grandchester the illegitimate child of a British Duke, although she has once saw him crying on the same boat she was taking to travel to London. Terry was her second and grand love (in the words of the author Keiko Nagita/Kyoko Mizuki in the essays found on Misaki's website, "the great love that cannot bear fruit"). Circumstances divided the pair when Eliza Lagan schemed to have Candy expelled from St. Paul's by manipulating them into a scandal.
After the scandal, Terry left St. Paul's to protect Candy's reputation, but Candy also decided to leave. They would both embark on their individual life journeys forward in the United States, where Candy trained to become a nurse in Chicago around the time of World War I, and Terry pursued a career as a rising star actor on Broadway in New York. An actress in his theater troupe, Susanna, became attracted to Terry and believed she loved him. During a rehearsal session, an accident occurred and Susanna saved Terry's life, but in the process became disabled. Her injury destroyed her acting career. Her mother demanded that Terry takes care of her for the rest of her life. Susanna herself became depressed and attempted suicide, knowing that Terry loved Candy and did not love her. Feeling responsible, Terry was torn between reuniting with Candy and his duty to care for Susanna. When Candy discovered what happened, she decided to sacrifice her own happiness and left Terry, so Terry could remain with Susanna, even though Terry did not love Susanna and was deeply in love with Candy.
Afterwards, Candy returned to Chicago to continue her life. By chance, she became the nurse and caretaker to her adoptive father, William Audrey, who lost his memories after a World War I related bomb explosion on a train in Italy. William ultimately regained his memories and revealed his true identity to Candy. At the end of the story, Candy discovered that he was her childhood Prince of the Hill. In Italy, however, the anime's ending was changed, and Candy and Terry meet again at a train station deciding to stay together.
In 2010 the novel "Candy Candy The Final Story" written by Mizuki using her real name Keiko Nagita, Candy discovers that Susanna has died and Terence writes her a letter to say that for him nothing has changed, leaving hope that they will reunite.
There were some plot and character differences between the manga and the anime: Candy's age was different for several events when she grew up at Pony's Home. In the manga, she was six or seven years old when she met her Prince of the Hill, but was ten in the anime. Her sidekick pet raccoon Kurin/Clint belonged solely to the anime version. | romantic, realism | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0095925 | Pumpkinhead | The story begins a long time ago, out in the country when a mother, and father try to protect their son from seeing what is about to happen. The relentless revenge demon, Pumpkin is perusing his victim. The man tries to get into the home but the father will not allow it. Pumpkinhead finishes what he started and the little boy, Ed Harley (Lance Henriksen) got out of bed to watch it all from his window. Now Ed is a grown man who has a young son. After six out of town kids arrive at Ed Harley's store, Pumkinhead's story is told by some local children. Shortly after,one of the six out of towners, Joel a criminal, starts to race his dirt bike. He jumps over a mound of dirt and hits Ed's young son. Because he is on probation and has been drinking, the punk gets his bike and flees the scene. He fights with his friends about going to get help and the little boy dies. When the father, Ed finds his dead son, he can think of nothing but revenge. His thoughts turn to the demon that he saw take revenge when he was a boy. He seeks the old witch that can conjure Pumpkinhead. Ed Harley follows her instructions and the huge, evil demon awakens. After Joel has taken his friends hostage to keep his wrong doings a secret, one of the girls, Maggie starts to lose her mind. She runs off and as Steve, Joel's younger brother tries to stop her. Pumpkinhead hides in the trees and strikes. As it rips Steve to shreds, Maggie runs back to the cabin for help. Joe and Jeff go looking for Steve with guns. Just then, the evil vengeance demon appears at the window. It hangs Steve's bloody body in front of the door, and as Maggie screams, Pumpkinhead grabs her and runs off. It soon returns and grabs another girl and chokes her in the top of a tree and then drops her onto a boulder and claims victim number three. The remaining three victims run looking for help. The hillbillies that live in that area know that if they help, Pumpkinhead will come for them as well. Ed Harley feels something awful every time his demon kills. He decides to help stop it and he meets the three remaining survivors. Soon, Pumpkinhead arrives and Joel and Harley unload their guns into the beast. Then, when they think it is dead, it rises and shoves Joel's rifle through his chest. Ed is bitten by a dog and Pumpkinhead feels the pain, but Ed did not notice it. Kim and Jeff run for their lives until a young hillbilly, Jimmy Joe decides to help them. Pumpkinhead pursues them through an old burned down church and grabs Jeff, wounding him badly. Wanting to stop this, Ed Harley drives around until he finds Kim and Jimmy Joe, and then takes them into his home. Soon the evil one appears, drops Jeff's body and enters the house. In a terrifying scene it goes for Jimmy Joe first. Then they all escape outside where Ed gets stuck by a pitch fork and sees that is hurting Pumpkinhead. Ed figures out that he can only kill the beast by killing himself. Jeff who is still alive, helps Kim buy some time. Just as the monster is about to kill jackass Ed shoots himself. But Ed Harley still lives. Kim shoots him and ends this forever and Pumpkinhead goes up in flames, never to be seen again. Well, until the old witch buried the remains back in it's resting place until the next time it is called upon. | revenge, cult, murder, flashback | train | imdb | The dead boys father has been to see the local Witch, who in turn has summoned the Demon of Vengeance: Pumpkinhead.There's really not a lot of gore here, and no sex whatsoever.
The monster, Pumpkinhead, is really cool looking, created as it was by special effects man Stan Winston, who also directed.
Director Stan Winston (making his debut) utilizes the scenery with skillful execution by giving the film such an organic feel and producing some blinding images within some eerie and thrilling set-pieces (the transformation scene being one).
However, calling up Pumpkinhead comes at a cost to Ed as much as it does to the teenagers it now seeks.Tho in essence it is just a creature on the loose killing the teens movie, so a stalk and slash piece if you like, Pumpkinhead is more appealing than most of its ilk.
And Harley, the father who is the real hero AND villian of the film is much more human than his actions would suggest.There is also a good twist at the end which I will not reveal here, only say that surprised me with it's subtlety, which is something you rarely see in a horror film that is more than 2/3 done.Bottom line, I was pleasently surprised with Pumpkinhead.
People who don't like horror films are unlikely to be impressed with it, except on a technical level because the effects and atmosphere are superb, but horror fans looking for a harmless new thrill may find it better than expected.
With his blood thrown into the mix of an evil spell, the demon is soon resurrected and goes about his usual mission of killing people who deserve it.And so begins a series of scenes you've seen many times in numerous Friday the 13th films and the subsequent rip-offs.
Driven by grief, Ed goes to a witch for help raising a demonic creature known as Pumpkinhead to wreak vengeance upon his son's killers.
Directed by special effects wizard Stan Winston, Pumpkinhead is one of the most original and underrated horror films of the last thirty years.
And, of course, praise should go to Winston and his special effects crew for creating a unique creature like Pumpkinhead to begin with.
This is such a great horror movie with quality sets, good acting, and a creepy demon.
I think that is one of the main reasons I like the movie so much because it's not just some monster killing pretty people, it's also about this man struggling with his own inner demons.
All is fine and dandy until a group of city kids, a motor bike accident, a creepy witch, and a demon that is resurrected and called "PUMPKINHEAD" changes all that, ED and the teens find out the hard way that "WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND".Great Monster...I remember the design for Pumpkinhead gave me the creeps..especially the far shots of it hiding in trees, the first opening chase scene is creepy because you don't understand what is going on.
How many horror movies do you know that do that?...The blue and orange filters really give the film a nice look.
The soundtrack hits all the right notes and elevates the movie to more creepy level.Some minor complaints would have to be the teens don't get enough screen time..I liked the majority of them but they get killed way too soon (you'll see)...more range and development would have been nice...but on a whole..this movie is all good...nice direction..and themes.
This is like those stories, and is probably a direct descendant.At the very beginning of the film, we see a flashback of a country lad looking through the edges of a window at a Creature who's on some sort of rampage.Shift to the present.
Pumpkinhead is a complete and total 80s horror flick all the way through, and if you're tired of modernized torture horror and dumb ripoff slashers, throw this on as a reminder of why you loved the horror genre in the first place.I think the best thing about this is that it isn't just for fans of one specific type of horror.
There was slasher horror and there were monster movies, and maybe a few odd-man-out occult flicks, but Pumpkinhead doesn't really fall into any of those, rather settling to sit on the divider between them.
The kills are brutal yet not overdone (learn a lesson here, Mr. Eli Roth!), and the characters are generally enjoyable and not too shallow (at least not compared to the random teens in Friday the 13th flicks).This might not be the best film from a critical standpoint, but as a horror fan, I can't give this anything but a perfect score.
With a great setting, a healthy helping of mozzarella cheese, some classic 80s blood and guts, a monster that is as much cheesy as it is cool, and a certain spark that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole demonic thrill ride of the movie, Pumpkinhead will fit right in on your shelf next to Friday the 13th, Halloween and Sleepaway Camp.
Lance Henriksen plays the father of a boy accidentally killed by travelling teens and seeks revenge for the unnecessary death of his young son.
It's an atmospheric suspenseful horror film about a man seeking revenge for his boy's death by bikers.
Pumpkinhead is not a great horror film, but I suppose it is acceptable considering that Stan Winston was not a director.
He does a good job of giving the movie archetypal rural Halloween atmosphere, but his overall lack of experience also results in bad acting, silly story telling, and a lack of suspense.
Despite a fearsome set of teeth, the demon is better at killing people by throwing them around in hilarious ways rather than doing something more horror worthy like biting heads or limbs off.This creature will not go down as one of Stan Winston's best creations, and the movie will certainly not go down as one of the best indie horrors, but it might be worth a look at for horror geeks.
The story was good, the scenes with Pumpkinhead were good, and the acting wasn't even that bad for a horror film.
After accidentally killing his son, a group of teens find themselves subject to a series of attacks by a demonic creature summoned to take revenge on their actions by the father and must try to stop it from completing its rampage.This here is one of the more impressive and enjoyable creature features out there.
The idea of letting loose a horrible creature of revenge to right perceived wrongs is a fairly new twist to the typical monster-on-the-loose style films and the way this element is woven into the story makes for some pretty exciting times.
It needs a plausible scenario to set events in motion which is done here with the fine scene early on that kills of the son in what looks genuinely like a true accident so there's a logical reason for the demon conjuring, a fine set-up that gives the kids something resembling a conscience and finally brings the actual point home with a practically-chilling exhumation sequence in the appropriately long-dead cemetery that not only meets the functions of the story but also gives off the feeling of appropriate unease required for such scenes.
There's also some good times here with this one featuring some really enjoyable stalking here with this one featuring some rather intense chases here with the creature going after the gang through the woods which results in great moments at the cabin and the abandoned church which provide this one with some thrilling action, nice suspense and a series of chilling encounters all packed with great gore and bloody kills.
Inspired by a poem by Ed Justin, it has a story co-authored by makeup effects maestro Stan Winston, making a creditable directing debut.Lance Henriksen, delivering a typically strong performance, is rural grocer Ed Harley, who loses his adorable young son Billy (Matthew Hurley) when the boy is accidentally run down by reckless "city folk".
Ed becomes consumed with the thought of vengeance, and calls upon a local character, frightening crone Haggis (Florence Schauffler) to call upon a demon named Pumpkinhead - a demon Ed had glimpsed as a child.The short running time (87 minutes) is indicative of how well the story flows and how Winston and company are able to refrain from indulging in any sort of filler.
Granted, the young victims are not fleshed out very much, but neither are they treated as purely one-dimensional individuals, and it is possible to feel some sympathy as they are stalked and brutalized by Pumpkinhead, a cool monster played with great physical menace by effects expert Tom Woodruff, Jr. Also, for a horror film this does have a certain amount of emotional resonance; it's genuinely sad when the little boy dies.The cast is above average for this sort of thing; supporting Henriksen quite capably are people like Jeff East ("Superman: The Movie") and John DiAquino ('SeaQuest DSV'), while others such as stuntman Dick Warlock, George "Buck" Flower (in one of his more substantial roles and most enjoyable performances), Brian Bremer, and Lee de Broux also make solid contributions in supporting and bit parts.
Pumpkinhead is wonderfully played by Lance Henrikssen, the monster does look good and moves methodically while having that sense of dread.
A kid gets killed by a group of no good bikers and it just so happens that the kids old man knows a wicked witch who can unleash his own demon in the form of pumpkin head.
Better-than-usual direction, cinematography, and production values lift this movie above the complete craplitude which is normal for the slasher genre.Unfortunately, poor acting, atrocious dialogue, a derivative and silly-looking creature, and the hackneyed monster-kills-teenage-jerks-in-the-woods plot don't permit it to rise any higher than sub-mediocrity..
"Pumpkinhead" is first movie directed by Stan Winston(won 4 Oscars for best effects, visual effects in movies like "Aliens", "Terminator 2", "Jurassic Park",...,also worked on "Predator", "Edward Scissorhands", "Artificial Intelligence", "The Thing").What I really like about this movie is story.
Considering the relatively modest budget this movie had, compared to mainline monster flicks like 'Aliens', they did a colossal job of making the creature look real and believable.
When Henriksen finally realizes what his actions are causing he tries to call off the demon, but discovers it's too late.Uneven directioral debut from make-up master Stan Winston features a complicated, fasicnating, original, and sometimes heartfelt premise with some standout scenes, but eventually it decides to be a run of the mill stalk and slash film.
Watching this one is like getting all the 80's horror cliches you need to make witty observations on the cliches of 80's horror flicks.Directed by holier-than-KNB FX wizard Stan Winston, Lance "Just Forget About Man's Best Friend" Henrickson is a scorned daddy who after his autistic son is murdered by a bunch of dirtbike-riding hooligans, enlists the services of Pumpkinhead, a demon who also dabbles in the professional hitman trade.
Pumpkinhead ( The original ,made in 1988 with Lance Henriksen rates as The Top Horror film made since Dracula with Bela Lugosi ..
Pumpkinhead is a pretty damn good horror movie.
Easily one of the best horror / monster movies of the 1980's, PUMPKINHEAD is also about the cost of taking revenge, even when it appears to be fully justified.
Recently watched it again and it still holds the test of time in my opinion.If you want a really good 80s horror film then you need to watch pumpkinhead.
He summons a demon called Pumpkinhead who stops at nothing to fulfil its promise.Stan Winston does an excellent job creating the eerie horror of a classic horror tale of revenge gone horribly wrong.
The old farm setting makes it feel like a classic horror film and separates it from the other slasher movies of the time.What's most impressive about the film is the creature itself.
When a bunch of kids from the city accidentally kill his son, he goes to a local witch to invoke the demon Pumpkinhead for revenge.
After his son is killed in a tragic accident, grief stricken Ed Harley (Lance Henriksen) visits an old woman with magical powers who summons a demon to avenge the boy's death.To be honest, the story to Pumpkinhead is no great shakes, a fairly routine horror tale of supernatural revenge with a group of cookie cutter teenagers as the victims, but sometimes all you need is a bloody good monster to carry a film and this one has a doozy, not all that surprising considering that the man behind the wheel is none other than special effects genius Stan Winston.Winston actually does a pretty good job overall considering this is his directorial debut, conjuring up a fair amount of creepy atmosphere and delivering quite a few striking visuals.
Country bumpkin gets his revenge in "Pumpkinhead." In creature/special-effects wizard Stan Winston's directorial debut, Lance Henriksen ("Aliens," "The Terminator") plays a loving father in the backwoods of rural America.
He is natural and emotional and he makes you feel sadness and regret and things you don't normally get out of B horror.Of course, Stan Winston, who was a genius in special effects and creature design and did not disappoint with the Pumpkinhead creature.
Nothing brings us atmosphere like an 80's horror flick, and unlike the genre movies of today, they still stand as testaments to quality, effects, hard work and pure passion for bringing a grotesque story like this to life..
Plus the movie is directed by Stan Winston (better know for his special effects).
A man conjures up a gigantic vengeance demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy the teenagers who accidentally killed his son.
Stan Winston, among many professionals going into the film business of creature effects look at his works for guidance.
If anything, it is a well made guilty pleasure horror film for most.The story is about widower countryman Ed Harley (Lance Henriksen), a loving father who's son Billy, means everything to him.
It's still a good movie but it's not scary like it could've been.Even with creature effects master, Stan Winston directing, Pumpkinhead rarely scares.
I found the whole movie every enjoyable and I thought Pumpkinhead was really good creature and I really liked how it's looked.
Released in 1988, "Pumpkinhead" stars Lance Henriksen as Ed Harley, a California backwoodsman whose son is accidentally killed by some vacationing city kids on dirt bikes.
Havoc ensues.The best thing "Pumpkinhead" has going for it is an outstanding monster that towers over its powerless victims, created by special effects artist Stan Winston in his directorial debut.
Really, the creature is as good or better than the Alien/Aliens monsters.Another strong point is the link between the creature and one of the characters and what has to be done to possibly end its reign of terror: The spirit of revenge can only be terminated by the spirit of selfless sacrifice, which is the Christ spirit.Other positives include a solid cast, a totally serious & creepy vibe throughout and quality backwoods locations (California).The only real negative is that, soon after the monster is released and starts its rampage (at around the 50-minute mark), the film clearly loses its footing and tempts the viewer to tune out, but it thankfully gets back on track.Although the creature is great and the way it functions is original, the basic plot is, of course, old hat, i.e. youths chased by some boogeyman in the deep woods.
I don't know what I might do.The star of this movie from a horror point of view therefore isn't the redneck father, the kid or even the pumpkinheaded creature but the creepy old bint in the hut.
Now, although the film was somewhat lacking originality in the plot department (it was similar to any slasher flick, and the Pumpkinhead looks a lot like a movie alien you will surely recognize...), and also in the talent department (as far as acting...); I was never bored.
In the film Lance Henriksen plays a country man whose young son is accidentally killed by some city folks when he runs out in front of their dirt bikes.
PUMPKINHEAD isn't a very good movie but at the same time there are some interesting moments and some nice direction by the newcomer.
I thought Henriksen was very effective as the father and especially in the scenes where he's carrying around his dead son's body just looking for a way to get revenge.
Lance Henrickson gives one of his best performances as a father out for revenge on a group of teenagers who accidentally killed his son.
In "Pumpkinhead," we meet a backwoods grocer named Ed Harley (finely portrayed by Lance Henriksen), who makes a deal with a witch woman called Haggis after his young son is killed in a hit-and-run accident.
He also gets good efforts from his cast especially Lance Henrickson as the father and the performances are not wooden and hollow like in a lot of these type of movies.
Pumpkinhead is a cute horror fairytale directed by special effects genius Stan Winston.
However, special effects aficionados and fans of quirky horror will have a great time watching this film.Pumpkinhead is like a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale on acid.
This movie has a big, realistic monster and works as a great horror movie, meaning that it would freak any kid out who doesn't have any interest in these films.
A grieving father avenges the accidental death of his son by asking an old witch to conjure the demon Pumpkinhead to kill those responsible for his grief.
I think this movie is sweet, because their's a demonic creature out killing people, and Stan Winston directed this movie, and Lance Henriksen is in the movie.
A monster, a revenge plot, a couple of teenagers, some other odd creepy looking folks, dark settings and whatever more you can expect from a genre movie such as this one.
Pumpkinhead looks like an ALIEN from the movie ALIEN and is conjured up by an old lady per Lance's request. |
tt0056241 | The Miracle Worker | On a night in 1882, at the Alabama home of Captain and Mrs. Keller, a doctor examines a baby in a crib while her parents stand anxiously by. At last he smiles, and tells them the crisis has passed, she will recover from the illness. Her parents respond with joy and relief. Captain Keller (Victor Jory) goes with the doctor to see him out. Mrs. Keller (Inga Swenson) stays with the baby, smiling, talking, gently tucking the covers around her. Something about the baby's face catches her attention. She is at first puzzled, then frightened. She calls out for Captain Keller, who returns at a run. She blurts out her fears to him, he grabs up the lantern, and waves it before the baby's eyes, and screams her name in an attempt to get a reaction...all without effect. As a result of her illness, Baby Helen is now irrevocably blind and deaf.By 1887, Helen (Patty Duke) has grown into a healthy, but extremely difficult, child. The adults in the household--Captain and Mrs. Keller, Great Aunt Ev (Kathleen Comegys), Helen's older half-brother James (Andrew Prine) and the domestic help--have all given up trying to communicate with her or control her. She is allowed to wander wherever she wants, and do as she pleases. But after an incident in which she flings her new baby sister violently out of her cradle so she can use it for her doll, it is clear something must be done about her, and soon. Mrs. Keller can't bear the thought of having her shut up in an asylum, so Captain Keller reluctantly agrees to find a teacher/companion for her. Annie Sullivan (Anne Bancroft), a 20-year-old Irish-American girl, newly graduated from the Perkins Institute for the Blind in South Boston, is recommended for the position. She is still recovering from a series of operations that have only partially restored her own vision, she has a reputation for being stubborn and is haunted by a tragic childhood. But she has a plan, and is greatly determined to make a place for herself in the world, and a better world for her new student.At the Keller's home, her first meeting with Helen is promising. She quickly recognizes Helen's intelligence and curiosity. She has brought a doll for the little girl and Helen is delighted with it. Annie seizes the opportunity to introduce Helen to the finger alphabet for the deaf by spelling the word "doll" against Helen's palm. Intrigued, Helen spells it back to her, imitating the letters perfectly. Pleased, Annie tries another word...but Helen is more interested in the doll than the new finger game. Annie makes the mistake of trying to take the doll away from her, and Helen uses the doll to lambaste her in the mouth. While Annie is surveying the damage, Helen quickly locks her in the bedroom, takes the key and runs away.Annie is able to get her employers' attention and alert them to her dilemma. In the uproar that follows, Mrs. Keller searches Helen for the key, but doesn't find it, so Captain Keller decides the best way to effect a rescue is to put a ladder up to the bedroom window, climb it, and carry Annie back down. Despite Annie's protests that she can climb down herself, she makes the descent seated precariously on Captain Keller's shoulder. Crisis averted, Captain Keller orders everyone back inside to sit down to lunch.Annie stays behind for a moment or two to watch Helen, who is sitting quietly by the water pump on the well cover, holding her doll. After a moment, she gets up and furtively feels around for anyone else who might still be present. At last, satisfied that she's alone, she takes the key to Annie's bedroom door out of her mouth, and drops it into the well through a crack in the well cover. Annie observes this with mingled amusement and irritation...and she promises Helen (and herself) that she won't be gotten rid of so easily.Next day at breakfast, Annie watches in disgust as Helen wanders about the table, taking food from each person's plate with her hands, and cramming it into her mouth. The adults pay no attention to her, obviously accustomed to this behavior. When Helen reaches for Annie's plate, Annie quietly fends off her hand. Helen is shocked at first, considers what has happened--and reaches again, all the more determined to take something from this stranger's plate. A scuffle ensues...Captain Keller intercedes, explaining to Annie that they've found this to be the easiest course, and the only way they can have a relatively civilized meal. But Annie decides it's high time to begin her student's education...starting with ordinary table manners. She chases the family out of the house, and the battle is on.It's a long and violent process...Helen is as determined as Annie, and both girls know this is more than just a fight about plates and napkins. After a struggle which lasts into the afternoon and leaves both girls battered and bruised, Annie emerges as the victor...barely. Afterward, Helen runs outside to her mother for comfort, and Mrs. Keller angrily asks Annie what happened. "She ate from her own plate," replies Annie, softly. "She ate with a spoon. Herself. And she folded her napkin." Mrs. Keller receives this news in complete wonder, her anger gone in a moment. "Folded her napkin?" she repeats. "The room's a wreck," Annie says, wryly, "but her napkin is folded." Annie turns wearily back into the house. "Folded her napkin," Mrs. Keller murmurs, "My Helen folded her napkin," as she holds Helen close in her armsCaptain Keller is in a thundering rage. He wants that "half-blind Yankee schoolgirl" gone immediately, but Mrs. Keller persuades him to let her stay. Nevertheless, he tells Annie, there are a number of conditions that must be met. He begins to lay down the law, but Annie interrupts him. She tells them that she has no hope of being able to make any progress with Helen under the current circumstances. Mrs. Keller pleads with her not to give up on Helen. She tells her how bright Helen was when she was a baby...able to ask for water (to say wah-wah) at a remarkably early age...and how heartbreaking it has been to feel her slipping farther away with each passing year...and how like the lost lamb in the parable, she loves her all the more. Annie listens, not unsympathetically; nevertheless, she tells her bluntly that she thinks Helen's greatest handicap is not deafness and blindness, but her family's love and pity. "Why, even a dog you housebreak," she scolds. But Annie has no intention of giving up on Helen..."Why, only today I saw how much needs to be done," she declares.She has been exploring the grounds, and has found a little cottage that isn't used, except during the hunting season. She asks that they furnish this cottage with a couple of beds, a table and a couple of chairs, and let the cook's young son, Percy (Robert Darden), sleep there to be available for errands. She instructs them to bring Helen there after a long buggy ride, so she won't know where she is, and leave her there, completely in her care. "She must be dependent on me for everything...for food, for water...even for the very air she breathes," she says, because any of these might be an avenue through which she can reach her. Mrs. Keller eagerly agrees, and after a while so does Captain Keller...reluctantly...for two weeks only. After that, whether she has been able to reach her or not, they must both return to the main house.Preparations are made, and Helen arrives at the cottage. She is pleased to find some of her favorite toys and clothes waiting for her, in a basket in the middle of the floor. Then she has a sudden premonition of something amiss, and begins to make the sign that means she wants her mother. Her parents quickly withdraw, and as Helen gropes around the room, she encounters Annie. In rage and horror at being left alone with this hated person, Helen goes wild, trashing the house and its contents. Physically and emotionally exhausted, she finally falls asleep, clutching her doll.Annie hits on a plan to get Helen to tolerate her: She wakes Percy, and brings him in from the other room, and has him stand near Helen. Helen recoils at first, then recognizes him, and is overjoyed to have him there. Annie sits on the other side of Percy, takes his hand, and begins to show him how to spell using the finger signs. When Helen discovers what's going on, she tries at first to keep Percy away from Annie, then curiosity overcomes her and she tries to "eavesdrop" on the new signs Annie is teaching...but Annie lightly flicks her hand away. At last, consumed with jealousy, she pushes Percy out of the way, and holds up her own hand defiantly, to be taught the new signs herself. Annie signs the word "milk" against her palm, and Helen repeats it back to her. Annie gives her a glass of milk, and helps her into bed. Detente has been reached, and the work can begin.In the days that follow, Helen learns many new things...how to wash and dress herself, how to feed and clean up after herself...how to climb a tree, how to wade in a creek...how to play hide the thimble. She also learns many new words. But she still doesn't understand what she's doing, and in quiet moments it's clear she misses her mother and her old way of life.Mrs. Keller has been missing Helen, too. As previously agreed, she comes to the cottage each day to watch her without her knowledge, and to learn from Annie the alphabet Helen is also learning. She is pleased with Helen's progress and shares Annie's hope that some spark of understanding will eventually ignite in Helen's brain. But the two weeks Annie was given to teach Helen without family interference is drawing to a close, and Mrs. Keller is not willing to persuade Captain Keller to give her an extension. On the last day, when Mrs. Keller comes for her, Annie must hand her over.Annie feels that she has failed. She watches sadly as Helen goes through the house gathering all the keys from all the doors. She takes them to her mother and puts them in her pocket...a gesture that clearly indicates she wants everything to go back to the way it was. Just before dinner, Captain Keller calls Annie into his study, and hands her a check for her first month's wages, with a little speech of congratulations and gratitude. Annie confides her fear to him, that Helen will slip back into her old habits, and asks his help to keep Helen to what she's learned. He readily agrees...and then invites her to a special homecoming dinner for Helen, featuring all her favorite foods.They sit down, and grace is said, and Annie hands Helen her napkin...and watches as she drops it on the floor. It was very subtly done...could have been an accident. Annie picks it up, and puts it back on her lap...Helen removes it, and drops it on the floor again. Annie rises to take Helen from the table, but she flees to her mother for comfort. Mrs. Keller tries to smooth things over, saying that it's only a napkin, nothing breakable. "And everything I've taught her is?" retorts Annie. Mrs. Keller hesitates, then relents, handing Helen over to Annie. But Captain Keller intervenes this time, saying there is no need to discipline the child on her first night back. He sits Helen down, and fills a plate for her, hands her a spoon, and goes back to his own place. Helen throws the spoon across the room, grabs a handful of food and tries to stuff it into her mouth. Annie grabs her and drags her away from the table. In the struggle that follows, Helen douses Annie with the contents of the water pitcher, and Annie grabs the pitcher and Helen, and storms majestically out of the room. Captain Keller begins to follow, intent on intervening again, but his way is blocked by his son, James...who finally finds the courage to tell his father he is wrong...that he must back down and allow this Yankee girl to teach Helen the discipline she needs...so that she can go on learning.Outside, Annie drags Helen to the pump, to make her refill the pitcher. Helen is desperately making her sign for her mother, and Annie says coldly, "She's not here." She makes Helen hold the pitcher under the pump, while she works the pump handle. As the cold water pours over the pitcher and Helen's hand, Annie automatically spells the word "water" against her free hand. "W-A-T-E-R, water," she says aloud, a lesson she has repeated many times. "It has a name, and the name stands for the thing..." She stops, noticing that Helen is standing transfixed, a look of profound realization dawning on her face. The pitcher drops from her hands and shatters. Something is coming to her out of the past. The water from the pump is dripping on her hands. "Wah.....Wah...." she says, with great difficulty...."Wah....Wah."The water has stopped flowing. Helen hits the faucett frantically, to indicate she wants it to flow again. Annie pumps, and the water flows over Helen's hands again. "Wah....Wah..." she says...and reaches for Annie's hand to spell the word against her palm. Annie puts Helen's hands on her face and nods to confirm that she is correct. Helen grabs the pump handle and pumps wildly herself, then holding Annie's hand under the stream of water, she spells the word against her palm again. With Helen's hands on her face, Annie nods again: this is, indeed, water.She knows! The connection has been made, the spark has ignited, and now Helen knows! And suddenly she realizes that this is only the start...that there is much, much more for her to learn, and she wants to know it all, everything, all at once! In a frenzy, she runs around, dragging Annie after her, touching things and then holding out her hand for Annie to spell their names. Annie follows, spelling to her as fast as she can, and she calls out for Mrs. Keller to come out. The whole family spills out of the house, and when Helen bumps against her mother and father, Annie spells each of their names to her in turn, and cries out to them jubilantly that Helen finally knows!As they embrace her, Annie goes back to sit by the pump on the well cover, overcome with emotion. After a few moments, Helen pulls free from her sobbing parents, and finds her way over to Annie. Shyly, she points toward her...she wants to know her name...this wonderful stranger who has turned the light back on in her mind, and put the world into her hand. Annie spells the word "Teacher" against her palm. Helen goes back to her mother, reaches into her pocket for the door keys she cached there earlier. She spells "Teacher" against her mother's palm, and brings the keys back to Annie.Later that night, Annie sits alone in a rocker on the upper porch of the house. A door behind her opens, and Helen comes out to her. She kisses Annie and cuddles into her lap. Lost and found...rescuer and rescued...combatants and companions...two turbulent souls, at peace with each other, and themselves, at last. | inspiring, flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt0056264 | Mutiny on the Bounty | One night in Portsmouth, England in 1787, a press gang breaks into a local tavern and presses all of the men drinking there into naval service. One of the men inquires as to what ship they will sail on, and the press gang leader informs him that it is the HMS Bounty. Upon inquiring as to who the captain is, another of the men is told the captain is William Bligh (Charles Laughton), and attempts to escape, as Bligh is a brutal tyrant who routinely administers harsh punishment to officers and crew alike who lack discipline, cause any infraction on board the ship, or in any manner defy his authority. The Bounty leaves England several days later on a two-year voyage over the Pacific Ocean. Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable), the ship's lieutenant, is a formidable yet compassionate man who disapproves of Bligh's treatment of the crew. Roger Byam (Franchot Tone) is an idealistic midshipman who is divided between his loyalty to Bligh, owing to his family's naval tradition, and his friendship with Christian.
During the voyage, the enmity between Christian and Bligh grows after Christian openly challenges Bligh's unjust practices aboard the ship. When the ship arrives at the island of Tahiti, where the crew acquires breadfruit plants to take home, Bligh punishes Christian by refusing to let him leave the ship during their stay. Byam, meanwhile, sets up residency on the island, living with the island chief, Hitihiti (William Bambridge), and his daughter, Tehani (Movita Castaneda), and compiling an English dictionary of the Tahitian language. Hitihiti persuades Bligh to allow Christian a day pass on the island. Bligh agrees but quickly repeals the pass out of spite. Christian disregards the order and spends his one-day off the ship romancing a Tahitian girl, Maimiti (Mamo Clark). Christian promises her he will be back someday.
After leaving Tahiti the crew begins to talk of mutiny after Bligh's harsh discipline leads to the death of the ship's beloved surgeon, Mr. Bacchus (Dudley Digges), and Bligh cuts water rationing to the crew in favor of providing water for the breadfruit plants. Christian, although initially opposing the idea, decides he can no longer tolerate Bligh's brutality when he witnesses crew members shackled in iron chains, and he approves the mutiny. The crew raids the weapons cabinet and seizes the ship. Bligh and his loyalists are cast into a boat and set adrift at sea with a map and rations to ensure their survival. Due to Bligh's steady leadership, they are able to find their way back to land.
Meanwhile, Christian orders that Bounty return to Tahiti. Byam, who was in his cabin during the mutiny, disapproves of what Christian has done and decides the two can no longer be friends. Months later, Byam is married to Tehani and Christian has married Maimiti and has a child with her, while the rest of the crew are enjoying their freedom on the island. After a long estrangement, Byam and Christian reconcile their friendship. However, when the British ship HMS Pandora is spotted approaching, Byam and Christian decide they must part ways. Byam and several crew members remain on the island for the ship to take them back to England, while Christian leads the remaining crew, his wife and several Tahitian men and women back on board Bounty in search of a new island on which to seek refuge.
Byam boards the Pandora and, much to his surprise, discovers that Bligh is the captain. Bligh, who suspects that Byam was complicit in the mutiny, has him imprisoned for the remainder of the journey across the sea. Back in England Byam is court-martialed and found guilty of mutiny. Before the court condemns him, Byam speaks of Bligh's cruel, dehumanising conduct aboard Bounty. Due to the intervention of his friend Sir Joseph Banks (Henry Stephenson) and Lord Hood (David Torrence), Byam is pardoned by King George III and allowed to resume his naval career at sea.
Meanwhile, Christian has found Pitcairn, an uninhabited yet sustainable island that he believes will provide adequate refuge from the reach of the Royal Navy. After Bounty crashes on the rocks, Christian orders her to be burned. | action | train | wikipedia | Captain Bligh (Trevor Howard, he was initially reluctant to play , because he felt he was far too old for the part, the real life Lieutenant William Bligh was 33 when the Bounty set sail) will do anything to get there as fast as possible , utilizing any means to keep up a rigid discipline .
This account of the mutiny led by Fletcher Christian against captain Bligh is highlighted thanks to glamorous cinematography by Robert Surtees , as the last Ultra Panavision film to be shown in the extremely wide screen.
Interesting portrayal of Fletcher Christian's Marlon Brando and Bligh's Trevor Howard who bears little relation to Mel Gibson-Anthony Hopkins version .
Other renditions based on these historical events are the followings : Old and black and white take on titled 'Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)' by Frank LLoyd with Clark Gable , Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone and revisionist storytelling titled ¨Bounty¨ by Roger Donalson with Mel Gibson , Anthony Hopkins , Bernard Fox and Liam Neeson .The real deeds are the following : In 1787, Captain Bligh was chose to command HMS Bounty on a voyage to Tahiti, where he was to collect breadfruit trees with the object of introducing them to the Caribbean .
This also is a re-make from a 1935 version of the famous storyI liked this 'Mutiny On The Bounty' better than the critics did, who got annoyed at Marlon Brando's British accent.
Brando gave a solid performance.Trevor Howard was convincing as the sadistic "Captain Bligh" and Tarita was fair as the love interest "Maimiti." The cinematography might have been the best feature of the film, a definite movie for widescreen as a lot of these mid '50s-to-mid '60s films were.
Sumptuous production, good screenplay, excellent performances, beautiful cinematography and a majestic musical score.Story follows the crew of British Naval vessel 'The Bounty' on its mission to transport 'bread fruit' plants from Tahiti to Jamaica, as food for the slaves there.
Not only boasting a wide variety of colourful locations, from breathtaking, sun-drenched sea vistas to exotic beachscapes on Tahiti, it also includes some great actors, such as Marlon Brando, Richard Harris and Trevor Howard as the despicable captain Bligh.
The real Fletcher Christian was only 22 years of age when the Bounty sailed and he was a renowned ladies man.Trevor Howard's performance of the rogue Captain William Bligh is masterful, even if he was another over-aged star to take on the role (The real Bligh was only 33 years old).
The 1962 version of 'Mutiny On The Bounty' is not a testament on the problems of remaking of a classic adventure movie but of the real fact that critics really do get their facts wrong..
Nominated for seven academy awards [1962] including Best Picture, "this spectacular movie of grandeur and intimacy, sex and humor, cruelty and nobility" (The Hollywood Reporter) stars two-time best actor winner Marlon Brando (The Godfather, On the Waterfront) as Fletcher Christian, a high-born English aristocrat and elegant gentleman turned Naval Lieutenant and able first officer, whose honor is inseparable from his humanity.
"Mr. Brando's steel-spring vigor when the patience of Fletcher Christian snaps and he whiplashes into the fateful incitement of mutiny is truly electrifying." (New York Times)Complete with furious storms at sea, exotic native ceremonies, magnificent South Pacific island scenery, 6000 Tahitian extras, and a larger-than-life performance by the legendary Brando, this remake of the 1935 original Mutiny on the Bounty is one of the most exciting and visually astonishing adventures ever made.
The movie potrays the two key characters in the story, Captain Bligh (Trevor Howard), and Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando), as real men, and not like the cardboard cutouts as was the case in the 1935 version.Howard's Bligh is brilliant, and not at all like the prancing cartoonish Charles Laughton version in '35.
And when it comes to Christian, the protaganist of the mutiny, Brando makes an admirable effort to capture the essence of the the fopish and aristocratic character as portrayed in the Nordhoff and Hall book upon which both MGM "Bountys" are based.
Richard Harris as crew member Mills, is another solid portrayal in the 1962 movie.Don't get me wrong, the 1935 movie's fun, but the 1962 movie is infinitely more impressive in all respects, especially its use of a real ship made just for the film, the awesome "shots" of life at see in the late 1700s, and of course the spectacular location filming in Tahiti.1935's Mutiny on the Bounty, was a fine film in its day, but it doesn't stand the test of time, 1962's film stands that test.
I'm sure Brando was peevish and nettlesome at times during production, Trevor Howard says as much in his biography, but to blame Brando for the film's bloated final cost and its lack of epic earnings is ludicrous.I love 1962's Mutiny on the Bounty, it should have been better, but its still one beautiful movie.
I strongly recommend it, to me calling Brando and Howard's Mutiny on the Bounty of 1962, a minor film, as one IMDb movie fan recently did, is blasphemous.
Despite MGM's poor efforts 41-years ago, movie fans today can scoop up the old lion's fumble and enjoy this exciting high seas adventure/love story.It took a better book, Richard Hough's "Mr. Bligh and Mr. Christian," to produce a better movie rendition of the true life Mutiny on the Bounty.
The story is the well-known one of how a British naval crew, while on a voyage to transport breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies, revolt against their brutal and sadistic captain under the leadership of the humane first mate and sail off to make a new life for themselves with their Tahitian sweethearts on the remote Pacific island of Pitcairn.
Historical evidence, in fact, suggests that Captain William Bligh was not particularly brutal or sadistic, but this film, like its 1935 predecessor, is a film based upon legend rather than upon strict historical fact.The late 18th century is often described as the Age of Revolution, and as the Bounty mutiny took place in 1787, midway between the American and French Revolutions, there would have been an obvious temptation to play Bligh as a decadent aristocrat and Fletcher Christian, the leader of the rebels, as a man of the people, standing up for the Rights of the Common Man. The temptation to portray Christian as a proto-Jacobin is, however, firmly resisted.
I hardly figured that the likes of a slurring Marlon Brando as Fletcher Christian and a cast of personally unfamiliar characters("who was Trevor Howard",I asked myself) could top the swashbuckling Clark Gable as Christian and the ripping story that the cast of the 1935 gem pulled off.
Based on a true event, Marlon Brando plays one of his best roles as Fletcher Christian - the man who risked all he had and led the mutiny against the abusive and vicious captain Bligh (an extremely nasty Trevor Howard).
The historical re-enactment of this eventful maritime voyage is superbly picturised, thereby rendering first hand knowledge of the colonial era navigational exploits.Marlon Brando as Christian Fletcher has portrayed a perfect and robust characterization of a daring and humane British officer who would not give up or back out from his moral uprightness even in the face of animalish cruelty being inflicted on the seamen by the wretched captain of the ship.
Brando is great as a foppish Fletcher Christian until Mutiny time when he becomes manly and wrestles power from Trevor Howard.
The performances are all very good, notably Brando's Fletcher Christian, and Howard's Bligh.
Marlon Brando does a splendid job of acting that, blended with all the other actors fine performances, Tarita, Trevor, Richard, Percy etc, makes this movie an unforgettable experience.We who love this film wish for it's release soon on DVD.
Now that I have finally, on TV, seen Mr. Brando attempt to play Fletcher Christian (very unsuccessfully, with a miserable English accent) I can say in all honesty that the 1935 version with Clark Gable and Charles Laughton is a thousand per cent better...better script, better acting, better direction.
Remarkable Director Lewis Milestone's last film was the Marlon Brando / Terence Howard version of Mutiny on the Bounty.
Perhaps the best of the scores of films based on the true story of this 18th century event, Milestone's epic sea adventure features phenomenal cinematography, a great script and a unique dedication to actual historical naval etiquette - despite a lack of dedication to the facts behind the actual historical mutiny.
Critics have taken Brando to task for his "bizarre interpretation of Fletcher Christian" and fellow amateur film reviewers have called his performance one-dimensional, but such comments make we wonder if we saw the same movie.
This film contains standout performances by Brando and by Trevor Howard as the captain who reveled in "the whistle of the whip." Howard is so vivid he makes you fear both him and the awful lash with which he splatters his crew's blood.The revisionist film "The Bounty" may present a more historically accurate version of Bligh and Christian, but it's hard to beat Brando's film for sheer entertainment.
Anyone who calls Brando's portrayal of Fletcher Christian "one-dimensional" has missed what he reveals here: 1) his colorful turn as lavishly-festooned dandy who thinks Bligh is someone to be trifled with via verbal sparring 2) his growing struggle with his conscience, as he weighs how much human misery and death can be tolerated before he gives in to what he terms "honor" 3) the crushing weight he bears after the mutiny, not only from his new responsibility as captain and doomed fugitive who will surely be hunted down by the British navy, but as British officer and gentleman who's made an incredible sacrifice by giving up his rank and life of privilege.Brando seamlessly and beautifully manages the character transition from fop to martyr for the cause of humanity.
Hi Gloss Gas. Marlon Brando being bombastic, Trevor Howard stern & unrelenting, a cast determined to enjoy Tahiti, this film represents a mutiny against Hollywood.
Marlon Brando (Fletcher Christian) is quite comic and tragic in turns, and Trevor Howard (William Bligh) is a determined man who's dark side is revealed by his over commitment to his mission.
It never manages to get started again, and by the time the mutiny itself actually happens somewhere around the 2:30 mark, I was hoping I could be left behind with Captain Bligh so that I wouldn't have to endure another 30 minutes of finding out what happened to the Bounty, which I had long ago stopped caring about."Mutiny on the Bounty" received seven Oscar nominations in 1962, but lost all of them, five to "Lawrence of Arabia." Its nominations included Best Picture, Best Color Art Direction, Best Color Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song (only heard during the entr'acte), and Best Special Effects, for some meager sea storm scenes and another toward the end when the Bounty goes up in flames.Grade: C.
In terms of performances, despite the accent, Marlon Brando is quite handsome and dashing as Fletcher Christian, while Trevor Howard acquits himself well as the sadistic Captain Bligh and Richard Harris, Tarita and Richard Haydn give able support.
One of the issues is that it was being compared to the 1935 version with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable; another was that stories of Brando's difficult behavior while filming were followed by filmgoers seeing his unconventional portrayal of Fletcher Christian.
It's also a little unbelievable in its depiction of the love Christian had for Princess Maimiti (played by Tarita Teriipaia), but the gist is accurate, and it's a fascinating story.Trevor Howard turns in a fantastic performance as Bligh, and while Brando's foppish and almost effeminate Fletcher Christian had me scratching my head in the beginning, it really grew on me, and he's strong as well.
It's a shame they took this liberty to set up further dramatic scenes, when the real story itself is so captivating.The film was also of interest to me because as the excellent documentary "Listen To Me Marlon" explains, it marked the point at which Brando started to prioritize enjoying life - realizing that acting, even great acting - was a means, not an end for him.
27 years after the classic precursor, a new "Mutiny of the Bounty" movie was to be directed by the same MGM studio, becoming one of the most expensive movies of its time if you consider the budget it took to a/ build a size-by-size replica of the iconic ship (and even a smaller one for some particular shots), b/ shoot the film in Tahiti, in the very spot where the ship set ashore less than two centuries earlier, and c/ get Marlon Brando to play Fletcher Christian.
It was this casting that undermined the film's release and reception, which makes "Mutiny of the Bounty" an authentic case of failure that shouldn't have happened.This is a film that benefited from the long experience of director Lewis Milestone who made the groundbreaking "All Quiet on the Western Front", it benefited from Trevor Howard who as Captain Bligh, though older than his character, managed to make him tough, rough and far above the cartoon-version (though enjoyable) Charles Laughton played in 1935.
I'm a fan of Brando, "The Godfather" is my all-time favorite movie and "Bounty" was my first Brando movie but God, I never realized how an actor could be unfit for a role, vocally and visually, until I saw this film again, as an adult.The problem comes right from the start when we're introduced to his Christian, he's dressed like a dandy, coming with two women and an irritatingly snobbish printed on his face.
This debonair and seductive attitude worked perfectly in his later film "The Ugly American" but in "Mutiny on the Bounty", it was the most puzzling angle because it made Christian the least likely man to care for Bligh's tyrannical tantrums.
The basics are here - the voyage of the Bounty to Tahiti to collect breadfruit, the mutiny led by Christian and the escape of the mutineers to Pitcairn Island.Visually, this movie is stunning, which is probably due at least in part to the fact that unlike the '35 version it's obviously filmed in colour, which gives an entirely different feel to the scenes shot in Tahiti especially.
The scene between Howard and Brando where Bligh is trying to order Christian to return to Tahiti to make love to the Tahitian king's daughter (because the Tahitians were insulted that Bligh ordered an end to their encounter when he found them on the island, perceiving that as an insulting suggestion that Englishmen were too good for Tahitian women) - with Christian feigning ignorance of what he meant, forcing Bligh to finally give him a direct order to do the deed, so to speak - had me smiling.This movie was too long.
I don't think that this films cast are genuinely bad actors, I just had conflicting options with them, a lot of them didn't seem to know what they were talking about or even truly understood their characters, and others didn't suit their roles one bit, I think Marlon Brando is one of the greatest actors who ever lived and he tries his very best with Fletcher Christian, but there's no taking away from the fact that this part wasn't right for him, he butchers the accent and he really isn't right for film epics like this, he's better off with deep, dialogue based dramas, although his scenes with Tarita Teriipia are probably the best parts as they were genuinely in love at the time.
Nitpickers grumble about historical inaccuracies, but the entire gist of the story is accurate: Fletcher was born to an aristocratic family who were losing their wealth (why do you think he takes the mission?); two cheeses did come up missing and Bligh was the culprit who unjustly blamed others; they did fail to sail around Cape Horn after only going 85 miles in a month; they did spend five months on Tahiti and Fletcher did fall for Maimiti; after the mutiny Fletcher and his crew did end up stranded on Pitcairn where they set The Bounty ablaze; and Christian did die on the island, although in real life he lived for another three and a half years before being killed by one of the Tahitian men in a conflict that broke out.However, Christian was only 23 years old when the mission started, whereas Brando was about 37; Bligh knew Fletcher and actually sailed with him twice before, whereas the film shows Bligh meeting Christian for the first time; the mutiny itself took place at night not in the daytime over a ladle of water; and, lastly, Fletcher didn't die due to wounds received from his burning ship.WHAT WORKS: Brando as Christian is captivating, and Trevor Howard as Bligh.
Christian's aristocratic remove is challenged by his growing concern regarding the Bounty's cruel captain, William Bligh (Trevor Howard), not to mention a love interest he discovers in Tahiti (Tarita).A sumptuous epic from the era of the Hollywood roadshow, "Mutiny" boasts some of the best photography of the 1960s courtesy of the masterful Robert Surtees and a rousing score by the less-remembered Bronislau Kaper.
This lavish remake, starring Marlon Brando as the mutineer Fletcher Christian and Trevor Howard as the cruel Captain Bligh, is not Oscar worthy,it is nowhere nearly as good as 1962's "Lawrence of Arabia", but it is still an impressive, entertaining film.
Great classic with fantastic Technicolor visuals and superb performances by Marlon Brando as 1st Lt. Fletcher Christian and Trevor Howard as Captain Bligh - the story should be well known, in short: a two headstrong egos' clash.
Visually, with its fine cinematography and excellent costumes, this version of Mutiny on the Bounty is a pleasure to watch, but in some ways it's rather disappointing.Trevor Howard gives a fine performance as Captain Bligh, but his heartlessness is exaggerated.
Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard star in this exploding epic as Fletcher Christian and William Bligh. |
tt0380510 | The Lovely Bones | The film starts with Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) reminiscing about her childhood. There was a snow globe with a penguin in it she was worried for since he was all alone. Her father, Jack (Mark Wahlberg) tells her that the penguin has a nice life, since he is stuck in a perfect world. Later that night, Jack makes love to his wife, Abigail (Rachel Weisz), next to the pile of books near their bed.Susie remembers being given a camera and how she loved that photos could capture a moment before they were gone. She wanted to be a wildlife photographer and would go around taking photos of people in the neighborhood (focusing on a heavy-set girl).She remembers going to a sinkhole near a farm with her father and tossing things in, remembering that she was full of wonder at how the earth swallowed things whole. She remembers seeing Ruth Conners (Carolyn Dando), the school weirdo, at the farm and that she (Susie) now knows that Ruth saw things that others didn't.Susie also remembers the worst thing that ever happened to the family: The day her little brother, Buckley, swallowed a twig and stopped breathing. Susie stole her father's mustang and proceeded to drive past her parents in town on the way to the hospital, saving her brothers life. She remembers the relief in her parents eyes when they thought that they were lucky since nothing bad happened to them. Lynn, Susie's grandmother, tells Susie that the Buddhists say that saving the life of another grants a person a long life. Susie notes the irony of this since she was murdered on December 6th, 1973 - back before missing children were on milk cartons and people thought of such things happening.Susie has a crush on a senior named Ray Singh. Lynn notes Susie's crush and tries to get her to talk to him. Susie tells her to shush while her narration tells us that if she hadn't been so distracted by Ray, she'd have noticed that something was wrong. That someone in her neighborhood was watching her. Lynn buys her a milkshake and asks why she hasnt kissed him. She says she's afraid she wouldn't be good. Lynn tells her that her first kiss was with a grown man.The man watching Susie was George Harvey (Stanley Tucci), a neighbor who loved tending his garden. In his house he would build and decorate dollhouses and create little furniture sets. He became obsessed with Susie, making her a prime victim. He would spend his nights building all sorts of odds and ends in his house.Across the street, Jack is building a ship in a bottle with Susie. He tells her they are creating something special and that she is one of the most important things in his life. He lets her pull the cords to erect the ship in the bottle and blows out the candle. In the dark we are shown Harvey in a field digging a hole.Abigail is in Susie's room and tells her to clean up. Susie asks her to develop her film (24 rolls of it), and Abigail freaks out. Jack walks in and is shocked to see that Susie used all the film they had given her for her birthday. Jack suggests developing them a roll per month. Susie complains that she'll be middle aged. Jack and Abigail consider how much it would cost, and Jack suggests that they just pay the $75 to get the photos developed. Susie's sister, Lindsey, and Buckley argue a bit. Abigail gives Susie a hat she knitted for her, much to Susie's disdain. As Lindsey and Susie walk to school, Harvey watches them from his house.At school, Susie and her best friend, Clarissa, talk about a movie they just saw when Clarissa's boyfriend drags her away. Ray comes over and asks her what she thought about Othello. She says she liked it (even though she didn't) and Ray says that they have more than one thing in common. He leans in almost to initiate a kiss but Susie gets flustered and opens her locker, spilling her stuff all over the floor. Ray picks up her math book and slips a note inside it. He asks her what she is doing on Saturday. In shock, instead of answering she blurts out asking, "Are you really from England?" He tells her that she is beautiful and as the two are about to kiss, Ruth is kicked out of her art club by the teacher complaining of her anatomically accurate and well-drawn piece since it got a boy excited.Ruth tries to get her picture back but the professor keeps it for himself. Ray tells Susie to meet him at the gazebo in the mall and she agrees.Susie leaves the school happy and takes a shortcut home across a field, same as Ruth. Jack, Abigail and the others are at home, while Susie walks across the field and drops her math book. Ray's note flies out and she races after it, where George Harvey tries to catch it, thinking it's her homework. He asks if she remembers him. He tries to make small talk, he tells her to tell her folks he says hi, and asks her to check out this thing he has built. He tells her that he just got excited for having built something the whole neighborhood will enjoy.Susie gets curious and decides to check it out. She comments on how she can't see anything. He steps on the ground, which makes a sound. As she steps closer, we're shown glimpses of what her family is doing during dinner time. Harvey reveals a trap door which shows a well-lit club house. He asks Susie to try it out and she climbs inside. There are games and toys in the room along with numerous candles. Harvey makes sure no one is around and closes the door behind them as he goes down. She has a seat and Harvey laughs and tells her that the only rule is no adults allowed. He compliments her hat and starts to scare Susie. He tells her she has to be polite and makes her take a drink. He takes off the cap and gives her the drink as he takes off his coat. He tells her she's very pretty and sits across from her. He asks her if she has a boyfriend and she tells him she doesn't.Susie's very scared and continuously tells Harvey she needs to leave. He tells her he doesn't want her to leave and that he won't hurt her. She tries to climb up the ladder but he drags her down. She escapes the room and runs across the field. Ruth, almost home, finds Ray Singh's note, just as Susie races by her away from Harvey.Jack and Abigail are worried for Susie and call the police. Jack gets in his car and asks around the mall for Susie, only to be brushed aside. In the meantime, Susie is in a strange part of town. She sees her father and screams out to her father but Jack only hears an echo. A car passes and the vision of her father dissipates into a dark and desolate version of the corner her father is at. A detective, Len Fenerman (Michael Imperioli) asks Abigail for a description of Susie and asks the basic questions asked in Missing Persons Cases.Susie runs into her home only to realize that the dark and twisted version of her house is not really her home. As she walks down the hall she sees a light under a door. She walks toward the door and cautiously opens the door and enters a white tiled room where a man is taking a bath. There is blood and dirt all over the floor of the white room. Susie looks at the man (whose face is covered) and looks around the room. She sees a bloody sink with a razor in it and sees her charm-bracelet on the sink. The man takes off the towel to reveal George Harvey, taking a bath after having murdered Susie. She screams when she realizes what happened.Detective Fenerman looks around the field and finds Susie's hat along with the destroyed structure. He brings the hat and tells Jack and Abigail that they didn't find her body but that they found a large amount of blood in the hole. Jack and Abigail lie in bed crying over Susie and Jack promises he's going to make it right, while Abigail insists that he can't.Harvey sets to work on his house and incinerates all the evidence of having encountered Susie. He hides his bloody shoes and prepares for the door to door search by the police. He makes it look like he was casually relaxing when Detective Fenerman steps in to ask him several questions. He lectures Fenerman about how he feels responsible since he didn't see her and knows that she would have screamed. He looks at photos of Susie and realizes that he left her unique charm-bracelet on his dollhouse, next to Fenermans partner. Harvey surreptitiously hides the bracelet while he shows Fenerman the dollhouses he has built.Lindsey goes to talk to her father about Susie. She asks if Susie is dead, but doesn't get a response. Susie describes slipping away and says that she isn't afraid. She is in her personal heaven when she remembers that there was somewhere she was meant to be. In the middle of her mountain hillside she sees a gazebo, where Ray Singh's reflection looks out morosely, paralleling the loneliness he feels in the real world without Susie. He fades away in a haze of light, leaving Susie running across fields of gold as she tries to reach the gazebo. As she nears it, she begins to be bogged down in water, drowning and calling out to Ray.In the real world, Harvey takes Susie's bracelet and breaks off the House charm and tosses the rest in the water. In her personal heaven, Susie floats to the bottom of an ocean and lands in an aquatic version of her house. She awakens in a gazebo in the middle of the woods. She sees Ray Singh's note and finally gets to read it. If I have an hour of love upon this earth, I would give my love to thee. The Moor (Othello). She closes her eyes in sadness as she sees Ruth (back on earth) enter the gazebo and give the note he gave Susie back to him. She consoles Ray on his loss and admits that she never truly understood what dead meant. Ray tells her that it means that Susie is gone. She wonders if Susie is really gone, since she remembers how vividly she saw Susie before she faded away in front of her.Back in the forest, a young woman, Holly, tells Susie that she shouldn't have looked back since Ruth will carry that moment with her forever. Susie is curious and asks Holly about where they are. Holly tells Susie that they are not in Heaven yet. They are in limbo which is a bit of Earth and a bit of Heaven. Susie asks where Holly and she are going. Susie admits that she wasn't moving towards Heaven yet. Holly tells Susie that it's time to let go and that Susie can't go back. Susie turns around and runs to the ocean, which is suddenly full of ships in bottles, breaking.Jack, so upset over the loss of Susie stays in his house and looks at his ship bottles. He starts smashing them in anger but stops before he breaks the one Susie helped make. He clutches it to his heart and cries. Abigail puts her hands over Buckley's ears as his father loses himself. Harvey felt safe since he thought that everyone was moving on. Susie mentions that the one thing Harvey didn't understand was how much a father could love his child. As Susie looks in on Jack and his one burning candle, her presence is apparent in the reflection of the candle flame, different on one side to the other.In Limbo, Susie and Holly run around. On Earth, Jack looks at the snow globe his daughter loved so much. As Holly and Susie continue to have fun, events on Earth continue to unfold. Buckley goes to his father and tells Jack that he saw Susie and she kissed him on the check. Jack hugs his son and holds him close as Buckley tells him "I think she listens". Jack develops the photos one roll per month. Abigail asks why they are dragging it out, but Jack says they made a deal. Abigail tells him there is no deal.Jack continuously calls Len with new leads since he believes that the person who killed Susie was someone she knew. Len comes over and Jack tries to present his argument and Abigail freaks out since he has become obsessed in the eleven months since Susie's death. Len tells Jack that instead of looking for the killer, he should console Abigail instead since she needs someone to rely on. He calls Lynn and she comes to visit. Jack tells her that he's worried about Abigail. Lynn is cavalier and asks Jack if he's drinking. She tries to help but winds up smoking, drinking and making a mess of things while playing with Buckley.Abigail goes about trying to clean, but avoids Susie's room. Lindsey goes for a run with the family dog and passes George Harvey's house. The dog barks at Harvey until he goes inside and Lindsey gets scared near him. She runs away as soon as Harvey goes inside. As Buckley paints Lynn's toes, he says he knows where Susie is. She says she's dead and Buckley tells her Susie is in the in between and that Lynn will probably die soon.While Susie dreams she remembers her heart pounding and hearing the voices of the dead. She remembers coming to the same door and always being afraid. She says that she knew that if she ever went in the door she would never return. She knew that Harvey was feeding off of the memory of what he did to Susie over and over but that he would feel the emptiness rise again. When he saw young lovers in the fields having sex, he would silently watch, enveloped in emptiness.Abigail asks Jack if he is coming to bed. Jack is staring at a photo album. The next day she goes to visit Len at the police station. She gives him one of Buckley's drawings of him. Lindsey, in bed, hears Lynn and Abigail fighting. Lynn screams that Abigail is not living with the death and that there is a tomb in the middle of the house. Jack wakes up one morning with a letter on his desk and Abigail leaving. Her letter tells Jack that she is leaving for an orchard. She goes as far away as possible. She writes to Lindsey. Susie and Holly watch Lindsey fall in love with a young man. Susie watches with a little jealousy as she watches Lindsey have the moment she would never have. Susie is happy for her, but terribly sad. Holly asks why she's upset but Susie doesn't tell her that she's crying for herself.Ray spends his time with Ruth. Ray would think of Susie but struggle with the idea of letting her go. Harvey, intent on claiming Lindsey, collects articles of her. He knows that Lindsey suspects that Harvey had something to do with Susie's death and disappearance. Harvey feels the familiar itch that comes with his desire to kill and began constructing his next kill room.Jack develops the last roll of photos, two years after Susie is gone. As he looks through them he flashes to the taken photos while suspiciously walking through the mall. He sees a picture of George Harvey and suddenly wonders if he is the killer. In Limbo, Susie looks through her developed photos, which are twisted versions of the world she is in, while Jack struggles on Earth to accept that the killer may have been around him the whole time. He drives by Harvey's house and sees the dead rose bush. Harvey sees Jack looking in and hides while carrying a large amount of wood sticks. Jack turns around and heads to the car. Harvey sees a shadow of Susie on a bike and drops his wood sticks. Jack hears them drop and turns around. He approaches Harvey and asks what Harvey is building. They make small talk about duck hunting. Harvey tells him that he has always been an outdoorsman. Jack sees a rose bush and starts feeling one of the roses, while in Limbo, Susie opens a mysterious box which appeared. In Limbo, she holds a rose, in conjunction with Jack. Jack imagines it blooming in his hand and it fades away as he helps Harvey construct his duck trap, unaware that is actually the next kill room for Harvey's attempt on Lindsey's life.As Jack helps Harvey he realizes with certainty that Harvey is the one who killed Susie. Harvey tells him that it is time to leave. Harvey tells him he can't help Jack. Jack screams at him and pounds a hole in Harvey's door as he goes inside.That night Len tells Jack that he can't keep going after people. Lindsey explodes and tells Len that he's a fool since they stopped looking for Susie or her killer a long time ago. Jack finally says that its time to move on. He thanks Len for being a good friend and puts the kids to sleep. Jack takes Buckley's baseball bat and heads to confront Harvey. He follows him into the corn fields and loses him but continues looking. Holly tells Susie that she doesn't need to be ruled by her hatred for Harvey any'more. Susie tries to will her father into letting go, but he continues. He stumbles upon a couple and the boyfriend beats him half to death as Harvey watches.In Limbo, Susie looks through Harvey's past and sees that he is a serial killer. Among his victims is a girl named Holly.On Earth, as Jack recovers, Lindsey does her own investigation. She breaks into Harvey's house and finds the cabinet full of clippings focusing on her fathers assault and Susie's disappearance. She checks every room as Harvey drives back to his house, having packed up his weapons and gone out to scout a new location. Lindsey finds a hollow space and finds the journal in which Harvey draws his kill rooms and pictures of dead animals. She finds her notes on Susie and sees the careful research he put into finding Susie. She sees the design for the kill room. Harvey enters the house and hears he pages of the book turn. Lindsey finds a lock of her sisters hair in the book. Harvey goes down stairs and sees that the window to the house is broken. He turns around carefully and hears the creek of the floorboard going back into place. Lindsey grabs the book and falls off the roof with the book. She gets up and runs just in time as Harvey bursts out in pursuit. He grabs a few valuables and prepares to run away.Lindsey runs home looking for Jack, but finds that Abigail has returned. Abigail and Jack see each other. Lindsey sees her parents making up and looks at the book. Lynn asks why Lindsey is so shell shocked and Lindsey presents her with Harvey's book. The police go to Harvey's and prepare to arrest him, but Harvey has taken Susie's body (which he kept in a safe) and brought it to the landfill. Ruth and Ray watch as Harvey and a foreman drop the safe into the landfill.In Limbo, Susie meets another victim, Flora, who is by the tree Holly and Susie were walking towards. All of the victims gather under the tree. A small girl hugs Susie and holds her hand to comfort her. Holly joins her and the two hug. Susie tells her that its beautiful as they walk away from the tree in groups. But Susie stops. Holly asks what Susie is waiting for and Susie responds that she is almost free.As Harvey tries to dump the safe, he notices Ruth watching. Ruth calls out to Ray as she sees Susie in the reflection of the window walking toward her. Susie borrows Ruth's body and Ray realizes that it is Susie in Ruth's body. He sees Susie in Ruth's place. She asks Ray to kiss her and Ray leans in and kisses her. Harvey pushes the safe into the sink hole and it rolls in and sinks into the dark. Ray and Susie come apart and Ray tells her that she is beautiful.She says that "The Lovely Bones" are the connections that happened after Susie was gone, in a way that held her family and friends world together, even while she isn't in it.The epilogue shows Abigail and Jack back together, Lindsey pregnant with her first child, Ruth and Ray together in bed. Harvey moves to another town and sets up to continue his murder spree. One evening, Harvey tries to lure a young woman into his car by offering her a ride, and steps too close to the edge of a cliff. As she rebuffs him, an icicle breaks and hits his shoulder. As he tries to fish it out of his back, he falls off the cliff and breaks his neck. He dies, covered in snow.Abigail goes into Susie's room and Susie narrates that she had been waiting for Abigail to enter the room and come to terms with Susie's death. Susie sees her and accepts that it is time to move on and enter Heaven. She ends her narration with: "I was here for a moment and then I was gone. I wish you all a long and happy life." | fantasy, murder, paranormal, alternate reality, flashback, psychedelic, suspenseful | train | imdb | The bizarre but at the same time beautiful world of the in-between, the pain of the family members over the horrible loss and their unique ways of, not necessarily dealing, but rather living with it, even the sick mind behind the murder - it all works together in creating that viewing experience that is deeply touching through its countless layers.The acting of pretty much each individual actor is already quite impressive, but as the characters interact, one can actually feel the emotional bonds and understandings, as well as the tension or even hatred between them.
That doesn't quite happen when you actually see things with your eyes, film is much more literal (strange to say) that literature.Considering the subject matter, the murder of a young girl, it's a bit unfair to go to the movie and expect to see the book come to life on the screen.The problem in making the movie, as in any adaptation of magical realism concerning dark subjects, is how to capture the magic without having it jar too much with the realism.
I can only surmise that either the story didn't follow the source material closely (I have not read the book) or viewers didn't appreciate the story being told from the perspective of a 13 year old girl or critics were just being spiteful towards a successful director (Directed by Peter Jackson and produced by Steven Spielberg).PROS(a) Original, imaginative, creative story / screenplay.
Jackson takes many chances when one considers all the traditionally accepted conventions of film making, but unless you are one of those self-absorbed, self-important film student types who endlessly struggle with the "rules of making good films," you'll get something out of this.The use of CGI was adventurous to be sure, but if one views this piece as an interpretation of life, love, and death through a fantastical lens, then the effects remain harmonious to the telling of the story.
It seemed like a pretty sure thing: a book that has been very widely acclaimed and read as a work of sad life-and-death meditation from a 14 year old girl looking down or somehow from the "in-between", a kind of purgatory, after being raped and murdered, on her family and killer.
And then there's the lush grandmother played by Susan Sarandon that is used for very ill-timed and unfunny comic relief midway through the movie, after which she's pushed aside to a reactionary role.And yet I didn't have as big a problem like some critics have had, which is with the in-between itself and its visual scheme.
Despite the solid efforts made by Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci and Saoirse Roan, they still can't stop Peter Jackson from driving this film off a CGI Cliff.,.
Peter Jackson's unhealthy obsession with CGI truly drives his film off a cliff in his poor adaptation of the novel "The Lovely Bones" Jackson forgoes the book's intelligence and intricate story and puts in an unhealthy obsession for the sensational that drives a wedged between his actors, who really are working with nothing and the viewer, who is left with a empty feeling after the film is over.
The characters are nothing but objects for Jackson to manipulate in order to put in more CGI shots and their story is forfeited for a child like look into death, but with out the reality and complexity of the grieving process.Rachel Weisz, who is one of the most gifted and versatile actresses working today is giving little to do while in the book, her character is the most complex of the entire novel.
Despite this, Weisz does a great job, giving the movie more heart and complexity with the little that she's given to work with than what the film does for itself, making a small dent in the parade of mindless CGI that Jackson puts on screen.
Susan Sarandon does as much as humanly possible by giving humanity to her striped down and degraded character, who in the book is much more than the comic relief that Jackson tries to puts on screen and Stanley Tucci manages to give a tight performance as the creepy neighbor despite Jackson's unhealthy obsession to make him the main character of the film.
Jackson puts on rosy color glasses when he deals with the character of Susie and that's where he goes really wrong because he does not make her a real person, he makes her an unreal angel that was with out fault.Peter Jackson not only hurts his own film but hurts the actors who made an effort to be faithful to the heart of the book as well, making this adaptation very painful to watch..
Gone is the strong characterization that define each of the characters in the book and in its place is a sad spectacle of incompetence, with heavy handed CGI and bad scriptwriting that makes this film a real eye sore to sit through.I don't blame any of the actors involved in the movie because you can see how badly this film was edited in post production, making certain characters look foolish with out any reason and certain scenes that don't make any sense what so ever.
Rachel Weisz does manage to convey her character's dilemma quite well despite Jackson's immaturity (Which of course is more about Weisz being a great actress than the material and director she is working with), and by doing this, Weisz manages to give the viewer a glimpse of how good this film could have been if you had a director who was mature enough to handle the realities that the book presented to its readers.
Mark Wahlberg struggles very hard as well with what he has to work with and he does make a great effort, unfortunately, his character comes across more befuddled than assuring and the heavy editing and lackluster script leaves him out to dried as well along with the rest of the cast in this movie.No book can be faithfully adapted but they can at least have someone who care about its truthfulness to its core.
Unfortunately," The Lovely Bones" does not have that and despite the game effort by all the actors involved, its the director who ultimately sabotages this movie with his unwillingness to face its hard truths and we are left with a film that is shallow to its core..
Pretty to look at, beautiful at times even, but with all his distractions Jackson has somehow managed to take brutal and disturbing subject matter and leave me feeling nothing apart from vague amusement and disbelief that he actually went there.I haven't read the book, and even I could tell he completely missed the point.
It's like Peter Jackson was too concerned with making a great looking technically impressive film which has overshadowed the human element of the story.
Great actors like Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Mark Wahlberg are left holding the bag for Peter Jackson's own ego, whose more interested in showing off what he could do with the latest technology in visual effects than actually trying to be faithful to the book he's adapting.
Saoirse Roan and Stanley Tucci are good but that's because the movie shifts its focus on them and the murder investigation other than try to tell the family drama , which was the heart and soul of the novel.Skip this travesty and read the book instead..
I understand that making a book into a movie is difficult and often things may need to be changed or cut out, but Peter Jackson destroyed the integrity of the story.
So the next time you decide to lash out at a film maker for not living up to your novel (pun unintended) experience, think for a minute what it would be like to watch a movie, adapted word for word from the novel it's sourced.
The transitions between suspense and lighter scenes seemed forced and unnatural, and the entire movie felt rushed.That being said, the actors fit their roles well, their acting was excellent, and the 70's setting of The Lovely Bones seemed authentic..
I recently watched THE LOVELY BONES, inspired by all the hype that surrounded the film prior to its release (being Peter Jackson the director and all) and, in part, to see why exactly many people were bashing it so cruelly.
I haven't read the original novel the film is based on, but, throughout the film, I had the feeling that there was, hiding somewhere, the potential for a marvelous movie experience which ultimately got crushed, diluted and swept away by the choppy handling Peter Jackson and his team had of the source material.
Not even the oh-so-overpraised turns by the always great Stanley Tucci (more of a presence than an actual character here, but for which he has scored some awards and is being considered for the Big Ones anyway) and Saoirse Ronan (so much superfluous CGI around her won't allow to appreciate how incredibly talented this young lady is!!) can truly save this dud from its inevitable doom.The saddest thing about it is that the movie is not really balls-out-bad, just VERY BADLY HANDLED; had they adapted the novel in a steadier direction and focused more on the human factor, things would've turned out quite differently.
I won't go into detail about the later portion of this film, except for saying it had me gripping the seat, wildly cheering for the protagonists.What a wonderful idea to mix so many elements in the story, a dose of thriller here, one of supernatural there, and adding my personal favorite, a real bastard to hate.I never read the book and begin to wonder if the bad comments weren't written by the illiterate fan's of Alice Sebold's novel.
I feel almost as sorry for them as I feel for anyone who decides to waste two hours of their precious life time on this the King Kong of Kitsch.I give it two stars only because I felt a slight tingle of suspense during that scene near the end, when the sister slips into the killer's house.It would have been only one otherwise.Please, Peter Jackson, make another hobbit movie soon.
But here's the catch: it's no good.Something strange happened with the adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel "The Lovely Bones" by Peter Jackson and his collaborators.
Jackson is a good director don't get me wrong(he was the main reason that I wanted to watch the movie), but he does make some decisions that detract from the impact of the story rather than enhance it.
Whereas the book excels in creating characters with real emotions, the movie leaves them empty - like shells that have no real meaning to the movie.I expected this movie to be rather good, and at times it is, but I was once again disappointed by PJ - who seems to only have skill for cinematography but none for the story, the characters and the things that really make a good film.
Editing is poor and what bothers me is that this could have easily been a great movie but the characters were left out, they were in a supporting role while the CGI did the lead roles.The actors did their best with what they had and it's a real shame that they were given so little to work with.
It really hard to talk about without using spoilers (might do another post with spoilers) but trust me there is a lot more to this movie than meets the eye candy.If you are a relaxed film watcher that likes everything handed to you on a plate underlined with heavy handed dialog and massive visual cues then you will only get half of this movie
and you still might enjoy it.If you are the type of movie watcher that doesn't mind working a little, reading a lot from inferences, pick up the tonal shifts and can see past the big CGI scenes and see them for what they are (a device to show Susie as small vulnerable and in jeopardy even though she is dead) then you are going to get a lot out of this movie
and really enjoy it..
I didn't notice everything else that most of the people's bad reviews thought about it yes maybe a little sappy but it is a story about a young girl who gets killed before her time, before she has even had her first kiss, a fathers love for that child..
I thought that the CGI sequences flowed nicely from reality and back I wonder if some people have a chip on there shoulder about Peter Jackson because of his success from little old New Zealand when they just can't get a break even after years of film school yall must be very annoyed.
While this may work in low budget B movies, such as Jacksons earlier works (Bad Taste and The Frighteners), when it comes to an intimate study of grief and strain on a family after the loss of a daughter, overblown CGI scenes of the candy and bubblegum-teen-fantasy afterlife are really quite jarring, and completely unnecessary interludes to the story.
Rachel Weisz as the wife, Mark Wahlberg as the husband, Susan Sarandon as the grandma cannot hold onto each other; thus every dialogue of them becomes loose.Looking to other director qualities Jackson is only good at a few points: +++ Pairing off the screenplay components together, ++ Camera language(angles,positioning,directing of photography) sets the correct mood, + Choosing the right special effects with the most suitable sounds, putting over to the most effective lighting plot.Those qualities may take a step forward in a horror, or especially in a sci-fi.
Hollywood is bored of this theme more than anything, it became like Alice in every-land.Mainly this film was not for somebody like me, a man at age of 27, a man who likes old Peter Jackson films, a man who looks for a good concept and an interesting story in a movie whether it's slow or not.
Being a huge fan of Alice Sebold's novel and of Peter Jackson's works since Bad Taste, I couldn't wait to see Lovely Bones.If you're in the mood for a light and entertaining movie, you might want to wait for a better moment to really enjoy Lovely Bones.
If Tim Burton's Big Fish was bigger than life, Peter Jackson's Lovely Bones is Bigger than Death.The cast is excellent (ALL of it), the pictures are beautiful, Peter Jackson's camera is as dynamic as ever, and unlike what I've read so far, the movie captures the spirit of the book, and even enhances it so some (visual) degree.
I was also interested in how a story like this would develop when from the get-go you already know who murders her.Needless to say, Peter Jackson makes no attempts at directing a movie that actually develops into a plot.
I didn't watch this film and look out for things to criticize, I'm not a Jackson fan, I just like good movies and this is one.
Susan Sarandon was brought in so effectively for comic relief and as the glue which held together this extremely fragile story (and look great as an alcoholic bad ass grandma!) And of course, Stanley Tucci (who I think is one of the main contenders for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award in this performance) was one of the creepiest characters I've seen portrayed on film, probably since Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men.An interesting point to consider, and one that I think saw polarising my friends who I saw the film with and others whom have seen in since, is the films idea of heaven.
Director Peter Jackson teams with longtime collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to adapt author Alice Sebold's best-selling novel concerning a murdered young girl who watches from heaven as her family attempts to cope with their devastating loss, and tracks her killer as he stealthily covers his tracks and prepares to claim his next victim.
I have read criticism that the novel was far to difficult to put into film and that Peter Jackson failed in his attempt but i have not read the book and i love this movie.
A lot better then one would expect, the story gets choppy in some spots and there are also scenes and characters that are just plain unnecessary, its sort of like Unforgiven in the way it sometimes takes a rest stop at some unnecessary junctions, and frankly i can think of about 20 minutes of footage that could be cut from this film, which is the main reason its probably so harshly frowned upon by mainstream critics.Who is the best actor in the movie?
The Lovely Bones seems to have let down many critics nationwide, but despite their disapproval, I believe that Peter Jackson's adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel is both beautiful and touching.
Susan Sarandon is hilarious as Grandma Lynn, Mark Wahlberg shows us how far a father will go for justice in the face of what has happened to his daughter, and Rachel Weisz could not have been better--her bittersweet, subtle performance as Abigail Salmon resonated quite well with my vision of a mother left to wallow in the wake of tragedy.Yes, if I had been the filmmaker behind The Lovely Bones, I would probably have done the heaven scenes a bit differently.
After spending so many years in the adventure epics of Lord of the Rings and King Kong, however, it was surprising to see that Jackson would have chosen his next picture to be what I imagined would be a "small movie." After viewing the film, though, his reason for choosing it became apparent.Based on the novel by Alice Sebold, the story tells of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) who is viciously murdered by a neighbourhood man and, from her trip to heaven, looks down on the world in an attempt to help her father (Mark Wahlberg) find her own murderer. |
tt0114906 | Welcome to the Dollhouse | Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Dawn Wiener is a shy, unattractive, unpopular seventh grader living in a middle-class suburban community in New Jersey. Her seventeen-year-old brother Mark is a nerdy high school student who plays clarinet in a garage band and shuns girls in order to prepare for college. Dawn's younger sister, eight-year-old Missy, is a spoiled, manipulative little girl who pesters Dawn and dances around the house in a tutu. Their mother dotes on Missy and sides with her in disputes with Dawn. Their father is a meek, immature, selfish man who sides with Dawn's mother in arguments with Dawn. Dawn's only friend is an effeminate fifth-grade boy named Ralphy, with whom she shares a dilapidated clubhouse in her backyard.
At school, Dawn is ridiculed and her locker is covered in graffiti. After her teacher unfairly keeps her after school, she is threatened with rape by a bully named Brandon McCarthy, who also has trouble socializing. At home Dawn's mother punishes her for calling Missy a lesbian and refusing to be nice to her. Dawn is suspended for three days after she accidentally hits a teacher in the eye with a spitball. Brandon's first attempt to rape Dawn after school fails, but he orders her to meet him again. After she complies, he takes her to an abandoned field. He starts an earnest conversation with her and kisses her.
Mark's band is joined by Steve Rodgers, a charismatic and handsome aspiring teenage rock musician who agrees to play in the band in exchange for Mark's help in school. Dawn decides to pursue him romantically after he spends time with her, even though one of Steve's former girlfriends tells Dawn she has no chance of being with him.
Dawn and Brandon form an innocent romance, but Brandon is arrested and expelled for suspected drug dealing. Dawn visits his home and meets his father and mentally challenged brother who requires constant supervision. After kissing Dawn, Brandon runs away to avoid being sent to military school.
After angrily rejecting Ralphy, Dawn is left with no friends. When she refuses to tear down her clubhouse to make room for her parents' 20th wedding anniversary party, her mother has Mark and Missy destroy it and gives them her share of a cake. At the party, Dawn intends to proposition Steve, but gets cold feet and is contemptuously rebuffed. Steve plays with Missy, who pushes Dawn into a kiddie pool. That evening, the family watches a videotape of the party, laughing when Dawn falls into the water. That night, Dawn smashes the tape and briefly brandishes her hammer over Missy as she sleeps.
A few weeks later, Dawn's father's car breaks down and her mother has to pick him up from work. Dawn is supposed to tell Missy to find a ride home from ballet class but chooses not to do so after arguing with her; Missy is kidnapped while walking home. When Missy's tutu is found in Times Square, Dawn goes to New York City to find her. After a full day searching for Missy, Dawn phones home and Mark tells her that Missy was found by police after being abducted by a pedophile neighbor who lives on their street. Dawn returns home to find that her parents did not notice Dawn's absence. Later, Dawn's classmates ridicule her as she presents a thank you speech. After the principal tells the unruly students to be quiet, Dawn musters the emotional strength to finish her speech and makes a quick exit.
Summer arrives and Dawn is relieved that school is over for the time-being. Mark tells Dawn that she cannot expect school life to get any better until she starts high school. As Dawn's parents continue mistreating and ignoring her, Dawn signs herself up to attend a summer camp in Florida. On a school trip to Walt Disney World, Dawn sits among other girls from her school and joins them in singing the school anthem. Unnoticed, her voice slowly trails off as she sits looking out a bus window. | comedy, cruelty, depressing, cult, psychedelic, satire | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0100404 | Presumed Innocent | Rozat "Rusty" Sabich (Harrison Ford) is a prosecutor in a mid-Western American city and the right-hand man of Kindle County Prosecuting Attorney Raymond Horgan (Brian Dennehy). Sabich is married with a young son. He arrives at work one day to learn that his colleague Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi) has been tortured and murdered in her apartment. Horgan insists that Sabich take charge of the investigation, especially since the election for County PA is due in a few days' time and that Tommy Molto (Joe Grifasi), the acting head of Homicide, has left to join the rival campaign of Nico Della Guardia (Tom Mardirosian).Sabich faces a conflict of interest since he had an affair with Polhemus. She dumped him when he showed little ambition, like running for office against Horgan, and will therefore be of little use to her and her own career. Sabich has since made up with his wife, Barbara (Bonnie Bedelia), though he is still obsessed with Polhemus and finds it hard to get her out of his mind. While Polhemus developed a reputation for aggressively prosecuting rapists and similar criminals, she had become an ambitious career-woman who slept around to advance herself.Although Detective Harold Greer (Tucker Smallwood) is initially in charge of the case, Sabich instead calls in his friend Detective Lipranzer (John Spencer) and persuades him to narrow the inquiry to focus on men that she put behind bars, thus excluding his relationship with Polhemus from the investigation. However, Sabich soon realizes that Molto is making inquiries of his own into the case.It becomes evident that some of the evidence suggests that the killer knew something about how police gather evidence and covered it up accordingly - suggesting a cop, a private detective, or even a PA. Semen was found in the victim's body but the sperm is dead, leading the coroner to conclude that the killer is sterile. The killer's blood type was A, the same as Sabich's, but he is a father, and obviously fertile.When Della Guardia wins the election for County PA, he and Molto are quick to accuse Sabich himself of the crime and pull out all the stops to gather evidence against him, including the way he conducted the investigation. The evidence includes a beer glass found in Polhemus' apartment with Sabich's fingerprints on it and fibers matching his home carpet that match fibers found on her body.Things aren't helped by the fact that Horgan suddenly turns against his friend and former protégé and claims that Sabich had insisted on handling the investigation - when in fact he didn't - which the prosecution uses to back their claim of a cover-up by Sabich. Horgan learns of Sabich's affair with Polhemus, just as Polhemus learns that Raymond also had an affair with Polhemus. Called to testify, Horgan doesn't reveal what he knows about Sabich's affair with Polhemus.Sabich calls on Sandy Stern (Raul Julia), a top defense attorney with whom he has often clashed in court. Stern acknowledges Sabich as his "toughest adversary" but agrees to take the case. When the trial begins, the prosecution reveals that the beer glass is missing from the evidence room. It is a crucial piece of the prosecution's case and Stern persuades Judge Larren Lyttle (Paul Winfield) to suppress the fingerprint evidence. Sabich's wife Barbara is surprisingly supportive throughout the trial.In the course of his investigation, Sabich discovered that Polhemus had acquired a "B-file" (meaning bribery) from Prosecuting Attorney Horgan which detailed a bribery case involving a law-enforcement official. It describes a man named Leon (Leland Gantt) who paid a $1500 bribe to get his case of public indecency thrown out of court. Carolyn Polhemus was his probation officer before she joined the Prosecuting Attorney's office and set up the bribe. The deputy prosecutor in charge of the case was Tommy Molto.The main thrust of Stern's defence is that Molto and Della Guardia have set Sabich up to help Nico Della Guardia's election campaign against Ramond or, Stern hints, as part of a cover-up of a bribery case that involved Molto. He implies that the details are revealed in the missing B-file. Sabich is demanding that he be allowed to testify, but his attorney Stern says he would only implicate himself. Sabitch's friend and fellow detective Lipranzer finds Leon. Leon reveals that the official who took the bribe was in fact Judge Larren Lyttle, the same judge handling Sabich's trial!Stern calls the coroner to the stand and while questioning him, produces contradictory evidence showing that Polhemus had a tubal ligation. He implies that the coroner must have mishandled or even falsified the evidence because a woman with a tubal ligation would not need to use contraceptive jelly like that found in the seminal fluid in her vagina. The prosecution persuades the judge to accept testimony from a fingerprint expert about the fingerprints on the glass, but since they are unable to produce the glass itself, the judge tells the juror that this introduces reasonable doubt into the prosecution's case.The next morning, the judge announces that based on the mishandled seminal fluid and beer glass evidence, and the lack of any proof that Sabitch and Polhemus had a relationship, he dismisses the case. Unknown to the jury, the judge was also influenced by the possibility that the missing B-file, which documented him accepting bribes, might turn up.Sabich presses his defense attorney Stern for information and learns, in private, that both Stern and Prosecuting Attorney Horgan knew that Judge Lyttle had been accepting bribes and that Polhemus was his courier. Lyttle had been going through a bad period after a divorce. He offered his resignation but the County Prosecuting Attorney Horgan believed that he was in fact a brilliant judge and should be given another chance. Stern raised the issue of the bribery investigation during the trail in a way that implied he knew what it revealed, causing the judge to think it's contents might be made public. On the whole, Stern concluded. Judge Lyttle handled the case is a rightful manner.Detective Lipranzer later reveals to Sabich on a boat that he has the missing beer glass. He failed to return it to the evidence room when Molto, in a bureaucratic foul up, signed it as "returned to evidence" when in fact it was still in the evidence lab. The evidence lab returned it to Lipranzer after he had already been taken off the case. Since nobody asked for the glass he simply kept it in his desk drawer. As far as Lipranzer was concerned: "The lady was bad news." He gave the glass to Sabitch who tossed it into the water.Sabich is in the clear, though he does not appear to be too pleased about the ways by which this was achieved.Some time later, while doing some work in his garden, Sabich comes across a small combination hammer, hatchet, and nail puller with blood and hair on it. The tool matches the coroner's description of the murder weapon. Sabich realizes that the blood and hair belong to Polhemus. His wife sees him washing the hammer and confesses to the crime. In a detached state, talking in the third person, Barbara confesses that, following his affair, she fell into a depression. She even considered suicide before deciding that it would be better to destroy the destroyer, i.e. Polhemus. She bought beer glasses like those they had given to Polhemus as a house-warming gift. She got Sabich's fingerprints on a glass. She also captured some seminal fluid from her vagina after sex with her husband and froze it. She arranged to meet Polhemus at her apartment, and when her head was turned, struck her and killed her. She used a syringe to insert the seminal fluid into Polhemus' vagina, making it look like her husband had sex with her before she died, implicating him in her death. She claims that she did not actually intend to frame her husband; she assumed that as the investigator he would soon realize that she had killed Polhemus and would file it as an unsolved case.Sabich cannot bring himself to separate his son from his mother and proceeds to cover-up the crime. In the end, justice was served. | neo noir, murder, violence, flashback, romantic, revenge | train | imdb | We learn, through flashbacks, the story of her affair with Sabich and that she was promiscuous, sleeping with a number of influential men who could help her career, including not only Sabich but also the DA himself.Besides being a legal thriller, "Presumed Innocent" is also a study in contrasts in character- either contrasts between two different persons or between the inner and outer person.
The direction, screenplay, and acting are all top notch and you never really know how it's going to turn out til the very end.Harrison Ford is the deputy DA accused of murdering one of the female attorneys in his office.
He knows Ford had had an affair with the victim and has physical evidence that he was at the murder scene and had been placing phone calls to her apartment in the days prior to her death.The continuing investigation by Harrison Ford's team of lawyers and his friends in the DA's office and the trial highlight the remainder of this film.
I thought it was his best film since the early days when he directed "Klute" and "The Parallax View" - certainly better than the muddled "Pelican Brief." The overriding theme of the movie is darkness, people hiding secrets from one another, and the direction emphasizes that.
Raul Julia plays Ford's attorney defending him in court and he's excellent (I thought it was his best role in any film).
Pakula (Sophie's Choice 1982, All the President's Men 1976, Klute 1971, etc.), a fine script by Frank Pierson (whose credits include Cool Hand Luke 1967, Dog Day Afternoon 1975, A Star Is Born 1976, etc.), and an experienced, talented and well-directed cast headed by Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Greta Scacchi and Paul Winfield.Ford plays Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor compromised by his sexual obsession with a fellow prosecutor, Caroline Polhemus (Scacchi) who is found murdered as the film opens.
Paul Winfield, in a somewhat flamboyant style, plays Judge Larren Lyttle.Because Scott Turow knows the way the law works in practice as well as in theory, he having been a lawyer before he became a best-selling writer, we are treated to wood paneled intrigues and courtroom theatrics that have the unmistakable feel of authenticity.
Bedelia, whom I recall best as Shirley Muldowney in Heart Like a Wheel (1983) manages a delicate (and slightly unbelievable) persona with just the right amount of forbearance so that when the surprise ending comes we almost believe it.I say "almost," but you might want to judge for yourself.See this for Harrison Ford who plays a foolish and morally compromised man with just the sort of right stuff and disarming vulnerability we've come to expect from one of Hollywood's most popular leading men.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!).
Pakula's direction, along with strong performances by Harrison Ford, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Brian Dennehy and all the other supporting cast, contribute strongly to a film that keeps you guessing until the very end; which by the way, will shock the sox off ya.This is a thriller that never gets out of hand, or goes over the top.
It stars Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Bonnie Bedelia, Raúl Juliá, Paul Winfield, John Spencer and Greta Scacchi.
Music is scored by John Williams and Richard Wolf, and cinematography is by Gordon Willis.Prosecuting attorney Rusty Sabich (Ford) suddenly finds himself a murder suspect after his one time lover, Carolyn Polhemus (Scacchi), is found raped and murdered in her home.
Only disappointments come with the performances of Joe Grifasi and Tom Mardirosian, who as the prosecutors come across as wimpy and hardly brick tight lawyers trying a high profile murder case.An intense and intellectual adult drama, Presumed Innocent is one of the best of its type from the modern era.
There is also the medical examiner, who is hilarious, by far my favorite character in the movie.Not director Alan Pakula's best work by far, though he does well by covering the ground he covered in "All the President's Men" by mixing crime and politics.
It is a thin retelling of the story without the rich inner reflections of the book where accused prosecuting attorney Rusty Sabich narrates in the first person his trial on a charge of killing a fellow prosecutor and femme fatale Carolyn Polhemus.Adapation is always a bitch, as Charlie Kaufman wonderfully demonstrated in his film "Adapation" but it works when the film makers realise that they are making a film and not précising the novel.
Here, despite excellent casting and first rate acting, what you see up on the screen, with all the moody, gloomy interiors, is a hard-to follow turgid courtroom drama.The book is an excellent account, written from first-hand experience, of what it's like to be a US-style prosecuting attorney in a large mid-western city as well as being a reasonably intriguing thriller.
I've seen thriller movies that leave you saying "I don't think that turned out so well." Or murder-trial movies that make you say: "Oh, THAT could never happen in real life!" Well, "Presumed Innocent," with all its virtues -- tight direction, excellent performances throughout -- has that one fatal flaw: The ending makes no sense -- NONE.
When I had watched this film a few years ago for the first time, my overall impression was highly negative; I found it to be a boring, stagy courtroom thriller unworthy of its great cast.
It didn't really have the 'big-budget' feel that all of Ford's previous (and recent) movies had, and that's one of the things that make it stand out.+ (GOOD THINGS) 1.) Ford's performance 2.) Alan Pakula's direction 3.) The supporting actors 4.) The twist ending 5.) John Williams' score 6.) The pacing(BAD THINGS) 1.) The box design 2.) The tagline 3.) The multitude of characters
Even though the person who's framing Rusty Sabich, Harrison Ford, has all the evidence planted that would convict him in a court of law for the new DA Nico Guardia, Tom Mardirosian, there are some things about the murder victim Caroline Polhemus, Greta Scacchi, that the person framing Rusty doesn't know about that will in the end have him go free.
Slow moving and hard to follow movie, because of the many side-stories, but the surprise ending in some ways make up for the films overall confusion to why and what were the reasons for all this to happen to Rusty.
What I also liked about "Presumed Innocent" is that it didn't have the typical Hollywood ending when it comes to movies about courtroom dramas where everyone gets just what's coming or not coming to them.
Being a huge fan of court room dramas, a fairly big one of Raul Julia, and a faithful supporter of Brian Dennehy and Harrison Ford, I decided to watch this film, as it came on TV.
Harrison Ford was the same old character that we know and love, but Raul Julia gave a great performance..
Though "The Fugitive" plays for more action/adventure while "Presumed Innocent" is much more a courtroom drama, each movie has the "man accused of a crime" (but the audience doesn't know if he actually did it) theme running through it.For a basic plot summary, "Presumed Innocent" opens with Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) as a high-profile deputy prosecutor working for Raymond Horgan (Brian Dennehy).
When a co-worker of Rusty's, Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi) is murdered, Rusty suddenly finds himself on the top of the suspect list.I have watched this movie twice and found that it didn't hold up as well with time as I thought it might have.
This is one of those films that has a terrific, spellbinding ending, but to grasp the significance of that ending, the viewer must endure a slow, plodding, two-hour story that slowly builds suspense with subtleties and tedious detail.Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) is a smart prosecuting attorney who comes under suspicion in the murder of an attractive female colleague.
I enjoyed the performances of Raul Julia in the role of Sabich's lawyer and Paul Winfield in the role of the Judge.Despite a slow plot and the casting of Harrison Ford, I recommend this film, with its deep legal themes and terrific ending.
However, as a character-focused drama, this works best thanks a whole slew of fine acting performances.Ford is great when he's playing it worried and on the edge.
"Presumed Innocent" is a good solid thriller/courtroom drama staring Harrison Ford as prosecutor Rusty Sabich who finds himself accused of the rape and murder of a female colleague.
He was never a real name-above-the-title director like Hitchcock or Polanski, but his work was often as distinctive.The cast really delivers: Bonnie Bedelia, Raúl Juliá, Brian Dennehy, and especially John Spencer as Dan Lipranzer, but no actress at the time was hotter than Greta Scacchi.
These days, it's interesting to see Greta 25 years later in more sedate roles in "Miss Marple" and "Agatha Christie's Poirot".But this is Harrison Ford's film and he dug deep here - you can feel his pain as he wrestles with his guilt over the betrayal of his wife, and his humiliation in front of his friend, the tough Lapranzer, as he tries to distance himself from Carolyn's murder.Along with the great look of the film, the music helps with the feel.
I've gotta admit that I conjured "The Fugitive" when reading the synopsis for "Presumed Innocent" (Harrison Ford accused of a crime he didn't commit), but the two movies are apples and oranges.
The real surprise for me was that score, which sounds absolutely nothing like any John Williams music I've ever heard.I wasn't prepared for that ending, and I don't want to say it was cheap (although it felt that way at first), it did fit in pretty well with a movie's sleight-of-hand undercurrent.7/10.
Pakula directed this courtroom drama/mystery based on a Scott Turow novel that stars Harrison Ford as Deputy D.A. Rusty Sabich, who becomes a prime suspect in the murder of a coworker named Carolyn(played by Greta Scacchi) whom he was also having an affair with, despite being happily married to his wife(played by Bonnie Bedelia) He gets respected attorney 'Sandy' Stern(played by Raul Julia) to defend him, and their ensuing investigation leads them to some surprising secrets and motives, though the ultimate truth will hit Rusty close to home...
"Presumed innocent" is unfairly forgotten movie in both Harrison's Ford and Alan Pakula career's .
Gretta Scacchi is sexy as Carolyn Polhemus and don't forget the solid Bonnie Bedelia as Ford's wife.This is more than fine courtroom drama .
"Presumed Innocent" is a Thriller cum Court-room drama movie starring Harrison Ford.
In "Presumed Innocent",Harrison Ford plays deputy prosecutor Rusty Sabich,who has been assigned to investigate the murder of a colleague.the hitch is,he had been sleeping with.he digs a bit deeper into the case than someone wants him to and finds himself charged with her murder.i had had the chance to watch this movie several times over the years and never got around to it.finally,i sat down to watch it.i was not impressed.the movie plods along much too slowly.it is not riveting or even compelling but i suck with it.i will give points for the ending though.it is something i did not expect and would have been pretty decent except they dragged it out long.Harrison Ford was convincing in a dramatic role.Bonnie Bedelia was good as the wife,and Raul Julia was very good as Sabich's defence attorney.as for the movie on a whole,it was disappointing.
The first movie on TV in 2005 (and if I haven't said it yet, happy New Year!) is this, a plodding court-room drama starring a young-looking Harrison Ford.
And sadly, this isn't one either.Ford plays Rusty Sabich, a hot-shot prosecutor who finds himself framed for the murder of his colleague and one-time lover Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi).
When the case ends, Ford finds a startling discovery that he must live with for the rest of his life.Brilliant performances by Harrison Ford and Raul Julia, as they kept me on the edge of my seat, and making the movie into a constant guessing game, with a surprise twist at the end that really makes you think about what you just watched.
Alan Pakula brings his brilliant directorial genius to this film adaptation of the Scott Turow best seller about an attorney (Ford) who is accused of murdering a sexy associate, whom he had an affair with.
The lack of suspense stops this film from being a thriller per say, and renders it more of a drama come muddled justice commentary, which is a shame as an update of 'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' wouldn't have been such a bad thing.Kudos to the ending though, which is actually quite good.
I think the main reason why this movie was so great was because of Harrison Ford's superb performance, also a great twist at the end.
He turns into an obsessive stalker, following and confronting Greta Scacchi and calling her at all hours and hanging up on her like a "little kid." We can see his pain and Harrison Ford is not worried about appearing tortured and pathetic.The supporting characters are excellently casted and all deliver great performances.
Every time that Raul Julia councels Ford, we are convinced that it is advice that should be taken.All of the intricacies involving evidence and the trial build up the pressure until we reach the climax of the film, and if you haven't seen it yet, do so before someone casually reveals the end for you.
The only real problem with this movie is Harrison Ford's haircut (he looks like he stuck his head under an active lawnmower), but that's an entirely different story.4.5/5 stars.John Ulmer.
Presumed Innocent is a reasonably interesting crime thriller starring Harrison Ford.
If you want to really see something hot, see Witness, or The Fugitive.Who should see this film:-- action / thriller movie goers, but only on a rainy day-- Harrison Ford fans, but only on a rainy dayI'll give "Presumed Innocent" a so-so 6 out of 10..
Adapted from one of the best crime/courtroom novels of the 1980s, "Presumed Innocent" focuses on a prosecutor (Ford) accused of murdering his lover (Scacchi).
The other problem with the movie was the main character of Rusty Sabich (played by Harrison Ford.) Sabich simply never connected with me.
A good court drama/thriller with all the typical clichés but also some original moments and a good ending.Courtroom movies aren't known to be exciting and "Presumed Innocent" can't be called exciting either but still it is above average mainly thanks to some good storytelling and directing.
Under-rated courtroom drama that has lawyer Harrison Ford on trial for murder of fellow lawyer Greta Scacchi.
If you are looking for a suspenseful movie with unsuspecting twists and turns, complete with a surprise ending, Presumed Innocent should fulfil your needs.It is an incredible film that takes place in a corrupt judicial system.
If you want to know what John Williams can do with a light touch when he's not making epics like Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Harry Potter, you might want to play the film once more, just to focus on tasting and savoring the audio portion of this program.Raul Julia nailed the part of defense attorney Sandy Stern, Harrison Ford is phenomenal as Rusty, and Bonnie Bedelia; Brian Dennehy as District Attorney Raymond Horgan, Rusty's boss; Paul Winfield, the trial judge; and John Spenser as Rusty's friend Detective Lipranzer (West Wing, Leo McGarry) -- all turn in pro performances in support.
Pakula, known primarily for his conspiracy movies ("Klute", "The Parallax View", "Rollover", "The Pelican Brief", "All the President's Men"), directs "Presumed Innocent", a very good if somewhat conventional courtroom drama.The film stars Harrison Ford as a talented prosecutor who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a colleague with whom he had an adulterous affair.
Hmmm But it is really a masterpiece of film making in most cases, up there with Anatomy of a Murder (1959 - James Stewart, etc.) in all time thrillers in the order of an Alfred Hitchcock type movie.Twists and turns that make it look like it aims at one person then another, dirty cops, a boss that says he'll lie under oath, a judge who seems to care more about a missing glass and a missing 'B' (for bribery) file than the other evidence that seems to lead to the conclusion that it was who they were 'framing'.The ending makes you stop and think and gives you opportunity to discuss the justice system, the fact that though mostly we think it's the judges that let off criminals, there can be corruption even in prosecution, defense, police and in human beings in general.If you want lighthearted comedy or family fare, this isn't it.
Greta Scacchi, as the murder victim and Ford's colleague is good, and generally she turns in pretty solid performances, though she seems to generally be under Hollywood's radar.The script here is very good, particularly with the courtroom scenes that dominate the second half of the film.
Beside Raul Julia, Brian Dennehy and Bonnie Bedelia made great performances - just like the movie's center star Harrison Ford.
Basically District Attorney Rozat 'Rusty' Sabich (Harrison Ford), married with two children, learns that his former girlfriend Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi) has been viciously murderer at her home, and he with her boss Raymond Horgan (Rambo: First Blood's Brian Dennehy) start an investigation.
The great acting is required of all the other characters, the lawyer (Raul Julia), the wife (Bonnie Bedelia), the sidekick (John Spencer), the corrupt boss (Brian Dennehy), and the judge (Paul Winfield), and of course the sultry and deceitful junior prosecutor, Greta Scacchi, arguably the most beautiful actress of modern times.I watched another old Harrison Ford film recently, "Frantic", and "Presumed Innocent" is by far the better film in every respect.
Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) plays a Prosecutor who is tasked with investigating a murder. |
tt0227984 | The 51st State | In 1971, a policeman catches Elmo McElroy, a recent college graduate with a degree in pharmacology, smoking marijuana. Because of his arrest and conviction, he is unable to find work as a pharmacologist. In the present day, a drug lord called "the Lizard" calls a meeting of his organisation, hoping to sell a brand new substance invented by Elmo. The meeting goes badly when Elmo, in a bid to escape from the Lizard's control, blows up the building, killing everyone but the Lizard. Vengeful, the Lizard contacts Dakota, a contract killer, who previously killed the only witness in a case against the Lizard. Dakota initially refuses the hit, but accepts when the Lizard offers to clear her gambling debts and give her a $250,000 bonus.
Elmo leaves for Liverpool, England, where he meets Felix DeSouza, a local "fixer" who has been sent by Leopold Durant, head of a local criminal organisation, in exchange for two football tickets to a sold-out game. At the meeting, Elmo pitches POS 51, a synthetic drug that can be produced with minimal facilities and is 51 times as potent as other drugs. A second opinion from Pudsey, Durant's chemist, confirms Elmo's claims, and Durant gives him over a million dollars in bonds. Since it is $18 million short of the agreed payment, Elmo threatens to leave.
In a room across the street, Dakota is about to take a shot at Elmo's head when the Lizard calls cancelling the hit; not wanting to kill Elmo until he has the formula. Instead of killing Elmo, she is to kill anyone who meets with him. She switches rifles to an automatic weapon and kills everyone but Elmo and Felix, who is shot in the buttocks. As Elmo and Felix leave the hotel, a gang of skinheads who seek the drug attack them. Elmo protects them with a golf club. Detective Virgil Kane arrives on the scene and gives a chase. He is soon lured into a game of chicken by Elmo, who escapes. Kane returns to the crime scene and demands 50% of Durant's deal with McElroy. A miscommunication leads to Durant's death.
Felix contacts a gun dealing club owner and drug distributor named Iki, promising him the formula for £20 million. As Elmo and Felix acquire the ingredients necessary for the drug's manufacture, all of which are over-the-counter products, the now-armed skinheads capture them. Elmo is unflustered, as the skinheads claim they have a lab, though it turns out to be a broken-into animal testing facility. Elmo makes two batches of the drug; one blue and one red. He claims that the red pill is the stronger version, and after he takes one, the skinheads try it. While they are partying, waiting for the effect of the drug, in the next room Elmo spits out his red pill. He tells Felix it is a powerful laxative; Elmo and Felix leave after throwing rolls of toilet paper to the incapacitated skinheads.
At Iki's rave club, Elmo initiates his deal and delivers the drug to the waiting crowd. Kane and the police interrupt the deal and arrest Felix. When Dakota appears, she reveals that her real name is Dawn and that she and Felix were romantically involved. She captures Elmo and leaves with him via the roof. Elmo gets the upper hand, suspending her over the edge of the roof. Having no choice, she strikes a deal with him and they escape from Kane. Meanwhile, Kane blackmails Felix during a police interrogation and forces himself into the deal with Iki, which Felix sets up for him.
Felix, Elmo and Dawn meet Iki in a private viewing box at the football game at Anfield. This time, the deal is interrupted by the Lizard, who shoots Iki and demands the formula to POS 51. The Lizard celebrates with a drink, as Elmo reveals that the drug is a placebo and POS stands for Power of Suggestion. Kane interrupts them as Elmo's cocktail, an explosive ingested by the Lizard, takes effect. Kane is knocked unconscious and arrested, and the others escape. Dawn and Felix give their relationship another chance, and Elmo purchases a castle once owned by the man who owned his ancestors. | violence, humor, comedy, murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | Be warned though if you don't like swearing in your films this isn't the one for you as just about every line contains more than one obscenity.The film stars Samuel L Jackson as an ultra-cool, kilt wearing drugs chemist wanting to make one high-profit deal, Robert Carlyle as a Liverpool gangster and Emily Mortimer as the hottest assassin I've seen in a film.I won't post any spoilers but if you enjoy films with car chases, funny dialogue and over the top action involving guns, golf clubs and heavy duty laxatives then this is the film for you..
Jackson is as cool as ever as kilt-wearin', drug-dealin' Elmo McElroy, and Robert Carlyle is in good form as Felix DeSouza, desperately trying to get himself a cut in the deal.
Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Meatloaf, Rhys Ifans, and Emily Mortimer together in a movie?
The soundtrack is excellent (this coming from someone who doesn't really like techno, club, rap, or hip-hop music), and I would definitely buy this movie to watch again.
OK, so the `what' British film industry needs another gangster-flick about as much as Zsa-Zsa Gabor needs another facelift, but this film is worth a look just for the fact that it's not set in London (hurrah!), it's very funny and it features Samuel L.
With film, as with any other entertainment medium, it ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it.Moaning about the dodgy' accents or the depiction of Liverpool as a haven for drug dealers and corrupt policemen is pointless nit-picking and should not detract from the fact that 51st State is a lively, refreshing and ultimately entertaining two hours worth of celluloid.
Fun if you are in the mood and know what to expect - Jackson is key in making it stand out from the many other modern British gangster films.
Meanwhile Elmo and Felix combine to try and sell the drugs.Yet another in the treadmill of British bandwagon filmmaking, this film is, surprise surprise, a comedy British gangster movie with, wait for it, larger than life characters, funny violence and hyper-kinetic directing and editing.
How very Lock Stock - things look pretty bleak from this description, except that the cast at least offers the hope that sufficient money has been poured into it to make it more than just another cheap cash-in on the success of Guy Ritchie's films.
The story is nonsense throughout and at times I found it a little irritating that so little attention was paid to the plot - but in fairness, to make a big deal out of that is to miss the point.This is because the film is all about style, humour and pace and not about character or plotting.
What makes the film stand out from the rest of the copies is that it actually is quite good fun to watch (as opposed to some copies that are just cheap and nasty) - never hilarious but it is energetic enough to pull you along with it no matter how silly it gets.
Carlyle is a good actor but he pales in comparison to Jackson in this - he isn't helped by the awful accent he is lumbered with and the fact that he is a little irritating.
The support cast includes reasonable turns from Pertwee, Ifans, Tomlinson and Barber but this is Jackson's film 100% and it is difficult to imagine it being as enjoyable without him.Overall, we all know what to expect - this is yet another gangster film in the mould of Lock Stock.
The cast includes quite a few well-known faces but it is the awesome presence of Jackson (who looks like he is enjoying himself in an undemanding role) that makes this worth seeing..
Meanwhile , a gun-toting motorcycle-riding hit woman pursues to kill him and she happens to be Felix's ex .This exciting as well as wild picture is loaded with noisy action , irony , slapdash , comedy with tongue-in-cheek , bad taste jokes , rapid flash thrilling choreography , funny situations and with a distinctly British sense of humor .
The fast drawn shots keep the pace, the thunderous soundtrack imports the ambiance, and the British ghetto lingo always reels you in to the lovely slums of Liverpool.Bottom Line: Better Title 'An American Drug Dealer in Liverpool'.
At times, he is just downright aggravating to watch (especially when he starts ranting and referring to himself in the third-person).Fortunately, Meat Loaf (and a nearly as annoying Rhys Ifans)are not enough to completely drag the film down.
The script found the film with it's first fault when it was clear that during the writing process things like a flowing, rich and intelligent script were replaced by excessive overly 'Cool' dialogue, the f word and a narrative which shamelessly places the characters in situations with the sole purpose of them showing how witty (in a dialogue sense) they can be.
And yes, I will admit, at times it works and you do enjoy some of this but it is overall tedious and relies far to heavy on this to make this film.On the acting front I noticed pretty quickly how the actors saw their characters were written and just played with it (with the exception of Sam L Jackson who seemed to kick into auto pilot and let his cool persona shine through on his part).
The only saving grace is that Robert Carlyle does what he's good at doing, playing an up tight anti hero with a certain amount of humor and in all fairness he jells well with Samuel L Jackson who also effectively portrays what he is supposed to do.
The movie has an good supporting cast like Sean Pertwee, Rhys Ifans and Meat Loaf.
This film was a Box Office Flop but it worth a look for fans of the stars or you are in the mood for wild, tongue in cheek, Hong Kong style action/comedy.
Very few action movies actually succeed in being funny, but the witty screenplay of the 51st State will have you laughing throughout the entire film.
Sam Jackson proves himself as the coolest man on the planet as he struts across the screen wearing a kilt and acting like a samurai warrior with a golf club instead of a sword.
The direction of the film is flashy and seems drawn towards capturing as many Liverpool land marks as possible, but never escapes the style Guy Ritchie pioneered in Lock, Stock and Snatch, which indeed for some viewers may be a good thing.
The best part of this film is watching the club scenes with the techno rave music which are money and the chemistry between Felix and Dakota they light up the screen.
This movie was excellent.Elmo (Samuel L.) is a chemist who travels to Britain to market a new drug, meeting Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle) and Dakota (Emily Mortimer) in his adventures.I'd seen Emily Mortimer in The Kid, but that hadn't prepared me for what an excellent actor she is.
Samuel L is a cool mofo as usual, playing a genius with an interesting line of work.The plot was interesting, the one liners hilarious and the action entertaining, and with some smaller roles played by Rhys Ifans and Meatloaf, I can't fault this movie at all..
The 51st State (a.k.a. Formula 51) (2001) is a highly underrated film made by Ronnie Yu. The movie takes place in the U.S. and in Britain.
Samuel L Jackson gave yet another superb performance as Elmo, and Robert Carlyle as his unlikely sidekick was great.
I would be interested to know how the American's took the humour, I am not sure if some of the references would have been lost on them, such as the fact that Robert Carlyle walked into a Manchester pub wearing a Liverpool shirt on the day before the big match!
Samuel Jackson plays a chemist who comes to Liverpool to attempt to sell the formula for a new designer drug he's concocted.
You can see why Jackson took an interest; after all, its not EVERY script that casts him as a kilt-wearing master chemist by the wonderful name of Elmo McElroy, who comes to Liverpool to hawk his new drug around the streets.
This is probably unintended since its written by a Brit, but the way the British are portrayed in the 51st State isn't very much different as to how the Irish were portrayed in Far and Away.Sam Jackson and especially Robert Carlyle should have known better.
Carlyle recently announced this would be the last big movie he would do for a while, and Jackson failed to turn up at its Liverpool premiere.
There are people like this walking around Liverpool every day.Humour runs all through this film; from Samuel L's stick-on fuzzy mustache at the start, through to cross-dressing psychotic drug-dealers, to somebody getting a 25' container accidentally dropped on them.
A visual style like a video game and Samuel L.Jackson and Robert Carlyle trading their best "hard as ^&%#* nails" attitudes, the sharp stoner fantasy script by first timer Stel Pavlou, giddies it up with its depiction of the ultimate party drug being hustled by the hardest of the hard cores in the midst of some of the trigger-happiest criminals on both sides of the atlantic.
The 51st state was an excellent film with comedy, action and a bit of those 'gone in 60 seconds' type movies.
On DVD as "Formula 51", this action comedy is all about Jackson as a kilt-wearing macho man with the formula for a new designer drug with beyond belief market potential who's trying to sell it for a cool $20 million.
I liked this film - it's a funny combination of US action comedy with British gangster film.
There are more reasons for satisfaction in this film, like the good acting of Samuel Jackson and Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer - so sexy that the next Bond girls auditions should have a look at her, and the English slang and football (the real one!) humor.
Action, great actors, bad food, a good script, gross humor, sex and violence.
really everything you would like in a great movie about a couple of gangsters in Liverpool.
superb film Robert Carlyle on top form as Felix - mucking up as is usual with his characters.
A great Brit flick and one I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a film that appeals to both men and women - action and romance ( I know boys just grit your teeth)Felix, though somewhat crude, is made a vulnerable character by Carlyle, and his on off girlfriend is played well.
Samuel Jackson and Robert Carlyle together I thought would be a mistake but it works perfectly, whichever way they are acting, either being friends or hating each other its perfect.
Jackson plays a chemical mastermind who, for reasons unexplained, constantly wears a kilt - and hence provides the subject matter for the movie's one recurring gag.Writer Stel Pavlou seems to have been aiming at one of those character-driven, high-excitement, unlikely-partnering-of-opposites chase films.
Why in God's name he'd want to rehash that sort of formula I cannot explain, but regardless, the movie falls completely flat.The long and short of it is: everything in "The 51st State" has been done better before, and a bunch of scousers cussing and Sam Jackson without any underwear are not going to change that.
Thanks to a great script he had some of the best one liners since his Tarantino days (and when are we going to get another one of those anyway?) Robert Carlyle (who he?) played an excellent side-kick.
As a Liverpool born, 40 something female, who has spent a great deal of time travelling in the states, I found this film hilarious.
He was the LAST person I expected to see opposite Sam Jackson.Other winners in this movie were Ricky Tomlinson, Emily Mortimer and Sean Pertwee, although Meatloafs role was not quite as good and bordered on annoying occasionally.To reinterate, this movie is excellent if you're British, probably disapointing if you are not9/10.
This sets the stage for a fast paced action comedy that includes British actor Robert Carlyle who becomes Sam's partner in trying to sell this new drug.
Elmo McElroy (Samuel Jackson) is a kilt wearing chemist who after seeing his diploma go up in smoke back in the '70's, invents a powerful new drug which he plans to sell in England.
Samuel Jackson in a kilt, Meatloaf and Robert Carlyle in a violent but funny movie about drugs....What more could you want, Drug lords with Piles, Hitmen with bad hearing, Assassin girlfriends, Rave culture, Garbage barges, Golf, White trash, Incompetant cops and car chases.The list goes on and its all good, if you 'get' all the inferences from the movies background in Liverpool it is even better.
The scene with the Liverpool drug lord trying to buy the new drug from Samuel Jackson is one of my favourite 7mins of film, from the lift ride to the 'Drive' on the hotel steps only seems to last 1-2 mins it is so good.Watch It!.
Jackson as a master drug chemist intent on making a clean break from his life of crime with one final deal, and Robert Carlyle as the Liverpool-supporting thug for hire who helps him set that deal up, this movie is witty, finely paced, and well scripted.
Though this is not a football film, you can't set a film in Liverpool not mention it, it is a way of life there.The film is shot magnificently, and although the plot is a little far fetched, Samuel L Jackson, Robert Carlisle and co carry it off, my only disappointment was Rhys Ifans, who really couldn't master the accent and sounded more like Harry Enfield.This film is one of the better British Gangster film, and is much more enjoyable and professionally done than the 'brit pop' Snatch..
The script is highly English; specifically, it's north-west English, with the footie references and scouse accents being an instant turn-off for most people on the wrong side of the Atlantic.This doesn't stop "51st State" from being highly entertaining for us Brits.Carlyle's performance as Felix, Elmo's contact in Liverpool, entertains, as does Jackson, who, as usual, declaims his lines rather than acting.
Ifans clearly has a lot of fun as Iki, a highly confused and troubled dealer, but his scouse accent is gutteral and harsh, holding up better than Carlyle's (which wasn't bad).It's a far from perfect film.
I came to The 51st State with a completely open mind,not expecting too much or too little.However it turned out to be a total scream from beginning to end.The film starts off in a pretty mainstream way,making you think you are in for another of the seemingly endless stream of films with the same plotline.But then we are magically transported to Liverpool (my home town)and the film takes on a far more entertaining aspect.Unfortunately,this is maybe where our american friends may lose interest,not for reasons of plot etc,but for the fact that the humour becomes very british.No , it actually becomes very 'scouse',and even some english people dont get it.
But if you do get the humour angle youre in for a enternaining ride.Jackson is cool personified (as usual),Carlyle(great actor)turns in a creditable Liverpool accent,and to top it all off , a hollywood style car chase through the streets of Liverpool.
The only people I can imagine not enjoying The 51st State are Americans.Not because its a bad film but because the humour is very British and Americans may have a hard time understanding any humour that is not their own.
How they got Jackson and Carlyle to play in it I'll never know and the "exploding Robbie Coltrane" scene at the end was a hoot.The whole cinema was laughing out loud at various points through the film.
And here, in brief summary form, are some other things that are true: The acting of Samuel L Jackson and Robert Carlyle is very good.
I really expected a to have a great time watching this movie, I was really looking forward to it.
For some reason, Jackson's character wears a kilt throughout the movie, and the director/producers don't even try and fake an explanation, they just leave you to wonder until at the very end, they actually put a blurb on the screen that says something like "we don't know why he wears a kilt all the time".
Mix in chaotic characters with no foundation beyond Jackson's initial scene, Meat Loaf and his man breasts trying to be a tough drug kingpin, a ripoff joke on Mr. Bean and his Austin mini, and some indecipherable Liverpool English, and you end up with an achingly miserable movie.
And, naturally, they're not looking to solve a case, only to works a drugs sting which involves double-crossing about every drug dealer from Los Angeles to Liverpool.It could have been nothing special and, although the plot is hardly legendary, the fact that the two main leads are Samuel L Jackson and Robert Carlyle go some way to raising it above average.
Considering it's never really mentioned when people talk about the 'great' British gangster films, it's not as bad as it could be (and you get to watch Samuel L Jackson bust a few heads with a golf club – what more could you want?)..
It is still a complete Guy Richie knock off but Samuel Jackson is always a good time and his fish out of water -American chemist in Liverpool was pretty fun.
(As was watching him rock the kilt for an entire movie) I also liked Robert Carlyle & Rhys Ifans, and they saved this from being unwatchable (Meat Loaf).Jackson plays a disgraced pharmacist (the opening scene is classic) who travels to England to sell a potent new street drug he's invented.
With a cast as good as this (Samuel Jackson, Robert Carlysle, Sean Pertwee, and Meatloaf) you would have expected a little more daring and imagination than what we were given. |
tt0021380 | Sinkin' in the Bathtub | The film opens with Bosko, a cheerful Negro boy, whistling in his bathtub as the shower fills it with water. The song, appropriately, is "Singin' in the Bathtub." He plucks his toes and his nose to make musical sounds. He even plays the streams of water as if they were harp strings. The bathtub gets into the act, by rising on its feet and dancing around the bathroom, waving a bath towel and throwing sheets of toilet paper into the air as if they were flower petals.Bosko takes his pants off a nail, drops them on the floor and then pulls a hair on his head to lift the pants onto his body. He redirects the stream of water from the shower head to spray outside the window and then rides the stream out of his house.The music-happy boy pulls a huge harmonica out of his pants, plays for a bit and then whistles for his car, which he believes is in his garage. Instead, the anthropomorphic car exits from the outhouse, with its trunk door still open, revealing its bare behind. Bosko cranks the car, which twists it like taffy. The car untwists, spinning Bosko around. Bosko leaps into the car and takes off.The car chugs along as Bosko plays his harmonica. When the car reaches a field of tulips, it "tiptoes" with its back wheels as Bosko picks the flowers and stores them in his car horn. The background music is "Tip-Toe thru' the Tulips with Me."Bosko arrives at the home of his sweetheart Honey. She is also in her bathtub, singing "Singin' in the Bathtub." Bosko calls to her. She cries "Ooh!" in embarrassment and pulls down the shade. She pulls her underthings from the clothesline and then appears in an open window. "Hello, Bosko!" she calls down from the second floor.Bosko blows once on his horn, which blows out the tulips, allowing him to catch them and hold them behind his back. "Guess what I got for you, Honey!" A goat walks up behind him, smells the flowers and eats them, leaving only the stems. Bosko is shocked and then sad. He drops the stems on the walkway, and weeps."Don't cry, Bosko!" soothes Honey. "Ah still loves ya!" Bosko's mood immediately brightens, and he makes loving gestures toward his sweetie. The goat, unimpressed, blows a raspberry at Bosko and begins to walk away. Bosko kicks the goat, which sends its rear end flying in the air, up and over the goat's head. The goat walks under its back legs to get itself straightened out, bleats back at Bosko and walks off.Bosko takes his car horn and a piece of his engine, makes a saxophone out of it and dances up to Honey's house on her walkway, which sounds like a xylophone each time he steps on a plank. Honey dislikes the music and throws her bathwater over her balcony, which falls into Bosko's instrument. Bosko keeps playing as bubbles emerge from the saxophone. Honey is happy now, and dances around on the bubbles in mid-air. She jumps back on her balcony and swivels her hips until her skirt falls off. She pulls a beribboned hair on her head, which lifts her skirt back over her midsection. Then she dances on the bubbles as they pop, as she gently drops down to earth.Bosko, happier than ever, dances and slides on her walkway, which still makes the sound of a xylophone. Honey does the same, and then both jump into Bosko's car and take off.While in the car, the two lovebirds share three lip-smacking kisses before they encounter a cud-chewing cow on the road. The cow is distinguished by a pair of eyeglasses, a cowbell and an unusually large udder. Bosko honks at the car to move out of the way, but the haughty animal merely opens two of her teeth like moving panels and spits out a large glob of cud as if it were tobacco juice. This splashes onto the car and flattens it. Bosko angrily pulls the car back into shape. He pushes the cow's body down under her legs, which stick up like tent poles, and drives over her. The cow, shocked at this outrage, uses her back leg to twist her tail like a crank, which pulls her midsection back up where it should be. She walks off, throwing her head in the air and then throwing her behind in the same direction. This sends her enormous udder flying and hitting her on the back.Bosko and Honey laugh at the cow, but don't look where they're going. They hit a boulder, which sends Bosko flying out of the car and hitting the ground, causing him to break up into several tiny Boskos. His tiny selves reassemble themselves into one self, and then he catches up with the car, which suddenly poops out and flattens at the prospect of climbing a steep hill. Bosko kicks and pushes the car up the hill, but when he gets it over, he loses control of it, as it speeds down the hillside with poor Honey alone, crying "Help! Oo! Ee! Ow! Ee!" and so on.Bosko races behind and grabs the tailpipe, which pulls like an elastic band. He keeps holding on even while hitting various-size boulders, which again sound like the notes of a xylophone. He holds on even while being pulled over small trees. Finally he is tossed up and over the car, briefly flattening like a pancake in front of it, before returning to his proper shape and finding that the out-of-control car is chasing him. Bosko trips over a boulder and continues down the hill, sliding along on his chin.Now he's running again, and seems to appeal to the audience when he faces the camera and cries "Mammy!," which recalls the signature song of the blackface performer, Al Jolson. Bosko, and then the car with Honey, sail through a house along the hillside. When they emerge, the car is gone, and Honey is now riding in an out-of-control bathtub on wheels, which chases Bosko off the hill and onto a tall landmass shaped like an enormous tree trunk. It also has a long, winding road leading downward. The bathtub car chases Bosko to the edge of a cliff. He's forced to jump off; and as he does so, his screaming mouth fills the camera. The bathtub-car flies off the cliff, too, and Honey's screaming mouth also fills our view.Bosko falls until a tree branch just above a pond catches him. The bathtub with Honey falls into the pond. A splash of water rises up and forms itself into a hand that grabs Bosko and sets him in the bathtub. Bosko and Honey are thrilled to find themselves together and safe at last. Bosko pulls two cattails growing out of the pond and uses them to play the lily pads like a xylophone. Bosko and Honey hug each other as ducks surround them and quack with approval. | psychedelic, humor | train | imdb | Primitive, But Still Entertaining As Well As Historical.
As others have pointed out, this is the first official Looney Tunes cartoon to be released, so it certainly has historical merit.
I like it because it has the odd, early '30s cartoon humor.
It's hard to explain but because it's so dated, it has its own flavor to it, as Betty Boop did around this time.
Is it almost primitive-looking in spots?
Of course, but it was made at the beginning of sound being heard on screen and, well, it's over 75 years old so that's what you get.
Frankly, in an innocent basic way, the cartoons of this period offer something different.It's still innovative in that you see some great sights that only animation can give you, like Bosco switching the shower to aim out the window, then surfing on the spray out the window, then pulling out a giant harmonica - that's bigger than he is - out of his pants!
Outrageous!I don't believe I laughed out loud once during the eight-minute cartoon, but I enjoyed every minute of watching "Bosco" and his girlfriend and thought there were a lot of "cute" things in here.
It got a little repetitive near the end but overall had enough sight gags to still call the whole thing "entertaining." That's not a bad way to start off the famous "Looney Tunes.".
I hate (and I really mean HATE, which is odd of me) to say that this cartoon is slightly racist..
In this Looney Tunes short, the first Looney Tunes short ever made (the first proper one anyway), the main characters, Bosko and Honey, are black people.
This makes watching the cartoon very sad, because Bosko and Honey are portrayed more as animals than people (otherwise it would not be a big deal at all).
You grow to love them, but I cannot come over the fact that I am watching cartoon PEOPLE rather than cartoon ANIMALS.
Even though I am seethingly against racism, I cannot help but love this cartoon (like a few other racist Looney Tunes shorts, but not in the same way).Anyhow, in this very odd (for today's standards) cartoon, there are two characters called Bosko and Honey.
They are both black people, Bosko is a person who manages to make an instrument out of everything and Honey is his sweet sweetheart.
They both go out together and find themselves in some quite turbulent adventures, but everything becomes all right in the end and shows that (not avoiding the cliché) love always finds a way.
:-)I loved this short because I found Bosko and Honey such cute characters, I liked the "oddness" of the episode and I enjoyed the old type of slapstick involved (which ran through both Looney Tunes and Walt Disney's cartoons at the same time, in very similar ways).I recommend "Sinkin' in the Bathtub" to people who can understand the racism of this episode and not let it spoil the short, and to cartoon historians.
It is worth it for every Looney Tunes fan to watch just for the fact that this was the first Looney Tunes cartoon (which was a series that ran until 1969).
Enjoy "Sinkin' in the Bathtub"!
:-)8 and a half out of ten..
In this first Looney Tunes offering, we meet Bosco.
I don't know if he is intended to be a monkey or a black person.
I hope it's the former.
He takes a really interesting bath (quite creative) and heads off in his car to meet his girlfriend.
Things don't go so well, as obstacles along the way keep them from having comfortable date.
For starters, he brings her tulips but a goat eats them when he isn't looking.
All in all, decent animation and music..
Interesting from a historical standpoint and a decent cartoon on its own.
Like Bosko's debut/pilot cartoon 'Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid', 'Sinkin' in the Bathtub' is interesting historically, with it being the first official Looney Tunes cartoon.
It is also fascinating to see Loone Tunes in their early days before the creation of more compelling characters and funnier and more creative cartoons.Again like 'Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid', 'Sinkin' in the Bathtub' is an decent cartoon on its own, not bad but not much to get excited about.
The story is paper thin and has its slow stretches, including an overly-sentimental moment with Bosko grieving over flowers, also getting a little repetitive towards the end.
Bosko and Honey while cute do lack personality somewhat outside of being stereotypes.However, the animation is not bad at all, not exactly refined but fluid and crisp enough with some nice detail.
The music is suitably bubbly and lush, with clever use of pre-existing material.There are some amusing moments, especially with the car, the sound is not as static as before, the cartoon is very cute without being too much and it is hard not to feel cheerful or smile at least while watching.In summary, decent but not great, worth seeing for historical interest.
7/10 Bethany Cox. An odd beginning.
Sinkin' in the Bathtub (1930) was the first of the Looney Tunes series.
It stars Bosko, a relatively unknown cartoon character later to be eclipsed by characters such as Porky, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny.This short is derivative of the contemporary Mickey Mouse series, which was at the height of its popularity in the early 1930s.
Gags such as the cow shaking its utter in disgust or the goat which accompanies Bosko to his girlfriend's home are directly taken from Disney works going as far back as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in the late silent era.That being said, Sinkin' in the Bathtub is a cute but not essential short.
A better introduction to Bosko would be Bosko's Picture Show (1933), which is funnier and very pre-code in its sensibilities..
A charming start to a truly great story.
As an animation nut, the truly significant moments in animation history always make my heart swell and my pulse race.
'Gertie the Dinosaur' genuinely makes me tear up.
So it was perhaps inevitable that I would enjoy Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising's 'Sinkin' in the Bathtub' since it is the first ever Looney Tune(not counting the short pilot film 'Bosko The Talk Ink Kid').
Animated by the great Friz Freleng, 'Sinkin' in the Bathtub' is surprisingly enjoyable on its own merits.
It quickly establishes a bawdier atmosphere than previous cartoons (completely naked characters, a dance involving toilet paper, a shot of a bra and a cow with an enormous, pendulous udder) which would come to characterise Warner Bros.
animation.
It also establishes a sense of enormous inventiveness instantly when lead character Bosko plays his shower like a harp.
The subsequent story is thin on plot (Bosko visits his girlfriend Honey and they go for a drive encountering some very mild danger) but there are plenty of funny moments, my favourite being Bosko's anthropomorphic car unexpectedly emerging for a distant shed instead of the garage.
If the short ever tends towards the dull, there's always the sense of "I'm watching the first ever Looney Tune" to get you through the weak patches, Surprisingly, these are few and far between (Bosko crying after a goat eats his flowers is a little saccharine but otherwise there's little that comes to mine) and while there was still a long way to go before the recognised Warner style was achieved, 'Sinkin' in the Bathtub' is a charming start to a truly great story.
Bosko's climactic intonation of the soon to be iconic phrase 'That's All Folks' will surely floor any animation fanatic..
The first official Looney Tunes release and a rather good (if a bit odd) short.
This is the first official Looney Tunes short (there was a demonstration short, called Bosko the Talk-ink Kid, that served as a pilot and got the ball rolling and is actually a more interesting short than this one is, in some respects) and it has the first recurring character, Bosko.
As characters go, Bosko is average-not the best, but not the worst either.
The main problem with Bosko shorts is the sameness of them.
They have some very amusing and occasionally clever bits, but a lot of the gags are repeated ad tedium.
I want to talk about some of the things happening in the short, so there may be spoilers below: Almost anything can be a musical instrument in a Bosko short (and often is).
The short begins with Bosko in the bathtub, with Bosko humming the song, "Singing In the Bathtub" and playing various "musical" instruments and eventually dancing, where the bathtub also starts dancing as well.
Bosko gets dressed and goes to his garage to get his car, which is in the out-house.
He drives over to his girlfriend Honey's place and she too is humming the same song in her bathtub.
I'm curious to know just how much sheet music for "Singing In the Bathtub" was sold after this short came out.
But I digress.After turning various items (including steps) into musical instruments, they go off in Bosko's car.
After a misadventure or two, Bosko falls out of the car and breaks into several tiny versions of himself (a gag they would often repeat in later shorts with Bosko and other characters) eventually "pulling himself together" and chasing after the car.
In the end, everyone goes off a mountain cliff and Bosko and Honey wind up "Singing In the Bathtub" again-a lake!
This is on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 3 and is well worth seeing.
The Collection itself is highly recommended..
Though this is the first Looney Tune ever .
. it's clear that the die has been cast to proclaim Warner Bros.' new animated shorts division as America's Extreme Early Warning System, particularly for its upcoming 21st Century Calamities, Catastrophes, Cataclysms, and Apocalypti.
You can look at almost any snippet of SINKIN' IN THE BATHTUB and seem to hear a Morgan Freeman-like voice narrating from the Heavens, "Welcome to Trump World." From the cow spitting a giant glob of black chew at Bosko and Honey while blocking the progress of their touring car in the highway (obviously symbolizing the Environmental Rapist White House Resident-Elect Donald J.
Rump has named as America's new "Protector" of Mother Nature) to the automobile itself that turns into a runaway bathtub at the drop of a hat (representing Conspiracy Theory Promoter Michael Flynn, Rump's man to be in charge of National Security), 2017 portends to be so Topsy Turvy that it's likely to be the last to begin under our current U.S. Constitution.
When it's YOUR turn to sink below the swampy surface for the third and final time, don't be surprised to hear a Looney Tunes refrain echoing in your doomed brain, screaming "We tried to tell you so!".
Too much style over substance for my liking.
"Sinkin' in the Bathtub" is a black-and-white cartoon from the very early days of Warner Bros.
and Schlesinger Studios.
It runs for 8 minutes almost, a bit longer than they usually do, and features Bosko, a cartoon character who is almost forgotten today, but was somewhat popular back over 85 years ago and existed in several other cartoons too.
Unfortunately, this film here is an example of style over substance.
Story is basically non-existent and follows in the path of the animation and the little tricks the makers used here.
As a consequence, it is all about the wit and metaphors that were referenced in here, but it is not enough to make this video about Bosko and his girlfriend Honey a rewarding watch.
Also Mel Blanc is not on board yet, but then again voice-acting is almost non-existent in here and audibly it is all about the (failry forgettable) music.
Long way to go for Warner Bros.
till their peak.
Not recommended..
A great start!.
"Sinkin' in the Bathtub" is a very important landmark in the history of theatrical animated cartoons: it just happens to be the very first Looney Tune!
Starring Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid (created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising), this rather sprightly musical cartoon is full of cheer and optimism, and it was made during the Great Depression, when the United States most definitely needed a good cheering up.
In "Sinkin' in the Bathtub," which was animated by Friz Freleng (soon to become a director), Bosko joyously anticipates a road trip with his girlfriend, unaware that various perils await them!
My favorite scenes from this wonderful cartoon include the following (but don't read any further until after you have actually seen this film).
The opening scene has Bosko whistling "Singing in the Bathtub" and playing a few "instruments" while taking a bath; the bathtub itself becomes quite animated as it dances while we hear a brief snippet of Felix Mendelssohn's "Spring Song." Before Bosko drives to his girlfriend's house, he plays a short harmonica solo, which ends with "Shave and a Haircut." Bosko attempts to serenade his girl with a saxophone (made from parts of his vehicle), but she disapproves and dumps a tub of soapy water into the saxophone's bell; Bosko's tune changes to "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" as the girl wiggles her torso and hops onto each floating bubble.
Right after that, Bosko and his girl happily tap dance on a series of wooden xylophone bars that lead toward the girl's house.
And as Bosko struggles with all his might to control his vehicle as it rapidly charges down a steep hill, he gets smacked in the head (and groin) with rocks and trees.Bosko never did become a big star in the Warner Bros.
cartoons, and he may have secretly been jealous of all the recognition Mickey Mouse was receiving at the Walt Disney studio.
In fact, the Warner Bros.
cartoon studio had to wait several years before any star characters would emerge, but that didn't really matter.
"Sinkin' in the Bathtub" got the series off to a great start, eventually resulting in several decades worth of classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons!.
Sinkin' in the Bathtub is entertaining enough for first Looney Tune cartoon.
Sinkin' in the Bathtub is the first official Looney Tunes short independently produced by Leon Schlesinger in association with Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising for distribution by Warner Bros.
After Bosko has taken a bath while singing, the tub also does some dancing.
Bosko then gets his car who simply walks to him before they leave.
As he tries to serenade Honey in another apartment, the cow behind him eats his flowers making Bosko cry.
Honey tells Bosko she still loves him as she comes downstairs.
As they drive off, they encounter a horse who won't leave the road so they lower him below his legs and run over him!
They then come to a mountain road that goes around as Bosko falls off then splits into little versions of himself when he lands behind the car at the bottom.
Car then falls over a cliff where Bosko lands on a branch and Honey on a rowboat which takes Bosko as they play "Singing in the Bathtub" once again on some lily-pads with some frogs joining in.
After that ending we fade to the Harmon-Ising sign with Bosko in front of it saying for the first time, "That's All Folks!" with a dog licking him.
Since this is a pre-Code cartoon, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see some nudity of both Bosko and Honey (though no private parts were shown on their tops or bottoms).
Frank Marsales' music keeps things going and Friz Freling's animation runs smoothly.
A far cry from what we get on later Looney Tunes but as a start it's entertaining enough.
Worth seeing for animation buffs especially of all things Warner Bros. |
tt0051622 | The Fly | The 1958 version of The Fly, written by James Clavell, based on a short story by George Langelaan, opens with title and credits shown over a screen with a small hole. We zoom in progressively until the hole fills the screen and a fly crawls into frame.The opening scene is at night, outside the factory of Delambre Freres Electronics in Montreal. A cat, Satan, is picked up by the night watchman, Gaston (an uncredited Torben Meyer). He starts his rounds. He hears the sound of a hydraulic press starting. Gaston sees a smartly dressed woman, who he later recognizes as Helene Delambre (Patricia Owens), stare at him in surprise. She runs away. He approaches the press and notices, in horror, that it is covered in blood. A body lays crumpled on the floor next to the press. He recoils in horror and screams. A phone rings in the home office of Francois Delambre (Vincent Price). His sister-in-law, Helene, is calling. She calmly tells him, "Francois, I've killed Andre. I need your help." Francois thinks it is a cruel joke but changes his mind when Helene breaks down sobbing and implores him to, "Call the police and come quickly." Before he can leave his office, there is another call, this time from Gaston at the factory. Gaston reports a murder. Francois calls an acquaintance at the Anthenium Club, a fellow member, Inspector Charas (Herbert Marshall). He reports the crime, then waits for Charas to collect him at his home. As Charas and the police examine the crime scene, an ambulance team collects Andre's body. Francois raises the press so what is left of the body can be removed. It is noted that the press was set to zero and single strokes. Francois positively identifies his brother based on a scar on his left leg--war wound. Francois is baffled by the crime.Francois and Charas go to see Helene at home. Emma (Kathleen Freeman), the housekeeper, meets them at the door. Dr. Ejoute (an uncredited Eugene Borden), the family doctor, reports that she is calm and admitted to the crime. They enter the living room to confront Helene Delambre. She is very calm and volunteers, "I killed my husband, Andre Delambre, about half an hour ago in the hydraulic press shed." She admits to killing him, but when asked why she is adamant, "I cannot answer that question." She provides specific details of the crime, then offers Charas coffee. She is polite and answers all questions except one--WHY. She hears the buzz of a fly in the room. She gets up and searches for it. She registers relief when she finds it on a lampshade and it is only an ordinary fly. She returns to the couch and more questions from Charas. Charas makes arrangements with the doctor to provide a police nurse to attend to Helene. Before he leaves, Charas asks Francois to show him the lab. Francois discovers the lab a shambles. Charas tells Francois that he is baffled and, "There appears to be no motive, no reason except insanity." Charas suggests Francois take charge of his nephew for the time being.The police nurse, Andersone (Betty Lou Gerson) brings Helene her lunch, then takes her pulse. She sits and occupies her time with her reports and needlepoint. Helene makes a point to mention her son, but pretends she does not know him. The nurse registers mild surprise, then makes a note on the chart. Helen starts eating, then stops when she hears a fly buzzing in the room. The nurse bats at it, much to Helene's shock and concern. The nurse rolls up a newspaper and chases it around the room. She becomes hysterical when the nurse swats it by the window. Helene collapses and is helped back to bed sobbing. The nurse collects the dead insect and gives it to Charas. Charas asks Francois, "Mr. Delambre, do you think shes mad?" "It's obvious, isn't it?" is the reply, but Charas surprises Francois with his conclusion. "In spite of what the doctors think. I believe Mrs. Delambre's mind is quite clear. Even when catching flies." Charas intends to charge Helene with murder, the warrant will be issued the next day.Francois is having dinner with his nephew, Philippe (Charles Herbert). When asked about the life expectancy of flies, Francois responds that he doesn't know. Philippe volunteers that he found the special fly his mother was looking for--one with a white head and leg. The discussion intrigues Francois, especially the mention of it being in his study. He calls Charas, but decides not to talk to him. He goes to his brother's house, and lies to the nurse to secure a visit with Helene. He convinces Helene he has the special fly and wants the whole story. He finally convinces her to come clean, but before she recounts the tale she insists Charas be present. She demands Francois promise to kill the fly he claims he has. Charas arrives and she tells her story.It started a few months earlier. She and her son are playing in the living room when her husband, Andre (David Hedison as Al Hedison) appears. While Philippe plays with the family cat, Dandelo, Andre and Helene go to the basement lab. Andre proudly shows her all the new equipment. He demands secrecy, then shows her his new line of research. He places an ugly green plate, a wedding present, in a glass and metal container. He fires up the machine. The room goes dark, and the container glows a bright blue, then a flash of light and the equipment powers down. Helene is surprised by an empty container. They walk to another room and the plate is now in an identical container. Andre explains the concept to his disbelieving wife. She chuckles, noticing that the matter transference device has one little flaw. Helene points out the "Made in Japan" stamp on the bottom of the plate is mirror-imaged. Andre returns to his desk and begins a review of his work. He recalculates, rechecks and retests. This time with a newspaper, the transfer is successful. Andre decides to run a test with the family cat, Dandelo. The saucer of milk transfers fine, but to his horror the cat fails to appear. He hears only the plaintive echo of the cat's cries in the room.Helene is preparing to go out for the evening. Andre appears. He has been busy in the lab for weeks and insists they go out to celebrate. They return to the lab very late and Andre shows his wife the improvements he has made to the equipment by transferring a bottle of champagne. The label is perfect and the wine is still cold. He then transfers a guinea pig, against his wife's objections. The animal appears fine after re-integration. Andre confesses that his first live animal experiment, Dandelo, was not successful. Helene expresses her concern about the technology, "It's frightening. It's like playing God."It has been a month and the guinea pig is fine. Andre is relaxing out in the garden. Helene joins him. She tells Andre that Francois is coming to lunch. Andre is excited and tells his wife, "Bring him down to the lab. We'll show him now." Francois and Helene go down stairs to the lab, but encounter a note on the locked door instead of a welcome inside. It says, "I am working. Do not Disturb." Francois comments about the bad penmanship. Philippe enters the house. He excitedly tells his mom, "I caught such a funny-looking fly. You want to see it? It has a funny white head and sort of white leg." His mother tells him to let it go at once.A report from Emma about Andre not touching his dinner does not alarm Helene. She walks down to the lab to check on her husband. She picks up a note that was slowly pushed under the locked door. She reads it aloud, "Helene, I've had some trouble. I've had a serious accident. But I'm not in danger at the moment, although it's a matter of life or death. It's no good calling to me or saying anything. I can't answer. I can't speak." He asks for a bowl of milk laced with rum. She prepares the concoction and returns to the lab, knocking three times to gain entry. Andre lets her in. A note explains that he needs her to find a fly with a white head. She remembers Philippe's find from earlier that day. Andre has a black cloth covering his head and keeps his left arm hidden in his lab coat pocket. He slurps up his milk while Helene searches for a fly she knows is not there. She recounts the story her son told her. Andre gets up and his fly arm is revealed. Helene screams. Andre motions her out of the lab, then locks her out. He types the next set of instructions for his wife.The next morning Helene wakes. She thinks the whole episode was just a nightmare, but her morning meeting and typed note confirms the nightmare is real. Andre explains that his experiment by transmitting himself the first time was successful. A second try was not so. The note explains, "But in the second experiment, a fly which I did not notice was in the disintegrator with me. When we integrated again, our atoms were mixed. Now my only hope is to find the fly. I've got to go through the machine once more and pray our atoms untangle. If you can't find it, I'll have to destroy myself." Helene asks to see her husband's face, but he refuses. Helene tells Emma that they must find a fly. She presses her son into service to find the special fly. Helene screeches at Emma, who misunderstood the request and killed a fly with a swatter, "I said catch them! Dont kill them!" After Philippe returns with no luck, he and his mother spot the fly on a lamp shade. The head and one leg are indeed white. They carefully approach it, but it flies over to the window. Helene puts out some sugar to attract their prey. Philippe catches it, but it escapes the net. It escapes outside through a broken section of the glass. It is now outside and Helene and Philippe search for it. Helene is exhausted and exasperated. She returns to the lab and tells her husband of their bad luck. While he attempts to eat, she reads his next note, "If you had caught the fly, you would not be reading this. I know you will never catch it now. It's hopeless. There are things man should never experiment with. Now I must destroy everything, all evidence, even myself. No one must ever know what I discovered. It's too dangerous. I've thought of a way. It's not easy, but I need your help." She pleads with her husband not to destroy himself. She convinces him to transmit himself one more time, even without the fly. Transmission is successful, but without the fly, he is the same. She pulls the black cloth away, then shrieks with horror at the visage. Andre has the head of a fly. We see Helene as Andre now sees her through compound eyes. She backs away from Andre and faints. He picks her up and places her on the couch in the lab. He comforts her with his good arm and hand, but can't control his fly arm that means to harm his wife. He goes on a rampage and destroys the delicate electronic equipment. He burns all his notes. Helene wakes and approaches her husband. She recoils from Andre as he approaches her. He retrieves the black cloth and puts it back over his head. He erases the blackboard, then scribbles another note to Helene, "No use now--help me--but don't come near me. Kill fly, please. Love you." She follows him to the factory next door. He starts the press and points to the red button. He places his head and arm under the press then motions for her to start the press. The press crushes Andres fly head, but his arm is still untouched. She resets the press, places his fly arm on the bed, then directs the press down a second time. The story is finished, and we are back in the present.Charas is told Andre destroyed his notes, but she erased his note on the blackboard. Charas thanks her for telling the story. Francois and Charas prepare to leave the house. Charas promises, "I'll be back at 10:00 with a warrant for her arrest on the charge of murder. Nurse Andersone is under strict instructions not to leave her for any reason. I'm satisfied now. She's quite insane. She won't hang." Charas provides a glimmer of hope to Francois, "Show me the fly."The next day Francois returns to the house and asks Emma about the fly. She tells Francois it was just a fly. Francois sits on a bench in the garden, oblivious to the fly caught in a spider's web. It cries out for help, but Francois cannot hear it. It is now 10:00 a.m. and Charas has returned, as promised, with his warrant and an ambulance to transport Helene. When told of her arrest, Helene reacts by asking Francois to show the inspector the fly. Francois admits he never had the fly. Francois takes Philippe outside so he can't witness his mother's arrest. He mentions he saw the fly again, "It's in a web. A spiders going to get it. By the bench in the garden." Francois retrieves Charas. They walk out into the garden. Charas and Francois see the tiny arm and head on a fly's body and the spider ready to pounce. The tiny thing screams, "Help Me!" As the spider covers its tiny victim, Charas picks up a rock and crushes both. Francois accuses Charas that if Helene killed a man with a fly's head, then he is as guilty for killing a fly with a man's head. They collectively concoct and agree to a scenario for suicide.Sometime later, Philippe and Helene are playing croquet in the yard. Francois arrives to take his nephew to the zoo. In reply to his nephew's query about his father's death, Francois tells Philippe, "He was searching for the truth. But for one instant, he was careless. The search for the truth is the most important work in the whole world and the most dangerous." We close with Helene escorting her son and Francois out of the yard. | tragedy, murder, flashback | train | imdb | is there another sound experience that reverberates through a movie like that?Sure, surround sound, THX, all that tech stuff, but the sound as the manifestation of the crime that encircles this story, the horror as the mind tries to put together the images that (finally) is seen in a flashback as this scene bookends the start and "finish" of the plot.The inner struggle of the scientist as he fights with his human hand to control the spasms of his "fly" arm is both horrible and heart-wrenching.The shock as the cloth is torn away from the scientist's head...
Honestly, the remake is more realistic on what would happen if this really did occur, but don't overlook the original, as cheesy as a fly in a giant trench coat can be, it's all good and this story is tons of fun and really scary.A woman named Helene Delembre phones her brother-in-law, Francois Delambre to tell him that she has just murdered her husband.
I love these old movies for a specific reason, this was the time when film meant something to the cast and crew making it and The Fly was made to give people the chills.
The performances are more than great by the likes of Al Edison, Patricia Owens, and Herbert Marshall and even though Vincent Price had a supporting role, you'll be in awe of his effortlessly suave performance.An excellent classic of its field that's more concern about telling a moving and fascinating story than just giving us pointless action and cheap thrills to spice up proceedings.
First, the bad quality of its two sequels turned the horror of the first into campy silliness; and second and more important, the fact that David Cronenberg's 1986 remake is a perfect film in every sense sent the movie to oblivion almost instantly.
A shame indeed, as "The Fly" is more than a simple creature feature, it is a powerful mix of Gothic horror and science-fiction with something very important that distinguish it from the rest of the movies of its era: a good dose of class.On a dark night, François Delambre (Vincent Price), receives the most tragic news he could had received, his dear brother Andre (David Hedison) has been murdered and the killer is no one else than Andre's beloved wife, Helene (Patricia Owens).
Charas (Herbert Marshall), discover a grotesque tale of science gone wrong, very wrong.Kurt Neumann, a veteran director who spent the 40s making the famous Tarzan series of movies with Johnny Weissmuller, brought the class of the old style of the 30s film-making to George Langelaan's tale of love and horror.
The suspense is superbly handled and while the slow pacing of the film may turn off modern viewers, it is vital for the shock and power of the two crucial final scenes.Like Cronenberg's remake, the movie's main theme is love, but unlike the modern version, here the focus is on Andre's wife Helene, who must face her fears in order to save her husband of the cruel fate his accident unleashed.
True, the star of "The Fly" was David Hedison (Also known as Al Hedison) who plays the ambitious scientist Andre Delambre, out to invent the world's first Transporter machine, but due to his being seen briefly and only in retrospect, Price as François Delambre takes all the bows.
The film starts off as a murder mystery, and slowly evolves into a mix of sci fi and horror as we see the transformed Andre Delambre's mind slowly seep away while being replaced with the fly's.
The make-up is really good for a 1950's movie, and it's almost believable that the scientist's head was replaced with a giant fly head.The characters in the film are all portrayed by great actors of the time, such as David "Al" Hedison as Andre/The Fly and horror master Vincent Price as Andre's brother Francois.
James Clavell's adaptation of the George Langelaan story is very well conceived for the screen, the cast does a good job with the characters, and Kurt Neumann's direction makes fine use of the possibilities in the material.Although the story is a familiar one, one of the classics of its kind, if you happen never to have read it or seen any of the movie versions, it would probably be most enjoyable to go into it without knowing anything at all.
One of the things it does particularly well is that it patiently builds up the suspense, and it hints at various possibilities just long enough so that the key developments will have the maximum effect.Herbert Marshall and Vincent Price work well as the pair who is trying to figure out a very mysterious state of affairs, and Patricia Owens gives her character the right blend of charm and extreme anxiety.
The problems started for him when he tried to teleport himself, and a fly got into the chamber with him...This film was one that helped to establish the great Vincent Price as one of the masters of the horror genre.
But the horror is there, and it is chilling from the moment Elaine reads the first note from her husband, to the ending, which is one of the most unforgettable in movie history.The silence of the fly/man as he communicates with his wife, and the way he eats and drinks, are just a couple of factors that make this so genuinely scary, and Elaine is a truly heartbreaking innocent in the whole situation.Frightening and gripping, this is an outstanding film..
George Langelaan is an absolutely original writer,whose obsessions are time and death.Although English,he used to write in French , he's been living in France for a long time.Richard Matheson might be his American equivalent."The fly" is a "long" short story which Neumann and his scenarist James Clavell respected faithfully.Some might regret the sheet thrown on the hero's head once "it" happened.But by showing something too soon and too much,you end up destroying imagination,that's the main flaw of many a contemporary horror movie,brimming with make-up and special effects.
And James Clavell deserves congratulations for having avoided the de rigueur happy end -particularly when a family,complete with child,is involved- at the time .Nothing in the -good,however-remake can equal the fly with a human head caught up in the cobweb.This sequence will haunt you long after you have seen the movie..
Still a classic horror film after all these years, "The Fly" (1958) remains the definitive version of the motion picture, even if it is a bit weak in thrills compared to the remake with Jeff Golblum and Geena Davis, which I personally didn't really enjoy all that much.4.5/5 stars -John Ulmer.
I recently read a autobiography on the making of this timeless classic and of course I finally came to the chapter in the book where the entire filming of the spiderweb scene spoke of,actor David Hedison spent over a week filming this scene and he said that once the filming was complete and the shot was finally put together he was simply horrified at just how horrific the scene was,it wasn't until after the shooting of the picture was over that the sound engineers took Hedisons voice and made him sound as he did in those final moments,and its a final few moments that you never forget,OK so the puns and jokes aside that have come throughout the years this one scene still scares and makes people turn away over 50 years later,lets face it the entire feel of the movie is filmed in such a way that you are made to feel uneasy but when we finally get to see the tiny fly screaming "Help Me ..Leave Me Alone..Help Meeeeeee" maybe its not enough so as the spider finally chomps down on the helpless fly it gives that last and final blood gurgling scream..its just down right scary.
He should know better - things like this happen in the B movie universe.Slowly but surely, Andre loses the humanity he beautifully demonstrates in his love for all life and reverence for God. In exchange, he becomes all too much like the fly who was unfortunate enough to share a teleportation chamber with him.
His wife Helene, along with son Phillipe, try to help him, as does his brother Francois(played by Vincent Price) by locating the fly, which has flown away, in order to reverse the process, but it sadly doesn't work out...
Right from the start, the story of an experiment in teleportation gone horrifically wrong hooks you and pulls you in with a scene where our scientist has been squashed to less than a pulp by an industrial metal press, and it looks like his wife may be the killer.The beauty of this movie is that it starts out as one thing, a thriller, and transforms gracefully into another, science fiction.
This transformation in done beautifully thanks to a great writer, George Langelaan who wrote the story and James Clavell who scripted the screenplay; combined by great direction from Kurt Neumann and the excellent acting of Vincent Price, Patricia Owens, and Herbert Marshall.Patricia Owns as the wife of the scientist, Helene Delambre does a good portrayal of a woman on the verge of madness...
A scientist (David Hedison) has a horrific accident when he tries to use his newly invented teleportation device.The creators of this film made an interesting decision: casting Vincent Price in a supporting role rather than the lead.
Unlike some people I actually found the "help me help me" bit quite creepy, maybe predictable for those who have seen it umpteen times, but the image of a half-human/fly being trapped in a cobweb and screaming those words quite unsettled me, and after seeing the film it is that scene that I remember most.The production values are very good and look very nice still, and the music is suitably chilling.
David Hedison does a very good job as eccentric scientist Andre Delambre, and Vincent Price, one of the main reasons why I wanted to see this film as I am a big fan of his, is great as Francois, the brother who has histrionics about family curses.
All in all, it was a good movie, detailing the facts and emotions of those involved with utmost skill.The "horror" scenes aren't many, but they do have power: the revealing of the fly head and the wife seen by the multifaceted fly eyes screaming; the sad meow of the disintegrated cat; and of course, the "help me" scene at the end.One must see films like this in order to understand what was gained and, most of all, what was lost by the modern cinematography.
The central motive of the "Fly"-movies whose original version is the present film (1958) with Vincent Price in the main role and directed by German film director Kurt Neumann, is the "tele-transportation" of objects as well as organisms.
THE FLY (1958) *** One of the all time classic horror/sci-fi films and easily one of the best of the 1950s monster movies: scientist Al (David) Hedison's experimentation with a teleporter/molecular scrambler goes horribly awry when he and a housefly are combined and hideously transforms him into a grotesque fly/man.
Accused of murder, a woman recounts how her husband's experiments with teleportation accidentally mutated him into a monstrous fly and forced her to put him down to safely end his experiments once and for all.This one never really seems to fit well into the horror genre and feels more like a Sci-Fi effort that manages to turn into a horror film in the last act since the opening has the murder already occur off-camera, the ensuing investigation take forever for her to unload the real story with the constant back-and-forth of her being insane or not and then the movie proper tend to focus on the scientific investigation of the machine and the strain on their relationship as it gradually goes about telling the story.
At the end, we hear a faint voice coming from a spider's web shouting "help me, help me" and it is the fly with the human head and is then killed by a copper.That end piece in The Fly must be one of the most memorable sequences in the history of science fiction movies.The cast includes David Hedison (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Lost World) as the scientist, horror veteran Vincent Price (The Tingler, House of Wax) as his brother, Patricia Owens as his wife and Charles Herbert (The Colossus of New York, 13 Ghosts) as his son.
Starring David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Herbert Marshall and Vincent Price, this is the tale of science going wrong when pushed too far, too quickly, and the horrors that can come as a result.
You may be familiar with the story; scientist makes teleportation pod, scientist successfully tests teleportation pod on non-organic items, scientists decides to test teleportation pod on himself, fly gets into teleportation pod with scientist, scientist and fly merge into horrendous creature, scientist tries to undo the man-fly merger.The film starts with a scene showing Helene Delambre (Owens) running away from the murdered body of Andre Delambre (Hedison).
As often happens with scientists of the mad variety, an experiment goes horribly wrong, resulting in the hideous splicing of atoms between the scientist and a fly.The ambassador of horror himself, Vincent Price, plays the brother of the scientist, but is essentially the embodiment of the audience, expressing our groans and shock.On the surface, this sounds like any other B-monster movie from the '50s, meant to horrify dimwitted teenagers with hollow thrills and grotesque imagery--we've come so far.
Neumann's "The Fly" is a dated venture--the type of film where the scientist and his lover make endless allusions to science and God--which takes good production values (evidenced in the Hammer-esquire sets, costumes, and cinematography), a fun performance by Vincent Price (who isn't on-screen enough), and a relatively impressive transformation (though it is deliberately padded out to a big 'reveal' moment).
I had watched this as a kid during an all-night horror marathon on Italian TV though I missed out on the sequel, RETURN OF THE FLY (1959), which was part of the same program (and will only now catch up with it all these many years later!).The original may deserve its status as a sci-fi/horror classic but David Cronenberg's ultra-visceral 1986 remake makes it look quaint nowadays and, even at the time, it must have seemed one of the genre's sillier examples; in fact, one would be hard-pressed to keep a straight face throughout (particularly during the family's extended search for the 'white-headed' fly).
However, the make-up (of both 'species' of human fly) is admirably grotesque and its "look" is withheld from the audience long enough for major effect while the plot's latter stages (detailing the agonized yet completely rational interaction between David Hedison's mutated scientist and devoted wife Patricia Owens) is genuinely affecting and, really, is what gives the film its raison d'etre; even so, Hedison gives up rather too easily on finding a cure and his transporting himself fully clothed seems risible today
this is in direct opposition to the admittedly absorbing but incredibly disgusting 'body horror' experience of Cronenberg's remake (though still the superior version of the two all things considered).Vincent Price and Herbert Marshall lend distinguished support the former as Hedison's brother who's secretly in love with his wife (a role the horror icon would reprise in the next installment of "The Fly Trilogy"), the latter as the elderly and reasonably sympathetic Police Inspector on the case (Hedison and Owens had together engineered the former's 'release' from his precarious physical and mental condition, for which she has been charged with murder).
And the conclusion is that it worked perfectly as the horror film it was supposed to be.I was also surprised that the great Vincent Price played a sympathetic role in a movie of this genre; but he adds quality to the product.A little classic in the genre.
It takes a while for the story that Helene tells about her husbands demise, since it's so unbelievable, that we have to sit through a long flash-back that takes up almost half of the movie "The Fly" to find out what lead to Andre's tragic death and it's a real whopper.Andre having invented his transportation device got so carried away with it that, like a little boy with a new toy to play with, he started transporting everything in sight.
But the Real Star of the Movie is an Insect or to be More Accurate the Two Cross-Gens, The Fly (two legged) and The Fly (six legged).It is a Great Looking Movie with a Good Mad-Lab and the Makeup for Both Flys is so Horrifying (for the time) that the Film Remained in the Consciousness of Baby Boomers who saw it at the Theatre or Drive-In, for Years and it is One of those that, as Adults, is Touted as "Scared me to death.", "Had nightmares for years.", and Other such Hyperbole.Viewed Today it is So Familiar and has been such an Icon of the Cinema Fantastique, that Most Modern Fans have Seen it or have Seen Parts of it, or have been Aware of the Shock Ending and Often Referenced Final Scenes that it is Probably Not going to have the Impact that it Obviously had in 1958.Overall, a Must See for Fans of Sci-Fi and Horror, Classic Cinema, the 1950's, Cult Movies, Bug Movies, Vincent Price, and Anyone who Loves the Joy of Fantastic Cinema.Note...David Cronenberg remade this in 1986 and is a modern wonder in its own right and is one of the Director's best, and best known Movies..
Fly, The (1958)*** (out of 4) Still effective sci-fi from Fox has a wife (Patricia Owens) calling her brother-in-law (Vincent Price) and confessing to killing her scientist husband (Al Hedison).
The story is great, blending romance, sci-fi and horror, and the narrative, through flashback, keeps the mystery alive until the last scene, when the fly with white head is finally found in a spider web screaming for help. |
tt0085255 | Blue Thunder | In the Metropolitan Police Astro Division of Los Angeles, which controls all police helicopters, the night shift is about to begin. After checking off the list, Captain Braddock (Warren Oates) is looking for the senior pilot Frank Murphy (Roy Schneider). He orders the rookie observer Lymangood (Daniel Stern) to find Murphy. Lymangood finds Murphy in the ready room, playing with his digital wristwatch. In a few seconds, Murphy goes to talk to Braddock, only to find that his regular observer, Montoya, has been transferred to day shift. Instead, he gets the rookie Lymangood.The pair takes off in one of the helicopters, and Murphy is able to spot things on the ground, pointing out things even before the rookie can even get his binoculars on it. They respond to a store robbery call, shine the "midnight sun" searchlight onto one of the perps, and get shot at for their effort. However, a squad car arrives and officers quickly bring the suspect down. As the helicopter circles overhead, Murphy and Lymangood spot someone creeping up on the officers. They try to give directions, but it's too dark, and Murphy takes the helicopter down, only 10 feet off the ground, and "dust" the suspect, drowning him in dust, which gives the officers enough time to subdue the other suspect.Later that night, they spot an apparently abandoned vehicle, no plates, in the Brentwood neighborhood, pretty upscale. They call it in, and Murphy decides to show Lymangood something interesting. They fly over to nearby Encino, which is outside their patrol area. At 9:30PM, Lymangood is able to observe a very flexible young woman doing some amazing yoga moves in the nude. Unfortunately, they are interrupted. That "abandoned car" they spotted earlier was not abandoned. The character inside watches as a black woman drives her Lincoln by, opens her gate, and enters. He quickly follows and places a brick to block the gate so it can't close, and another car roars into the courtyard, smashing into the back of the black woman's car. Then two men emerge from the car and rush forward, one yelling "get the briefcase!" as the other tries to subdue the black woman.The patrol cars arrive on the scene just as the suspects try to escape, and run back into the yard, and Murphy's air unit arrives overhead, as they observe the ensuing gun battle. The two suspects only have light revolvers, while police are armed with revolvers and shotguns. One suspect is hit and falls face down into the swimming pool. The other tries to climb the fence with the briefcase, but he is spotlighted by the helicopter and police hit him twice. The briefcase falls and splits open, papers fly everywhere in the helicopter's downwash. The black woman is pleading, "Just let them go! Please!" as she staggers toward the gunfight. The suspect on the fence returns fire at the police, hitting the black woman instead in the neck. Then three policemen fire, hitting the suspect multiple times, who falls from the fence.Murphy, watching from above, suddenly has a Vietnam flashback, about being a pilot in a U.S. Army helicopter and about a man in North Vietnamese Army uniform falling after being pushed out of the helicopter by an unseen U.S. serviceman... and the helicopter loses several hundred feet in altitude before he regains control.A little later, Murphy's unit lands back at the base, and is summoned for a session with an angry Captain Braddock, who grounds both Murphy and Lymangood for that "stunt" over Encino, practically hovering right off someone's balcony, instead of patrolling over their assigned area, and may have prevented the assault on City Councilwoman McNealy (the black woman previously shot). McNealy is now in critical condition in hospital. McNealy had always criticized police tactics and this does not make the police look good.Murphy goes home, checks his phone messages on his anwsering machine, and is about to relax when he hears someone at the door fumbling with the lock. He pulls out his .38 pistol, only to find his girlfriend Kate (Candy Clark) and her son. They have a bit of discussion about their future, and she eventually leaves.The following evening, Murphy decides to check out Councilwoman McNealy's residence, now a crime scene, having heard that McNealy has died in the hospital, and the Watts district is in an uproar as racial tentions are starting to escalate. Detectives have already gone through it, retrieving most evidence they can find. However, Murphy is able to find a piece of paper lodged in a tree. Just when he gets back to his car, his pager goes off. He finds a public phone and call back to base... Captain Braddock wants him back at the base ASAP.Murphy returns to base, only to find Captain Braddock with two strangers dressed in black business suits, who introduce themselves as Mr. Fletcher (David Sheiner) and Mr. Icelan (Paul Roebling). The two 'men in black' announce that Metro is going be the testing ground for a new $5 million goverment built helicopter, and Murphy has been selected as the senior test pilot, and will be observing the demonstration. They get into a van and drive off outside the city. Murphy asks what is this about, Icelan replies that soon, it'll be 1984 Summer Olympics, which will attract all sorts of rabblerousers... terrorists, and what-not. Thus, some contingencies must be planned, such as this thing they're about to see.The van drives out into the desert, and approximately at sunrise, they arrive at the test range, along with various other observers: officers from various other law enforcement and military agencies, and many civilian contractors. The demonstration is for this new helicopter nicknamed "Blue Thunder", fully armored, and has a chain-gun in the nose capable to dealing out precise firepower. The chopper is also a full surveillance platform, with video, infra-red, and audio capabilities, as well as a "whisper mode" which cancels a lot of the noise from the rotor blades, and turbine boost for the two turbines for extra amount of power. It also has access to almost any computer database in the world.The chopper makes a impressive demonstration, eradicating red targets (for terrorists) quickly and efficiently, but it does take out a few white targets (civilians) as well. Murphy remarks to Braddock, who replies that one civilian dead for every 10 terrorists is an acceptable ration. Murphy replies sarcastically. When "Blue Thunder" lands, Murphy is surprised to recongize the pilot whom is old nemesis: Colonel Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell), the commander of his unit in Vietnam. Cochrane is surprised as well to run into Murphy. It is clear that both men do not like each other very much as Cochrane makes some sarcastic quirks to Murphy who quietly bushes it off. In private, Fletcher and Icelan talk with Cochrane about that they didn't know that he knew Murphy. Cochrane quickly dismisses Murphy as "no threat" to the program to Fletcher and Icelan. To make sure of this, Cochrane orders Fletcher and Icelan to have Murphy on a "check flight" the next day.Back at Metro Headquarters, Murphy finds Montoya (Joe Santos) and asks him about that "note" he found in McNealy's place which is in Spanish and to translate it for him.Next day, Cochrane is out first... and sabotages Murphy's helicopter for some reason by tampering with a wire in the engine. During the day, Cochrane pilots Blue Thunder, with Murphy and Lymangood piloting the faulty chopper. Before the flight, Lymangood tells Murphy that he heard that Murphy had actually did a 360 vertical loop in a helicopter. Cochrane walks by and remarks that the move is physically impossible.After a series of maneuvers, Murphy's chopper loses control of the engine and has to auto-rotate to a landing. After failing to land on top of a passing yellow school bus, Murphy crash lands his helicopter on a construction shack instead in the Watts neighhood. The construction workers help Murphy and Lymangood out while keeping a crowd of angry and racist black and Latino citizens at bay.Later that day, Montoya meets with Murphy for he has translateted the note which tells something about some weird people in the barrio making trouble, and something about "THOR". Both Murphy and Montoya have no idea what it stands for.The next morning, Murphy confronts Cochrane in a parking garage about his suspicions that he may have sabatoged his helicopter in trying to kill him for some irrational grudge against him steming from their service in Vietnam. Cochrane (clearly revealed as a charming sociopath at this point to the viewers) calmly denies any wrongdoing and tells Murphy that HE is the one who has a problem with him over being too soft-hearted.A little later, Braddock approaches Murphy claiming that Cochrane had just told him that Murphy threatened him with physical harm in the parking garage (with Cochrane naturally playing-acting as the "poor, innocent victim"). Murphy tells Braddock that Cochrane is lying and he has an agenda. Braddock wants to belive Murphy, but tells him to stay away from Cochrane to avoid any further hassles.That evening, Cochrane's attempt to kill Murphy apparently didn't prevent both Murphy and Lymangood from flying the Blue Thunder for a test flight at night. Lymangood has previously learns that everything recorded onboard the Blue Thunder goes into a special tape deck below. Murphy and Lymangood take off to test the Blue Thunder.The first thing Murphy and Lymangood do is take out the fuse for the cockpit voice recorder, so they can have a private conversation. They agree on where to stash the fuse for later use.They find plenty of harmless targets to test the various capabilities. Just as they are returning, they spot Cochrane and Fletcher leaving the Metro building. Instead of returning to base and landing, they decide to follow Cochrane to see what he is up to, and they end up in the Federal Building downtown. Lymangood starts playing with the computer, looking up his own information, and it's amazingly complete. Murphy tries to look up his own info, but gets: "FILE UNDER REPAIR". He tries to search Cochrane, and gets a long military service history, as well as "currently assigned to Project THOR". An inquiry about Project THOR shows that T.H.O.R. stands for Tactical Helicopter Offensive Response. Murphy orders the whisper mode activated, thermal vision activated, and audio surveillance activated, as they search the Federal Building for Cochrane, and they find him, along with other people in the project, discussing the killing of McNealy, about how McNealy realized that they're stirring up trouble so she HAD to go, and how Murphy is becoming a problem and will be taken care of soon. Cochrane eagerly offers to kill Murphy himself and claims that he wished he had done it in Vietnam. The group agrees and permits Cochrane to kill Murphy whenever he feels the time will be right. It is right then when Cochrane looks out the window... only to see Blue Thunder looking back at him! Blue Thunder quickly returns to base.At the base, Lymangood quickly "borrows" the code cards to remove the videotape, before any one else can get to it, while Murphy goes to find Braddock to tell him what he heard, only to find Icelan standing beside Braddock in Braddock's office, thus leaving Murphy with no choice but to keep silent. Murphy sees Lymangood removing the videotape from the helicopter, but plenty of people also see him do it.Later that night, Lymangood returns home, only to find his place burglarized, and a stranger sitting in his chair. Before he can utter a sound, he gets hit from behind and tied up, and his mouth taped up. The same perp who was at the NcNealy attack and a part of the Cochrane conspiracy meeting at the Federal building is outside in his car waiting for them. The two thugs tell Lymangood that they want the videotape, and they are willing to torture Lymangood to get it. They start by breaking one of Lymangood's fingers. Lymangood fakes compliance, and is able to disable the two attackers in his house. After subduing both of them, he runs outside, and the third perp chases him in the car. Lymangood almost gets away except when he runs into a bicyclist and falls, and gets run over by the perp and dies at the scene.Murphy, who was on the way to Lymangood's house, happens upon the scene as a paramedic team is putting Lymangood into a body bag. Murphy angrily curses at himself, but he knows that he has to get away, for whoever killed Lymangood will pin the killing on him. Murphy gets away before a squad car arrives on the scene.The next morning at Astro Division HQ., Murphy sneaks into the main hangar and into Blue Thunder. He reinserts the fuse into the cockpit voice recorder and finds Lymangood's last audio message: he hid the videotape in a dumpster out by a drive-in theater's projection shack. Murphy is deciding what to do when a mechanic knocks on the window and shouts: "Hey! You're not supposed to be in there!" Murphy thinks for a second, then pulls his pistol and points it at the mechanic, who quickly flees. Murphy quickly dons the helmet and starts the engines, and takes off. While Cochrane and others are deciding what to do next, they see Murphy take off in Blue Thunder.Murphy quickly uses the mobile operator on board the helicopter to place two phone calls, one to Alf Hewitt (James Murtaugh), a Channel 8 investigative reporter, and one to Kate asking her to go find the tape at the dumpster and deliver it to the Channel 8 studio. Cochrane and the members of the conspracy overhear Murphy's two phone calls and decide to kill him before he goes public with what he knows.Kate arrives at the drive-in theater. Seeing no one, she crashes through the front gate. The cleaner sees this and quickly calls the police. After some frantic searching, Kate finds the videotape, but only by jumping into the dumpster herself. She pulls it out just as a police car arrives. Murphy returns to escort Kate to the Channel 8 news building. Kate, being a pretty crazy driver, is able to evade pursuit by several police cars.Meanwhile, a SWAT team armed with heavy machine guns have boarded two helicopters, and have appeared on either side of Murphy. However, Murphy does not react at first. When one helicopter opens fire, Murphy responds by knocking the front searchlight off the shooter, then puts just a few bullets into the engine to force the helicopter down. The other chopper opens fire, but with little effect since most of the bullets bounce off harmlessly at Blue Thunder's thick armor. Murphy flies down into the L.A. reservoir channels, and in a series of tight turns, the police chopper, heavily laden, is unable to make a turn and crashes into a pillar, fortunately suffering no casualties.Back on the ground at police headquarters, Cochrane and his team are portraying Murphy to reporters and everyone else as a madman who killed his partner and is now in the sky doing terrorist acts (having fabricated Murphy's personnel file to include a vast list of false crimes). They convince Braddock and the local mayor (Jason Bernard) to ask the Air Force for help. Two F-16 fighter jets are scrambled.Elsewhere, Kate is driving calmly when another police car recognizes her after being contacted by Cochrane to detain her. She tries to evade, but her small car cannot outrun a police car. She is stopped on a bridge when cornered by two police cars. The officers, with pistols drawn, order her out of her car when Murphy shows up in Blue Thunder. When the officers are distracted, she drives away. Murphy activates the cannon and fires a quick burst, cutting a police car in half and forcing the rest of the police cars to flee, but again causing no police casualties.Kate makes it to Channel 8 news station. She has the tape still in the "eraser" container, which can be remotely activated to erase the contents of the tape. She enters and finds the lobby in chaos from the people asking about what is going on. She looks for Alf Hewitt, but she is told by the lobby receptionist that he's busy on a story. Just then, Fletcher arrives and pretends to be Hewitt's producer, and tries to charm the supicious Kate to give him the tape. Hewitt appears and is ready to take Kate away, and claims that has never saw Fletcher in his life. Fletcher tries to fight them for the tape, and pulls out a gun. The lobby security guard strikes Fletcher behind the ear with his gun knocking him out. Fletcher still has the grip on the cover, and as he falls, he pulls the cover off the tape. Just then, Cochrane and his boss (unable to find the code to the video cover to erase the tape) orders the "eraser" activated for all the videotapes, but it's too late for the tape is no longer in the cover.Meanwhile, the two Air Force fighters are approaching downtown L.A. Murphy sees them, then slows to a hover... right above the smokestack of a barbeque shack in nearby Chinatown. When one of the F-16 fighters opens fire with a Sidewinder missile, it goes astray and blows up the BBQ restaurant to bits, raining chicken all over the area. The two jet fighters fly off to regroup. The other fighter decides to take a shot. This time, Murphy hovers between the Arco towers over downtown, just as a SWAT team arrives to order everyone out of the area. The Sidewinder missile, delfected by the reflection of the sun onto the building, hits the Arco Tower instead, raining debris down below.The two fighters circle, but Murphy's not done. He activates the cannon, and with a long-range burst, catches one of the F-16's in the wing. The pilot ejects while the second F-16 retreats.At Astro Division HQ, a Hughes MD5 Defender chopper has arrived, armed with two powerful 20mm guns with armor-piercing bullets. Cochrane suddenly orders the existing pilot out as he'll fly the thing... wanting to kill Murphy himself. Cochrane requests permission to take off. The mayor, having lost two police helicopters, a BBQ shack, one F-16, AND a part of a skyscraper, has had enough, and denies permission to take off. Cochrane takes off anyway, with steel-like determination to kill Murphy.Meanwhile, Alf Hewitt and Kate are watching the tape in his office, and Hewitt was amazed at the content: it's a Federal government conspiracy to stir up trouble in the barrio, so that they can get funding for this armed helicopter program! Thus, Murphy is not only NOT insane, he could be "the hottest thing since Horatius at the bridge", according to Hewitt. He makes a call to someone.Back up in the air, Murphy is watching the F-16 pilot drifting back down to earth under his parachute when the evil Cochrane attacks from his blind-side. The heavy cannons punch through the cockpit and wound Murphy, causing damage to the Blue Thunder chopper, as well as jam the nose turret into a "straight-ahead" position. Murphy quickly goes into evasive maneuvers, as the two adversaries dogfight among the skyscrapers and landmarks of the city in a climatic aerial battle. Murphy tries to set an ambush by turning around and hovering behind a building and opens fire, but Cochrane gets away, as his lighter armored chopper is faster and more maneuverable. And with a bit more maneuvering, he's right back behind Blue Thunder and Murphy, who's busy dodging bullets among abandoned factories.In another flashback to Vietnam, it is revealed that Cochrane was the soldier who pushed the North Vietnamese soldier out of the hovering helicopter that Murphy was flying, and thus tried to court-marial Murphy for insubordination to cover up the killing.Back in the present, with Blue Thunder now the hunted, a desperate Murphy decides on a gamble to end it all. He enables the helicopter's turbine boost on both engines, and goes for the 360 vertical loop. Cochrane tries to follow. The Blue Thunder completes the loop, and the cannon is heading up, as Cochrane's chopper is stuck in the sky, trying to loop but can't. Murphy opens fire with the cannon... and Cochrane's chopper explodes, killing the psychopath at last.As it begins to get dark, Murphy spots a freight train traveling at a moderate speed. He lands ahead of the train, and tries to get out before the train hits. The train, unable to stop in time, smashes the chopper into pieces in a final big explosion. The final shot shows an exhausted Murphy walking away from the remains of Blue Thunder.Freeze frame. In a final voiceover by Alf Hewitt, he reports that Murphy ran out of fuel and destroyed the prototype helicopter and he begins to talk more about a goverment conspiracy behind the construction of Blue Thunder. | cult, action, murder | train | imdb | His portrayal of Murphy with its wry humour & very human lapses shares more than a little with a certain Chief Brody, but the use of an aging rebel with little cause as the main character in a technological thriller is still refreshing now.Malcolm McDowell gives the sort of OTT villainous performance that only he can (why has no-one ever cast him as a Bond villain?) and special mention must go to Warren Oates as Scheider's long-suffering boss.The helicopter looks awesome with cool gadgets aplenty but it isn't the star here, Scheider is.
(The scene where we first see Blue Thunder with the sun rising behind it is sheer class.) I've got the DVD and always enjoy watching this film, I love Roy Scheider in most films he's in and he's excellent in this one.
The plot is quite thin and there are a couple of scenes that are a bit far fetched but if you're looking for a film with good helicopter chase sequences in it, they don't come much better than this.
Great action sequences and rather good photography during the climactic chase scene.I still have fond memories of this film which I saw in the drive in as a kid and I think it's what films of this genre should be...a couple of hours of wild fun!..."Follow My Leader".
'Roy Scheider' Plays Frank Murphy,A former Vietnam Veteran,who is a helicopter pilot,for the Los Angeles police department,who becomes handpicked to pilot the eponymous 'blue thunder' which is a state of the art chopper designed for supreme law enforcement, Unfortunately for Murphy the test pilot behind this superb flying machine is Malcolm Mc Dowell,who also was on duty in Nam with Scheider, and serves as the film's all too English baddie!
The morals of a `big brother' helicopter, able to pry everywhere isn't examined as well as could have been but it's still interesting.Scheider is always good to watch and does well, as do Warren Oates and a young Daniel Stern.
Tense and suspenseful aerial action film with an exciting final chase starred by superbly crafted high-tech helicopters and F16 on the L.A. skies among its big city skyscrapers .
Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider) is a Vietnam vet and police pilot who forms a helicopter surveillance team along with his younger partner (Daniel Stern) , when they spontaneously catch a secret conversation .
Then they take to the skies against a nasty army colonel (Malcolm McDowell) who will defend his accomplices at whatever cost.Gripping , original action movie that deal with Roy Scheider trying to find the means avoid a video disk to be taken by corrupt government agents .
Malcolm McDowell makes an excellent villain, though his "real" relationship with Scheider doesn't pay off).HOWEVER, when "Blue Thunder" works, it really rocks.
Badham's late 1990s Hitchcockian type thriller, Nick of Time(1996) used many of the same ideas on action and suspense as his earlier film, Blue Thunder(1983).
Ya gotta love Roy Scheider; he made a great leading man, and this is definitely one to look out for if you feel he didn't quite catch the wave he should've done, after "Jaws"...It's a little bottom-heavy, with most of the action being shoehorned into the last segment, but if you garnered some enjoyment from Badham's other crowd-pleasing fare of the decade like "War Games" and "Short Circuit", then you should also be able to derive some form of pleasure from this..
Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, the late Warren Oates, Daniel Stern, and Candy Clark give excellent performances in the characters they play, but the real star of the picture is the hi-tech attack helicopter itself, Blue Thunder.
Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, Daniel Stern, Warren Oates and the lovely Candy Clark all earn their pay cheques and John Badham is unfussy in his direction.
"Blue Thunder" is a 5 Million helicopter proto-type that is to be tested in Los Angeles by the L.A.P.D. Astro Division & Officer Frank Murphy & his observer Richard Lymengood are assigned to test fly it over L.A.
A few years before Top Gun set new standards for fighter plane action movies, John Badham directed Blue Thunder, an action movie about a combat helicopter of the same name.
Roy Scheider plays Frank Murphy, yet another cop, who is selected to pilot the revolutionary helicopter Blue Thunder.
Oates has little to do but does it well as Scheider's boss.The story, though, is a mishmash of techno-babble, intrigue, the latest surveillance techniques (of 1983), tough guy talk and the freedom of the press, with helicopter dogfights in downtown LA thrown in for good measure.All in all, "Blue Thunder" makes its point but fails to follow through, except maybe if you count the last scene.
Definitely throws out the possibility for a sequel, if you know what I mean.Six stars.TIDBIT - McDowell admitted during filming that he got very airsick and many shots had to be re-taken, since he was throwing up in just about every in-flight scene he was in.Now THERE'S a sequel - "Blue Thunder 2: The Dramamine Patrol"..
Also impressive is the use of actual helicopters flying amongst the buildings and over the aqueducts instead CGI f/x and such like.In this day and age of WACO Texas and Ruby Ridge it's interesting how some film critics dismissed the film's prospect of the Police Department using military hardware in civilian settings.On another note, it would've been interesting if the film makers decided to film the original storyline in which the Frank Murphy character was a paranoid schizophrenic who was to go on a murderous rampage over L.A. once in the cockpit of BT..
I was caught up in the whole thing; the car chases, the dofight through downtown L.A. It all works somehow, both as police procedural and conspiracy flick.Scheider lends a great presence to validate the whole thing, Malcolm McDowell is a real slime of the first order, but neither one of these guys has a thing on the real star of the movie: ol' Blue, herself.
This film will have you checking the sky to see if anything like Blue Thunder the helicopter is looking at you (and listening, too).Warren Oates provides almost comic relief as a boss who hears the immediate complaints and doesn't understand what Murphy is trying to tell him.
Soon Scheider discovers the super copter has a sinister purpose.Directed by John Badham with a script by Dan O'Bannon, Blue Thunder is a solid entertaining '80s action flick.
Thirty years later, the technology may need revisiting but the film still grabs you as a riveting thrill ride with a solid human-interest angle.Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider) is a seasoned helicopter pilot who patrols Los Angeles for the local police.
Whether he's breaking in a rookie partner played by Daniel Stern ("Stop calling me 'sir,' you sound like David Copperfield") or having a confrontation with his spiky but caring boss (Warren Oates, in his last film role), Scheider has a way of making you care about his character without getting in the way of the story.The story, like I said, has problems, but it's also quite exciting and full of impressive moments that stick.
Despite what some others (including Leonard Maltin) have said, McDowell plays his character not as openly menacing but more of a smoothie, which makes him a fascinating foil for the not-completely-collected Murphy.I want to second Woodyanders' observation in his August 2010 IMDb review, about "a totally preposterous, but witty and engrossing script by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jacoby." For all the rote car chase scenes, and buildings blowing up, I still find myself enjoying Murphy's wry exchanges with his long-suffering girlfriend (a winningly doughty Candy Clark), or the moment when she's confronted by a man who tells her: "The most dangerous thing in the world is a little man afraid for his job," which is a bit of irony if you like that kind of thing given who the speaker and what his situation is at that moment of the film.The film's serious but not mortal weakness is watching Murphy aid and abet a lot of mayhem that would carry a high death toll if it weren't an '80s popcorn picture that expected us to merely enjoy the pyrotechnics and not ask questions.
It was then I realized the TRUE premise of the film: what would you do if you were a teenager and could play with this helicopter?This leads to that and the evil military guy, inexplicably played by a British Malcolm McDowell, and with whom Scheider has some unresolved issues from Viet Nam, starts chasing our hero about the skies of LA.
Ultimately disappointing movie about airborne cops, and their new toy, Blue Thunder.Somewhat poorly made, although the helicopter was pretty cool.Roy Scheider seemed distracted, and his character was poorly developed.There were hints that he was a troubled cop, but you're never quite sure of the extent of it.
Admittedly, "Blue Thunder" (the series) wasn't as good as other contemporary action shows like "Airwolf" or "The A-Team", but I still liked it and the pilot film was even better.
Probably I didn't understand a lot about the content and politically themed story lines back then, but I mostly remember loving the extended images of a heavily armored helicopter circulating over the city and watching how Roy Scheider simply rocked as the ultra-cool pilot.
Roy Scheider is magnificent, as stated above, but he also receives excellent support from Warren Oates (in one of his last roles), Candy Clark, Daniel Stern and particularly Malcolm McDowell.
It's makers want to show what it will do, but have to train a Los Angeles Police pilot Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider), to fly and use it in order to allow it to operate in the city.
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I SAW A MOVIE IN DOLBY AND BLUE THUNDER WAS PERFECT GREAT SOUND TRACK COMBINED WITH CLASIC MUSIC AND I THINK THE BEST SCENE IS THE CHASE UNDER THE BRIDGE
I paid my belated and, unfortunately, measly tribute to Roy Scheider (a very fine and underrated actor who passed away recently) via this hi-tech actioner, which I recall catching on Italian TV back in the mid-80s in a weekly run of Hollywood blockbusters that included everything from STAR WARS (1977) to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) and STAYING ALIVE (1983); besides BLUE THUNDER, I was supposed to re-acquaint myself with 2010 (1984) as well, but couldn't quite fit it in my tight schedule!
Still, as often happens, Scheider is depicted as being troubled by conscience which has to do with his experiences in Vietnam; equally predictable is the fact that the irresponsible officer who was involved in that past incident (Malcolm McDowell) turns up again now actually, he's part of the conspiracy revolving around the chopper.Aiding Scheider is rookie sidekick Daniel Stern (who eventually pays with his life, naturally) and the protagonist's kooky girlfriend Candy Clark (who even gets in on the action via a car chase by police on the busy L.A. streets); Scheider's tough but world-weary, and outwardly compliant, superior is played by Warren Oates in his farewell performance (the film, in fact, is dedicated to him).
If you distrust you government today, you can always go back to the eighties and see that they have been doing this stuff for a long time.Roy Scheider (All That Jazz, The French Connection) is the perfect police helicopter pilot that is so suspicious that everything seems a conspiracy.
This time he is right.Malcolm McDowell (Time After Time, A Clockwork Orange) is just the bad guy you want to see getting it in the end - and you know he will.Super helicopter action, and a great supporting performance by Candy Clark (Zodiac, American Graffiti) in the Oscar-nominated action thriller..
BLUE THUNDER (1983) *** Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern, Warren Oates.
John Badham directed this helicopter adventure yarn that stars Roy Scheider as L.A. officer and police pilot Frank Murphy, who is assigned a new partner(played by Daniel Stern) and a new assignment: to test pilot a new stealth experimental helicopter to be used to combat civilian crime, but Frank becomes suspicious when the project manager turns out to be an old nemesis from his Vietnam war days, a Col. Cochrane(played by Malcolm McDowell) who does indeed have nefarious plans for the "Blue Thunder", and Murphy becomes determined to not only expose the program, but destroy it...
Roy Scheider and Malcolm McDowell are Good-Bad Guys and Their Characters are Just This Side of Stereotype.The Film Holds Up Pretty Well and is Worth a Watch for What it Does Best, and Despite its Reluctance to Go Deep in the Weeds of the Troubling Scenario, the Movie Manages to be Quite Unsettling, Albeit in its Near Subliminal Story of What Was to Come and It Did Come in a Multitude of Ways.
Officer Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider) is a helicopter pilot for the L.A.P.D. He is haunted by an incident during the Vietnam war.
Murphy is taken to a test of a new helicopter codename Blue Thunder flown by Col. Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell).
i remember watching this movie years ago and not being all that impressed,but this time i really liked it.it's basically about an experimental helicopter which a certain group of people have a nefarious purpose for.the test pilot founds out about this and decides to try and stop their plans for it.the movie is never boring.in fact it's quite exciting at times and fast paced.there's some intrigue thrown in for good measure,but mostly it about the action specifically aerial chase sequences,which are pretty well done.Roy Scheider plays the test pilot while Daniel Stern plays his co-pilot.for me,Blue Thunder is an 8/10.
LAPD helicopter pilot Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider), despite being a maverick, is selected to be a test pilot for the new helicopter prototype Blue Thunder.
Scrappy and traumatized, yet still sharp and capable Vietnam veteran and ace helicopter pilot Frank Murphy (an excellent performance by Roy Scheider) is assigned to try out a new hi-tech helicopter called Blue Thunder.
This film further benefits from sturdy acting from a bang-up cast: Scheider effortlessly carries the picture with his natural charisma and makes for a totally likable hero (this movie earns extra points for not depicting a 'Nam vet as one of your standard crazed bloodthirsty psychos), Daniel Stern provides funny and engaging comic relief as Murphy's goofball partner Richard Lymangood, Candy Clark contributes an appealing turn as Murphy's sweet girlfriend Kate, and the always fantastic Warren Oates almost steals the whole show in one of his very last roles as Murphy's crusty no-nonsense superior Captain Jack Braddock.
"Blue Thunder" is certainly my kind of movie as it achieves in casting actors I enjoy watching and has a military helicopter with state of the art weaponry and exceptional flying capability.
When you such names as Roy Scheider, Warren Oates(aka God), Daniel Stern, Candy Clark(who I have never liked more than in this movie), and Malcolm McDowell, I'd be hard pressed to imagine how it could go wrong.
How McDowell is involved and how Scheider is out to shake him(and those others who are participants in this covert incident)is the meat of the film's storyline which accompanies the helicopter action that is the bread and butter of "Blue Thunder".
25 years after the Columbia Pictures release, Blue Thunder still has a message to send out to its audience on the political and social levels.Not only is the commentary by director John Badham, editor Frank Morriss, and actor Roy Scheider really good, the various documentaries on the DVD are really excellent and informative.
Those behind the Blue Thunder are planning to suspend the US Constitution and Bill of Rights and create a police state and fascist dictatorship.Knowing that their marked men the two LAPD helicopter pilots tape a conversation of these secret government-types that includes Murphy's former partner and co-pilot in Vietnam Col. Cochrane, Malcolm McDowell.
P.S "Blue Thunder" was also 54 year old actor Warren Oates, who played Murphy and Lymangoods boss Capt.
Awesome Action/Thriller, with lots Of exciting Action, and an amazing performance from Roy Scheider!.The helicopter scenes are breathtaking, and it had, awesome characters, plus Malcolm McDowell is very menacing as the main villain.
BLUE THUNDER is an outstanding action thriller from the 80s that, on many different levels, holds up even better today.(spoiler warnings)The futuristic premise concerns the ominous prospect of the L.A. police experimenting with military hardware in anticipation of possible terrorism during the 84 olympics.The hero, played by veteran actor Roy Scheider of Jaws fame, is an L.A. police pilot disturbed by an apparent departmental cover-up over an incident involving an outspoken public figure.
Roy Scheider stars as Frank Murphy, a helicopter pilot with the Los Angeles Police Department.
One of the famous action director John Badham's lesser films, "Blue Thunder" is the story of a hi-tech helicopter and the dark conspiracy behind it.The real let down of this film is the plot, which is not only poorly developed but very vague.
Blue Thunder is set in Los Angeles where Officer Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider) works as a helicopter pilot, while out one night flying the police chopper he witnesses a shoot-out between some thugs & a politician named Diane McNeely (Robin Braxton) in which McNeely is shot & killed.
Apparently the first draft of the script was about a police helicopter pilot going mad & terrorising Los Angeles using his chopper, the studio men didn't like it though & made the main character a hero & Blue Thunder was born.This has good production values & is well made, the majority of the action scenes are real with a few model shots & a bit of rear projection & it still looks better than most modern CGI effect heavy films.
The acting is good from a decent cast, Roy Scheider never really made it big as a star but he's good here, Malcolm McDowell is wasted although Warren Oates in his last film is great as the bad tempered police Captain.Blue Thunder is a decent enough action thriller that doesn't quite deliver in either regard but it's alright for what it is, the action scenes are good & the helicopter looks cool so 80's action fans should like it. |
tt1010271 | The Poughkeepsie Tapes | When police raid a house in a city north of New York, they discover a profoundly disturbing record of one man's ugly crimes. Investigators find over 800 videotapes shot by the killer which present a visual record of his murders in all their horrifying details. Both state and federal law enforcement teams sift through the gruesome images, looking for clues of his identity, the identity of his victims, and where he could have gone. Repeated viewings of the materials reveal little beyond the terrible facts of the crimes, and as the authorities comb through the madman's images, they find the tapes have had a disquieting effect on them.
The killer does not only capture the murders themselves, but the abductions, tortures and postmortem mutilations of his victims (along with bizarre fetishes involving balloons) all the while never allowing himself to be shown on film unless entirely disguised. Because the killer numbered the video tapes in order, investigators are able to determine that he started with the most vulnerable of victims: an 8 year old named Jennifer Gorman is abducted while playing in her front yard.
After the success of his first abduction and murder, the killer becomes less impulsive in his crimes. Carefully selecting the area in which he will strike next, he convinces a couple, the Andersons, that his car has broken down and they agree to give him a ride to a local gas station for aid. On the way, he clubs the male in the head and subdues the female using a cloth doused in a chemical solution while filming her face in close up. Investigators understand this would have taken considerable practice to achieve. The tape shows that the killer performed a C-section on the female, placing the severed head of her husband inside her womb before sewing her up again to later rouse her from unconsciousness and film her reaction. In the process of investigating the Andersons' disappearance, they come to realise the level of mutilation the killer is capable of, as well as his degree of premeditation. The killer made himself known in the CCTV footage of another gas station some time before the Andersons' abduction and murder, using sign language to give clues where he intends to dispose of one of the bodies.
It is then shown that the killer is stalking his next victim, the teenage Cheryl Dempsey. Taking advantage that she is alone with her boyfriend (Tim Surrey), he enters her house. After secretly walking through the house he places the camera where it cannot be seen and hides in a closet until he is ready to attack. Although he abducts Cheryl, he murders and mutilates Tim, leaving his corpse at the scene. It is only after the discovery of the tapes it becomes clear that this crime scene has been carefully arranged in order to obscure possible psychological profiling. Rather than killing Cheryl, he imprisons her in his basement, abusing her sexually, physically and psychologically as his "slave", a name he beats her into accepting as her new one. Cheryl's mother, Victoria Dempsey, appeals to her kidnapper in a televised statement. He then goes to see her, offering to help in finding Cheryl while filming her response. It dawns on Victoria that she is confronted with the man that has abducted her daughter, he merely chuckles and runs away while she is paralyzed with shock.
At this point the killer changes his modus operandi and begins targeting prostitutes while posing as a police officer. In his video record we are shown that in some cases he does not kill his victim directly, instead forcing Cheryl (now dressed in medieval style attire and rubber mask) to kill them. Because of the location in which he dumps the bodies and the level of mutilation they have suffered, the press now dub him "The Water Street Butcher". Forensic investigations discover several of the bodies are found to have the same sperm secretions. Using Ted Bundy's advice on a previous series of murders, authorities come to realize that the killer might indulge in necrophilia with his victims and should stake out areas where they find "fresh bodies" instead of making the discovery public. This is impossible as they can never find a fresh enough corpse.
Investigating one of the victims' apartments, police find fingerprints and saliva on an unwashed glass leading them to arrest former police officer James Foley. Because Foley has a history of visiting prostitutes, no alibi on the dates of the abductions, various evidence found within Foley's car, eye witness statements and matching sperm samples, he is convicted as The Water Street Butcher. Foley continues to plead his innocence and refuses to make any deals; he is sentenced to death in Pennsylvania. A few days after James' execution by lethal injection, one of the leading investigators finds a map in his mailbox letting him know they have "missed one" and the location of a new body. It becomes clear that the real killer had taken James Foley's sperm from a fertility clinic and meticulously framed him (making James Foley another of his victims by proxy). Foley is exonerated of the murders on September 12. Because of the close date to the 9/11 attacks, this goes unrecognized by the general public. The ever changing nature and variation of the murders means every psychological profile is contradicting. The Water Street murders continue.
Investigators trace the location of his house by records from a downloaded map of the area where one of the abductions takes place and raid the location. They find the house to be so clean that there are no fingerprints anywhere and no clues to the killer's identity. Along with the discovery of over 800 numbered video cassettes capturing several thousand hours chronicling his sadism, numerous dead bodies buried in the back yard (including the body of the original tenant), they find Cheryl Dempsey still alive, 8 years after her original abduction. She has been mentally abused to such an extent that she self harms and tortures herself in secret. Cheryl gives an interview where she says she believes her captor loves her and will return shortly to collect her. Soon after the interview, she commits suicide and in a note states her undying love for her "master". Not long after Cheryl is buried, her remains are mysteriously dug up and disappear.
Although only 27 of the cataloged videos are missing, numerous investigating officers are unable to find even the smallest hint as to the identity of the real Water Street Butcher. The tapes themselves become an essential part of the training for anyone learning criminal psychology. The Water Street murders cease and the case remains open, with authorities stating they will be keeping a close eye on places where the "documentary" will be aired as they believe the ego of the killer will not allow him to miss watching it.
In one last glimpse of the killer's sadistic nature, after the credits, a clip is shown of the face of one of his bound victims in close up. The killer taunts her by saying that he will make her a deal: he will release her unharmed if she does not blink. After a period of prolonged hyperventilation, the film ends as her eyes close. | cruelty, murder, violence, insanity, brainwashing, sadist | train | imdb | null |
tt1291150 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | The villainous criminal organization known as the Foot Clan has been terrorizing New York City, led by the ruthless Shredder. Beneath the sewers, the rat sensei Master Splinter (Danny Woodburn) has been training his four sons until they are ready to take Shredder on and become heroes.Meanwhile, Reporter April O'Neil (Megan Fox) pesters a dock worker for information on chemical materials that the Foot Clan may be involved with. Not getting any answers, she and her cameraman Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett) go into the city to do a puff piece on trampoline fitness. April wants to do better stories, but Vern assures her that some people enjoy these kinds of stores the same way they enjoy foam on coffee.April learns from the dock worker that something is being brought in by the docks. She rides her bike there at night to find the Foot Clan, led by their lieutenant Karai (Minae Noji), preparing to bring something in. April tries to get footage on her phone, when a shadowy figure shows up and takes out the Foot Soldiers one by one. The figure leaves behind a symbol that April recognizes. She tells her roommate Taylor (Abby Elliott) about this, and also at work to her boss Bernadette Thompson (Whoopi Goldberg), but nobody seems to believe her or care about what she has to say.We see a man with his hands tied behind his back, and a Foot Soldier trying to attack him, but the man easily takes the Soldier down. This man is The Shredder. Karai reports to him about the vigilante activity, and that these non-human creatures must be stopped.The NYPD teams up with Eric Sacks (William Fichtner) of Sacks Group Inc to take down the Foot Clan. April finds Sacks at an event, where we learn that her father worked with Sacks on a project before he passed away.After the event, April and Vern drive home when they see terrorized New Yorkers scrambling all around the streets. April leaves the van to check it out, only to get grabbed by a Foot Soldier and thrown in with other hostages. Karai calls out the vigilantes to show themselves, or the Foot Soldiers will execute the hostages. The Ninja Turtles catch them on their cameras, and them ride the subway to find the Foot Clan and beat them down easily, freeing the hostages in the process. April runs out and climbs a fire escape to find the Turtles on the roof. She snaps a picture, which startles them. She gets grabbed and is confronted by the Turtles, causing her to faint. When she comes to, she meets the four heroes in a half-shell - the leader Leonardo (Pete Plozek), the brainy Donatello (Jeremy Howard), rebellious Raphael (Alan Ritchson), and goofball Michelangelo (Noel Fisher). Donnie wiped April's phone, and Leo hands it back to her, warning her not to tell anybody about them, or they'll find her. Mikey reiterates this, and it's obvious he's attracted to April. The Turtles leave, but April still manages to get a picture of them from a distance.April runs home and opens a box filled with documents, pictures, and videos on Project Renaissance, what her father and Sacks were working on. April sees a video of her as a kid recording in her father's lab, using a mutagen on the Turtles and Splinter, pre-mutation. She personally named them and fed them pizza, which they all loved. She even recognizes the symbol from earlier as meaning "family."The Turtles try to sneak back into their lair without alerting Splinter. However, he manages to catch them and punishes them by making them maintain balance on certain items until they tell him why they were out on the streets. Splinter breaks Mikey by tempting him with (what else) pizza. Mikey admits they were out fighting the Foot Clan and when he mentions April's name, Splinter is alarmed and he orders the Turtles to go find her.April continues digging into the Turtles' past, and she tells Thompson about what she saw the previous night. Unfortunately, this gets her fired. Afterwards, Vern takes her to the Sacks Estate so she can personally ask Sacks about what he and Dr. O'Neil were working on. She shows Sacks the photo of the Turtles, and he takes her into his room to tell her about his past in Japan, being abandoned by his father and learning of a legend about a ruthless warlord in the area. He gives April his card.April logs onto her computer to find some news on the Turtles in the subway, only to find that Donnie hacked her computer and sent her an address for her to meet them at. She goes alone and the Turtles take her into their lair. There, she meets Splinter, who remembered April before he mutated. He tells her that her father was working with Sacks and Shredder, but he learned that Shredder was planning something evil, and so Dr. O'Neil burned the lab down, at the cost of his own life. April saved Splinter and the Turtles, and she took them to the sewers to be safe. The mutagen later took effect and turned Splinter into a walking and talking rat that raised the Turtles as his sons. The boys were always curious about life above the surface, but Splinter tried to keep them away, and instead taught himself the art of ninjitsu before passing it down to the Turtles. When they were ready, he armed them with their trademark weapons (Leo with his katanas, Donnie with his bo staff, Raph with his sai, and Mikey with his nunchucks). Splinter expresses his thanks to April for protecting them.Sacks is really working for Shredder, and they come by his armor, which has been given some upgrades. The Foot Clan also manages to track the location of the lair. They infiltrate the place, triggering an alarm that alerts the Turtles. The Foot Soldiers break in with a bomb and blow the place open. The Turtles fight the Soldiers, and Splinter gets in on the action himself. Mikey brings April to a safe spot before returning to fight. Shredder enters the lair, decked out in his armor with multiple knives on each arm. He faces off with Splinter, who dodges Shredder's knives and gets a few good hits in. Splinter shuts the doors to protect his sons, but they lift them up in time to see Shredder grab Splinter and hold him before the Turtles, threatening to kill him if they don't lay down their weapons. They do so, but Shredder still hits Splinter hard enough to take him out, while the Soldiers cattle-prod the Leo, Donnie, and Mikey, capturing them and then blowing the lair up. Raph emerges from the rubble and goes with April to take Splinter to rest. He pleads with Raph to save his brothers and stop Shredder. Raph gets ready to spring into action.April calls Vern to take her and Raph to the Sacks Estate again. Vern sees Raph and, although he's shocked, he complies and drives them. In the laboratory beneath his home, Sacks holds Leo, Donnie, and Mikey in cages, trying to extract their blood that contains mutagen. His and Shredder's plan is to infect the city with a toxin that would quarantine the city, and then seize control over everyone with the mutagen to use as a cure. Outside, Vern rams through the gate, running over Foot Soldiers. Raph busts out of the van to go find his brothers. April and Vern follow. Raph fights Shredder on his own while April tries to free the others by giving them an adrenaline injection. This allows them to bust out and help Raph fight Shredder before the villain flees.The heroes hijack a truck with Karai and the Foot Soldiers chasing after them. The Soldiers hit the truck with an RPG, causing them to slide down the mountain. The Turtles slide down the mountain on their shells, taking out the Foot Clan trucks by slamming into them or flipping them over. Donnie calculates a big drop happening momentarily. Karai hooks onto Leo as he tries to save April and Vern, causing her truck to tumble over and crash into a tree. Raph pulls Leo, April, and Vern up in time. They then head over to the city to stop Shredder.Shredder and Sacks make it back to Sacks's tower to release the toxin. April and Vern go look for the mutagen while the Turtles take Shredder on. They charge in with Mikey yelling "Cowabunga!" The Turtles gang up on Shredder, but he proves a tough foe to beat. Meanwhile, April manages to secure the mutagen as Vern knocks Sacks out, even after Sacks shoots Vern in the arm. The Turtles then band together with a maneuver that allows them to push Shredder off the roof. Donnie goes to stop the toxin's release as Shredder pulls himself back up. Leo, Raph, and Mikey continue to hold him off, and Donnie is able to stop the release with a second to spare. Shredder then tries to knock the top of the tower down, and the Turtles try holding it back April gets to the roof and shows off the mutagen to Shredder to distract him. The top of the tower comes crashing down as Shredder lunges at April and throws them both off. They hang on for dear life, and the Turtles try to save April. Shredder tries to finish them off, but Leo throws his katana at him, causing Shredder to lose balance and fall to the ground. The top of the tower comes lose, taking April and the Turtles with it. Raph admits his brash behavior was out of fear for his brothers, and he admits he loves them, right before he realizes they landed safely. Mikey notices he's crying, but Raph brushes it off. They return to the sewers. The citizens then crowd around Shredder, who slightly moved his hand with mutagen on his fingers...The Turtles get some mutagen to revive Splinter. He is proud of his boys. Later, April meets up with Vern, who is showing off his new car. The Turtles show up in their own vehicle to thank April for her help. Mikey then accidentally launches a rocket that blows Vern's car up. The Turtles offer to give them a lift, but April says they'll take the subway. As they drive away, Mikey sings "Happy Together" to April. She smiles. | good versus evil, violence, humor, action, flashback | train | imdb | Like many other people, the original 1990 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie has a very special place in my childhood.
If you can withstand the eyesore that the Turtles' design brings, then there is still a lot of old school TMNT magic to revisit.For the movie's main plot, you have what is essentially the most painfully basic, generic action story that a film can get.
Like I stated earlier, despite the off-putting design and feel of the Turtles, they still are a lot of fun to watch and are the lifeblood of the film.
More down time and better character development would've given the Turtles the extra boost to make them the incredibly entertaining bunch they're meant to be.Being such a huge TMNT fan, I wanted to have higher expectations for this reboot.
But with Megan Fox and Michael Bay attached, the poor look and design of the Turtles, along with the general off-setting feel of the film, I had to come in with lower expectations.
There are some wonderful action sequences and the Turtles bring enough pop to the movie to make them likable and fun, but sadly, my low expectations were met in this failed attempt the reboot a childhood classic.5/10.
It's so bad, I don't understand how the current rating stands at 6 stars.The movie has no real sense of identity, like the filmmakers really had no idea what to do with it.
(Through the first half-hour, perhaps even by the end of the film, you'll have a tough time convincing yourself the title shouldn't have been "April O'Neil: The Movie.")It's very evident that the writers did not know how to work with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Again, this has nothing to do with a faithfulness to any kind of version of TMNT.
In an interview with an MTV whoever, TMNT producer Michael Bay said that he doesn't care if people think his movies are bad.
I'm intentionally avoiding the usual puns like "it was a shell-acking" or "I left the theater shell-shocked" because, again, my affinity for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has nothing to do with how bad this movie is.
No difference in this movie.So the movie opens up in sort of a graphic novel type animation telling the story of the turtles which I'll admit was a nice nod to the original source material from which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came from.
Story, presentation, originality, humor, character presentation and acting are all things obviously left unexplored in this epically abysmal 2014 installation of the turtles franchise.
With as many franchises that he shits on, I advice you to try to stay as far away as possible from anything Michael Bay touches in the future.If you look at it objectively it's like a mash between most popular action films with extremely distinguishable parts taken from others.
So lets look at it this way.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is directed by Jonathan Liebsman and Produced by Michael Bay. It stars Megan Fox as April O'Neil, and 4 turtles who don't look that good with the CGI.
Going back to the turtles, I think that they had nailed them and captured everything that we loved about them, the movie is worth watching because of them.
At the end of the day, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a great movie to watch if you want bonding times with your kids or if you're totally high or craving for some pizza.
I loved the first TMNT live action movie and the recent CGI animated film...
Children will likely want to see this movie as well but, be warned parents, there is a good bit of heavy action.
The turtles are so bogged down in this some of them lose there characteristics, whereas the humans have zero back story.The only way the movie redeems itself(slightly) is through the CGI towards the end of the film.
It makes the action feel real, even though the film is about ninja turtles.
This being produced by Michael Bay, we can expect this, however I feel the rest of the film didn't live up to this, making the film shocking and lacking in any real plot or involving elements that make movies good..
Not joking.This is typical Mike Bay sexual innuendos, fart jokes, awkward white guy, fat unattractive woman playing a mans role(Whoppie), CGI galore...I mean it goes on.It's meant for 12 year old kids, and oh my gosh Meagan Fox's face looks terrible.
If only this was made like the 90's teenage mutant ninja turtles movies then it may of had a chance but, it even made the third movie seem great.
Bay really needs to not make anymore remakes, he goes nuts with special effects and that's not what movies are about, it's a great story like and good actors.
The first half of the film takes its time to follow April O'Neil around, who inevitably uncovers the secret of the turtles' existence, and the outlandish Foot Clan plot to take over New York City.
The plot is pretty much a mash-up of typical TMNT fare and 2007's Transformers (also an adaptation of an 80s cartoon where human characters discover some weird life form and gets caught in the middle of a war nobody knew existed; both starring Megan Fox nonetheless).
She has the right age and overall stature for the role and she is always fun to watch.The turtles were very versatile and realistic in all ways and I liked that each one got an emphasized ability (or weakness!), differentiating from the anime where all looked quite the same.The action sequences were mind-blowing, synchronized at the ultimate speed the human eye can perceive them.
This movie...SUCKS.All the actors in this film fail.The CGI and art direction for the turtles fail.The story is non-existent.
The classic tale of the turtles origins is turned into one that brings April O' Neil (Megan Fox) more into the story.
Lets start with the basics the movie is god awful has Nothing to do with the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at all for example why do the foot clan members have guns and dressed almost exactly like a SWAT team also why is April o Neil some random girl u guys pick up from a bar then turtles they are slightly funny in some ways but they will never be as funny as the original because why do the turtles act like gangsters why is this movie crap why did u guys make another one the 3D animation turtles are better than this crap and why is the movie based around April anyways she wasn't even a big character in the original and in the original splinter named the turtles not her April obviously the director has never watched the original and splinter looks like he is younger than the original how can he whip his tail like that.
While there was an attempt at some classic TMNT whimsical humor, it was poorly executed and delivered.Overall this movie falls in line with the majority of today's films - little, if any, acting talent covered up by computer generated and over the top action sequences.1 star..
I loved the cartoon series of the 90's and the early movies.But this.....this......they just destroyed the turtles, they were cool, funny, with some humor but here they are a mess, unfunny, pathetic, a gimmick of some kids who wants to act "black" and look cool, hip, swag...My favorite character Donatello looks like a damn geek/nerd with huge binoculars (glasses) and is basically Egon from Ghostbuster.
As a Ninja Turtle fan since the beginning, I was super excited about a new movie coming out.
I remember a week or so ago when Megan Fox slammed the haters of the new TMNT movie and I think we heard from every critic out there and they are the haters and I agree with her, if you don't like it, who gives a flip cause I did and my 4 kids loved it.
Great action, comedy and a lot better story than the old movies had to them, plus the new Turtles look amazing there are times when They are fighting Shredder that you can tell that its all cgi but other than that it looked great.
They don't get the development they deserve, which makes the drama in the end feels so forced and less than effective.April's arc would have been tolerable if it gives her more moments to actually connect with the turtles, but the only information it could provide is that they're her childhood pets, she's only using those beloved characters to her job, teasing us the much interesting world beneath the sewers.
The voice and motion-capture actors worked better for having a sense of fun in their enthusiasm.The single greatest scene of the film is when the turtles are making a tune out of an elevator sound.
We did saw that occasionally, but we hope to have more of their sewer life with their pop cultural obsession and mass consumption of pizza, plus have interesting villains, some real and not forced familial themes, and at least a solid plot since these Ninja Turtles movies hardly ever had one.
When people see this movie try not to forget you're watching Ninja Turtles!!!
Any person who screams this movie is screwing up their childhood or doesn't get the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is completely wrong.
I can't guarantee this side of me won't return later in this review but for now, I'm going to try and judge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as best I can without bringing in my personal feelings for the product.
Now, I am fully aware that for a child who has never seen the turtles or is just a young kid, this film will be engaging and exciting and fun, but that isn't who I am or how I watch the movie.
Ever since I was a kid I loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and even before I watched it, it looked terrible.
Well, this movie doesn't even resemble that, it's that white stuff that accumulates at corners of your mouth when you're really thirsty.Acting isn't much, there's Megan Fox who looks nice and everything, but she just looks completely in distress, it differs little whether the cause is ninja, samurai robot, or transforming robot.
About half way most audience will stop their attempt to follow the plot, because it's exercise in futility and if one cares about story after about forty minutes, that's more work than the production put in the movie.I suppose in term of effects it fares slightly better.
I guess it works for mindless fun, but it's now more mindless than fun.The movie belongs in the sewer where it should just stay there, but considering turtle's life span, how it sells like hot pizza and Michael Bay's persistence, I fear for a sequel..
If you do, we will find you."A much more fitting title for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be April O'Neil considering she is the main character in this film and is on screen for almost its entire running time.
As a kid I grew up watching the cartoons and the movies in the early 90's so I thought I would be invested in these characters and that the nostalgia factor would play a key role in my enjoyment of this film, but I was wrong because I felt completely disengaged with the turtles.
Considering Michael Bay was the producer of this film a lot of comparisons can be made to the Transformers franchise where you have big action scenes and very little character development, but in my opinion this was even worse.
But instead what did we get...1) An absurdly idiotic storyline which kinda gives you the feeling that the story writing was revolving around the already shot action scenes.2) Action sequences which appear to be copy paste from transformers and only replaced by turtles (I don't count shredder as he always looked like a robot).3) The role of April is basically something I would put in "Little Pony", which is reduced to nothing more then a brain dead, incoherent (she's a goddamn reporter for crying out loud!) and basically doesn't contribute anything to the good cause.On the plus side: 1) It was nice that they emphasized the uniqueness of each turtle beyond the color of the head band.
Guys, it's not a very good movie.I originally wanted to do pro and con list but I felt I might as well just give some of my thoughts after seeing the film.
Everything feels like a giant compromise to just put something out because the studio was expecting a brand new Ninja Turtle film but all of the backlash from what they were originally WANTING to do caused them to go back and add things that they didn't fully understand why people are fans of those aspects.
I always gave 2007 TMNT s*** for it's use of horrible fight scenes and while some moments in this new one are nice, I still feel like I'm just watching a video game cut scene with Shredder and the Turtles.I guess if I have to give this film credit is that it's cinematography at times is very nice and the opening sequence as well as Shredder's first appearance gave me straight goosebumps but this film misses the mark on so many things.
If Megan Fox is your most likable character in a movie, then you are in for a rough time,.Also, going back to the turtles, they are huge, and they even say in the movie they cannot be shot.
but its all necessary to explain the story to a new generation.I recommend this movie for people who enjoyed the original turtles films.
My daughter (who likes action movies) laughed multiple times at the turtles as they make a lot of silly comments and the scene where they rapped in the elevator was especially funny.Go see the film and take it for what its worth...its silly fun with a bigger budget than the previous films..
A bunch of writers got together in a room and decided to take an IP like the Ninja Turtles, which is already very silly and essentially makes no sense at all, and take it to the next level of stupidity, while at the same time stripping out all of the fun and humor from the source material and replacing it with hulking-rage-filled-turtle- shaped monsters, that play supporting characters in a film about the world's most incompetent news reporter: April O'Neil played by acting sensation Megan Fox. That's right.
original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) not so much 2nd and 3rd part of it though
I have also skipped the animated one TMNT (2007) but maybe I will watch it soon as well.
No idea...The adaptation of the Turtles wasn't bad in my opinion, I like how they were huge and badass looking and they did really act like the Turtles we know and love, The story was meh and the villain was meh but I came to see turtles do cool shizz and thats what I got.Megan Fox tried so hard to act in this film but it's just embarrassing and makes me sick, she's too conscious of her looks and tries to maintain that sexy face of hers as opposed to just acting.Anywho overall I personally didn't find the film too bad but if the things above were a little better i would have given it a 5 - 7..
But I enjoyed the action and had fun not thinking about how stupid the movie was and being entranced by the pretty turtles.
The weakest point of the movie is, not surprisingly, Megan Fox. It's like after she was cast someone told Michael Bay "hey, you probably don't want to sexualize April.
That being said,...these turtles look NOTHING like the ones in the original films.
The ONLY complaint I have is the fact that Shredder looked more like he belonged in the Transformers movies than Ninja Turtles.
Though 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' won't be memorable compared with some blockbuster films this year and the ending isn't special either, it's still just wildly fun to watch Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello and Michaelangelo in action also assisted with stunning visual effects for the turtles, some smart jokes and quite cool action sequences makes all the mistakes seem forgiven..
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the movie.
Quickie Review:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), the title is pretty self- explanatory on what this movie is about.
But I must admit, I didn't find TMNT to be a great movie but much better than I had anticipated.Let me touch upon what I did like, the turtles.
I think all the negativity I heard previous to watching the movie helped me to expect the bad characters, the thin plot, and the forgettable villain.
All I wanted was some good turtle moments and cool looking action, which TMNT did deliver.
People came to see Megan Fox not the Ninja Turtles."-"Should we follow a similar story line of previous turtle movies?" Ha, no way what are you thinking?!
I don't want people to actually like the movie lol.Michael Bay, from all childhood Ninja Turtle Fans, YOU SUCK!.
We will eventually get a great live action turtles movie; it's just not going to be this one..
I watched the new Ninja Turtles movie so that you don't have to.
First off, to the Michael Bay haters, he didn't really have much to do with this Turtles movie.
If less time had been spent on the character of Vernon and more on developing April's relationship with the turtles or perhaps the back-story of the villain this film would have been much better.
Casual viewers might find it a bit weird, but the back story is decent enough to lay the plot, followed by great CGI, action sequences, and fun humor.It's the 2nd Best Turtles Movie ever, although I loved TMNT 2: The secret of the Ooze. |
tt0103773 | Basket Case 3 | The film begins where the second installment ended: Belial and Eve are making love. Susan () has been pregnant for six years but the baby doesn't want to be born, so that puts an end to the hopes of leading a "normal" life sustained by Duane Bradley (Kevin van Hentenryck). Duane sews himself to Belial again, so they are reunited forever. Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) is still taking care of all the monsters.CUT TO THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM
Duane is on a straight jacket, shouting that he's OK now and that he's feeling pretty good. Granny Ruth arrives and tells him that they had to remove Belial from him again. He's not at a sanatorium, but imprisoned at the basement of Ruth's home. Granny will take Duane on holiday. Eve, Belial's girlfriend, is about to give birth. Duane wants to talk to Belial as soon as possible, but Belial needs time to do that. Duane gets upset when he sees a photograph of Susan (Heather Rattray) and her son. They leave on a school bus.Sheriff Andrew (Gil Roper) likes to visit his uncle, called Hal (Dan Biggers), who likes creating complicated machines, for example, one to make coffee with milk.Ruth sings in the bus. They arrive to Peachtree Valley. Ruth stops to buy some things, but Andrew tells her off because the bus is parked in the middle of the street. Duane tries to run away, but he gets stuck. A young girl sees him and questions him. He hides inside the school bus but when she knocks, he talks to her. He tells her that her father, the sheriff, should arrest him and his brother who lives in that basket, none of which she believes, of course. Her name is Opal (Tina Louise Hilbert). Opal tells her father after the bus has left that there was something not right about those two - meaning Ruth and Duane.The bus reaches the mansion of Uncle Hal. Eve breaks water and that floods the bus. Ruth re-encounters her huge son Bailey (Jackson Faw). Ruth frees Duane from the straight jacket. Uncle Hal takes care of Eve giving birth. Belial attacks Hal because he remembered how crazy doctors separated him from Duane and he got confused. Ruth takes him out of the makebelieve delivery room. 12 babies are born... but Belial had to be imprisoned in his basket through delivery.Duane goes to talk to Opal, and he ends up in gaol. The sheriff thinks he tried to rape his daughter. She visits Duane on jail and wants to have sex with him, wearing a dominatrix-like dress. However, the sheriff appears to tell her off: he has told her daughter many times before to let his prisoners be, to which she tries to allege that he tried to rape her, which is a lie. The sheriff returns to Hal's mansion because he's been told that there is trouble there. He shoots the phone on the door. Ruth demands him to return the 12 children. The sheriff meets Little Hal (Jim O'Doherty), Ruth's huge son. Opan and the two stupid sheriff deputies take care of the 12 little monsters.Opal teases Duane with one of the babies. Belial's basket is left outside the police station, so he starts killing deputies Elmo and Renaldo (Rick Smailes & Jeff Winter). Opal frees Duane so that he can stop Belial, who is killing the last of the duputies. That deputy shoots and kills Opal by mistake. Opal falls onto one of the babies, killing it. Duane frees the babies and Belial, who is already speaking to him. A long-armed device designed by Little Hal finishes with the deputies, while calmly Duane has some corn-flakes for breakfast.Ruth and the freaks appear to threaten the Sheriff, in search of the babies. They al go to lunch to the fast food restaurant. The cashier (Beverly Bonner) goes frantic serving off such huge quantities of food. Belial uses Little Hal's machine to fight the sheriff. The sheriff is down, but Belial is too, so are the children the ones who finish with the sheriff.Ruth and the freaks take over a tv station in which freaks are being mocked. She says that freaks are there to stay. | insanity, cult, comedy, murder, violence | train | imdb | Wow. Just when you thought they couldn't possibly twist BASKET CASE's bizarre concept into more of a surreally grotesque hodgepodge of blood, guts, playfulness, insanity, and 'unique individuals' than the first sequel already has-- they do.
If you thought BASKET CASE 2 was weird, then the final entry in Frank Henenlotter's cult trilogy will no doubt make you faint with confusion and utter disbelief.Trying to explain the plot would be like trying to rationalize a horrific, fast-paced, 90-minute acid trip so I'm not even going to bother.
This third and last installment in the series has more gore than BC2, is campier and more entertaining than BC2, has some memorable characters and lovable cops, and you get to see 12 of Belial's kids, or his "progeny"....It's also got an ending to remember.
After going crazy and stitching Belial back on himself at the end of the second film, Duane is now slapped into a straight jacket and kept in a room for months until he's better.
Although, after the delivery a couple of officers kidnap Belial's babies, which makes Belial incredibly angry and causes the horrific fury we've come expect from him.First off, a word of warning
it's not a film for the uninitiated of cheap and twisted cinema.
The first film was a sleazy classick, the second wasn't too bad, but this outing I thought was somewhat of an improvement on the first sequel.
But it's those eye popping sequences of Belial's grisly and inventive attacks that just make it so hugely exciting, especially the film's climax, which was a real hoot.One thing you definitely notice throughout the series, is that when it came to this film there was more of a focus on Granny Ruth and her family of "unique individuals".
Henenlotter even adds a recount of what happened at the end of the second film to just refresh your memory, but that ending I don't think is that hard to forget when your thinking of the Basket Case films.
Frank Hennenlotter made the classic "Basket Case", a highly enjoyable film with two great heroes: Duane and Belial, Siamese twins (one normal, one deformed) getting revenge on the doctors who separated them.
Unfortunately the sequels are totally unlike the first one, in tone and in content, although not without their own charm.In "Basket Case 2" Duane and Belial joined up with a group of God-forsaken abnormalities that were more humorous than horrific.
Other highlights include Belial in a robotic body and the patriarchal Granny Ruth singing "Personality" backed by the freaks.The worst part has to be the scene where Belial's girlfriend Eve is giving birth and a new character called Little Hal is videotaping it.
The original "Basket Case" is funny in a dark way, and never resorts to silliness.I also don't get why in one scene the freaks decide to become a part of society and then in the next scene invade a fast food restaurant and eat the customers' food off their trays.
That's not the best way to win people's affection; I know, I've tried.The "Basket Case" sequels have more in common with Hennenlotter's "Frankenhooker" than with his "Brain Damage", so if you liked the former then this flick is probably right up your alley (if you don't mind gore that's over-the-top and cartoony instead of realistic- I like either)..
In "Basket Case 3:The Progeny" Belial and his equally bizarre bride are about to discover the perils of parenthood.Following a wild road trip with granny Ruth and her family of freaks,the mutant Mrs.Belial delivers several ugly mini-creatures.Unfortunately the police kidnaps the little critters,which causes Belial to go on a bloody rampage...Frank Henenlotter's "Basket Case 3" is equally disgusting and amusing.It features some extremely funny moments as well as fountains of spraying grue.I can safely say that I enjoy watching Henenlotter's grotesque horror comedies and this one is also a blast.Highly recommended,especially for the fans of "Basket Case" series.8 out of 10..
I'm desperately looking for the song ,,personality'' from the movie which is sung by Annie Ross (Granny Ruth) and the freaks.
This is not supposed to be a real horror movie (or at least I don't think so), it's absolutely not scary, it's more like really great comedy with some gory effects.
Duane Bradley is re-separated from Belial as he tired to put Belial back on to his side, so he was put in a straitjacket and a cell in Granny Ruth's house Few months later Duane is let out by Ruth, Meahwhile Belial Girlfriend who Pregnant, so Granny takes everyone to her ex-husband Doctor Hal Rockwell, As they get ready as Belial's girlfriend water-breaks and she end up giving birth to 7 others Belial's to Belial shock Duane was told to stay away from Belial and then he goes out window, only to get locked in Jail, then Police soon find out who he is, so they go to house and see the others and the babies and the Kidnap them, They bring them back Policestaions.One of the police officer pick basket that left outside that when Killing start.This movie was not funny as the other two but still had some very funny moment in this movie, they did try to be a little to funny at the some points some of the jokes didn't workI really liked the deaths scenes in this movie they are really gory and funny at the same time.
I think this the weakest of the 3 in acting and plot but the deaths scenes in this movie were much better then the ones in Basket Case 2I give this movie a 6/10.
Basket Case volume 3 is a very redundant and pointless sequel that you should definitely avoid unless you're an avid fan of Frank Hennenlotter's deranged filming style.
So I think this film was only made because Hennenlotter had fun with it and maybe for spoiling the true Belial fans with another treat!
Basket Case 3: The Progeny continues in much the same vein as Pt 2, with loads of twisted humour, some very silly freaks, and plenty of truly demented scenes, including a terrific musical number from Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) and her 'unique individuals', the birth of twelve mutant babies, Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) being dominated by Opal (Tina Louise Hilbert), the hot slutty daughter of a local sheriff, and Belial being transformed into a half-machine/half monster cyborg by Little Hal (Jim O'Doherty), a monstrous multi-limbed genius.In short, this movie is yet another bonkers effort from Frank Henenlotter that, although never reaching the level of brilliance displayed in his debut Basket Case or the marvellous Brain Damage, should appeal to those who enjoyed the director's previous outing for his deranged, separated Siamese twins.
The comedy sometimes gets a tad puerile, and the childish behaviour of the freaks becomes irritating at times, but the level of insanity is way high, with a fair amount of inventive gore, and even some nudity courtesy of Playboy twins Carla and Carmen Morrell (who have the dubious pleasure of fondling Belial).It might not be Henenlotter at his best, but I'd much rather watch an enjoyably daft, low budget piece of campy trash such as this than much of today's bland and predictable mainstream horror..
Still in the "freak house", Duane got crazy, at least for a little at the beginning of the movie...
He is put in kind of "madhouse style" cell in the basement until the entire community is forced to move because of Eve, the Belial-like freak known in the previous movie, is pregnant and is going to need the help of a "specified" doctor!
Useless to say troubles are on their way and a couple of police officers "steal" the little creatures and shoot eve: it's time for Belial's revenge!!
Very funny!This movie is full of silly-yet-entertaining character, but I consider better the previous one.
I think this is pretty much on a par with basket case 2 on all levels, in fact it seems as if they made these back to back without even the actors getting out of their freak makeup!
Also in this film is seems to change before it seemed to be the poor Duane stuck with this freak twin, but now you think of it more as poor Belial being stuck with this crazy stupid loser!
The final confrontation is not that good but the rest of it is pretty much what you got in Basket Case 2 with a kinky sheriffs daughter, a huge freak & the strangest birth scene you'll ever see.
I've watched the whole 'Basket Case' trilogy now and, like many who have a soft spot for cheesy eighties horror, enjoyed the first one's entertainment value.
This was possibly because the second one seemed to veer so far away from the overall dark and horrific feel of the original that it seemed like a completely different movie.
One of my main complaints about the second instalment was that it didn't really feature the titular 'basket case' monster, dwelling more on a whole new cast of characters and freaks.
After the batsh*t crazy ending of the last one i don't think Basket Case 3 can get any more crazier but it prove me wrong right the way when deliver a fun cheesy horror movie with enough WTF moments to entertain any horror fan so believe me when i say this series is seriously underrated.The so bad it good acting is all over the place and the practical effect only make it better.Kevin Van Hentenryck as Duane Bradley still just as confuse as always and Annie Ross as Granny Ruth one again very entertaining in her role.I know i give so much credit for a B-movie but I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff.Check the series out if you love extreme family drama(LOL).
I think they went overboard with the freaks in part 2 and as such then I am not much fan of how they continued on with that in part 3.The story in the third installment of the "Basket Case" series takes the freaks on a journey to the south where they are seeking out a doctor to help the family.
However, when Belial's spawn of monstrous offspring is kidnapped by unlawful police officers, the family rises up to reclaim what is rightfully theirs."Basket Case 3" didn't really tickle me in the right places, not after what I had witnessed in part 2, so it wasn't an outstanding movie for me.
Never before have I seen such a bad sequel since police academy.If you are looking for a movie review then this is not it.
If you haven't seen basket case 1 or 2 then don't bother with this one.However if you are looking for comedy acting or just like bad horror then this is definitely for you.I'm afraid there is not much more I can tell you and would have to let you decide for yourself.
Freaks are abound in this one, getting a lot of screen time making it a perfect movie to watch with same minded friends and some, God forbid, poison of your choice.
The third starts out like the second, kicking off with the various freaks from the second film going on a cross-country bus trip due to the impending birth of Belial's child.It's as bad as it sounds, and completely ridiculous.
It all starts with a strong, TERMINATOR-inspired rampage at a police station which recalls the grisly horror of the original movie, and from that point in it bears much in comparison with the first film in the series which is a definite good thing.This is certainly no classic, but seeing Belial in full-on monster mode is a lot of fun and it's almost as if Henenlotter decided to go back to his roots.
Yes. Duane and Belial still reside with their adoptive mother and rathe less fortunate humans who have some quite hideous facial deformities, one could confuse this one with a similar movie of it's time, Freaked.
This embarrassment of a movie, just plays as a comedy, it's hard to believe it's in the same franchise as the original, which was one of the scariest and effective horrors of 84, I was witness to.
Basket case 3 is a horrible horrible film from start to finish.
Basket case 1 was a classic 42nd street grindhouse sleazy movie, although its budget was low, the atmosphere,bloody carnage and a freaky..er freak!
then we got BC2, the higher budget sequel that was though not bad, missed the hardcore element of the first and added some silly looking (not creepy) freaks.Which brings us to this movie, now even Frank Hennenlotter hates this film and rarely talks about it, as i understand, his original vision was to bring it back to the more hardcore sleazy vibe of the first one but the producers hated and Hennenlotter was forced to alter the script.
After the shockingly surreal events that took place at the end of the last movie, Granny Ruth and pals have a now insane Duane Bradley locked in a padded cell, which is also in the "freak house".
Anyway, the female freak (the one Belial had his way with in part 2) is now pregnant, and the only doctor Ruth can think of that can be trusted to deliver the litter, lives in Georgia...
So, Granny Ruth gets out the old school bus, leaves Duane in his straight-jacket, just to be safe, and takes her family o' freaks all the way down south.
Basket Case 3 is the last entry of the most outlandish trilogy ever put on film.
I guess I can see why Frank Henenlotter disappeared from the scene.Note: The fast food manager is Casey from the original Basket Case and appears in all of Henenlotter's movies..
"Basket Case 3: The Progeny" on the other hand is a full-blood comedy and simply for most part has abandoned the tension and gore the previous two movies still had.
The third—and currently final—sequel in the twisted Henenlotter Basket Case series has simple-minded Duane(the child-like Van Hentenryck whose wide-eyed innocence is played to perfection here) trying to reconnect and apologize to ferocious, unhinged monster twin brother Dwight who has fathered an offspring!
Annie Ross returns from the sequel as Granny Ruth, obviously batty but incredibly loyal to her merry band of grotesque freaks, who heads for Georgia where her son "Little Hal" (Jim O'Doherty, quite enthusiastic—and loud) and "Uncle Hal"(Dan Biggers, just a friendly town doctor the sheriff has a fondness for)live.
By the end of this series, Henelotter had just turned Bartalos and his make-up crew loose, not only creating a wide variety of surreal looking freaks, but gruesome gore (although, I was rather underwhelmed at the attacks from Belial on the police as they look so cartoonish, particularly when the emphasis was on prosthetics, I think the effects lost some impact; it was something right out of a comic book).
I think it was a good idea of Henelotter to end the series here, although I imagine BC fans want another sequel.
THE PROGENY has enough camp value (..with a nice shot at Geraldo at the end as a lookalike host gets terrorized by Belial as Granny Ruth sends a direct message to "normal" folk about her freaks no longer hiding in secret) I figure for his fans who will find something to like, since there's plenty of "monster mayhem" and absurdity.
The third installment in the Basket Case series takes up where the second left off, with Duane staying at the rest home for freaks.
Granny Ruth and the freaks (with some new additions since the last movie) head down to Georgia to her ex-husband's house, because his son is the only one who knows how to deliver babies from freaks, I guess.
Since Duane went crazy and tried to stitch Belial back on in the last film, he's not allowed to talk to his brother.
If you liked the second Basket Case movie chances are you'll like this one better.
At the end of basket case 2 Dwain has lost his marbles a little bit and stitched Belial back on after accidentally killing Granny Ruth's daughter.
Then they decided to make a follow up, a film that went straight to video.Having been discovered by the press and the police, Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) takes her troop of "freaks" on the road to escape.
It also lets us realize that Eve, the girlfriend of the series "hero" Belial, is expecting a brood of children.At the end of the second film the relationship between brothers Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and Belial wasn't very good.
The end result is gore filled and expected but what happens in the movie is not.Sure we have the same cast of characters brought together once more by director/writer Frank Henenlotter.
The behavior of Duane, Belial and even Granny Ruth is more predictable this time around.
Whenever a movie series moves forward it seems that everyone feels more is better but that's not always the case.
But at times it feels cartoonish and not needed.The end result is that the movie can be fun and does round out the trilogy well enough.
I would like to thank Duane, the brother of the 10 minutes freaks, especially for his role which reminds me of E.T.In this "movie" you can see a lot of freaks.
The original BASKET CASE is one of my all-time favorite B-movies, and has been ever since I first saw it as a kid on cable over 20 years ago.
But unfortunately, the beloved Mr. H had to go and f!ck up his streak with retarded nonsense like the BASKET CASE sequels.
In this third and (thank Christ) final installment in the trilogy-the action picks up directly after the events of the equally stupid second film-with Duane spending some time in a rubber-room after trying to sew him and his deformed Siamese twin brother Belial back together. |
tt0082220 | Cutter's Way | Cutter's way is hard to put in a category. It's a delicate blend of thriller, comedy, drama, conspiracy, buddy movie (I hate that term, too), incredibly moving acting, incredible noir-ish (not noir) cinematography and one of the most haunting scores in cinema. Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) is the aimless playboy yin to Alex Cutter's hardcore Vietnam veteran yang and Moe (Lisa Eichorn) is Alex's cynical wife. All three drink and exist in a modest house in a Santa Barbara neighborhood in the 70's. Until one rainy night in an alley, where Bone steers his foreign convertible when the engine dies, and half-sees a man depositing a woman's body in a trash can. Alex takes Bone and Moe to a parade hours after Bone is grilled by detectives. "That's him," a weary Bone tells Cutter, when oil magnate JJ Cord rides by on a white horse....
...and this is where it takes off. Cutter enlists the victim's sister and goes on a single-minded plan to extract vengeance.
How this is accomplished is the wildest and poignant tale you're ever going to see and the atmosphere is Lynchian, but pre-Lynchian. The plot is not conventionally excuted and this a treat for the willing. Again, a career best for John Heard as the intense Cutter, Jeff Bridges is simply incredible, and the gifted Lisa Eichorn evokes the gamut of raw emotions. Not a noir film, but a cult film in every sense of the word. Well worth renting or owning. Perhaps director Ivan Passer's finest. | revenge, neo noir, murder | train | imdb | The pathetic human condition personified in Cutter, Bone, and Mo is so exquisitely rendered as to be tragic...only salvaged by the clear-eyed wit and insight of John Heard's Cutter and the tempered and logical cynicism and indifference offered up by Bone(Jeff Bridges)as the balance that only these begrudging friends could provide each other.
This movie works as a crime thriller, a portrait of the underbelly of American culture most evidenced in its loss of confidence and embrace of cynicism that came to the surface post-Vietnam...but most successfully as a great character-driven love story and tragedy..
Then you have a great performance from John Heard and a great screenplay that obviously had a tremendous novel behind it.If you like those gritty late 70s early 80s California noir movies like Straight Time, Who'll Stop The Rain and Chinatown, this is as good as any of those.
It makes me wonder what Jeff Bridges thinks about on the set of Iron Man 2 - I've never been a huge fan but the guy did a string of great dramas in the 80s like Fabulous Baker Boys, American Heart and this.
It is also a great love story.I always end up writing "...you've read the other comments so you know what this is about" but Cutter and Bone is so many things, it cannot be pinned down easily.As noted in the favorable reviews here, this is chock full of great film acting that moves the story along as well as making come alive.
What movie was he watching?Adrift in post-Vietnam America, Cutter finally finds something in life that has meaning; the murder of a young hitchhiker.But any meaning is too much for the damaged Cutter who becomes relentless in the pursuit of a possible killer who also is of the wealthy, powerful elite that sent OPS (other people's sons) to Vietnam.
However, Jeff Bridges yet again proves his credentials by turning in a beautifully nuanced performance as an unattractive, self-absorbed failed playboy in counterpoint to Heard's righteous crippled Vietnam veteran.This is a companion piece to 'Chinatown' in its study of corrupt power structures, but is more intimate and believable (and 'Chinatown' is superb).
Whilst Bridges won't accept that he has witnessed the ultimate, bleak truth of US power relations until the film's abrupt, punchy end, Heard knows the truth intuitively and automatically because he understands and hates the world from the the start.
I don't have much to add to the positive reviews here except to say that Cutter's Way repeatedly alludes to Herman Melville, especially Moby Dick -- A character explicitly refers to Moby Dick early in the film; Cutter has a false limb, like Captain Ahab; his wife's name is "Mo"; he says, "Thar she blows" when he sees the villain's huge office building; after that part of the pursuit, he angrily shoots at an animal in the water; the whole story takes place in and around boats, and it begins at the "El Encantado" (Melville wrote "The Encantadas, or the Enchanted Isles").What does all this add up to?
I don't know exactly, but this film is an excellent mix of character studies, love stories, and suspense -- with great dialog and performances.I watch it every few years and am never disappointed, except by the fact that one of the main characters (the sister) suddenly and permanently disappears, as if she'd never been in the movie at all.
He hates the fat cats-feeling that they conned him and others into patriotically serving while they stayed home, and he resents his best friend Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) who avoided the war and continues to avoid any involvement or commitment.
His commitment ultimately gets Bone to take his first moral stand and finish what his friend started, doing it "Cutter's Way".Like "Fat City" (another of Jeff Bridges' early films) "Cutter's Way" is more appreciated now than at the time of its release.
Thematically "Cutter's Way" is a political film-both anti-war and anti-power; very much in the tradition of "Chinatown" and the world of Raymond Chandler adaptations.This film is essentially a character study with an expressionistic ending.
Cutter's other remaining friend George (Arthur Rosenberg) is equally well crafted but more secondary to the story.A fifth character (the dead cheerleader's older sister played by Ann Dusenberry) appears to be a victim of the post-production process as she simply disappears without explanation about 20 minutes before the film's end.
The fact that we are left, in the end, radically uncertain whether the man Bridges and Heard are pursuing - and whom Bridges presumably actually kills - committed the crime or not cannot seriously be presented as a dramaturgical or moral strength of the film.
After being portrayed for an hour and a half as being doggedly and single-mindedly determined to carefully coordinate the exposure of the Cobb character as a murderer, Cutter's "plan" to do so turns out in the end to consist in nothing more than to go hobbling wildly around the man's house, run away from his bodyguards, jump on a horse he finds in his stables, and then fling himself randomly through some French windows, promptly breaking his own neck.
I have no idea whether this scene was present in the original novel, but I must honestly say that this risible spectacle of the hero careening wildly through the garden party - emotionally "beefed up" by some cheap and predictable "subjective camera" shots intended to positively FORCE the viewer to identify with Cutter in a way that his actions themselves make it pretty much impossible to do - seems to me a textbook example of directorial desperation and the frantic attempt to give direction and conclusion, by the sheer illusory spectacle of velocity, to a film that really wasn't going anywhere at all.
If anyone ever asks if a mediocre script can be turned into a great movie through the performances of the actors, simply point at Cutter's Way. While Jeff Bridges and John Heard have given other memorable performances, combined with the once in a career performance of Lisa Eichhorn this film rises above itself and achieves a level of success that could otherwise not have been expected.
Released in 1981, the original novel ("Cutter and Bone") was published in the Seventies and the film version positively oozes the cynicism and self-absorption that permeated America in the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate.The plot is centered around crippled Vietnam vet Alex Cutter (John Heard), his best friend Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges), and Cutter's wife Mo (Lisa Eichman) who live in sunny Santa Barbara.
As others here have written, she gave a phenomenal performance in this film, as did John Heard and Jeff Bridges.Although I never read the novel it was based on, and can't find it (it's out of print), it's probably just as well.
It's a gem of a film one of the Best from the eighties, Jeff Bridges, And John Heard give fine Performances, As the troubled friends Who get a lot more that they bargain for.
Bridges plays Richard bone a boat salesman, and somewhat gigolo who on a rainswept night, catches a glimpse of a man dumping a dead body in an alleyway ,Bridges then becomes implicated in a Mysterious murder investigation, Heard and bridges attend the towns parade festivities when bridges catches a glimpse of the killer In the parade, who as it turns out is the towns local tycoon, Bridges is convinced that it's him, Bridges aided by his radical Vietnam- vet pal Alex Cutter,(played to the hilt like an alcoholic pirate!
(John Heard) as well as the victims sister,Decide to blackmail the tycoon who may or may not be the culprit.Jack Nietzsche Contributes a strange and effective score that has a distinctive down Mexico way feel to it, Cutter's Way is a superb, emotional and Relentless film Which captivates you until the final reel.
The logline reads "Richard spots a man dumping a body, and decides to expose the man he thinks is the culprit with his friend Alex Cutter." What makes this film so entertaining is the dynamic relationship between Alex Cutter (John Heard), Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges), and Mo (Lisa Eichorn).
This adaptation of the Newton Thornburg novel "Cutter and Bone" stars Jeff Bridges, John Heard, and Lisa Eichhorn in its principal roles.
That man just might be filthy rich J.J. Cord (Stephen Elliott), and Alex relentlessly prods Richard into doing something with this knowledge."Cutter's Way" is more of a character study than anything else, taking a blunt, unflinching look at our three flawed protagonists.
But it's often Heard that steals the show; his Cutter is a force of nature much of the time, although the character is not without humanity.Czech-born director Ivan Passer gives us a film that is noticeably low key and slowly paced, so it won't appeal to all tastes.
The car later wildly drives past him.The next day a woman's body is discovered and because Bone's car is nearby he is dragged in as a suspect.Alex Cutter is a one eyed, one legged, one armed Vietnam veteran left bitter and twisted after the war.
In fact, Heard's explosion of anger on the Santa Monica pier is among the scariest, most convincing expressions of pent-up emotion that I've seen in many years of movie watching.The three lead performances are outstanding, and in particular those of the raging and damaged Vietnam veteran played by John Heard and the desperately sad, poignantly tragic, and utterly convincing Mo (his long-suffering wife) played by Lisa Eichhorn.
Their best friend Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) is a witness to a murder, and he thinks that the killer is this powerful oil tycoon JJ Cord (Stephen Elliott).
I want to see how other people see life and their representation on camera.Overall, Cutter's Way was not a great film, but the ending redeemed itself in someway that I will never be able to explain.
(Richard Bone and Alex Cutter are the names of the two main characters, played by Jeff Bridges and John Heard respectively.) Heard plays a Viet Nam veteran who has come back from Nam missing an arm, a leg, and an eye.
Heard's wife Mo, subtly and excellently played by Lisa Eichhorn, has turned to sullen drink because of the collapse of her love life and the wild ravings of her husband, who is also becoming an alcoholic and gives constant demonstrations of rage by crazily smashing things (such as driving intentionally into his neighbour's parked car just for the hell of it, when half drunk).
The movie is not really a whodunit not because we never discover who done it but because we don't care, the movie doesn't care, because at some point Cutter and Bone, lower-class thirtysomethings with broken lives, nowhere to go, and their friendship permanently shattered by something that involved Bone and Cutter's wife, barge into JJ Cord's mansion uninvited, and somehow, in a strange quiet almost surreal way, one-legged Cutter is suddenly riding a white horse through the gardens in a frenzy, stomping party guests and upturning tables in his furious path, like he's back in the Vietnam jungle and running not away from something like enemy soldiers will run from enemy fire but towards it in a final mad dash, and out of the bushes and trees of JJ Cord's mansion emerges Cutter's Way, the movie now pure sublime and primeval, going out in a final upflare of stubborn and dying revenge.Cutter confronts JJ Cord and when he puts on his mirror shades, we understand that we're looking at the personification of Uncle Sam, so that he may not be guilty for that one girl's murder but he's guilty for something, and more, that Cutter is there to strike not at the mysterious old man, but through him, to strike "...all that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby-Dick [...] and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will wreak that hate upon him".
It starts out by introducing you two three off-kilter characters--Jeff Bridges as the drifting playboy Bone; John Heard as the crippled Cutter, a man of uncompromising rage and a razor-sharp tongue; and Lisa Eichorn as the Cutter's terminally depressed wife Mo. Within the first half-hour of meeting these pathetic folk, the narrative drops in a murder mystery: a girl's body is found in a garbage can and Bone is the chief suspect.
Operating as a kind of sequel to Pakula's "Parallax View", the film stars John Heard as Alex Cutter, an angry Vietnam veteran who's returned from what he now regards as a meaningless war minus an arm, an eye and a leg.The casting of Heard is significant.
With its tremendous sense of time and place, its trio of disillusioned characters and an overriding atmosphere of despair and disaffection, "Cutter's Way" is a powerful and often poignant murder mystery in which paranoia, bitterness and cynicism are never far away.Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) is driving through an alleyway one night when his car stalls and through the rain he sees a man dumping something into a trash can.
After having been questioned by the police, he gets released and later joins his friend Alex Cutter (John Heard) at a street parade where he sees the man that he believes he saw in the alleyway the night before.
Bone doesn't know who the man is but crippled Vietnam War veteran Cutter does and immediately wants to follow through on this lead.J.J.Cord (Stephen Elliott) is a powerful oil tycoon who Cutter has known about for many years.
Cutter had lost a leg, an eye and part of one of his arms in the War and returned home angry and bitter and also full of hate for some of the powerful people in society (such as J.J.Cord) who never suffer in the same way that the veterans do.
Ultimately, it's the performances by Heard, Bridges and Eichhorn and their memorable characters who are so redolent of the time in which they existed, that make this movie a work of considerable substance..
I believe this is because of political changes and advances in movie-making rather than any deficiency in Cutter's Way.John Heard's acting produces one of the most memorable characters in movie history, the tragic Alex Cutter, an embittered and crippled Vietnam Veteran, a man who both resents and exploits his physical condition, living a self-destructive lifestyle seething with the unquenched fury that epitomises the helpless rage felt by so many survivors of the Vietnam conflict.Despite its rather chaotic throughline, the movie is about Alex Cutter's personal war against the wealthy J J Cord, whom he holds responsible for the unsolved murder of a teenage cheerleader and who symbolises the insulating privilege of those guilty for the woes visited upon society's underclass.
But his obsession has its price - Cutter's lover, Mo, is killed in a fire that could be seen as either arson or suicide, which acts as a catalyst that drives Cutter to exact revenge on J J Cord.The movie culminates in a powerful juxtaposition, where Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) is finally able to have a private conversation with the disaffected J J Cord as Alex Cutter (John Heard) charges apocalyptically through a lawn party on a white steed before crashing tragically through the window into the very room where Bone and Cord are talking.
It took me awhile to understand exactly what relationship there was between Cutter, Bone and Mo, but once I figured that out, the rest of the movie became clear.The film is an odd whodunit...Bone (Jeff Bridges) is a young gigolo/yachtsman with no direction to his life who witnesses someone dumping a body in an alleyway and then thinks he sees the same person in a parade, the person being one of the most powerful and influential people in the town.
She later dies in a suspicious fire that prompts Cutter to action and he and Bone confront the suspected man, and Bone finally makes a decision...about Cutter, the suspect, and everything else.Jeff Bridges is excellent in the film but it is really John Heard's performance as one-eyed, one-armed, one-legged war veteran Cutter that makes the film.
"Cutter's Way" (1991) is a great film by director Ivan Passer.
What really makes this film work is the acting by the main trio (John Heard as Alex Cutter, Jeff Bridges as Richard Bone (Cutter's best friend), and Lisa Eichhorn as Maureen Cutter, 'Mo' (Cutter's wife)).
Jeff Bridges' Richard Bone witnesses the late-night dumping of a murdered woman, and thinks the murderer may be a wealthy oil mogul; his friend Alex Cutter hatches a plan to tease out a confession by threatening blackmail; Cutter's wife Mo (Lisa Eichhorn) keeps much of her thoughts and her sadness to herself behind a fixed but fragile smile.
Alex Cutter (John Heard) is a war torn Vietnam vet who lost an eye, a leg and an arm while there.
He is not the most sympathetic character you will find on film but as we come to know him there is something there.Cutter's friend is Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges), a small time gigolo who's not the brightest crayon in the box.
The characters are almost uniformly dislikable, from the abusive Rich (John Heard), to the egotistical Alex (Jeff Bridges), to the self-pitying Mo (Lisa Eichorn), to the slimy George (Arthur Rosenburg)-- there is no one left to root for.
The characters are almost uniformly dislikable, from the abusive Rich (John Heard), to the egotistical Alex (Jeff Bridges), to the self-pitying Mo (Lisa Eichorn), to the slimy George (Arthur Rosenburg)-- there is no one left to root for.
Cutter's Way. A very unusual, very unconventional film which can not seem to decide if it wants to be a character study/mood piece or thriller. |
tt3387542 | The Forest | Sara Price (Natalie Dormer), an American woman, receives a phone call from the Japanese police telling her that they think her troubled twin sister Jess is dead, as she was seen going into Aokigahara, a forest at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan known as a popular destination for the suicidal. Despite the concerns of her fiancé, Rob (Eoin Macken), she journeys to Japan and arrives at the hotel where her sister was staying.At her hotel, Sara meets a fellow American reporter named Aiden (Taylor Kinney). They drink together, and she tells him of her parents' death in a drunk driving accident years earlier, which her sister witnessed, but Sara did not. Aiden invites her to go into the forest with him and a park guide, Michi, so she can look for her sister.The next day, as the three enter Aokigahara, Michi tells Sara that Jess has most likely killed herself. Deep in the woods, the group discovers a yellow tent that Sara recognizes as Jess's. With nightfall approaching, Michi suggests they leave a note for Jess and leave. Sara refuses, and Aiden volunteers to stay with her through the night.That night, Sara hears rustling in the bushes and, believing it may be Jess, rushes into the woods after them. Sara finds a young Japanese girl, Hochiko, who claims to know Jess. The girl warns Sara not to trust Aiden and flees at the sound of his voice. Sara attempts to chase after her but falls and loses her.The next day, Aiden and Sara become lost and begin to walk around the forest. As they walk, Sara's suspicions are raised and she demands Aiden to give her his phone and finds a picture of Jess on it. Aiden denies any involvement with Jess, but Sara runs into the forest alone. While running she begins to hear voices telling her to turn around. She appears to be unfazed by this until she hears the voice directly behind her. She turns around to see a hanging body and continues to run away. She then falls into an underground cave and goes unconscious, later she wakes up and discovers that she is in the cave with Hochiko, who turns out to be a yrei. Hochiko then turns into what appears to be a "demonic figure". Sara then runs the opposite way towards what appears to be Aiden. Aiden finds her and helps her out of the cave and, with some convincing, they continue to walk together.Aiden brings Sara to an old ranger station he'd discovered while looking for her. Inside, Sara hears her sister's voice coming from the basement and finds a note which implies that Aiden is holding Jess captive in the basement. Convinced that he is a threat, Sara attacks and kills a horrified Aiden with a small kitchen knife. As he dies, Sara realizes that Aiden was telling the truth and that the picture on his phone, the voice at the basement door and the note itself, had all been hallucinations.In the basement of the ranger station, Sara sees a vision of the night her parents died from Jess's point of view. It was actually a murder-suicide initiated by her father. The ghost of her father suddenly appears and lunges toward her, grabbing her wrist. She cuts his fingers away from her wrist and escapes the station. Running into the forest, she sees Jess running toward the lights of the search party. Sara calls to her sister, who is unable to hear her. She realizes that her escape from the ranger station was another hallucination. When she cut at her father's fingers she was actually cutting deep into her own wrists, and is now dying from blood loss in the basement. As she succumbs to her wounds, a yrei pulls Sara into the forest floor. Her very much alive sister is rescued by the search party and explains that the feeling of her sister is gone and it is assumed that Jess knows Sara is dead. As the search party leaves, Michi is seen staring at a figure and realizes, too late, that it's Sara's evil spirit who lunges at him. | paranormal, violence | train | imdb | Its inherently scary atmosphere is perfect for a good horror movie, but The Forest mostly squanders its promise by degrading it to a hot spot for cheap jump scares.
2014's As Above, So Below took an intrinsically creepy setting, the Paris catacombs, and used an unsettling atmosphere and good scares to make one of the better horror films of that year.
The Forest has a committed performance from Natalie Dormer and glimmers of an interesting movie but mostly wastes them on predictable jump scares and a bland story..
On the positive side, actress Natalie Dormer makes a good work in the dual role of Sara and Jesse, displaying equal credibility in the suspense sequences and the dramatic scenes she shares with her "sister" or the gallant in turn.
It's become far too common to kick off a new year with an underwhelming horror film (2012 had "The Devil Inside," 2013 had "Texas Chainsaw 3D," 2014 had "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones," and 2015 had "The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death"), and if nothing else, that seems to be the only constant in American cinema alongside with a surefire hurricane of blockbusters starting in May and continuing through July)."The Forest" is set in the Aokigahara Forest, located in Japan's sacred Mount Fuji.
We focus on Sara Price (Natalie Dormer), a young woman who gets a call from the Japanese police telling her that her missing twin sister Jess (also played by Dormer) is dead after she was seen going into the Aokigahara Forest.
The next morning, the two venture into Aokigahara with a park ranger named Michi (Yukiyoshi Ozawa), in efforts to try and find Jess.The idea of the forest, as explained in very disjointed and vague manners by the locals throughout the course of the film, is that if there is an inkling of sadness in your heart upon entering Aokigahara, it will be exploited through things that you will see in the forest to the point where you'll believe the only way out is suicide.
This is especially frustrating since, from the beginning, Zada and company make it seem like they will develop the story in a manner that's focused on the characters, only to leave the most intriguing soul of the entire film undeveloped in her motivations and her intentions.Well-shot, but lacking sustenance and the graceful blend of character and location, "The Forest" is a mediocre horror film, though its PG-13 makes it perfectly acceptable for the middle school/high school crowd to experience a Friday night scare.
As far as horror movies goes this one is not bad..The theme of the suicide forest is intriguing.The stranger in a strange land them works well here.the film avoids most of the horror clichés.It has plenty of creepy moments and you'll jump a few times.The production is high and Natalie Dormer gives a good twist on the scream queen ..Her character is not dumb repeating cliché lines and behavior..The questions that run though your head her character answers.The film has a dark ending and is not fairy tale at all..I don't understand why its so poorly rated its not that bad...its a good scary movie......
It really does not hurt that Natalie Dormer is fun to look at for an hour or two as she plays a woman looking for her twin sister who entered a forest in Japan known to attract those who want to commit suicide and never comes out.
A deep, dark forest with many reasons to fear it is the primary setting for the horror thriller "The Forest" (PG-13, 1:35).Jess and Sara Price (both played by Natalie Dormer) are twins, but are identical in looks only.
In order to avoid spoilers, all I'll say further is that over the ensuing hours, Sara's quest to find her sister gets more complicated and scarier
and when Michi returns, he finds an empty tent."The Forest" is an original and entertaining horror movie.
First-time feature film director Jason Zada gives us enough scary images (a few of which might make some Movie Fans jump in their seats) to qualify this as a horror film, but it's effectiveness lies in what you don't see – and don't know about the characters and their surroundings.Every movie of this type has its surprises and twists, but Zada doesn't overdo anything and the reveals he does put forward feel organic.
And yet, despite these obvious reservations, 'The Forest' is in fact a pretty decent low-budget horror, one that incorporates J-horror tropes into a surprisingly suspenseful story of psychological malaise.Through a series of flashbacks occurring as the twenty-something year-old Sara Price (Natalie Dormer) journeys to the Land of the Rising Sun, we are told of how she has a twin sister named Jess working as a school teacher in Tokyo who has mysteriously disappeared into the titular Suicide Forest about five days ago.
Somewhat too fortuitously, Sara runs into a reporter named Aiden (Taylor Kinney) working for an Australian travel magazine who takes an interest in her predicament and offers to let her use his guide Michi (Yukiyoshi Ozawa) to explore the forest in return for giving him permission to write about her.As they always do, things take a turn for the worse after she steps off the beaten track – not only does she start hearing voices all around, Sara becomes disillusioned after seeing a schoolgirl who claims to carry a message from Jess not to trust Aiden.
According to Western horror, Aiden would probably have met Jess a few days before and be at the very least linked to her fate; but as any self-respecting J- horror fan will tell you, you'll do wiser than to trust an innocent- looking schoolgirl who claims to be helpful.Not to spoil any surprises for those intending to find out the truth on their own, but let's just say that the script credited to Ben Ketai, Sarah Cornwell and Nick Antosca does a fairly competent job of keeping you guessing right up to the very end.
Deserving of mention too is 'Game of Thrones'' Dormer, who pulls off a compelling double-act as Sara and Jess, identical twins whose differing personalities have been unknowingly shaped by their experience of that tragic event from their childhood.To be sure, 'The Forest' won't be a classic anytime soon, but you could do and could go much worse with a film like this.
What starts off as a collection of clichés – whether the twin that goes in search of her missing sibling or the dreams that she has which are somehow meant to be omens or warnings of what had happened – and trite jump scares turns out to be much more by the time the credits run in this effectively brief 94-minute movie, melding the fundamental elements of J-horror with a psychological thriller that will be more familiar to audiences on a diet of Western horror.
Then you might enjoy 'The Forest's spooky children, jump scares, and avoiding spoilers, all of the other movie making flair-less cheats utilised in the current cinema trends.With all of these brilliant things to praise the film with, the bonus is its ignorance towards Japanese culture, turning a beautiful and sacred (but admittedly eerie) place into something of evil, and disregarding mental health sufferers and victims of suicide as 'sad'.I'm currently wondering if MindUK will be supporting the sequel, which sees an American Keira Knightley lookalike chased by ghost children with trick or treat masks on at Beachy Head..
Again, have you ever seen a horror movie to where the film tricks you to think the characters actually going through a trauma, but awakes to find out it's just a nightmare?
I personally felt as if this movie overdid that quite a bit, it kept having our main character, Sarah dream of something terrifying, then awake - Once again leading the film to just throw that randomly in there for the sake of scaring us.
So the main actress you are supposed to be voting for and be with her on this journey,yeah,she's awful.The only thing she does is ask stupid questions every two minutes and being totally dumb.I honestly hated Natalia Dormer's performance,she is just not good in any way.On the other hand i thought Taylor Kinney was OK because he is charismatic and likable and that's about the only positive thing about this movie.
If silly horror clichés, stereotypical characters and cheap jump scares that we have seen a million times already aren't enough to make you sympathize with people who actually do go into the Suicide Forest, then you probably are the most cheerful person in the world, and nothing can break you down.
The movie Forest should have come out 15 years earlier, when the Ring was out, and studios started popping the Americanized versions of Japanese horror films like hot cakes.
THE FOREST is a surprising treat that not only has some star turns from Dormer (yes, multiple roles for the GAME OF THRONES and THE TUDORS star) but holds a story of a desperate struggle that keeps you enticed until the very end.When news of her twin sister, Jess (Natalie Dormer) has gone missing reaches Sarah (Natalie Dormer) she heads to Japan to seek the truth to her disappearance.
While the film shares much in tone with other eastern features such as TALE OF TWO SISTERS or ACACIA where the real scares are the psychological human emotions rather than the ghosts beyond the trees.Natalie Dormer first lead role proves once more she is a powerhouse of an actress playing both of the twins to good effect.
Its J-Horror influence will be familiar with any movie goer familiar with the genres ability to share a darker side to humanity released in the form of the supernatural yet still have a lead whose western culture is unflattered by the lack of technology in a world where there seems a greater divide between nature and urban jungles.Interestingly, Jason Zada couldn't be further away from last year's HOUSES THAT October BUILT, sharing a bigger budget, effective lighting (or lack of) and a story that hones in on the heart of its central character rather than the spirits in the forest that could have been a much scarier experience, albeit one that lacked heart.
It's merely a "meh" movie with nothing special to set it apart.The film follows American Sara Price (Natalie Dormer), who is informed that her twin-sister Jess has vanished into Japan's Aokigahara Forst- a vast forest at the base of Mount Fuji, well- known for the numerous suicides to have occurred deep within.
Unable to believe her sister is dead due to their deep and complex connection as twins, Sara ventures into the forest with reporter Aiden (Taylor Kinney) in hopes of finding her before the dark forces surrounding them claim her very soul...The fundamental issue with the film is that the idea- an intriguing one- is mishandled.
Was not sure what I watched here..Had a feeling there was an underlying story but I cannot for the life of me think what it was...It was all a bit messy but it somehow pulled me in...one of those movies that I think you have to think for yourself..full of innuendo but a bit floundering..A few half decent jump moments and held quite a menacing feel with eerie silence but I still am not sure what I watched.I would imagine some very bad and very good reviews for this as you will either love it or loathe it.One thing is the lead..i found her a bit unlikable...I wasn't particularly bothered what happened to her and would have liked to see more of the almost telepathic thoughts of the twins....I also got the feeling that she was a bit mad and there was never even a twin...just a split personality..but like I said before...I still don't know what I watched with this one..
The intriguing and Potentially Scary subject, a Suicide Forest, is Wasted with nothing but Jump Scares, familiar J-Horror faced Demons, and Horrifying set-ups that never once Horrify.It's Bland and Cliché driven to the point of Yawn inducement and with Boredom beginning to unfold, the Film Fails to Deliver on its promise to be something a bit Different with just more of the Same.
The Lack of Creativity is stunning considering what was here to work with.There are the Twins and Their Biological Connectivity, the back story of the Parents, the Unforgiving Forest, Stuck in the Woods with a Could-Be Psycho, and On and On.No need to go on because it Isn't Worth It. A Wasted opportunity that is Lazy, borderline Incomprehensible at times, Badly Acted, and Insulting with nothing but Jump Scare after Jump Scare that the Movie is Not Deserving of any Consideration and must be Condemned for its deceptive Conceit that a Horror Movie can be Entertaining without anything but...Been there, Done that..
It doesn't mean it has no merit, few of its moments are quite delightful, yet it spends most of the time wandering across predictable set-ups and mundane scares.Sara (Natalie Dormer) goes to Japan to find her missing twin sister Jess (also Natalie Dormer).
It's got its moments where the creepiness and gloom of the forest actually come across; the producers were intelligent enough to focus on the mental aspect of its horror in the main, rather than on gross shock effects which occur *relatively* scarce in the movie.
Even the story had something to offer rather than the conventional horror movie strategy of simply moving the plot along by conjuring up a way to present a cheap jump scare.
But once again, the movie does burden itself with jump scares and an ending that seems a bit rushed, but for a January "horror" flick, this psychological thriller does enough to keep you thoroughly entertained for what it offers.
Just like people, ghosts have personalities too and so it'd be interesting to see how each interacts with the characters.But apart from this, this movie has a lot going for it: terrific setting, naturally mysterious Japanese culture that perfectly lends itself to such stories, very good acting overall, mostly unpredictable plot, and a fairly original story.
I definitely agree that they would have done better by focusing more on the Forest aspect and the Yin Yang type of correlation going on between the sisters instead of these typical jump scares, but overall the movie was definitely a good one for me..
The movie has a good start, it feels like its actually going to build a good story and be more than a few jump scares, it sets a big stake for the later parts of the movie but when it gets there , everything crumbles: stupid jump scares, not so good acting, crappy dialogue, characters doing stuff that makes no sense, and worst of all NOT SCARY!
Its a great starting point for a film that soon becomes little more than a scary jaunt through the woods, with a few ghostly "jump in your chair scares", along the way.The acting is reasonable, but the key character literally and metaphorically, gets lost in this aimless, wandering flick.
Well,As you know,The Forest is about Sara went to Aokigahara Forest in Japan just for finding her identical twin that was lost.This movie is great but there are many ideas that the producer not show in this title.First,the producer wasn't explain the beginning,why Jess can get lost.Second,the film said the Aokigahara Forest is very dangerous but they not show what was happening before the forest called 'THE SUICIDE FOREST'.Third,there are only 3 ghost shown in this movie?
Some of the jump scenes in this film actually did make me jump and it's been over 3 years before I can genuinely say that a horror film made me jump.The acting isn't bad, the story line isn't terrible and it's based around what I feel is a unique so far unexplored concept (suicide forest).This film is definitely worth watching..
which is why it sucks that the film never managed to do that.The film follows typical horror movie hot blonde Sarah (Natalie Dormer) as she embarks on a journey into the suicide forests of Japan to find her twin sister who is believed to have killed herself (also Natalie Dormer).
The movie starts off with a women finding out that her sister is lost in the suicide forest in Japan and she goes looking for her.
First of all don't listen to those haters, cause this movie is not that bad, it has decent enough of scary scenes and i personally think that this story is very good, its a kind of a different story from other horror movies, and also very good place to get scared, i mean what is a better place than a suicide forest right?
Sara Price (Dormer) discovers her twin sister 'Jess (Dormer) has vanished in Japan's infamous 'Suicide Forest' It really exists i looked it up 'Aokigahara ' .
The jump scares,all the time,but anyway,The Forest is a really good horror film,going down there as one of my favorites.
It's not as awful as I had expected, though I expected complete trash, it's certainly far from a good or even average film.The Forest tells the story of Sara Price, played by Dormer, who goes looking for her sister, Jess, in the Aokigahara Forest which is known to be a common destination for suicides.
This is the setting in which this story unfolds in this rather poorly done horror film.Sara Price, played by Natalie Dormer (famously known as Queen Margery Tyrell in Game of Thrones) is a young woman who gets a phone call from Japan, informing her that her twin sister, Jess, has mysteriously gone missing, presumably in the Aokigahara Forest.
The film deals with an interesting subject (Japan's suicide forest) and has a nice twist along the way but sadly this film lacks any real atmosphere or scares and has a lead character who you really don't like, which is what ultimately kills the movie.For the life of me I couldn't figure out whey they made the lead character such an unlikable person.
Even B grade horror films that sound like movies whose success they are counting are spades better than The Forest. |
tt0051790 | Ivan Groznyy. Skaz vtoroy: Boyarskiy zagovor | The opening scene is in the throne room of the King of Poland, which has a floor resembling a giant chess board. The costumes are rich and ornate, and Polonaises, the music of Poland, play in the background throughout. Prince Andrei Kurbsky (Mikhail Nazvanov), formerly a best friend to Ivan, enters to hand his sword to the King, who receives it, then returns it, symbolizing a new vassal to lord relationship. Some of Kurbsky's formerly Russian lands are thus passed to Polish control. The courtiers in attendance are all smiles and welcoming faces. Many good looking ladies are sizing up Kurbsky. The ladies use their eyes to show interest either in the man or in the words he says.The happy atmosphere is interrupted by a disheveled courier who arrives and breathlessly announces that Ivan has returned to Moscow as Tsar. At this news, the party is over, and all present quickly leave the throne room.Ivan (Nikolai Cherkasov), back in Moscow as Tsar, looks older and more tired, and there is even a glint of madness and fear in his eyes. Stung at having had one boyar, namely Kurbsky, defect and put Russian land in foreign hands, he wants a new system where the land is always part of Russia and the boyars are caretaker managers of their districts with no power to transfer the land to outsiders. Since this increases his power at the expense of the hereditary landowners, the boyars, they unite in opposition to his plans, and he is alone and friendless.When he laments that he has no one to trust, the only he could trust was his wife and companion, now dead, the chief of his landless supporters, Czar's Guard Aleksei Basmanov (Amvrosi Buchma) tells Ivan that he is a true friend who can be trusted. Ivan immediately scolds him, telling him he cannot be a friend, since he is a hired servant.Basmanov and the Oprichniki help Ivan consolidate his power over the boyars with terror, arranging for the elimination of some of them.Needing friendship, and wanting to have somebody around to trust, he brings to court his old friend Kolychev, who has become Philip the monk, and makes him metropolitan bishop of Moscow. Philip is not willing to help Ivan in any way, insisting that the Tsars role must be to guarantee that old traditional ways of doing things will be maintained. Ivan is so sad and obsessed to have company that he even begs Philip on his knees to remain his friend.Philip agrees, but his intent is to try to bend Ivan to the will of the Church, and exacts a promise that he will have the right to intercede for anyone condemned to death. Philip is frustrated by what he sees as Ivan's misuse of power, as he takes his cues from the boyars.Meantime, Ivan has become used to using executions to consolidate his political power, killing not only those who openly defy, plot or disobey, but even people that he guesses might resent one of his upcoming decisions, such as the person Philip replaces in Moscow.Ivan faces down Philip and lets loose his private force, the Oprichniks, on the boyars. Although as Tsar he must keep his word, he circumvents his promise to Philip by executing those condemned so quickly that they are dead before Philip has even the news that might lead to a plea for intercession. In this way he has three boyars executed. About this time his nickname the Terrible begins to be used.As a sort of explanation of Ivan's relentless will to crush the Boyars, we see a flashback to Ivan's childhood. His mother was poisoned by boyars, and her last words to him were "Don't trust the boyars." Although young Ivan (Erik Pyryev) is given to wear the trappings of authority in Muscovy, decisions are made by a couple of old boyars who mock him when he asks questions. A bit later he learns that even very young he can assert his authority if he persists and has the will.The boyars, close to desperation, plead their case to Philip and win him over. He vows to block Ivan's abuse of power. In the cathedral a mystery is in process, the songs and representation telling about the terrible torments of fire that await those who refuse to do the will of God. Philip confronts Ivan, and as the argument heats up, Ivan, angry, proclaims that he will be exactly what the boyars call him, the Terrible, and has Philip seized.Fyodor Basmanov (Mikhail Kuznetsov), the first of the Oprichnina, helps Ivan figure out that the Tsarina was poisoned, and both suspect Ivan's aunt Efrosinia (Serafima Birman) of poisoning the wine cup. Ivan orders Fyodor not to say anything about it until he (Ivan) is certain beyond doubt of her guilt.Led by the Tsar's aunt, Efrosinia, the boyars now decide that their only option is to assassinate Ivan and enthrone her son, Vladimir (Pavel Kadochnikov). The novice Pyotr is selected to wield the knife.Ivan, wanting to ascertain Efrosinia's guilt, invites Vladimir to a banquet with the Oprichnina. Vladimir doesnt want to go, but Efrosinia insists that he go and take Pyotr with him, thinking that a magnificent opportunity for the murder has arisen.Ivan gets Vladimir drunk while the Oprichnina sing and dance around them. Ivan manipulates Vladimir, telling him he is a dear cousin, that its too bad they aren't good friends who tell each other confidences. The drunk Vladimir mentions that his mother wants him to be Tsar, even though he himself doesn't want it. Later he lets on that there is a plot to kill Ivan. With this, Ivan is now absolutely sure that Efrosinia was his wife's poisoner.Fyodor Basmanov notices Pyotr leaving, someone who did not belong in the party, and signals Ivan.Ivan, pretending surprise at Vladimir's revelation, suggests to Vladimir that being Tsar is not so bad. He convinces Vladimir to try being Tsar for a while, and has the Oprichnina bring throne, orb, scepter, crown and royal robes. Vladimir is dressed up as Tsar and they all bow down to "Tsar Vladimir."Then Ivan tells Vladimir to lead them, in full regalia, to the cathedral to pray, as a Tsar should lead. With much hesitation and fear, Vladimir does. In the cathedral, the assassin runs up and stabs the mock Tsar, and is immediately seized by Fyodor and Malyuta.Ivan orders them to release Pyotr, and thanks him for killing the tsar's worst enemy. Efrosinia arrives, jubilant at the apparent death of Ivan, until she sees Ivan alive. Rolling the corpse over, she sees it is her own son, screeches in desperation while holding Vladimir in a pose reminiscent of Michelangelo's Pietá.Ivan sentences her. Then, in a final soliloquy, Ivan proclaims that all his enemies within Moscow are vanquished so he can now concentrate to those outside. | revenge, flashback | train | imdb | Ivan the Terrible Part II, the culmination of Eisenstein's career, is easily one of the most brilliant films of all time.Nothing - repeat absolutely nothing - in this film is sub-par.
Eisenstein's compositions create painterly tableaux that can be watched endlessly on pause (especially now that Criterion has issued both Ivans on DVD), allowing the audience to take in the full breadth of this man's genius.
Additionally, unlike, for example, Alexander Nevsky or Strike, Ivan the Terrible Part II (and part I) benefits from a smoother pace and better editing, putting Eisenstein's theory of montage to its best use since Potemkin.For me, however, what two key components of this film set it apart from its prequel and Eisenstein's earlier Potemkin and October.Those components, as you can imagine, are its more pronounce political allegory and its color sequence towards the end.Certainly October and Potemkin were highly politicized affairs, both celebrating the Communist victory in Russia.
In Ivan the Terrible Part II (and to a lesser extent Part I), the audience bears witness to a moment of challenge wherein Eisenstein becomes critical of the course his country and its post-Lenin leaders have taken.
As such, Ivan the Terrible becomes one of the bravest moments in film history and, for that alone, should be commended.Brilliant as a political critique, the film also represents a dazzling demonstration of how color could be used in cinema.
It does not have to mimic reality; rather it can be used artistically to enhance the mood and atmosphere of the film.Taken as a whole, the two-part Ivan the Terrible is a masterpiece of Russian Cinema and should be required viewing for anyone with the slightest bit of interest in film.
And if you decide to watch this film, I recommend: take great Criterion DVD box set which contains also first part and "Alexander Nevsky", another Eisenstein's sound masterpiece..
Ivan Grosnyy, Part II is the movie of my life; the Part I is also a very good film.
I suggest to all the people who like this genre of film to see another very good film of Sergey Eisenstein: Alexander Nevsky once again with Nikolai Cherkasov in the main role.
Ivan the Terrible marks the final stages of the cinema's greatest creative genius: SERGI EISENSTEIN.
In the work, Eisenstein has gone eons beyond his earlier methods of film creation and for the first time approaches a true synthesis of dance, music, poetry, painting, photography, architecture, and all other forms of aesthetic communication.The trials and tribulations surrounding the production and distribution of Ivan have become legendary in there own right.
Together with the world renowned composer, master Sergei Prokofiev, and his lifelong cinematographer Eduard Tisse, Eisenstein labored for years researching and planning out every camera angle, lighting scheme, musical note, costume, color palette, gesture, and perspective; until every scene in Ivan becomes an intricate and complex world of its own.
A world where actors twist and bend their forms to the limits of the plastic frame, shadows conceal and light reveals, the musical notes flow with the rhythm and tempo of the visual image and in the famous banquet scene, colors are used by Eisenstein to delve into the psychological states of the character's mind and state of being.
What remains of Ivan the Terrible will live forever as a testament not only to the genius of Sergei Eisenstein but also to his unparalleled contribution to the world culture of the 20th century..
This second part of Eisenstein's history of the reign of "Ivan the Terrible" is an excellent portrayal of the complex machinations between the famous tsar and his determined rivals, the boyars.
The story, the settings, the actors, and the characters surpass even the high standards of Part One. Nikolai Cherkasov is again excellent in his portrayal of Ivan, with even his occasional exaggerations fitting nicely into his memorable characterization of the formidable tsar.
(The English nickname 'terrible' does not really convey the full sense of his actual nickname in Russian.)The early scenes lead up to the lengthy sequence of the banquet and its aftermath, which a masterpiece of psychological drama and effective film-making.
The cat-and-mouse game between Ivan and his enemies is complemented by the color, imagery, and other details, and it all leads up to a climax filled with tension and possibilities.Eisenstein's series on Ivan showcases the great Russian director's distinctive technique, and it is certainly one of the finest of all historically-based movies.
This space can't afford me the kind of gargantuan platform needed to speak on Eisenstein's masterwork (both parts) with the sort of attention to detail and passion that the director brings to the story of the Russian tsar.
Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible films are two hugely underrated masterpieces.
Like the first part of the movie "Boyarsky Zagovor" (Conspiracy of the Boyars)is indeed a film about Stalin (who was a great admirer of Ivan the IV.) and the (seem-to-be)mechanics of power itself.
In 1564, Ivan, The Terrible (Nicolai Cherkasov), is feeling alone: his wife, friend and great companion was poisoned and his best friend, Prince Andreu Kurbsky (Mikhail Nazvanov) has betrayed him and delivered some Russian cities to Poland.
It's great art.Eisenstein can be compared to Michelangelo,no less.Needless to say,you've got to see part one -slightly inferior to this one,but what does it mean,when you' re watching the seventh art at the height of its terrible powers?-.This part focuses on the feud between Ivan and his aunt who tries to replace him by an effeminate imposter of her choice.Prokofiev music gives the feeling of watching an opera,the scenes in the cathedral recreate a mystery as it was in the Middle Ages as faithfully as you can wish.The peak of the movie remains the banquet,shot in color,thanks to spoils of war film.So stunning is Eisenstein's mastery of the picture that you can hardly exactly tell when the color returns to black and white (which for the final becomes a color in itself)Ivan's last soliloquy might seem aggressive and chauvinistic.But you've got to remember that the USSR were at war at the time ."Ivan" is timeless ,a monument that's as awesome today as it was for its -deleted,because of Stalin- 1958 release..
sure, the technical solutions, the genius of Eisenstein, the tension and the use of colors in the last scenes are the pieces defining this film as masterpiece.
After filming part I of "Ivan" in his classical vein, with his mastery of the silent era still finely honed, Eisenstein had a much different vision for Part II.
Shot in the dire depths of World War II, in 1944-45, it is like all Russian films passionately nationalistic, but perhaps it was too Wagnerian for Stalin, who hated it, demanded Eisenstein repudiate it, which not only prevented the master from filming the 3rd part of his trilogy, but destroyed his career and health.For modern audiences, particularly postmodern audiences, the film has the stagy melodramatic acting, pacing and movement of the silent era that videodrones and harrypotters will never appreciate.
Mostly because Eisenstein's now very visible portrayal of Stalin and the history of the Russian leaders ever-present enslavement and despotism over their people.
Such a film.First of all why did it never came out part 3 I mean it could have been the best trilogy ever made.This was made in 1945-46 but banned for 12 years.It was it because Stalin did not like it at all.Because of Ivan´s secret police and maybe because they also show Ivan as a weak person.He has no friends and that he really suffer for.As historical films I guess they are not better then others but that was not the idea either.
I could never dreamed of that the color sequence would have been as good as this.The whole plot is really superb.You can watch every visual image of this film and just see the art in it.I can´t find nothing that I do not like about these to films,it has a own style.The acting is also powerful and it fit´s in perfectly.Part two has a very ghost-alike feeling and in the color sequence the red colors is really masterful.This was Eisenstein´s last film he died in 1948 only 50 years old.This two epics is if you are interesting of a film a treasure.They are some of the best films I have seen because I have never seen anything like this.I recommend the criterion collection box set Eisenstein:the sound years, very much.Rating: Ivan the terrible parts 1&2 I rate 5/5.
This has a 16 minute colour sequence near the end plus the last 2 minutes that added a new dimension to the story, and although the spotlighting was a bit ropey it all worked well with the usual fantastic camera angles and ugly brooding people.Ivan vacillates between doing it his way and relying on Mother Church for help.
Intelligent film-making is hardly the phrase to use a previous post compared Eisenstein correctly to Kurosawa very different styles but with the same results.Wonderful sequel, much better to be watched on the heels of Part 1.
Both of Eisenstein's Ivan films are extremely impressive, though it is part two that makes them a water-shed moment in film, and to a degree twentieth century, history.Aesthetically, perhaps the most impressive thing about the films is the art direction.
The nightmarishly icon-covered walls of the sets, the gorgeous but sinister props representing stupendous luxury and power, but also id-infused terror, could fill the halls of a major museum and wow in their own right, even if they were not part of a watershed-film.This is the only one of Eisenstein's films, that I know of, to be composed almost entirely of interior scenes.
Eisenstein had surely been prepared to die when Stalin saw the second film.
Eisenstein approached the Ivan the Terrible films from a traditional theatrical angle appropriate to the subject matter.
Eisenstein never really stopped thinking like a director of silents, and although the Ivan films are quite wordy they can be read and understood purely as visuals.The first scene is also the lightest and happiest, which seems unusual after all it's a scene in which Ivan's best friend is betraying him and going over to join his enemy but in the context of the whole picture perhaps it's not that strange.
Although Eisenstein has never been among my favorite directors, I must admit his unfinished trilogy about Ivan the terrible proves his great talent, sincerity and bravery as a filmmaker.Part 2 of the trilogy was criticized by Stalin and banned, the production of part 3 was stopped.Stalin,who idealized Ivan 4 as a founder and a leader of a powerful Russian State, suggested(namely, ordered) Eisenstein the biopic about him.
As a whole trilogy must have been represent three stage of Ivan's life: the heroic youth of "Tsar of All Russia', his middle age with the suffering and the beginning of moral decline as a results of never-ending conspiracy, and the beginning of last period of his life with a massacre in Novgorod and battles in Livoian War,where all of his supporters were killed and he was left alone at last.I've recently read the scenario of part 3 and found there both apparent similarities with previous parts and logical development of the plot after the events depicted previously.
As Ivan the Terrible attempts to consolidate his power by establishing a personal army, his political rivals, the Russian boyars, plot to assassinate their Tsar.This film has made it to Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list, as well as many other lists of movies to see before you die.
And, indeed, it really is an incredible story of Russia, the Tsar, the church and the boyars (the old aristocracy in Russia).But what makes the film most notable is not the film itself (though it is good), but its production history.
After all these years, and Stanislavsky and our own mumbling, subliminal "method" thespians, albeit a few of them too rise above and transcend mere impersonations, Eisenstein's stylized close-up and "painterly" orchestrated set pieces, even his early use of cinema color is true art and not pastiche, elevate and transform the medium of "film." No superficial Barrymore elocutions and stridencies here.
The second, while still very incomplete-looking, is a vast improvement, as eye rolling is minimal, though overacting and long boring scenes are present in this film just like in part 1!
Even without all the truly awful behaviors of Ivan, apparently the supremely evil Stalin STILL didn't like the film and wouldn't allow its release during his lifetime.
Maybe he didn't allow this because he was more worried people would see what a HUGE waste of money and resources the film was instead of seeing Stalin as a crazy guy just like Ivan!
Ivan The Terrible, Part II, is one of those movies that you supposedly have to watch to be able to talk about Russian cinema and know what you're talking about.
Eisenstein, of course, had by this point rejected the dead-end "montage of attractions", meaning that this movie, seemingly in redemption for that idea, cuts probably not more than once every 10 seconds, and that the camera hardly ever moves.
I just can't imaging people still liked watching this in 1958, no matter how great and big Eisenstein was, who had died 10 years prior to the release of this movie.It's an interesting watch for those interested in history and for the fans of Eisenstein's work.
The rhythm of the cuts is the overwhelming clock of the experience.Just as Ivan invents the Russian people, so too does Eisenstein invent the notion of dancing rhythm of film and thus a new narrative perspective, unique to film..
The second part is slightly different since it was the time when Ivan the Terrible had to face the plots and conspiracy from the Boyars, the nobles and the top echelon church people and he had to defeat them with wise schemes more than just plain violence.
It is a masterpiece because Eisenstein uses rather simple means to produce an epic film whose every scene is poignant, powerful, impressive, etc.
The hands, the faces, the bodies are among the best actors of the film along with the actors themselves, quite in the line of what Eisenstein was doing in the 20s, but even better because he was able to use their lips in order to make them speak.
In the film Ivan the Terrible Part II, directed by Sergei Eisenstein and M.
By having Cherkasov play Ivan, he is allowing himself to bring a little of Sergei Eisenstein's, whose is the writer, life into the film as well.
This film that was made in 1959, allowed Eisenstein to use Ivan as a way to tell his good and bad that he has experienced while growing up.
Eventually the boyars get through to him, and in a truly magical and glorious kinetic celebration of dance, music and even color (red-tinted apparently 2-strip film from the Germans) Efrosina's and Philip's plots come together in the person of Efrosina's idiot son Vladimir....I won't spoil the ending, and will just finish my remarks by noting that the film also contains flashbacks to the Tsar's childhood, showing the justifications for his paranoia and hatred of the boyars as we see how his parents were both murdered at their behest; the young Ivan in these scenes (Erik Pyryev) is particularly notable; and the musical/dance sequences that occupy the last third of the film allow us to see Eisenstein at his Hollywood-gaudiest, a potential director of Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire, a mounter of neo-Busby Berkley spectaculars.
SPOILERS hereinSecond and last part of Eisenstein's unfinished trilogy about the title character, it's surprisingly very different than any other of his films, including part one: if he was known for film the Russian myths and made them look even greater to the benefit of the communist regime, here the leading character is extremely humanized and it's far away from the noble hero of the previous films: betrayed by their friends, the woman he loved dead, and hated by those around him, Ivan gradually goes insane by the loneliness of the absolute power, and is so sad and obsessed to have company that he even begs on his knees to a corrupt bishop to have his friendship.
In the end, Ivan the Terrible part II remained as one of, if not the best picture of the director, and one of the greatest achievements in the history of cinema; the genius defeated the genocidal..
I had to see if it was indeed the masterpiece it is claimed to be, especially as both parts appeared in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. I'm not sure if the story was picking up where it left off, but basically Tsar Ivan IV (Nikolai Cherkasov) of Russia in the 16th Century, suffered the death of his wife Anastasia from poisoning, and his chief warrior Prince Andrei Kurbsky (Mikhail Nazvanov) defected to the Poles, and he makes a friend with Fyodor Kolychev (Andrei Abrikosov) who becomes Archbishop Philip the monk for Moscow.
All the King's Men. Sergei Eisenstein had planned to make a trilogy about the life of the Russian czar Ivan Groznyy.
Even as a short film, IVAN THE TERRIBLE: PART II is a slow, escalating march towards the uncovering of an assassination plot meant to rid him from the throne in lieu of his cousin Vladimir Staritsky, a thing that his mother Eufrosinia wants with a vengeance, since this would mean power to the boyars.
8/10 The source for some information about the score have been derived from the text 'Stalin the Powerful: Prokofiev, Eisenstein and IVAN THE TERRIBLE' published in Film Score Monthly Online (August 2007) Thank you for reading.
The film was made in 1958, 5 years after Stalin's death (after his death, the horrible crimes that he committed when he was in power were revealed) which is no coincidence.What I don't understand is how Eisenstein chose to have some parts in color and others in black and white for this film. |
tt1825918 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | The film opens with Phineas (Vincent Martella), Ferb (Thomas Sangster), Candace (Ashley Tisdale), Perry, a.k.a. Agent P (Dee Bradley Baker), and Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Dan Povenmire), who have been captured by the 2nd Dimension Doofenshmirtz and in chains, being led to a large, hairy, caged monster called a "Goozim". The scene flashes back to earlier in the day when Phineas and Ferb have just woken up. It's been five years since they adopted their pet platypus, Perry, from the O.W.C.A.'s animal shelter. After reminiscing about how they got him ("Everything's Better with Perry"), the boys decide to play giant platypus badminton, and construct a platy-pult with their friends Isabella (Alyson Stoner), Buford (Bobby Gaylor), and Baljeet (Maulik Pancholy). Perry the Platypus reports to his lair and dons his secret agent persona, Agent P. He is briefed by Major Monogram (Jeff "Swampy" Marsh) about his mission, receives new gadgets by Carl (Tyler Alexander Mann), and rides off in his rocket car. Phineas and Ferb launch themselves off the platy-pult in a giant shuttlecock and fly through the air, but end up colliding with Perry's rocket car and crash onto the roof of the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building, destroying Dr. Doofenshmirtz's latest invention, the Otherdimensionator.Meanwhile, upon hearing that her boyfriend Jeremy Johnson (Mitchel Musso) is already looking for the perfect college for himself, Candace, Phineas and Ferb's older sister, decides to grow up and act more like an adult with the help of her best friend, Stacy Hirano (Kelly Hu). Phineas and Ferb apologize for breaking Doofenshmirtz's invention and offer to help him fix it. Perry, who has arrived on the scene, goes back into his mindless pet persona, lest his owners find out his secret. The boys and the evil scientist successfully open a portal to the 2nd Dimension, and find that it is ruled by an alternate Doofenshmirtz, who has seized control of the Tri-State Area, unlike his prime counterpart. Doofenshmirtz meets him ("A Brand New Best Friend (and It's Me)").Phineas, Ferb, and Perry follow, and Doof-2 reveals Perry's identity as a secret agent by making his minion, Platyborg (who was the 2nd Dimension Perry defeated by Doof-2 and turned into a cyborg) attack the boys, to which Perry had no choice but to save them. The boys and their pet make a hasty escape from the building, with Phineas feeling angry and betrayed that his pet kept this secret from him this whole time. The three try to get back to their dimension by using a remote version of the Otherdimensionator, but are unable to. They decide to go find their 2nd Dimension selves for help, and find out that that summer has been outlawed in this Tri-State Area and that they have never heard of summer ("Summer (Where Do We Begin?)"). Perry sees a news report on the TV saying that if Perry turns himself in, Doof-2 would not hurt Phineas and Ferb. As Perry goes to surrender himself to Doof-2, Phineas, still angry at him for not being honest with them all these years, disowns him, forcing Perry to sadly leave ("I Walk Away").Phineas, Ferb, and their 2nd Dimension selves then go across the street to get help from the 2nd Dimension Isabella, only to be stopped by a patrolling Normbot (one of the mass-produced 2nd Dimension versions of Doofenshmirtz's robotic servant Norm; both are voiced by John Viener), who is taken down by the 2nd Dimension Buford. The five get across the street, but they all fall down a chute into the headquarters of the Resistance, a group of civilians who want to overrule Doof-2's dictatorship. They are tied up by the Firestorm Girls and presented to Isabella-2, who recognizes at least Buford-2, and she lets the group go. Phineas explains their dilemma, and they are taken to "Dr. Baljeet", the 2nd Dimension version of Baljeet. Dr. Baljeet explains the concept of inter-dimensional time travel, and that they would need a lot of energy to get to the 1st Dimension. Candace-2 reveals herself to be the Resistance's leader and they open a portal to Phineas and Ferb's backyard. Upon hearing that Perry has been captured, Phineas and Ferb want to go back to save him. Candace and Stacy see the portal, and Candace steps through, causing the portal to close, leaving her stuck in the 2nd Dimension.The gang decides to break into Doof-2's headquarters to rescue Perry by using underground mine carts, but find that it is a trap. Perry is able to distract the Doofs and the Norm Bots by showing a hologram of Major Monogram in the shower. The gang tries to escape by heading back with the mine carts, but Candace-2 separates the carts between the Resistance and the 1st Dimension-ers, so she and her brothers are safe, leading to Phineas, Ferb, Candace, and Perry's capture. Phineas and Ferb refuse to rebuild the Otherdimensionator so Doof-2 can go to the 1st Dimension and enslave it, so he sentences them to be doomed (i.e., fed to the Goozim). He also sentences the regular Doofenshmirtz, as he annoys him. As Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Agent P, and Doofenshmirtz are about to be eaten, Candace-2 shows up with the remote version of the Otherdimensionator, destroys the Norm Bots, and throws the remote to Phineas, who opens a portal and escapes along with his friends. They travel through numerous dimensions ("Brand New Reality"), until they get back home. They find that Doof-2 has arrived in Danville, the Otherdimensionator having been repaired by Doofenshmirtz prior to his sentencing to the Goozim, and that Normbots are invading the city. While Perry goes to fight with his fellow agents, Phineas and Ferb simply walk home.Once there, they find Agent P's lair, where they get a message from the O.W.C.A. stating that they need their help. Many of the boys' inventions from past episodes are recreated, and the kids of Danville use them to combat the Norm Bots attacking the Tri-State Area ("Robot Riot"). Phineas and Perry get to the top of the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building, where Doof-2 is. After battling him and Platyborg, Phineas and Perry are able to destroy the satellite controlling the Norm Bots, and they all fall to the ground. As Candace decides that she doesn't want to be an adult anymore, she suddenly comes up with a plan to save the Tri-State Area, and she goes to get her parents (Caroline Rhea and Richard O'Brien) to see what's going on. Ferb joins Phineas and Perry on the roof as Doof-2 rises from the floor with a giant robotic version of himself. As he is about to smash and kill the trio, the regular Doofenshmirtz shows up and hands Doof-2 a toy train. Doof-2 had lost his toy train when he was a kid, and that had caused him to become evil. Reunited with his object, Doof-2 apologizes and reveals that he has had self-destruct buttons on all the Norm Bots after all, and uses a remote to destroy all of them. Candace and her mother come out and find that everything is back to normal and that Candace has once again failed to bust her brothers. However, she takes it as, since the "mysterious force" takes thing away before her mother sees it, by bringing her mother out, and causing the Normbots to be taken away, she has saved the world.Doof-2 returns to the 2nd Dimension, only to be arrested by Major Monogram and the Firestorm Girls. Monogram and Carl tell Phineas and Ferb that Perry will have to go away forever now that they know his secret revealing the reason why Perry never told them his secret, but they then remember that Doofenshmirtz had built an Amnesia-inator to erase memories. Doofenshmirtz has no memory of building such device (proving that it worked, as it had erased his memory of constructing it). Phineas, Ferb, and their friends line up at the O.W.C.A. headquarters to get their memories erased and forget the entire day. Phineas and Ferb say their last good-bye to Agent P, and Isabella kisses Phineas on the lips, finally being able to live out her fantasy. Before Phineas can say anything, the Amnesia-inator does its work. Afterward, Agent P enters his lair, and takes out a camera. He plugs it into the screen and looks at photos of his and his owners' adventure, smiling ("Takin' Care of Things").
The film ends with Slash performing "Kick It Up a Notch" with Phineas, Ferb, their friends, and Doof-2. | alternate reality, humor | train | imdb | If you're a long-time or even a short-time fan of this series, the movie will make you laugh at references to previous episodes.
If it was released in theaters, with crisper animation and better comedic timing, it might be one of the best things Disney has released this decade..
Going into it, I figured this movie would be pretty decent, seeing as it's Phineas and Ferb.
You get to experience an entirely new dimension of the Phineas and Ferb world, one where Doofenshmirtz isn't so doofy.
Step-brothers Phineas and Ferb have had a lot of great adventures over the course of their summer (ex.
I was very impressed by this Disney Channel production, because, not only was it so much better than any of the other original movies but it was even better than a lot of the actual episodes of it's own TV series.
Still, I had never seen "Phineas and Ferb" before this movie and knew next to nothing about them.Still, this movie has enough intelligent writing to make it tolerable for adults, enjoyable characters, and a fun plot involving an alternate dimension.
Actually, like many of the cartoons of my childhood, this movie's music doesn't seem particularly contemporary (Slash was popular 20 years ago, for example), but it's plenty loud.The kids from our universe are geniuses, and we can be sure that no matter how bad things get, they'll figure out a solution.
But this movie has only the cartoon kind of violence, though, and most of it is against robots, and not really enough to justify a TV-PG rating when TV-PG can be given to content that is much worse.I especially liked the nonsensical but humorous lines given to one of the robots.
A Disney Channel Original Movie which is actually pretty good.
I never liked shows as "Hannah Montana", "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" or "Wizards of Waverly Place".However, "Phineas and Ferb" was an honorable exception to this, being one of the very few modern cartoons that I actually like.
While at first "Phineas and Ferb" seemed like a predictable show (Having the same basic premise played in most of the episodes) I was surprised of how good that show turned out to be, being witty and clever, with lots of likable characters and catchy songs.So, when this movie was announced, I had very big expectations about it.
In some ways, "Across the 2nd Dimension" it's like a extended episode of the series, but that's a good thing: Despite the fact that the story is somewhat darker than the original show, this movie still has all the charm and fun of the original series, something that (Just to give an example) "The Simpsons" movie lacked, managing to keep the best elements from "Phineas and Ferb" (The humor, the good music, the interesting and hilarious relationships of the characters) "Across the 2nd Dimension" is a solid TV film, that delivers exactly what it promised and it never disappoints, being quite enjoyable without having to see the original series first.
Keeping in mind, that it is the film-feature based on a kids TV-show (with your mandatory song per episode), I was pleasantly surprised by this movie.
I can recommend this movie for all fans of the show and assure any parent, that it is a much better rental/buy than many Direct-To-DVD Disney movies.Addendum: Watching the show prior to the movie is not required, but being familiar with some of the shows themes, might improve your experience of the movie.
Even though some of the later season episodes weren't as funny and imaginative as the earlier ones, 'Phineas and Ferb' became a favourite when first introduced to it in 2009 or so.
Eight years on, despite being finished, 'Phineas and Ferb' airs regularly on the Disney Channel and it's still a pleasure and one of their best shows in a long time.Although starting with an original concept, the stories in terms of structure are based around the same formula mainly.
The ideas and situations however have enough variety to avoid it becoming too repetitive, while it looks good, has one of the catchiest theme tunes of any show in recent years, has wonderful, clever and funny writing, interesting and entertaining character relationships and characters that are easy to like.
As likable as the two protagonists are and Candace is more than the stereotypical, tell-tale older sister that she seems, the scene stealers are adorable and funny Perry the Platypus (another example of mastery of actions and expressions registering hugely without uttering a word) and hilariously loony and incompetent Doofenschmirtz.It was inevitable that 'Phineas and Ferb' would get its own feature film, and it richly deserved it with characters and writing strong enough to warrant one.
'Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension' more than does the show justice and as far as films based on Disney Channel shows not released in theatres it's one of the best there is, proof too that 'Phineas and Ferb' had not lost its mojo at this point.Maybe the pacing is a little too fast on occasions, especially in the second half, and the finale is rather overblown and descends too much into silliness (something that the rest of the film avoided, so it was a shame).
Flaws aside, 'Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension' is absolutely perfect for existing fans of the show and does a very good job in its attempt to attract a wider audience which shows that the film works on its own too.
Children will love it and there is plenty for adults to enjoy, if anything adults or older fans will appreciate the story and humour more most likely.The animation is good and true to the animation style of the show but with a little more visual invention thanks to having a premise that allows for that to happen.
The music is catchy with some clever lyric writing, despite loving the infectious music in the show there was the fear that the music wouldn't be to my taste here, having heard polarising opinions on it, but coming from someone raised on classical music and opera it was right up my street.'Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension' is particularly good in the writing, characters and character relationships.
The characters are both interesting and likable, it has been said that Phineas is out of character, and he is (showing a side to him that has never happened in the show), but one can understand why if anybody knows what its like for someone you love and trust is not who they seem while also understanding Perry's point of view.The characterisations of Perry and Doofenschmirtz are on point and stay true to their original personalities, and Candace's subplot actually to me was crucial in her development while not being as interesting as the rest of the story.
Even better was how well 'Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension' did in opening things up with all the ingredients that made the show work so well intact while having the alternate dimension concept that gave the film a darker, bigger and edgier approach.
It even has a touching moment with the reconciliation scene that warmed the heart too.Voice acting is typically terrific, particularly from Vincent Martella (Phineas), Ashley Tisdale (Candace) and Dan Povenmire (Doofenschmirtz).Overall, a real pleasure and complements 'Phineas and Ferb' perfectly.
The humour throughout the film was great; classic Phineas and Ferb.
For example, Phineas & Isabella's late scene and also the whole 'secret agent' situation with Perry and the boys etc.Although this is a film aimed at children, I found some parts were very clever, alike with the Isabella/Phineas scene and the Perry scene, was the wonderful scene in which they brought all the inventions together in Danville to fight off the robot army.
Obviously yet again, this is better understood if you'd seen the TV series, however I still think its a very clever factor to have in this film.
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension was an interesting movie, but I only gave it a 6/10 because Phineas can seem really out of character at times, but overall, it was great!.
Now I know why this movie was and is nominated as "Best Animated TV Film of All Time"!
I recommend this to anyone and everyone who enjoys a good animated film, or any of the Disney movies.
This truly compliments the series and the ending is a shocker!SPOILERS: The whole movie is based upon Doctor Doofenshmirtz new "Inator" and how Phineas and Ferb come to be in the opposite dimension of their own.
The movie is very edgy and very entertaining, especially the whole twist they put onto the plot (Phineas and Ferb finding out Perry leads a double life, Isabella kissing Phineas as their minds are about to be wiped, etc.)Overall I give this film a 10/10.
In the series, Phineas and Ferb are creative and funny inventions and his sister Candace is accused with his mother, but always fails.
In the film, Perry recommends the worst comes true when in the second dimension, Phineas and Ferb know his secret, besides they are now trapped in the second dimension, which governs the evil by Doof.
And Phineas and Ferb have a great formula.
Doofenshmirz shines like never before and Perry must face the inevitable when Ferb and Phineas find out who he really is.
This is a great, fun movie worth taking the lazy summer afternoon to sit back and enjoy wholesome and creative entertainment with catchy songs, unforgettable one-liners and clever script-writing.
This 77-minute adventure is more like an animated action film with jokes and songs than like a longer episode of the television series.A typical episode to P&F entails a three-way collision of the child-like genius of Phineas and Ferb, of the childish genius of Heinz Dofenschmirtz, and of the just-plain childishness of Candace Flynn.
Phineas and Ferb have great fun, Doofenschmirtz is hoisted on his own petard, Candace is thwarted, and the only one who has any clue as to what has really happened is, well, a platypus.But this time there's a different three-way collision, and the result is that Phineas and Ferb, oblivious to the sort of fellow that Doofenschmirtz is, help him to create a portal into a parallel universe.
In the course of things, various people and at least one aquatic mammal learn what they have really meant one to another.(And the viewer might also see what some of the characters have come to mean to the writers.)As an action film for kids, this is pretty well written, Whoever did the story-boards had a very solid understanding of the What, Where, and When of an action film.
If you want to see the best animated movie of 2011.This is it.The Storyline was superb.There is almost no flaw in the movie except the songs the songs where not as catchy as the songs in the animated cartoon.That,s why I rated it as 9/10.If the songs had been better.It would have been 10/10.All the characters played out there roll successfully without any flaws.But Ferb could have been better and they could have made the movie a lot funnier.
Ferb had a very unimportant roll in the Film .The other dimension Candice was just plain awesome with the style and everything including Esabella.This movie is good for adults and kids.Do not underestimate it as a childish movie..
The one thing that disappointed me most though was that during half the movie, Phineas was acting completely out of character: he was angry.
He must really care about this!" the way it does in the special, "Summer Belongs to You!", the plot gives the impression of, "This is a completely normal reaction to discovering that your pet platypus has been dueling with a hunchback pharmacist for the past five years." Phineas isn't normal.
Phineas and Ferb will never remember their crazy encounter with their pet secret agent, but Perry will.
Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension.
I'll just say it I hate Phineas and Ferb, this show is nothing but garbage with a weak story, unlikeable characters, horrible animation it's just crap.
Alright the story, Phineas and Ferb are doing their normal thing building crap.
(Yah how could they miss that EVIL sign?) But once Phineas and Ferb help finish Dr. D's machine (the dimension-nator) Perry comes in and has to tell the truth about his identity.
It's definitely a thinking person's movie/series, with all kinds of cultural references (remember the show Laverne and Shirley?) and deeper levels of thought than most of today's mindless entertainment, yet kids can watch and enjoy it immensely for the action, quirky humor, songs, and deep bonds of love between family and friends.
Put your hand down, Ferb." Honestly, I'd never seen the show before I watched this movie on a whim, and was pulled into their world within minutes!
The only time this has happened to me in the past ten years was during the fantastic movie 'Megamind', so I knew I was watching something special.
I even bought the 3 CDs (You want the Wal. Mart exclusive Movie CD-it has ten extra songs from the series including fan favorites Spa Day, A-G-L-E-T, Candace Party and Watchin' and Waiting'), bought the Summer Belongs to You Amazn download, and even went looking online for those that aren't on the CDs.
I appreciate little details like that.) For a fascinating, touching look at deeper issues, watch the episode 'Phineas and Ferb Get Busted' It's one of my favorites; actually brought tears to my eyes more than once.
Even better, Phineas fans will be thrilled at the exploration of his character, as the normally calm, even-tempered Phineas is upset, hurt and even angry at Perry's years of deception and worse, letting the boys actually help an evil scientist further his evil plans.
If you're still a fan of Phineas and Ferb, I recommend you don't watch this movie.
Before you read this review and, or my opinion, it's very recommended that you must watch the first 20 episodes of Phineas and Ferb.
Phineas and Ferb isn't the best cartoon, but it's good.
When Disney first spoiled that there was going to be a Phineas and Ferb Movie, I was like '' finally." and after that i said to myself'' This movie gonna be crappy.'' Disney was making a big fuss about this cartoon having a movie.
The plot of this movie is that Phineas and Ferb help Dr.D fix a machine that send them to another dimension where the tri-state area is ruled by an actual Evil Dr.D. Having no choice Perry the platypus had revile that he was a spy to save Phineas and Ferb.
Since this is a Phineas and Ferb movie.
In the end, Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension didn't live up to the hype it created.
No wonder this film reminds me of Pixar's Brave.This part you're reading is one my opinions of the movie, that doesn't have anything to do with the review, I just feel like sharing them to people who might care.
First off, I'm proud of Disney for not mentioning it, but because of how the movie was going to end, everyone saw this coming, and if your a true blue fan of Phineas and Ferb, I'm pretty sure you saw this coming before you knew how it was going to end.
Candace Flynn (Ashley Tisdale) Phineas and Ferb's inept, boy crazy sister inadvertently goes to the 2cd dimension too.
The characters are all a lot of fun and it's interesting to see how Phineas and Ferb's friends would bee in a totalitarian regime.
My sister and I are both big Phineas and Ferb fans, and if you are too, this will not disappoint..
In the movie the writing is still clever and witty just like the show.
The end was good but the fight scene is a little disappointing.The whole concept of Phineas and Ferb is great and the movie follows the usual prospects that the show does.
I love the movie but it is not quite as good as the show.
I followed the Animated Series much later than at the time of its release, and it's pretty damn good.
I've seen both movies, and Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension is truly superior.By now, there are SPOILERS, so don't read anything unless you REALLY want to.It breaks the most of the traditional build-up from the regular episodes, and it's really action-packed.
The new characters helped that factor, especially the 2nd Dimension's Candace (Candice in my country), who flat out outshines the Candace we all know from the Animated Series.As you might have guessed, the plot is far from boring, and I won't reveal THAT much out of it.
During the movie, Phineas, Ferb and Candace finally discover who's Perry : a secret agent.
And at the end, every main character (except the parents) gets brainwashed, and all say goodbye to the Perry they got to know in the movie.
The action scenes between Perry and the main characters were amazing, and it makes me sad it won't happen in the series.
Also it makes inconsistencies as the entire city, if not the world saw gigantic robots piloted by the main characters saving the day, anyone else like Jeremy (who doesn't appear) could remind Phineas, Ferb & Candace what they did that day, hell, the attack was even filmed on TV.Maybe the TV Series would have lost the charm it has now if Phineas & Ferb were now secret agents or anything, but I can't help thinking they were AWARE of Perry's identity then had saved the world, just to get brainwashed next as if nothing happened, it makes me pull the hair out of my head.Apart from that, it was imaginative, and the movie shows that the Animated Series, after 3 Seasons, still got it.9/10 |
tt0110793 | Past Tense | In 2034 Belle (Ai-Ai Delas Alas) is in a deep coma. The nurse played a voice recording of Babs (Xian Lim) retelling about their past. The first time Babs saw Belle (Kim Chiu) he already chosen her but Belle doesn't like Babs due to his being obese. Until one day they meet again in the coffee shop after she was rejected by her long lost father Senator Perry Tantoco (Johnny Revilla). Babs gave her a slice of cake and they build their friendship together. They became bestfriends even Babs has a secret feelings with Belle. Until Belle meet Carlos (Daniel Matsunaga) and become her boyfriend. Even Belle and Carlos are together Babs is still there for Belle until he saw Carlos cheating with his ex Annika (Shy Carlos) from Belle. She confronts Carlos and he gets angry and walked out from Belle. Belle chased him to apologize until she have an accident.
Back in 2034, Belle woked up from a coma and realizes that everything that she had is already gone. Her beautiful face, her happines. Papa Time (Benjie Paras) shows to her and offered her a second chance to fix her life. They go back to the past. Papa Time brings Belle to Carlos and she seen what Carlos did to her. Until Belle meet her younger self on the day when Belle will meet Carlos. Belle introduces to her younger self as Bhe. She asked Belle to take her to the hospital to avoid meeting Carlos. Bhe succeeded to stop Belle meeting Carlos in the restaurant. Babs came to the hospital and when Bhe will a test Carlos in the hospital and He meets Belle.
Belle was invited in Carlos's bar she can't leave Bhe in the hospital. Babs still wants to support her he offered to look for Bhe so Belle can go to Carlos.
In Carlos's Bar Belle meets Carlos's friend. Bhe woked up and asked Babs where's Belle and she panicked when she known that Belle is with Carlos. Carlos is convincing Martina (Bianca Manalo) to be the endorser of his Vodka. Belle befriended Martina and she asked her to accept Carlos's offer. Babs and Bhe came and they saw Belle is hugging Carlos.
Bhe and Babs are drinking together and they confessed their emotions. When Babs is already drunked he said to Bhe that he is inlove with Belle.
Bhe take Babs home drunked. She is confused that Babs loves her and Papa Time shows up telling her how she will see Babs if her head is always turned to Carlos.
In the Morning Belle arrived in Babs house to see him but Babs is still in his room with Bhe. Belle suspected something happened with Babs and Bhe. Bhe blackmailed Babs that she will tell that he is inlove with Belle if he did'nt gave Bhe a job and allowed her to live in his house.
Belle is invited by Carlos to see her again and Bhe is scared to happen what she don't want to happen again. Bhe tells Babs that she knows the future and theres a flower suprise of Carlos to Belle. Babs saw it he believes her. Bhe wants Babs to be liked by Belle.
Bhe helps Babs to loose weight to have a Grand Gesture to Belle. Bhe did everything to help Babs.
When Belle is with Carlos she realizes that she and Carlos are not same. She called Babs and she tell everything. She told Babs that they are for each other.
Next day Babs is preparing everything because he will confess his love for Belle. Bhe wants to stop him because he still not ready enough. When Belle arrives and she is expecting that the surprise is from Carlos. Babs confess his love for Belle but she is expecting from Carlos. Babs was so embarrased and he run away but he collapsed.
Babs is in sick. Belle blames Bhe because she and Babs has a plan for her. Babs is rejecting Belles call and he is avoiding her until he decided to go to San Francisco to move on from her.
Belle missed Babs very much. One night Belle and Bhe saw Carlos but she was not affected. She is affected from Babs until one day Babs came back with lots of changes. He is already slim.
When Babs came back Belle is hoping to fix everything with Babs. Babs came back just to help them to do their project for Carlos's launch and he will go back to San Francisco to study. Babs is so hard with Belle until they have some moments that feels like they are restoring what they are before.
Belle wakes up beside Babs. They kissed but Babs remember the days when he was rejected and embarrased by Belle. He tells Belle that he is scared to love her again and they will never restore their friendship anymore. Belle hurts and tells Babs that she don't want him to be a part of her life anymore.
Bhe talks to Babs pretending Belle and begs him to forgive Belle.
Babs goes to Sen. Tantoco office to talk to him. In the launching of Carlos's vodka and also the day of Bhe's deadline and a night when Babs going to leave. Babs and Belle are not talking with each other. Bhe saw Papa Time warning her about her deadline. Bhe tells Belle that they are only one and begs her to make up with Babs. Bhe ask Papa Time for an extension of her last 45 minutes to fix her life but in their rule limited time offer only. She discoved to Papa Time that Babs will have an accident and she looks for Belle to convince her to stop Babs. Babs left to go back in San Francisco.
Belle saw Martina and greet her and Sen. Tantoco approaches Belle and Bhe comes. He asked Belle's forgiveness for avoiding her and he already accept Belle as his daughter. He told Belle that he was approached by Babs and Bhe convince Belle again. She tells everything to Belle and she asked Bhe how did she know everything and believed her.
They chasing Babs just like they are chasing Carlos before. Babs realizes that he can't leave Belle so he gets back.
Belle and Bhe hits Papa Time and Bhe asked Belle to continue chaising Babs instead of helping him just to avoid the truck that will cause their accident. Bhe helps Papa Time and the truck arrives and realizes that she stopped the accident.
Belle and Babs already see each other and they apologized. They have their happy ending. Papa Time asked Bhe if she is ready to go back to the future but she still watching her happy ending until a truck coming to Belle and Babs.
Back in their future Belle wokes up again from a sleep and she thought that Babs is already dead. But Babs (Richard Yap) arrived and Belle stops from worrying. Babs tells Belle about their accident that Belle pushed Babs to save him and she got hit by the truck and her face did not changed but her happy ending with Babs remains. She realizes that she woke up not from a coma but from giving birth for her third child with Babs. The same day they celebrating their wedding anniversary and 27 years of their friendship. | murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0469641 | World Trade Center | On September 11, 2001, Port Authority Police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno are patrolling the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan when they see a plane fly dangerously low overhead. As all of the Police return to the station, they see on TV that the North Tower of the World Trade Center has been hit by the plane. Sergeant McLoughlin assigns many of the officers to assist in a precautionary evacuation attempt of the North Tower and they board a Metropolitan Transit Authobus. On the bus, they hear reports that the South Tower is also hit by another plane. When they arrive at the World Trade Center, they realize the extent of the disaster, and see one of the victims jump out of the towers to certain death. The men proceed to get safety equipment from Building 5 and enter the concourse between the towers.
The group consists of McLoughlin, Jimeno, Dominick Pezzulo and Antonio Rodrigues. Officer Christopher Amoroso appears to inform them of other events, such as the attack on the Pentagon, the second plane's hit on the South Tower and an attack on Israel though the group does not accept any of these as true. As the men prepare to enter the North Tower, the buildings begin to rumble. McLoughlin realizes that the South Tower is collapsing onto them and that their only chance of survival is to run into the service elevator shaft. Amoroso trips and does not have time to get up, and Rodrigues is unable to get to the shaft in time, resulting in both deaths. McLoughlin, Jimeno and Pezzulo manage to escape the huge amounts of dust and rubble flying down from the South Tower. However, as the rubble continues to crush the elevator shaft, the three are trapped. As the cascade of debris subsides, Pezzulo realizes he can free himself and manages to move nearer to Jimeno in order to shift the debris covering his legs, but cannot make it to McLoughlin as he is trapped deeper in the rubble. Pezzulo tries but fails to shift the debris due to its weight, and is instructed by McLoughlin not to leave.
As Pezzulo becomes optimistic that they will live, the rumbling begins again as the North Tower starts to collapse. Although Jimeno and McLoughlin are not further harmed, Pezzulo is fatally injured when a concrete slab falls into the hole, crushing his torso. After he fires a gun through a gap in the rubble to try to alert rescuers to their position, he dies. Jimeno and McLoughlin spend hours under the rubble, in pain but exchanging stories about their lives and families. McLoughlin is particularly anxious to keep Jimeno from falling asleep and Jimeno also realizes that by straining to grab a metal bar above his body, he can make a noise that rescuers might hear. Two United States Marines, Dave Karnes and Jason Thomas, who are searching for survivors, do hear it and find the men, calling for help to dig them out. Jimeno is rescued first, and then hours later McLoughlin is lifted out of the debris, barely alive and in critical condition. They are then both reunited with their distraught families at the hospital. Two years after the attacks, McLoughlin and Jimeno attend a barbecue with their families: McLoughlin's wife Donna, Jimeno's wife Allison, daughter Bianca, and their newest addition Olivia.
The epilogue states that John and Will were two of the 20 people pulled out alive and are now retired from active duty. Dave Karnes re-enlisted in the Marines. | revenge, flashback | train | wikipedia | Whatever one wants to say about Oliver Stone, he showed a commitment to faithfully telling the story of these two Port Authority cops trapped in the wreckage of the World Trade Center and their worried wives.I liked a lot of the scenes in the beginning, the little mundane details like when Michael Pena's character is going about his everyday street beat.
For a film called World Trade Center, I guess I was expecting a little more context and not something focused so narrowly on these two Port Authority cops and an ex-Marine from Connecticut (as the only person outside these two cops' families whose story is told in the film, the focus on him reeks of jingoism in a GI Joe/Rambo vein).
Oliver Stone, by comparison, has failed to effectively tie the experiences of these two trapped cops with the larger events of the day, and his film suffers as a result.
It feels like a soap opera set against the greatest tragedy of our age, and that just doesn't work for me.In short...not intense enough, not enough context, too much melodrama, not enough of a sense of reverence for what happened, highly impressive job of recreating the debris field, a charismatic performance from Maggie, overall a mediocre film..
With a tragedy as large as this, and a bucket-of-possible-plots as filled as this, it's quite disturbing to see Oliver Stone hit his low-point of his entire career on this exact project.With a mere fifth of the runtime away, we have our heroes in distress, with little to no character buildup been done to carry us through the last four-fifths of cinematic pain with any kind of relation to the characters put on the screen.It's as if the story is so well-known that the script writer sees no point in drawing out the basics, which is perfectly understandable as you'd have to be literally dead to not know a heck of a lot about 9/11, and that counts for Americans and Eskimos alike.
The only thing letting you know that they're "the good guys" is the ever-present string ensemble playing fiddle for them all along.This movie presents no story, no character buildup, no suspense, no action sequences (expecting to see the towers fall in state-of-the-art CGI wonder?
Stone tries to carry the movie just by showing how sad the families were and how scared the policemen were, meanwhile allowing the audience no interesting plot points to hold on to, nor any significance to the tragedy.
In the end, I have to conclude that Oliver Stone just wanted to get some cheap emotional reactions from the crowd, because at one point the movie says that it is about the potential for good in humanity and how strong we can be in the face of adversity.
September 11 was the most important and tragic event in my lifetime, and I think it deserves more respect than to be made into a generic, poorly-written disaster movie less than five years after it happened..
Something surprising happened while watching Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" - I realized how much more I appreciated Paul Greengrass' "United 93." Greengrass' film was lean, stripped of any backstory for any of the characters.
Very simply, it told what happened that horrible day on the plane - though he used some license - and didn't wallow in needless sentimentality.Stone, on the other hand and rather surprisingly, seems to have gone out of his way to make something that would be so palatable and inoffensive that it would turn out rather bland, above anything else.The 45 minutes of "World Trade Center" are terrific.
After offering us quick glimpses into the lives of Port Authority cops John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), Andrea Berloff's script gets us right into the attacks on the Twin Towers.The crumbling of the towers, which still is incredibly difficult to watch, let alone fathom, is handled with taste, but also is awfully gripping.
There are moments that surely someone of Stone's calibre should have realized needed to be rewritten because the dialogue seems mediocre at best.Where the film suffers is when the story cuts between the two trapped men and their families, especially their wives.
His character is far more engaging than Cage's; Pena's emotions come off without any artifice.I can't help but feel that "World Trade Center" could have been the gut-wrenching experience Stone intended it to be had he and Berloff approached the story much in the way Greengrass did "United 93." Stone's movie is far from lean.
"World Trade Center" tells the gripping true story of two of the last men pulled out of the rubble of Ground Zero alive.Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena play Port Authority Police officers.
The only reason why people are going to watch disaster-movie nr 911 is because it stars the twin towers.It's a sad way of making some dough out of this (film-wise) uninteresting event.A couple of thousand people dieing is (how sad as it may be on a personal level) no unique happening; how many people die in Dafur, Ethiopia every month?
Yeah I know some people are going to panic and whine that I'm a horrible person for not liking the World Trade Center movie, but this was just annoying.
The writers spent too much time basing the movie on two men and their "story of triumph" that the true events of the day were left in the shadows.There were times during the movie that I almost forgot what I was watching because it seemed like these were the only two men (along with their families) affected by the tragedy.
There was no rescue of other people even mentioned until the ending credits, at which time they finally acknowledged that people were actually lost.The movie gives the impression that September 11th and the days following was an uplifting experience because two men were found alive.
Lets not make the worst day in our country's history into an uplifting "happy ending" version of titanic.Throughout the movie there were 3 mentions of lost people other than the main characters.
Just as Fahrenheit 9/11 was Michael Moore's journalistic failure, World Trade Center was Stone's sellout.Instead of another 9/11 movie that attempts to give the American public an easy hero or two, why not just make a movie that examines what REALLY happened on that day?
Now, I must say that I am not an Oliver Stone fan, however, upon hearing this movie was nothing like an Oliver Stone film I decided to check it out.The storyline for the film, as stated, was based on the stories of a few Port Authority police who survived the collapse of the building while being trapped for hours in the rubble.
(Honestly, I don't know where'd go all those millions that cost this movie.)The characters -and specially the marine- are crude imitations: They don't make you feel the pain, the despair, the fury, the hopeless and the grief that America lived in S-11 (unless, obviously, that you lived it).And in my humble opinion, all the fault falls down on Oliver Stone.
The film is benign in the sense that it does not postulate about what happened that day and why, which is not your typical Stone movie.
Instead, it takes its time telling an intimate story about a group of Rescue Workers caught up in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers and their battle to survive/escape an unimaginable hell.The film works because Stone takes the time to flush out his characters; we genuinely care about these people and feel their emotions as things turned from bad to worse that day.
So, my friend and I decided to see it, I have to say that it was beautifully done and showed great respect for that horrible day.Gratefully and I must thank Oliver Stone, he didn't reenact or computerize the planes crashing into the towers, this movie just focused mainly on the policemen and firemen who gave their lives that day and to two strong and brave policemen who ended up in the most brutal and hellish nightmare, being trapped and buried alive under tons and tons of what was a 110 story building.
95% of the world only witnessed what happened on the outside, finally, this movie showed us what it was like to be in New York and what the firemen and policemen went through, along with their families.I have to say that it was so mentally disturbing though to see the towers in the beginning of the film, I actually started sobbing, because it's still to this day unbelievable that they're just not there.
But still, it was pictured perfectly and beautifully done, I loved that they showed how much of a normal day it was for all of us before the plane hit the first tower.It's a beautifully acted and hopeful film that will make you remember that that day not only showed the worst evil in people, but it brought out some of the best and heroic acts anyone has ever witnessed.
For what they actually do in this movie it didn't have to go that as long as it did i could have summed the whole thing up in 30 minutes, instead of dragging on and on, i've got to say while watching the movie me and my friends wanted to walk out of the cinemas it was that bad.So to sum it up.World Trade Center The movie was Boring and a complete disappointment.
This heightens the viewer's fear and anxiety and makes for an effective experience.The movie follows two port authority cops as they try to evacuate the World Trade Center.
Some people have commented that this movie didn't accurately depict 9/11 and have complained that Oliver Stone didn't portray the events or that he milked us for emotion.I disagree.
This was a movie, that showed what two men - and what their friends/family/departments went through and I thought of and felt for everyone through their story.From what I've read...and from the commentaries in the film, it is factual for their story and I think it's just a coincidence that it just HAPPENED to be good enough for a Hollywood story.
But this year, Hollywood has shown a willingness to tackle 9/11 from a deeply human perspective, first through the TV film FLIGHT 93, then Paul Greengrass' excellent feature film UNITED 93, and now through director Oliver Stone's WORLD TRADE CENTER.Stone, a native New Yorker, but also a polarizing figure of the cinema via his dark and controversial explorations of recent U.S. history and politics (PLATOON; JFK, etc.), has sought to focus on the true meaning of heroism by focusing in on Port Authority officers John McLoughlin and William Jimeno, who, along with their fellow Port Authority and NYC fire and police personnel, went into the World Trade Center towers to evacuate as many people as possible from there after the two jets were rammed into the buildings.
Stone, however, stays away from the kind of political critique that was a hallmark of JFK and several of his other films, and shows us the kind of true heroism that the far-right has often accused Hollywood of deliberately avoiding, but which they themselves couldn't possibly manufacture even on their best day.Along with FLIGHT 93 and UNITED 93, WORLD TRADE CENTER proves that Hollywood is ready to respond with a clear, realistic, and human look at one of this nation's darkest days.
I went into it unbiased, deciding that I would indeed like to hear the story of what happened to the two officers this movie is about, and I would take it for what it is, regardless of whether or not people think it's still too soon.This is a very moving and intense look at the story of the officers' ordeal as well as what their families had to go through.
Overall, the acting is great and the characters feel real, but in some scenes you may feel like the sentimentality is being forced and doesn't feel genuine.I will recommend this movie to people who are not dead set against it, or someone who is just looking for exactly what it is: a movie made for entertainment and as a tribute to those that died..
When I first heard about this movie, I feared Stone would concentrate on conspiracy theories as he did in JFK or take the film as an opportunity to show that terrorists are people too as Spielberg did in Munich.
Neither the name AL-Qaeda, nor Osama Bin Laden, is so much as whispered.Despite the near flood of documentaries on the terrorist attacks heading toward the small screen this September, Stone's film, for many Americans, may end up being the definitive cinematic record of what it felt like to be inside the hellish cyclone known simply by the numbers 9/11.To offer a faithful recreation of that historical catastrophe, however, Stone owed viewers the whole truth, not merely a brilliant, graphic portrayal of what happened and how it affected the lives of some of those involved.As it ends, a written postscript appears that describes what happened to the buried Port Authority policemen, their families, and the ex-Marine who helped rescue them (whose last line is: "We're going to need some good men out there to revenge this").
Oliver Stone and Paramount have gone under cover of the 'based on real events' shield in order to create one of the most shockingly propagandist blockbusters of the last twenty years.The film offends on a number of levels, not least because of its exploitative and unnecessary depiction of the suffering of those who were trapped in the World Trade Center on September 11 2001.
But the mark of the real Stone, one that carries the heft of his personal opinion about an event (Platoon) or his off-center look at history (JFK), is absent.Let's face it: Two cops, John McLoughlin (Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), buried beneath rubble with small talk to keep themselves alive is neither great drama nor riveting suspense when you know ahead of time they are 2 of the 20 to be saved and their dialog doesn't come close to the bite of WWII film foxhole repartee.
(In fact, if you haven't seen the movie but know the history, you might guess what happens even now, before you start.) It's obviously a movie about survival, about ordinary people doing what they can to help each other, and individuals rediscovering what really matters in their lives.For me, all of these elements are a given, and were maybe unavoidable in an Oliver Stone film (he's a director who embraces Hollywood's emotional ability to sway and move a viewer with sights and sounds).
"World Trade Center" deliberately doesn't show the most sensational footage of the towers going down or the second plane hitting the building; it is about and from the perspective of the two Port Authority policemen who went in to evacuate people and got trapped, not knowing that the buildings had collapsed.
I credit Oliver Stone with trying to make every detail as true to life as possible.The four main characters who played the trapped men and their wives -- Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal -- did their real-live counterparts proud.
its just sickening to watch this, not because it breaks your heart but because you know oliver stone is sitting at home fluffing his pillows and smoking cigar's with the money you give him to make a movie that laughs in the faces of the terrorists saying " you giving destroy anything we have and well still make money out of it " so don't fear viewers because as soon as they do it again nicholas cage will be round the corner to save the day with another Hollywood blockbuster.
Being that I saw this in NYC, I felt it was OK to cry, I was sitting in a room with people who lost those close and dear.Stone presents a deeply personal narrative of two real-life Port Authority police officers trapped in the rubble of the North Tower, simple and sweet.When you ask yourself do I want to see this movie or not, bring your heart into the movie and know that it was not made to anger you, it was made to honor those who died on that day..
Stone didn't want this movie to be yet another over-dramatized Hollywood film.
By taking the view that the most important and pertinent story to tell is of two Port Authority policemen (who survive the ordeal) is a satisfactory summation of the tragedy is: 1) terrible storytelling and, 2) shows tremendous disrespect to those who were the focus of the terrorists...everyday Americans doing everyday things.The film is technically brilliant, as one would expect from Oliver Stone.
This is the true story of Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin, two Port Authority police officers who rushed into the burning World Trade Center on 9/11 to help rescue people but became trapped themselves when the tower collapsed.The film is sad, but I wouldn't call it compelling.
Will Jimeno (Michael Peña) and his sergeant John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) are found alive trapped under the wreckage while the rescue teams fight to save them."World Trade Center" is based on the accounts of the people evolved in the aftermath of this tragedy and tells the story of two of the survivors.
As the attack on the World Trade Center becomes more of a part of history, and less a part of the current news, more sensational movies about the events of that day are likely to be made.
Masterpiece.These are just three of the words that have appeared in various print reviews for the new September 11th themed movie World Trade Centre.Directed by Oliver Stone (Platoon, Nixon) and starring Nicholas Cage (Matchstick Men), the movie chronicles the hours of two Port Authority Police Officers that were trapped in the rubble of the fallen World Trade Centre after the terrorist attacks on that fateful morning in 2001.The film's opening is quiet. |
tt4624424 | Storks | In the past, storks were granted the mythic job of manufacturing babies in a factory and transporting them (with the use of beacons) to couples around the world. But one day, a stork named Jasper refused to give up a baby he was assigned to deliver, and destroyed her beacon, effectively orphaning her; an ambitious stork named Hunter took this incident as an opportunity to reinvent the stork delivery business, moving it from delivering babies to express delivery.In modern times, the storks are now a successful package-delivery corporation called Cornerstore. The orphaned baby, Tulip, is the only human in the whole corporation and serves as janitor. The top delivery stork, a clever but lonely officer named Junior, is to be promoted to company head by Hunter, on one condition: he must get rid of Tulip. But when Junior meets Tulip, he sees that she is a kind and sweet person and instead of firing her he moves her to the now-defunct baby factory and tells her she is in charge of mail.A young child named Nate Gardner leads a lonely life, with his parents being successful realtors who have no time for him. He therefore decides to write to the Storks, asking for a younger sibling. The letter gets to Tulip and she starts up the baby factory; Junior gets wind of what happened and tries to stop her, but he ends up injuring his wing and a baby is created. With his promotion in jeopardy, he decides to get the baby to its family as quickly and quietly as possible and since he cant fly Tulip has to help him, with a flying machine she made. However, a Cornerstore employee, Pigeon Toady, finds some baby powder and his suspicions are raised. And as Tulip and Junior leave, an elderly Jasper follows them...Tulip and Junior end up crashing theflying machine. Junior is fed up with everything and leaves Tulip to deliver the baby by foot, but they both get captured separately by a pack of wolves who bring all three to their cave. They manage to escape, and while the Wolf Pack is in pursuit of them they manage to shake them off.As they journey on, Tulip and Junior start to get closer: Junior admits that he doesnt really care for his promotion as he has no idea what to do as boss, and Tulip confesses that she wants to locate her family just as she is helping the baby to locate its family. Meanwhile, Pigeon Toady has acquired enough evidence to prove Junior is delivering a baby, and he brings it to Hunter so that he can get Juniors promotion. Hunter has the beacon reprogrammed to show a different address.Junior and Tulip have another encounter with the Wolf Pack at a harbor, but this time Jasper appears and carries away the threesome. He then explains to Tulip that his breakdown was because he wanted to raise her as his own, and that as an apology he has been slowly repairing her beacon over the years. Tulip has carried a piece of the beacon her whole life, and this fragment is the final piece to get her beacon operating again. She is excited about finally being able to see her family, but this upsets Junior into revealing that he was supposed to fire her. Tulip leaves in tears to see her family, having nothing at Cornerstore, while Junior carries on with his delivery.When Junior delivers the baby, he gets captured by Hunter at the changed address; Hunter fires him and ties him up, and hands over the baby to a flock of penguin assassins. Tulip appears at the address, deciding to help Junior first, and she is able to get them both back to Cornerstore by making an order and then returning it and hiding inside the package. The two arrive at the company while it is having a party; they take advantage of the festivities to find and retrieve the baby from the penguins, but when the baby starts crying they get exposed.In a moment of despair, the two head back to the baby factory and accidentally restart it, causing a multitude of babies to be created. A horrified Hunter tries to destroy the factory with a crane, but ends up destroying Cornerstore and his machine is thrown from a cliff. Junior rallies all the storks to go back to delivering babies again, and finally completes delivering his baby to the Gardners.The film ends with Junior and Tulip now partners running the baby factory, and with Tulip finally meeting her family. Jasper takes a family photo, with Tulip inviting Junior to join her. | good versus evil, revenge, flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt0096119 | Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland | In 1989, one year after the events of second film, the film opens with Maria (Kashina Kessler) heading to camp. Suddenly, she is chased into an alleyway by a large truck, driven by serial killer Angela Baker (Pamela Springsteen), before being run over. Angela disposes of the body in a trash compactor and poses as Maria in order to board the bus to Camp New Horizons, which was once Camp Rolling Hills where Angela massacred campers the year before. After arriving, news reporter Tawny Richards (Randi Layne) interviews the many campers who are taking part in "an experiment in sharing," seeing different social classes living together. Tawny asks Angela to get her some cocaine, however Angela gives her Ajax cleaner instead, which kills Tawny when she snorts it.
After the campers have settled in, camp councilors Herman (Michael J. Pollard), Lily (Sandra Dorsey) and Officer Barney Whitmore (Cliff Brand), who Angela realizes is the father of a previous victim, split the campers into three groups, who they will be camping with over the next few days. Angela is placed in a group with Herman, Snowboy (Kyle Holman), Peter (Jarret Beal) and Jan (Stacie Lambert). Angela goes fishing with Snowboy and Peter, but soon gets annoyed by them setting off firecrackers and returns to camp, only to find Herman and Jan having sex. Angela impales Herman through the mouth with a log, before bashing Jan's head in. Angela hides the bodies from Snowboy and Peter, who continue to annoy her throughout the day. At night, Angela sets off a firecracker in Peter's nose, killing him, before hitting Snowboy with a log and burning him alive, along with the other bodies.
The next morning, Angela travels to Lily's campsite, where Bobby (Haynes Brooke), Cindy (Kim Wall), Riff (Daryl Wilcher) and Arab (Jill Terashita) are camping. Angela tells Lily that Herman told her she was to switch places with Arab. As Angela escorts Arab to the other camp, she decapitates her with an axe. When Angela returns to camp, an argument breaks out between Cindy and Riff, before Lily sets the campers out on a trust building exercise. Blindfolded, Cindy doesn't realize that Angela, having grown tired of the girl's whiny and bigoted behavior, has attached her to the flag pole. Angela raises Cindy into the air, before letting her drop from a high height, killing her. Angela covers up her death by telling Lily she returned to the main camp. In another game, Angela is tied to obnoxious Young Republican Bobby, but while fishing he attempts to kiss her, annoying Angela who tells him to later meet her at the main cabin. Returning to camp, Angela convinces Lily to go check on Cindy with her, however Angela buries Lily, up to her neck, in a trash hole, before running over her head with a lawnmower. Angela then waits for Bobby to arrive, who she ties to a tree and proceeds to rip his arms off by attaching the rope to a Jeep and driving away. Angela then murders Riff by stabbing him with tent spikes.
The following morning Angela travels to the remaining camp, where Barney, Marcia (Tracy Griffith), Tony (Mark Oliver), Anita (Sonya Maddox) and Greg (Chung Yen Tsay) are camping. Angela tells Barney she is to switch with Marcia, but Marcia objects. As Barney accompanies Angela and Marcia to the other camp, Angela is forced to fake a leg injury. Barney tends to Angela at the main camp, but Marcia discovers Lily's body and flees, while Barney discovers Angela's identity. After a tense stand-off she shoots him dead. Angela catches up with Marcia in the Jeep and captures her. Angela returns to Tony, Anita and Greg that night and ties them together, telling them they are playing a trust game. Instead, Angela shows them the body of Barney and forces them to find Marcia in one of the cabins. But Angela had set up a booby trap in one of the cabins and it kills Greg and Anita. Angela decides to let Marcia and Tony live, as they had struck up a romance. But as she leaves, Angela is attacked by Marcia who stabs her numerous times, leaving her for dead in the grass.
Marcia and Tony summon the police to camp, and Tony is sad to discover Marcia already has a boyfriend. Meanwhile Angela, barely alive, is being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, where a cop and paramedic plot to kill her after discovering who she is. But Angela wakes and stabs them to death with a syringe. When the ambulance driver asks what is going on, Angela weakly replies "Just taking care of business," and falls unconscious. | revenge, comedy, murder | train | wikipedia | Fairly early in the film, our lovable murderess asks, "Why did I think this year would be any different?" And this unlocks why part 3 still works: gone is the chipper camp counselor and her hopes of making good clean friends.
To which the girl replies, "Doesn't everyone?" Like the good girl-scout she is, Angie leads this poor misguided soul to miraculous deliverance, and I say miraculous because of how far fetched the murder is (but it's still a treat to watch.) Angela, herself, still has her sly wisecracks and all-too-honest answers to questions (questions like "where'd you learn to chop wood like that?"), only the delivery has changed from cheerful optimism to "why me?" (although she does sing the Happy Camper song over one of the murders.) And this time she gets to play with more colorful, over the top, (read: annoying) fodder!
Angie'll get to them sooner or later (hurry up on the rapper
please, God, hurry up.) The group of campers split up into 3 smaller groups, and our heroine dispatches each sub-group one at a time and then shows up to the next group like a lost puppy, "I was told to switch with someone from this group" and the fun starts again.Unlike most slashers, the kills largely take place in broad daylight giving the whole scenario a matter-of-fact quality that I liked.
im gonna keep it short and simple Sleepaway Camp 3 Teenage Wasteland is a great horror movie.
i originally saw this film back in 1989 when i was 14,i recently purchased it on video over the internet purely for nostalgia reasons!watching this film now,i can see how badly acted it really is ,the script is awfull!the gore score is pretty non existent thanks to censorship on both sides of the atlantic!BUT on the plus side it's trashy campy atmosphere does make the film watchable!pamela springsteen is perfect as serial killer angela(although you can see her losing interest in the character in this one)however if you like cheesy 80's slashers you can do a lot worse than this!check out part 2 first,it's much better!part 1 is due on dvd in july!maybe these will follow!.
Angela returns again to another stupid and pointless sequel, she returns yet again to the camp where she murdered everyone only this time under a new name Maria and a new look, but then her murderous instinct's kick in and she starts killing again.Pamela Springsteen returns once again in this silly and stupid sequel as Angela Baker (originally played by Felissa Rose).
Angela's one-liners are stupid and never deliver so much as a giggle.The acting is just as bad as the acting in the second movie and it almost feels as if they shot this directly after wrapping up production on the second movie since it's even the same director.Sleepaway Camp III is a dull and stupid slasher that I don't get why slasher fans like it, the killings this time round are quite dull, but the one Angela placing a rap tape in the tape player of her next victim was enjoyable and quite funny.All in all awful slasher that only gets a 3 because of the inventive rap sceme murder.
Of course, the girl on the DVD cover with the cleavage popping out (who's probably not even a character in the movie and pretty much serves no purpose) will probably lure many men like me into renting or buying the film.
Angela (Pamela Springsteen) kills a seventeen year-old teenager and travels to the Camp New Horizons assuming her identity.
"Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland" is a lame slasher with no story and only a brainless stupidity with senseless killing.
I even enjoyed watching the bad ones, because it is so entertaining to see what kinds of new and interesting ways they come up with for killing promiscuous teenagers.
But the whole Sleepaway Camp series struck me as so witless and boring that my only conclusion is that it must either be a prodigious disaster six movies long or I am just not into this crap anymore.The second sequel is not even as good as the first sequel, which in its entirety is not even as good as the last shot of the original film.
Notice, after all, that there is a teenage girl wearing nothing but panties less than a minute after the film starts (with "Milk Shake" tattooed across her breasts, if you can believe that), then another one 15 minutes later, and rarely do you have to wait that long for the rest of the movie to see some bare breasted girl trying to act like it's perfectly normal for her to be hanging around half naked at camp.Maybe it's because I worked at a summer camp a couple years ago and so I know how ridiculous the idea of Camp New Horizons is.
stupid Cheesy but entertaining A lot gorier than THE last 2 the funniest things are the bad lines like when Angela is chopping wood the camp counselor says where you learn to chop wood like that she says i never have but I've chopped other things when she kills one victim with a bat she says batter up then after mowing off a counselor's head she tells a cop and one of the characters shes so lazy go out and look at her then at the end she kills a cop and a doctor with a needle and a guy asks whats going on back there she says just tacking care of business i bought the films films there fun to watch when bored there so dumb and campy there fun to watch so i suggest get them soon there trashy dumb fun you can enjoy especially part three it's the best out of the three in my opinion.
Sleep Away Camp III is a pretty decent horror movie, I bought it, I watched it, and I enjoyed it.
From the opening scene when Angela runs down Maria in the Alley I knew I was in for a good time.Others have said this film is the least gory, and I dont deny that, but the sheer inventiveness of the killings, and Angela's wisecracks more then make up for the lack of gore.
Simpson (Sleepaway Camp 2:Unhappy Campers) made an uninspired but watchable dumb slasher horror movie with an enjoyable performance by Springsteen.
well,this installment of the Sleepaway Camp series is actually better than part two by far.it's also better than part one.this one starts off pretty good.it's also even a bit amusing at times with some decent one liners there,and there are a few inventive kills this time around.if you a gore hound though,this movie won't likely satisfy you.it isn't very graphic.there is some nudity,which never hurts.plus,this movie actually goes by a lot quicker.it's still not great by any means,but i think it's the best of the first three movies.the acting is nothing spectacular,for the most part.the lone exception is Pamela Springsteen as the psycho.she really nails the deadpan delivery of those one liners.when you add it all up,i guess this version of Sleepaway Camp III:teenage Wasteland is about a 5/10.by the way,this version of the movie is the cut version.for the uncut version,checkout the Anchor Bay edition,which is gorier and also has special features.and if you're a real fan,check out the three disc collection called Sleepaway Camp(with survival kit)which contains all three movie uncut and with special features..
It's a great shame that Springsteen decided to follow a career in photography as I would have welcomed further movies from this actress."Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland" is comic horror; the bloodshed is played for laughs but there are some effective scenes.
You have to look at this way,I think,in that the SC movies are spoofing the Friday the 13th flicks.For instance Kelly Hu played an ill fated Asian valedictorian in Friday The 13th Part 8,while Jill Terashita played a delinquent with a nice rack in SC3.I think that if you don't take it as serious cinema you will enjoy it.Some of kills are pretty funny too,like a girl being hoisted then dropped from a flagpole.Just sit back,turn off your brain,and enjoy.As a post script of sorts,since I'm being told there aren't enough lines,one of the reasons I liked this film so much is that I went to a camp like this.But unlike the film,we really got along with under privileged kids.They weren't really tough or mean,they all just had a knack for getting into trouble,like breaking into the dining hall for a midnight snack:-)..
"Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland" is a great follow-up to the second one.**SPOILERS**Angela Baker, (Pamela Springsteen) arrives at Camp New Horizons for a new start, but the counselors make her feel unwelcome.
It kind of seems like after wrapping "Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers" they had some time and film left over, so they got another celebrity's sister (Tracy Griffith this time, not as cool as the previous film's Renee Estevez) and squeezed out this fun, if inconsequential slasher movie.
sleepaway camp II,and III has all you need in 80's horror movies sex,nudity,and plenty of gore.
Angela in the original had little to no personality, but with Pamela Springsteen taking over for Felissa Rose, she gives the movies more personality and cheesy one-liners, the way 80's horror does best.
(Perfect for Halloween) This one is filled with extra cheese, drugs, nudity, dumb teenagers, sleaziness and great over the top kills.A year after the events of Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers, Angela is back and ready to kill again.
If you love cheesy, sleazy fun slashers from the 80's, I highly recommend SLEEPAWAY CAMP III: TEENAGE WASTELAND.
Awful But (Of Course) Adds A Nice Campy Charm To It. I was up the other night and I couldn't get to sleep so I decided to waste 90 minutes of my precious life watching this, Sleepaway Camp 3.I knew right away (judging from the titles and that it's from the late 80's) that I was in for a campy, awful, cheap, makes-no-sense horror flick.
I loved the Chinese chick and also the black guy, who played rap loudly on his stereo and (somehow) got his knives and a gun into the camp.There was nothing scary about this (yet another key ingredient to make sure your horror film is very campy) there were a few shots of T&A here and there and (of course) the killings.The killings, the acting, and the dialogue are hilariously bad (though, of course that's one of the main-key ingredients for making a campy slasher flick.) For the casual viewer just looking for a good horror flick to watch, I would say don't waste your time on this but for the hardcore horror fans who thrive on finding films like this I'd say go right ahead.
Simpson, Writer Fritz Gordon and Moderator John Klyza; Behind-the-Scenes featurette; Deleted Scenes; Behind-the-Scenes footage and Outtakes; 3 Still Galleries; and Theatrical Trailer Easter Eggs: In the Extras menu highlight the logo on Angela's T-shirt for a clip of a news story footage on the film; In the commentary menu highlight the logo for a poster for the never completed Sleepaway Camp 4.
Filmed back to back with Sleepaway Camp II (1987), this movie takes place a year later as Angela has returned and infiltrated a new camp that is operating on the same grounds as the former Camp Rolling Hills (i.e. they use the same sets, etc.
Sex-change nut-job Angela (Pamela Springsteen), the loony with a big problem with 'bad' campers, returns for more slice 'n' dice fun in Teenage Wasteland, the third film in the Sleepaway Camp series.The action in this one takes place exactly one year after Angela's last rampage, at the recently opened Camp New Horizons (previously known as Camp Rolling Hills and Camp Arawak), where the aim is to integrate rich kids with their underprivileged counterparts from the ghettos.After killing one of the prospective campers, and taking her place, Angela once again sets about sorting out the 'good' kids from the 'bad', offing those who do not live up to her high standards; of course, most of the campers turn out to be degenerates, and pretty much everyone meets a sticky end.Like Part 2, Teenage Wasteland is nothing more than a series of silly death scenes (and the occasional spot of nudity from well endowed bimbos): the bunch of annoying characters are bludgeoned with logs, attacked by rotary lawnmower, pulled apart by Jeep, and set on fire.
Angela manages to secure the identity of one of the kids due at camp; and doesn't waste any time upon her arrival as she immediately gets to work dispatching her fellow campers.Undoubtedly the main reason why the two Sleepaway Camp sequels work so well is due to the lead performance from Pamela Springsteen.
The most important thing for a lot of people going into slashers will be the kill scenes; and this one isn't a let down in that respect; as Angela utilises a variety of weapons to dispatch her victims - the best of which include a flag pole, a lawnmower and a rap tape!
Angela murders some New York City girl and steals her identity in order to attend Camp New Horizons where spoiled rich kids are mixed up with some of the underprivileged for some bizarre 'experiment in sharing'.It's a perfect ground for Angela to kill as many teenagers as she can."Sleepaway Camp III:Teenage Wasteland" is extremely fun slasher comedy with some very entertaining characters and pretty high body count.The killings including the lawnmower and the flagpole deaths are violent and creative.Several characters for example Michael J.Pollard are truly weird and memorable.If you enjoyed "Sleepaway Camp" and "Sleepaway Camp II:Unhappy Campers" you can't go wrong with this silly but enjoyable kill fest.8 slashed teens out of 10..
I found this a bit more fun then second movie, as it way to funny for it own good and jokes were really good in this movie, I kept laughing at some parts of the Dark humour.Both sequels to sleepaway camp have some good part in movies, they don't have the same feel anything like first .I found the death scene build up were really good but had some tension i hated the fact there was not one death scene was on screen, which was huge letdown as they could of be done really well.The acting this movie from everyone in cast was cheesy as you can get and ending was nothing boring dull and predicable.
You have to hand it to the Sleepaway Camp movies that they often managed to come up with some original and gruesome killings.
Sleepaway Camp 3 (1989) ** (out of 4)The third film in the series has Angela (Pamela Springsteen) killing a girl and taking her identity, which gets her back into a camp being ran by a goofy old couple who want to take rich kids and mix with poor kids so that they can learn to live together.
It doesn't take too long for Angela to go back on a killing rampage.SLEEPAWAY CAMP 3 was shot at the same time as the second film but sadly it's the weakest of the series, which is a real shame when you consider how good the first two were.
It also doesn't help that even Angela doesn't have the same flare as in the previous movie.Springsteen gives a good performance in the lead role and there's no question that it's funny seeing someone like Michael J.
The third and looks like final movie " Sleepaway Camp " is not so good like the second !
Here, Angela, after one year, come back to the last movie camp ( Who was change the name for New Horizons to hide the murders fact ) discase like another woman named Maria Nicastro ( Nicascro, or something ) and is gonna punish again who don't fell her words.
Sleepaway Camp 3 is a pretty good slasher movie.
The black humor combined with the slasher rules formula that Texas Chainsaw Massacre II, Evil Dead II, and Jason Lives created influenced and worked for Sleepaway Camp III.I recognize Felissa Rose's performance in the original Sleepaway Camp movie as a solid, believable performance but I enjoyed Pamela Springsteen's performance, Angela got a cool and cold attitude this time.
The real dimwit is Snowboy(Kyle Holman); and you know that Miss Baker really wants her hands on him.If you like camp movies and crave horror as a relaxation; you'll probably find this actually may be the best escape of the trilogy.
It must be twenty years since i saw Sleepaway Camp 3 AKA Nightmare Vacation 3 and my following review will contain several spoilers throughout.The survivor and killer of the previous film Angela Baker returns after murdering a teenage girl in the opening scene and uses her I.D to enter a newly named and revamped camp called Camp New Horizons.
I do like Pamela Springsteen's performance of Angela Baker and the more creative death scenes.
Pamela Springsteen is back from the second Sleepaway Camp film and is just as funny and disturbing in her role, playing the mass killer Angela Baker as she ends up in yet another adventure, pretending to be one of her murder victims at Camp New Horizons.Camp New Horizons, "an experiment in sharing" as the elderly pair of camp counselors like to call it, is a summer camp where snobby suburb teens are residing in groups with tough city kids.
Filmed almost simultaneosly with the first sequel, the script is missing some plot points: How did Angela know that that character in the beginning was going to that camp?
Tongue-in-cheek slasher spoof, made back-to-back with the previous installment, Unhappy Campers, from director Michael A Simpson and writer Fritz Gordon, has serial killing transsexual Angela Baker(Pamela Springsteen)assuming the identity of Maria, a street kid she plows through with a garbage truck, so she can infiltrate a new Summer Camp near where she was once counselor. |
tt1686902 | Monsters in the Woods | Low budget filmmaker JAYSON (Glenn Plummer) has made the movie of his dreams but to his dismay, it cant sell in Hollywood. The distributors tell him, You have nothing exploitative in your movie. Add some sex scenes, more violence, and maybe well buy your film. The distraught filmmaker approaches his neophyte, semi-psychotic producer BRAVO (Blaine Cade) and tells him, Put together a cast and crew were going to re-shoot and give them what they want! Bravo nervously tells him, Were out of money. Jayson screams at him, I dont care. Do WHATEVER you have to do!Bravo enlists a young movie crew to follow them into the remote backwoods of the Great Bear Mountains by telling them, Theres no money, but when we sell this, youll all get a big piece of the profits for your efforts and great craft service! Various B movie actors, including stuntman BURT (Edward Hendershott) and his gorgeous wannabe actress girlfriend ASHLEY (Linda Bella), join them as Jayson has promised her a role in the movie. After a series of behind-the-scenes interviews of this quirky bunch, they begin filming. Jayson is accidentally killed by his inept crew, and in the midst of all the confusion, Bravo strangely convinces them to finish the movie. They reluctantly agree but soon after are attacked by an unrelenting swarm of deadly devil dogs from Hell. Burt, Ashley, and Bravo briefly escape the danger as they are rescued by two angels sent from Heaven to battle the monsters. Unknown to them all, Bravo has made a pact with the Devil to provide twelve souls (theirs) in order to get the movie made. Mayhem ensues as the survivors attempt to kill the demons and close the entrance to Hell before the whole Earth is consumed by evil! | violence, satire | train | imdb | null |
tt0765432 | Der Baader Meinhof Komplex | On 2 June 1967, the Shah of Iran visits West Berlin and attends a performance at the Deutsche Oper. Angered at his policies in governing Iran, members of the German student movement protest his appearance. The West Berlin police and the Shah's security team attack the protesters and unarmed protester Benno Ohnesorg, is fatally shot by Officer Karl-Heinz Kurras.
Ohnesorg's death outrages West Germany, including left wing journalist Ulrike Meinhof, who claims in a televised debate that the democratically elected government of West Germany is a Fascist police state. Inspired by Meinhof's rhetoric, charismatic radicals Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader mastermind the fire bombing of a department store in Frankfurt am Main. While covering their trial, Ulrike Meinhof finds herself deeply moved by their commitment to armed struggle against what they see as a Neo-Nazi Government. She secures a jailhouse interview with Ensslin and the two strike up a close friendship. Soon after, Meinhof leaves her husband for Peter Homann.
Meanwhile, Ensslin and Baader have been released pending an appeal and attract various young people, including Astrid Proll and Peter-Jurgen Boock. After spending some time abroad, Baader, Ensslin and Proll return to West Germany and begin living with Meinhof. Increasingly bored with her middle class life, Meinhof longs to take more direct action. Even though Ensslin tells her that sacrifices must be made for the revolution, Meinhof does not wish to leave her children. But then, Baader is arrested. Using her connections, Meinhof is able to arrange for him to be interviewed off prison grounds, where Ensslin and the others rescue him. While the plan called for Meinhof to look like an innocent journalist caught in a prison break, she flees with Baader and Ensslin, thereby incriminating herself in the murders of an unarmed civilian and two policemen.
After leaving Meinhof's two children in Sicily, the group receives training in a Fatah camp in Jordan, where the egotistical and promiscuous Germans enrage their Muslim hosts. Homann leaves the group after overhearing Meinhof, Baader, and Ensslin asking Fatah to kill him. Having also learned that Meinhof wishes to send her two children to a training camp for suicide bombers, Homann informs Meinhof's former colleague Stefan Aust, who returns the children to their father.
Returning to Germany and styling themselves the Red Army Faction (RAF), Baader and his followers launch a campaign of bank robberies. In response, BKA chief Horst Herold orders all local police to be put at Federal command for one day.
During that day, RAF member Petra Schelm drives through a roadblock and is chased by two cops. When cornered, she refuses to go quietly, initiates a gunfight, and is fatally shot by the policemen's return fire. Regarding this as murder, Baader and Ensslin overrule Meinhof's objections and begin systematically bombing police stations and United States Military bases. As grisly footage of the maimed and the dead appears onscreen, Meinhof's press statements rationalizing the bombings are heard in voiceover.
As the violence escalates, Herold orders the BKA to pioneer criminal profiling and members of the RAF begin to be arrested. Baader and Holger Meins are caught after a shoot-out with police. Ensslin and Meinhof are captured soon after.
In separate prisons, the RAF inmates stage a hunger strike which results in Meins' death. The German student movement considers this to be murder. The authorities then move Baader, Ensslin, Meinhof, and Jan-Carl Raspe to Stammheim Prison, where they work on their defense for their trial and smuggle orders outside.
In 1975, a group of younger RAF recruits seize the West German embassy in Stockholm. The siege ends with a series of explosions, which kill several RAF members and injure the hostages. RAF member Siegfried Hausner survives the blast but is critically wounded, extradited to West Germany and dies in a prison hospital. The imprisoned RAF members are appalled by the poor execution of their orders for the Stockholm operation. Meanwhile, Herold's assistant asks why people who have never met Baader are willing to take orders from him. Herold replies, "A myth."
Meinhof, suffering from depression and remorse over the deaths caused by their bombings, is subjected to sadistic emotional abuse by Baader and Ensslin, who call her a traitor and "a knife in the RAF's back". In response, Meinhof hangs herself in her cell. The imprisoned RAF members accuse West Germany's Government of murdering her during their trial and are widely believed.
Upon completing her sentence Brigitte Mohnhaupt takes over command of the RAF outside. She informs Boock that Baader has forbidden any more attacks on "the people" and enlists his help smuggling weapons into Stammheim. In retaliation for the "murders" of Meins, Hausner, and Meinhof, the RAF assassinates West Germany's Attorney General, Siegfried Buback. Mohnhaupt, Christian Klar, and Susanne Albrecht, also attempt to kidnap Dresdner Bank President Jürgen Ponto, who fights back and is shot dead. Knowing that the imprisoned RAF members have ordered both murders, the West German Government returns them to solitary confinement. Even so, Ensslin and Baader obtain two way radios and continue smuggling orders outside.
Mohnhaupt then abducts industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer and demands the release of her imprisoned comrades in exchange for not killing him. When West German authorities fail to meet their demands, the RAF and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijack Lufthansa Flight 181. The hijacking ends with the plane being stormed and the hostages saved.
In Stammheim, Baader warns a West German Government negotiator that the violence will continue to escalate. Ensslin makes the same prediction to the prison chaplain and claims that the West German Government is about to murder her and her imprisoned comrades.
The following morning, corrections officers find Baader and Raspe shot to death in their cells as the handguns Mohnhaupt smuggled into the prison lie nearby. Ensslin is found hanging from the steel bars of the window. They also find Irmgard Möller stabbed four times in the chest, but still alive.
When the news reaches the free RAF members, they are devastated and certain that the trio was murdered. To their shock, Mohnhaupt explains that Baader, Ensslin, Möller, and Raspe "are not victims and never were". She explains, that they, like Meinhof, were "in control of the outcome until the very end". When the RAF members react with stunned disbelief, Mohnhaupt responds, "You did not know them. Stop thinking that they were different than they were."
In a sign that RAF terrorism will continue, the last moments of the film show the murder of hostage Hanns-Martin Schleyer.
In an ironic commentary on the violence of the era, Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind plays during the credits. | avant garde, murder, anti war, violence, flashback, revenge, historical | train | wikipedia | Nevertheless the end credits come a little abruptly.The second problem is that the film tries to show virtually ALL events from the book (only some minor incidents like the Mahler detention, Peter Urbach, the burglaries in registration offices in order to steal blank passports or the visit of Jean-Paul Sartre in Stammheim are missing) so that it needs to squeeze 10 years of history into 140 minutes.
In the US I expect the criticism that there are too many naked people, too many swear words and even more cigarettes (every one in BMK smokes everywhere and at all times), in order to distract from the politics of the film ;-) "Der Baader Meinhof Komplex" isn't the masterpiece on the history of the first generation of the RAF that I had hoped for in my comments on "Todesspiel", but altogether it is a very suspenseful, fascinating, densely narrated and well acted film.
I was reminded of "The French Connection" in the use of sheer excitement to keep an audience engaged in a very elaborate political movement that terrorized Europe for nearly a decade (at least the cast of characters depicted in this film; activities of the group are still—arguably—alive).Some have argued that the focus of the film on the crimes of the group glorify them, but no more than, say, the Barrow gang was elevated in Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde." We're given Baader and Meinhof's dialectic, but we're clearly watching psychotic/psychopathic people; and no one can deny they had a following.It's a long film, but I think it's very efficient in the story it tells.
This film is the story of the core of the Baader-Meinhof group, and it's close to the best political cinema I've ever seen; the direction, the acting, the script, the editing and the music...it's as if the make-up is washed away from how political films usually are, leaving the viewer to decide what's right and wrong.
It also shows better than this film how a single grand terrorist exploit could hold a whole nation in its feverish grip.No doubt that the actors playing journalist-convert Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck), the lawless hipster revolutionary Andreas Baader (Moritz Beibtreu) and Baader's paramour Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek) have the right stuff to convey the wild conviction and psychoses of the time.
All independence wars in America South to North were basically terrorist groups fighting European Crowns exploiting them.Based on the above, understanding "The Baader-Meinhof complex" requires an open mind probably even more than the director had.In sixties, Germany two main parties united under an extreme right position; outlawing the communist and left parties and creating a conservative state, affiliated with USA capitalism.Former NAZI members like Kurt Georg Kiesinger controlled the coalition and government positions and opposed public opinions, specially those intellectual group as students.Some violent events executed by the government against students and protesters created the ground for a violent revolutionary movement called RAF.Originally staged by Andreas Baader and his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin; and later, molded, organized and ideologically improved by the left wing reporter Ulrike Meinhoff, RAF become a popular movement and the main resistant against a totalitarian government that even supported genocide like the Vietnam War.The first part of the movie, makes a fast depiction of the events using news footage or staging events like the Iraq's Sha protest while introducing the main characters and the subsequent born off the RAF (Red Army Faction).While Meinhoff and Ensslin are properly described as an obsessive idealist and a violent but smart executor, Baader is merely shown as a violent and impulsive guy; not particularly brilliant or brave (Baader was incredible charismatic thus he was the face of the movement).The second parts of the movie, basically shows a series of acts and events performed by RAF shown as criminals masking as political activists and far from organized.From that moment on, as the events become more and more interesting; the movie (or the director) never takes the side of the activist (which might be right) but seems to approve the government behavior (police never start shooting and rarely hit them); the absurd courtroom events (based on transcripts) or the acceptance of the dead of many main RAF members as suicide (seems pretty convenient in the most heavily guarded prison in Germany, all were able to obtain guns and bullets, not to escape but to kill themselves).Please do not take me wrong.
(A similar movement existed in 19th century Russia when terrorist bombers, impatient with social quiescence, took to assassinating prominent officials, including Tsar Alexander II.) It didn't work and it only killed or injured a lot of innocent people, alienated millions more and ultimately reinforced the status quo.This film not only re-stages the street battles, bank robberies and bombings in a manner up to the best Hollywood-action standards, but also reveals the individual, psychological complexities of the central gang members as portrayed by some very fine actors.
Certainly, not every character needs a back story, but it would have been essential to tell the audience at least how these recruits got to join the group in general.By the time that Meinhof, Baader and Ensslin are imprisoned, we really don't care about the RAF any more.
To me, this is the ultimate proof that Eichinger didn't care about the characters at all, all he cared about was the actors he could squish into this movie.There are other things that others will criticize, for example the way the victims are turned just into cardboard figures with no purpose other than getting assassinated, or the fact that the German government, which was very involved especially in the final act, is not present at all.
The only drawbacks: being banged up for a couple of decades or, at the very worst, individually picked off by special forces (although if you were a male terrorist you had even more of a fighting chance, as everyone knew they always shot the women first).At least, that's the impression you might take away from The Baader Meinhof Complex, during an exchange between a pair of sexy, second generation RAF (Red Army Faction) recruits and a Middle Eastern fixer.
(In the event, the RAF picks the plane platter with hostages to go.) So although it would be nuts (given how the central characters wind up) to accuse The Baader Meinhof Complex of glamourising terrorism or playing fast and loose with the facts, the film could certainly be mistaken for trading in radical chic, dealing as it does with a young, hip, disproportionately middle-class organisation, much given to Bonnie And Clyde-style posturing and gunplay.The filmmakers can also hardly be blamed for the fact that quite a few of Germany's most wanted were ridiculously good looking in real life, and they've cast accordingly.
Nor, after nearly two-and-a-half-hours of dense history, does the film, one of the coldest and least sentimental of the German new wave, wrap with some tidy, poignant resolution; it climaxes with an awful, spiteful gunshot ringing out in a middle of a forest.Instead, The Baader Meinhof Complex, based on Stefan Aust's non-fiction study, is a brutally honest, totally uncompromising and utterly gripping depiction of exactly what happened in the ten years between June 1967 - when police shot dead a protester during a state visit to Germany by the Shah of Iran - to October 1977, when abducted industrialist and former Nazi Hanns-Martin Schleyer was executed in revenge for the suicides of imprisoned RAF leaders Ensslin, Baader and Jan-Carl Raspe.Our escort into the underworld is the left-wing journalist and mother-of-two Ulrike Meinhof (Gedeck) who goes from reporting the news to making it.
While the film doesn't flinch from showing precisely what a car bomb does to the human body, neither does it shy away from depicting the tedium of drifting from one safe house to the next in the company of angry neurotics.There is not the slightest shred of hero-worship or sympathy for these left-wing idealists-turned-neo-Nazis: Baader is portrayed as a reckless, idiotic poseur ("Only a gun makes it fun!" he exclaims to a young disciple), Ensslin, a manipulative tyrant, and Meinhof, an icy propagandist ("A man in uniform is a pig, and of course it's okay to shoot him").
Really, just because you're on a nude beach does not mean anything will change, except that you're naked and you'll need to put your clothes back on at *some* point.The RAF, the Red Army Faction, are the focus here in the Baader Meinhof Complex, from the people who also brought you the movie Downfall.
It's a long movie, maybe too long, and there could have been oddly enough more of the character Horst Herold with his investigation- in trying to figure out the real method of these terrorists and how they operate past the given 'yes, they're bad' status- and but as it is Edel skillfully weaves in history and drama, giving us a focal point of this organization and how it related to its country and the Middle East, how its evolution past the first group into generations two and three became disjointed (the last one being apart of a hardcore terrorist act with a Lufthansa airplane hijacking in 1977), and how truly dangerous all of this really was.The Baader Meinhof Complex offers little hope really, certainly not for any of the principle characters in their years spent in a doomed jail-term and ridiculous trial, and it shouldn't.
Four years after the courageous - and excellent - Downfall, German cinema tackles another black page of its history: the terrorist acts committed by the so-called Baader Meinhof Complex, a radical left-wing group that used the uprise of communism as a means to induce fear and panic into the heart of an already battered nation.
Significantly, the producer of Downfall, Bern Eichinger, is also behind this film - perhaps because no one else had the ambition to go through with such a project.The story is told largely from the point of view of Ulrike Meinhof (Martin Gedeck), a leftist journalist who isn't afraid to publicly express her criticisms against the German government's actions.
While at the time the RAF was seen as a German version of Italy's Red Brigades (hence the brief sequence taking place in Rome), director Uli Edel draws a not-so-implicit parallel between Baader and present day terrorist leaders, suggesting the political and social scenario hasn't really changed that much in over four decades.
He also stresses his point, but not too much, by shooting most of the film as if it were a documentary (particularly during the incarceration and trial), an approach which, inevitably, invites comparisons with today's news footage.The Baader Meinhof Complex has a great deal of things to tell, which should justify the running time (it's only ten minutes shorter than Munich).
Although the events portrayed in The Baader Meinhof Complex dates back to the 60s and 70s, this look back at West Germany's struggle with political extremism and armed resistance holds some relevance in today's terror threats, given that it's never always just about tackling the issue as an independent silo, but there's this inter-connectedness with events around the world that shape rationale, objectives and outcome.Director Uli Edel has crafted an engaging political action-thriller if you might, from Stefan Aust's book about the founders of the Red Faction Army (RAF), one of Germany's violent left- wing anti-capitalist group, whose logo is a combination of a Red Star and an MP5 sub- machine gun.
Terrorist camps become training ground for members to get equipped with guerrilla warfare, and hats off to Uli Edel and his team in accurately reconstructing the major events as accurately as possible, and how they allowed for the smooth juxtaposition of archived newsreels, which at times made the movie play out almost like watching a documentary with ring-side seats to the series of world events, from US political elections to the Vietnam War, and even to the massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
If there should be shortcomings, then perhaps it didn't exactly put forth the appeal of the group of anarchists, because at one point it mentioned support coming from one in four Germans, but doesn't go beyond the Us or Them syndrome, or provided some depth into the court proceedings, which in the film looked more like a circus than to serve any purpose.Germany's entry into the Foreign Language Film category in this year's Oscars, The Baader Meinhof Complex is thoroughly riveting and engaging, and should be in your list of much watch films of the week, instead of opting for the week's summer blockbuster offering..
Not wanting to risk sobriety the film chooses instead sensationalism, perhaps deliberately bypassing a truly serious-minded portrait of what must be a divisive episode in German history.The Baader-Meinhof Complex did succeed in making me curious to know more about these people and I'll be looking for a suitable book or documentary.
Being an Asian viewer born after the 80's, without any knowledge of the Red Army Faction (RAF), it poses some challenges to me when watching The Baader Meinhof Complex.It is amazing to see director Uli Edel, who once directed the box office failure Body of Evidence in 1992, could brilliantly directed a historical drama that is not too far away from us.
As the government refuse to release them, which leads to the trial on the imprisoned members, the second, and the third generation of the RAF, creates more attacks, including the assassination of important political characters, hijacking of airplane and more bombings.Told from the period beginning from 1968 to the late 70's within 2 hours and 30 minutes, it is more than a challenge for the crew to come our on the script that needs to deliver the whole story in a short period.
A very interesting movie about the Baader Meinhof Gang (or the Red Army Faction as they called themselves), a German extreme left terror group which killed dozens of people in the 1970s, basically, policemen and businessmen.
As comparable groups and events exist in other countries (in Canada or Québec, it has been the FLQ that is very similar), it is not difficult to watch this movie, understand it and get addicted to it.I would recommend this film to anyone who likes political and historical topics, that is interested in foreign cultures or who simply wants to see an intense and action filled drama with credible actors..
I was very conscious of the possibility of some left leaning, sympathetic film maker still entwined in their rebellious socialist student ideology and out to glamourise the title group as some gathering of 'Bonnie and Clydes' or disaffected heroes fighting the good fight.A brief rundown for anyone that might not know, the film tells the story of; the rise and fall of the 'Bader-Meinhof Gang' or 'Red Army Faction' in West Germany in the late 60's and 70's, ostensibly as portrayed in the film, a collection of middle class idealistic young people outraged at western 'facism', determined to see the mistakes of the past (Nazism) not repeated and setting out to bring about change by violently forcing and imposing their ideals on the rest of the world in order to bring about 'change' and more fairness to the oppressed.As an aside I thought they and their behaviour presented collectively in the film as every bit as bad as that of their predecessors of the 30's & 40's whose attitudes and ideas they were so 'determined' not to see flourish again.
This film actually struck me as rather neutral in terms of its presentation of the key figures and undoubtedly there will be some who see the B-M G/RAF as out and out villains (as I'm inclined to do) but there'll also be plenty of people who, if not supportive of or rooting for our 'anti-heroes' may be at least sympathetic to their ideals at some level.I certainly don't know enough to comment on the historical accuracy on show although there are a whole lot of things happening through a rather long film and I got the feeling that the director wanted as little as possible to sweep up off the cutting room floor afterwards and therein lies the strength of the film which goes into plenty of detail.I found none of the central characters to be particularly likable or endearing and as a result didn't bat an eyelid when they suffered any misfortune or negative consequence of their actions, though I don't know if that was intended by the director or writers.
After the critical and financial success of the brilliant Downfall, producer Bernd Eichinger follows up with another tale from German history, this time about the Red Army Faction (RAF) in the 60s and 70s.The Baader Meinhof Complex tells the story from the formation of the organisation during the student protests of 1967 till their downfall 10-years later.
Two of the main leaders were Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), a young hothead who believes in using violence to bring about his group's political aims and Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck), a successful left-wing journalist who ends up joining the student movement and becomes the intelligential voice for the RAF, justifying their violence.
Not because of the Actors they are very good and neither the authenticity of the film which is very high, but because if you didn't read the book by Aust, it will be difficult for someone who never heard something about the RAF or Baader Meinhof, to understand this movie.
The second problem is related to that the film tries so hard to document absolutely everything, it seems to forget it is supposed to be a drama.The strongest suit of The Baader Meinhof Complex are definitely the actors (especially German stars Moritz Bleibtreu and Martina Gedeck), who make their terrorist characters so human and passionate you can't help but root for them a little bit.http://thecelebritycafe.com/movies/full_review/12801.html.
"The Baader-Meinhof Group" is a provocative, brutal, German film meticulously directed by Uli Edel "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (1990), written by Bernd Eichinger "Downfall" (2004), and stars some of Germany's best actors: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek and Bruno Ganz. |
tt0139699 | Varsity Blues | Jonathan "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek) is an academically gifted backup quarterback for the West Canaan High School football team. Despite his relative popularity at school, easy friendships with other players, and smart and sassy girlfriend, Jules Harbor (Amy Smart), Mox is dissatisfied with his life. He wants to leave Texas to go to school at Brown University. He also dislikes his football-obsessed father (Thomas F. Duffy) and dreads playing football under legendary coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight). Kilmer is a verbally abusive control freak whose philosophy can be summed up as "win at all costs". He has a strong track record as coach, remarking in a speech that "in my thirty years of coaching football at West Caanan, I have brought two state titles, and 22 district championships!" Kilmer's philosophy finally takes its toll on Coyotes' quarterback, Lance Harbor (Paul Walker). It is revealed that Lance, who is Mox's best friend, had been manipulated into taking cortisone shots into an injured knee that finally gave out on a huge sack. Lance is rushed to the hospital, where doctors are appalled at the massive amount of scar tissue found under his knee.Mox, who has accompanied Lance to the hospital, is shocked when Kilmer tells the doctor that he knew nothing at all about Lance's knee problems, when in fact Kilmer ordered the trainer to inject the shots. In need of a new quarterback, Kilmer reluctantly names Mox to replace Lance as captain and starting quarterback. The move brings unexpected dividends for Mox, one of them being Darcy Sears (Ali Larter), Lance's beautiful blonde cheerleader girlfriend, who is interested in marrying a football player in order to escape small-town life. Darcy even goes so far as to attempt to seduce Moxon, sporting a bikini made of whipped cream over her otherwise naked body, but he rebuffs her as gently as he can.Becoming fed up with Kilmer and not feeling a strong need to win, Mox starts calling his own plays on the field without Kilmer's approval. He also finally tells his football obsessed father off at one point screaming at him "I don't want your life!" Mox's father had been a football player at West Caanan, and although Kilmer dismissed him as a "no talent pussy" he did say that he at least listened (unlike Mox). Kilmer, who becomes aware that Mox has won a full scholarship to Brown, warns Mox that if he doesn't fall in line, he will alter his transcripts in order to reverse the decision on his scholarship.Another friend of Mox's, Wendell Brown, is injured on the field shortly thereafter. Kilmer manipulates Wendell into taking a shot of cortisone to deaden the pain from his injury, allowing him to continue even in the face of a permanent injury. Wendell, who is desperate to be recruited by a good college, grants his consent. At this moment, Mox tells Kilmer he'll quit the team if the needle enters Wendell's knee. Undaunted, Kilmer orders Charlie Tweeder (Scott Caan), a friend of both Mox and Wendell, to take the snaps. Tweeder refuses. Mox tells Kilmer that the only way they'll return to the field is without him. Realizing that he will be forced to forfeit the game, Kilmer loses control and attacks Mox. The other players break up the fight and then refuse to take to the field. Knowing his loss of control has cost him his credibility, Kilmer tries in vain to rally support and spark the team's spirit into trusting him, but not one player follows him out of the locker room. Kilmer continues down the locker room hall, and seeing no one following him, turns the other direction and into his office. The team goes on to win the game without his guidance.In a voice-over epilogue, Mox states that he "never played football again. Lance went on to a successful coaching career (he did not work at Wal-Mart as feared by Darcy), Wendell received a scholarship to Grambling, Billy Bob cried because he's a bit of a crier, Tweeder drank beer because, well...Tweeder drinks beers. Kilmer retired, never to coach football again. However, his statue still stands only because it was too heavy to move. I took the scholarship and will graduate from Brown University." | adult comedy | train | imdb | True, "Varsity Blues" has those standard teen elements like wild drinking parties, the school slut, etc.
The film dabbles with elements of the sport that probably hit home to some high school football players.
Then James Van Der Beek comes along, and his character is not really concerned with winning or playing football in the first place.
But he likes football, has fun with it and simply wants to play a good, honest game.
Like a number of other reviewers, I though "Varsity Blues" wouldn't amount to much more than "Dawson Plays Football", MTV-style.
The movie's filled with cliches: the town obsessed with the football team; the overweight, goofy lineman; the slutty cheerleader with the heart of gold; the arrogant coach; the teacher straight out of an early 80's Van Halen video; etc, etc.
You know how the story's going to end, but you're not always sure how it's going to get there, and that's what keeps it interesting.Van Der Beek is very good, much better that I ever thought I'd give him credit for.
Also good: Paul Walker as the original starting quarterback, and Amy Smart as Van Der Beek's smart girlfriend.
Too bad, although I think this was more the fault of the script than of Mr. Voight.It's certainly not the best movie ever made -- for that matter, it's not even the best football movie ever made -- but it's still good.
The only thing that can make such a movie watchable is memorable characters created by good actors, and here is where Varsity Blues succeeds.
Having played football in West Texas for a 3-A dynasty team, this movie brings back the memories and the nightmares that a dynasty town can give.
Varsity Blues tells the story of a high school in a small town in Texas, where football is king..
James Van Der Beek stars as Jonathon Moxon (Mox), the backup quarterback of the high school football team.
I never played high school football, so maybe that's the way a coach is, but actually willing to ruin a kids life by making him play with a serious injury?
This is an unpretentious and entertaining movie about high school football in a small Texas community.
The movie is well paced and a pleasant diversion; (many in the audience actually applauded at the climactic scenes in the final moments).What I find most interesting about the fact that this film was produced in association with MTV, is that for a Network ostensibly dedicated to iconoclastic themes and attitudes (i.e., anti-establishment and counter-culture), this movie is remarkably "old-fashioned" in the adherence to values espoused by the hero.
After he becomes the starting quarterback, he resists the come-ons of his predecessor's beautiful girlfriend, and he will sacrifice his own scholarship to Brown University (an Ivy League school in Rhode Island for those of you not familiar) rather than let another player be used and potentially physically damaged by the unscrupulous coach.Some of the scenes are reminiscent of other football films: The Longest Yard, All the Right Moves, North Dallas Forty, and so on, but I guess there are no real surprises these days after decades of the same essential stories in Hollywood.
Out of all the MTV movies I've seen, "Varsity Blues" was definitely the best.
It's cast did great acting and good portrayals of high school students and teachers.
James Van Der Beek is just as good as the football jock as he is as movie buff Dawson on "Dawson's Creek".
This movie does a good job at holding my attention and bringing back some good high school memories.Brian Robbin's film is about a Texas football team in the town of West Canaan.
After the star quarterback is injured, the back up guy, Moxon is forced to deal with his relentless coach Kilmer, his disapproving girlfriend, and his football-loving parents while starting in his new role that is all strange for him.The acting is pretty good.
This is the first time I saw James Van Der Beek on film because I refuse to watch Dawson's Creek, but he does a pretty good job.
James Van Der Beek, star of the equally bad tv show Dawson's Creek, tries to spread his movies star wings and impress the chicks with his physique in this piece of pooh.
If you want a good high school movie, see "Superstar", it was a lot more believable..
"Varsity Blues" is a tedious, shallow and formulaic tale of small town high school football hijinks wherein the adults are even more developmentally disabled than the hormone-crazed teenagers they've produced.The film manages to encompass just about every cliché endemic to this well-worn genre.
All this doesn't take into account the bubbleheaded sexpot sex ed teacher who moonlights at the local strip joint; the befuddled cops; the drunken, smart-mouthed jock who hijacks a cop car and spends the evening joyriding through town with a bevy of naked, nubile girls from the neighborhood; or the horny young lady who dresses down and splashes on a whipped cream bikini only to be rejected by the pure-in-heart hero.Then we arrive at the final game and the unconvincing showdown between the villainous coach and the righteously rebellious players led by the hero Moxon.
A whole bunch of my friends at school said that Varsity Blues was a good movie, thus I decided to go see it with a couple of friends.
As many people say, the football scenes were good, but I could just watch that on my t.v. so the scenes really were not worth the money I spent to go watch the movie.
I can understand why some guys might like this movie, but instead of wasting money to watch such short scenes of sex, go rent a prono that might actually have more substance than this film flop..
The acting was better than I expected, which isn't saying much...The story was typical, everything in the movie was either a stereotype or cultural statement on part of the director...The only two things worth seeing in this movie are James Van Der Beeke's little brother, and Jon Voight...which is the only reason I saw it..
This probably isn't the movie's doing, but the fact that I used to watch it all the time (actually, I'd get on Pay Per View a lot...sorry Mom) the year before I entered 8th grade (I'm now entering 12th) and it will always stick with me.
I especially liked the preview with Jon Moxon(James Van Der Beek) running the ball with the song "My Hero" playing during the slow motion clip.
in that I mean that amy smart and paul walker lost their appesl long ago, and especially the acceptance of a very "par like" writing, but the fact that the end of this movie connects on the deepest level with what all of anyones' possible high school aspiractions could ever dream to be is the reason that this movie succeeds on both a personal level as well as a dreamer's (aka all of our) level is the reason this movie should be praised as not a GREAT movie, but a movie we watch with reason for motivation as well as a movie that gives us reason to believe that inside of all of us, there is a Billy Bob or John Nox that can not only succeed but excel...Shame on all that does not believe that this is the earliest instalment of a great Texas high school sports (all high school sports for that reason, especially in our own school's sports), that makes us believe in the greatness we are all capable of....
Released in 1999, "Varsity Blues" is a sports film about football in Central Texas, where high school football is virtually a religion.
I was surprised at how engrossing and entertaining "Varsity Blues" is, much more so than similar films, like "Remember the Titans" (2000), "Woodlawn" (2015) and scores of others.The story revolves around a second-string quarterback, Mox (James Van Der Beek), who doesn't take football too seriously because he's consigned to the bench, but when the team's star-quarterback is seriously injured (Paul Walker), Mox rises to the challenge and begins to experience all the perks that come with being the football hero of the town.I'm not a huge fan of sports film, unless they successfully tap into other genres.
The movie features everything you'd want in a film of this ilk -- the sexpot cheerleader (Ali Larter), wild schoolmates (Scott Caan, Ron Lester), the smart girl (Amy Smart, no pun intended), wild parties, miscellaneous coming-of-age antics, megalomaniac coach (Jon Voight) and everything that goes with intense sports competition.Some people complain that the film's unrealistic because of all the extreme things that occur, but the team in "Varsity Blues" represents the typical champion high school football team and therefore they experience the various crazy things these types of teams encounter in real life.
Also, movies like "Varsity Blues" and "Platoon" may come across as "too much" because filmmakers only have about 2 hours to tell the story and they have to jam a whole year of experiences into that time frame.Others complain about the lack of assistant coaches in the second half of the final game, but we'll have to assume that they went with a certain person and the film just doesn't show it.
I rate "Varsity Blues" as high as I do because it's a stand-out sports film and high school dramedy that heavily influenced the more reality-based (but IMO less compelling) "Friday Night Lights," which came out five years later.
If you can get through all of the teenage humor, there is a really great message for high school students in this movie.
At the end of the movie, James Van der Beek's character gives a great speech about being a teenager and that it is important to remember that.
The Coyotes are the high school football team of a small American town.
All the standard stuff happens and the ending is no surprise to anyone who will has seen a movie of this genre before.The film isn't very funny and focuses more on the drama side (albeit with the usual light `coming of age' approach).
Religion in Texas has nothing over high school football as players and coaches are treated like gods and given free license to do most anything they want in some areas of the state.
The film does capture this brilliantly with wild parties, scattered under-aged sexual situations, high school girls who try to hitch a free-ride off their male football-playing classmates and crazed coaches (Jon Voight in admittedly one of his finest performances) who only care about their win-loss records and their standing in the community.
This film essentially involves a high school quarterback named "Jonathon 'Mox' Moxon" (James Van Der Beek) who lacks the talent of the starting quarterback "Lance Harbor" (Paul Walker) and is content to sit on the bench as he doesn't really care that much for the game.
Part of the reason for this attitude involves the football coach by the name of "Bud Kilmer" (Joh Voight) who has been allowed to get away with extremely abusive behavior for 30 years at this high school due to the fact that he has won 2 state championships and 22 district titles.
Probably the best movie about high school football!.
Voight was excellent as the ultimate bullying coach, and Van Der Beek as the high school senior who is a decent guy who is wise beyond his years.
It wasn't a waste of time, but it was an average high school sports flick with a 'stuck in his ways after several years at the position' kind of head coach.
Jon voight is great as the villainous football coach, he plays it very well, if you don't hate him as a character then there's something wrong with you lol.
It follows a successful high school football team coached by Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight)--a man who basically runs the community.
It then proceeds to question that very importance, along with the aggrandizing of athletics in our schools altogether.Subtly juxtaposing these ideals, we see Mox's little brother, who has an obsession with religions and practices a variety of them throughout the movie, much to his parent's disapproval.It isn't perfect, but Varsity Blues holds up well.
A movie about a high school football team, created by MTV, starring all the teen-heartthrobs of the late 90s, I couldn't have been more uninterested.
James Van Der Beek stars and honestly, I always felt that he was too much into the whole teen-heartthrob persona, I never took him seriously as an actor, or envisioned him being good in a role like this.
Varsity Blues is produced by MTV, stars actors I normally wouldn't watch, and as it turns out it is one of the most exciting and intense sports films I've ever seen.
Where else would you set a movie about a town where high school football is the only thing that matters?So you know what you're in for with this movie.
James Van Der Beek is the star of the movie, if not the football team.
And if a high school football movie can give you some good drama that's really all you can ask.
Sure it might not have the best acting, or dialogue, but the cinematography, and performance by Jon Voight greatly makes up for it.The thing that gets me is the last game that they played in the movie was only a division title game, but what happened with the state game that Bud was so hell bent on winning??.
it's safe to say that varsity blues is one of the best teen movies of the 90's.
Jon Voight is superb as Coach Kilmer and the football action in the movie is excellently filmed.
In West Canaan, TX high school football is a religion, and nobel bench-warmer-turned-star-quarterback James Van Der Beek (DAWSON'S CREEK) incites a revolt against the tyrannical coach (a vicious Jon Voight) between the parties, practice, cookouts, and the head cheerleader sporting a come-hither whipped cream bikini.
The best MTV "Film" yet and a good football movie..
Jon Voight was great as always as the obsessed coach, and Van Der Beek performed well in his first movie.
This movie is about High School football in Texas.
John Voight is great as the coach who will sacrifice anything to win.The other actors were good as well especially the guy who played Billy Bob. Sure, its predictible but its also entertaining and fun.
I liked it because it reminded me of why I loved high school football so much.
It was a good movie IMO and I think it shows what's wrong with high school sports in some parts of the country..
I wish I had seen this movie when I was still in high school, I can think of a few things I would have done differently..
A simple run-down of Varsity Blues:The movie starts out with how Mox and his friends grew up in a football crazed town.
But after seeing it I got an incredible desire to go back in time to high school just so I could play football again.
This movie made me miss high school football so much I couldn't believe it.
I thought Varsity Blues was a very good movie, but Amy Smart must be the cutest girl alive.
James Van Der Beek and Amy Smart were mighty charming as the only two people (let alone kids) in town not obsessed with football.
James Van der Beek shines as the good guy, trying to stay that way and "Billy Bob" we will definitely see again.
going to high school in texas and making it to the state championship one year, i know how important football is to any town (small or large) in this state.
(The setting was perfect for an escaped mental patient psycho killer to run amok - Small Texas town, high school football team, stupid cops...) James Van Der Beek was smart enough to choose a role that might actually help along his career as a serious actor, unlike all his other Dawson's Creek cast-mates who chose to get their heads chopped off this year.
High school football player Mox must deal with the struggles that occur when you become a star quarter back under the rule of a tyrannical coach..
Also, the stereotypical view of an east Texan adult having no other means to occupy their time aside from high school football is ridiculous.Van Der Beek lets us empathize somewhat, but you just cannot buy the fact that he has serious struggles because he scored a few touchdowns.
Give the villian (Coach Kilmer) some good qualities while at the same time give the hero (James van Der Beek) a little bit of a dark side..
This movie was a pretty accurate portrayal of high school football and the fever surrounding it.
This movie was great, the actors, the acting, the plot except for a few cheesy lines uttered by James Van Der Beek.
If you like teen dramas, football, or small town sociology go see this movie..
"Varsity Blues" is a very good movie, because it does not candy coat the high school athletic scene.
If you ever played high school football you become this film.
Parts can be a little different (can those football players jump or what?) from what you would normally see.Film buffs will hate this, but if you enjoy movies and don't like everything 100% perfect, see this!.
At first it was hard to see James Van Der Beek and not think Dawson but he was a very good actor.
An awesome teen flick about high school, football, and fun!.
Varsity Blues caters toward a high-school audience and is a great film to watch with friends.
I was expecting the typical high school football movie, but it turned out to be very good.
High school football is a popular topic for movies.
But I have to say that it is definitely a high school guy movie. |
tt0085482 | El Norte | Part 1: Arturo XuncaxThe first part takes place in a small rural Guatemalan village called San Pedro and introduces the Xuncax family, a group of indigenous Mayans. Arturo is a coffee picker and his wife a homemaker. Arturo explains to his son, Enrique, his world view and how the indio fares in Guatemalan life, noting that, "to the rich, the peasant is just a pair of strong arms". Arturo and his family then discuss the possibility of going to the United States where "all the people, even the poor, own their own cars". Because of his attempts to form a labor union among the workers, Arturo and the other organizers are attacked and murdered by government troops when a co-worker is bribed to betray them... Arturo's severed head is seen hanging from a tree. When Enrique attempts to climb the tree that displays his father's head, a soldier attacks him. Enrique fights and kills the attacker, only to learn that many of their fellow villagers have been rounded up by soldiers. The children's mother too "disappears": abducted by soldiers. So, using money given to them by their godmother, Enrique and his sister Rosa decide to flee Guatemala, the land of their birth, and head north.Part 2: CoyoteDuring the second part of the film the two teenagers flee Guatemala, travel through Mexico, and meet a Mexican coyote who guides them across the border. This section includes various comic scenes relating to mutual stereotyping among different ethnic groups in Mexico. Enrique and Rosa attempt to pass themselves off as indigenous Mexicans, failing to convince one Mexican truck driver after naming the wrong destination. After their first failed attempt to cross the "frontera", where a man posing as a coyote deceives and attempts to rob them, but they succeed in convincing a U.S. Border Patrol officer by copiously peppering their responses with the Mexican word for "fuck", which a neighbor had suggested was how all Mexicans speak.In the second attempt to cross the border, they have a horrific experience when they finally cross the U.S.-Mexican border through a sewer pipe laden with rats.Part 3: El NorteIn the final part of the film Rosa and Enrique discover the difficulties of living in the U.S. without official documentation. After staying for the night in a cheap motel in San Diego, they move further north and settle in Los Angeles. The brother and sister team find work and a place to live and initially feel good about their decision. However, Rosa nearly is captured during an immigration raid and must find a new job. Working as a domestic, she is puzzled when her Anglo employer shows her a washing machine.Enrique becomes a busboy and, as his English classes begin to improve his command of the language, he is promoted to a position as a waiter's assistant. He is later approached by a wealthy businesswoman who has a better-paying job for him in Chicago as a foreman, which he initially declines. He tells the woman that he does not want to leave his sister behind in L.A. Enrique soon encounters problems when a jealous Chicano co-worker reports him to immigration, causing him to flee the restaurant and seek out the businesswoman.When Enrique finally decides to take the position, Rosa becomes gravely ill with typhus contracted from the rat bites she received during their border crossing. When this happens, Enrique must make the tough decision of moving to Chicago, or to be by her side. Enrique chooses the later option and thus loses the position. As Enrique visits the hospital, Rosa laments that she will not live to enjoy the fruits of their harrowing journey to the U.S. Rosa sums up the film's major theme when she says to Enrique: "In our own land, we have no home. They want to kill us. In Mexico, there is only poverty. We can't make a home there either. And here in the north, we aren't accepted. When will we find a home, Enrique? Maybe when we die, we'll find a home."After Rosa dies peacefully, Enrique is shown once again waiting with the other day-labor hopefuls in a parking lot, offering his services to a man looking for "strong arms". In a bitter realization, Enrique finally learns that from his late father's words about the poor being nothing but arms for the rich holds true... even in El Norte.Although Enrique is temporarily employed once again, he is distracted by haunting daydreams about his dead sister's lost desires for a better life. The final shot shows a severed head hanging from a rope, which may be the same image used in Part 1. | tragedy | train | imdb | Gregory Nava's drama, "El Norte," is hands-down the best film ever made about the Latin American immigrant experience in the US.
It's also one of the best films of the 80's.Wonderfully acted and expertly directed, this film will make you think twice about the "invisible" people who clean your house, watch your kids, make your food, garden your yard, wash your car, etc.
It covers the very basic quest story of a brother and a sister who flee Guatemala (where the indigenous population was being exterminated) through Mexico to try and find a new life in the US.
Its creative team (Gregory Nava and his wife Anna Thomas) are also responsible for the movies Selena and Mi Familia (among others), both excellent films.
Fifteen years ago, the indigenous people in Guatemala, were living a cruel extermination that forced them to flee toward Mexico and the United States.
This exodus lasted a decade and half a million Guatemalans made the journey to America seeking for asylum and refuge.In that time, a young Chicano film maker, full of noble idealism,honesty,and with no more resources but his immense talent to tell stories, put his eyes in this tragedy and made the most beautiful epic poem ever filmed about our indigenous nations: El Norte, a picture that gave voice to those that don´t have it.With El Norte, the spectators of that time, became aware, in slambang, of a reality that have been communicated to them mostly through the press, but wich they had never confronted in such hard and frontal manner.And in some way, El Norte became a powerfull fighting element.
Got into the schools, universities, into film festivals, and in every forum that wanted to hear it, and it´s message was founding echo in the spectators identifyed with the story of the lost paradise of all the poor of the world in which, Rosa and Enrique represent millions of young people of any color and continent, starving for security and freedom, those that every day start the search of the lost paradise through hell.Fifteen years had gone by since the time we made this film, and unfortunately, the story that has been told in El Norte, will have to be told for a long time.
have less than an eighth grade education and most work long hours in jobs on the low end of the pay scale and their situation makes it nearly impossible to advance or make long term plans.Gregory Nava's 1983 Indie film El Norte describes the plight of two young Guatemalans, Enrique (David Villalpando) and his sister Rosa (Zaide Silvia Gutierrez) who face reprisals from the military after participating in a protest meeting and undertake a hazardous journey to "the north" to find a better life.
The film is divided into three parts: "Arturo Xuncax", describing the circumstances that caused the family to leave Guatemala "El Coyote", detailing their hazardous journey to reach the U.S., and "El Norte", telling the story of their life in Los Angeles.
While El Norte does have a strong political message, the core of the film is the relationship between Enrique and Rosa.The hardships of the journey are told in graphic detail, especially the last test of crossing the border by crawling on their hands and knees through an abandoned sewer line populated by hordes of rats.
El Norte wears its heart on its sleeve and the film tends toward the melodramatic, but it faithfully mirrors the fear and uncertainty that illegal immigrants face each day and I can forgive its flaws and applaud the loving bond between brother and sister and the strength it produces in their lives..
They struggle through many hardships in their travels from Guatemala through the rough and wild terrain of Mexico and the sleazy "Coyotes" who always try to make a buck on the blood and sweat of these immigrant workers who want a chance at the American way of life.Politics aside (people who have read my reviews know which side I stand on) you have to feel for these people who are willing to work for little just so they could have useless things.
Like Ruben Martinez's recent nonfiction work on Latino emigrants, "Crossing Over," Gregory Nava's film, "El Norte," begins with a re-working of the Passion Play--only this time the Christ figure is Arturo Xuncax, a Guatemalan Indian and guerilla leader, who's betrayed to the landowner/elites by one of his own followers.
As a result, Xuncax and his "disciples" are killed in a bloody nocturnal raid staged by the elites' enforcers--members of the Guatemalan military--and Arturo's severed head is suspended by rope from a tree limb to serve as a warning to others who may conspire against the Oppressor.Viewers are forgiven, therefore, if they expect a story of political martyrdom and vengeance, since it is Arturo's son, Enrique, who takes up the machete that his murdered father (a "Man of Peace") refused to bring along with him to his fate.
Instead, Enrique is advised by a friend to strike out to "el Norte." And since the military has vowed to de- populate Arturo's village, this would appear to be sound advice.Thus begins one of the best "journey" films ever made.
Enrique and his sister, Rosa (presumably, both are still in their teens), make the long trek from their once-idyllic Central American mountain village to what they mistakenly believe will be a comfortable, material existence in California, US of A.While the Guatemalan scenes in "El Norte" are dark, foggy, murky, and formally paced, the second section of the film (subtitled "El Coyote") begins with a blast of mariachi music and we see the pair of young travelers on a bright, sunlit, modern Mexican highway.
But Rosa insists; and in the end, she wins this minor argument.Brother and sister do manage to make it across the borderline--but at a terrible price that doesn't become evident until the film's conclusion."El Norte" was made on a shoestring; but Nava's direction is clever, sometimes in a style reminiscent of late-50's French New Wave, but more often as naturalistic as an Upton Sinclair novel.
I first saw this movie in 1989 or so and, being in high school and rather naive at the time, was blown away by unromantic portrayal of the lives of two Guatemalan refugees living as illegal immigrants in California.
I still find it a moving film.Siblings Arturo and Rosa flee their mountain village after their father is killed and trek across Mexico with dreams of living in the United States -- "El Norte." The story is sprinkled with humor, but the overall theme is tragedy.
Do expect to get a glimpse into the lives of millions of people who now live in the United States, and what it took to get here.PS--Much of this movie is in the Spanish and South American Indian language (with subtitles).
The movie tells you the story of a brother and sister and the awful reality of the trip they had to make to cross the southern border of the United States of America.The comment below mine says that the characters speak a "SOUTH American NATIVE LANGUAGE", but this information is incorrect (despite the fact that the person that wrote this comment apparently is educated enough, and gives classes in some university that i gladly do not attend to).Guatemala is part of Central America ...
The language spoken by the characters has vocabulary from two Mayan languages: MAM & CAKCHIQUEL spoken by more than a million Guatemalans.Overall the movie is crude but a true statement of what illegal immigrants have to go through when they decide to make the trip to the USA.
As a Spanish teacher and film buff, I have seen this movie too many times to count.
Bearing in mind the problems in the United States with immigration at the moment I feel that El Norte should be watched again and reflected upon.
This really helped the film, as the people seemed so real--like you are really watching Guatemalan refugees.
This movie is a touching story of a brother and sister trying to escape oppression in their native Guatemala and escape to 'El Norte' after the rest of their family has been taken by the army.
There is a lot of magical realism in the movie (which I'm not a fan of) and the ending is ambiguous but it is a great film that the viewer gets involved in emotionally..
Two young and completely naive Guatemalan Indians are forced to flea their small village after their father is shot by government soldiers in a raid and their mother taken away.They make the trip north through Mexico to El Norte, the land of promise.This is a heartrending and unforgettable film, with occasional hilarity, of their journey and their life.
Starting out simply you are soon completely drawn into their story, from the journey to their new life in San Diego as they attempt to adapt to El Norte, set in the larger context of the Latino and Mexican immigrant experience.I saw this film in its initial theatrical release in 1983, and a recent viewing reveals it has not dimmed.
El Norte is a tragic story of the struggle to escape the throws of migrant labor in Guatemala to a better life in the US.
Mayan Indian peasant siblings Enrique and Rosa live in the small mountain village of San Pedro, Guatemala.
Rosa insists on joining Enrique who journeys north to El Norte or United States.This is an early crossing the border film.
Peasants escaping mindless labor and a murderous Guatemalan government head to America in hopes for something better.I am not super knowledgeable about immigration and I cannot say it is a topic I am very passionate about one way or the other.
After one more hideous obstacle (difficult to film convincingly with such slender resources), they're in El Norte
Interesting that the native-born "pochos" (English-speaking Chicanos, including Trinidad Silva, the dude that played Jesus Rodriguez on "Hill Street Blues") tend to be portrayed as shifty and treacherous; the final scenes in SoCal alternate gentle social satire and melodrama in a kind of Dickensian way that I found quite involving.
Aside from magic realism (a very popular genre in post-modernistic Latin American literature and film – see NOTE below), the characters of brother and sister have very few real hardships - in comparison with what Central Americans actually have to endure on their very difficult and torturous trip to the north.
I don't know if i would rent it on a Friday night, but if anyone ever wants to learn about how the indians try to sneak into the country and what their lives are like this is the movie for them..
It has been one of the few good movies made in the 1980s not just for the historical context but for the awareness of and endless issue such as "immigrants" and their ordeal from the moment they leave their hometown until their arrival to a new country.
El Norte is the best portrayal of undocumented immigrant life in California that I have ever seen.
and it turns out this is from the same director who gave us La Bamba and Selena...and it featured the adorable lady from AS GOOD AS IT GETS....It also got a nomination for Best Original Screenplay..This is a great movie..It works so well on many levels..
The story about two youths from Guatemala trying to start a new life and overcoming huge obstacles is powerful..The scenes with the soldiers in their village was something out of a really good horror movie...the tunnel scene had the sense of adventure like any Spielberg movie with Harrison Ford...The movie works very well as it sprinkles light humor into the dialogue....the two young leads are very good in their roles...and we care about them...We root for them throughout the whole movie as they try so hard to assimilate and better themselves.
But besides its new value as relevant testimony of a historical fact, El Norte continues to be one of the best films ever to come from Latin America and a great cinematic work which deserves the many awards it has received, like the 1985 Oscar nomination as Best Script, the honors received at the Montreal Film Festival and, above all, the honor of having been selected for preservation by the National Film Preservation Board in 1995..
Ultimately when they reached North, life was not so cinematic as they imagined.Nominated for the best Screenplay Oscar, one of best films, that will remain in your heart for a long time.
They would write about the struggles people have to face coming to America and how they would get exploited, having to work hard jobs for very little pay just to get by because they are hoping for the "American Dream." These men write history book about these stories everyday lives of immigrants trying to come to America.
It has no really crazy effects, it doesn't focus too long on the acting, it doesn't do a lot of what films do to try to illicit a response from the audience, it just sets the camera exactly where the audience doesn't want it to be.Enricque and Rosa are two Native Guatamalans whose family is killed for their rich farmland.
The movie takes them along through Mexico and into California, exploring the issue of immigration from all the facets between their homeland and their destination.The exposition of their journey and the effect it has on the viewer is so simple it makes regular cinema "language" seem almost superfluous.
We don't have the filmmakers constantly saying, "Oh, how horrible it is for immigrants!", we only have the immigrants saying, "Oh, this is difficult, what else should I do?" Because of this method of storytelling, this film is actually comparable to such films as Lord of the Rings, among other things.In fact, humorously enough, I couldn't help but expect some burly warrior to appear for no good reason and just say, "One does not just simply walk into America..." Yeah, I know, I'm a geek, but a geek with a point: what better way to make the audience relate to the situation than to paint it in a way that is reflective of the actual humanistic experience rather than some sort of, "I know you're an American, but let's try to see it from 'their perspective.'" Saying that line is admitting their inherent difference to us by saying it's a different perspective at all.
This movie responds to the many of my fellow citizens in the United States that want to send the immigrants (legal and illegal) back to their native lands.
A pretty good foreign film, "El Norte" (meaning "The North" for all gringoes to know) is a nicely made drama about the flight of two Guatamalen kids who journey from their homeland to the U.S. of A.
A little hard to watch sometimes, "El Norte" is still a good, quaint foreign film to see.
This is probably one of the best films made yet about illegal immigration from Latin America because it tells of the hardships experienced at home, on the journey, and of life in America as illegal residents.
Rosa and Enrique are Mayan peasants who are orphaned in the beginning of the movie by soldiers.
They flee Guatemala for "El Norte," the place where their dreams can finally be realized, where wealth comes easily, and where they can leave their life of poverty.
Once in the United States, they live their lives so as to go undetected by society and live just to "get by." The real tragedy lies in the fact that after a life threatening journey across the boarder, Rosa and Enrique still do not escape living in constant fear.
This movie illustrates just what these immigrants endure and risk to go to El Norte (The North).
El Norte takes place during a difficult time in Guatemala – there is a civil war that will take the lives of 200,000 Indians.This motion picture is about two Mayan Indian teenagers – a brother and sister – who attempt to flee persecution in their native Guatemala to get to the promised land – "El Norte" (The North), the USA.
After the loss of their parents and aware that their lives are in danger, Rosa and her brother Enrique decide to flee San Pedro and go to the USA via Mexico.In Part II the travails of the two Indian teens are manifested as they pretend to appear as Mexicans (who fiercely protect their border with Guatemala).
Enrique learns that many villagers have been rounded up by soldiers, so he and his sister Rosa (Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez) decide to flee Guatemala and head to the north.
As the sister Rosita says in "Gauntemala you get killed, in Mexico it is poverty and in America you are not free." Gregory Nava, who made one of the most poignant movies like "Selena" is better director than this over-hyped Spielberg and this movie should have won awards.
up to and including the employers in the USA who exploit the illegal immigrants who, for the most part, want little more than a chance to have a better life.The biggest issue for me with EL NORTE was the time line.
as the scene at the motel with Enrique and the "arranger?" There are many good and great movies out there about the perils of immigration, oppression and so forth--and THIS one got the Oscar nomination?
The made it to Los Angeles, California.In a way this movie can, in many sense, can be seen in a way, that of, Enrique and Rosa being the Quixote figures for the film; turned away, different, and a dream so enormous that even a motel attendant states they will not survive-Enrique and rose.
Five months after watching this film I still think about its message, that we are all people and united we stand.
Nothing ruins a potentially breathtaking scene like music that comes straight out of a commercial.Now, I realize the whole point behind the story; that illegal immigrants suffer a lot of trauma when trying to cross the border. |
tt1253864 | Immortals | When the world was young, the gods did battle in the sky. The victors ruled on Mt. Olympus and imprisoned the vanquished -- the Titans -- beneath Mt. Tartarus on Earth. Also lost during the battle is the Bow of Epirus, a mighty weapon that can shoot invincible energy arrows.Centuries later, King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) mounts a campaign to recover the Bow of Epirus and free the Titans. Bitter over the deaths of his wife and children due to disease, he is resolved to destroy the gods who refused his prayers to spare his family. He overtakes the Sybelline Monastery, imprisoning the virgin oracle Phaedra (Freida Pinto) and her attendants, then lays waste to villages in the area. In one village works the stone mason Theseus (Henry Cavil). Theseus has been trained in the military arts by a mysterious Old Man (John Hurt) who encourages him to be a protector of all humanity; Theseus, whose devout mother was raped and thus considered an outcast, refuses. When the goddess Athena (Isabel Lucas) visits the Old Man, he is revealed to be Zeus (Luke Evans) in human disguise.When Hyperion's forces destroy Theseus's village, he kills Theseus's mother in front of him and imprisons Theseus, where Phaedra and her attendants are also kept. Phaedra inadvertently touches Theseus and has a vision of him as either the savior of humanity or the ally of Hyperion in the destruction of the world. That night, she and her attendants seduce and kill the guards; Phaedra escapes with Theseus and two other slaves, Stavros (Steven Dorff) and Daerios (Alan Van Spring).Although Zeus has forbidden the gods to intervene unless the Titans are freed, Athena, Poseidon (Kellan Lutz) and Ares (Daniel Sharman) determine to protect Theseus as best they can. Phaedra tells Theseus he must return to his village and properly bury his mother. There, Theseus discovers the Bow of Epirus. Hyperion has sent the Minotaur (Robert Maillet) and soldiers to intercept them. The soldiers kill Daerios but, after a brutal battle with the Minotaur, Theseus uses the Bow to free the others. That night, Phaedra makes love to Theseus to free herself from her premonitory powers.The humans make their way to the Sybelline Monastery, where Hyperion has laid another trap. A jackal steals the Bow of Epirus and takes it to Hyperion, but the timely arrival of Athena and Ares saves Thesus, Phaedra and Stavros. This enrages Zeus who kills Ares in punishment but allows Athena to provide horses to Theseus so he can join a last stand against Hyperion's forces.As Theseus leads the fight against Hyperions' army, Hyperion uses the Bow to free the Titans from their prison. This prompts Zeus to intervene, and he, Athena, Poseidon, Heracles and Apollo fight a ferocious battle against the Titans. Theseus confronts Hyperion and, though mortally wounded, finally kills him. The Titans kill all of the gods except Zeus who destroys Mt. Tartarus to contain them again. Zeus takes Athena and Theseus to Olympus with him.Several years later, Phaedra lives in Theseus's village with her son, the result of her coupling with Theseus. The Old Man approaches the boy and tells him to prepare for a coming war in heaven. The boy closes his eyes and has a vision of Theseus leading the gods in battle against the resurgent Titans.---
The following is not a plot synopsis, as Tarsem Singh, regardless of his "vision," is not part of the plot of the film.Visionary director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) transports us in this epic tale of treachery, vengeance and destiny in Immortals, a stylish and visually spectacular 3D action adventure. As a power-hungry king razes ancient Greece in search of a legendary weapon, a heroic young villager rises up against him in a thrilling quest as timeless as it is powerful.The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous Heraklion army rampage across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of his world. With ruthless efficiency, Hyperion and his legions destroy everything in their wake, and it seems nothing will stop the evil king's mission.As village after village is obliterated, a stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge his mother, who was killed in one of Hyperion's brutal raids. When Theseus meets the Sybelline Oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man's future convince her he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final, desperate battle for the future of humanity. Immortals is produced by Gianni Nunnari (300), Mark Canton (300) and Ryan Kavanaugh (The Fighter). | murder, cult, violence, flashback, good versus evil, tragedy, revenge | train | imdb | null |
tt0107254 | Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday | The undead serial killer Jason Voorhees returns to Camp Crystal Lake. An undercover government agent lures Jason into a trap set by the FBI, and several armed men blow him to bits, destroying his body. His remains are sent to a morgue, where a coroner becomes possessed by Jason's spirit after ingesting Jason's putrid heart. Jason, now in the coroner's body, escapes the morgue, leaving a trail of death.
At Crystal Lake, he finds three partying teens. While two of them have sex, Jason kills the third, then the other two. Jason attacks two police officers, killing one and possessing the other. Meanwhile, bounty hunter Creighton Duke discovers only members of Jason's bloodline can truly kill him, and he will return to his normal and near-invincible state if he possesses a member of his family. The only living relatives of Jason are his half-sister Diana Kimble, her daughter Jessica, and Stephanie, the infant daughter of Jessica and Steven Freeman.
Jason makes his way to Diana's house. Steven bursts in and attacks Jason. Diana is killed and Jason escapes. Steven is falsely accused and arrested for Diana's murder, and meets Duke, who reveals Jessica's relation to Jason. Determined to get to Jessica before Jason does, Steven escapes from jail. Jessica is dating tabloid TV reporter Robert Campbell. Steven goes to the Voorhees house to find evidence to convince Jessica but falls through rotten boards. Robert enters the upstairs room and receives a phone call which reveals that he is attempting to "spice up" his show's ratings by putting emphasis on Jason's return from death, having stolen Diana's body from the morgue for this reason. Jason bursts in and transfers his heart into Robert, while the body he left melts. Jason leaves with Steven in pursuit. Jason attempts to be reborn through Jessica but is disrupted by Steven, who hits him and takes Jessica into his car. Steven stalls Jason by running him over. When he tries to explain the situation to Jessica, she disbelieves him and throws him out of the car. Jessica goes to the police station.
Jason arrives at the police station and kills most of the officers. He nearly possesses Jessica before Steven stops him; Jessica realizes Steven is right. In the chaos, Duke makes his escape. Jessica and Steven make their way to the diner to grab the baby. Jason arrives but is attacked by the owners of the shop. He kills the owners but is injured by waitress Vicki, who shoots him with a shotgun then impales him with an iron rod, but then impales her on the same rod before crushing her head, killing her. Jason is presumably killed, and Jessica and Steven discover a note from Duke, telling them that he has the baby and demands that Jessica meet him at the Voorhees house alone.
Jessica meets Duke at the Voorhees house and is given a mystical dagger which she can use to permanently kill Jason. A police officer enters the diner where Robert, possessed, transfers his heart into him. Duke falls through the floor, and Jessica is confronted by Landis and Randy. Landis is killed accidentally with the dagger, and Jessica drops the dagger. Randy, possessed, attempts to be reborn through Stephanie, but Steven arrives and severs his neck with a machete. Jason's heart, which has grown into a demonic infant, crawls out of Randy's neck to Diana's dead body in the basement. Steven and Jessica pull Duke out of the basement as Jason discovers Diana's body and slithers up her vagina, allowing him to be reborn.
While Steven and Jessica attempt to retrieve the dagger, Duke distracts Jason and is killed with a bear hug. Jason turns his attention to Jessica, and Steven tackles Jason, who both fight outside while Jessica retrieves the dagger. Jason badly brutalizes Steven and when he is about to kill him, Jessica stabs Jason in the chest, releasing the souls Jason accumulated over time. Demonic hands burst out of the ground and pull Jason into the depths of Hell. Steven and Jessica reconcile and walk off into the sunrise with their baby. Later a dog unearths Jason's mask while digging in the dirt. Freddy Krueger's gloved hand bursts out of the dirt and pulls Jason's mask into the ground as Freddy's signature laughter is heard. | violence, horror, sadist | train | wikipedia | "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" is completely preposterous, out of place and an affront to what had been a dependable horror series.Admittedly, director and co-writer Adam Marcus deserves credit for his boldness.
It essentially breaks the fingers of the hand that feeds it.The failure of "Jason goes to Hell," both in terms of concept and box office revenue, inevitably draws comparisons to the much-panned "Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning." That film drew plenty of boos for its Jason-less gimmick, but at least it had the feel of a "Friday" flick.
Like "Part V," it probably would have worked better as a horror film independent of the Jason saga, rather than dragging Mr. Voorhees into a place he has no business being.Clearly, Adam Marcus was wrong.
The failure of this film (and "Jason X" years later) shows that fans want a return to simpler times when horny teens in cabins were afraid to look out their windows.
Now we learn that he can be "reborn" through a blood relative and can possess victims by sending an evil black monster into their bodies (idea stolen from THE HIDDEN).In a touching tribute to the good ol' days of simplicity, overage-looking "teens" make time for skinny-dipping and tent sex before Jason splits the girl in half with a tent stake.
This ninth installment in the endless Friday THE 13TH series features a good cast, but is derivative, annoying, unpleasant and not likely to be the final word in the Jason saga, despite ANOTHER cheat title (remember "The Final Chapter" way back in 1984?).It played theaters in a cut R version (where it flopped), but the unrated "Director's Cut" video and DVD version restores most of the excellent KNB Group gore effects and some nudity, redeeming factors in a low-grade production like this.
FBI agents hunt down and destroy Jason at Crystal Lake - but Jason has the ability to possess other people's bodies and continues his bloodbath.I don't think this would be a favourite of the fans - it is quite corny, Jason doesn't feature a lot in the movie...
It was like the director had watched a couple of John Woo films for the first time half-way through shooting the movie and decides...
While I love this kind of camp, every character, plot and film in this series has largely been interchangeable with the others.Fast forward to 1993 and we have a film that attempts to add innovations like pop horror references to the films Evil Dead and Nightmare on Elm Street without resorting to half-baked comedy (I'm looking at you Freddy).
We have a film that updates Jason's by-now clichéd features to a more sublime grotesque, looking like a serial killer would look if he ignored hygiene for 20 years during his hacking and slashing hayday.The plot makes a marked improvement from "I know they're all gonna die, but how?" to "What the hell could possibly kill Jason?
Although this Film gets a little to Sci Fi, It still has 1)High Body Count, 2)Good looking Teenagers, 3)An Unbeatable Jason Voorhees, and 4) Gore and Violence.
With over 100 bullets in him, and burns over 65% of his body, Jason still can't be stopped.He occupies the body of he coroner (Ricahard Gant) and goes back to Crystal Lake to resume killing, and to find his sister to give him new life.This is certainly a strange one, with Jason occupying bodies as he needs to, and a trip to the Vorhees home to find out about his past.At least I recognized one person in this film.
If there's one thing that can and should be said in defense of "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday", it's this......this is one bold, gutsy move for the franchise!
From a touch of the self-aware laughs that made "Jason Lives" so enjoyable, to some wild and whacked-out imagery (you won't look at a straight-razor the same way again!) to some good old-fashioned kills that harken back to the first couple of movies, this film aims to deliver a roller-coaster ride from Hell...
I also i am the biggest fun of nightmare on elm street and if this new movie is a sequel between Jason and Freddy much better!!!!.
This is an undeniably goofy, tongue-in-cheek horror film full of a few well-played gambles, some good humour (thankfully this installment has it's limits and doesn't go overboard with it like Part 6), and features one of the best out-of-left-field endings since the first Sleepaway Camp.Jason Goes To Hell isn't at the top of my list for the Friday The 13th series, but it's also not at the very bottom either.
And what they did with Predator 2 (Putting the Alien (1979) skull on the trophy case on the Predator ship was the idea of Stephen Hopkins' as a way of showing off all the different species and creatures that the Predators have hunted and killed.) making the fans warm for a collision between aliens and predators (which became through AvP) they did it here also, the hand of Freddy (A Nightmare On Elm Street) pulling Jason's mask into hell.
The body count is enormous (19 guys, 6 women), there's gratuitous female AND male nudity, the gore is strong (I'm surprised this got an R rating) and the movie moves so fast you don't have time to stop and think about how really stupid it is.My favorite sequence has to involve the three horny teenagers that camp out by Crystal Lake.
(By the way, their bit has nothing to do with anything in the rest of the picture) It involves plenty of nude scenes and has the goriest killing ever seen in a major motion picture.The acting is actually pretty good (except for the guy who played Crighton Duke) and there are references to other horror movies like "The Evil Dead", "Creepshow" and "Nightmare on Elm Street".
Never mind for a second that the original concept was a poor man's "whodunnit" thriller that borrows with abandon from superior titles such as Halloween.Ultimately, I think it is Jason fans who make me the most ashamed of the love for slasher and horror films that I had when I was a lad.
Friday The 13th films in particular are noted for this problem.Indeed, the attempt to start a "spirit of Jason invades several bodies" story was a valiant, if poorly executed, attempt to steer the franchise away from being what one TV critic calls "the ultimate in recycling".
Quite frankly, I know I'm not the only one who was bored with Jason getting resurrected for the umpteenth time and hacking up a half-dozen teens with personalities to match their IQs, that in turn match their hat sizes.This is not to say I consider Jason Goes To Hell a good film.
Part 4 was titled "The Final Chapter", and there were more films in the series after that film then there were before it!Well, what can I say about "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday"?
What I mean are various props used from Evil Dead, The Birds, Creepshow and Nightmare on Elm Street (Freddy's Glove was one of the cooler things to see in the film).All in all, the story is pretty bad, the acting is far from great, the deaths are ok, the special effects are ok, and the gore-factor is pretty high.
If you are a fan of the Friday the 13th Series, then you might want to give this a look just so you can call yourself a true fan, but otherwise I'd recommend watching something that you'll more likely enjoy.Well, if by some chance you do end up seeing this film, I hope you enjoy it.
Yes it was the same one pretty much time after time, but for horror fans, they were good, gave us what we wanted pretty consistently in the case of Halloween and Friday 13th and this film goes some way to proving the age old saying 'if you have a winning formula, don't mess with it'.
From the first minute of the film right the way through to the last you are left with unanswered questions and leaps of fancy that even horror fans will struggle to come to terms with.The opening scenes sum that up nicely, the tag line, which refers to the writer of the first returning to make the last is one i can only assume meant that the film had been seen by the creator of that tag, he'd agreed with me 100% and felt that the writers had managed to kill off the series more gruesomely with one puerile script that Jason ever managed to pull off with his victims.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday is by far the worst instalment of the whole Friday the 13th series.
Some of the characters(there aren't many obnoxious ones in this one, probably why we care when things happen, especially in the last half) are quite likable, including our male lead, and the resident cool black dude of the film, the bounty hunter Creighton Duke(who looks like he's right out of the Wild West), who they use just little enough that he remains really effective.
The film finally took the series away from its bloody routine (as if we've been waiting for it to happen
) by making Jason a parasite going from one body to another ("Hidden" anyone?) allowing him to carry on what he does best.
Writers Dean Lorey & Jay Huguely and director Adam Marcus took the series in a different new look.JASON(Kane Hodder) somehow is out of New York and is back at Camp Crystal Lake, only to tracked down and killed by the F.B.I..
Take a look to complete this long series of Jason films or if you want to watch some ultra-violence.
It is a really nice touch, and I do like the changes of his physique.Part nine was also the movie that stirred the horror scene with a possible Jason and Freddy crossover movie, given the ending of "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday"..
It's the camp-like settings of most of the series and the unstoppable malevolent force that is Voorhees -- Jason, his mother, or anyone under his diabolic spell -- that especially sets "Friday the 13th" apart from similar franchises.The first two films are serious in tone with the expected antics of youths on vacation in the woods, but the franchise introduced a campy element with Part III, which pretty much plagues the rest of the series with the exception of maybe IV, VII (maybe VIII) and the reboot in 2009.
Not that I'm complaining much, as these films are only quasi-believable anyway.Released in 1993, "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" is arguably the oddest entry in the series, which isn't much of a surprise since three of the last four installments were departures from the typical Friday formula -- Part V, VII (which features a Carrie-like character) and especially VIII (which switches the setting from Crystal Lake to a cruise ship and the big city).The prologue shows Jason back at Crystal Lake.
Anyway, the opening is excellent and highlighted by one of the most stunning females in the entire series, Julie Michaels as Agent Marcus (which is saying a lot in light of the series having the best line of women of ANY movie franchise, except for Part VII, which was sub-par in this department).Jason winds up in the morgue in Youngstown, Ohio, and the film takes an interesting twist reminiscent of the 80's cult film "The Hidden." Other bizarre additions to the Jason Voohees mythos include a magic sword, a strange "Jason-Finder General" character and the revelation of the only way the monster can be killed and resurrected.
Besides, there are enough typical Friday-isms to please fans of the series, for instance the entire camp sequence and the prologue.Some object on the grounds that Jason is supposedly a misunderstood manchild and this movie changes that.
Face it, although Jason may have been an innocent deformed child at one time, the seed of evil (possibly a demonic spirit) entered into his heart at some point and he increasingly became a hideous infernal monster and you have to give this entry credit for trying to fill in the bones with corpse flesh, whether you accept these revelations or not.Unfortunately the final act goes so over-the-top with the action and horror shenanigans that the movie becomes cartoonish and laughable.
Yes, this is the first Friday 13th/Jason film to be handled by New Line Cinema after Paramount got bored of the franchise due to disappointing Box Office returns and sold it to them.
Borrowing elements from the aforementioned "Halloween" series and "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" -- among others -- this sequel can't help but get bogged down with an abundance of recycled dead-end ideas that are coming completely out of left-field when you consider that this is the ninth entry in the series and we're only just now learning that Jason has a sister and that there is a magic dagger that can kill him and yes, there's a bounty hunter on his tail.Speaking of bounty hunter, Steven Williams plays the role of Creighton Duke with such enthusiasm that he single-handedly lifts the film out of mediocrity.
Be sure to stick it through to the ending for a cameo from another well-known '80s slasher villain, giving way to the inevitable "vs." movie a decade down the line.Bottom line: When it comes to the ninth entry in a horror franchise, you could do much worse than "Jason Goes To Hell.".
If you are prone to revisiting this series in chronological order from time to time (as I am) it all gets really familiar after about the sixth chapter, so in a way JASON GOES TO HELL seems like a much-needed breath of fresh air.
But JASON GOES TO HELL was the first movie made under New Line Cinema, and was written and directed by a 23 year-old film student named Adam Marcus, making his debut film here for better or worse.
Its resulting reputation is wildly divided among followers of Jason Voorhees everywhere.This story is unlike any other Friday flick you've ever seen, even if it borrows elements from other horror movies.
Think of it as Jason hits Big-Time Wrestling.In the end, as you might guess, Jason is hauled down to Hell by the clumsy, groping hands of subterranean demons, with a little help from an old friend at New Line.This is the kind of film that you watch with absolutely no idea whether it is good or bad.
Jason Goes To Hell is not that movie!While technically, this film is Friday The 13th part IX, officially, the series was over due to copyright issues.
Of course, the 'story' and the 'characters' surrounding the central theme of people being gutted with a great big machete isn't up to much, but then again; nobody tunes into this sort of movie for story anyway, and it gives the fans what they want in terms of bloodshed.Jason Goes to Hell was given the subtitle 'The Final Friday', and of course we wern't so lucky due to the release of Jason X and Freddy vs.
One thing I enjoyed about the movie was the tributes to other series', such as finding The Evil Dead's Necronomicon in the basement of the Voorhees' house, and, of course, Freddy's glove at the end of the film.
Presumed dead after an FBI raid, the locals' attempt to move on is affected by Jason Voorhees' return by body-hopping through the various people in town trying to kill off his relatives to ensure his rebirth and forcing them to fend him off to send him back to Hell for good.This one was one of the most underrated and utterly enjoyable entries in the series.
Seriously, THE reason to watch "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" is the tent scene (or whatever it's called).
Instead of making do with the usual formula, which worked mostly well 8 times before, the film comes in with a whole new twist.At the start Jason is blown to bits.
I can watch a movie like Evil Dead 2 and know that the acting is bad, the effects are bad, the plot is stupid...but I LOVE IT ANYWAY!
All I have to say is that "Jason Goes To Hell" ruined he Friday series (story wise) and should never had been made.
Jason Goes to Hell, was a good Horror movie, with some of the most remembered scenes by non fans, and even some fans too, like the pole through the woman in the tent on top of the man, you know what I am talking about!!
Don't get me wrong,I loved this movie.The only problem I had was that it should not of been a sequel to Friday the 13th.It should not of involved Jason in any way.It would of been a good horror/thriller upon itself.A title like "Killing Spirits" or something to that extent would of been better.Bottom Line,this was a great movie,just not a very good sequel..
The Friday the 13th series I felt was one of the worst collection of horror films, but yet it was entertaining to watch.
It should because it not only describes the plot synopsis for Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993), but also a sci-fi movie that starred Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri called The Hidden (1987) in which the evil creature is not of this earth.
JASON GOES TO HELL isn't a bad movie.
But JASON GOES TO HELL is a movie that could have been better if it were developed more.
'Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday' is far from picture, but when I compare it to the ones I have seen (2, 3, 4, parts of 5 and 6, 8) it isn't that awful.The film is far from scary. |
tt0066849 | The Blood on Satan's Claw | THE BLOOD ON SATANS CLAW Ralph Gower (Barry Andrews) is plowing and turns up a skeleton with fur and an eye. He runs back to tell the Judge (Patrick Wymark) and Isobel Banham (Avice Landone as Avice Landon). The Judge refuses to believe it is anything important but Ralph with the help of Isobel persuades him to come and have a look.Peter Edmonton (Simon Williams) is bringing home his lady friend, Rosalind Barton (Tamara Ustinov). Cathy Vespers (Wendy Padbury) runs alongside the horse, speaking to Peter. Ellen (Charlotte Mitchell) rushes in to tell Isobel that the Master is bringing home a lady friend. Looking out the window, Isobel makes known that she doesnt approve of the farmers daughter and tells Ellen to go back to work.Peter enters and introduces his fiancée Rosalind, who gets a less than enthusiastic welcome from his aunt.In the field Ralph and the Judge find only bones. The fur and eyeball are missing. The judge tells Ralph for the second time that he is wasting his time.Ralph spots and calls out to Reverend Fallowfield (Anthony Ainley), who has just caught a snake in the bushes. Asking the Reverend if he has seen a strange person in the area, the Judge is told that there are a few of those seen lately since a death in the village.The Judge wins a card game played with Isobel, Peter and Rosalind. He suggests that she should go home rather than stay the night with her intended. She protests that it would be too much trouble. Peter proposes that she sleep in his room. Isobel informs him that Rosalind may stay in the attic room, which has not been occupied for some years. Peter is told that Ellen will clean it up for habitation.Rosalind is showed the room by Peter, who promises to come to her later that night around eleven when the others are asleep.The Judge converses with Ralph, telling him that he once fancied Isobel many years ago. He makes a toast to the exiled king and smashes the glass.Rosalind is admiring a bouquet of small flowers in bed when she hears wind blowing and the door creaking open. She goes to investigate. Finding no one, she goes back to bed and screams at something unseen.Peter, who is sneaking up for the rendezvous, hears the screams but is unable to open the door. He calls for help and the Judge opens the door with ease. Rosalind continues screaming. Isobel goes in to see about her, but is struck in the face and comes out bleeding. The Judge summons Ellen to fetch Ralph and the local doctor. He slaps Peter, blaming him for her malady.Ralph arrives and nails a board to the door, sealing it up with Rosalind inside. Peter protests but the Judge tells him there is no more that can be done for her. In the morning men will come to take her away to asylum. Peter is told by the Judge that Rosalind could never have made a proper wife for him and that he should count himself lucky.Ellen tends to Isobel, who has a high fever and scratches on her face. The doctor (Howard Goorney) examines her, telling her that she has some sort of distemper. Ellen fetches a drink for the doctor, who swallows it and admits he doesnt know what the malady is.Angel Blake (Linda Hayden) and Mark Vespers (Robin Davies) are playing in the field. Cathy says there might be a wedding, which draws the attention of Angel. Angel finds a small object in the loose dirt but refuses to show it to Mark. She runs off.The board is removed and Rosalind is carried off, her arms bound. She makes a lurid face at Peter as she is escorted downstairs. Before she passes him, he notices her hand on the stair railing having fur and claws.Ellen looks out the window as they are removing Rosalind, remarking how there is no telling what will become of her after being in that asylum. The Judge also watches from his window. He turns and notices that the birdcage is empty.Ellen calls to the Judge, saying that Isobel has disappeared. He goes upstairs to investigate.The next day at school, Fallowfield is teaching from the Bible. He asks why Boaz was generous towards Ruth. No one answers at first, but then Mark answers that because he was a man and she was a woman. One girl opens up a small pouch and screams. Fallowfield seizes it and pulls out a furry claw. Cathy screams and Fallowfield drops it on the floor. It is picked up and the pouch sent person to person behind their backs. Finally ending up with the pouch, Fairfield empties it. The claw is missing.The search party returns to the house, informing the Squire that they found nothing. He tells them to search again. Mumbling against him, they reluctantly turn around.Squire tells the Judge that the searchers have lost the scent but that Isobel must have the constitution of an ox. The Judge reminds him that she was ill. Peter, still devastated from what happened to his fiancée, listens to their conversation out of their sight. Squire leaves, patting Peter on the back. As the Judge approaches, Peter remarks that he believes that evil has entered the house. The Judge tells him he must cleanse his mind of such fancies. He tells Peter that they each should go to their rooms for the night.Peter, having remained downstairs staring at the fire, decides to go upstairs to bed. Coming to the attic room, he enters and sits on the bed. He picks up the nosegay, smelling it and lying down.The light by his bed goes out and he hears rumbling noises from under the floor. Rising and looking at the floorboards, he observes one of them rising up. When it rises several inches, he puts his hand down in the opening to feel around. Suddenly his hand is grabbed by something. He struggles to free his hand from the grip. As he pulls it out of the hole, we see it was grabbed by a furry claw. He covers the board up by putting an old chest on it. The furor ceases and he lies down to sleep.Later we see the claw creeping up and grabbing him. A struggle ensues and Peter reaches for his knife, hacking at the claw and crying out.Coming in, the Judge sends Ellen for bandages. He notes that Peter has severed his own hand.The doctor shows the Judge an old book containing illustrations of demons and devils. The Judge says that witchcraft has been proven untrue. The doctor tells him to look at a drawing of a devil which looks like what Peter described. Peter stirs and the doctor attends to him, saying the drug has worn off. The Judge asks the doctor if he can borrow the book, saying he would like to study it further.As the Judge is leaving, Ralph asks that he continue to help them. He promises to return when the time is right. Squire tells Ralph not to spread any more tales of witchcraft. The Judge tells Squire that the evil must be allowed to grow before it can be destroyed.Mark and his sister Cathy are returning home in the woods. Mark tells of a pain he feels. She begins praying the Lords Prayer with him as they journey on.At home, Ellen says she will fetch the doctor for Mark. Mark says the pain is gone, but Ellen insists that she will only be gone a short time and will return with the doctor. She tells him to eat an apple and leaves. Mark plays with some small bones he has collected. Standing to pick an apple, he feels the twinge in his side again. He sits and takes a bite of the apple as two girls gaze at him through the window. They enter and ask him to join them to play. He mutters that he doesnt play girls games. They tell him that Angel wants him and that they have been taught new games. When he hears that Angel wants him, he accompanies them.The next day at school there are several absent. Fallowfield asks where Mark is, only to be told that he is sick at home. Asking where Angel Blake is, he is told by the red-haired boy (Denis Gilmore) that she sends her regards and apologies that she has something fearfully important to do. Fallowfield shows his anger, remarking that he does not like the insolent ungodliness he sees growing in the children.The members of the coven are playing blind mans bluff with Mark as the victim. He blindly reaches out, trying to touch someone as they all run around him giggling. Finally he stops suddenly as if sensing something. He is grabbed around the neck by a cord.Returning home through the woods, Ellen carries a bottle of medicine. Suddenly the bottle smashes and she is shocked. She looks around and sees a young man smiling at her. She tells him that the bottle contained medicine for Mark. He laughingly replies that Mark will not need it anymore and has been shod in the woodshed. Ellen returns to the woodshed and is horrified to see the bleeding body of Mark underneath the woodpile.Fallowfield is seen with his rabbit in his chambers. Angel enters and approaches him. He calls out to her, telling her that he wants to talk to her. He says he will discuss with her father her insolent behavior. Angel disrobes and asks if he likes what he sees. He rebukes her and tells her to cover herself up. She comes close, telling him that they want him to come and participate in their games. He curses her, saying he doesnt ever want to see her there anymore. She curses him, saying that if he wants to see what becomes of his pupils, Mark has already succumbed.Next we see the graveside service for Mark, with Fallowfield reading from the Book of Common Prayers. Angel and her father (Godfrey James) come up behind the others and wait. As Angel concentrates her gaze upon Fallowfield, he is distracted and looks repeatedly at her. The wrapped corpse is lowered into the grave and the final words are spoken. Cathy feels a pain and turns to see Angel looking strongly at her.As people are leaving, Fallowfield follows the Squire, asking to speak with him. Angel and her father also approach to speak to the Squire. Telling Fallowfield to wait in the church, he listens as Angel and her father tell the Squire that Fallowfield demanded that Angel strip and submit to him or she would end up like Mark. They convince him that Fallowfield is guilty and the Squire promises to put an end to it.Returning home through the woods, Cathy feels another pain. She tells Ellen that its nothing serious. Ralph comforts her, calling her my love. He turns to go another direction as Cathy rushes to join Ellen, telling her that Ralph spoke of her that way.Cathy is approached by two boys from the coven. One of them is cracking a whip (the same whip that smashed the medicine bottle). They claim they are upset about Mark. She asks if they have seen Ralph. Saying no, the red-haired one runs up to her. She tells him she is picking flowers for Marks grave. He insists that he knows where some large flowers are. She asks where and he offers to show her.They lead Cathy through the woods and along a path. One of the boys jumps down on her, tying a rope around her. She screams, saying they are hurting her. They insist its just a game and take her on. Her screams are heard in the distance by Ralph who is driving a carriage home. He sets off looking for her.They lead her into a clearing where Angel places a crown of thorns and flowers on her. They are joined by other members of the coven. Ralph continues to search for her and call her.Meanwhile Fallowfield is arrested, charged with ravishing Angel Blake and is a suspect in the murder of Mark Vespers. He insists that Squire has made a mistake.The coven leads Cathy to the ruins of an old church where she is summoned to the front to be offered to the furry clawed creature of their worship. All at once Cathy is pushed to the ground by Angel. Pulling up the back of her dress, Cathy is seen to bear the mark of the beast.Ralph happens upon the woodsman Ned Carter (Jason Twelvetrees) who lives in a shanty in the woods. Questioning him about Cathy, Carter tells Ralph he saw a group of young people being led by Angel Blake. He doesnt remember seeing Cathy at all.As members of the coven strike her with flowered branches, one boy approaches and disrobes. Other boys tear the clothing from Cathy, who is horrified. As Cathy is raped, the others look on in approval. After its over, a pair of shears is handed to Angel, who stabs Cathy in the back. Her screams are heard by Ralph.Angel repeatedly stabs Cathy and leaves her to die. Ralph finds her bloody body.Squire leads men with Fallowfield into the barn and begins to question him about the death. He denies it, saying he knows not how the death occurred. They are about to judge him when Ralph comes up carrying Cathys body. Ralph tells them that Angel and her coven did this. Squire orders the Reverend to be released and calls for the men to seek the coven members. Peter approaches and gazes sadly at Cathys body.Peter saddles his steed and rides to the Judges house, telling him how things have deteriorated in the village. The Judge is persuaded to return, telling Peter that he will use undreamed of measures.Margaret (Michele Dotrice) is seen running from a mob of men. They capture her and throw her into a pond as a witch. Hearing their struggles, Ralph approaches just as she is hurled into the water. He demands to know what they have done. Telling him that they have done in a witch, they all seem pleased. He asks how they knew she was a witch. They reply that if she floats, she is a witch. Ralph tells them that if she drowns, they have become her murderers. They become sullen and leave. As Margarets body floats to the surface, Ralph wades in to retrieve her.Back at the house, Ralph tells Ellen that he rescued her from the mob who was trying her as a witch. Margaret stirs and Ellen calls for her to be moved by the fire. She tells Ralph to fetch Cathys bed to put the girl in. As she is cleaning the girl up, Ellen spies the devils mark on her. She shows it to Ralph, who recognizes it.The doctor is summoned but refuses to help, saying she bears the devils mark. Ralph and Ellen insist that she be saved. Ralph suggests that the doctor remove the mark. He says he is not equipped to do so and that it will only regrow. Finally he is convinced to operate.Margaret is tied down and the doctor begins cutting. She cries out but is held down. When the skin is removed, the doctor puts it into a bottle. Ralph insists that it be burned. Ellen remarks that there is no blood. The girl confesses her name is Margaret and that she belongs to the devil. She wants to know why her leg hurts.Margaret is seen recovering. Ralph brings her flowers, telling her that she will soon be well enough to walk as well as he. She tells him she will run away to Angel, who is waiting for her. He tells her that Angel is no longer around and that she doesnt serve Angel anymore. She insists to return but Ralph says the Lord will strike her down. She claims her lord is stronger-that he soon will be. She urges Ralph to join them and serve her master, who grows stronger with each sacrifice. He disgustedly refuses her and leaves.The doctor approaches Ralph, asking about Margaret. He replies that she is a hopeless case, talking about her master the devil. The doctor says that the fiend has been seen around, hobbling on one foot. All at once Ellen cries out that Margaret has run away. They begin searching for her. The doctor realizes that the coven will learn that he was the one who removed the skin and will have it in for him. At that moment Peter rides up on his horse and tells him not to worry. Ralph and Ellen come running back, recognizing that Peter has returned. The Judges carriage pulls up and he emerges as they fill him in on what has been happening.Inside, the doctor shows the Judge the skin he removed from Margaret. The Judge takes it for evidence. Outside he reveals trained dogs that will sniff out the devil. They are given the scent of the skin and begin searching.Margaret runs back to Angel with the dogs trailing her. She calls out for Angel to save her. As she approaches she steps into a large trap. Angel comes and asks what she has done. Margaret confesses that the Edmontons have kept her a week at their farm and removed the skin. When Angel sees that the skin is gone, she tells Margaret that she will leave her to the dogs. Margaret continues to struggle to free herself from the trap.The men with the dogs approach, followed by Ralph and the Judge. Ralph tries to free her from the trap. She slaps him, blaming him for her troubles. The Judge asks her name and wants to know who set the trap for her. The Judge says to bring her along.They tie her up in the barn and the Judge questions her about Angel. He tells her that it was Angel who trapped her. She says they meet anywhere that is hidden. Under threat of the dogs attack she admits that tonight they will meet at the old church. The Judge says that is all he needs to know. She tells him he will be too late and that tonight her master will be strong enough to defeat him.Ralph is seen weeding a garden. He accidently cuts his ankle and begins to peel back his sock to observe the wound. He is horrified to see the devils skin underneath. A raven mocks him as Ralph runs away.Returning to the house, Ralph knocks until Ellen opens the door. She asks about his leg but he tells her not to look. She tells him the Judge will take care of everything in the village. He says they may be coming for him and asks if she is alone. She says Peter went to the village. He reveals that he got the skin from Cathy and goes upstairs.The Squire is talking to the villagers about the situation. The Judge is seen approaching in his carriage. He emerges and says that only those resolved to fight this scourge may accompany them. They leave.Ralph looks out from the attic window and sees the villagers carrying torches. He begins to hear approaching footsteps, which grow louder and louder. He realizes the devil is coming for his piece of skin.The mob arrives at the old church site, where a ceremony is going on around a fire. Angel stands in front of Ralph, who has been brought there to give his flesh. She indicates for the ceremony to begin. Coven members march around the fire as one girl (Yvonne Paul) strips and dances before Ralph, giving him a knife. Angel watches from the side. The Judge and men arrive and hide their torches, watching the ceremony. The Judge calls for the large crucifix/scepter to be uncovered which was brought with them. Angel sees it and cries out. She rushes toward it and is stabbed in the darkness. She falls to the ground.The Judge wields the sword toward the other coven members who begin to cower and retreat. The fiend is seen facing the sword and gradually his devilish face is shown in the darkness. The Judge fearlessly continues pressing the sword toward the devil, who finally backs into the fire and collapses. At that moment, the skin is gone from Ralphs foot. They watch as the fiend burns. | violence, cult, murder, atmospheric | train | imdb | See this for Linda Hayden's sexually charged performance as Satan-loving teener Angel Blake, one of British Cinema's more memorable portrayals of pure evil in a petticoat.Possessing a WITCHFINDER GENERAL-type atmosphere, helped immeasurably by Mark Wilkinson's truly beautiful score, this tale of superstition and a Satanic contagion that exhibits itself as an ugly, hairy patch on the skin (motivating alternate title SATAN'S SKIN) is evidence of solid horror-making afoot.Patrick Wymark as the pseudo-Witchfinder anchors a mostly youthful cast who become victim to the spreading "disease".The climax is a ballsy one for director Piers Haggard (who also helmed the taut VENOM) as he dares to portray Satan himself.
As noted earlier, Linda Hayden is dynamite as the sexually provocative Angel and makes it easy to understand how many a fool would follow her to the depths of hell just for a taste of her own brand of heaven.BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW, an evocative title if ever there was one, accomplishes everything it sets out to do.It comes close to being delightfully lurid at times, and that's what gives it an edge.Also worthy of applause is Dick Bush's striking, atmospheric cinematography..
Also some of the children of the village led by Angel are committing unspeakable terror and performing satanic rituals in a desecrated church in the woods to restore their master.Atmospheric brilliance on director Piers Haggard's part!
But it's Linda Hayden (Taste the blood of Dracula) luminous performance as Angel Bleak the manipulative evil prowess who stands by the devil's right hand doing his work that makes the film very memorable.
These provocative aspects took shape and simply completed the film.The immensely original plot manages to incorporate a whole lot things ranging from folklore tales of witchcraft and Satanism practice to sexuality involving temptation, seduction and lust.
'Asylum'), but Tigon actually made the better movies, especially the now classic 'Witchfinder General', directed by doomed cult figure Michael Reeves, as well as 'The Creeping Flesh', and 'The Blood On Satan's Claw', which is what 'Satan's Skin' is best known as.
I still don't think 'Blood On Satan's Claw' is as good as 'Witchfinder General', but it's an excellent chiller nevertheless, and one of the most underrated British horror movies of all time.
As it turns out it's the bones of Satan and soon the children of the village begin to practice black masses; preparing to make some murderous sacrifices to their possessor.Blood on Satan's Claw is a profoundly eerie little horror film.
What will he and his search party do?"The Blood on Satan's Claw" is a weird and cult British horror film.
Enjoyable casting by Patrick Wymark (a role ¨Witchfinder general¨-alike) who died slowly after making the film , a gorgeous and erotic Linda Hayden (Taste of Dracula blood) , Barry Andrews (Dracula has risen from grave) , Michele Dotrice(who married to Edward Woodward) and Tamara Ustinov (daughter of Peter Ustinov and niece of Angela Lansbury) .
One of the best films in British horror genre with only a few others on the same line, like 'The Witchfinder General' and 'The Vicker Man'.
I would recommend this movie for connoisseurs of classic horror pictures where the characters don't act like total fools when confronted with evil.
Quite simply, 'Blood On Satan's Claw' is the finest horror film produced in Britain in the Seventies.
It was a time before the internet and Britain was confined to four TV channels and despite Hammer horror movies being broadcast on a fairly regular basis BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW was made by an entirely different film company and no one could recall it being broadcast or released on video .
In other words it became something of a cult film and a cult film no one had seen but it eventually turned up on Channel 4 a couple of times along with the occasional screening on satellite channels It'd be all too easy to dismiss this a Hammer clone full of lowbrow thrills and historical hokum featuring witchcraft but this would be slightly unfair to the film whose central idea revolves around Satan trying to reassert himself on Earth by using a 17th Century English village as his bridgehead .
When a young farmer(played by Barry Andrews) unearths the satanic-looking remains of an unknown creature, he gets the local judge(played by Patrick Wymark) to view them, but then a mysterious and deadly chain of events begins as the bones somehow regrow themselves into a furry claw that attacks a man in an attic.
Though atmospherically directed by Piers Haggard, with a fine cast(including past and future "Doctor Who" actors Wendy Padbury, and Anthony Ainley) this is an otherwise most disjointed and unpleasant film, with gaping narrative holes, such as how this thing got started in the first place, and spread so quickly.
I loved everything about this movie, though the frequent female nudity was somewhat cheesy (though not especially gratuitous, as it fit into the movie and plot well).The best part of this movie, I think, is the atmosphere that so many horror and thriller films seem to lack.
It's the little things, like a brief glance of someone's fingers replaced by demonic claws, that put you in the mood to be creeped out and told a story of helpless village overcome by evil.I find it interesting that the children and young adults who rebel against the stern authority of the Church, frolic in the woods, and preach free love are essentially hippies, though they're portrayed as self-centered hedonists, rather than idealists and peaceniks.
The Blood of Satan's Claws (1971) *** (out of 4) Effective horror film set in 17th century England as the children and teenagers of a small village are turning themselves over to Angel (Linda Hayden), a beautiful girl who is teaching them witchcraft.
At times the film has the feel of historical drama in regards to superstition and ignorance and religion as they relate to witchcraft and Satanism, but only in a minor way.When the viewer finally arrives at the film's closing moments, expecting surely something terrible and horrific to reveal itself, or perhaps a shocking twist, alas, the final scene is overshadowed by a serious and distracting plot ambiguity and does not come close to delivering the payoff that this movie so badly needs.
The adeptly filmed sets and rich scenery, together with a creepy musical score, create an appropriately chilling mood; but in the end, a mood is all that BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW has to offer..
It feels and looks like a high dollar production although made on a fairly modest budget.This film does get violent, there is rape, murder and some blood splattered but it is done in a way that is (somewhat) watchable.
Both these others are often used as comparatives with 'Blood On...' and certainly they do have similarities; namely the folky witchcraft and devil worship deep in the quaint English (& Scottish) countryside.Whilst The 'Wicker Man' is superbly paced and there is a real sense of menace throughout and features one of the greatest endings of all time and 'The Witchfinder...' has Vincent Price swooping around on horseback and quite a lot of juicy violence, these aspects aren't as prevalent in this film.It's still good, of course, though the lack of star names require the actors to work a bit harder for our approval and enjoyment.
Patrick Wymark and Linda Hayden are fine and play their roles with gusto and I noticed Mrs Frank Spencer (Michelle Dotrice) had a good and meaty role.When the sinister acts do occur, they are definitely worth waiting for, with just the right amount of nudity and carnal lust, mixed in with violence and chilling ritual.
θ. The Blood on Satan's Claw is nowhere near as lurid as its title suggest, it is instead more of psychological horror movie, about unusual remains being unearthed in small community in Britain during the 17th century.
Second only to Michael Reeves' 1968 masterpiece "Witchfinder General" (starring the great Vincent Price), "Blood on Satan's Claw" ranges among the greatest films released by the magnificent production company Tigon, and among the moodiest British Horror films from the early 70s.Piers Haggard's film is magnificently set in a remote village 17th century England, where farmer Ralph Gower (Barry Andrews) stumbles over a mysterious skull with an eye while plowing his fields.
However, all the performances are good, the accents and dialog give the film a great feeling of authenticity.Overall "Blood on Satan's Claw" is a fantastic and highly atmospheric Horror film that is creepy and suspenseful from start to finish and furthermore includes a bunch of genuine shocks.
Story is set in rural 17th century England and sees a village fall under demonic possession after a living one eyed skull is unearthed by the local ploughman.Well it's quite a title the film has got, the sort that conjures up many a blood curdling image.
Still, it's definitely one of the better British horrors from the 70s; with eye catching period detail and a haunting poetic feel for the most part, Blood On Satan's Claw is a safe recommend to those that like a bit of Witchcraft and Satanism in their horror diets.
When the furry remains of an unknown creature gets unearthed and people act strangely,start cutting off their arms,growing unsightly hair or killing off their neighbours it soon becomes apparent that the devil or at least a demonic creature called Behemoth is meant to be resurrected and needs fresh blood to do so.The creature soon gathers a following of children under the leadership of Angel Blake played by Linda Hayden.Patrick Wymark as a Judge gradually learns how to best dispose of this new menace.The main reason to see "Blood on Satan's Claw" is Linda Hayden's lovely performance.She displays a wonderful mix of innocence and evil like Mary Flora Bell,one moment trying to seduce the local priest in a highly charged erotic scene,the next moment playing the childish victim of a local figure of authority.The film plays like an eerie mix of "The Witchfinder General" and "The Wicker Man".8 out of 10..
Filled with cheesy acting and obligatorily campy dialog, this British horror staple is a winner.A tale of wicked children from a rural village transforming into beastly devil worshipers in 17th century England, and the religious fervor it spawns, it almost sounds like it could have been a true story.
A superb exercise in Satanic horror, this effective period piece from Tigon productions combines stylish direction, fine performances from an excellent cast, and elements of pure exploitation, to successfully deliver a chilling tale of demonic possession in rural 17th century Britain.The plot sees a remote English village become a hotbed of wickedness when a local farmer Ralph (Barry Andrews) unwittingly frees a demon (or perhaps even the Devil himself) from a field whilst ploughing.
Determined to stamp out the evil that has claimed his people, local official 'The Judge' (Patrick Wymark)—armed with knowledge gleaned from a book on black magic and a massive blessed sword—leads a group of witch-hunters in an attack on the coven.Occasionally disjointed in its narrative (apparently due to the fact that the film was originally intended to consist of three separate stories), Blood on Satan's Claw nevertheless achieves an unsettling atmosphere of brooding menace thanks to director Pier Haggard's carefully considered direction (check out the lovely shot that is artfully framed by branches of blossom), beautiful yet eerie cinematography from Dick Bush (snicker!) and a haunting score by Marc Wilkinson.The film also succeeds thanks to the fantastic cast, and although top billing may have gone to Wymark, whose character bookends the tale, it is the young actresses that really impressed me: gorgeous 18 year old Hayden steals the show as Satan's seductive slave (and proves her worth as an exploitation queen by flashing her muff to a priest); lovely Michele Dotrice (Betty from Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em) gives a solid performance as an acolyte of the devil who undergoes a painful operation to remove her 'devil's skin'; and former Dr. Who assistant Wendy Padbury provides pathos as Cathy, an innocent victim raped and murdered by the coven.Although its choppy narrative and abrupt ending mean that it ultimately falls slightly short of the levels of perfection achieved by Witchfinder General and The Wicker Man (two bona fide classics with which it is often compared and certainly shares similarities), Blood on Satan's Claw is still a bloody good effort and one well worth watching if you love atmospheric British horror from the 70s..
Few of the slasher films that would permeate the genre in the coming years can hold a candle to this picture.The Blood on Satan's Claw is a tale of an ancient evil reborn.
He is also very reluctant to concede that what he considers to be superstition is at work in his village even after evil begins to manifest itself in some very conspicuous ways, and only begins to realize the truth when it is very nearly too late.The other exceptional performance in the film belongs to the lovely Linda Hayden, who the previous year had starred in Hammer's Taste the Blood of Dracula.
Frightening and atmospheric as only a Gothic can be, The Blood on Satan's Claw is a well-acted and produced horror picture that should appeal especially to fans of Hammer productions..
Satan's Skin, or the much better alternate title of Blood On Satan's Claw as it's known as in the UK at least, is set in a small English village during the 17th Century & starts with local farmer Ralph Gower (Barry Andrews) ploughing a field & uncovering bizarre remains complete with fur & eyeball.
These events seem to bring great evil to the village, a young woman named Rosalind Barton (Tamara Ustinov) goes mad & grows strange claw like nails on her hand & shortly after her boyfriend Peter Edmonton (Simon Williams) cuts his own hand off in the very house the Judge is staying in.
A local girl named Angel Blake (Linda Hayden) seems to be the focus of the evil as she holds satanic rituals in one of which a young girl named Cathy Vespers (Wendy Padbury) is brutally raped & murdered.
As the Judge continues his investigations he has to resort to harsh measures to extract the truth in a desperate bid to rid the village of the terrible evil that has engulfed it...This British produced film by short-lived Tigon Films was co-written & directed by Piers Haggard & is quite simply a brilliant piece of horror cinema.
Satan's Skin has a lot of power & imagery that will stay with you for a long time, the very fact that children are used as disciple's of the Devil & are involved in murder & Satanic rituals makes the film unsettling & somewhat disturbing to watch.
These are shocking scenes that give Satan's Skin a bleak, harsh & grittiness about it, director Haggard creates an eerie & unique atmosphere throughout & one of the best in any British horror film made, from the fantastic opening credit sequence featuring a close up of a silhouetted Crow to the period settings, the woods, the costumes, the dialogue, the absolutely wonderfully haunting music & the creepy image of people with patches of the Devil's skin.
THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW is one of the most finely crafted Fright Films to play outside an Art House; the cinematography is absolutely beautiful, the direction topnotch, and the music very creepy, indeed.
**SPOILERS** Atmospheric 17th Century horror movie involving the emergence of the Devil-Satan-in a small out of the way English town.
***SPOILERS*** The films fiery climax has the outraged villagers track down Angel's followers as well as the dismembered Satan who's, since we first saw him, been glued plastered and pasted back together for the final showdown between good and evil in the movie.
The villagers lead by the local judge, Patrick Wymark, put an end to this evil in their mist in a slow-mo impalement of the Devil with his followers, including Angel, totally helpless and unable to prevent it from happening!.
One of the best British horror films of the 1970s, 'Blood on Satan's Claw' is a real treasure for any fan of the genre.
However, when the action comes it is surprisingly nasty; the rape scene is particularly shocking and distressing, the removal of devil hair was pretty good for the time but the film seems gorier than it actually is.
this is one of my favourite horror films,i would like to have rated it higher but i recognise its central flaw that the attempt to combine a number of different short stories into one main narrative simply doesn't work.that aside, it is a very novel film for its time in creating an a good creepy atmosphere without reverting to nighttime scenes in graveyards with lightning flashes and be-cloaked strangers etc.the central story of the unearthing of the remains of something that triggers off the turning of the village children into evil,devil worshippers is simply terrific.they indulge in murder,necrophiliac incestuous rape,dismemberment and pedeophilic false accusation of the local vicar.the scene where the leader of the children,angel blake-played superbly by Linda Hayden-,tries to seduce the vicar in his church late at night lives long in the memory.it would cause a furore today as it represented an underage girl in a frontal nude scene with a much older man.add to that the fact that Linda Hayden was only 17 when she played the role.it is also a cautionary tale.taken as a metaphor for drug addiction you see how their obsession leads them into crime,including murder,alienation from other people,distrust and betrayal among their own peers and at the extreme end loss of body parts.well worth watching..
The magistrate will try to stop this from occurring.If someone asks me for a prime example of a British horror film showing evil overtaking a village, then I could firmly announce "Blood on Satan's Claw" as just that. |
tt0047244 | Monster from the Ocean Floor | Opening monologue of the stories people of the Pacific tell about what lays below the ocean we are then told the above water shots were filmed on this shore line, and the underwater shots in the nearby ocean deep.On a beach, Julie Blair (Anne Kimbell) talks to a young boy as she draws the ocean. He talks about the death of his father, killed by a creature that lives underwater in the cove. Later she goes for a swim in same area, as she does so she encounters a small one man sub surfacing. Annoyed she swims back to shore, followed by the sub The operator, Steve Dunning (Stuart Wade) follows her up the beach and admires her artwork. He explains that he is down in the area on a research grant. He invites her out to the teams boat to meet Doctor Baldwin (Dick Pinner)Baldwin shows her some plankton through a microscope, and explains what they are and how dangerous they are, and we are lucky they are so small. Dunning then goes into an explanation of how the sea is going to become and increasing important food sourceA boat driven by Joe ( Jonathan Haze) arrives and explains there has been an accident and his brother is trapped on the bottom in the cove. Dunning takes the one man sub down on a rescue mission. Dunning finds the mans diving suit but there is no one inside it. The face plate looks damaged as if torn open by something
Later that day at dinner, Julie tells Dunning the strange story the boy told her about a creature in the cove. She then explains that shed spoken to others and they confirmed the boys story. As the conversation continues Dunning admits he is attracted to Julie, she admits similar feelings. He is concerned that she is going to try and find the creature herself. He warns her of the dangerAfter dinner Dunning finally agrees to try and investigate what happening at the cove. He explains the various dangerous fish they may encounter, and what to do if they do. Having briefed her they head underwater. As Anne swims around, she catches sight of a huge octopus and hides among the kelp till it goes away. Safe, she heads for the surface and convinces Dunning to abandon the search for the dayLater Anne speaks to Joe about the loss of his brother, Joe explains that many people have died down there and it is like nothing we have ever seen. The first occurrence in the cove was around 1946. Joe suggests talking to Pablo (Wyott Ordung) Who has lived in the area all his lifeAnne speaks to him about the devil that lives in the cove, she explains the ocean holds many forms of life, some of it makes no sense. But nature does many strange things. He tells her about three strange encounters in the cove. A large shapeless thing, maybe as big as a houseLater Anne encounters Tula who tells a similar story about seeing huge tracks in the sands and something as big as three wagons moving in the darkness. That night Dunning and Anne are relaxing on the beach Anne remembers one of the stories that the creature in the cove comes out during a full moon. She also describes the creature is huge with a single red eye.Dunning ponders her information about the first sighting in 1946 and how it ties in with the first atomic tests in the area. They are interrupted by Baldwin arriving to give Dunning the good news about an extension of their funding. The funding means the team will be heading down the coast. Dunning wants Julie to write and gives her a kiss before heading to the hotel to packIn the darkness Julie sees something rising up out of the water. It is like a giant octopus with one eye. She passes out before it comes ashore. Further up the beach, Pablo and Tula discuss the meaning of the full moon. Tula suggests a sacrifice must be made to the creature, Tula decides Julie is the best choice. She instructs Pablo to make it happenJulie wakes up and decides to explore the beach. She finds some strange tracks and the remains of what she thinks is a cow. Returning the next morning Julie gets Pablo to point out where hes seen a glowing light.Unseen by Julie he cuts his hand and sprinkles the blood in the water
Attracted by the blood, a shark stalks Julie. She fights the fish off with a knife. Safe she swims on to investigate the coveThe next day, down the coast, Dunning and Baldwin discuss Julies infatuation with the monster. Dunning is dismissive however Baldwin tells a story of seeing evidence of a strange winged creature many years before. Dunning disbelieves him, but accepts something strange must have happenedBack at the cove, Julie, surviving the encounter with the shark plans to to go again and asks Pablo to row her out. As she is distracted he sabotages her aqua gear so she will run out of air during the dive. Julie realizes something is wrong aborts the dive before she can drownGiving up for the day she tries to pull up the anchor but it is being held by something, suddenly the line snaps, releasing the boat. Back with Dunning and Baldwin the post worker arrives and delivers a letter and a package. In the package is a sample of some flesh recovered when Julie went down to rescue the anchor.The men examine the sample and find it extremely unusual. Baldwin drops some meat into the sample and they are stunned when the organism absorbs the meatBaldwin speculates that many things could cause this strange life form, possibly a nearby atomic test. Dunning realizes the danger presented and races back to the cove to check on Julie. They drive their boat at full speed through the night, as they get close to the cover they see Julie with Pablo getting ready for a dive. Pablo pulls a knife and intends to kill Julie, at the last minute he cracks under the pressure and puts the knife away. He then admits draining the air from the tank.Julie once again dives looking for more evidence of the creature lurking below the water. On the surface Pablo keeps a concern eye. Now almost at the cove the boat breaks down when the propeller is fowled by sea weed.Dunning clears the weed, and the boat resumes its urgent journey. Meanwhile still on her dive, Julie encounters the strange creature and tries to escape. On the surface, Dunning and Baldwin fnally arrive. Pablo senses something is wrong and tells Dunning, who immediately deploys the sub.Dunning spots the creature and drives the sub headlong into its eye killing it instantly.He then abandons the vessel and drags unconscious Julie to the boat. He checks her out and she regains her senses. Dunning admits that Julie was right all along and kisses her passionatelychapman_glen@yahoo.com | cult | train | imdb | null |
tt2473682 | Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones | In June 2012, high school graduate Jesse Arista lives with his father, sister and grandmother in Oxnard, California. He begins to enjoy the summer with his best friend, Hector. In the apartment below lives a mysterious woman named Ana, who everyone believes to be a witch. When Ana is found murdered, Jesse and Hector spot classmate Oscar running from the scene, suggesting he was responsible. The two investigate the apartment, where they find black magic items, as well as VHS tapes and a journal of spells that can "open doorways to unholy lands."
After Jesse, Hector and their friend Marisol try out a ritual, paranormal occurrences gradually begin to take place in Jesse's apartment. One night, the trio begin to communicate with an unknown entity through a game. Jesse finds a mysterious bite mark on his arm and also discovers superhuman abilities, proven when he knocks out two thugs that assault him. He and Hector at first view his abilities as a "gift". At a party, Jesse takes a girl to Ana's apartment to have sex and encounters Oscar, who has oily black eyes and a similar bite mark on his arm. He tells Jesse that it's only a matter of time before "something inside them" will take over, and if they kill themselves they won't harm those they love. Oscar rushes and disappears; when Jesse and Hector search for him outside, Oscar commits suicide by jumping off a building, landing on a car.
The group discover a secret trapdoor in Ana's apartment, where they find a witch altar and photos of Jesse, his pregnant mother, Ana, Oscar and Lois; at the same time, a strange woman in black enters but leaves after finding nothing. Jesse is lured to the trapdoor one night after hearing his dog Chavo barking for help, but the door slams shut and Jesse sees the ghostly figures of young Katie and Kristi before being attacked by a roaring demon.
Jesse's personality gradually becomes dark, suicidal and extremely violent; Hector and Marisol are disturbed by Jesse's behavior and meet Oscar's criminal brother Arturo, who tells them that Oscar was in contact with Ali Rey, who had researched demons after her father and step-mother were killed and half-brother kidnapped by a possessed Katie. They meet with Ali, who tells them that Jesse has been "marked" by a worldwide coven of witches called the "Midwives", who have been brainwashing women to give up their first-born sons to create an army of possessed young men. Ali gives an address to where a final ritual is supposed to take place, and warns that Jesse will no longer exist if the demon manages to fully consume him.
Jesse's concerned grandmother Irma visits a botánica and tries to cleanse Jesse, but he telekinetically tears the living room apart. The next morning, an ill Jesse pushes Irma down the stairs before disappearing. While Hector and Marisol drive to the hospital, Jesse ambushes them in the street and attacks Hector, but Marisol knocks him unconscious with a bat. As they are attempting to leave, a van smashes into their car and Jesse is kidnapped.
With help from Arturo and his friend Santo, Hector and Marisol go to the address, which turns out to be Grandma Lois's house, where Katie and Kristi's mother and her boyfriend were killed. When they enter the garden, coven members with knives appear and begin to attack them. Arturo urges Hector and Marisol to flee and they both ran to the house, leaving Arturo alone in the garden trying to defend himself. Santo is found dead by the front door. Marisol disappears, Arturo gets killed off-screen (it is implied that he was overpowered by the coven and then stabbed to death) and then thrown and smashed into a window near to Hector, later, Marisol's corpse is thrown through a glass roof. A possessed Jesse appears and chases Hector upstairs where /hector slams the door shut. Jesse's normal voice asks Hector to open the door but after he doesn't, Jesse breaks down the door causing Hector to open a strange brown door taking him through a portal to the events of October 8, 2006, at the household of Katie and Micah. Katie goes downstairs to the kitchen and screams for Micah upon seeing Hector. Micah assumes Hector is an intruder and attacks him, but Katie goes hysterical and stabs him to death with a kitchen knife. Hector runs away but Jesse, now completely under the demon's influence, appears and attacks him off-screen (presumably killing him) as the camera falls to the ground. A witch stares blankly at it before turning it off. | paranormal, murder, prank | train | wikipedia | Nevertheless staying true to the reason these films are still being made, and fans of real horror, like myself continue to watch them, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, rewards its loyal audience with a fairly sensible connection with the previous films and characters.
This time however, I felt like I need to say something, because the overall rating of this movie is a gross understatement.Second of all, reading this you should keep in mind that I am no particular fan of the series.
Some of the scenes involving Latino gangs were too stereotypical and unnecessary but other than that, the movie didn't have too many flaws.All I'm going to say without spoiling anything is that the last 20 minutes of the film will truly scare you with a huge twist at the end that will obviously not be explained further until the confirmed PA 5 comes out this October.
The profane filled dialouge is embarrassing to the point where you will actually find yourself becoming annoying by the constant use of the F-word, and this is coming from someone who has a pretty filthy vocabulary.Aside from elements from other films that have been rehashed into this entry, The Marked One's offers nothing you haven't seen in the other installments.
The film is about Jesse, an ordinary teenager who is marked by the same demon who torments Katie and Kristi in the earlier PA films after he and his best friend, Hector discover weird black magic material in his murdered neighbour's apartment.For the first 20/30 minutes this movie plays out like a comedy, showing the day to day activities of Jesse and Hector (which is mostly them getting up to mischief) and even when Jesse is marked there is still a fair amount of comedy until he realises that what he has is a cure, not a gift.
They're also very likable so you actually care when bad things happen to them.There are a lot of scares in this entry some of which are very unpredictable and some which are very effective (especially one scene involving the main character's dog).
Here's my take:Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is the 5th movie in the franchise, but it can also be considered a spin-off...sort of.
Marked Ones follows high school graduate Jesse, a kid living in a rather tough part of town (noticeably distant from the settings of any of the previous movies).
Every single moment is spent either scaring you, making you laugh, or pushing the story forward.About the story...As a stand-alone film, without seeing any of the other Paranormals, this movie is still very enjoyable and scary.
This film like every other paranormal follows the same trend, 3rd person recording, that annoying rumbling sound which pretty much gives away any time that your going to be made to jump or scream, as well as finding some plausible way to keep all the films in the series linked.The first task of these films is to try and make it plausible why the lead character is always using a camera, which I guess it did OK.
There are plenty of jumps and screams to be had, sitting in a 3/4 full cinema and seeing people jump or scream to me shows its done what its supposed to and the general feeling was that everyone enjoyed it.Here is my only real dislike of this series, as a jumpy bit approaches in all 5 of the Paranormal series in the background you here a faint rumbling, which although maybe for effect, on the 5th time of watching this series becomes an irritating give away of what is about to come, other than that effects and sound were done well.Im sure there will be more from this series as it seems still a popular franchise, I would like to see it really push itself a bit more but overall its a good addition to the series.Well worth a watch for all horror fans alike!
Don't go expecting amazing filming or top quality scripts as it isn't designed to be like that, its chilling home shot movie style still works but maybe if were going to a 6th or 7th film it may need to add something new.There are many Paranormal films out and also coming out in 2014 such as The Quiet ones and Devils Due, I will see and review them all , I left feeling hyped, I was gripped and entertained and its definitely worth a watch, if not at the cinema then definitely for a DVD rental in the future!!!
The worst entry in the 'Paranormal Activity' series, this spin off is little more than a ripoff of possession-type horror movies with some of the supernatural from 'ChronIcle'.
But what could have been an opportunity to invigorate a franchise of increasingly diminishing returns turns out instead to be a nail in the coffin, and despite boasting the series' regular screenwriter Christopher Landon as its writer cum director, this is undoubtedly the worst entry yet to bear the 'Paranormal Activity' brand name.The setting is a modern-day Latino neighbourhood in Los Angeles, where best buddies Jesse and Hector (Jorge Diaz) spend their time doing Jackass-type stunts and filming them with their new hand-held camera.
On one hand, he wants a clear link to the other 'Paranormal Activity' films, such that hardcore fans who have seen especially the last two in the series will immediately guess that it has to do with some coven of witches who have been practicing the dark arts.
What redemption the relatively exciting climax provides is also quickly undone by the ending, which sees Landon try just too hard to tie the events of the film to the main 'Paranormal Activity' story thread of Katie and Kristi.
The execution is a slightly different, but this comes as a refreshing addition to the film series.If you're a fan of the franchise, you will enjoy this film and look forward to Paranormal Activity 5 even more when it debuts in October..
As a fan of the Paranormal Activity movies I have to say that the first couple were really thrilling with the unexpected and creativity of things happening throughout the film.
Having just graduated from college and now enjoying some spare time, Latino best friends Hector(Diaz, mostly filming this and thus heard more than seen, and doing well with that) and Jesse(Jacobs, credibly doing a complete personality shift) check out the neighborhood witch, and the latter of them gains superpowers.
After some Chronicle-y testing of such, they start to realize that maybe something sinister is going on, and try to find a way to stop it.With found-footage growing stale, this tries to reinvigorate the franchise, to which this is a spin-off, which shares less of a connection to the others than the rest, perhaps even the sub-genre, by taking a different approach.
Rather than recording when they sleep(which they were getting increasingly dubious in their explanations for) and the titular activity being hidden in tiny details on still angles, this has them "documenting" their attempts to figure out what is going on(with more locations in this than in the first four combined), and the paranormal is more direct and frankly incontrovertible(the guys upload one proof, and a quick jab at YouTube users being jaded and/or thinking it's faked, along with their *ahem* distrust for law enforcement explains why they don't bring more people into it).As usual there is not much progression in the overall mythology, with this utilizing the greater freedom of not having to bring it back to you-know-who to explore a different element of the coven, the titular Marked Ones, and the ending(and this is a weird one) has us hungry for more.
The lack of paranormal activity borders on ridiculous, hard to believe it's actually being marketed as a horror movie!If you want something scary, jumpy, and suspenseful, just re-watch the first three.Still looking forward to Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension next year, fingers crossed it will return to it's former glory!.
Fans of this series will be happy to know that not only does this supposed "spin-off" get PA back on track but, is more reliant on actual scares than jump scares and answers a lot of questions that the other films have set up.
He knows how to build scares and he does so slowly with a film that builds it's momentum steadily till a really intense last act that leads up to one of the best horror movie endings in quite a while and a climax fans of this series will love from between the spaces of the fingers that are covering their eyes.
Along the way, the three friends uncover clues to secrets they never could have imagined.The Marked Ones is a spin-off of the popular Paranormal Activity series.
He does an excellent job of showing the different stages of Jesse's persona changes throughout the film.Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is an excellent entry to the series and the breath of fresh air it needed.
Not knowing what to make of the mark or the strange, new physical abilities he suddenly has gained, Jesse, his sister Marisol (Gabrielle Walsh) and Hector look back on an occult journal they found the night before that leads them to discover something much more sinister awaits Jesse.In 2009, Paranormal Activity was finally given a wide release, after first appearing at the Screamfest Film Festival in 2007.
By the way, speaking of Halloween, they're planning on Paranormal Activity 5 for October of this year.No, I'm not kidding.While there are some comical moments involving Jesse discovering his newfound powers that work, and the change of setting is nice, this is just more of the same that we've seen again and again and again from this film series.
Then that third act reared its ugly head and tried to go for a "tie it all together from a different perspective" ending (you'll know it when you see it) that's nothing short of eye-rolling, "Are you kidding me?!" awful.I give Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones a D+ (★½).Review source: silverscreenfanatic.com.
from paranormal 1 - at the end when she comes back upstairs with blood all over her and then sits on the floor rocking back and forth, you see what happens just before that at the end of this movie - the marked ones.its like they tried to rip off afflicted, and im not sure which movie came first but afflicted is WAY better, I've watched that twice now.I hope they don't make any more "Paranormal Activity" Movies, because they have lost their affect..
The Marked ones is without doubt one of the best films from the Franchise (first one apart.) It's the usual format, every stereotype included, kids, found footage, person turned away, being on top of the ceiling, but somehow this one has an air of originality about it.
I still don't understand why they would pay money to ruin other's time at the theater.4) I won't reveal anything about the ending, but I can safely say that most people in the theater didn't like it.If you see this movie, you should probably watch the other Paranormals first.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones was a surprise, breaking the security camera shoot that make the other movies in the series boring, this movie really deliver big time it was very entertaining, it have some in your face scary scenes like the ones of REC movies that makes the movie work in a new way That the others didn't.PA: The Marked Ones explain some of the thing that happen in preview installments of the series but at the same way open some other path for the series to keep going, hopefully in a good way.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)* 1/2 (out of 4) The fifth film in the series is the first spin-off and features 18-year-old Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) as he and a couple friends start to investigate a neighbor and soon the teen finds himself possessed by a coven of witches.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES is the second bad film in a row for the series and it really doesn't give me much hope for PARANORMAL ACTIVTY 5, which will be released in about ten months..
Despite rebuilding some faith after a feeble fourth entry, The Marked Ones holds back the franchise from the crucial revival it needs due to weak scares and little expansion in the mythology.One year after the events of Paranormal Activity 4, this spin-off removes the focus from Katie and Kristi in San Diego County and takes us north to Oxnard, California.
Of course Jesse stumbles upon some bad juju when they enter her apartment, which might explain the strange sounds and behavior he had encountered from his newly deceased neighbor.With the well of found footage films all but dried up, the Paranormal Activity series has always been one to progress the medium in ways we haven't seen before, as Saw did with its unique traps.
Overall, The Marked Ones is a passable entry to a noteworthy horror series that creates enough intrigue to believe that Paranormal Activity is back on track in the right direction..
In many ways it's not a good movie if you have not seen the previous PA movie series, you do not know what has already happened, you do not know the story behind very important aspects, such as secondary characters and the ending.
A Latino spin-off from the inexplicably popular Paranormal Activiity found-footage series, The Marked Ones follows a group of friends, Jesse (Andrew Jacobs), Hector (Jorge Diaz) and Marisol (Gabrielle Walsh), who discover that strange occult rituals have been taking place in their apartment complex.
Soon after, Jesse starts to act very strangely, and it gradually becomes apparent that he has been marked by a coven of witches who need him for one of their black magic shin-digs.Boring, predictable, unimaginative garbage with zero atmosphere and countless ineffective jump scares, the fifth Paranormal Activity film fails to bring anything new to the table, reeling off all the clichés that have become synonymous with the found-footage sub-genre.
I really enjoyed this film a lot,the film had a lot of jump scares and I think,I just think,even though it wont happen,a sequel would be good or another spin off maybe called like 'The Marked Ones 2' or something...
We're introduced to our main characters, everything is cheery, there's an early scare or two which usually turns out to be one of the characters playing a prank on another, and then slowly things begin to happen out of the normal, steadily increasing towards the final scene (which about 80% of the movie usually gets judged on) *roll credits*.A lot of this is because of the restrictions placed on film makers when using the 'found footage' format.
It seemed like the series was quickly losing steam, and was going stale.I just saw this spin off movie "The Marked Ones" out of boredom.
Even though not an original idea, it was a scary film that introduced good new characters and along with "The Blair Witch Project", Paranormal Activity made found footage movies even more mainstream.Now in 2014 after four sequels and a fifth one due in October, you can't really look at the first Paranormal Activity the same way.
The new spin off film, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is really an even bigger question mark.The movie is set in a rundown Hispanic community and some would call it the hood.
Its seems like it is up to us to figure out just what is going on or what it means.In the end, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is kind of a mess and it is hard to get used to but at the same time it's an above average film.
"Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" is a great horror flick that presents in the series' traditional found footage format the story of Jesse, a 18 year old boy from Oxnard, California who gets "marked" for possession by a malevolent entity.
After some strange and unexplainable events happen, he thinks he's developed superhuman abilities, but as time passes, the true nature of the entity begins to take control of him, putting him and his loved ones in danger.This spin-off features a new setting as well as a new set of characters, however it does connect to the previous movies and answers some questions regarding certain events in the previous entries.Andrew Jacobs does a great job as the main character, Jesse, managing to show the transformation of the character from a funny, happy guy to a very dark and violent guy.
All this elements make "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" one of the best entries of the Paranormal Activity film series, a movie that will definitely scare and entertain you!.
A huge improvement over the fourth film, "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" is a pretty decent spin-off entry in the franchise that has it's share of flaws and strengths..
Because I honestly would love to see another film that was as good as the first three.I give "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" a slightly-above average 6 out of 10.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is supposed to be a spin off of the popular found-footage series, but it feels more like a sequel.
I am a huge fan of the Paranormal Activity series and except the fourth one all the films were really good and scary.
If you watch the Paranormal Activity series as individual movies, they are above average ghost stories.
This one has the name Paranormal Activity but it is nothing like the others in the series at all...the only real tie in is the last 5 minutes of the movie.
At least that was working in favor of the movie."Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" is for the fans of the series, no doubt about it. |
tt3062096 | Inferno | Florence, ItalyA team of agents are chasing geneticist Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) through the streets. Zobrist runs up to the top of a tower when he is confronted by Christoph Bouchard (Omar Sy). Bouchard demands that Zobrist tell him the location of something important and potentially dangerous. Zobrist instead drops himself out the window of the tower and hits two roofs on the way down before smashing to the ground.Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is in a hospital bed. He has a head wound and is suffering from disturbing visions of a hellish scene in which people are shown writhing in pain, while others are burnt and some people have their heads turned backwards. Langdon hears voices and sees someone in a hood, along with other people wearing plague masks. When he awakens, he meets Dr. Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), who claims to have been a fan of Langdon's work since she was a child. Sienna tells Langdon he is suffering from retrograde amnesia as a result of the wound. Moments later, an assassin named Vayentha (Ana Ularu) comes in disguised as an officer. She shoots one doctor and then tries to break into Langdon's room to kill him. Langdon and Sienna escape the room, but Langdon is losing blood after the IV is pulled off his arm. They make it into a cab as Langdon passes out.Langdon wakes up in Sienna's home. He asks her for coffee, despite somehow forgetting the word for it. As she goes to get it, Langdon looks on his laptop to check his emails. He finds one from a man named Ignazio Busoni (Gabor Urmai). The message states that Ignazio is safe, as is something that he and Langdon have apparently stolen, as well as the message "Paradise Twenty Five".Among Langdon's possessions, he and Sienna find a Faraday pointer, which contains the famous "Map of Hell" by Sandro Boticelli, which was inspired by Dante's "Inferno". It contains letters and Zobrist's name. The two watch a video of Zobrist speaking about his viewpoints on humanity and how the world must be cleansed. This leads the two to discover that Zobrist wanted to unleash a virus worldwide to wipe out billions of people prior to his suicide. Langdon speaks to someone on the phone from the U.S. consulate about being picked up from his room, only to later find out Vayentha and other officers are there for him, forcing him and Sienna to run again.On the streets, Langdon and Sienna try to figure out the meaning of another statement from the Map of Hell, "cerca trova", which is Italian for "seek and find". Associates from the World Health Organization are now out looking for Langdon too, including Elizabeth Sinskey (Sidse Babett Knudsen). She orders all her men to not trust anyone and to find Langdon by any means necessary.Vayentha contacts her associates to speak to "The Provost". This is Harry Sims (Irrfan Khan), CEO of a firm called The Consortium. One of his men reports to Sims about what Vayentha has told him. Sims also demands to see a video that Zobrist had sent him to be seen after the virus had been released.Langdon and Sienna follow clues to the Palazzo Vecchio to see the painting, "The Battle of Marciano", which contains similar writings as the one from the Map. He starts to have more hallucinations and feels a pain in his neck as he remembers being injected with something, leading him to think that he is carrying the virus. Sienna assures him that if he was carrying the virus, everyone around him would probably be dead. They meet with a friend of Langdon's, a museum employee named Marta Alvarez (Ida Darvish). They review security footage and discover that Langdon and Ignazio stole Dante's Death Mask from its exhibit. Langdon must once again run as authorities and museum security get on his tail.Langdon and Sienna run up to the attic over the Apotheosis of Cosimo I. Vayentha encounters the two up there and tries to kill them, but Sienna pushes Vayentha over, causing her to crash through the ceiling and fall to her death. The WHO officials later arrive and see Vayentha's body, and Sinskey appears to recognize her.Langdon and Sienna go to the Florence Baptistry where they locate the mask, following the Paradise Twenty Five clue. On the back of it is another hidden message. Afterward, the two are met by Bouchard, who claims to have been the one that met Langdon in Cambridge prior to his amnesia, and also states that Sinskey and her associates are trying to spread the virus. Bouchard joins him and Sienna as they proceed, but Langdon eventually comes to realize that Bouchard is lying to them and that Sinskey was who he met.Sims and Sinskey meet and discuss the nature of the virus, bringing them to work together to stop it from spreading.After Langdon deduces that the virus is located in the Hagia Sophia, Sienna betrays him and leaves him, revealing that she was Zobrist's lover and is set to carry on his work. Langdon is then knocked out by an assailant.We see an extended flashback of Sienna and Zobrist as lovers as he was explaining his philosophy and work to her, which she grew to follow and support. Since they used to play treasure hunts, Zobrist left clues for her to find in case something were to happen to him.Langdon wakes up and finds he was captured by Bouchard. He was conspiring with Sienna as well. Sims shows up and stabs Bouchard in the neck, killing him. Sims then explains to Langdon that his associates had drugged him with benzodiazepine after he had met with Sinskey and created a fake head wound so that he could help solve the Inferno mystery. Everything that happened in the hospital was also a setup.Langdon and Sims rejoin Sinskey and locate the tomb of Enrico Dandolo, which leads them to figure that the virus will be exposed at the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul.The heroes arrive at the Cistern to stop the spread. Sienna kills Sims as the others race to locate the virus. It's underwater in a container set to be detonated. Langdon tries to stop Sienna, but she blows herself up underwater to ensure the virus will spread. Langdon fights one of Sienna's conspirators, but he is shot by the police. Sinskey then manages to keep the virus contained.The WHO take the virus away. Langdon and Sinskey part ways, but she first returns to him a Mickey Mouse watch that he had lost after their initial meeting.Langdon returns to the museum to ask a security guard to turn the light up on the Dante mask. The guard enters the room and is stunned to discover the mask in its spot. Langdon just walks away smiling. | suspenseful, murder, historical fiction, flashback, claustrophobic, romantic | train | imdb | One of the main reasons that I like these books so much is because they provide such a wealth of background historical information so they're a prefect blend of education and entertainment.While it was obviously impractical to include an involved literary discussion of Dante's Inferno in the film, it's a shame that it was barely touched on at all as to me, it was one of the most interesting aspects of the entire story.
It is the equivalent of making a movie about the second world war where Germany wins.If your going to see this read the book afterwards it is far superior.Why it has been changed so much I have no idea , maybe they don't want to offend the W.H.O or the church .I would like to know if Dan Brown approved of this .It may be they just wanted another run of the mill movie where the American hero always saves the day.We need another film maker to step up and make the real Inferno which tells the story as in the book , sensitive issues and all..
If you haven't read the book, prepare to be confused, but it can still be an entertaining ride.Edition watched: 2D IMAX The largest positive for this movie is Tom Hanks.
Aside from Hanks, the story was muddled but chase-movie action and constant changes of beautiful scenery makes this entertaining if forgettable.I have read the book (and liked it) and I went to see it with 2 people who had not read it.For those who haven't read the book, you should know that this is not like the other 2 Dan Brown movies.
Even the ending, which in the book was used to punctuate Dan Brown's obvious point, is radically changed in the movie.
So, Ron Howard, Tom Hanks and Hans Zimmer return for the third movie adaptation of Dan Brown's bestselling symbolist and iconology professional, Robert Langdon.
It shows that they struggled with cramming as much as the butchered novel into the 121min runtime, missing possible reshoots as some of the performances are really not up to scratch, namely Sidse Babett Knudsen and Omar Sy. Hanks, slips into Langdon mode totally as expected and the delightful Felicity Jones plays the Bond-girl style sidekick very well as we watch them try to figure out the same puzzles and twists Langdon is usually pitted against.
This said, the ending doesn't single-handedly bring 'Inferno' down, as there are other just as glaring problems too.Ron Howard's direction is a mess, it is hard to believe that somebody who has a Best Director Oscar and has done some very good to outstanding work directed in a way that suggested more first time director learning (or more like struggling to learn) the ropes, finding urgency is a constant struggle and then he paces things in a rushed and erratic way.Despite the stunning locations and nice location work, 'Inferno' is cheapened by some haphazard editing and over-reliance on high-speed tracking shots that suggest a cinematographer drunk on the job and have a dizzying effect, actually felt rather woozy and sick after seeing the film.
This review is from the perspective of someone who hasn't read the book but still knows his/her movies.The movie's start is very confusing at first, where Robert Langdon has some visions but they don't really seem necessary and so it takes quite some time to establish the plot.
It lacks the inclusion of Renaissance artists' work or a history lesson here or there, they are there, with the main focus on Dante, however it's still not as much as compared to the previous 2 movies, which just made them so much more interesting.There a couple of plot twists in the movie but nothing that might throw you off your seat or make the movie more interesting.Hans Zimmer's background score felt under par compared to the beautiful scores and themes he has given for The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons and countless other movies.Another thing that I felt lacking was a final turn in the end, like a final nail in the coffin, like the previous 2 movies had.Overall, I don't know about Dan Brown's novel, but the writing of the script was not up to the mark..
he's changed the story so much, that watching the movie is an utterly new experience to people who have read the book before, and certainly not a good one!
But who can be trusted?"Inferno" completes the trilogy of Dan Brown based on the adventures of Professor Robert Langdon with a totally disappointing and predictable story.
If you have read the books and enjoyed them you will be happy to know that at least the name is the same.They have COMPLETELY changed the entire movie into something totally unrecognizable, this is complete trash and while I did not expect anything good from it, it STILL disappointed me.The books are good and the best one of them is Inferno and that is because of the absolutely GREAT ending, this movie sh*ts on that and does it's own ending and changes everything for the worse, turning it into this steaming pile of dung that you have before you.DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE!.
The Dan Brown's international best-seller is brought to life in this film directed by Ron Howard (Cinderella man) with screenplay by David Koepp and starred by Tom Hanks (Oscar winner for Philadelphia -1993- and Forrest Gump -1994-) as the symbol expert named Robert Langdon , Felicity Jones as Dr. Sienna Brooks , among others .
Inferno is a moving mystery thriller based upon the novel by American author Dan Brown and the fourth book in his Robert Langdon series , following Angels & Demons , Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol .
The Howard/Grazer-Brown films are set against scenic European locations; star Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, an expert on obscure symbology; feature an attractive, much younger female co-star; involve ancient texts or art works that require extensive deciphering to solve a mystery of great import; and move at a fast-pace in a race against time.
Felicity Jones is lovely as the requisite female sidekick, but she has little to do other than be a decorous plot device and on-screen audience for Langdon's lectures.While the rapid-fire editing of Langdon's hallucinations and visions adds little but confusion, Salvatore Totino's cinematography captures the color of Florence, Venice, and Istanbul, and Hans Zimmer's score is as important an asset to this film as it was to the two previous Dan Brown adaptations.
The film starts in promising style with famed symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) waking in hospital to horrific visions of hell on earth with only the attractive young nurse Dr Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) to soothe his nerves.
Quite bonkers!Unfortunately, the more you ponder the story, the worse it gets, and it is this that fatally drags the film down despite all the good work that Hanks, Jones and director Ron Howard try to counter-balance it with.For there are elements on the positive side of the scales.
The last act though saves a sinking ship and propels it to a thrilling climax.Inferno is the third movie in the franchisee involving Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) the Professor of art and history at Harvard University.Directed by Ron Howard and based on the Novel Series written by Dan Brown.
Oh, I'm not talking about Dan Brown, best-selling author of "The Da Vinci Code", or Tom Hanks, the Oscar-winning actor who plays Brown's most famous character, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, in the big screen adaptations of Brown's novels, or even Oscar-winner Ron Howard, who has thrice directed Hanks in the role of Langdon.
With much-needed help from Sienna, Langdon has to rush from Florence to Venice to Istanbul, while being pursued by World Health Organization leaders such as Elizabeth Sinskey (Sidse Babett Knudson) and Christoph Bouchard (Omar Sy) – who may or may not be on the same team – as well as ruthless agents of a mysterious security firm headed by Harry Sims (Irrfan Khan) – and that very angry and determined female member of the Italian Carabineri."Inferno" is the best of the first three Dan Brown novel adaptations and one of the best thrillers of 2016.
Although I liked this film's predecessors, today, I remember very little of "The Da Vinci Code" and not much more from "Angels & Demons", but "Inferno" is seared into my mind and I think that it's going to stay there for a long time to come.
Based on the book by Dan Brown, "Inferno" finds professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) in Florence as he wakes up in a hospital being taken care of by doctor Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) and he does not remember anything of the past two days.
Quickly details start to emerge, Langodn is hunted down at the hospital, he escapes with Sienna and discovers he is on the run and the only clue he has is a map of Dante's Inferno.Ron Howard is one of my personal filmmaking heros, still that does not keep me from calling "The Da Vinci Code" what it is: a bloated, interminable mess of a film with some little charm to it.
On the contrary I actually was one who really enjoyed "Angels & Demons" and in the same way I had my fair share of fun and enjoyment with "Inferno" and stand proud of such no matter how many times you call upon me how dumb some of the stuff they say in these movies can sound: it is part of the fluff this entertainment is designed to be.Look does this plot make sense for even two seconds when you strip it down with character motivations and internal logic?
It is ludicrous and it is meant to be so, that's what makes it so effortlessly fun, there is no way you can ground a conspiracy theory between renaissance artists and the contemporary destruction of the world keeping a straight face, at least not that I know of, so the film knows what it is and succeeds in giving us two hours of solidly crafted entertainment without making you feel stupid, but treating the whole ordeal seriously enough for you to be engaged, but rarely so dramatically to loose the audience.What makes Ron Howard a great director is the fact that he is an instinctive storyteller, this guy's a natural phenomenon at telling stories and when we see "Apollo 13", "A Beautiful Mind" or "Rush" we just are effortlessly engrossed by these larger than life stories thanks to a flow and a grit in the filmmaking that immediately distinguish a Ron Howard picture.
Howard is a director that knows this medium by heart and even when the weakest of story points is being developed he will find a way to make it come through to an audience.What it basically comes down to is that the filmmakers intention here is to take you by the hand and make you jump into the fun, the film is basically saying to you: "come on, lets go and have ourselves an adventure", one of those adventures that just feels like a wild ride.
Of course it has a couple of stumbles in it of itself: a shoehorned in romance, a slightly predictable plot twist, a couple of plot points that get left behind.Still, no matter how nonsensical everything is, how completely insane the plot manages to go to, how every character seems to be a mastermind of chases and action, not even Tom Hanks' haircut matters, all of this is fitted into a package that manages to hold the strings together and give an audience a ride, it won't be one like "Terminator" of course, but it will be a ride that respects the audience and entertains them."Inferno" walks the fine line between making you laugh at the ridiculousness and engage dramatically perfectly, it is a technically impeccable film with powerful and energetic directing behind it that manages to overcome story and plot inconsistencies also thanks to what at the heart of it is a nice character, portrayed as always perfectly by Tom Hanks.
The plot twists don't make a lot of sense sometimes, I read the book years ago and I would still be hard-pressed to explain how one thing leads to another--but that shouldn't influence anyone's enjoyment of the movie.
Danish actor Sidse Babett Knudsen is pleasant to watch.I cannot rule out Inferno as a bad movie because it is nearly impossible to make books like this into a film.
The best way to enjoy one of the Dan Brown mystery thrillers like THE DA VINCI CODE is to give into the "willing suspension of disbelief" and roll with the flow of the mystery, the clues and the puzzle that unfolds in front of you.Such is the case with the newest film featuring Brown's Master Cryptologist Robert Langdon.
INFERNO is a fun puzzle of a mystery if you don't stop too long to poke holes in the implausibility of the plot and actions.Directed with fury by good ol' reliable Ron Howard, INFERNO follows the adventure of Langdon (the always watchable Tom Hanks) as he is trying to chase down a doomsday virus with clues based on Dante's Inferno.
To top it all off, Langdon is suffering from amnesia (a plot contrivance that always stretches credulity) and, of course, bits and pieces of his memory come back at just the right time.Hanks is ably assisted by Felicity Jones (who will next be featured as the lead in the new STAR WARS film), Ben Foster (as the misguided genius who is going to unleash the INFERNO virus to reduce Global population) and a personal favorite of mine Irrfan Khan (as a mysterious troubleshooter).The action is fast, if a bit clunkily done, the clues make sense (if you allow them to), the twists occur often and the resolution is satisfying.
Having read the book it is a true disgrace to Dan Brown to even claim the name of Inferno as the movie title.
Here, Jones played her part exquisitely, perfectly displaying both sides of her character.I think if they ever do another Robert Langdon film (I'd love to see 'The Lost Symbol' but I know that will never happen because the plot is too similar to 'National Treasure') I'd like to see a new director at the helm to see his take on it.
People who have seen the movie without reading the book will not even know anything about the true nature of the virus.I loved the movie until I watched the ending.
I watched through most of the film generally happy (although a little rushed and less puzzles) and then the ending came and too my dismay the PERFECT book ending that Dan brown gave us was completely changed!!!!
Fans of the book will no doubt draw their comparisons (and let's just say that there are some significant deviations, most prominently the bleak ending which probably would come across too nihilistic for a mainstream audience), but the distillation – complete with reversals, flashbacks and a midway twist – has enabled Ron Howard (who also directed the earlier two adaptations) to produce his most pacey instalment yet of the three- quel.Oh yes, 'Inferno' is probably the least faithful of them, though arguably for the better.
Possibly the worst performance of Tom Hanks and the worst direction of Ron Howard, In Angels and Demons took certain liberties that even though They harmed the book and did not destroy it and the result was "not so bad." But in Inferno they managed to destroy the book, to create A lousy version of a novel of action without action of emotion without emotion, I even seem to see in Falicity Jones a hint of disappointment and reluctance in his interpretation of Siena, Is certainly the worst disappointment Book / Film I've seen, millions of Dollars to destroy a good book..
Yeah, well, the same doesn't apply to Dan Brown adaptations.Scorching betrayal is not just the premise of the plot but also how we are being treated by everyone involved in the makings of this ridiculous, implausible, nonsensical garbage.Langdon, AKA 'This Generation's Indiana Jones Wannabe', has effectively been reduced to a morose, incompetent idiot who, after everything he's been through, after all the double- crossing, riddle-solving, backstabbing, running, shooting, burning, chasing, STILL cannot put two and two together and figure out who the 'bad guy' REALLY is within the first couple of minutes of the film.THE SAME THING HAPPENS IN ALL THREE MOVIES!Who keeps watering this plant?
It doesn't matter casting, direction, location, production, acting and anything if the best part of the book, the GLORIOUS AND GREAT FINALE that made Dan Brown a genius was changed to the most common, stupid ending of a silly Hollywood mystery/thriller movie.
I hadn't read the books that the two previous movies were based on, I only saw the film versions, and I actually preferred Angels & Demons to The Da Vinci Code.
Together, they race across Europe and against the clock to stop a madman from unleashing a global virus that would wipe out half of the world's population.......The laws of diminishing returns come ten fold with the third of Ron Howard's ridiculous interpretations of Dan Browns bizarrely successful series of books, and as expected,,it's pretty much more of the same.But this time, the studio knew that the other two films were not as good as they first thought, so cut the budget to almost half of that of Angels & Demons.Hanks once again spends the entirety of the film running around beautiful places and literally explaining what he is doing every five minutes to Jones, just in case the audience get a little confused as to what is going on.
OK – OK – OK
I read the book first, and once again I do not declare myself as some above-the-fray Dan Brown/Ron Howard/Tom Hanks critic. |
tt0052357 | Vertigo | A woman's face gives way to a kaleidoscope of credits, signalling the start of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo to Bernard Hermann's haunting score.A criminal climbs up the rungs of the ladder on a dark San Francisco night. John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart), a detective, and a police officer are hot on his trail. They chase him across the top of buildings. The thief jumps between two buildings, making it across. The police officer follows, but Scottie can't get his footing. He slips. Scottie hangs on to the gutter as his fear of heights kicks in. The police officer tries to grab his hand, but he falls to his death. Scottie witnesses this and clutches the gutter.Months after the incident, Scottie reclines in the home of Marjorie "Midge" Wood (Barbara Bel Geddes), a painter and fashion illustrator. She is concerned about Scottie's plans now that he is back in shape. He has quit the police force due to his acrophobia, and does not want to be a desk jockey. Midge and Scottie used to be engaged back in college, but it was broken off. Scottie blithely waves their engagement off as a flight of fancy, ended by Midge, but it's clear from Midge's expression that Scottie was more likely the unwilling party and that Midge still holds a torch for him. She urges him to take a vacation. "Don't be so motherly", responds Scottie. They discuss an old college buddy, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), who wants to meet with Scottie. Scottie attempts to get over his fear of heights by using a step stool. He is able to handle the first two steps, but when he reaches the top, he looks out the window and panics. He collapses in Midge's arms.A familiar pedestrian crosses the street near the docks. Scottie meets Gavin, who is in the shipping business. Gavin married into the business, and he wants Scottie to tail his wife. He does not suspect infidelity, but hints that his wife has been possessed by something. She's become distant and distracted and has taken to roaming the city and surrounding area. The no-nonsense Scottie initially dismisses the supernatural undertones of Gavin's worries, but is nevertheless intrigued. Gavin tells Scottie to meet him and his wife at Ernie's Restaurant the following night.Ernie's Restaurant is a lavish, upscale eatery, plush and scarlet. Scottie first spots Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak) who is stunning, with platinum blonde hair and a green shawl. He is mesmerized by her.The next morning, he stalks her outside her house. She wears a simple gray suit with white gloves, as she gets into her green automobile. Scottie follows her through the streets of San Francisco, as she visits a flower shop and purchases a small bouquet. He then trails her to the Mission Dolores, where she goes through the chapel to the cemetery, finally stopping to stand at a grave. As she exits, Scottie notes the headstone, which reads "Carlotta Valdes born: December 3 1831 died: March 5 1857." He then tracks her to the Palace of the Legions of Honour, an art museum. Madeleine sits, staring at a portrait for hours. Scottie notices that the bouquet she purchased is just like the one in the painting. Also, her hair is done exactly like the woman in the painting. Scottie discovers from the curator that the painting is titled "Portrait of Carlotta." Finally, he follows her to the McKittrick Hotel, where Scottie observes Madeleine in a second story window. Scottie enters the old hotel and asks the manager (Ellen Corby), who the occupant of the room is. She hesitates to tell him, until Scottie reveals his badge. The manager reveals that the woman's name is Carlotta Valdes, but that Miss Valdes has not been in the room all day. Scottie finds this impossible, and goes up to the room, which is indeed empty. He looks down the street to discover that her car is gone.Scottie returns to Midge's home where she tells him of San Francisco historian Pop Liebel (Konstantin Shayne), who owns the Argosy Book Shop. She and Scottie pay Pop a visit and Scottie asks the man about the McKittrick hotel. Pop tells Scottie that the hotel was originally a house built by a rich man for his mistress, Carlotta Valdes, and they had a child. However, the rich man eventually discarded Carlotta, keeping their child to raise with his childless wife. Carlotta went from depressed to insane, and finally took her own life.On the drive home, Midge and Scottie talk about the portrait; he shows her the catalogue picture. The resemblance is uncanny. Another conversation with Gavin reveals that Madeleine had started to wear Carlotta's jewellery, particularly a ruby pendant shown in the painting. Madeleine's great-grandmother was Carlotta Valdes, a fact that Madeleine does not know. Gavin only knows this fact because Madeleine's mother told him.Scottie follows Madeleine the next day to the Palace of the Legions, where she gazes at the portrait. Then he follows her to Fort Point near the Golden Gate Bridge. Madeleine strolls by the shore, throwing petals into the bay, until without warning, she jumps in. Scottie dives after her. She is alive but unconscious, and he takes her back to his apartment.Madeleine wakes up at Scottie's apartment, perplexed and alarmed to find herself naked in a strange man's bed. Scottie hands her a red bathrobe and explains that he rescued her from drowning. Madeleine maintains that she must have fainted and fallen. He questions her, "Has this ever happened to you before?" Gavin calls, concerned about the whereabouts of his wife. Scottie reassures him that Madeleine is at his apartment. Gavin informs Scottie that Madeleine is twenty-six - the same age at which Carlotta Valdes committed suicide. Scottie hears the door close, and realises that Madeleine has left. As Madeleine drives away from Scottie's house, Midge arrives just in time to have a misunderstanding. She believes that Scottie and Madeleine are in a relationship.The next morning, Scottie trails Madeleine through the streets of San Francisco, only to find that Madeleine has been looking for Scottie's house. Scottie catches her leaving a thank you letter for saving her. She did not know the address, but followed the Coit Tower. Scottie, now smitten with Madeleine, insists that they wander together, because they are both alone.They arrive at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, where they admire the ancient redwoods. As they view a cross-section of a tree with the approximate dates of historical events, Madeleine goes into a trance, seemingly becoming Carlotta, recounting the dates of her birth and death. Madeleine wanders deeper into the woods, and Scottie follows her. He confronts her about her jump into the bay, and tries to bring Madeleine back. By the shore, Madeleine begins to reveal fragments of her vague memories: an empty grave with no name, waiting for her; an empty room in which she sits alone; and finally a tower, bell, and garden in Spain. Madeleine admits she is not crazy; she does not want to die. They kiss as the waves crash onto the rocks. Scottie promises he will never leave her.Scottie arrives at Midge's place upon having received a note from Midge inquiring as to his whereabouts. Midge mischievously reveals a new picture she's been painting-- a portrait of herself as Carlotta Valdes. Scottie is not amused by the gag. Distressed, he leaves immediately. Midge ruins the painting, upset by the depth of his feeling for Madeleine and her own misguided attempt to make light of it, which has distanced them further.Madeleine returns to Scottie's house, where she tells him of an awful dream, with a tower, a bell, and a village. As she describes the location in detail, Scottie finishes her descriptions. "You've been there!" he exclaims. Scottie is talking about the San Juan Bautista, a mission that has been converted into a museum. They drive to the mission.When they arrive at the mission, they enter the livery stable, where Scottie tries to dismiss the dreams logically. He points out certain objects that are real. They kiss. Madeleine explains she must do something. She asks him if he believes she loves him. He replies yes. "And if you lose me, then you'll know I, I loved you. And I wanted to go on loving you,'' she says. She starts to go to the church, when Scottie realizes she is going to the bell tower. Scottie chases her into the chapel, and sees her run up the stairs. He follows her, but as he looks down, his vertigo sets in, paralyzing him. He cannot follow her up to the top of the bell tower. He watches, helpless, in fear and horror as Madeleine's body plunges to the tiles below. Scottie staggers out of the mission, sun blinding his eyes, dumbfounded.At the a judicial hearing concerning Madeleine's death, the judge is particularly cruel to Scottie; he insults him for letting his weakness get in the way of saving Madeleine. The court rules the incident a suicide. Gavin comforts Scottie, while telling him that, with the loss of his wife, he can no longer stay in San Francisco. Gavin sets off for Europe.Scottie has trouble sleeping. Blue and purple flashes signal his nightmare, as an animated bouquet unravels. He dreams of seeing Carlotta Valdes at the hearing, with special emphasis on the ruby necklace. Scottie walks into the cemetery where there is an open grave. Scottie falls into the grave, which has become precipitous, then his body lands next to Madeleine's on the tiles of the mission. He wakes up in a cold sweat.Midge arrives to care for Scottie in a psychiatric ward. She tries to comfort him, "mother's here." Scottie will not speak, he is in a daze. The doctor believes that Scottie will be incapacitated for a year due to stress and anxiety from his depression and guilt.Upon his eventual release from the hospital, Scottie remains in the grip of an obsession. He visits the old Elster home, and spots the green car. In the distance, a woman in gray suit is getting in it. Unfortunately for him, it is not Madeleine; it is an old neighbour who bought the car from Gavin. At Ernie's he spots a woman in a green evening dress, but again, it is not Madeleine. He even sees Madeleine at the Palace of the Legions, but once again, it is not her. While looking at a bouquet at a flower shop, he sees a striking brunette in a green suit. Although she doesn't resemble Madeleine in dress, style, or movement, the face is a dead ringer. He follows her to the Hotel Empire, and sees her through the fifth floor window.When Scottie knocks on the door, the woman is concerned that he is a creep. He reassures her he just wants to talk. He interrogates her rather aggressively, and she shows him proof that she is Judy Barton (Kim Novak again) from Salina, Kansas. Judy realises that Scottie's heart is broken for his former flame, and she takes pity on him. She agrees to go for dinner with him at Ernie's.After Scottie leaves, flashbacks reveal Judy's memories. She was Madeleine, running up the steps of the bell tower. At the top, Gavin Elster was there, holding the body of the real Madeleine Elster, dressed in exactly the same outfit as Judy. It was the real Madeleine's body that was thrown off the bell tower, with Judy letting out the scream. Judy even keeps the gray suit that she wore as Madeleine Elster hidden in the back of her closet. She begins to write a letter to Scottie, explaining that she was Gavin's accomplice in the murder of his wife. She had become her doppelgänger to fool Scottie, and use him as a witness to lend credence to the idea that Madeleine was mentally unstable. Gavin had known about his vertigo, and knew that Scottie would never make it to the top of the bell tower. Judy reconsiders this letter, and tears it up.That night, Scottie suspects he sees Madeleine at Ernie's. He escorts Judy home, her apartment flooded with the green neon light of the Hotel Empire sign. He's overwhelmed by his yearning for Madeleine, a woman lost to him, although through Judy he is able to capture the ghost of Madeleine's presence. They agree to meet the next morning.They engage in a series of dates, with Scottie becoming happier with the relationship. However, little by little, he begins to make Judy over in the image of Madeleine. He searches obsessively for the gray suit and white gloves that Madeleine used to wear and even convinces Judy to bleach her hair. Although Judy begs him to love her for herself, she has fallen so in love with Scottie that she allows him to change her into the other woman.After undergoing an extensive makeover, Judy returns to an anxiously awaiting Scottie. Scottie won't brook the slightest deviation from his recreation of Madeleine, and insists that Judy pin her now platinum blonde hair up exactly the way Madeleine wore hers, which she does, completing the transformation. In a dreamlike state, with the green glow all around them, they embrace and kiss. The room turns into the livery stable from the Mission, Scottie's last kiss with Madeleine, and then back to the apartment. Scottie has finally managed to turn back time and resurrect Madeleine from the dead.A couple of nights later, the two decide to go out to Ernie's. Judy dresses up, and wears the same ruby pendant depicted in the portrait of Carlotta. Scottie realizes that something is amiss. He suddenly becomes distant. He passes Ernie's and continues driving past the redwood forest. He tells her he has one final thing to do. Judy is torn between her love for Scottie and the fear and guilt she feels over having colluded with Gavin Elster to dupe Scottie. They arrive at the mission, where Scottie forces Judy to re-enact Madeleine's last moments; their final kiss, Madeleine's parting words. He relentlessly pushes Judy up the stairs of the mission tower, discovering in the process that he's conquered his vertigo. He reveals to Judy that her necklace gave her away.As he reaches the top of the bell tower, he puts the whole puzzle together. He realizes that Judy was the counterfeit all along. He never knew the real Madeleine Elster. He was being set up as Gavin Elster's witness in the murder of Elster's wife. He pulls Judy to the top of the tower, where she protests. Judy pleads that she has fallen in love with Scottie. They kiss. The sudden appearance of a nun, however, startles Judy, who steps backwards and plummets to her death off the ledge. As the nun tolls the death bell, a devastated Scottie stands frozen in despair, having now lost the same woman twice, and this time, forever. | mystery, murder, cult, atmospheric, flashback, psychedelic, romantic, plot twist | train | imdb | null |
tt1289401 | Ghostbusters | A group of people are taking a tour of the Aldridge mansion in New York City. The tour guide Garrett (Zach Woods) tells the group of Gertrude Aldridge, a disturbed woman that was kept locked in the basement by her father. A candlestick falls over on the table near the basement to creep the group out, but it's just part of a trick Garrett played. What he doesn't see is a device beneath the nightstand that is flickering and vibrating.As he is closing up shop, Garrett hears a noise near the basement. The door begins shaking, and he runs for it. Garrett tries to run out of the mansion, but the doorknob has been heated. He tries to break out a window with a stool, only for the stool to be thrown back. Garrett runs back toward the basement. The floor is filling up with green slime, and the stairs break apart. Garrett holds on as he sees a ghost rise up from the floor.At Columbia University, Dr. Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) is approached by Ed Mulgrave (Ed Begley, Jr.), a publisher who has a book that Erin wrote some years ago on the existence of ghosts. She's not proud of having written it, and she's even less than pleased to learn it has resurfaced. Erin knows it was done by her former friend and colleague Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy). Ed approaches Erin because of the haunting at the Aldridge mansion and asks her to look in on it. As Erin looks up Abby's current workplace, she learns from the university's dean Harold Filmore (Charles Dance) that she is up for tenure, so she does what she can to hide knowledge of the book.Erin finds Abby in her lab with her new work partner Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), a brilliant engineer who is also a bit nutty. Erin and Abby are still upset with each other over the book, and Erin demands Abby take the book off Amazon. Erin then brings up the Aldridge mansion haunting, inspiring Abby and Holtzmann to spring into action, with Erin reluctantly joining them.The three ladies arrive at the mansion with some equipment. The basement has been locked tight. Erin steps on some slime. Suddenly, the three notice that the basement door is now open and emitting an eerie blue glow. They are then face-to-face with the ghost of Gertrude Aldridge. Erin approaches her calmly, but Gertrude's face turns demonic and she spews ectoplasmic bile all over Erin. The ghost flies out of the building. The ladies record a video with Erin proclaiming that ghosts are real. Unfortunately, this falls into Filmore's hands, and he fires Erin for being a bad representation of the school.Now that Erin is jobless, she decides to join Abby and Holtzmann in their research. Abby and Holtzmann also lose their job after talking to the dean (who happens to be a dick), so they steal equipment from the school's lab and decide to open up their own facility.We meet MTA worker Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones). She is approached by a weird guy named Rowan North (Neil Casey). He rambles on about a "fourth cataclysm", which Patty pays no mind to. She then has to go into the tunnel to check something out. Behind her, Rowan plants another device similar to the one at the mansion. Patty then sees a ghost in a prison suit. She runs like hell away from it.Erin, Abby, and Holtzmann set up shop in a new location above a Chinese food restaurant as the "Department of Metaphysical Examination". A young man named Kevin Beckman (Chris Hemsworth) shows up for a receptionist job. Erin thinks he's hot, but during the interview, Kevin proves to be really dumb. Still, they hire him on the spot. The ladies are then visited by Patty, who mentions the ghost she spotted in the subway.Patty leads the ladies to the tunnel where she spotted the ghost. Holtzmann brings along some equipment she built to catch the ghost. They see the same ghost that Patty saw hovering above them. They record the ghost with their HD cams while Erin is given a proton laser to capture it. The laser isn't strong enough to hold the ghost down, and the train is coming in fast. The ladies run to safety as the train hits the ghost, causing them to get splattered with ectoplasm slime while the ghost is stuck on the train.The video of the ghost goes viral, and the media dubs the team "Ghostbusters", to their chagrin. Famed de-bunker Martin Heiss (Bill Murray) goes on record to dismiss the subway ghost as fake. Patty decides to join the team since she knows how to get around the city, and she provides the team with a vehicle for carrying equipment. It's a hearse that she borrowed from her uncle, which only Holtzmann seems to enjoy, and it becomes the new Ecto-1.Hotlzmann shows off some new equipment she made to catch ghosts, including a new laser gun, a grenade, and a proton glove. It's all untested, so most of it turns out to be dangerous, but the team thinks it's all cool.The team is called to investigate a ghostly sighting at a musical theater. Rowan is seen planting another device in the theater. Abby's specter detector (not the actual name of the device) goes off near the dressing rooms. Patty is chased by a mannequin possessed by a ghost. The Ghostbusters hit the mannequin with their proton lasers, releasing a huge flying ghost monster into the theater. They follow it up to the stage where a band called Beasts of Mayhem are performing. The ghost flies out, making everyone think it's part of the show until the Ghostbusters rush the stage and try to hit it with their lasers. Abby stage-dives and goes for it, and Patty follows, but nobody catches her. She gets up and has the ghost perched on her shoulders. The other three wait for Patty to be still as they hit it with their lasers. Holtzmann pulls out a trap and has the ghost sucked into it. Everyone cheers the team on, while Ozzy Osbourne is backstage and thinks he's having a "flashback".The team celebrates their first capture with some pizza. Abby and Erin discuss how they were friends since high school. Erin also mentions how when she was a child, the ghost of her mean neighbor would stand at the foot of her bed every day for a year, and nobody believed her when she said it. They are then visited by Martin Heiss so he can prove that the team is faking their capture. Erin gets annoyed and decides to prove Heiss right by bringing out the trap and releasing the ghost. The ghost flies out and pushes Heiss out a window as it escapes into the city.After the police arrive, the team is escorted by Agents Hawkins (Michael Kenneth Williams) and Rourke (Matt Walsh) to meet with Mayor Bradley (Andy Garcia) and his assistant Jennifer Lynch (Cecily Strong). While they are thankful for the team's capture of the ghost, they want them to say they are frauds so as to not cause a stir in the city.When the team is alerted to a new ghost sighting, Erin realizes there is a pattern to all the appearances in the city. It is discovered that all the devices found are along leylines that intersect at the Mercado Hotel. They find a picture of the staff, and Patty recognizes Rowan among them, knowing he is their guy. The team heads to the hotel and finds Rowan in the basement with a device he built in which he plans to release a horde of ghosts upon the city as payback for being constantly mistreated. Abby tries to convince Rowan to stop his plans until she mentions the police are on their way. Rowan then grabs two pillars and electrocutes himself before the police arrive. The basement is then closed off, but the specter detector is left behind and goes haywire.At home, Erin reads through a copy of her book that Rowan was keeping to orchestrate his plan. She looks through the drawings and sees that he had always planned to electrocute himself so that he can become a ghost and eventually bring about the Fourth Cataclysm to lead the ghosts and terrorize the world.At headquarters, Abby hears a knocking at the door, but no one is there. There is a rattling on the sink's pipe, and she sees a green glow in the drain. Rowan's ghost then possesses Abby. She starts breaking Holtzmann's equipment and then grabs Holtzmann by the throat to dangle her out a window. Patty intervenes and rescues Holtzmann before smacking Rowan out of Abby. Moments later, Kevin pulls up on his motorcycle, and Rowan possesses him. He rides off back to the hotel.Erin runs to a restaurant where she finds Mayor Bradley and Lynch eating. She frantically tries to warn them to evacuate the city, but she comes off as crazy, so she is taken away.Rowan in Kevin's body makes it to the hotel basement and attacks the two guards standing outside. He manages to break the barriers keeping the ghosts trapped to allow them to fly free, beginning the ghost invasion upon the city. A portal opens in the sky, releasing more and more ghosts upon the city. Erin tries to get a cab, but the cabbie (Dan Aykroyd) dismisses her and drives off.Abby, Holtzmann, and Patty gear up and head off the fight ghosts. They run into none other than Slimer (Adam Ray) the green ghost eating from a hot dog cart. He steals the Ecto-1 and drives off. Abby and Patty get ready to shoot at the car, but Holtzmann says the equipment on top of the car is basically a nuke. They then spot a bunch of ghosts that look like giant parade floats, which they start popping with their proton packs. A float in the shape of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man shows up and presses down on the three, rendering them immobile. Erin saves them by popping Stay-Puft with a Swiss army knife that Holtzmann gave her. The team then faces off against dozens of ghosts, including Gertrude, the subway ghost, and the theater ghost.The Ghostbusters head to the hotel to find a still-possessed Kevin having frozen the police and military. Rowan leaves Kevin's body and decides to take on a familiar, more "friendly" form - the Ghostbusters logo. However, he grows into a humongous beast that bursts out of the hotel and begins wreaking havoc on the city. As they see Slimer and other ghosts riding down the street, the team gets the idea to hit the Ecto-1's nuclear reactor into the portal to reverse it and eventually close it. They fire their lasers at the ghosts to have them steer into the portal before hitting the reactor. The plan works, and the ghosts start getting pulled back into the portal. Rowan holds on to two buildings, so the team hits him in the groin with their lasers to loosen his grip. He starts to get sucked in, but he grabs Abby and pulls her into the portal. Erin hooks herself up to a wire and jumps into the portal. She fires her laser at Rowan's hand to release Abby while he is pulled into the abyss. Holtzmann and Patty pull the two out, and they return with totally beached white hair.Afterward, Mayor Bradley continues to deny the ghost problem, but he secretly gives the team funding to continue their work. They upgrade their headquarters to a firehouse (same as the original movie). Patty's uncle Bill (Ernie Hudson) then pulls in with a new hearse. He's not happy about what happened to the other one.During the credits, we see the team being visited by Holtzmann's mentor Rebecca Gorin (Sigourney Weaver), who inspired her to be crazy. Patty then calls the team to the roof. The city's buildings are lit up to say "I Love GB". There is also a dedication to Harold Ramis.After the credits, the team is doing some work while Patty is listening to a recording. Erin walks over to see what's up. Patty simply asks, "What's Zuul?" | paranormal, haunting, flashback, good versus evil, psychedelic, humor | train | imdb | In the absence of fantasy and original ideas, the Hollywood producers get out of mothballs old stories and they serve us as new, using this time four women instead of four men.
Awful.darned.awful.Working on this film or appearing in it is the movie business equivalent of having McJob. It is low quality, bad for you, bottom of the barrel and you will regret it afterwards.When did it become fashionable for men to have the brains of an algae, for the women to be gross and severely unattractive and for us to pay to watch it all?
I'm not quite sure what Kate McKinnon's character is supposed to be she walks around like she's got some lame legs and she cannot walk normally and if you watch closely you see her constantly smirking and laughing at her own stupid lines.
After watching this garbage I felt like someone urinated on my childhood (a safe place where Ghostbusters was admired as fantastic cinema).Go ahead and search Paul Feig (director and writer) and Katie Dippold (writer) and you'll figure out in two seconds that these clowns should never have been allowed to go near this film.The acting sucks, the plot sucks, the editing sucks, the effects suck, the casting sucks, the attempt to do role reversal sucks, the directing sucks, the writing sucks, the staging sucks.The only good thing in this film is the few seconds you get to see Bill Murry on screen.I'm actually sorry I watched this because now my beloved memory of Ghostbusters is tarnished.
The original obviously has its fans but even if you try to ignore the sexual politics of the marketing campaign, the movie itself seems to detest its core audience, with the script often striking out at people who love the franchise and hatefully labelling people as 'man-babies' and 'basement dwellers'.
Yes, this is the all-girls-remake of the 1980's darling "horror comedy" franchise, this time starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and, er, the other ones.
"Ghostbusters" is so bereft of laughs or joy that it feels shitty even by movies starring Melissa McCarthy's standards, who's still desperately trying to define and recreate this little magic she managed to create in her breakthrough role in 2011's "Bridesmaids".
The only bits I at least semi-enjoyed in the movie were original ghostbusters' surprise cameo appearances, and maybe Chris Hemworth as the good-looking but stupid assistant to the girls.
I am not against remakes because sometimes they can be good like "The Thing" or " A Fist Full of Dollars" or "Little Shop of Horrors" etc But this was a pile of overrated rubbish that was made purely made to further an agenda of feminism and that women are the best and do not require men.
The humor in the original movies were heartfelt and funny, the effects were charming, and I think it even works today, in its way.
The original movies were about Individuals having believable comedic and heartfelt separate journeys, while I feel this movie is all about characters playing stupid, fast-paced jokes on each other.
Let me start by saying this,this new Ghostbusters movie is not the worst movie ever released.With that said, this is not a good movie.This movie is one that the studio involved should have never been given the red light to make.Unless this movie Ghostbusters was going to have the original cast brought back for a third film, this franchise was finished a long time ago.The cast of this movie do mix and gel a little, but the story itself is terrible.I did laugh maybe twice watching this movie,but it was silly humor so that doesn't count.There are many cameos in this movie so that can keep people watching a bit .But without a script and story,I'm never watching this again..
If you do not know the 2 originals movie RUN TO SEE THEM but in any case don't waste your time with this CANCER.This movie is a perfect definition How to kill an amazing movie Licence.I just have the feeling after watching this terrible purge of having been raped.
I've never seen the original Ghostbusters films, so I went into watching this with quite an open mind.
It ended up being incredibly disappointing though, the CGI was terrible and reminded me of the early 2000s live action Scooby Doo films, the girls, who I'd imagine are funny in their own right, seemed to have absolutely zero chemistry between them and oddly enough Chris Hemsworth's character Kevin ended up being the most funny aspect of the film.
Awful but not necessarily for the reason you would expect.Despite some early reviews I've read or watched I didn't find the movie to be anti-male.
Cecily Strong stood out to me the same way Kristen Wiig first stood out to me in Knocked Up. She only has a very small role in the movie but she's able to be convincing and funny without making it seem like she's in on the joke.The performances weren't bad per se, they were just very underwhelming all-around.
This female version is terrible with awful performances of the four humorless overrated lead actresses Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones that might work for stand-ups for American audiences, but have no capability to lead a worldwide blockbuster.
Everyone involved with this film should hang their heads in shame for ruining a film that could of had such potential and rebooted the series.Acting is terrible, the plot is none existent, I genuinely hope I can erase my memory of watching this film, and just remember how good the original films where..
This movie almost seems to be making fun of the original Ghostbusters., it should really just be forgotten.
But boy , nothing can prepare you for this beast, It was such a bad movie this was the first time I witness more than half of the people just went home after watching 1st half an hour.
Every time a film gets given the opportunity to make use of female talent in a positive way, all we seem to get is a massive over reaction by feminist writers to spread hate, sexism and stereotypes.
Is it any wonder so few people want anything to do with feminism these days when this is the type of film that gets produced when directors listen to them.The Heat (same director) was also guilty for a lot of the same flaws this movie and even ironically ended with the same sexist attack with the villain of that film being shot in the groin as well.I genuinely hope this film suffers as a result of the sexism and a lesson is learned here..
I could not name one thing that this movie does better than the original, and along with a director who would not listen to fans, and the atrocious forced acting and script, I wouldn't be surprised if the actors denied the ever took part in this garbage..
Ghostbusters is a remake of the classic movie of the same name, and it follows a group of scientists who believe that ghosts exist and set out to stop them from taking over the world/Manhattan.
By the end it acts like the audience has really gotten to know and love the characters, when in reality the amount of development given to them was so little that it makes me wonder if the writers even tried, or looked through the script again to make sure everything made sense.
(think scooby doo movies green screen mess fx)Editing seems rushed and not organic at all.The cameos are cringe-worthy, I really fell sorry for the old cast that was forced to participate on this.Don't waste your money to "give it a try", wait for it on netflix..
To be honest, expectations were extremely low, it was a terrible idea from the start, it had some of the most terrible advertising of any film in recent memory, the practical war-zone online from both sides but especially defenders was reason alone to put me off seeing it and hearing the theme song was enough to make one squirm.However, there are plenty of films out there that are badly advertised but actually turn out to be good to great films (for example, was expecting to dislike 'Lilo and Stitch' and 'Galaxy Quest', for examples, but ended up really liking and loving them respectively).
The music is generic and over-bearing, the theme song also has to be down there as one of the worst theme songs in film history.Whereas the original 'Ghostbusters' has a great blend of comedy, horror and action, the reboot completely fails at all three.
The return of some of the actors in the original 'Ghostbusters' add nothing, they have screen times too short and look miserable.Overall, a pointless and awful reboot that improves nothing on the idea, that screamed of disaster from the get go, or the terrible advertising.
But hopes don't make up for flat jokes, forced acting performances and a movie that ultimately takes a very unflattering view of its own fans.The original Ghostbusters movies were marvels of dry wit in comedy.
I gave the film a shot because I wanted to see what a female cast of talented comedians could bring to the Ghostbusters universe, in what I had hoped would be a piece at least comparable to the originals.
From the absolutely terrible script and stale humor to the cartoonish and utterly unintimidating CGI, it failed.Ultimately, the film also failed the one true test of a good movie: When I walked out of the theatre at the end and thought back on the last couple hours of my life, I did not feel like like the ticket or my time had been well spent.
OK firstly I just want to say that yes I am a massive fan of the original movies, but this is in no way a 'fanboy over reaction' as some critics have shouted,this has nothing to do with the fact that 4 females play the lead and nor am I a 'Troll'.
Kristen Wiig who I have found funny in other movies just didn't seem convincing and her ogling over the 'dumb but hot' secretary was funny at first but grew old, Kate McKinnon was OK, but again probably just over done, Leslie Jones served a purpose as the knowledge of the city, and with the exception of a few bad lines wasn't too bad, but i'd say the acting overall was below par and the comedy was well...
I was looking forward to the odd nod towards the original, but that was overdone, the cameo's for me didn't really work and served no other purpose than to try and appease the fans, it took away any originality that it could have had.When I first seen the CGI in the trailers I actually thought that looked like the best part, but in truth again this is something that was overdone (common pattern), I get that Feig doesn't have experience with CGI and was probably a little overzealous with it.The movie just didn't have the feel good factor of the originals, part of the romance with the conclusions of these was the sense of coming together and almost wartime spirit, which I think in this day & age would have been great, they certainly missed a trick.
I've read up how people have said that it is 'Sexist' and possibly 'racist' I didn't get that feel to be honest, certainly no more than other movies I have seen, yes it is probably directed more towards the female audience but that wasn't the issue here.
I can only conclude that the people who are giving this 10/10 are either very easily impressed, raging feminists who were going to like the film no matter what or paid for reviewers.The film is just not funny, it's not original and goes a long way to showing the lack of creativity and originality in Hollywood today.
If Bridesmaids was the Hangover, this would be the less funny version of Grown Ups. Non-Spoiler reviewFirst off, I'd just like to get this right out the way: I genuinely believe the majority of positive reviews are by paid shills or bots, as ALMOST ALL OF THEM came the same day in a very narrow time period, some before the movie was even released.
err I'm sorry, Feminism Counter-sexism, or the incredibly awkward and played out Racism where the one Asian and one black character are literally walking caricatures, and just stick to some of the laziest stereotypes I have ever seen, but instead focus on the worst part of the movie; It simply was not funny.
It comes as no surprise to me that a movie that selected on the lines of genitalia instead of merit was as large a disappointment as this one.I went ahead and gave it the benefit of the doubt and watched it with an open mind but it really is just a terrible movie that tarnishes the franchise.It is the Ghostbuster series Diablo 3: A forced iteration likely conceived by marketing executives instead of creative individuals.
Had to go see this since the film had a press blackout, so I, like everyone else paid out too spare you all the pain and money, this film is not good, in truth, it's bad.I really did want to think this would be good, but 4 out of 10 is the most I can give it, the music score by Theodore Shapiro is good, the sound and visual production design are good too, Chris Hemsworth is the only good person in this film, all the good jokes come from him, so there are none really, and this is a comedy??
It's really sad that good talent in film making is wasted on crap like this, behind the scenes that is, but in front of the camera, there is little, some of the worst characters I have seen in in years, horrible and crude, the costume design is a real let down I have to say, only Kirsten Wigs high heels looked good.Thinking of starting a Kickstarter project to get everyone who paid to see this their money back.Avoid this, sorry, I just can say anything else but the truth on this film..
Compare their behavior to the men in the original movie - those characters were eccentric and inexperienced, but deliberate and not constantly mugging in that "aren't I so funny" way.
All the male characters are caricatures and targets of jokes, it's like a female mirror version of movie sexism.
(especially considering the product advertising everywhere) The actors are not that bad, but the script just makes it all terrible, and drags them down as well.tl;dr - This reboot is a terrible parody and caricature of the original movie with bad jokes(?) and an insult to black women.
Actually, an insult to everyone who liked the original movies, or the animated cartoon series, or the Extreme Ghostbusters series (which would've been a far better choice for a real, more inclusive sequel movie).
But all the original (living) cast members showed up to make cameos, which I'm sure they wouldn't have bothered with if they didn't think the movie would be good.
Only thing that made this movie slightly bearable, for the half hour I gave it, was reading the funny IMDb 1⭐️ Reviews while watching until I finally turned it off.
The only other reasons I can see for not liking this movie is an expectation of seeing the original redone in the exact same way with new effects.That or some people can't stand to see the jarring difference of women actually playing great roles for a change.
I forced myself to make it as I'd like to tell everyone: Ghostbusters (2016) is probably the worst movie I have ever seen.
Unfortunately, this movie is full of such bad/cold jokes and made me feel uncomfortable as I was paying to watch something like this!.
I was a huge fan of Ghostbusters, the movie was a great experience in my childhood, the original Ghostbusters was a near perfect film.I went into this one, with my son, and it was a huge disappointment.There is no chemistry between the actors, wooden acting, and the comedic elements are flat and artificial.
The chemistry between this four really funny women is the coolest thing the movie has to offer, just like the original did with its cast.
Even though some people say they don't see the point of this movie being remade, specially with women, I really hope the trend of remaking the classics with a female cast continues because little girls deserve to have characters they can look up to that is a reflection of themselves, just like little boys have been for so long.
This movie is funny as hell, and the four main actors really made this film their own with hilarious quirky characters.
Kudos to everyone involved in making it.Overall, I laughed a hell of a lot and I hope other studios take note: female driven films need to be 100 times more common than they are right now because I think most people are tired of seeing the same five white guys play the same five characters in every comedy ten times a year.
Honestly any fan of the original who keeps an open mind (and open to the concept of a female cast) will love this movie.
I took my 4 year old to see this movie and when It was over he told me it was the best Ghostbusters yet, and I honestly felt the same way.The plot was good, the effects looked amazing, it has some parts that are actually scary, it had plenty of good comedy, and the Leads did a great job.
I really feel like the is the best reboot I've ever seen.When I was young I loved Ghostbusters and I've always hoped they would make a third installment. |
tt0463998 | Freedom Writers | Woodrow Wilson High School is a formerly high-achieving school which has encountered some difficulties bearing its new racial integration plan. In 1994, in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots, Erin Gruwell, an enthusiastic young teacher starts at the school. Her enthusiasm is challenged when she finds her class is composed of "at-risk" students, the "untouchables," and not the eager-for-college students she expected. Her students self-segregate into racial groups within the classroom. This causes problems, as gang fights break out and, consequently, most of her students stop attending class. Not only is Gruwell challenged with gaining her students' trust on personal and academic levels, but she must do so with very little support from her professional peers and district higher-ups. For example, her department head refuses to provide Gruwell with an adequate number of books for her class because she insists they will get damaged and lost. Instead, she suggests that Gruwell focuses on instilling concepts of discipline and obedience in her classroom.
Two students, Eva (April Lee Hernández), a Latino-American girl and narrator for much of the film, and Sindy (Jaclyn Ngan), a Cambodian refugee, frequent the same convenience store. One night, Grant Rice (Armand Jones), an African-American student at Woodrow Wilson, frustrated at losing an arcade game, demands a refund from the store owner. As Grant storms out of the store, Eva's boyfriend, Paco (as retaliation for losing a fight against Grant that took place earlier during a gang fight at Woodrow Wilson), attempts a drive-by shooting to kill Grant, but misses accidentally killing Sindy's boyfriend. As a witness, Eva must testify at court; she intends to guard "her own" in her testimony.
At school, Gruwell intercepts a racist drawing by one of her high school students and utilizes it to teach them about the Holocaust, most of which have no knowledge of. She gradually begins to earn their trust and buys them composition books to record their diaries, in which they talk about their experiences of being abused, seeing their friends die, and being evicted. Determined to reform her high school students, Gruwell takes on two part-time jobs to pay for more books and spends a lot more time at school, much to the disappointment of her husband (Patrick Dempsey). Her students start to behave with respect and discover a lot more. A transformation is specifically visible in one student, Marcus (Jason Finn). Gruwell invites various Jewish Holocaust survivors to talk with her class about their experiences and requires the students to attend a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance. Meanwhile, her unique training methods are scorned by her colleagues and department chair Margaret Campbell (Imelda Staunton).
The following school year comes, and Gruwell teaches her class (now sophomores) again, making it the second year that she is their teacher. On the first day of semester, Gruwell makes her class do a "Toast for Change", allowing everyone to open up about their struggles and what they wish to change about themselves. Later on, the class makes enough money to have Miep Gies to arrive to the United States and tell her experience when she helped Anne Frank, her family, and the Van Pels hide from the Nazis; she then also persuades to the students that they are heroes and that they "within their own small ways, [can] turn on a small light in a dark room." These two events inspire Eva to break free of the demands of her father to always protect her own rather than tell the truth. At Grant's trial, she shocks the courtroom by revealing that Paco actually killed the man in the store; Grant is spared of being convicted and Sindy later forgives Eva. On leaving the court, Eva is attacked and threatened but ultimately spared by members of her gang and ends up going to live with her aunt in order to keep herself safe.
Meanwhile, Gruwell asks her students to write their diaries in book form. She compiles the entries and names it The Freedom Writers Diary. Her husband divorces her and Margaret tells her she cannot teach her kids for their junior year. Gruwell fights this decision, eventually convincing the superintendent to permit her to teach her kids' junior and senior year, much to their elation. The film ends with a note that Gruwell successfully prepared numerous high school students to graduate high school and attend college, for many the first in their families to do so. | murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0082199 | Condorman | Woodrow "Woody" Wilkins is an imaginative, yet eccentric, comic book writer and illustrator who demands a sense of realism for his comic book hero "Condorman", to the point where he crafts a Condorman flying suit of his own and launches himself off the Eiffel Tower. The test flight fails as his right wing breaks, sending him crashing into the Seine River. Later after the incident, Woody is asked by his friend, CIA file clerk Harry, to perform what appears to be a civilian paper swap in Istanbul. Upon arriving in Istanbul, he meets a beautiful Soviet woman named Natalia Rambova, who poses as the Soviet civilian with whom the exchange is supposed to take place, but it is later revealed that she is in fact a KGB spy. Woody does not tell Natalia his real name, and instead fabricates his identity to her as a top American agent code-named "Condorman". During the encounter, Woody fends off a group of would-be assassins and saves her life by sheer luck before accomplishing the paper trade. Impressed by Woody, and disgusted by how she was treated by her lover/boss Krokov when she returns to Moscow, Natalia decides to defect and asks the CIA to have "Condorman" be the agent that helps her.
Back in Paris, Woody's encounter with Natalia inspires him to create a super heroine patterned after her named "Laser Lady". He is then notified by Harry and his boss Russ that he is to escort a defecting Soviet agent known as "The Bear". Woody refuses to do the job, but when Russ reveals that "The Bear" is Natalia, he agrees to do it on the condition that the CIA provides him with gadgetry based on his designs.
Woody meets up with Natalia in Yugoslavia and protects her from Krokov's henchmen led by the homicidal, glass-eyed assassin Morovich. After joining Harry in Italy, the trio venture to Switzerland, where Natalia discovers the truth about Woody when a group of children recognize her from his comic books. Their journey back to France is compromised when Morovich puts Woody and Harry out of commission and Krokov's men recover Natalia before retreating to their headquarters in Monte Carlo. Woody is told that the mission is a failure and he and Harry are ordered to return to Paris, but he asks for two more days to conduct an operation to rescue Natalia.
Disguising themselves as Arab sheiks, Woody and Harry create a diversion at the Monte Carlo Casino to recover Natalia from Krokov and his men. As Harry drives away in a Rolls-Royce, Woody uses an improved version of his Condorman suit to fly himself and Natalia out of the casino and onto the pier, where the trio make their getaway aboard the Condorboat. They manage to destroy Krokov's speedboats following them, but Krokov and Morovich pursue them in their own speedboat. The Condorboat reaches its pick-up point, but Morovich shows his intent on ramming it. When Morovich ignores his commander's orders to return to base, Krokov abandons ship. The Condorboat is lifted by the CIA helicopter in time to prevent a collision, causing Morovich to crash on an island rock.
Days later, Woody, Natalia and Harry are at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where they see the Goodyear Blimp flash a sign welcoming Natalia to the U.S. Aboard the blimp, Russ contacts Harry and has him ask Woody if he is interested in taking Condorman to another assignment. | cult, psychedelic | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0110308 | The Last Seduction | The film opens on busy traffic in New York City, quickly moving to a lead generation room where Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) oversees the callers. She clearly expects results, offering bonuses and insulting the callers reminding one of them "ask for the sale four times, every time. Got it?" When one of the salesmen makes a sale she offers him either $100.00 or $1000.00 worth of rare commemorative coins. When he chooses the $100.00 she says "Wise man."Meanwhile, Bridget's husband, Clay Gregory (Bill Pullman), is meeting some drug dealers under a bridge with a case full of "pharmaceutical cocaine." He hands them is case, and tries to take the case of money from one of the money only to have a gun pulled on him. He lets go and starts sobbing "one stupid mistake." assuming he's either getting busted or robbed. It turns out it's neither, they just don't want to give up the case, and they dump the money out, leaving it on the ground for him.Bridget gets to her and Clay's apartment, finding a message from Clay that his meeting was moved back. She's excited when he comes home, asking if he got the money. Clay starts pulling the bills out of his shirt and Bridget remarks on his appearance, "Do you walk the streets like that? You're an idiot!" Clay responds by slapping her and then quickly apologizes, telling her he's on edge from dealing with "scary people." and offering to let her hit him anywhere, hard. He remarks "this is what we worked for" and reminds her that she's a "criminal mastermind" He also mentions that he'll pay off the loan shark tomorrow, to which Bridget says "maybe he'll forget." Clay goes off to the shower, yelling into the living room for Bridget's opinion on dinner plans. "Whatever you want" she says, as she writes a note, (backwards) takes the money and leaves. Clay realizes she's gone and finds the note which he reads in the mirror, says "How are we supposed to celebrate?"
He calls out to her in the street "You better run!"Bridget takes a cab to her own car, takes off her ring and drives out of the city, for Chicago, stopping in Beston when she gets low on gas. Before leaving she stops into a Beston bar, where Mike Swale (Peter Berg) is chatting with his friends about a recent trip he made to Buffalo, which didn't work out, landing him back in Beston. When a girl hits on Mike, he hushes his friends from ooohing about it saying "These women are anchors. You get too close to one, Beston's got you for life." This is clearly a regular thing for Mike as his friends react saying "Here we go again." One of Mike's friends says "Tell me about the wife." pointing out Mike's wedding band. Mike complains that he can't get it off. Mike starts complaining about being stuck in Beston again, and his friend asks when he'll leave. Mike answers "How long's it take to grow a new set of balls?" Mike then notices Bridget enter the bar. The bartender intentionally snubs her, asking if anyone in the bar needs a drink while she's asking for one. Mike tells his friend, "This might be my new set of balls." Mike orders her a drink which the bartender is happy to get now. Trying to make small talk, Mike says "You're not from around here?" and Bridget answers "Fuck off." before grabbing a table for herself. Mike approaches her table and is told to go away.
Mike: Well, I haven't finished charming you yet.
Bridget: You haven't started.
Mike: Give me a chance.
Bridget: Go find yourself a nice little cow girl, make nice little cow babies and leave me alone.
Mike: [leaning in] I'm hung like a horse. Think about it.
Bridget: Let's see
Mike: Excuse me?
Bridget: Mr Ed. Let's see.
Mike: Look, I tried to be nice. I can see that's something you're not...
Bridget: Now I'm trying. I can be very nice when I try. Sit down. Mike is shocked when she check's out his horse claim as soon as he sits down. saying "I never buy anything sight unseen" She then quizzes him about his past. Mike claims he's had twelve lovers, no prostitutes, and emphasizes that he's never slept with a man. She then asks about his place. Mike says he also has a name prompting Bridget to say "No names. Meet me outside."Mike wakes up looking for her, and finds Bridget talking on his phone and checking out his fridge. She calls her lawyer, Frank (J.T. Walsh) and explains her situation. Frank tells her her husband is entitled to half of anything bought with the cash, so to keep it in cash until a divorce can be finalized which he estimates could take two years. he also advises her to stay put as Clay will know to look for her in Chicago. She runs out without saying good bye to Mike, and he runs outside yelling after her. Bridget picks up a newspaper and finds a job opening in the classifieds for a Lead Generation Manager at Interstate Insurance Company. The employer is impressed with her resume, and she tells him a story about her husband beating her, which is forcing her to hide and use an assumed name. She choose the name Wendy Kroy. She runs into Mike in the hallway, who works at the same company. She tells him to act as if the sex never happened.Bridget rents a place and calls Frank again from her office. Frank tells her that Clay called talking about "a loan shark and his thumb." He adds "Anyone check you for a heartbeat lately?" He tells her that if she won't send Clay some cash to tell him to quit calling. She says she'll call Clay and Frank tells her to be careful as he might trace it. She responds "He's not that clever." She gives Clay a call and we see that Clay's thumb is bandaged. The operator asks if he'll take the call and Clay asks "Is this Bridget in Chicago or Bridget in Dallas?" Bridget tells the operator to disconnect. After work she goes to the bar again, where Mike immediately sees her. She takes him outside to have sex in a not very hidden spot behind the bar. Mike takes the opportunity to ask "Where do I fit in?" and isn't pleased when she says "You're my designated fuck."They meet for sex regularly and Mike keeps pushing for information which she doesn't give. He continues to complain about being "kept at arm's length." She continually makes light of his need for more than sex. Bridget calls Clay from the office again and asks him to get the number from a pay phone down the block and she'll call back. We see that Clay has a guy, Harlan (Bill Nunn) there to trace the call. Clay runs around the apartment to sound winded and when she calls back he gives her a number he already has. Clay runs in place again holding a cordless phone given to him by Harlan, while jumping rope in the apartment. When Bridget remarks it sounds quiet, he opens a window. He asks for the money back and Bridget says "It's mine, you hit me." Clay tells her the $100,000.00 he borrowed from the loan shark is now $150,000.00. She offers to pay off the loan shark and his private detective and leave him ten grand. The phone rings in the apartment tipping her off and she hangs up. The trace turns up the area code, giving them the city she's in. Frank advises her to stay put since she has an alias and it's not likely they'll find her.Bridget and Mike show up to work at the same time and Bridget explains that "a woman loses 50% of her authority when people find out who she's sleeping with." Mike protests, but when they get in the building she slaps Mike and acts as if he's groping her.Harlan and Clay discuss finding Bridget and Harlan explains he doesn't have enough information to do anything. Their talking is interrupted by a "customer" buying prescription drugs from Clay. Harlan tells Clay that she likely has an alias. Clay sees a "New York" poster in the mirror, and recalling Bridget's backard writing skill, tells Harlan that she's using "Wendy Kroy" because all she's thinking about is getting back to New York.Bridget approaches Mike at the bar five days after the office incident. Mike is still complaining about wanting more. Mike tells Bridget about his job as a claims adjuster, which she finds boring until he mentioned he talked with a woman whose husband died, and the woman remarked that she should have killed him years ago. Mike also explains that he knew the husband was cheating from his credit report, as he had credit cards for women other than his wife. Bridget convinces Mike that they should make a list of women with cheating husbands, who have big insurance policies. She then calls one of the numbers and sells the woman her husband's murder, before telling the woman it was a joke. She then tells Mike that she's using the activity to be more than sex partners when he doesn't want to play along. Mike does a call of his own and she lets him come back to her place for the first time. In bed, Bridget asks Mike to tell her about his wife. He asks "How'd you know?" and she says "I didn't." She prompts him to talk about her wife but he isn't forthcoming saying "It was a mistake." Mike implies that Bridget coming to town was significant and when pressed about it he says "You've been out there. You came here, and you chose me. So I was right, I'm bigger than this town." Bridget: So what's wrong?
Mike: You can't stop reminding me that you're bigger than me.Bridget gets to work the next day and hears in a hush hush tone from the receptionist that "There was a black man here to see you." She asks what he wanted and the receptionist says "Wouldn't say. He was black though." Bridget can't get ahold of Frank and later that night at Mike's place, she reveals that she's on the run. She tells him she "made a sale." referring to murdering cheating husbands. Mike isn't at all interested and turns her down going off to play hockey without her. She gets into her car to leave and Harlan gets into the car with her holding a gun on her. Bridget offers to share with him instead of Clay and banters with him about leaving her money. She teases him asking "Is it true what they say about size?" when she doesn't let up he unzips his pants. She speeds up while he does this and slams the car into a telephone pole counting on the drivers side airbag to protect her, although Harlan gets thrown through the windshield and killed. At the hospital she tells the police that Harlan had planned to rape her. Mike shows up at the hospital and asks how hockey was, playing up his guilt. She pushes him about the murder for hire again. He won't agree and she tells him she'll do it herself rather than stay there forever.Bridget calls Clay and he remarks that he heard about Clay. He tells her that he's hired a local PI to watch her, parked outside her house. He tells her that now that he knows where she is he's willing to hire a sociopath to take her out. Bridget offers to buy a week, paying the loan shark while she settles things. Clay asks "What made you do this?"
Bridget: I don't know. You slapped me.
Clay: That's just an excuse
Bridget: You're probably right, but I get to slap you back.
Clay agrees to her proposition as long as the local PI keeps tailing her.Back at the office, she tries to make travel arrangements without giving her name. Mike listens outside the door and seems concerned that she's going away. She tells him she's just going to New York for the weekend. At her place, Bridget bakes cookies for the PI, dropping one and putting a board with nails under his tire when she picks it up. A cab pulls up and she asks to go to Buffalo. She visits city hall and gets the name of Mike's wife, Trish Swale. She then visits Mike's wife and heads home.Back at the bar, one of Mike's friends tells him that Bridget asked what Mike's secret was, and propositioned him. Mike hits his friend who then says that he came onto her and she shot him down. Mike is distraught and drunk, calls Bridget from a payphone while drinking from a paper bag, leaving her a confessional message about loving her and having a hard time trusting himself after Buffalo. Bridget listens to the message and scribbles a note with Mike's name in a heart. Mike drives over later to erase the message and finds the scribbling while Bridget watches from under the bed. She leaves a ticket for Mike to find coming in, that makes it appear that she went to Miami. Mike assumes she killed the guy she'd talked about. Mike pulls out the note, to prove that she loves him, but Bridget kicks him out. She can't help but laugh afterwards.Mike approaches her at the office, asking for details about the guy she killed, telling her that he's trying to accept what she's done. She tells him she's leaving without him and he asks what he can do to convince her to take him. She tells him that he needs to do what she did and that would make them equals. She presents him with information on a guy named Cahill. Mike refuses again. and as he leaves Bridget smiles and writes a letter claiming to be from his wife Trish, telling him she got a job at Interstate Insurance. We see Mike opening and reading the letter.Mike shows up at Bridget's place, exclaiming that he'll do it as long as they never come back to Beston. Bridget calls the police and claims the PI watching her exposed himself to local kids. While the police hassle the PI, Bridget and Mike take off. On the ride to New York, Bridget grills him about the details of the murder, which involve restraining and gagging Cahill and acting as if he's robbing the place and stabbing him to death. He asks why he has to shut the lights off afterwards and she tells him it's psychology, to tell himself he's finished an unpleasant chore.We see Mike find Cahill on the mailbox tag. He enters the apartment and we see that he's in Clay's apartment. Clay doesn't seem intimidated, and offers some wisecracks. He critiques Mike's methods telling him if he's gagged he can't tell him where everything is. Mike can't bring himself to stab Clay and he exclaims to himself "I can't do it Wendy! I just cant!" This prompts an outburst from the gagged Clay, which catches his interest. He lets Clay explain. He gives Mike the details and he tells Mike to find something else in the apartment that says Cahill. Clay explains that she is planning to finger him for the murder, and figures that the cops are already on the way. assuming he's to signal her somehow, which they realize is the reason that Mike is to shut the lights off. Bridget watches the window from the street and when the lights go off she heads up. Mike kicks a wedding picture across the floor to her and confronts her about her plan. Clay is still bound as Bridget has the handcuff keys. She sprays mace down his throat, killing him and tells Mike that now they have a future. She then suggests they "roleplay" although Mike is stunned at what just happened. She tells him "You killed my husband and raped me!" Mike pushes her away and holds the gun on her, telling her she's going to jail. He picks up the phone and Bridget tells him that Trish wasn't coming to Beston. We see in flashback that Trish is actually a man. Bridget taunts him about it, and he slaps her and dares him to rape her. Mike is over the edge now and gives in, not realizing that Bridget has dialed 911 while laying over the desk. Bridget makes sure to yell, "You killed my husband!" while he says "You want to be raped! I'll rape you!" the 911 operator of course hears everything.Mike is in prison talking to his lawyer, who tells him that the man Bridget claimed to kill is still alive and that the case against him is airtight and there's nothing he can do without one piece of evidence. He mentions that he's likely facing the death penalty. He tells the lawyer, "There might be one thing." We then see Bridget in a limo handling the tag that reads "Cahill" She burns it with her lighter as the limo drives her away. | cult, revenge, neo noir, murder, violence | train | imdb | Her character is tough, self-centered, mean-spirited, and sexy femme fatale who absconds with her husband's drug money and tries to get her ninny of a boyfriend to kill him.
An incredibly amoral and very sexy woman (Linda Fiorentino) is on the lam from her husband (Bill Pullman) after stealing thousands of dollars from him.
If you think its subsequent success taught Hollywood suits anything, you just aren't cut out for the movie business.With an even better script by Steve Barancik, Dahl found the ideal lead to play the very fatale femme of `The Last Seduction.' Linda Fiorentino, someone else who hasn't been well served by Hollywood, gave one of the great performances of the 1990s as Bridget/Wendy.
With a small but outstanding cast of what were then B-list actors, everyday settings and a tiny budget, the director kept `The Last Seduction' focused on the basics needed to make this genre work.Without revealing too much of the plot, Bridget is on the lam after stealing $700,000 in drug proceeds from her sleazy, abusive husband, well played by Bill Pullman just before he became a good-guy leading man.
Bill Nunn does yeoman work as the detective on her trail.But the key to this sort of black widow movie is a willing sap, and Peter Berg makes one of the best.
He's looking to get out again, and when Bridget breezes into the local shot-and-beer joint with her `city trash' attitude, he's done for.As another reviewer chooses to emphasize, with her skinny legs and barely pubescent, pancake-flat chest Linda Fiorentino is the scrawniest femme fatale in the history of film noir.
(In Hollywood's homoerotic subtext, `buddy movie' means no women allowed.)Fiorentino did hook up aagin with John Dahl in the highly forgettable `Unforgettable,' weighed down by a bigger budget, second-rate script and Ray Liotta.
This is the story of Bridget (Linda Fiorentino), a tall (5'7"), slender, throaty voiced brunette who cheats her husband (Bill Pullman) out of some drug money and runs for it.
But this is a movie, it's entertainment, and the world is already full of bad-guys-get-it-in-the-end fantasies, orgies of violence that are only excused by the fact that the person being destroyed is a "bad guy" - why can't I relish in a fantasy of a brilliant and amoral woman triumphing over the stupid and trusting (and yes, people can really be that stupid, even smart people.) We want to believe in the essential goodness of mankind, but unfortunately, in the real world as in this movie, villains often capitalize on that need to believe for their own benefit.
Clay, of course, wants his money (he has to pay some people who do things with his thumbs when he doesn't have the money) and hires some detectives to find her.Linda Fiorentino is may be the best femme fatale I have seen in movies.
Okay, first thing I'd like to say is that having your protagonist smoke a lot, making shallow and obvious references to "Double Indemnity" and having a Femme Fatale does not instantly make a film a modern Noir.
Not by a long way.As it happens I've been watching a lot of classic and modern Noirs lately and this film really doesn't fit in with any of those.
It's not that Fiorentino's performance is bad (or that of any others in the film) it's just the whole story is so terrible and unbelievable the best acting performance in the world couldn't save it.Fortunatly for her character all the men she is surround with (aside from a lawyer she only phones) are so mind numbingly stupid, naive and gullible that she can still control them to her ends.
The Last Seduction is a darkly funny, cynically nasty, triumphant piece of cinema.What is most refreshing with the piece is that it gives the movie watching world a female character of rich devilment substance, the kind we rarely see in the modern age of cinema.
Here with Bridget Gregory we have not only a sexually aggressive femme fatale, but also a girl who is so wickedly intelligent it makes the men in her life seem like lobotomised amoeba's!
Backed up by the astute casting of Bill Pullman and Peter Berg as the differing hapless men in her life, the result is close to being TV movie gold.Technically the film obviously pings with a TV movie production value, but this is off set by the excellent photography from Jeff Jur, smoky bars captured in the truest feel of a noirish dream about to become a whole heap of trouble and strife.
The plot twists and turns like a worm trying to negotiate its way out of some noir labyrinth, with dashes of crackling dialogue helping to keep the journey a compulsory viewing, and then the end caps it off and you will not know if you should laugh or be shocked?
A strong minded woman(Linda Fiorentino)runs away with her husband's(Bill Pullman)profits from a drug deal leaving him to face his loan shark.
But nevertheless, I feel that it's a big miss that they didn't made the movie any more fun by for instance adding some more plot lines, with different characters, all trying to hunt down Bridget Gregory/Wendy Kroy, for whatever reason.Now instead there isn't always enough happening and developing in the movie.
It doesn't make the movie the most tense, exciting or even most original one out of its genre.The story on its own is quite good and interesting, in which a manipulative, beautiful, intelligent woman is trying to trick a man in killing her husband, of whom she has stolen close to a million dollar of him.
It's a real femme fatale.It really helps the movie that it has such as fine, strong, leading femme fatale, played by Linda Fiorentino, who definitely fits the role.
J.T. Walsh gets also extremely underused in a way too small role, that seemed like a fun one with more potential to it.This movie also seriously made me think about something.
"The Last Seduction" tells about the same type of person, only this time from her perspective.Excellent movie, for a small-budget film.
Linda Fiorentino's performance was lovely, nice to see a lady having such a great time.
This film has a good script and a very clever storyline and you can't help but like the scheming femme fatal..
And casting as not first class but talented Linda Fiorentino, Bill pullman, Peter berg is followed well by excellent directing..
Like all thrillers, there are some holes in the plot, but the atmosphere, black comedy and especially Linda Fiorentino's tour de force performance make this a standout neonoir film.
I know that this movie is about a femme fatale who preys on men using her sexuality and manipulation, so I don't expect her to be a good girl.
I could imagine a scene with Denis Farina as a cop putting a good scare in Fiorentino's character in the smoky bar.All that said, the movie is finely acted and finely done.
But this is Linda Fiorentino's film and she absolutely sizzles as the cold hearted, manipulative, scheming predatory bitch.
Linda Fiorentino does a remarkable job as the femme fatale stealing her husband's drug money.
But it's Peter Berg, who plays the young man falling in love with Fiorentino, and Linda Fiorentino who steals this movie.
It was alternately inconceivable someone could do that kind of thing to people, and hysterical (because it was a movie).The story, script, and editing are really excellent and the soundtrack gives this film a totally unique feeling.
The theme song is a kind of catchy, whimsical jazz which carries the "heroine's" sense of being able to do anything, but the irony is in the nature of the things she is doing.It's one of the only movies I've seen where I so badly want to see the protagonist come to good riddance the whole time, yet when the film finally ends I don't want them out of my sight..
The Last Seduction is one of the greatest movies of the 1990s because it pays homage to the great 'film noir's' of the 1940s and 50s with its use of a femme fatale but unlike recent remakes of the narrative outline such as 'Body Heat' 1981, 'The Last Seduction' shows the empowerment of the female that was first started in 'Double Indemnity'1944 but never completed until this movie came along.
Linda Fiorentino is absolutely brilliant in this film, I couldn't imagine any other actress doing such a great job.
Linda Fiorentino gives a sexy, one-of-a-kind performance in this intriguing thriller.
After a successful swindle, a ruthless and manipulative woman cheats both her husband and her new noodle boyfriend.Tough, blackly comic, extremely clever film noir thriller from a director particularly enthusiastic about the genre; graced by a tightly constructed script scintillating of demotic, quick-fire wit and surprises, plus Fiorentino's wonderfully bitchy performance..
She uses him to hide from Clay private detectives but it's only a matter of time before she's found and she begins to plan a way to use Mike's love to get out of trouble.It's rare that a film has a strong female lead and is successful female roles are hard to come by.
In New York, the cunning and seductive telemarketing manager Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) convinces her husband, Dr. Clay Gregory (Bill Pullman), to sell a load of cocaine for medical use to drug dealers.
This movie is, together with "Body Heat" (1981) and the unknown "Payback" (1995), one of the three best film neo-noirs.
Linda Fiorentino is perfect in the role of the femme fatale that destroys the lives of three men – her husband, the private detective and the naive Mike.
I'd buy the look of self-satisfaction that Linda Fiorentino wears at the end of this movie if I didn't think the men she outsmarts weren't so incredibly stupid.
When you think one of the stupidos is Bill Pullman (who plays Fiorentino's husband), the movie falls apart in your head, and you feel like you're not in Kansas anymore.
THE LAST SEDUCTION (1994) ***1/2 Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman, JT Walsh, Bill Nunn.
Superior film noir '90s style with conniving femme fatale Fiorentino trying to get away with a cache of stolen money and one too many men in her life.
Linda Fiorentino (is this seriously the same girl from Dogma?!) is phenomenal in the lead role, and Peter Berg more than pulls his weight too, though his character seems simple and flat at first it grows and develops throughout the film.
A pretty good erotic thriller with modern-day noir trappings.Linda Fiorentino sizzles as a classic femme fatale, who uses her sex appeal to get men to give her what she wants, which is usually money.
Bridget Gregory (Fiorentino) cons her husband out of a fortune and finds herself in a new job in Buffalo where things she learns are very different.When taking a trip down memory lane and looking at the great femme fatales Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction may pop up or Kim Basinger in L.A Confidential may flash by but has any actress ever stolen a film like Linda Fiorentino did in 1994?
She is the film, the main reason to watch and represents that on screen magic that makes you want evil to triumph over good, like Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs or the Joker in The Dark Knight.
Dahl's another stylish film-noir about a femme fatal (Bridget) who crapes the drug- money from his husband and run.
She manipulates her young lover, dominates her husband, "control" with her sardonic laugh and her long, sexy legs the situation, she is the ultimate, intelligent, evil bitch among with Barbara Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity" and Kathleen Turner in "Body Heat" (after this performance Turner looks like Snow White!).
And even if you don't feel like writing a thesis for your Women's Studies film class, you'll love this movie, because it's a stone brilliant black comedy.Our Bridget launches her nefarious scheme after her jerk husband, played by engaging creep Bill Pullman, slaps her and offers a half-hearted apology.
It seemed at times that the plot was a little unbelievable, but partly because characters quite obviously trying to get the better of each other by any means were actually talking to each other.Worth a watch whether the ending clear or not.
This is an outstanding movie, with an outstanding performance from Linda Fiorentino - who purrs menacingly and seductively throughout the film.
This is a modern film noir, lifted above the B-movie status suffered by some others in this genre by a top-notch cast (particularly Fiorentino).
All of the actors made great performances, from Linda Fiorentino to Peter Berg and Bill Pullman.
The powerful performance, of a sarcastic and erotic animal called Linda Fiorentino makes all the work, each second of the movie, belongs to her.
The love making scenes are very sensual, and some very sarcastic, the lines of Linda Fiorentino make she so desirable.The storyline, so smart and funny, The powerful Fiorentino´s perfomance, makes this film a classic noir film of all time.
The classic noir (Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep, Out of the Past) follows the male hero, usually solving a mystery or becoming entangled in one, at the center of which is a deadly woman: the beautiful femme fatale.Here, the plot unfolds from the perspective of the femme fatale, in a dark, fun, and sexy way, as she schemes against and manipulates her bad-guy husband and a naive, if not innocent, sap.
As the femme fatale, Linda Fiorentino is "all that" and more.And, like the classic noirs, this one has a lot to say about the blackness at the hearts of women and men.
Based on an original screenplay his film depicts how some men are fooled by a beautiful looking vicious woman who would go to any extent to earn money.Although the film begins in New York city there is much to learn about American culture once its action shifts to a small town.It is funny to watch how there are hardly any black people in that town.Moreover,the attitude of town's inhabitants is extremely partial when they see a black man in their midst.Domestic violence has come to be known as a global problem.This film is one of the few crime films which did not choose to ignore the depiction of domestic violence in order to distance itself from society's ills.Apart from actress Linda Florentino's performance as an outstanding "femme fatale",there are nice performances by Bill Pullman and Peter Berg as idiots who allow a beautiful looking lady crook to fool them..
"The Last Seduction" from 1994 is a modern noir that succeeds mostly due to the performance of Linda Fiorentino, who makes Kathleen Turner in Body Heat look like Zasu Pitts.Fiorentino plays Bridget Gregory, who steals a fortune in drug money from her husband (Bill Pullman) and goes on the run.
Having always had a weakness for the proverbial 'femme fatale', I thoroughly enjoyed Linda Fiorentino's portrayal of Bridget Gregory, who steals her husband's ill-gotten loot and skips town.
As I don't want to spoil the enjoyment for first-time viewers, I'd say, if you have a chance to watch this excellent film noir, prepare for some of the finest acting, and a happy ending for those who're most undeserving...
or at least,if i remember correctly it was.....this was an excellent film --noir and black comedy rolled into one---linda fiorentino should have won awards for her role as a ball buster invading small town america to make off with the money----i loved it !!.
I thought it was in many ways an excellent film, and yet one that I would not care to see again.As some others have pointed out, what makes this film unique is that it retells a fairly standard "film noir" story (think "Body Heat" or "Double Indemnity") from the POV of the femme fatale, the icily wicked, lethally beautiful and clever, and utterly ruthless Bridget Gregory.
In the end, the plot holds up OK; it is certainly far less predictable than by-the-numbers suspense films like "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" or "Single White Female" It certainly holds your attention, with some genuinely shocking twists.Bridget is, in many ways, a fascinating character -- one who uses cool career-woman smarts, sexual wiles, and even the aura of woman-as-victim to get what she wants.
We watch her plot, but we have no idea why she is the way she is, or how she justifies her actions to herself (almost every human being needs to do that!).Linda Fiorentino is near-perfect as Bridget, conveying a great deal with little touches like her hilarious reaction to the rhubarb pie in her small-town lover's fridge.
It looks like the director could not decide whether he's making a thriller or a horror movie.Besides, the film doesn't answer to some important questions: 1) Could we actually live without the sense of moral and be human beings at the same time?
Linda Fiorentino plays her part as a scheming and seductive woman very well.
It is an excellent, pulsating, good looking and always moving neo-noir with a fantastic central performance from Linda Fiorentino.
And when Fiorentino's character (Bridget) burns a piece of evidence at the film's end, it certainly makes a case that the writers were not slack with the details.
There is absolutely no reason for Mike, the main male character that Wendy, the femme fatale, meets in a bar to love or even like Wendy, but we have to accept his behavior to accept the movie.
I wasn't expecting anything quite as riveting as this '96 film that reminds me of the sort of femme fatale story Hollywood loved to show us in the '40s (DOUBLE INDEMNITY, POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE) where a devious female takes charge of the plot.Must be the performance of LINDA FIORENTINO that made me sit up and watch the whole story with edge of the seat interest. |
tt0150992 | Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam | The story begins with Nandini (Aishwarya Rai) a beautiful, yet rebellious favorite daughter of a rich singer. During Diwali, her father decides to invite Samir (Salman Khan) a half-Italian, half-Indian aspiring singer to their home from Italy for a year in order for him to learn music. Nandini is not happy with this news when she discovers that she must share her room, which also happens to be the nicest room in the house, to Samir. Her father commands her to share her room. She vows later that she will make him so miserable that he will not want to stay, and writes horrible things about him in her diary.Samir travels across the desert to get to India and talks to his deceased father, which he does throughout the film, and asks him for luck in his new home. Upon arrival, his silliness and antics win over the entire family with laughter, that is, except Nandini. When he is shown to his room, Nandini lighting the lanterns of a glass chandelier and is very rude towards Samir, but he doesn't seem phased and even compliments her eyes. She claims her eyes can stare into ones very soul and he proposes a staring match to see who will blink first. Nandini raises the chandelier with a rope, and Samir says that if it drops and the glass shatters, she will blink. She lets go of the rope, dropping the lantern, but Samir catches it and they continue to stare. Samir tells her that if she keeps staring she will fall in love with him. She doesn't respond.Later, at dinner, Samir shows up in just a towel, disgusting Nandini's father. He gets dressed, but Nandini tells him that to make it up to him he must greet him in a special way and shows him a ridiculous dance, which Samir does. It angers her father, and he demands Samir to sing or deny him of lessons. Samir gives quite the performance that entertains everyone, especially Nandini's father. Later, Samir asks Nandinis father what his fees he will have to pay for lessons, but he says that his music is not for sale. However, he may or may not asks for fees when the time comes. After that, Samir, Nandini, and her father spend all day singing.One night, Nandini is on a veranda looking at the stars. Samir comes up and asks her if she is thinking about him, she says yes at first, but quickly corrects herself. She then goes on to talk about stars and destiny, and asks Samir if he believes in destiny. He says that he can read it, and reads Nandini's foot. He tells her that she will travel across the seven seas in the name of love, and end up in Italy. Slowly, the two begin to fall for each other.
One day, Nandini's sister Anu (Sheeba Chaddha) is to be married off to a husband arranged by her parents, and they throw a party for her the night before, but she doesn't seem happy. Samir shows up to see Nandini, and she dances and sings for him and they share a good laugh together. Eventually, Samir tells Nandini that he loves everything about her (her voice, hair, eyes, etc.) and an excited Nandini urges him to go on. He names just about everything until Nandini gets frustrated and leaves. He could not bring himself to say it, but when she leaves he tells his father aloud that he does, indeed, love Nandini.The day of Anus wedding, Nandini goes to get her sister, but Anu does not open the door for her. Little does she know, Anu is her room with another lover. She confesses to him that she does not love her future groom, only him. He suggests that they run away together, but she says that it's too late and her parents will never accept it, and he leaves.At Anu's wedding, Samir and Nandini cannot keep away from each other. They make each other laugh and share intimate moments, but they stay secretive about their love at the ceremony. As the wedding draws to a close, they take a family photograph, and Samir causes Nandini to look up, ruining the picture. Nandini gets irritated and storms away afterwards. Samir goes after her, saying that he was only joking and that he wants to tell her what he was going to tell her the day before. She says that if he couldn't tell her yesterday, she doesn't want to hear it now. He grabs her playfully from behind, begging to tell her. In public, Nandini becomes embarrassed and angry and tells him to let go, but he does not so she turns around and slaps him. Samir then becomes very angry and locks himself in his room while Nandini bangs on the door, telling him how sorry she is, and that she will listen to what he has to say now. He says that now she is not worthy of his love, this angers her and she says that if that's the way he feels then if she meets someone at the celebrations that asks her to marry him, Samir will be left helpless. He throws a book at the door.At the celebrations, Nandini performs the song Nimbooda and a young lawyer named Vanraj (Ajay Devgan) sees her and instantly falls in love with her. So, his sister suggests to arrange a marriage. At first, Vanraj resists because he says that she is so beautiful, he would be too embarrassed to speak with her, but she persists and he agrees. When her parents find out, her mother is thrilled, but her father is reluctant to let her go. Eventually, he agrees as well. Later, the family laughs at the family picture in which Nandini looks so silly and she runs to show Samir, but he pushes her away, still angry. At dinner, it is pointed out that Nandini has cooked, and Samir says that it's a bit spicy, and Nandini gives a smart remark. Offended, Samir begins to eat many spicy peppers, and the family begs him to stop, as he is burning his mouth, but he just storms away from the table. Her mother tells Nandini to apologize to him and take him something to cool his mouth. She does so, and tries to give Samir spoonfuls of honey, but he persistently smacks it away. Eventually, he lets her give some to him and she begins to get up when he grabs her arm, breaking her bangles and cutting her skin. She says that her hand deserves the punishment for slapping him, and they are back in love again. Nandini runs down to a pool and runs her bleeding wrist dreamily over the water, lovestruck.The next day, as the girls prepare to fly their kites, they speak of how now that Anu is married, it's Nandini's turn to be married to the man they've arranged for her. She becomes irritated by this and offends her aunt by suggesting that she is getting old and may never get married. Her mother demands her to apologize, but she just storms off.During the kite flying, Samir cuts the string of her fathers kite and becomes very excited. He rushes off to tell Nandini who is in the library, but Nandini is just more angered by his silliness. She tells Samir how angry she is that a marriage is being arranged for her and that she and Samir can never be together. Samir assures her that her father likes him, and that if he asks for her hand instead, he will accept. Nandini protests that Samir could not even tell her of his love, so how can he tell her father? He then, finally, tells her that he loves her and they kiss. They hear someone and she leaves to see who it is, and it is her aunt, who did not see them, but she tells Nandini to straighten her clothes. Nandini gets smart with her again, and her aunt begins to develop a plan against Nandini.Later, Anu returns from her husband's house in a terrible state. She refuses to return to him, and is slapped for it. Her father tries to convince her that they are husband in wife now, and therefore, bound by marriage. Nandini stands up for Anu saying that she cannot possibly stay with a man she does not love, and her father sends her away. So, Nandini and Samir come up with a plan for Anu to finally run away with the man that she really loves and they do so, but Nandini's aunt sees what they've done.The next day, there is an uproar at Anu's disappearance and Nandini's aunt suggests that Nandini may have had something to do with it. But her father forbids any bad talk about Nandini, saying that he trusts her and the day that she is proven unpure is the day he quits music forever. Her aunt urges him to see what Nandini is up to, which he does, and finds Nandini and Samir attempting to elope.Later, Nandini tells her mother of their affair, and she is appalled. Nandini bursts into tears and goes into a rage, begging her mother not to separate her from Samir because they love each other so much and that her mother must help her by convincing her father for her. Her mother agrees, but says Nandini must stay put while she does so. Meanwhile, her father is telling Samir that he had decided to quit music and can no longer teach him. Now, he wants to collect fees. As a fee, he forbids Samir from ever seeing Nandini again. Samir is heartbroken and begins to leave the palace.Her mother rushes to Nandini to tell her the news, and Nandini runs to see her love just one last time, or she may never see him again. She reaches to him from over the balcony, and reaches to her, silently telling her to become a statue. She does, but her tears keep flowing, and Samir leaves the palace. Her mother carries her away as Nandini remains a statue. Later, a song plays while Samir walks through the desert and curses his father for his bad luck. Nandini cuts her wrist in the same place Samir did with her bangles and lays it in the pool as her blood flows freely.~~Intermission~~Today is the day of Nandini's wedding, but she is not downstairs with the groom and families, she is upstairs reading the love letters Samir has written her. He says that living without her is very hard, but he knows their love will reunite them one day. Later, Nandini is married, but walks around like a ghost. And in her wedding bed with her new husband, he tells her how unbelievably beautiful she is, and that they are so different, he cant believe she would marry him. But they must tell each other everything about themselves from the start, because he despises lies. She says she must get up early in the morning and wants to sleep, and that night, Vanraj attempts to make love to her. Unable to bear it any longer, she jumps up and objects. He says that she is not at all the same Nandini he fell in love with. He begs her to tell him what the matter is and he will support her, but she remains silent, and the tension between them persists. After prayers the next day, Nandini fantasizes about being with Samir again.The next day, Nandini's mother comes to visit her, saying that the family misses her so much, but is shocked to discover that she has not made herself up and hasn't even done her hair. Nandini tells her that she is still in love with Samir and can never love Vanraj, and her mother demands that she let go of the past. She is married now. Later, Vithal (her assistant from back home) brings Nandini more letters from Samir, but implores her to burn them, which, of course, she does not. She runs up to the bedroom to read them all, but one blows to the ground. As she is reading, Vanraj comes in without her knowing and reads the letter. Enraged, he grabs her and drags her out of the palace, saying that she has humiliated him and cannot live there anymore. Nandini begs him to let her explain, but she tosses her, sobbing into a car.Vanraj tries to explain to his father that he wants to take Nandini to Italy to reunite with Samir, and his father calls him mad. Vanraj says he doesnt care what people will think of him, but while Nandini's body belongs to him, her heart and soul do not. Therefore, he has no right to keep her any longer. He says it will hurt, but seeing her happy will erase his pain. Eventually, his father supports him.In Italy, Vanraj tries his best to be courteous to Nandini, reassuring her that they will find Samir even though it is such a big city and they don't even have a photo, but she continues to shut him out and act rudely. They go around the city asking music stores and music schools where he is. At one school, Vanraj tells Nandini that they have finally found him, to which she gets excited, but it is certainly not him, and Vanraj laughs.Later in their hotel room, an angry Nandini shows Vanraj a funny caricature drawn by Samir and tells Vanraj that this is what he looks like. She says that the whole search and even she herself is a joke to her. He tries to apologize, but she doesn't let him.The next day, Vanraj and Nandini are at an Italian restaurant. Vanraj orders a sandwich, while Nandini orders the first thing she sees. Her order turns out to be disgusting, and Vanraj offers her his sandwich, which she refuses and begins to eat many peppers instead. Vanraj offers her water, which she refuses, and he demands that she not make a scene, and she takes the water eagerly. In the back of book the waiter gives Vanraj, he finds the same caricature Nandini showed him the previous night! He asks the waiter who drew it, and he points to Samir who is headed down the street. Nandini runs after him, calling his name, but he does not hear her and boards a train. She chases after that as well, but ends up in the path of another train. When she finally sees it, she falls, and Vanraj tackles her out of the way of the train at just the right moment.Back in the hotel room, Nandini yells at Vanraj for causing her to lose Samir, and he says that he saved her life. She says that if she had died, he would have lost nothing because there was no relationship between them. She asks why he even brought her to Italy. He starts to say it is because he loves her, but tells her she doesnt even know what love is.Later, he obtains Samir's address, and the couple end up on a train. The ticket taker, cannot take their tickets, however, because the couple next to them are in a passionate embrace. As the train moves along, Nandini apologizes for what happened the previous day, and he accepts her apology. He then tells her stories and jokes about cases hes lost, making her laugh. He watches her and then asks if he can say something, she agrees, but she says to forget it.As soon as they arrive at Samir's home, his mother recognizes her and tells her how much Samir talks about her and how he misses her, but that he is not there. He had just caught the bus somewhere. As Vanraj and Samir run after him, her mother tells them that he sings every Friday at the Viscounty Bar. Vanraj manages to stop a car of a couple of tourists and tells them to follow the bus, they do so, driving like maniacs, and just when they catch up to it, turn down a different road and stop. They then demand the couple to give them all of their money and jewelry, holding them at gunpoint. They do so, but when they demand Vanraj to give up his wedding ring, he refuses, so the man goes to yank it from his hand. Vanraj fights the man and the woman threatens to shoot. She does, shooting Nandini, who falls to the ground, unconscious.
The tourists run away, while Vanraj tries to flag down someone to take them to a hospital. He takes her there, and takes good care of her. She survives. However, they doctor says they will have no choice but to stop treatments if Vanraj does not pay the bill. To this Nandini offers her wedding ring.Later, Vanraj goes to a church and Samir sits behind him. But Vanraj does not know who he is. They speak about their love for a woman, not knowing they are talking about the same one. Vanraj tells Samir that the woman he loves is suffering, so he is suffering. Samir offers to pray for her with him, and even asks his father to give his friend whatever he prays for. They begin to exchange names, Vanraj tells Samir his name, but Samir is interrupted from telling his. Later at a cafe, Vanraj tells Samir that he has come to Italy looking for someone, a musician. Samir asks Vanraj if he sings. When Vanraj says 'no', Samir teaches him to sing the song Dholi Taro and they have great fun singing it together. Meanwhile, Nandini is fantasizing herself and Samir singing the very song together.When Vanraj returns to the hospital he gives her flowers given to him by Samir and says that she has been discharged because she is okay now. When she asks how he knows she liked those flowers, he tells her they are from a nice man he met and begins to sing Dholi Taro as he gets his her clothes together. Nandini, shocked, asks him where he learned the song. At that point, he realizes that is new friend is Samir and runs back to the café, but it is deserted. But Vanraj tells Nandini not to worry, they will go to Viscounty Bar on Friday. She asks how, because they have no money for tickets, and he says they will go no matter what.On the train, the ticket taker approaches and Nandini begins to get worried, but says she has an idea. She pulls Vanraj to her in a loving embrace, and when the taker comes up to collect their tickets, they continue to embrace and he gets frustrated and goes away. They arrive at the bar, but find that Samir will probably not show that night. They end up dancing together and both have fun. Later that night, Vanraj is very drunk and tells Nandini what a nice man Samir is, and he knows that he will make her very happy, and when they reunite, Vanraj will yell her name from the bridge. He repeatedly asks her if he can tell her something, she says yes, but he always says Forget it. He eventually passes out on her shoulder.The next morning Nandini is in her room, torn between the two men that love her. Realizing that Vanraj is awake, she goes to him and he apologizes for anything he may said the previous night if he misbehaved (he doesn't remember), but she assures him that he said nothing. She goes on to say that she has finally begun to realize what love is. At that moment, the phone rings and Vanraj answers it. It is Samir's mother, telling Vanraj that Samir has an opera that night and that she has not told him yet of Nandini's arrival, but that they should reunite before the show. It would make Samir very happy. Vanraj tells her that they will come right away. As Nandini slowly gets ready, she holds her mangalsutra (symbol of Hindu marriage) firmly in her hand and meets Vanraj to leave.Meanwhile, Samir's mother goes to tell him the news, and he is overjoyed. They go out to pick flowers and things for Nandini when she comes.On the way to the opera, Vanraj and Nandini are walking by a river and he takes pictures of her. She then stops someone to take a picture of both of them. They stand apart, and the man urges them to stand closer, they start to, until they hear Samir yelling Nandinis name from the bridge. She turns and sees him, and immediately begins to cry happily. They run towards each other, Samir repeatedly yelling that he loves her, and come together in an embrace as Vanraj watches from below. But, it is only Vanraj's fantasy. He and Nandini are still in the taxi. When they arrive at the opera house, Nandini realizes the time has come to finally reunite with her love, but before she leaves, she begins to touch her husbands feet, but he stops her. He starts to say something, but Samir's mother rushes and takes her away to Samir before he can. Vanraj looks on with tears running down his face as he recognizes that he has lost his wife to her love. He leaves.Nandini ends up in a dark room, and when the lights come up, there he is: Samir. He tells her that he knew she would come, his father said so, and rushes up to her. He gives her a hug, claiming they shall soon marry, but she does not return it. Shocked, he slowly backs away, asking if hes done anything wrong, and she looks at him for the first time. Samir is devastated. He says that the love for him she once had in her eyes is gone. Nandini tells him that he taught her to love, but it was her husband that taught her to abide by it. Samir is stunned. Nandini opens her hand and shows Samir her mangalsutra, telling her that she was married. She told Samir of all of the selfless things Vanraj has done for her. Without thinking about what people would think or how much it would hurt him, he brought the woman he loved, his wife, across a long distance to meet the man she loved. She said thats when she realized that true love was sacrifice. She reveals that his friend, Vanraj, is her husband, and he finds it ironic that the one time his father has granted his wish, it was for someone else. He says that Nandini will be his again in another life, but for this one, Nandini asks Samir to let her go to her husband, and he does. After he leaves, Samir is heartbroken, and goes crying into his mother's arms.Nandini, runs after Vanraj, who she finds walking sadly on the bridge. He turns and sees her running toward him, and when she approaches, she asks if she must leave her. To that, he asks if he may say something, she says yes, and he says what he has been wanting to say all along: "I cannot live without you." And they embrace, as husband and wife, who love each other, truly. | romantic, prank | train | imdb | He has a student coming from Italy named Sameer (Salman Khan) to learn classical music from him.
Sameer meets and falls in love with his beautiful and talented daughter Nandini (Aishwarya Rai).
very near to real life.Acting superb Direction superb Music superba new definition of love and perfect presentation of this new meaning.
This is truly one of the best Bollywood movies to come out in a long, long time.
Though I'm from India where Bollywood movies are compulsory watching, I dislike them for their absurdity but this film has me raving about it.
Its simply fabulous.Set in western India in a prosperous Gujarti household overflowing with people, lives Nandini, our heroine (the beautiful Ashwariya Rai), daughter of a renowned singer Pandit Durbar.
Sameer (Salman Khan), a handsome young Italian who comes to learn classical music from the Pandit falls in love with his daughter.
Sameer is thrown out of the house, Nandini's heart is broken and she is married of to a young, respectable and well mannered suitor Vanraj (Ajay Devgan) who truly loves her but is detested by Nandini.
As the plot moves to Italy (Hungary actually, which the director would have us believe as Italy), we are engaged in Nandini's and Vanraj's troubles of living in a foreign country, finding Sameer and living with each other.
This movie is undoubtedly the best movie I've seen in years, packed with superb acting, beautiful costumes and dazzling scenery.
It's about a girl(Ash) who meets an Italian-Indian (salman).He stays at her home learning music/song from her father Initially she doesn't like the foreigner, but in time they fall in love with each other.
At the same time a lawyer (ajay) see Ash and falls in love with her...in fact he asks for her hand in marriage.
This movie is one of the overall best movies I've ever seen,be it Hollywood or Bollywood.Sanjay Leela Bhansali's direction is nothing less then inspiring along with some of the most wonderful music ever heard, wonderful spirited acting, and the most beautiful sets ever seen, this is a definite DEFINITE must see!!!.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (English title "Straight from the Heart") is an epic story with gorgeous landscapes, singing, dancing, romance, danger, betrayal, humor, religion, family and cultural tradition all balanced and directed masterfully to produce the most beautiful film.I saw this movie at the Berlinale International Film Festival, and I knew from the start that it was a real gem.
By the end I had decided that it was the best movie I had ever seen.Some of the backgrounds and special effects are not perfect, but I never would have paid any attention to that except that lots of people in the theater were laughing.
Some people might grow tired of the singing and dancing, but they're really quite superb.This movie is worth watching every of its 187 minutes..
Aishwarya Rai as Nandini was simply wonderful, Salman Khan as Samir added a little comedy in the film.
Samir(Salman Khan) is an indo-Italian student who comes to learn to sing from Nandini's father(Vikram Gokhale)and stays a year there.
In the process Nandini and Samir fall in love, but she is arranged to be married to Vanraj(Ajay Devgan).
But since Vanraj loves Nandini....he takes her to Italy to find Samir.
By that time,I was already aware that Salman Khan had broken his teacher,student relationship and been banished,that he loved Nandini,that she was allowed to break things willy nilly but not to refuse marriage with a man she didn't love.
I was always a great fan of Ajay Devgan but it was Salman Khan whose performance in this movie influenced me the most.
This movie is the best movie i have seen after"Mr India".I never knew Bhansali could produce such a beautiful and a colorful movie.Everything about this movie is mind blowing.Direction is mind blowing,Script is excellent,Dialogs are excellent,Photography is brilliant,Costumes are excellent,Cinematography is mind blowing.Story is wonderful.It tells about Sameer who is half Indian and Italian who is going to learn music from a master singer.He falls in love with Nandini the teachers daughter.One day a love affair happens and Sameer is forced to leave.Nandini is upset.She marries Vanraj.On the wedding night she is not enthusiastic.She wants to go to Sameer.They go to Italy and Budapest.Aishwarya looks gorgeous as ever and delivers a mind blowing performance,Salman who does overacts in his movies(Except Hum Saath Saath Hain and Chori Chori Chupke Chupke).He gives a mind blowing performance,Ajay also gives another mind blowing performance,The others acted great too,The comedy is excellent,Fresh and hilarious.The on screen chemistry between Khan and Ash is mind blowing.Song picturisations are superb and the singers do a fantastic job.Anyway the music is mind blowing,The most beautiful picture of all time.Better than Devdas.Must See Rating-10/10.
The movie is shot in stunning locales in Gujarat /Rajastan with beautiful costumes and brilliant music which blends in with the film.
Yes, they pulled all the right strings.The story tells of Sameer (Salman Khan) who comes from Italy to India to learn classic songs - and falls in love with Nandini (Aishwarya Rai), the daughter of his teacher.
There's more music than in your average Bollywood film - and what feels different is that it's not your usual number where the actors pretend to sing, but it's more like traditional background music, where you listen to music and the actors dance and move to it.
Even if you don't like the story, you'd have to agree that it's a visual feast.That, of course, is also true for Aishwarya Rai. 1994's Miss World has never looked this good, I believe.
His role gets more important as the film progresses and his performance comes off as both strong and restrained."HDDCS" might have some flaws (the music, although rather good, is not memorable), but it is great entertainment.
I am no fan of Salman Khan and while I am still willing to give Ash a chance, this film is the sort of junk that gave her a bad reputation in the first place.I will say, however, that the photography and sound were good, so it wasn't completely painful to watch.
The film seems to rely excessively on the appeal of Aishwarya and Salman to conceal the fundamental flaws of bad acting, toilet humor, and cheesy songs.
Aishwarya did a great job at making this movie and so did Salman Khan even though his popularity seems to be decreasing with the amount of bad publicity he gets.
Looked good but didn't act well.Other factors like music, cinematography, choreography and locations add value to the flick and make it a BLOCKBUSTER!!
You know even though I really love to I've never been able to bring myself to watch the film the second time.
With HDDCS Bhansali has won the confidence of both critics and audience.Nandini(Aishwarya Rai) falls in love with Sameer(Salman Khan), a music disciple of her father.Sameer also deeply loves Nandini.
But her conservative father is against the relationship and sends Sameer back to Italy ,where he came from.He marries off Nandini to Vanraj(Ajay Devgan).Vanraj comes to know about the relationship between Nandini and Sameer.He then ,defying the society, decides to take nandini to Italy to hand her over to her love,Sameer.And then starts the beautiful journey of love,affections,confusions and hesitations all of which I think are the beauty of human emotions.
Aishwarya delivers her best performance ever as an aggressive and defying lady.Salman looks good in his nonsense "cool guy" act.But He gets over that nonsense stuff and delivers in the climax.The music of the movie is a class act by Ismail Darbar.
Unfortunately, the ultra-conservative family do not take kindly to the young lovers relationship, as they'd much rather their daughter married a nice lawyer like Ajay Devgan.Star crossed lovers have been the meat and bones of Bollywood for a good many years now, so the first half of HDDCS at least plays out without many surprises.
The romance itself is only mildly engaging, as both characters tend to act like brats most of the time, and it's hard to really feel any enthusiasm for their cause.Unsurprisingly, the intermission marks the turn-around point, where the situation gets more complicated and the fluffy romance has to make way for melodrama and contemplation of more serious issues.
Salman Khan is okay as the passionate Sameer, but sometimes seems to rely on taking his shirt off over acting well, and can be rather annoying at times.
First is that Salman Khan & Aishwarya Rai's characters just aren't likeable enough to really care about them in the first half of the movie.
You cannot expect a person to divorce because he/she had found back their lover after marriage.Well, last but not least, I admire Aishwarya Rai's acting in this movie.
This is Salman khan's best movie.
This movie is about a girl Nandini (Ash) who meets an Italian-Indian boy Sameer (salman)...
At the same time a lawyer Vanraj (ajay) saw Nandini in a marriage function and falls in love with her...
When Pandit learns of the love between his daughter and student, he sends Sameer away and Nandini is married to Vanraj.
Vanraj learns of her love for Sameer, and, as is inevitable with a love triangle, heartbreak happens.Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam begins as a romantic-comedy, light-hearted and fun, with a sweetly developing romance.
A creative adoption of novel by Maitreyi Devi, some great performances by Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgan , wonderful screenplay by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and a judgmental and sweet music score by Ismail Darbar, These are few things which combine to make this a masterpiece.
nobody can expect that a actress can give such a heart touching beautiful performance in just starting of her acting carrier like Aishwarya Rai did and I am still wondering how Bhansali trusted her that she could carry this big movie on her own shoulder as a fresher in industry but she did it.
She lived the character of Nandini and played both her life phases so genuinely in this film that it is still one of her career's great performances.
Salman Khan's has both comic and emotional touch and his performance is average in movie.
But I think the moral of the story is that there is more than one way to love someone, that you can love more than one person and for different reasons, and most importantly, that experiences change people and that relationships are constantly in a state of flux.I think that Nandini's speech to Sameer was very much along the lines of what many Indian girls (though not exclusively) think when they reach a certain age, when their parents start looking around for potential husbands etc, a feeling of helplessness, that your life is going to be decided for you, that you have so much to contend with, and men have so little.
So I can say this much that this movies ending sucks and is terribly lousy and worth not watching if you really believe in LOVE..
This was a coming of age movie for both Ashwaria Rai and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Ok, this was the first Bollywood film i had seen & it meet all of my expectations of a Bollywood film.Bright Colours - Check Song & Dance routines with little or no relevance to the plot - Check Forbidden love in a rigid society - CheckVery entertaining, has some laugh's in it & a not so surprising ending by the time the ending finally arrives.
While Salman Khan is not quite up to the challenge of his role in a couple of difficult scenes, Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgan deliver 100%.
Lets start with the first half, Uff over acting of Salman, How bad actor he is man, he has the ability that he can flop any movie due to his overacting, why Bhansali choose this person in the movie.
Film is really a bore one, and there's nothing in the first half expect few good acts of Aishwarya.
The sets and locations visually match the narrative, the music evokes the range of emotions experienced by the characters, and the characters are well developed because they feel and grow just like real people (except for Italian-Indian, Sameer, played as a hulking, buffoon by Salman Khan who overacts as if he's in a cartoon and takes his shirt off way too much.) This movie "had" me with the first glimpse of Nandini ( Aishwarya Rai) walking home in the desert with her festival lantern.
While the movie has a number of interesting characters, it really is Nandini's story because it tells of her transformation into womanhood in the context of first love and the temptations of an outsider (Sameer), the demands of her family and her culture, and the real love of a real man, Vanraj (played so honestly by Ajay Devgan.) At the start, like teenagers, Nandini and Sameer share a friendly and teasing relationship.
Aishwarya Rai just eats up the screen looking so heavenly and happy when she dances.Well, the course of true love never runs smoothly in Bollywood and Nandini and Sameer's "affair" is discovered.
The daydream scene with Sameer running across the bridge expresses Vanraj's resignation to losing her but he doesn't know that Nandini isn't feeling any ambivalence at this point.
Nandini's speech to Sameer reveals her maturation and new understanding that love is "giving your heart" ---hum dil de chuke sanam.
See this movie for the beautiful script/story, romantic music, great characters, lush cinematography, fine acting by all (except SK and the Hungarians) and Bhansali's brilliant direction..
"Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" (also known as "Straight From the Heart") is one of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's first films.
I can't understand why they just didn't say it was Hungary--the scenes were quite beautiful and it looks like a lovely country.
So why say it's Italy?The film begins with Sameer (Salman Khan) moving from his native 'Italy' to India to study singing under a great master.
You can tell because all the singing and dancing is about this growing love and by around midway through the film, Sameer is ready to ask Nandini's father for her hand.
And the new marriage is doomed from the start--as Nandini won't even touch her husband and wants nothing to do with him.So far in the film, it's all VERY formulaic and I could have sworn I'd seen MANY other Indian films just like it--including a few of Buchchan's!
Any time you see as many as six (or seven) choreographers listed in the opening credits you know that you are in for a special treat, and "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" delivers in a big way.And Aishwarya Rai can dance!
Both Salman Khan and and Ajay Devgan (in his understated way) are great, too, in this movie(Possible Spoiler Ahead)I laughed a bit when Vanraj and Nadini arrive in "Italy" and we are greeted with a vista of Budapest and the Danube!
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is a typical masala movie: a love story, a bit of comedy, a bit of drama.
Let's first take a look at the story.The first half of the movie is about the young Italian Sameer who comes to India to be taught by a famous classical singer.
Intermission.In the second half of the movie Nandini is married to Vanraj, an honest and sympathetic lawyer who genuinely loves his wife, and is completely unaware of anything that happened before.
Vanraj is patient like an angel, constantly looking for Sameer without Nandini even helping him.
When Nandini finally meets Sameer, all she does is telling him that she has changed, she is married now and must go back to her husband.
Neither Sameer nor Nandini are particularly likable or interesting, which makes the first half of the movie almost unbearably boring.
Besides, neither Salman Khan or Aishwarya Ray are up to playing these roles.
The saving grace of this movie is undoubtedly Ajay Devgan, whose performance of Vanraj is superb.
A new man comes into the picture, a local whom the whole family loves (played by Ajay Devgan) and marries Nandini (Rai) but little does he know that this is the beginning of a nightmare rather than honeymoon.
It is the ending that makes this film a true classic, as well as the superb acting of the entire cast!
A half Indian half Italian young man Samir Raffilini (Salman Khan) comes to learn classical Indian music from Pandit Darbar.
Salman is okay - I never do like him, but this is probably the best I have ever seen him and one can see why Nandini falls for him.
The evil witch aunt, the strange attackers in Poland, Aishwarya whining, Salman talking to his dead Dad all the time, a lot of irritating relatives in the Darbar family, the turban tying, kite flying contests..But all in all, Mr. Bhansali directs with a lot of heart and the film is generally good.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali might offer you one of the best cinematography in the Indian cinema, but the same cannot be said about the quality of his movies.
The last film shown in the final day was "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" (One from the Heart) a Bollywood Blockbuster by top Bombay director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
The last film shown in the final day was "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" (Straight from the Heart) a Bollywood Blockbuster by top Bombay director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
The daughter of his Guru, (Rai) falls in love with him but is married off to a local yokel and dashing nogoodnik lover (Salman Khan) returns to Italy (Budapest😀).
The daughter of his Guru, (Rai) falls in love with him but is married off to a local yokel and dashing nogoodnik lover (Salman Khan) returns to Italy (Budapest😀).
Compared to them, Ajay gives a restrained and leveled performance, and does well, as a frustrated yet a loving man, who has married a wrong girl; actually he is a relief in this movie. |
tt1821658 | The Nut Job | Set in the fictional town of Oakton, year 1959, a group of animals, led by a Raccoon, store food for winter in a giant tree in the park. Among these animals is a selfish purple squirrel named Surly, whose thieving reputation has made him a pariah. His only friend is his rat partner Buddy. Surley's attempt to rob a peanut cart goes haywire when it is impeded by one of Raccoon's helpers, a compassionate orange squirrel named Andie and the 'park hero', a grey squirrel named Grayson whose heroic antics prove to be incompetent. After Andie unsuccessfully tries to talk Surly into being more selfless, Surly tries to get a bag of nuts while the owner gets distracted by a bratty girl scout customer and a police officer - but this heist also gets invaded by the pet pug of the owner of the cart named Precious. After fending off Precious by having her bite the pipe of a liquid nitrogen tank, Surly and Buddy escape with the cart and Andie manages to guide it to the park. Surly threatens Andie and Grayson with a torch, unwilling to share the food, but accidentally causes it to ricochet across the park. Although the animals (except for Grayson) get off safely, the cart is sent into the tree, where it explodes-- along with the tree and the animals' food supply. When Surly is identified as the culprit, Raccoon banishes Surley from the park, forcing the squirrel to survive in the city.Although Buddy insists on being with Surly, Surly insists that Buddy leave him. After escaping from wild street rats, Surly and Buddy find a nut store and attempt to rob it to feed themselves. After entering the store, they discover that it's a criminal hideout, used by the cart owner, his associate, their mob boss King who has recently gotten out of jail, and fellow felon, Fingers. Raccoon sends Andie and Grayson to find food only for them to get separated upon Grayson fighting a rat. Precious also serves as the guard dog there. King plans to rob the Oaken Bank and replace the cash with nuts. Surley and Buddy see that the only way to get to the nuts and to avoid Precious is with a dog whistle one of the crooks has. The two of them are thrown out by Fingers since he can hear it. While trying to find the whistle, Surly crosses paths with Andie who gets the whistle and threatens to dispose of it if Surly doesn't share the food he's going to take. Reluctantly, Surly accepts and unwittingly befriends Precious after threatening her with the whistle. Andie informs the park of the plan and, although they have a lack of faith in Surly, they agree to go along with it. Andie gets help from the Bruisers, a family of Groundhogs consisting of Jimmy, Johnny, and Jamie. Also with them is Raccoon's mole henchman.When the first attempt to rob the store fails, Surly eventually learns from Andie that Raccoon planned on double crossing him and Surley leaves after an argument. Back at the park, Raccoon's true colors are revealed, a power hungry con artist who keeps food from the animals to have his leadership kept and only Mole and his Cardinal assistant know about it. He sends out Mole to sabotage the the next attempt at robbing the store by flooding the tunnels the Bruisers have dug, but Surly (after meeting up with Grayson) finds out and saves the passed out Bruisers. Precious catches Mole and he reveals Raccoon's intentions. He attempts to warn the others, but they don't believe him and after tensions rise, they part ways (with Buddy joining the animals after Surly hurts his feelings). Surly is captured by the criminals, but is let out by King's girlfriend Lana whose upset to find out that her beau is making another heist and leaves with Precious. After Surly tries to leave to with his share, he is captured by the street rats who are revealed to be working for Raccoon. After Raccoon reveals that his plan involves hurting his friends, Surly manages to escape and heads down to the store's basement to save them. He tells to Grayson to get the team to safety distracts King long enough for his friends to escape with food for King's heist. The animals (minus Grayson) meet up with Raccoon, who lies about Surly committing treachery.Raccoon eventually locks them up in a get away van used by the robbers. Surly and Grayson use pigeons to catch up and save the others. After defeating the Cardinal, the robbers find out that King double crossed them by filling up their truck with nuts instead of money. After Grayson and Surly open the door to release their friends, Raccoon appears and tries to get the others to throw Surly off, but a redeemed Mole reveals that Raccoon is the true traitor and the animals turn on him. After the animals evacuate the truck (minus Raccoon and Andie), the get away cars head down to a bridge where the police are waiting to detain the criminals. King and Fingers try to use dynamite to blow the police out, but the truck hangs over the bridge. Surly gets Andie off the truck as the dynamite goes off inside the truck and as it (along King and Raccoon, who are still inside it) falls down into the river, but he eventually falls down into it himself. Surly makes it to a log, but Raccoon reveals to have survived the explosion (along with King). Raccoon tries to kill Surly, but the nuts make weight that begins to break the log. The animals arrive to rescue them, but Raccoon won't give up. So Surley, deciding to be selfless in order to protect his friends, sacrifices himself by letting go of the log and going over the waterfall, killing Raccoon and Surly apparently. The animals, now seeing the good side of Surly, mourn him in honor of the most selfless act he committed in years.The food makes its way into the park, where the animals gather around in joy for their food troubles are over. King is arrested as Lana appears to end their relationship. Andie and Buddy are still mourning over Surly and when Precious finds out what happened to her friend, she eventually finds Surly's apparent dead body near the river. She has Buddy come and look at it. Doleful to see his best friend gone, Buddy says his first 2 words (best friend). Surly reveals that he was actually unconscious and hugs Buddy and Precious licks Surly's face (which she wanted to do since she got involved in Surley's heist) and leaves to Lana. Finding that Surly is alright, Andie embraces him and tries to get him to come to the other animals so he can tell of his heroism, but Surly, feeling as though it was the other animals that were the true heroes, refuses, but gains a willingness to work with others. He goes along to the city, possibly to pull off another caper, with Buddy joining him.During the credits, the animals dance with PSY as he performs "Gangnam Style." | comedy | train | imdb | So kudos to the people in charge of making this look the way it does.The story itself has promise: A nut heist that runs concurrently with a bank heist, the squirrel storyline paralleling the human one.
The plot centers around an independent squirrel who, after being banished form his park, looks to earn back the trust of the animals by organizing an heist, hence securing the food supply (nuts) for the winter.
Usually I like humor in an animated movie, yet I still crave a good story and interesting characters.
The animation was good, but otherwise, the movie was chaotic at best.The story line was horrible.There are two main squirrels, and they are animated so similar, you get confused what's happening between them.You can't even figure out the purpose of one squirrel.Kids movies usually have at least a few "Awww" moments.This didn't have anything.Should have jumped theaters and watched Frozen again.This is my first review I've left on here.I had to log on just to let people know how bad it was..
It is really good and I think you would like it too.This movie is all about a squirrel named Surly who, at the beginning, fends for himself and only himself (with his friend Buddy) until his actions contribute to the burning of the large tree where all the squirrels live, along with what little food they have left.
They run into a lot of obstacles such as mouse traps, rats, guns and people.The main characters in the movie are Surly (Will Arnett), King (Stephen Lang), Grayson (Brendan Fraser), Raccoon (Liam Neeson), Andie (Katherine Heigl) and Precious (Maya Rudolph).
All I say is if you're allergic to the latter, bring an EpiPen.Much like last year's animated effort Free Birds, The Nut Job is a third rate endeavor combining the ingredients of bright, vibrant, but unremarkable animation, a premise that exhausts itself despite running at only seventy-seven minutes, an unlikable lead character, charmless humor, and a heavily-emphasized but oh-so tireless moral.
Yet even with this drawback, Surly still wants to pursue the nut heist in order to obtain enough before Raccoon the Raccoon (Liam Neeson) interferes with his plans.The paradox of The Nut Job is despite the premise's main focus being a heist, something adults would likely be invested in, the film is a kids movie and, with its inclusion of childish humor, will likely please nobody.
With that in mind, I'd like to see if somebody who viewed The Nut Job and claimed it left a lasting impact on them.Now, make no mistake, I'm not saying animated films need to have an impact to be good.
But in a world where Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks have effectively raised the animated filmmaking bar several considerable notches, why settle for a film like Free Birds or The Nut Job?
It seems for every great animated film we get, like The LEGO Movie or Monsters University, we have to sit through about four awful ones just to even the score.The Nut Job, in summation, feels like several corporate executives banded together and spitballed ideas, quips, and characters they thought kids would like to see rather than thinking about what kids and adults actually want to see.
In a time where films are getting more and more expensive and subpar films like this are getting made, one needs to round up some loyalist friends and support the works of John Lasseter, Pete Docter, and Andrew Stanton, people who actually are thinking about what kids and adults want out of their animated films.Voiced by: Will Arnett, Robert Tinkler, Brendan Fraser, Gabriel Iglesias, Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, and Maya Rudolph.
Yes, as most of the professional (and a few of the amateur) reviews pointed out, the political satire in THE NUT JOB is extremely heavy handed if you go in looking for it, and the "cuddly/comfort level" one initially expects when seeing furry creatures this well animated is lower than what we have come to expect from the Disney films which are usually the only ones which approach this level of polish - but when one looks at the actual PLOT these film makers have chosen to tell, a kid-friendly riff on the kind of film noir caper films where different gangs are fighting over access to the same crime scene and ultimately (contrary to a couple earlier reviewers who clearly didn't want a Korean helmed film to succeed) arrived at exactly the "aww," and "we CAN fix any problems" moment any film like this must build toward.No child over 10 will have any problems distinguishing between the various squirrel characters of varying hew, although an insistent naturalist might be pulling out their hair at the various species populating and co-operating in this "never-never-land" unidentified city park in a city living below a non-threatening dam which may or may not be destroyed by the end of the film (the illogic here - betraying the producers' lack of experience for all their technological finesse) is ultimately the film's greatest weakness - but will bother few of those the film is actually aimed at).The flaws ultimately fade while the adventure and the over-all successes linger in the memory - which is one reason I'm glad I waited a day to review this film.
The animation was nice and very colorful, and the actors voicing there characters is well done, this movie was trying to be satire of heist films but from a squirrels point of view.
It's not quite Over The Hedge(2006), but all in all not terrible.Now the problem I had is that I feel that the movie could not decide if it wanted to be for kids or adults, unlike the Toy Story films which it was for both.
Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Gabriel Iglesias, Jeff Dunham, Maya Rudolph, Liam Neeson, Stephan Lang and Katherine Heigl provide some of the voices for "The Nut Job," an animated film that has, for its characters, an assortment of rodents and human mobsters, all fighting over a supply of nuts during a shortage.The little ones might be entranced by the bug-eyed critters and pretty colors (though I wouldn't count on it), but a weak, humorless and confused script, along with indifferent animation, makes it an uninteresting affair for viewers over the age of, say, seven-and-a-half.Even though the movie runs only 86 minutes, through some inverse law of physics, it seems to last an eternity..
1. Character clichés - cute squirrel love interest, narcissistic squirrel, sidekick rat (goofy, but comes through at crucial moments), lots of animals working together to collect winter food.
It wasn't a complete disaster and there are worse animated films around, but The Nut Job was lacking in a lot of ways and from my point of view the weakest of the handful of animations seen so far.
The Nut Job does have some good things, the best thing being the animation which was great, very colourful and vibrant with a lot of admirable detail and the characters look cute(even if Buddy looks eerily looks like Remy from Ratatouille).
As if it's one to one animation from script and made a list of "these 40 things should be included this these 50 seconds."The personalities are completely lacking and non-convincing; besides the main character, with the vague love interest (or the potential) and the sympathetic mouse who reminds us of Ratatouille (which seems the most realistic qua emotions and reactions in a universe he seems to find as strange as surreal as the viewer) others pop in and out in flashes and remain complete strangers to the viewer...This makes me suspect this team has experience in shorter animation films and got "a break to go big" and...
At a time when amazing animated films like "Frozen" are released, a film like "The Nut Job" is barely able to hold your attention for the 85 minutes it runs.
An incorrigibly self-serving exiled squirrel (Will Arnett) finds himself helping his former park brethren raid a nut store to survive, that is also the front for a human gang's bank robbery.Critics are generally opposed to this film, and one can see why.
The plot is pretty weak (though the attempt to parallel the two stories was interesting), none of the characters is particularly likable, and it is just rather bland.Some apologists have tried to say there is a good political message here about the flaws of a centralized government, or having one man decide where food is stored and how it is divided up.
Surly, an exiled, selfish and self-centered squirrel teams up with some other animals to raid a nut shop in other to help the exact same park which threw him away.
The Nut Job is everything that is wrong with animated films made to cash in on adolescence without bothering to add substance, heart or charm.Released in the dead zone of January, The Nut Job follows a self-serving squirrel in a city park as he attempts to raid a nut store for the biggest food haul of his life.The Nut Job is a deplorable film because it exploits the childhood market for financial gains without even bothering to be a decent movie.
The plot stumbles around with no sense of clear though, it is rough, boring, messy and lacks any and all charm typical of a truly good animated film.The characters are irredeemably underdeveloped and have no sense of camaraderie.
Katherine Heigl, Liam Neeson, Maya Rudolph, and Brendan Fraser voice the blandly basic personalities in animal form.Overall The Nut Job is a waste of a film that even babysitters wishing to save their sanity by popping a DVD in to satiate the most unmanageable children should avoid.
Some of the best I've seen have included the lorax and despicable me.This film isn't good, it isn't overly entertaining and in my opinion is solely for kids, the joy of most animated films is parents and kids can all enjoy them, this isn't one though.Like hop, bolt and now the nut job, you cant just make any animal you think of a good character, the plot isn't overly interesting and there is nothing that would make me recommend this film to anyone over the age of 6.I've seen better straight to TV animated movies, this will be available for next to nothing on DVD in a few months, please don't spend your hard earned money on it.I never give spoilers, but with this film its hard to spoil as its already pretty awful.
Also, pretty much all the animations involving water are awkward.The fact that the graphics (and Gangnam Style references) look a little dated could be easily forgiven if the story would have been gripping and entertaining, but alas: the film fails terribly at that.
Although the movie certainly has other problems, to be discussed shortly, the film does have a plot, it has a number of highly acclaimed actors that do a relatively good job at portraying their characters (however poorly those characters may have been written), and the animation is not terrible, even if rather bland.
Featuring a star studded cast with the likes of Will Arnett as the main character Surly, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl or the stern Stephen Lang, the nutty film brings out a wonderful adventure of friendship and betrayal with plenty of good qualities for the kids to learn and understand.It's not the funniest movie, but it manages to touch one's heart and make them become sympathetic for the honesty of the characters, especially the mute rat Buddy.
I can't remember the last time I watched an animated film and couldn't wait for it to finish, but that's how I felt about 'The Nut Job'.The animation in this film is great, but it's not enough to distract away from the complete lack of a plot.
Characters often make or break animated films and, writing this review a day after watching the film, I can't remember any of the characters or their names.'The Nut Job' is watchable but will probably be enjoyed much more by kids.
Well what go wrong with a film called "The Nut Job"?.Well pretty much everything Is wrong with this, the characters (apart from Andie and Buddy) are so mean-spirited and unlike able, the story is a ripoff of Over the Hedge, the jokes are just nut puns and the humor pretty low brow.Only good thing?, the animation looks pretty decent, It got nice lighting, nice character designs and the backgrounds look pretty good, but yet again, that's the ONLY GOOD THING about this movie.This is not suitable for kids, not suitable for families, It's not suitable for ANYONE.This get a 2/10..
The Nut Job us an animated movie, it has quite a bit of action that young children would enjoy.
Voice casting was good (with Liam Neeson having obviously a lot of fun) and if you can overlook a few flaws and the fact that this is not as clean cut as other animated kids movies (the nut puns alone throughout the movie, will either annoy or delight you), you will have fun with this.
After the total winter render of food is destroyed, the animal community blames and banishes a covetous egoistical squirrel named Surly (voiced by Will Arnett) from the park.Exclusively, bored, and frightened in the big city, Surly bumbles upon a ambition come true: a nut shop.
One of the things, though, that got me the most was the effectiveness of one of the rats--the one who is a friend of our main character, Surly, the squirrel who gets the idea of knocking over a nut shop.
This is a fun movie and kids will enjoy it but it's not great like some other animated movies and it does not have as much as those great cartoons have going for them as far as entertainment value and jokes for the adults.The two main squirrels should have looked less similar as the kids sometimes seemed confused so far as which squirrel was doing what or when they were talking together.Will Arnett is very funny and we loved his voice, such a unique and throaty voiced guy.I would recommend it but no need to rush to see it at the movies, wait for it on DVD, cheaper and you won't be missing anything not seeing it on the big screen.Frozen is better for sure!.
The Nut Job(2014) Starring: Will Arnnet, Katherine Heigel, Brendan Frasier, Sara Gadon, Maya Rudolph, Stephen Lang, Jeff Dunham and Liam Nesson Directed By: Peter Lepeniotis Review You know I am not a big fan of animated stuff, unless to me it's nostalgic, from Pixar or Ghibli.
When he destroys the tree where the animals live in the park he is banished to our side and has a hard time getting until he sees a Nut shop that is owned by thieves trying to rob a bank next door.
Despite surprises, clear characters, and several funny moments from the thugs, this movie offers no effort in story line or neatness in animation.
Surly is banished from the park.Animation has advanced so far that this is really only good for a TV movie on one of those kids channels.
This animated film tells the story of a squirrel who is banished from the park because he is blamed for destroying the food supply for the winter.
Since this is a PG movie there really aren't that many nut puns, which was quite disappointing.As for the plot line, it's pretty much the usual clichéd family movie setup: Main character is really self-centered, main character goes out on his own to prove he doesn't need anybody (actually this time he gets kicked out but you get the idea), main villain plots evil scheme against main character's former friends, main character has a change of heart, main character reconciles with friends and saves the day.Despite these shortcomings, I actually kind of enjoyed this one, the animation was good, and some parts were kind of funny.
After watching "The Nut Job," I couldn't help but wonder if, even though it is a kid's film, could kids really enjoy this movie?
Let's start off with the story.It's about a purple squirrel thief named Surly who planned to steal nuts from a vending cart with his best friend buddy the rat.
The only difference is Over The Hedge actually looks like a good movie.Possibly something that happens in the movie spoiler alert: The squirrels and all the other animals will get the nuts they need for the upcoming season and they'll all celebrate.
The only character I kind of liked was Buddy (the rat) because no matter how mean Surly was to him, he would always be a good friend.I don't have anything else to say, I personally didn't enjoy the movie and had to stop it at a point because I was dying of boredom but if you are into rushed cheesy animated movies, be my guest and watch it!.
I like the idea of squirrels trying to steal nuts from a shop to survive winter, but the fact is that this was based on the director's five minute student film.
However, it's not a strong compliment."The Nut Job" is one of the most mean spirited animated movies I've seen.
The Nut Job (2014): Dir: Peter Lepeniotis / Voices: Will Arnett, Katherine Heigl, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson, Maya Rudolph: Animation about creative minds and merging ideas for the greater good.
Even though the jokes can be lame, there are like 15 nut puns and the main character is unlikable at first, the movie really is decent.
The Nut Job is based on animator Peter Lepeniotis' debut short film Surly Squirrel and was an animator for Disney and Pixar at one point.
The animation is wonderful and the casting is great, but the coupling of a storyline that feels rushed and tries to intertwine two stories in a short time feels crowded along with mediocre jokes just seems too "eh it's not bad, but not good" and that's how you feel after you finish watching The Nut Job. Overall, I give the film a 6/10The_Kansan. |
tt0116225 | Escape from L.A. | On August 23, 2000, an earthquake reaching 9.6 magnitude hits the city of Los Angeles, causing it to be separated from the continental mainland by flooding the San Fernando Valley (now called the "San Fernando Sea") and turning it into an island from Malibu to Anaheim. Just prior to this, an American presidential candidate (an obscure reference to Jerry Falwell; played by Cliff Robertson), who is also an out-spoken, Christian theocracist, had made a doomsday prediction of the disaster during his campaign, saying L.A. was a "city of sin", and that; "Like the mighty hand of God, waters will rise up and separate this sinful, sinful city, from our country."In the chaos that followed, the candidate is elected as the new President and a new constitutional amendment appoints him for life in office. This President declares that all people not conforming to the new "Moral America" laws he sets for the country (banning such things as smoking, alcoholic beverages, red meat, owning firearms, profanity, non-Christian religions (including atheism), and non-marital sex) will lose their citizenship and be deported to Los Angeles Island. Like New York City in Escape from New York, Los Angeles is turned into a penal colony of sorts. A containment wall is built around the shores of the mainland, armed guards and watchtowers are posted everywhere and those sent to the island are exiled permanently.In 2013, Cuervo Jones (Georges Corraface), a Che Guevara-like Shining Path Peruvian Revolutionary, seduces the President's daughter, Utopia (A.J. Langer), via a holographic internet system and brainwashes her into stealing her father's remote control to the "Sword of Damocles" super weapon a series of high-tech satellites capable of destroying electronics anywhere on the planet using a focused electromagnetic pulse. The President had threatened to use the system to render enemies of America "unable to function", and eventually dominate the world. Utopia gets away in an escape pod from Air Force Three and lands on L.A. Island to be with Cuervo.With the satellites under his control, Cuervo promises to take back America with the assistance of an allied invasion force of Latin American nations that are standing by for his signal to attack. Cuervo threatens that if the President tries to stop him, he'll "pull the plug" on the country and demonstrates his power by blacking out the capital (which has been moved to the President's hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia, also the real-life hometown of Jerry Falwell). Cuervo also knows the secret "world code", (which is 666), that can activate all the satellites and knock out power for the entire planet.Meanwhile, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), is captured for another series of crimes. The Duty Sergeant (Peter Jason) welcomes Snake to the deportation area, but he instead escorts Snake and leaves him in a vacant room. A minute later, the President, the police base camp commander Malloy (Stacey Keech Jr.) and his aide Brazen (Michelle Forbes) arrive and offer him a deal: Snake will go to the island as an exile to retrieve the remote device. The President says he will give Snake a full pardon for all the crimes he has ever committed if he is successful. The President indicates he doesn't care if Utopia is returned or not, saying she is a traitor and "dead to me". Initially, Snake refuses to get involved, but to ensure his compliance, Malloy tells Snake that he was secretly infected minutes earlier with the man-made Plutoxin 7 virus which will kill him in 10 hours. If he completes the mission, Snake will be given the antidote.Snake is given a sub-machine gun, a personal holographic projector, a thermal-camouflage overcoat, and a countdown clock for how long he has to live. The virus works fast, and Snake is given a device to records the minutes counting down from 10 hours to find the device and get out before he dies. Like New York, Los Angeles is now in ruins, and a hot-bed of crime. Snake sneaks into the city with a nuclear-powered mini submarine which he soon loses when the unsturdy platform it landed on crumbles, causing the sub to sink into the ocean.Making his way across the island, Snake meets an array of characters. One of them is 'Map to the Stars' Eddie (Steve Buscemi), a swindler who makes a living selling interactive tours of L.A.. Next, Snake runs into, a knife-wielding skinhead (Robert Carradine) who uses corpses for target practice. Snake also passes by Pipeline (Peter Fonda), a hippie surfer who surfs the frequent tidal waves that frequent the coastline.Snake then meets a young woman (Valeria Golino) whom directs him to the location of Cuervo Jones camp, but they both get captured by a group of mutant people and held in the former Beverly Hills hospital where they are threatened by the insane and deformed "Surgeon General of Beverly Hills" (Bruce Campbell). Snake uses a knockout dart hidden in his clothing to subdue the Surgeon General and forces his people to release him and the young woman. Snake and the woman escape to a nearby junkyard where after, she reveals her romantic feelings for Snake, she is killed in the cross fire of a gangland shooting.Snake has a run-in with 'Map to the Stars' Eddie again who tries to lead him to Cuervo's camp, only to betray him and Snake is captured. An increasingly sick Snake is brought to the former L.A. arena where he is forced to play basketball by trying to get five two-point basket shots within 10 seconds of each other. Snake manages to defeat the basket shots and earns praise and recogniton from the crowd (similar to in New York when he defeated a rival in a boxing ring). Snake escapes from the arena during another aftershock earthquake and gets away with a little help from Pipeline who shows him how to surf the tsunami waves that wash over the area.Snake hides out on board the former Queen Mary cruise ship located in former Long Beach where he meets local gang leader Hershe Las Palmas (Pam Grier) whom was formerly Bill 'Carjack' Malone, a transsexual and former accomplice of Snake from Cleveland, Ohio, who after hearing about his mission to find the black box remote control device, tells him the Plutoxin virus is a propagandized lie and won't kill him. She agrees to help Snake attack Cuervo Jones main camp to get the remote control device and escape from the island. Snake and Hershe's men commandeer hand gliders and fly to Cuervo's staging area.Snake and Hershe's men land at the former amusement park, Happy Kingdom by the Sea, and in a climatic gun battle, defeats Cuervo by gunning down most of his men and claiming the remote control device. Eddie appears again and offers his help to Snake, despite being a double agent playing both sides. Snake commandeers a police helicopter that lands and grabs Utopia with him as they, along with Eddie, Hersche and her few surviving men, board the helicopter to fly away. But then Cuervo fires a rocket at the helicopter, damaging it and killing Hershe and her men. Eddie manages to shoot and kill Cuervo, but he falls out of the helicopter. Eddie lands on the ground unharmed, but is now facing several of Cuervo's armed and angry men.Snake manages to fly the damaged chopper to the mainland where he and Utopia abandon the helicopter before it crashes. Just then, Commander Malloy, Brazen, and the President appear with a platoon of soldiers. Snake then hands off the wrong remote to the President (similar to what Snake did to Hauk in 'New York') while Utopia is taken to the electric chair for execution, despite her pleas for forgiveness. Snake is relieved, but only more angry then ever when the timer for his life runs out and he learns that the Plutoxin 7 virus was indeed to be nothing more than a fast, hard hitting case of the flu virus, not in the least bit lethal to Snake.Thinking he has control of the satellites, the President tries to use it to stop a Cuban invasion force threatening Florida. Activating the remote, the President hears only Eddie's "Map to the Stars" intro over 'I Love L.A.' instead.In anger, the President orders Snake to be executed, but Snake had activated his hologram projector and the Snake that gets shot is an illusion. Snake activates the device, entering the world code (666), against pleas to stop. All over the world, the satellites activate their EMP weapons at the world, thus shutting down every electrical device, and turning the world back into the Dark Ages. At the deportation center, Utopia praises Snake for "turning off the world", and saving her. The illusory Snake disappears, since he has "turned off the Earth".In the final shot, Snake is a few hundred yards away from the President and his soldiers, who are now looking for him, where he finds a pack of cigarettes on the ground and lights one up. The cigarette box is labeled "American Spirit." As Snake walks off into the woods as dawn is starting to break, he then says to himself: "Welcome to the human race." | mystery, murder, cult, violence, flashback, humor | train | imdb | null |
tt1663202 | The Revenant | Set in an indeterminate year of the 1820s, the opening scene shows Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) speaking to his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) in an Indian language (Pawnee), telling him that even though he is scared and wants his trouble to be over, he must fight as long as he can grab a breath. As we hear Glass' voice, we see images of Glass with his Pawnee wife and son, his home being set on fire, and him holding his wife in his arms.Glass and Hawk are walking through a river with other men from their hunting party as they stalk elk. They are camped by a river in rural Missouri with other fur-trappers. They are led by their captain, Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson). A naked missing man from their party walks into the settlement and collapses forward with an arrow in his back. Another man is shot in the neck with an arrow and falls into the campfire. The hunting party is attacked by a tribe of local natives who are Arikara Indians, also known as 'Ree'. The men fire back with their rifles. Glass is attacked and nearly choked to death, but one of his men rescues him. A few men gather their furs and materials toward a boat to make their escape. The Arikaras themselves are looking for the chief's daughter, Powaqa, stolen by unknown white men.The men abandon their boat and start to hike overland to Fort Kiowa. Hawk is antagonized by John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) for his race (Hawk is half-Indian on his mother's side), but Glass quickly defends his son and tells him not to retaliate against Fitzgerald.While hunting in the woods, Glass comes across a grizzly bear and her cubs, and he is quickly attacked by the larger bear. The bear claws and bites Glass, throwing him around as Glass tries to defend himself. He manages to shoot the bear, but it doesn't kill her. She attacks again and Glass gets his knife, stabbing it several times as they both tumble down a hill. Glass lands in a gully and the dead bear lands on top of him. The men later find Glass and try to tend to his deep wounds.Meanwhile, the Arikara warriors continue their search for Powaqa. They come across French fur traders and trade the riverside furs for five horses.The men in the hunting party carry Glass on a makeshift stretcher, but he only slows them down. They attempt to carry him up a hill, only for him to slide and bring the other men down. Fitzgerald suggests they need to just kill Glass and put him out of his misery. Henry covers Glass' eyes and almost shoots him in the head, but he cannot bring himself to do it. Henry offers payment of $75 to anyone who will stay behind with Glass. Hawk and Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) volunteer, though Fitzgerald points out that they and Glass will be likely to die. Henry raises the payment offer to $100 so that even Fitzgerald decides to stay with them until Glass expires.Glass is still in great pain and continues to have visions of his wife and the day his home was burnt down.Fitzgerald gets a moment alone with Glass and tries to convince him to let him put him out of his misery so that no one else is slowed down or left waiting to die, including Hawk. As Glass is unable to talk, Fitzgerald suggests Glass should blink if he agrees, knowing that Glass would eventually have to blink, with or without intention to agree to Fitzgerald's offer. Glass holds his eyes open for a long time before closing them, instead of blinking. Fitzgerald intentionally interprets this as blinking and starts to smother Glass. Hawk shows up, seeing Fitzgerald smothering his father. Hawk starts to call Bridger for help, leading to a struggle with Fitzgerald in which the man stabs Hawk in the abdomen, then letting him bleed out as Glass watches helplessly. Fitzgerald gets rid of Hawk's body and tells Bridger he doesn't know where he went.Later that night, Fitzgerald urges Bridger to move on with him, claiming to have seen Ree Indians by the creek. Already having dug a grave for Glass, Fitzgerald forcefully drags him into the hole and partially buries him alive under a pile of dirt as Bridger reluctantly lets him do so.Meanwhile, Henry and the rest of the hunting party have a difficult march by as they head towards Fort Kiowa. As Fitzgerald and Bridger head to meet them, Bridger realizes Fitzgerald was lying about having seen the Ree by the creek. He turns his rifle on Fitzgerald, who takes it from Bridger and turns it on him. He pulls the trigger, but the the unloaded rifle clicks on an empty chamber. They continue to move.Glass awakens and weakly struggles to rise from out of the dirt. He starts crawling his way through the woods to find food and warmth. He finds Hawk's body freezing up from the cold. Glass vows to stay by his son's side. He finds a thick bear pelt to take with him to keep warm. As he continues to move through the woods, he feeds off of roots and old bone marrow. He attempts to build a fire for added warmth and uses some of his leftover gunpowder to seal the wound in his throat. Nearby, the Indians are getting closer, so Glass rides down the rapids to escape them.Fitzgerald and Bridger are still walking. They come across a burnt-down settlement with bodies sprawled across the ground. One woman emerges from her burnt hut and sees the men. Bridger quietly leaves some food for her.Glass is getting colder and hungrier. He walks into the river and eats a live fish. He walks up a hill and sees a Pawnee Indian feeding off the carcass of a bison. Glass approaches him cautiously and gestures for food. The Indian throws him an organ, which Glass eats ravenously. In the morning, the Indian observes the bear wounds on Glass' body, which are starting to rot. Glass says his men left him for dead and killed his son. The Indian states that his own family were killed by a rival Sioux tribe. He is seeking out more Pawnee.Fitzgerald and Bridger reach the outpost and rejoin their party. Fitzgerald tells Henry that they couldn't save Glass or Hawk, and he collects his payment. Bridger remains quiet but is upset and refuses a bonus pay.Glass and the Indian move forward. They spend the evening sitting and catching snow in their mouths, the first time Glass has looked peaceful in a while. The Indian gathers materials for a quick sweat lodge and places a feverish Glass inside. Glass starts hearing his wife's voice, and then sees himself walking toward Hawk before they embrace in an old church. The Pawnee performs a healing ritual for Glass' wounds.When Glass wakes up, the Pawnee is gone. A sort time later he sees that the Indian has been hanged by the French fur trappers. He infiltrates their camp and witnesses one of the men raping a woman. It is Powaqa (Melaw Nakehk'o). Glass holds the rapist at gunpoint and frees Powaqa. Glass then takes a horse, letting the other horses loose. He rides to a spot in the woods where he builds himself a fire.In the morning, the tribe searching for Powaqa starts to attack. Glass holds them off with his rifle before he mounts his horse and rides away. The tribe follows him on their horses up to a cliff where Glass and his horse fall over the edge. The horse dies, and Glass is injured again. As the night falls and the cold intensifies, he cuts the horse open, removes its organs, and bunks inside its carcass for warmth. When he wakes up, he gets out of the carcass and moves to a snow cave. In there, he carves "Fitzgerald killed my son."Some time later at the outpost, one of the French hunters arrives with Glass' canteen, which Bridger left on the dirt pile after Fitzgerald buried him. Thinking he took it from Hawk, Henry leads a search party through the woods. There, they find Glass, limping towards them. They bring him back to the outpost. Henry finds that Fitzgerald is gone. The French hunter tells him that he heard Fitzgerald was headed to Texas. What's more is that Fitzgerald cleaned out the party's payroll safe. Henry then confronts Bridger with his rifle and beats the young man to the ground and puts him in the stockade.Glass vouches for Bridger's innocence to Henry, stating that he was only following orders. He also tells Henry how he saw Fitzgerald kill his son. Hearing that Fitzgerald is heading for Texas, Glass requests that he seek the man out himself. Henry reluctantly agrees to have Glass join him in the hunt.The two encounter Fitzgerald and split up to get him from opposite sides. Henry finds Fitzgerald first and plans to bring him back to be tried for murder. The two men draw their guns on each other, with Fitzgerald killing Henry. Glass finds Henry's body and puts him back on top of his horse using a branch as a prop. They ride on in view of Fitzgerald, who fires his rifle from a distance. He thinks he's killed Glass, but he just shot Henry's body. Glass gets a shot off and wounds Fitzgerald who runs while Glass pursues. They corner each other in the woods, and Fitzgerald shoots at Glass. Fitzgerald runs down by the creek where Glass finds him and they begin to fight. Fitzgerald nearly stabs Glass, but Glass turns the knife on him. Fitzgerald impales Glass' hand, but Glass overpowers him and nearly finishes him off until Fitzgerald states that killing him won't bring his boy back. On the other side of the creek, Glass sees the Indians that have been pursuing him, now with Powaqa. He decides that revenge is in God's hands, so he pushes Fitzgerald into the water and lets him float over to the Indians. The chief grabs Fitzgerald and kills him with his knife. They spare Glass since Powaqa tells them that Glass freed her.Although he has gotten his revenge, Glass is alone once again, wandering through the cold land. He falls on his knees and sees a vision of his wife once again walking into the light. The final shot is of Glass' eyes filling up with tears. | revenge, suspenseful, murder, violence, flashback | train | imdb | Take the direction of Alejandro González Iñárritu, combine it with the stunning cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki and toss in Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy for their acting charms and what do you get?
An extraordinary and masterful film.Fresh off of 'Birdman,' Iñárritu moved straight on to 'The Revenant,' a western-epic inspired by the true-life experiences of frontiersman Hugh Glass in the winter-struck landscape of 1820s America.
Supporting this is the score from the relatively unknown composers, believe me, when the sudden orchestral boom strikes your eardrums, it's mesmerising.The makeup, the direction, the editing, the visual aesthetics, and of course the performances from a hopefully soon-to-be Oscar winning DiCaprio, 'The Revenant' is a visual treat for those who appreciate cinema and for those who wish to just get absorbed by the immense landscapes and poetic justice Iñárritu has given it.
This is not to discount the incredible performances of DiCaprio and Hardy (DiCaprio finally getting his well-overdue Oscar), but it's hard to imagine the movie being so impactful had another director been at the helm.
I'm not sure what parts of the story were embellished or Hollywoodized, but this film sucks you into this world and puts you right alongside this fatally wounded man desperate to survive.
As far as performances and cinematography goes, The Revenant is flawless.What prevents this from getting a perfect 10 is one particular storyline that I didn't think was needed, and it involves the wife of Hugh Glass.
As soon as possible.Simply put, it is an excellent story of family, revenge, survival, and nature.The Revenant is one of the most beautifully-shot films I have ever seen.
If all films were shot similarly to how the Revenant is, then the movie industry would drastically improve.The entire cast did a phenomenal job and they all deserve recognition for their performances; however, if Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't win an Oscar for his breathtaking portrayal of Glass then that will be the single biggest injustice of the year.Do not miss the opportunity to see this masterpiece on the big screen!UPDATE: I've read an unnerving amount of other user's reviews complaining about the plot.
I can understand that the plot may seem a little basic or perhaps lacking at times; however, the plot is not what makes this film so excellent, and I feel as though those who failed to recognise this have seriously missed out.
In the same way that Iñárritu's "Birdman" (this time last year) was unarguably a brilliant but not very mainstream film, so I think the Oscar buzz will attract a big audience to this movie who may find it a struggle to really enjoy.
It is also extremely violent but, unlike "The Hateful Eight" (another film I saw this week that was unremittingly bleak) the violence is much more gritty, realistic and visceral making the drama a lot more compelling.DiCaprio plays "Hugh Glass", an historical figure who was a legendary fur-trapper in the early 1800's and the central figure in this bear-related yarn.
Although the story has been re-embroidered over the years, the 'facts' align with the film's basic story (there's a good "Daily Telegraph" article outlining this - see the link on bob-the-movie-man.com).Attacked and pursuing by local natives, Glass's party is striking across woodland when he is viciously attacked by a 500lb Grizzly bear.
Thus is set up a classic revenge movie, with Glass determined to stay alive to enact that revenge despite the enormous odds stacked against him.This is surely DiCaprio's year for his elusive Oscar as he turns in a cripplingly painful performance.
"The Revenant" is probably the most beautiful movie I have seen for a long time.
Mainly the story (it is a very simple revenge story line) and the dialog (it is basically not existent :D).When I first left the movie I was still blown away by all the great things I mentioned above (I was thinking about a 10/10 rating), but the longer I was outside the movie the more I recognized that "The Revenant" is a film that is incredible entertaining whilst sitting in the cinema, but also a movie I quickly forgot about when being at home again.Still, the movie is definitely a must-see.
It showed gorgeous, naturally-lit cinematography, dynamic directing, a historical depiction of the early 19th century savagery, and what seemed to be quite a visceral performance by Leonardo DiCaprio.I thought that, with Iñárritu's name attached to it, this would be a much deeper film than what I ended up watching, at least in its depictions of history, first nations, and in its ability to exploit classic themes such as revenge and survival.Without saying that "The Revenant" is an empty shell (although a gorgeous one), Iñárritu's film fails to impress when it comes to depth, thanks to a linear and predictable narrative structure, one dimensional characters, and a revenge plot that never manages to be compelling to the audience.DiCaprio offers a demanding, physical performance with very little dialogue, but his character, always in survival mode, never reached me emotionally.
Like "Birdman", the movie contains several long shots filmed in a naturalistic style to create a sense of realism.
If this wasn't such a fantastic piece of storytelling, I would be interrupting every three minutes to ask "how the hell did they make that shot?" Even if you know a lot about special effects, this film will have you scratching your head all the time.There are shots that start as close ups, go super wide, half way up a mountain and then close to something else miles away.
Instead of that jerky, overdone, getting us all motion sick, hand-held camera, there is a wide angle system which sucks you into the action in a way we haven't see before.It doesn't matter if you don't like DiCaprio or dislike "that type" of movies.
The scenes with Tom Hardy were long awaited but overall the film served its purpose...getting Di Caprio his long awaited Oscar..
I suspect that it was for The Wolf of Wall Street and not this orgy of grunts and crawling out of dead horses and freezing rivers.I might have given The Revenant a better rating for the cinematography as the movie lovingly portrays the Canadian Rockies.
Misread in some places with a strictly "feminist" critique, exegesis of Miller's film can fly marxian or libertarian – it hardly matters as the solution to the chaos of dictatorship the director provided with Furiosa's victory was both egalitarianism and freedom.In The Revenant, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu attempts something more subtle: with one stroke of his pen, by giving protagonist Hugh Glass a native wife and son, he weds an early icon of American Exceptionalism into a matrimony of Old World and New. It was not long after Glass's travails that ambitious frontier writers grew his legend, and by the end of the 19th century Glass had entered a pantheon of American folklore heroes from the wholly fictitious Paul Bunyon, to the richly documented Davy Crockett.
On his recovery and "revenge" mission, his sustenance is derived from animism; his survival from a native conciliation with the harsh environment.I believe in The Revenant the film-maker wants his audience to extrapolate the sources and resources of Glass's survival and consider the role that native peoples had in the formation and growth of a nation, to ponder and accept the importance that native people's beliefs and practices had and still have in creating a harmonious balance between a natural world that is and will always be capable of demolishing the best plans and inventions of men, and the harnessing of that world in the name of advancement.
I do feel the wonderful performances, majestic cinematography, and riveting action in The Revenant are all subordinate to what the director would like us to entertain about the survival and "revenge" of Hugh Glass..
The way the movie was filmed was astonishing, the actors were great and the story was good as well.
The film was shot using only natural light so all of the scenes in the movie look authentic.
I felt like it was a good story but the acting and the visuals of the movie really carried it.
But then the plot is so predictable you know what is going to happen before it does, so you really just sit back and look at nice scenery and some good acting without needing to follow the story because you know exactly what will happen all the time.
Awesome movie, that will surely get many Oscar awards for best actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), supporting actor (Tom Hardy), cinematography and makeup, best director and best picture, possibly costume design and editing.
The movie is very well built in details, it has memorable scenes (like the one when jumping on the horse from the cliff and surviving in the freezing night that followed) and depicts very well the struggle to survive in harsh natural conditions in frontier areas in those times.
The movie follows a simple revenge/survival story with Leonardo DiCaprio being the focal point of it after being left for dead by his crew in the wilderness.From watching the teaser trailer last year, I could already tell that it would be visually stunning but after watching it I have concluded that it is more than visually stunning it is a visual achievement, there are scenes that will shock you and make yourself wonder how it was shot.
There are many scenes in the movie that are shot in a "Birdman" fashion with the slow tracking shots with long takes however it never feels like Innaritu is milking on Birdman's visual success.
The acting in this movie is also very good and DiCaprio puts on a very captivating performance which could very likely win him an Oscar.
and as everyone said it is a great film I where really looking forward to see it (especially as the trailer is quite good).Well after I have watched it now, I have to say this movie is one of the worst I have ever seen!
If you want two and a half hours of scenery and seeing a man grunting and crawling, you should watch this movie.
There is a giant flaw in current major Hollywood productions; the essential art of telling a good story.We desperately need writers who can produce strong screenplays with plots that develop and hold our interest throughout a film.
We do not need a bunch of scenes tacked together and called a movie.The Revenant being hailed as a great film is a travesty to movie- making.
:/ 1/10 mean u can watch the movie, but if you wanna save few brain cells - better find something better, like American ninja 4 - same plot, different characters!.
As if Hugh needed the posthumous help.Hardy might win an Oscar for his excellent performance as foil and I'm sure Leo will get plenty of hype for grunting his way through 150 minutes.
All it would have taken is a five second shot of a map with any random character saying "here we are, and this is where we are going".Alejandro González Iñárritu's pompous style of long, long takes is completely inappropriate for this material and it took me out of the movie every time he tried to pull it off.
But when Leonardo DiCaprio is starring in a movie, it's like you must watch it and enjoy.
Loosely based on the life of 19th century frontiersman Hugh Glass, The Revenant is a brutal yet visually stunning western with one of Leonardo DiCaprio's best performances yet.
It combines some intense, difficult-to-watch scenes with amazing scenery which makes it one of the most beautiful violent films I've seen.
The 156- minute running time, relentless brutality and limited dialog does take a bit of a commitment to finish, but The Revenant is a masterfully directed film that makes the most of its subject matter's intriguing story..
Leonardo Dicaprio's performance as Hugh Glass is one of little dialogue, but large impact, and may win him an Oscar this year.
The Revenant, the movie that will give Leonardo DiCaprio his first Oscar.
The film follows the theme of the will to survive, bringing the audience to question, What would you do to survive?Leonardo DiCaprio will win his first Oscar for his role as Hugh Glass.
Overall the film was great and will pull in some awards and people like DiCaprio and Iñárritu will be recognized for their work.
As I finish, I would give this movie an 8.8 out of 10 and for one last time I applaud the job Iñárritu did directing and the performance of DiCaprio and Hardy as well as others like Will Poulter and Domhnall Gleeson.
I haven't seen all of Leo's films, but my favorite performances of his were from the movies "The Wolf of Wall Street", "Inception", "Shutter Island", "Blood Diamond" and now my all time favorite performance of his is "The Revenant"; he absolutely dominated this role!
If you struggle to stay enticed by a slow paced film because it doesn't have fast pace action and/or story movement, then I recommend you steer clear of this movie because it's most likely not for you.
For those who don't mind if a movie is slow paced because it has a phenomenal story build-up and admirable character development, then I'd recommend the watch!8/10.
This is my review of The Revenant (spoiler free).Cast: six time Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, Academy Award nominee Tom Hardy*, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter.Plot: Hugh Glass (DiCaprio)is a frontiersman out an adventure with his team in their fight for survival in the bitter landscape.
It heavily relies on its visceral power, filmmaking technique, committed performances from its actors, and the majestic beauty of its setting to overcome its simplistic story."The Revenant" starts out strong with one of the most well shot and immensely gripping scenes of the year in which Indians attack the fur trappers.
Finally the film felt so self-indulgent in its own style of natural light filmmaking that it seemed like the filmmakers stretched shots and sequences for too long just to show off their prowess.In conclusion, "The Revenant" is a well-acted, masterfully shot, slow moving revenge/survival art house film with amazing scenery.
Sure in the 2015 version the cinematography is better and the fight scenes more gruesome but the story line is still the same.And for not doing any of his stunts DiCaprio is nominated for an Oscar for looking wild thanks for the great makeup artists.
If you have been watching Iñárritu's films such as Babel, Biutiful, Birdman and The Revenant, you will know what I mean.
But unfortunately, beauty is only skin deep, and if one manages to look past the the cinematography, he/she will find that the story is nothing special, in fact, compared to the praise this movie is receiving, it feels like it is a fraud.
Also, in about 2-3 years of time, nobody is going to talk about this movie unless the topic is not the fact that DiCaprio still did not received an Oscar yet.
I think this movie is really overrated.The photography is great and the acting is good (i liked the Tom Hardy performance, and I liked the Di Caprio one too, although I think he did better performances in other movies).The plot is really inconsistent and not coherent at all, I do not want to spoiler it but the first part of the movie is well built and believable, the second part feels fake, the behaviour of the captain has no sense and the final sequence remember more a super heroes movie than a "true story" one...I don't wonder at all that the second part of the movie (and of the book), the revenge one, totally divert from the real fact that inspired the book..
Innaritu directs every single shot with a self-conscious sense of self- importance, as if he's pausing to say to the audience, "Just wait and see how impressed you are going to be with my directorial skill." Too bad it all adds up to such a boring, one-note slog.DiCaprio will win what everyone seems to think is a long overdue Oscar for this performance, despite the fact that he's given the same performance in his last ten movies and he's asked to do no more in this one than grunt, moan, and grimace his way through it.
There were many times during this film that I felt like I was watching a Malick film, which makes sense since Lubezki shot The New World, which feels similar to The Revenant.
I've read a lot of negative reviews for this film, and I'm not sure what people expect, but we all need to agree that Leonardo DiCaprio's performance was outstanding and he deserved to finally get that Oscar!
I'm a little disappointed that the bear didn't win one for Best Supporting Actor lol.As for this film, right from the start - 2 mins in - you realize the outstanding cinematography and editing.Tom Hardy's performance was also outstanding as was the writing for this film.If you haven't seen this film and are concerned by the negative reviews, do yourself a favor and watch it with an open mind and come to your own conclusion...
The film "inspired by true events" is the survival and revenge story of fur trapper Hugh Glass, as played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who was severely mauled by a bear and after some efforts by his companions to save him, is eventually left in the wilderness to die.
Revenant may possibly be the best directed movie and it is likely that Inarritu will win the Oscar.
And I'm not talking about Leonardo DiCaprio here (who gives a no-holds-barred, crazy good performance and I'd love to see him win an Oscar for this film) - the star of this film is not a person: it IS nature, plain and simple.The revenge plot - which feels almost like an afterthought or a ploy to give the film a certain structure and a proper ending - is not really the film's main theme or strongest aspect, and it certainly isn't the reason that made this film so compelling to watch for me. |
tt0159097 | The Virgin Suicides | In the suburbs of Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the mid-1970s, a group of neighborhood boys — now grown men — reflect upon their memories of the five Lisbon sisters, ages 13 to 17. Unattainable due to their Catholic and overprotective parents, math teacher Ronald and his homemaker wife, the girls — Therese, Mary, Bonnie, Lux, and Cecilia — are the enigma that fill the boys' conversations and dreams.
During the summer, the youngest sister, Cecilia, slits her wrist in a bath. After her parents allow her sisters to throw a chaperoned basement party intended to make her feel better, she excuses herself and jumps out of her second story bedroom window, dying when she is impaled on an iron fence below. In the wake of her act, the Lisbon parents watch over their four remaining daughters even more closely. This further isolates the family from the community and heightens the air of mystery surrounding the girls; to the neighborhood boys in particular.
At the beginning of the new school year in the fall, Lux forms a secret and short-lived romance with Trip Fontaine, the school heartthrob. Trip comes over one night to the Lisbon residence in hopes of getting closer to Lux and watches television with the family. Trip persuades Mr. Lisbon to allow him to take Lux to the upcoming Homecoming Dance by promising to provide dates for the other sisters. After winning king and queen, Trip persuades Lux to ditch the group and have sex on the football field. Afterwards, Lux falls asleep, and Trip abandons her. At dawn, Lux wakes up alone and has to take a taxi home.
Having broken curfew, Lux and her sisters are punished by a paranoid Mrs. Lisbon by being taken out of school. Unable to leave the house, the sisters contact the boys across the street by using light signals and sharing songs over the phone.
During this time, Lux rebels against her repression and becomes promiscuous, having anonymous sexual encounters on the roof of her house late at night; the neighborhood boys spy from across the street. After weeks of confinement, the sisters leave a note for the boys. When the boys arrive that night, they find Lux alone in the living room, smoking a cigarette. She invites them inside to wait for her sisters, while she goes to start the car.
Curious, the boys wander into the basement after hearing a noise and discover Bonnie's body hanging from the ceiling rafters. Horrified, they rush back upstairs only to stumble across the body of Mary in the kitchen. The boys realize that the girls had all killed themselves in an apparent suicide pact: Bonnie hanged herself; Mary died by putting her head in the gas oven; Therese overdosed on sleeping pills; and Lux died of carbon monoxide poisoning when she left the car engine running in the garage.
Devastated by the suicides, Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon leave the neighborhood. Mr. Lisbon has a friend clean out the house and sell off the family belongings in a yard sale. Whatever didn't sell was put in the trash, including the family photos, which the neighborhood boys collect as mementos. The house is sold to a young couple from the Boston area. The adults in the community go about their lives as if nothing happened. The men acknowledge that they had loved the girls, and that they will never know why the sisters took their lives. | comedy, mystery, psychological, cult, atmospheric, flashback, romantic, storytelling, home movie | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0100680 | Stanley & Iris | A recently widowed Iris (Jane Fonda), unskilled middle class woman is forced to go to work at a baking plant. To make ends meet she rents out space to her sister and brother-in-law who have financial and marital problems as well. There is tension in the house and Iris's oldest child, a daughter, seeks escape through the company of boys resulting in an out of wedlock pregnancy. Making matters worse Iris had a good intellectual and healthy sexual relationship with her deceased husband. She misses him and visits the graveside often. She feels and is weighed down by her life.One day she has her purse stolen on the bus and gives chase to the thief who eventually gets away. Stanley (De Niro) comes to her aid and finds her attractive. He walks her home and she discovers that he works as a cook at the company canteen. Eventually she figures out he can neither read or write and saves him from being accused of stealing canteen supplies by the plant owner. Unfortunately he gets fired because of his lack of literacy and she offers to teach him how to read which he declines.Stanley's financial position deteriorates and he is forced to put his elderly father in an old peoples' home. He enters in good health but dies shortly after admission. Stanley realises the death is in part due to his illiteracy and asks Iris to teach him how to read. They form a friendship which eventually leads to a romance. Iris is initially incapable of having one as she has not let her first husband go. In dealing with the problems that this causes between them she discovers Stanley's amazing genius for mechanical inventions which eventually leads him to an interview at a major car company in Detroit - far from where they both live now.The story is well acted and moves along at a good clip. The ending is uplifting. Unlike many movies today dramatic tension is subtly and well portrayed. You need to pay attention to the details to thoroughly enjoy it. | romantic | train | imdb | The beauty of the movie is the dance that Robert DeNiro and Jane Fonda do together, starting and stopping, before each has the skills and courage to completely trust each other and move on.
This may not be a memorable classic, but it is a touching romance with an important theme that stresses the importance of literacy in modern society and the devastating career and life consequences for any unfortunate individual lacking this vital skill.The story revolves around Iris, a widow who becomes acquainted with a fellow employee at her factory job, an illiterate cafeteria worker named Stanley.
Iris discovers that Stanley is unable to read, and after he loses his job, she gives him reading lessons at home in her kitchen.
Of course, as you might predict, the two, although initially wary of involvement, develop feelings for each other...Jane Fonda competently plays Iris, a woman with problems of her own, coping with a job lacking prospects, two teenage children (one pregnant), an unemployed sister and her abusive husband.
However, Robert DeNiro is of course brilliant in his endearing portrayal of the intelligent and resourceful, but illiterate, Stanley, bringing a dignity to the role that commands respect.
They aren't your typical charming young yuppie couple, as generally depicted in on screen romances, but an ordinary working class, middle aged pair with pretty down to earth struggles.I won't give the ending away, but it's a lovely, heartwarming romance and a personal look into the troubling issue of adult illiteracy, albeit from the perspective of a fictional character..
From the opening 360 degree pan, which ends by a close-up of the bakery (which is, in fact, the center of the drama), to the outstanding last line of the film (which is, in fact, the theme of the movie), the storytelling is absolutely first-rate.
De Niro, as Stanley, gives an understated and totally endearing portrayal of a resourceful and intelligent "illiterate." This film is the opposite of the "blockbuster" -- finely crafted, intimate, and uncompromising..
I have no personal love for Jane Fonda as a person but she does one Hell of a fine job, while DeNiro is his usual superb self.
Excellent acting by the 2 main stars, De Niro and Fonda, make this a movie well worth seeing.
`Stanley and Iris' is a heart warming film about two people who find each other and help one another overcome their problems in life.
Stanley's life is difficult, because he never learned to read or write.
After Stanley learns to read, he goes off to a good job in Chicago, only to return to Iris and ask her to marry him.It's a really good film without nudity, violence, or profanity, that which is rare in today's films.
As the last film directed by the redoubtable Martin Ritt, this 1990 drama is full of good intentions about adult illiteracy and has two proved star actors, Jane Fonda and Robert DeNiro, in the lead roles.
Nonetheless, it rarely hovers above the level of a Lifetime TV-movie, as the story amounts to a series of episodes around the burgeoning relationship between Iris, a recently widowed worker in a pastry factory and Stanley, a quiet, illiterate cook who likes to invent mechanical contraptions in the privacy of his apartment.
Realizing his illiteracy has prevented him from taking care of his ailing father, Stanley asks Iris to teach him.
The rest is pretty inevitable, though there are affecting moments along the way mainly because DeNiro is able to convey the basic decency and veiled humiliation of his character.What I do miss in DeNiro's performance is the edge of danger that makes him truly transcend his best roles like what he did right after this film as Jimmy Conway in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas".
In what was to be her last film for fifteen years, Jane Fonda seems woefully miscast, looking too intellectually alert and physically aerobicized to portray Iris with conviction.
Begging for a Kathy Bates-type to inhabit her, Iris should be downcast about her life and feeling a deepening loneliness about her situation, but Fonda's off-screen resourcefulness makes it difficult to believe this woman would truly feel stuck.
It also feels disingenuous of the character to talk about her weight concerns and wanting a couple of eclairs when we are looking at an actress who has made millions on her workout tapes.Regardless, Ritt is also a master when it comes to showing the trials of everyday people in working class settings, and there is genuine chemistry between the two actors, which helps considerably as the story meanders toward its conclusion.
Excellent performances by Jane Fonda and Robert DeNiro that rank with their best work, a great turn by a young Martha Plimpton, an inspiring story line, and a haunting musical score makes for a most enjoyable and rewarding experience..
It's not a Hallmark Hall Of Fame-type family film with sleeping-before-marriage considered "normal" behavior but considering it stars Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro, I would have expected a lot rougher movie, at least language-wise.
The most memorable part of the film is the portrayal of how difficult it must be to learn how to read and write when you are already an adult.
That's the big theme of the movie and it involves some touching scenes but, to be honest, the film isn't that memorable.It's still a fairly mild, nice tale that I would be happy to recommend..
The problem with Stanley & Iris is that it feels like it is missing major scenes.
I watched the 1990 film Stanley and Iris last night for the first time.
It was like I was watching a poorly trimmed down television airing of a studio film that was compressed for time, however that was not the case here.
Working-class romantic drama from director Martin Ritt is as unbelievable as they come, yet there are moments of pleasure due mostly to the charisma of stars Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro (both terrific).
There are no overtures to serious issues (even the illiteracy angle is just a plot-tool for the ensuing love story) and no real fireworks, though the characters are intentionally a bit colorless and the leads are toned down to an interesting degree.
Although I didn't like Stanley & Iris tremendously as a film, I did admire the acting.
Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro are great in this movie.
He gives a great performance in this film and there is a great scene where he has to take his father to a home for elderly people because he can't care for him anymore that will break your heart.
"Stanley & Iris" is a quietly beautiful, poignant and simple film.
As one would expect, Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro are wonderful as the title characters (can you think of any two greater actors of the last thirty years?), and the script is quite affecting.
At another level, throughout watching the movie, I could not contain my disappointment at the inept treatment that is meted out by the script and the sketchy storyline.Was the director trying to document an epic human struggle, crafting out a modern day fairy tale, commenting on disturbing social issues or telling a plain love story?
John Ford, Frank Capra and a host of others have made epic movies about human struggle; Bergman, Woody Allen and a host of art-house directors have delved on various social issues and several film makers from William Wyler to Stephen Spielberg have had their versions of modern day fairy tales.
But none of them wanted to be everything in one movie.The first fifteen minutes of the movie make you think you are about to watch an intense, off-beat social document about burning issues like illiteracy, widowhood, old age, loneliness, teenage motherhood, poverty, mother-daughter relationship etc.In fact they are all hurled at you one after the other in the first reel itself.
It's here that I feel intellectually cheated.At one point in the movie, Robert De Niro asks Jane Fonda: why does it have to be all or nothing for you?
- full marks to them!) makes you forget your cinematic senses for a while and keep on watching.If I get a chance, I'll probably watch this movie again, and it's not because of Mr De Niro alone.Drawing a somewhat (though very different in theme and treatment) parallel - a much more powerful film about middle-aged post-marital flirtations starring De Niro in a similar 'soft' role was 'Falling in love' with Merryl Streep.
Iris King (Jane Fonda) is recently widowed and working at the bakery factory.
A nice, sane movie that never quite gets off the ground is Stanley & Iris.
As a recently widowed New England bakery worker who is supporting her children as well as her unemployed sister and her loutish husband, Jane Fonda captures just the right tone of can't-be-bothered weariness.She's appalled at the behavior of her brother-in-law, who slaps her sister (Swoosie Kurtz) in front of the children, and she's shaken when her unmarried teen-age daughter (Martha Plimpton) turns out to be pregnant.
Occasionally they pull off a good scene - like the one in which De Niro loses his way as he tries to read street signs - that suggests how much better this movie could have been..
Fair drama/love story movie that focuses on the lives of blue collar people finding new life thru new love.The acting here is good but the film fails in cinematography,screenplay,directing and editing.The story/script is only average at best.This film will be enjoyed by Fonda and De Niro fans and by people who love middle age love stories where in the coartship is on a more wiser and cautious level.It would also be interesting for people who are interested on the subject matter regarding illiteracy........
When Jane Fonda finds out Robert De Niro has survived his entire life hiding his illiteracy, she sets out to help him.
. .Even though this isn't a film I have any desire to watch over and over again, it really is a good movie.
Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch write some interesting and realistic situations in the beginning of the film that show how Robert De Niro could get away with not being able to read.
Stanley & Iris is an adult love story.
I am korean.I love this movie of Stanley & Iris.Jane Fonda is beautiful this movie.Good performances by Jane Fonda and Robert DeNiro which made a person's cold heart, warm.Sometimes love makes me happy but sometimes it makes me sad.I think the best love is the love which we don't regret even after (Never lose the hope in) difficult situation.This movie show us everything.
There are many minor flaws in Stanley & Iris, yet they don't detract from the overall positive impact of watching people help each other in areas of life that seem the most incomprehensible, the hardest to fix.
It may be a bit of a stretch to accept that an Iris would wind up working year after year in a factory, or that a Stanley never hid his illiteracy enough to work in construction or some other better-paying job.
Widowed mother/food factory worker Jane Fonda and illiterate factory cook Robert DeNiro come together one day and a romance immediately starts.
However, nothing is going very good for Fonda at home with her relatives and DeNiro soon loses his elderly father and his job (the latter because he can't read or write).
Fonda turns out to be an amazing teacher of academics and DeNiro also teaches her how to live, laugh and love again in the process.
"Stanley & Iris" is really somewhat disappointing considering the star power here (DeNiro and Fonda are probably the two finest performers of their generation).
Although the film's intent is to be an uplifting story of curing illiteracy, watching it is a true "bummer." I give it 1 out of 10, truly one of the worst 20 movies for its budget level that I have ever seen..
So there's no way this Stanley character created by this stupid film could not read or write A to Z alphabets, his own first and last names, read the street signs.
It is actually my kind of film, it is well made, and in no way do I want to say otherwise, but as an adaptation, it fails from every angle.The harrowing novel about the reality of living in a northern England working-class area grabbed hold of my heartstrings and refused to let go for weeks after I had finished.
A beautiful film, an inspiring soundtrack, excellent performances, a tale of hope and romance...yes.
The essence and the real gut of the novel is lost - darkness and rain, broken windows covered with cardboard, and the graphically described stench of poverty is replaced with sunshine, pretty houses, and a twinkling William's score.If you enjoyed the film for its positivity and hope in the face of 'reality', I advise that you hesitate to read the book without first preparing yourself for something more like 'Schindler's List'...but without the happy ending..
When the boss finds out Stanley can't read or write he sacks him because there's not much point having a chef who is going to put in three times the eggs and sugar the recipe requires.
I think that's because they expect Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro in a totally different types of films.
I can't say that Jane Fonda is one of my favorite actresses, yet, almost every time I do see one of her films, I'm impressed.
Now I like few things more than watching a good -- mature -- performance by a truly fine actor.This is clearly not the type of role that we usually associate with Jane Fonda -- a poor woman who works in a bakery factory and has a family life that is less than ideal.
That is until Iris King (Jane Fonda) comes along.
This hard-working factory worker, a widow with a troubled family, takes an interest in his plight, and takes it upon herself to teach him how to read and write, falling in love in the process while getting over the memory of her late husband.There is really little plot and not a sensible reason as to why Stanley has never learned to read and write.
There is also little impact in the story with Fonda's family, which includes her troubled sister (Swoosie Kurtz, most of whose role must have been left on the cutting room floor) and her young daughter (Martha Plimpton).
In a nice small role, "The Drew Carey Show's" Kathy Kinney plays one of Fonda's co-workers.I really wanted to like this more than just your average "Hallmark" type movie.
She remarks that he, like her, "is doing time" - her family is composed of a prisoner and a wage slave.Stanley, however, still believes in human relations and is therefore for most of the film outside of the system of Fordist capitalism.
It is, however, acknowledged as a moral force - Iris, clearly a character devoted to living a "good" life, mentions at the beginning of the film that her rosary was among the objects lost in a purse snatching.Once able to read, he enters the system and lands a managerial position with a health care plan, a car, and a house, taking his place at the head of the family, the breadwinner.
The year: 1990: 3 films are released with Robert Dinero: Awakenings, Goodfellas: Stanley and Iris.
Each carries their own weight: the talents found in Goodfellas can be seen in this film.When Deniros illiterate character runs in the rain to Fonda's character and in desperation yells "teach me to read," you feel the hurt, shame, limitations and prison an adult lives in being illiterate.This is why I love Bobby: also: Fonda is fantastic too..
Some side story lines about the sister and daughter could have been better developed or eliminated altogether, as they are, they seemed tacked on.Stanley and Iris are played by big name "stars" but that being said, they might have been more believable if played by "lesser lights".
Sharyn Wolf discusses the film "Stanley and Iris" in her book "Guerrilla dating tactics".
Jane Fonda and Robert DeNiro helped to change the perspective on the war in Vietnam.
Fonda And De Niro Elevates This Harmless Romance Film.
Stanley & Iris is a romantic drama that features two big stars in Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro.
This movie is about an odd love story between a widow and an illiterate.It was directed by Martin Ritt.
In this socially conscious drama with romantic overtones, Iris is a working mother with a job at a large commercial bakery who is still getting over the death of her husband, though her circumstances don't give her much time to grieve.
One of the few bright spots in Iris' life is her blossoming friendship with Stanley, a nice guy who works in the bakery's cafeteria.
Homeless and out of work, Stanley turns to Iris with a special request which is he'd like her to teach him how to read.The elements are in place but they don't add up to great drama in this well-meant effort to personalize the plight of illiterate people.But nevertheless,it's as honest and direct and entertaining as the considerable talents of everyone involved can make it.There is also a good supporting cast here, and Fonda is effective in her role.
But it's DeNiro who shines with a very affecting performance, as well as a natural chemistry with Fonda.That is why this movie with many flaws is a harmless little romance that's elevated by the charisma of its two stars..
This movie just doesn't work in the end, and that's a real shame because it's got a good premise and stars the greatest of all actresses.WARNING.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with "happy endings," but they have to be realistic and this one isn't.It's a shame, because Jane Fonda is simply the greatest of all actresses.
That Stanley's caught in dead-end jobs because of his illiteracy. |
tt2436386 | Project Almanac | High school senior David Raskin (Jonny Weston) is testing an experiment with his friends Adam Le (Allen Evangelista) and Quinn Goldberg (Sam Lerner) while David's sister Christina (Ginny Gardner) films it. The video is for a scholarship to MIT University. David shows off an aircraft he made that he can control with a material placed on his fingers. The gang sets the craft loose outside when someone calls David's phone, jamming the signal on Quinn's laptop to connect with the craft. The craft plummets to the ground and crashes.A few weeks later, David gets an envelope from MIT. He gathers with Christina and their mom Kathy (Amy Landecker), along with Adam and Quinn, to open it. David gets into MIT, but he only receives $5,000 instead of the proposed $45,000, to his disappointment.At school, we learn that David has a crush on a girl named Jessie Pierce (Sofia Black-D'Elia). Quinn flunks a chemistry test in front of his whole class. Christina is bullied by the school's head bitch Sarah Nathan (Michelle DeFraites).Back home, David and Christina discover that Kathy is trying to sell the house. Later, David rummages through the attic. Christina comes upstairs and they find a videotape of David's 7th birthday party. It was the last day the two saw their dad Ben (Gary Weeks) before he died in a car crash. The two look at the video and David notices something strange - he, in his current age, is physically visible in the video. He shows the tape to Adam and Quinn, who both react with surprise.David obsesses over the video and notices details like that he has a blue stain on his shirt and that he's holding keys with a ballerina figure key chain. He looks in his bag and notices he's actually holding Jessie's bag. He goes over to return it to her and awkwardly tries to talk to her. He returns the bag and she congratulates him on getting into MIT.The gang goes to David's basement and they uncover a secret hatch in the floor that contains blueprints for a temporal relocation device, or a time machine. The boys get excited and begin to gather the materials they need to build it. After a few failed tests, they steal hydrogen canisters from the school to properly charge their batteries. They manage to activate something that causes objects in the basement to levitate, but the batteries keep short-circuiting.A party goes on next door one night. Jessie brings her car and parks it in David's driveway. The gang hooks up their cables to her car battery to test their next experiment: they are trying to send Christina's red toy Corvette through time. They activate the machine, just as Jessie comes in when she sees what they're doing to her car. The room begins to shake and objects start floating, and then all the power on the street goes out. When the lights go back on, the gang sees that the toy car DID go through time, and is somehow fused to the wall. They look on the GoPro that they attached to the car and see that it was already sitting there recording them as they set up the machine.Jessie joins the gang as they show her David's birthday video and prove to her what they can do. They get together that night in the neighborhood and attempt to go back to one night ago. They activate the machine and jump through time. The gang is left deafened and disoriented for a brief moment. They then run to Quinn's home where Quinn was sleeping the previous night. Quinn draws a smiley face on his own neck. Past Quinn then rolls over and wakes up and sees his future self. This causes a glitch in time, and the two of them start to disappear. The gang runs out of there and then excitedly jump for the fact that they successfully time-jumped. When they get back to the area where they made the jump, they find a dog. As they drive through the streets, they notice a bunch of "missing dog" flyers that weren't there earlier. They return the dog to its rightful owner.The gang starts to imagine the possibilities of their newfound ability and decide to utilize it for personal matters as long as they all time-jump together. Quinn uses it to ace his chemistry test until he finally gets it right. Christina uses it to catch Sarah moments after she caused Christina to spill her drink, only for Future Christina to show up and purposely spill drinks on Sarah, humiliating her and declaring, "I'm everywhere, bitch!" Adam has the gang time-jump so they can win the lottery. However, he only got five out of the six numbers right, and after taxes, they only make $1.8 million. Quinn still uses the money to buy himself a cool car and to bring a line of food trucks to the school. At home, Kathy ends up getting a new job, to the delight of David and Christina.During class, David pulls the gang out of class to meet under the bleachers. They jump to three months ago for Lollapalooza. They watch their favorite bands play and even score VIP passes (after getting them cheaply on eBay in the present) to go backstage and hang with the band. The gang has the time of their lives. They hang on water slides and party all day. Christina and Adam hook up. Before the day is over, David goes over to Jessie as she checks out the wall that says "Before the world ends..." with a number of things people would do. Jessie drops HUGE hints to David like going to the statement that reads, "Before the world ends, I want to fall in love." David misses the chance to make his move, and they later jump back to the present, where only 41 seconds passed.Frustrated with his failure, David jumps back alone to Lollapalooza and makes his move on Jessie. He kisses her and then returns to the present. He's in his room and tries calling Jessie, only to see her phone is on his desk. She emerges from the bathroom wearing only a towel. David asks her if they had sex. She says yes.The two become an item, but when they get to school, David notices odd things. The school's basketball captain Justin has a broken leg. Sarah walks by David crying. There's a banner hung up that reads "Titans Basketball - Better Luck Next Year". After school, David learns from Adam and Quinn that there was a plane crash that killed 77 people, including Sarah's dad, who was the pilot. The boys think that their time-jumping is responsible for this, as well as the basketball team losing the championship.The gang meets up at night when David tells Adam that he jumped alone. Despite Adam telling him not to do it again, David jumps back alone to the night of the party. After he and the others kill the power when they jumped Christina's toy car, David runs into the street and pushes Justin out of the path of a car to prevent him from breaking his leg. The other partygoers hail him as a hero. David jumps back to the present and sees that not only did the team win the championship, but the plane landed safely. However, Adam lands in the hospital following an incident after the basketball game.David runs home and tries to figure out how to stop Adam from being hurt. He gets the machine ready when Jessie comes into the basement. They both jump through time, and David is forced to explain to her that he jumped alone to go back and make his move on her. Jessie is hurt and admits that she liked David since she first met him, and that she would use the machine to go back and meet him sooner. Then, Jessie's past self comes by, and once they see each other, she completely vanishes into thin air, leaving behind only her car keys, which David grabs.Seeing no other way out, David decides he must jump all the way back to his 7th birthday to prevent the machine from ever existing. Quinn goes to his home after Jessie goes missing. David explains the whole situation to him and apologizes for his mistake. The police then show up to David's home, suspecting him of being involved in Jessie's disappearance. David escapes his home and runs to the school where he takes one more hydrogen canister. He is able to fuel the machine just as the cops barge in, moments before he makes the jump.David goes back ten years and makes it home. He sees himself in the mirror, right where the video first got him. He follows his dad to the basement and they come face-to-face. Ben recognizes his son and realizes he got the machine to work. David tells him that there are no second chances and that they need to stop this. The two of them hug and Ben leaves. David gathers all the components of the time machine and burns them. His body flickers repeatedly until he vanishes.David is back in the present, looking in the attic where Christina finds him. They find their dad's video camera, which has footage of what they were doing and saying mere minutes ago (them questioning how the camera got there, specifically).The gang is at school during the moment when David sees he has Jessie's bag. He goes over to give it to her with more confidence, and he repeats a statement that Jessie made to him the first time they spoke. When she asks how he knew what he was going to say, David leans in and says, "This is gonna sound crazy, but I think we're about to change the world." | revenge, psychedelic, romantic | train | imdb | null |
tt0119324 | The House of Yes | On Thanksgiving Day, 1983, Georgetown college student Marty Pascal (Josh Hamilton) brings his fiancée, Lesly (Tori Spelling), home to his family's large estate located in McLean, Virginia to meet them for the first time. Marty is obviously nervous and hesitant about the impending introduction of his future wife to his family; he has informed them that he is bringing a guest but without any further details.Marty's family prepares both for his arrival and for an impending hurricane. Marty's twin sister Jacqueline (Parker Posey), recently released from a psychiatric hospital, is ecstatic about his arrival, until she is informed that a "friend" is accompanying Marty. She becomes distressed and, over the course of the night, shows many signs that suggest she suffers from borderline personality disorder, including sudden mood swings and an inability to cope with change.Referred to as "Jackie-O" by her family, Jackie has had a long obsession with the former first lady and the Kennedy assassination. As an adult, Jackie-O still emulates the former first lady in her style of dress and her hairstyle.Jackie-O lives with her mother and her younger brother Anthony (Freddie Prinze, Jr.). He and the matriarch of the family, Mrs. Pascal (Geneviève Bujold) are very protective of Jackie. Mrs. Pascal is immediately suspicious and guarded against her future daughter-in-law Lesly.Meanwhile, Lesly is initially oblivious to the tumultuous nature of the family. It is clear that Marty is in love with Lesly's "normalcy" and their engagement is a way for him to break from his family mold.As the hurricane outside intensifies, Marty and Lesly become stranded in the house until the storm lets up. After meeting Lesly, Jackie-O comes close to a melt-down at her bathroom sink, yet suddenly gains her composure and surprises Lesly. Jackie playfully interrogates Lesly about her love life with Marty, going so far as to ask for graphic details about their sexual escapades. Jackie-O informs Lesly of a nearby former girlfriend of Marty's, with whom he shared an intense affair in his youth and hints that there might be a "reunion" between the two former lovers.It becomes clear that Marty's lover was in fact Jackie-O after she coerces Marty into playing their favorite childhood "game," a re-enactment of the JFK assassination, a game that led to their first sexual encounter when they were 14. Jackie-O and Marty play the game, and after she has "shot" him, she runs over to cradle him in her arms. She begins to kiss him, and the two have sex. Lesly walks in on them and, horrified, runs back upstairs where Anthony, who previously tried to warn her of Marty and Jackie's sexual relationship, convinces Lesly that he is an insecure virgin dying of a brain tumor, leading to a short and awkward sexual encounter.In the morning, the storm ends and Lesly confronts the family about the events of the night before. Mrs. Pascal coerces Anthony to tell Marty that he slept with Lesly.Meanwhile, Jackie-O searches the house for a gun that Marty had been ordered to hide by their mother, finding it in the bathroom. She flushes Marty's car keys down the toilet and returns to the living room where Lesly confronts Jackie-O about her mental illness and incestuous relationship.As Lesly runs to get their suitcases so she and Marty can leave, Jackie pulls the gun and asks Marty to play their game one last time, agreeing to let them leave afterward. Anthony races to find her medication while Marty cautiously plays along. In tears, Jackie shoots and kills her brother. Lesly runs from the house.In a final voice over, Jackie explains that Marty was buried in the backyard "next to Daddy." | comedy, dark | train | imdb | null |
tt0031225 | Destry Rides Again | Destry rides again! Thomas Jefferson Destry, Jr. (Jimmy Stewart) is the deputy sheriff without a gun. He believes the law and public opinion is the answer to outlaws and gunfights. Bottleneck is a lawless town run by bad guys and gunslingers. Kent (Brian Donlevy), a host of gunslingers, the corrupt Judge Slade (Samuel S. Hinds), crooked gamblers and dishonest saloon gal Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich) were cheating, stealing, and forcing farmers to sell them their land against their will in order to have control of all the land when the railroad comes through the territory. The outlaws kill the old sheriff because he is wise to their game. In order to keep law and order out of Bottleneck, Judge Slade appoints the town drunk and apparently incompetent Washington Dimsdale (Charles Winninger) to be the new sheriff. Charles sobers up and is shocked by the news, but steps up to the challenge. Before he was a drunk he had been deputy for Sheriff Tom Destry Sr., who was the roughest, toughest sheriff of all time. Destry Sr. used his fists and his guns to clean up the lawless town, and was Sheriff there until gutless outlaws shot him in the back. Sheriff Dimsdale wires for the younger Destry, the most crack-shot Sheriff of Bottleneck since Destry, Sr. The towns villains hear about Destrys reputation and decide to meet his stagecoach in Bottleneck, and give him a not-quite-warm welcome. When the stage arrives, to everyones surprise, Destry is carrying a birdcage and parasol because he is helping a female passenger - a sweet Bottleneck girl he fancies - debark from the stage. The entire town roars with laughter at the sight of the new deputy who appears to fall short of the lawman ideal. The new sheriff is agreeable and unconcerned about the mocking. Later, he goes to the saloon and attends unarmed: I dont believe in guns, he tells the astounded locals. This prompts more ridiculing from the outlaws. Destry then meets Frenchy, who has a cat fight with a Russians wife who has come to claim her husbands pants after Frenchy won them in a fixed poker game earlier. Destry stops the fight, pouring a bucket of water on Frenchy. Naturally, this enrages the theatrical lady, but her scrap with the new sheriff sparks a romantic interest between Destry and Frenchy. Destry then makes the Russian a deputy; Bottlenecks new triumvirate then decide to trick the outlaws to find out who killed the previous sheriff and why. They make an arrest. The outlaws and people of Bottleneck soon learn that there is more to their laughable deputy sheriff than friendly talk, especially after his friend Dimsdale gets shot in the back while guarding the new prisoner. It is revealed that Frenchy was implicit in Dimsdales death, and she deliberately distracted Destry whilst Dimsdale is murdered and the imprisoned outlaw is freed. Destry straps on his guns and goes looking for those responsible. A large brawl erupts, and Frenchy changes her allegiances once more, catching a bullet for the otherwise doomed deputy. Destry, as formidable as his father, vanquishes the outlaws and cleans up Bottleneck. The Russian finally gets his pants, Destry falls in love with a girl from the stage, Bottleneck is saved, and Destry rides again! | cult, murder, violence | train | imdb | It is true that there are parody elements in George Marshall's delightful "Destry Rides Again" but the real humor lies not so much in these sorts of antics, nor the heavily laid on inquiries of Marlene Dietrich as to the tastes of the backroom boys, but rather in James Stewart's no-gun Destry characterization
This springs from the same source as Ford's 'characters', recognizable frontier independent-minded eccentrics, with a firm footing in American literature; characters often with a roundabout way of making a point, or pointing a moral, as with Destry's habit of prefacing each little cautionary parable with: 'I knew a fellow once who
' A habit that inevitably drew the aggrieved riposte: 'You know too many fellows, Destry
'The other 'characters' in this film have more than a color or two of parodyMischa Auer's improbable Slavonic cowboy, Charles Winninger's town drunk, Brian Donlevy, unprincipled boss, and Samuel S.
Hinds' nicely played judge
In retrospect, it's odd how much this movie gains from its rather touching little postscript
Stewart, the unconventional lawman, having pacified his cowtown, strolls the streets with a hero-worshiping lad at his heels, and yet also takes a little cloud of sadness along with him
Marshall's film is considered a classic Western which manages to encompass suspense, comedy, romance, tenderness, vivid characterization, horseplay, songs and standard western excitements, without moving for more than a moment from a studio main street set
Hollywood expertise at its very best....
When the sheriff is killed they 'elect' the town drunk Charles Winninger as the new sheriff.But Winninger who was a deputy sheriff at one time sends for the son of his former boss Thomas Jefferson Destry played by Jimmy Stewart.
James Stewart is Destry and he is called by the ex-drunk sheriff to bring law and order to the town of Bottleneck.
And the women are as strong as the men, unusual in a Western: Dietrich & Una Merkel have the best fight in the film and it's the entire body of townswomen, lead by Merkel & Dietrich, who take matters into their own hands at the conclusion to thrash the bad guys.All of the above named cast is excellent (this was considered a comeback of sorts for Dietrich, after her parade of elaborate, but not terribly popular, costume epics; Stewart is a delight as his usual laconic self.) Jack Carson is also on hand as a tough cattleman.
This spirited realization that never flags results to be a potpourri of Western , comedy , irony and action .This is the second of four adaptations based on the novel by Max Brand , the first was titled by American exhibitors as ¨ Justice rides again (1932) ¨ with Tom Mix and the third version released in 1951 under title ¨ Frenchie ¨ and fourth take on exhibited in 1954 also directed by George Marshall with Eddie Murphy and Marie Blanchard in similar characters to James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich..
We identify with them (especially Jimmy Stewart the sheriff and Marlene Dietrich the bad woman with a good heart who can sing, too) and yet know they are all artifice, just as in a play.
It's a great western drama with a lot of comedy elements about a gunless deputy who comes in to clean up the town of Bottleneck.James Stewart was an interesting choice for the lead as young Destry, the son of a lawman who's given up his guns and wants to clean up the town peacefully.
A mild-mannered and peaceable lawman cleans up the tough and rough town of Bottleneck with the help from a tough saloon-singer.This western has it all: Stewart and Dietrich in top form,an outstanding supporting cast,romance,drama,suspense and comedy,all kept at a breathtaking pace by director George Marshall.Dietrich's songs have even become classics.So "See what the Boys in the Back Room will have" and have it too..
How many classic Western adventures have real comedy, poignant love scenes and great songs, plus Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart in the leads?
(James Stewart) rides in to Bottleneck and sets about ridding the town of its riff-raff elements, without guns!Based on the novel by Max Brand, Destry Rides Again simultaneously spoofed the western genre whilst reinvigorating Marlene Dietrich's flagging career.
But it really comes off, where Dietrich's loud and brusque portrayal perfectly plays off of Jimmy Stewart's laid back and gentle mannered Destry performance.The role of Destry is tailor made for Stewart, his everyman charm sits perfect for a character who is at first painted as a wimp, he drinks milk, he carries no guns, but who better than Stewart to fully realise a character that uses brains over brawn to great effect?
A film of this type, though, is only as good as its villain, and thankfully Brian Donlevy steps up to the plate with a suitable grumpy sneer, it's a fine performance from a very undervalued performer.Directed by the highly experienced George Marshall, Destry Rides Again is chock full of the elements that make a good family film even better than it should be, jokes a plenty, goodies and baddies, songs, and quality slices of drama, all combine here to make this a very entertaining and rewarding picture indeed.
The support cast are roundly great and people like Auer, Winninger, Donlevy and others all make sure that the film is not being carried by the two leads but is rather a group effort.Overall a great comedy western that has more to it than you think.
Marlene Dietrich, cast against type here looks as though she is having a ball and has some of the film's best scenes and lines, and the wonderful James Stewart in his first western lead shows a believable chemistry(like fireworks I'd say!) and gives a very charming performance.
This is a hybrid comedy western musical but to me it is rather dark as people are cheated out of their land, shot dead but it has a few laughs and the butt of the joke is James Stewart.He plays Tom Destry jr, the new deputy in Bottleneck, sent for by elderly family friend Dimsdale who has been appointed as sheriff as the last one was shot dead for asking too many awkward questions.Dimsdale worked under Destry's father who was a famous and feared lawman.
They soon find out that Destry is here to enforce law and order and willing to use guile and cunning before he reaches for a gun.Stewart uses his easy charm for full effect, Dietrich is great as Frenchy but she is really a bad girl as she is in cahoots with Kent so you know she is never going to get it on properly with Destry despite the flirting.
James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Brian Donlevy, Charles Winninger, Jack Carson, and Mischa Auer star in "Destry Rides Again," from that magic year of 1939.
Tom Jr. becomes a laughingstock when the town realizes that he doesn't carry a gun and doesn't believe in it.This film is important for several reasons: It revived the stalled career of Marlene Dietrich, who does a great job as Frenchy, the saloon girl who, despite being Kent's girl, falls for Destry.
Third, it was made into a Broadway musical starring Andy Griffith and had a good run on Broadway.Dietrich sings "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have," "You've Got that Look," and "Little Joe, the Wrangler," and she's fantastic.Stewart, who took this role after Gary Cooper turned it down, is both sweet and sexy, with a gentle voice and manner that belies his lawman status.Very good film with a downbeat ending that is quite touching and really adds to the movie..
Here is a film ultimately about a young gentleman arriving in a small haven wronged by an exchange of powers; the acquaintances he makes and the problems he tackles, but such is Dietrich's own presence and the material that comes with it, that it does come perilously close to overrunning all else and just dominating proceedings: her issues; the acquaintances she makes; the problems she tackles and the overbearing sense of her character just overpowering all else on screen and taking things over on her own.The film unfolds in the lowly surroundings of a dusty Western town in the old west named Bottleneck, a name of which calls to mind an image of a trap of some sort; a place in which there is no escape, an ambush.
As a dancer, the film makes full use of her in this role; like the titular character of Gilda in the 1946 film of the same name, or Monroe's travelling band member character in Wilder's Some Like it Hot, the literal pausing for a dance sequence or number indebted to that character and that character alone feels wholly prominent.It is James Stweart's character of Tom Destry whom stumbles upon this town when a new sheriff, an elderly drunkard whose presence at Kent's saloon sees him encouraged into the role by the man on account he's a pushover, calls him in to be the deputy: seems the guy's taking the role more seriously than Kent thought.
His first action upon arriving is to aid an elderly woman with her tidbits as they climb down off of the coach and, rather than anything else more inclined towards alcoholic content, appears to want to enjoy a good drink of tea if it's going.From these births, Marshall weaves an enthralling tale; a film which never flags or lags, a film persistently pushing the boundaries to each character's tie with another around them; a sub-plot of a family felt wronged out of a cattle ranch imbuing proceedings both racking up tension and the prospect of hostilities in the background as the more centralised content of Destry's investigations into the death of the ex-sheriff, which is still pretty heated, plays out.
Even more original is the unlikely casting of German-born Marlene Dietrich (in Universal debut) playing a character called "Frenchy," and the good-natured, all-American boy named James Stewart (on loan from MGM) in the title role.
DESTRY RIDES AGAIN is worthy screen entertainment, thanks for fine chemistry of Dietrich and Stewart, and seeing "what the boys in the back room will have." (**** guns).
George Marshall directs this popular western comedy as Jimmy Stewart plays Tom Destry Jr., son of a famous lawman whose former deputy(now town drunk) is made Sheriff of the corrupt western town of Bottleneck, run by a ruthless man named Kent(played by Brian Donlevy)and aided by saloon singer Frenchy(played by Marlene Dietrich) who just murdered the most recent sheriff, who had been asking too many questions about Kent's corrupt gambling house.
You have all of the classic elements here - a lawless town led by a bully (Brian Donlevy), a new lawman (Jimmy Stewart), and a saloon singer with an edge (Marlene Dietrich).
Laughed at when he announces his intention to clean up a corrupt town without using firearms, the mild-mannered son of a famous sheriff soon proves his worth in this western comedy starring James Stewart.
The mayor, who is in cahoots with Kent appoints the town drunk, Washington Dimsdale, as the new sheriff assuming that he'll be easy to control.The film was James Stewart's first western (he would not return to the genre until 1950, with "Broken Arrow" and "Winchester 73"), and was also notable for a ferocious cat-fight between Marlene Dietrich and Una Merkel, which apparently caused a mild censorship problem at the time of release.
Yet another classic from Hollywood's most golden year, 1939, a highly entertaining light- hearted Western which sees James Stewart's Tom Destry Jr, son of a renowned but slain lawman, recruited by his pa's old deputy, the now alcoholic Wash (played in the style of Oliver Hardy) by Charles Winninger to clean up the god-forsaken town of Bottleneck way out west, coming up against the shifty mayor-come-judge, played by and the town's Mr Big, Joseph Kent played with his usual vigour by Brian Dunlevy.
Kent's sometime girlfriend and willing accomplice in his nefarious plans, is bar-room entertainer tart-with-a-heart Frenchy (well they could hardly have called her German-y) by the irrepressible Marlene Dietrich, her eyes (and thighs!) flashing everywhere.It actually takes Stewart over twenty minutes to arrive on screen, as we're introduced to top-billed Deitrich's feisty nature and see her drinking what the boys in the back are having, sing raucous songs and help Dunlevy to cheat ordinary townsfolk out of their home and land so that he can create a new, highly profitable cattle run to exploit.
They contrast and combine beautifully while Brian Dunlevy is also very good as the counterbalancing ruthless criminal kingpin who's due his just desserts.Director George Marshall directs with verve and although one or two of the supporting characters seem a little too eccentric, particularly Russian émigré "Don't call me Callahan", it's all great fun with many memorable scenes, including Deitrich's musical numbers, Stewart's first display of his gun-toting skill and of course the celebrated, no-holds barred cat-fight between Deitrich and Una Merkel.This is a great rollicking, roistering Western like they don't make 'em any more, more's the pity..
With its blend of humor and action, and a talented cast featuring Jimmy Stewart, Destry is one of the better westerns from Hollywood's golden age.When the sheriff of Bottleneck 'becomes unavailable' after sticking his nose into the local badman's business, the crooked mayor appoints Wash, the town drunk to fill his shoes.
Destry Rides again is a cool western comedy about a town called Bottleneck having no place for law and order.
The device of him telling stories about his friends as little parables works well in these capable hands.Marlene Dietrich, by contrast, is awful: her singing, her looks and her acting made me ask why she was ever in movies.It's the queasy attempted mix of comedy, musical and Western that really sink this film I think.
James Stewart is ultra-smooth in the title role, a lawman who hates guns but fights crime using his wits and the power of low expectations, in this rowdy, entertaining western comedy that seventy-plus years later is just as fresh as ever, delivering big laughs and fast-paced action.I can't for the life of me figure out exactly how Marlene Dietrich managed to wrap the town's entire male population around her finger.
DESTRY RIDES AGAIN is set in the hopelessly corrupt little town of Bottleneck, presided over as it is by the ruthless land-grabber and card shark Kent (Brian Donlevy) and his sexy partner-in-crime Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich).
The first part was a little slow to me but once you get past it, this is an entertaining film which was popular with a lot of people, including this reviewer, who actually liked it better the second time around.Marlene Dietrich plays a role typical for her, an edgy saloon singer named "Frenchy," and except for her singing, which I never thought was very good, she's great to watch.
James Stewart ("Thomas Jefferson Destry Jr.") also plays his normal role as the peaceful hero as does the too loud-and-obnoxious Charles Winniger (Destry's uncle).The ending is famous, a strange one in which the town's women storm the bad guys in a bar, culminating with Dietrich and Una Merkel fighting it out!
It was previously filmed in 1932 with Tom Mix and later in 1950 as "Frenchie" with Joel McCrea and in 1954 as "Destry" with Audie Murphy.This version which came out in the movies' best year 1939, stars Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart.
This film recharged her career and Stewart was just emerging as a major star.The town of Bottleneck is a lawless place under the control of gambler Kent (Brian Donlevy) who with his cronies and Frenchie the "saloon singer" (Dietrich) are cheating honest ranchers out of their properties by luring them into poker games.Rancher Lem Claggett (Tom Fadden) is the latest victim.
Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart make a great combination in "DESTRY RIDES AGAIN".
Directed by George Marshall, "Destry Rides Again" is an excellent comedy musical Western starring two big-screen heavyweights: Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart.
Some examples of this are A.) Tom Destry, apparently with a quick-on-the-draw reputation, making his first impression in Bottleneck by stepping out of a carriage holding a woman's birdcage & parasol, B.) Tom revealing to crooked saloon owner Kent (Brian Donlevy) that he is not wearing any guns, C.) the town drunk Washington "Wash" Dimsdale (Charles Winninger) being sworn in as sheriff, D.) the flashy saloon gal Frenchy (Dietrich) giving Tom a mop & bucket as his means of cleaning up the town, E.) the clownish "Callahan" (Mischa Auer) running out of the saloon after losing his pants in a poker game with Frenchy, and F.) the wild cat fight between Frenchy and boarding house owner Lily Belle (Una Merkel), after which Frenchy battles with Tom. Other memorable moments in this film include the following.
Giving her swaggering Frenchy characterization everything it needed, Marlene Dietrich is given the opportunity to sing three catchy numbers in the saloon; the song that is most identified with her is "The Boys in the Back Room", although the one I like best is "You've Got That Look".If you like noisy Westerns with great music and lots of shoot-'em-up action, you'll love "Destry Rides Again".
The chemistry between "Frenchy" (Marlene Dietrich) and "Destry" (Jimmy Stewart) is what binds this film together.
Jimmy Stewart - Marlene Dietrich - Brian Donlevey - Charles Winniger - Micha Auer and a gaggle of classic character actors hanging out in the Last Chance Saloon in the rough, tough town of Bottleneck.
This is not one of the greatest Western movies ever made because of its star, James Stewart, or even Marlene Dietrich, whose singing and barroom brawling puts all other hard-drinking saloon molls to shame. |
tt1599348 | Safe House | In Cape Town, South Africa, ex-CIA NOC operative turned international criminal Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) acquires a data storage device from rogue MI6 agent Alec Wade (Liam Cunningham). After the pair is attacked by a team of mercenaries led by Vargas (Fares Fares), Wade is killed and Frost is cornered by the gunmen, leaving him no choice but to surrender to the American consulate.
Frost is transferred to a local safe house maintained by "housekeeper" Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds), a young agent on his first low-level CIA posting. The CIA sends in a team led by veteran agent Daniel Kiefer (Robert Patrick) to interrogate Frost and bring him back to the US. Weston watches uneasily as Kiefer and his men waterboard Frost. When the power to the safe house is cut, the CIA team realize that they are in grave danger. Vargas and a heavily armed group attack the safe house, killing Kiefer and his team. Weston escapes, taking Frost as his charge. When Weston makes contact with his superior, David Barlow (Brendan Gleeson), at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, Catherine Linklater (Vera Farmiga), another CIA operative, orders Weston to lie low and await further instructions.
Weston hides out with Frost and calls his girlfriend Ana Moreau (Nora Arnezeder), a French medical resident who does not know that he works for the CIA, and tells her to leave the house. Barlow later tells Weston to go to Cape Town Stadium to retrieve a GPS device with the location of another nearby safe house. He retrieves the GPS at the stadium, but Frost creates a diversion and gets away by disguising himself as a policeman. Weston, detained by the police, escapes but is unable to catch Frost. Weston goes to recapture Frost but Frost ambushes him and aims a gun at him as if to shoot him, but then tells him "I only kill professionals".
Weston is ordered to visit the nearest American embassy for debriefing. Instead he meets with Ana and reveals that he is a CIA agent. He tells her to return to Paris for her safety. Weston tracks Frost to a shantytown in Langa, where Frost is meeting Nicaraguan national Carlos Villar (Rubén Blades), an old contact and document forger. Vargas and his team attack again, killing Villar along with his wife, but Frost eludes him and his men with Weston's help. Weston brutally interrogates one of Vargas' wounded mercenaries, who reveals that Vargas is working for the CIA, which is seeking to retrieve the storage device Frost received from Wade. The device contains Israeli intelligence which contain details of corrupt officials and secret money transfers involving American CIA, British MI6, and other intelligence agencies; Weston recognizes the reference to the Mossad because the CIA accused Frost of selling secrets to them before he became a rogue agent. Weston's own superiors may be implicated. Weston takes Frost to the new safe house, where Weston keeps the housekeeper, Keller (Joel Kinnaman) at gunpoint, because he no longer knows if he can trust the CIA.
Keller attacks Weston, and after a brutal struggle, Weston breaks Keller's neck, but he is badly wounded in the fight. Frost leaves Weston, who passes out from his wounds. Meanwhile, Linklater arrives in South Africa with Barlow to collect Frost and Weston from the safe house, but on the way is shot and killed by Barlow, who goes to the safe house and reveals that he is Vargas' employer. He confirms that the file contains incriminating evidence against him, and encourages Weston to lie about what has happened. Frost returns and kills Vargas and his men but is shot by Barlow. Weston then shoots Barlow in the chest, killing him. Frost gives Weston the file and tells Weston he is better than him before he dies from his injuries.
Back in the United States, Weston meets with CIA Deputy Director Harlan Whitford (Sam Shepard), who informs Weston that unflattering facts about the CIA must be removed from his report, but that he will be promoted. He asks Weston about the file's location but Weston denies having been told about it by Frost. Whitford states that whoever has those files will have many enemies. Weston leaves, then leaks the files to the media, incriminating personnel from many intelligence agencies, including Whitford. Later on, Weston sees Ana across a street in Paris, France. She reads a note passed to her from him, looks up at Weston, and they both make eye contact and she smiles before Weston walks away. | murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | null |
tt1204977 | Ouija | In the opening scene, two young girls, named Laine and Debbie, are sitting in Laine's room playing with a Ouija board. Debbie tells Laine how to play and how to use the planchette to see any spirits. They say the mantra, "As friends we gathered, hearts are true; spirits near, we call to you." Laine looks through the planchette to spot a spirit, and is frightened when she sees someone, only it's her younger sister Sarah. She yells at Sarah to leave.In the present day, the adult Debbie (Shelley Hennig) is playing with the Ouija board by herself. She appears distressed, and she tosses the board and planchette into the furnace. She then speaks on the phone with the adult Laine (Olivia Cooke). Laine goes over to her house, and Debbie says she is not up to hanging out with her and their friends that night. Debbie mentions playing the Ouija board and feeling odd, though Laine dismisses this as her being a spaz. After Laine leaves, Debbie goes back upstairs and sees the Ouija board and planchette on her bed. She looks through the planchette, and her eyes turn white. Debbie then grabs some Christmas lights and hangs herself.The next morning, Laine is with her boyfriend Trevor (Daren Kagasoff) at a diner. They are met by their waitress friend Isabelle (Bianca A. Santos). Laine gets a text from her dad saying to go home immediately. When she gets there, Laine finds her dad, her grandmother, and Sarah (Ana Coto) gathered to inform her of what happened to Debbie.All of Debbie's loved ones gather for the wake. Laine is too shaken to be there, but she holds it together. Debbie's boyfriend Pete (Douglas Smith) arrives with some flowers. Laine goes into Debbie's room where Debbie's mother finds her. Laine breaks down and hugs her. She asks Laine to housesit for them while they are gone. Laine agrees.Laine discovers the Ouija board that Debbie was playing with. Since she cannot shake the feeling that Debbie's presence is still in the house, she gathers Sarah, Trevor, Pete, and Isabelle to Debbie's house to play with the board. They get together and say the mantra as they put their hands together on the planchette. It starts to move, which everyone thinks is Sarah moving it. The spirit implies that it is Debbie and it spells out "Hi Friend" on the board. The friends are freaked out and stop playing.Each friend is followed by the spirit. Trevor encounters it on a bike ride, leading him under a bridge where he sees "Hi Friend" written on the wall in chalk. Isabelle sees it spelled out in her car window, along with a hand slamming against it. Pete sees it carved in his desk.Thinking that Debbie is trying to communicate with them, the friends get together to play the board again. They learn that the spirit is not Debbie, but someone that identifies as DZ. Laine looks through the planchette and sees a little girl with stitches on her mouth. The spirit then spells out on the board, "Run. She's coming." Laine asks who is coming, and the spirit spells "Mother." Laine looks through the planchette and sees the girl point to an older female spirit screaming and running in her direction.In her home, Isabelle is flossing her teeth and drawing herself a bath. She then has stitches form on her mouth, and she is levitated in the air. The spirit drops her, leaving her to slam her head against the sink, killing her.Trevor is angry at Laine because she made them play the game, which led to Isabelle's death. Laine investigates Debbie's house and finds some pictures of two little girls and their mother. Trevor looks up on the internet an article on a missing girl from the same address as Debbie's home, as well as the girl's sister being taken into custody after murdering her mother.Laine goes to a mental asylum to meet Paulina Zander (Lin Shaye), the sister of Doris, the girl with the stitches on her mouth. She tells Laine that their mother believed she heard voices and saw spirits that were trying to communicate through Doris, so she sewed her mouth shut. Paulina asks Laine to find Doris's body in the house and to cut the stitches open.Laine finds Doris's corpse in Debbie's home, with her mouth still sewed shut. She cuts the stitches open, bringing Doris's spirit out, along with Mother. Doris lets out a blood-curdling scream and vanquishes Mother's spirit.Just when it seems that everything is over...IT'S NOT. Pete gets killed in his home by Doris's spirit. Laine returns to the asylum to tell Paulina that she did what she told her. Paulina chuckles, and Laine realizes that Mother was not evil, but it was Doris and Paulina that were communicating with spirits, and that their mother was trying to stop them.Laine's grandmother tells Laine and Sarah that the only way to defeat the spirit is the destroy not only the Ouija board, but Doris's corpse.The girls and Trevor go to Debbie's house to finish this. Trevor gets pulled into the pool and is killed by Doris. Sarah finds Doris's corpse and is attacked by her spirit. Laine gets out the Ouija board and beckons Doris to play with her. Doris grabs Laine's arm and almost kills her, until Debbie's spirit shows up to intervene. Sarah brings Doris's corpse and throws it into the furnace. Laine throws the Ouija board and planchette, and Doris's spirit is destroyed.Laine and Sarah return home, relieved that everything is over. Laine flosses her teeth and gets ready for bed, and then finds the planchette on her desk. She picks it up and looks through it one more time. | paranormal, murder, flashback | train | imdb | "Ouija" has a pretty cool and creepy story to work with, an old spirit board discovered in the attack, suicides and haunting, a creepy legend that connects the board to the house of the suicide girl, it is all perfect horror subject matter.
You can tell money was well spend in production, "Ouija" has all the right components to be a real good horror film, unfortunately it all stays pretty PG.
I mean really for what "Ouija" is it is a nice, creepy Halloween horror film based on an occult staple-the spirit board.
And there are a few scare-ish moments that use the sudden shock gimmick to get a jump out of the movie-goer but still this film is far less exciting than say "Insidious" or "The Conjuring"..
This movie was by no means a cinematic masterpiece, however can you really expect something of such high quality when the entire premise is based around a Ouija board that wreaks havoc upon a group of close friends.Watching this film, my desire to watch a somewhat corny and predictable horror/thriller was achieved with ease.
As someone who has been warned time and time again about the dangers of using supernatural means to attempt to contact the dead, I found this movie to be highly entertaining in a cheap-thrills kind of way.If you are looking for a simple, cliché supernatural themed movie to watch with close friends for a movie night, I'd definitely recommend.
After the death of her best friend Debbie (Shelley Hennig) that committed suicide, Laine (Olivia Cooke) brings her sister Sarah (Ana Coto) and convinces her friends Trevor (Daren Kagasoff), Isabelle (Bianca Santos) and Pete (Douglas Smith) to perform a séance using a Ouija board.
I do not recall how many movies that I have seen with the same storyline, where a group of teens or even adults that use a Ouija board or a séance to accidentally awake evil spirits.
If you want to see a horror movie about an Ouija Board, watch Witchboard 1-3.
This is actually pretty entertaining, okay it wasn't that scary, just a little scary, they're some jump scares here and there, but some the suspense in this movie is pretty good, now I will admit the premise of this movie was pretty stupid, but what do you expect, the movie has a stupid title and a stupid premise, which is about some average teens play a board game known as Ouija, if you remember the Ouija game, you know how to play it, and know the plot, if you don't know I'll tell you plot.
After a girl Debbie died, her friends found the board game Ouija, and they start to play it, once they played it, something goes wrong, the game starts to haunt them left and right, when they play or don't play the game, so they have to keep on playing to find the spirit, and put an end to it.
Overall this film is pretty good, it's not great, but it's still good to watch, would I recommend to you guys, yes for people that don't take stupid movies too seriously, you probably enjoy it, like I did, because I didn't take it too seriously, if you did, you may not like it, because it's met to be stupid, so it was so stupid that it was entertaining to watch..
2014's horror film Ouija instead puts the cause and focus of the strange disturbances directly upon the game itself.After one of their friends inexplicably is found dead in a suspected suicide, a group of friends turn toward her Ouija board in a desperate attempt to find answers and closure.
While formulas typically exist because on some level they do work, this one has been bludgeoned to boredom inducing death.Typically if a film is going to be this standard then some sort of redeemable part of it must shine through, either through stellar characters portrayed by undiscovered gems or uniquely gruesome horror scenes.
Once the group of friends, led by up-and-coming horror queen Olivia Cooke, make contact through the Ouija board the terrifying scenes considerably improve but never prove wow-worthy and still border on cliché.The most substantial error in the entirety of the film is the overall serious tone.
When her friend Debbie (Shelley Hennig) dies in what appears to be a suicide, Laine (Olivia Cooke) thinks there's more to her death and it may involve the Ouija board that was in her house.
At last, the fact that when the scary part DID fall, they were not as scary as I would have expected them to be.All I learned after Ouija was that it is the perfect movie to introduce somebody who hates horror movies to the genre but certainly not for intermediate/advanced spectators who love it.I remember my reaction at the end of the session and I was like 'what did I just watch' and it seemed like my friends had the same reactions.
You'll probably already know the story about the ancient spirit board that can have supernatural abilities linked to the dead, but Ouija manages to make them interesting and fun to watch.
It's easy to tell the rave reviews are written by 13 year olds so if you are an adult, keep that in mind when considering to spend your hard earned money on this cheesy horror flick.Ouija is a poorly written and directed horror movie with basically having nothing to impress the audience other than cheap jump scares.
I gave up on expecting character development in these type of horror movies long time ago but I was still waiting something in the sense of story telling which this movie has none of it.Quija heavily relies on one thing.
Of course, the answer is not that clear and soon after, whatever they communicated with, starts chasing the group.The main problem of this movie is relying on jump scares rather than making the movie itself scary with the ambiance, story and the situations characters are in like Insidious, The Conjuring, Anabelle etc.
I'll go with the latter and that's what happens with this movie.Considering the 5 million dollar budget, I wasn't expecting much but when you think that the first Paranormal Activity had a thirty thousand dollar budget, I bet this movie could have made a lot better than what it is now.Unfortunately, Ouija lacks tension, horror, likable characters and all the things that a good movie has.
Because "Ouija" is just a generic, bad ghost movie, it would be exactly the same if the board wasn't even there.
Unwarranted cheap jumpscares for the sole reason of trying to hide the lack of real horror or substance, cookie-cutter story, dialogue and characters, the same visuals you have seen time and time again in other movies.
The film didn't really go the way I predicted and it felt like it flew over I didn't feel like I was sitting checking my watch every ten minutes hoping for it to end, I really did loose track off time I was that scared most off the time I didn't even want to move.
Throughout the film I must have jumped a good ten times the scenes really were intense and unpredictable the usual horror scares didn't really happen.
Produced by Platinum Dunes, yes Michael Bay's film company, Ouija is a bland, by the numbers horror flick that lacks scares and ups the boredom factor.
"Ouija" is brought to you by Michael Bay from Platinum Dunes,toy manufacturer Hasbro and Jason Blum,producer of the "Paranormal Activity" series.Pretty girl Debbie rejects a night out with her best friend in order to play alone with an Ouija board.Bad decision as she becomes possessed and hangs herself.Her best friend Laine(Olivia Cooke)starts investigating the tragic death of Debbie.She and her younger sister plus three friends decide to perform spiritual séance with Ouija board.They want to contact Debbie's spirit.But instead of Debbie they make a contact with murderous spirit who lives somewhere inside the house of Debbie.Tolerable supernatural horror flick with routine script and few fairly spooky scenes of ghostly manifestations.No sex and very little on-screen violence.6 Ouija boards out of 10..
This week I have been watching some old 1980's horror movies like "Hell Raiser" now that is classic and very scary.
I tried very hard to get my friends to stay at my house and watch some old classic horror movies on Netflix.
It turns out that the friend made a cardinal sin by playing a ouija board alone, which has allowed a spirit to escape and now it's after the friends.OUIJA is the latest horror film that offers up zero scares and zero originality.
This film here is the latest example of everything that's wrong with the genre and that's the fact that instead of building an atmosphere or any type of real tension, instead we're given a bunch of loud bangs that are supposed to scare us.I guess if you scare extremely easy and will jump at anything then you'll find this terrifying but if you've ever seen a horror movie in your life then it's doubtful that you're going to find much here.
OUIJA is a pretty bad horror film that is silly, unoriginal and not at all scary..
I did not typically think horror movies were marketed towards very young teens and preteens, but this one clearly was.The acting was bad.
As we know, bad films can be equally fun to watch, which is especially true in the horror genre.
I am the first one to say that Ouija as it's own movie based off the board would be hard due to because you need a lot of material to support it but it is still an interesting idea none the less.
The maid of the house played by Vivis Colombetti is quite underused and is a big waste of an idea and a character.Much like the film Mama from last year or other horror remakes, Ouija is a slumber party film for teenagers girls to get scared who do not know about good horror films yet or will never know.
You just know somehow this movie was green-lit solely based on the concept of "Ouija boards are scary, man." Unfortunately, no real effort was made to build a solid horror movie around this concept.
I'm talking about the movie Ouija, which from the trailers looked to be another simplistic scare story designed to make you fear the dark.
They use it to contact Debbie, but they end up contacting something else...The plot is pretty generic and when you think about it, it's kinda like the plot of The Ring, just put Ouija board instead of a cursed video tape.
As made clear by the title, a Ouija board also forms the central gimmick in this film, but like all skeptical horror fans know, a good gimmick doesn't necessarily guarantee a good movie!
But that isn't problem, because horror movies don't have difficult plots in general - they meant to scare you, and "Ouija" delivers exactly what it promises.
It doesn't show anything original or new, nor does it try to reinvent the wheel of horror movie making - if you know the genre, you will be in familiar ground watching this flick, and it's not a bad ground at all for one evening to spend..
It's shot like a typical teen drama, but there isn't even the exaggerated angst and nonsense to give at least some laughable amusement, since it's really trying to be a horror movie.It's just not good.
Plus, it took me a good long while to figure out that the lead characters are supposed to be high-school age as they are clearly all well into their twenties.Movies like this give the horror genre (which I love) a cheap name.
OuijaThe worst thing about playing with a spirit board is your friends will finally learn you're illiterate.Luckily, the friends in this horror are all able to discern written messages from beyond.Laine (Olivia Cooke) and her friends (Daren Kagasoff, Bianca A.
Santos, Douglas Smith, Ana Coto) use her childhood Ouija board to reach out to their deceased friend Debbie (Shelley Hennig), who mysteriously committed suicide.Making contact with a spirit they believe to be Deb, the friends slowly realize the entity leaving them messages - sans Ouija board - is not their friend at all.In fact, it's the restless soul of a mother murdered by her daughter.With a script as flimsy as a Ouija board, this no thrills thriller from Hasbro fails to conjure up scares or any reason to care about these one dimensional characters.Furthermore, Ouija boards should only be used to order ghost pizza.
It seems like there was just not enough connections to make a better story and at times it made me mad when the only answer was to play the Ouija board..
But at the end of the day, all "Ouija" is, is a scary movie with one scare, as well as a Michael Bay production (money grab) that will be the major reason for teen disappointment this Halloween weekend..
Halloween night we went to watch it, the whole room was packed with people expecting something new and scary as for the past few years there was really no good horror movies.
There are really good points in this film, but overall it fails as a horror movie.
It has too many jump scares, these can be used in a clever way (paranormal activity etc) but in this movie its like "oh again really??" after you watch the first 2 scares you know what's coming.
Whether you believe in them or not though I would say that overall Ouija (2014) is a fun Halloween/horror movie but there is not much in the film that will keep people talking about it in years to come, although it does keep your interest throughout.
I hope Hollywood starts to develop new saw films although they became pretty bad towards the end of the series at least I knew I got a good foundation of a story.
Acting is good, pretty straight forward and decent story and there are a few good scary moments.As with any horror movie, you'll find yourself hoping the characters don't do this or that or that they should have done this or that.
But there aren't too many moments like that which made it more enjoyable.It did get a bit cheesy towards the end but still, if you are in the mood for a good scare, you won't be disappointed.It's an above average horror movies so I'm giving it a 6/10..
personally i didn't like it and i know many who are disappointed (me) because a ouija board is not a common base for a horror flick.
Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way) if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both incredibly poorly done.A lot of 'Ouija' often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame.
I don't mind "B" films or "B" actors - if they are so bad, they are good but the cast and film - terrible.I love the idea behind this movie - the Ouija Board!
I have no idea how trash movies like Triangle (2009) or average horror with absolutely zero scary scenes such as The Witch (2015) got such high ratings and positive reviews whereas for Ouija (2014), the case is not so.
We don't always like to watch a complicated horror movie which ends in such a way that we have to go to Google and find out the explanations of the stories and their endings so that the spent time would be worth watching it.
I would say, if you really love horror which could easily happen to your day-to-day lives or you love to get scared a few number of times and especially love an excellent climax at the end then this movie is worth-watching.
Bottom line, if you want a popcorn movie to watch with a couple of your friends one night, "Ouija" is not the worst way to do it.
All in all a very predictable film like most horrors these days.Ouija is dragged out for the first hour and then rushed to do everything in the last twenty minutes..
Also what some of the characters did wasn't very logical at all - but then again what horror story has logic in it.I can't write much more about this, I already wasted enough time watching the movie.
Ouija is now the latest of the board games to become movies.Two girls, Debbie (played by Shelley Hennig) and Laine (played by Olivia Cooke) are simply two of the closest high school friends around.
What perplexes me is that producer Michael Bay only seems interested in churning out horror movies that may have people coming, but never returning to.I'll give this two Ouija boards out of five.
In my opinion, good horror movie have a few characters that are developed to the point that you become emotionally invested and care about what happens to them so we get scared with them because we believe that something bad is about to happen to them.
It had its scary moments and times of suspense, but it wasn't as great as many recent horror films.Ouija is not an entirely terrible, it has its moments that had me at the edge of my seat.
It surely isn't the worst BUT any and all movies based on the Ouija board are going to have to be seen that way.
Beyond that, this movie carries some pretty poor acting (minus the lead who seemed to actually care to try at times) and the scares were way to few and far between to sucker in a horror fan.
A good horror movie should scare you with its story, it should have the ability to effect the way you think about the world. |
tt0453451 | Mr. Bean's Holiday | Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) wins a raffle and claims his prize a holiday involving a train journey to Cannes, a Sony Handycam DCR-HC96, and 200. Bean proceeds to film his trip to the French Riviera beach on the video camera.On the train, Bean buys some coffee. Bean arrives in Paris, France where accidentally taking a taxi from the Gare du Nord railway station to the arch at La Defense in Paris, Bean is forced to make his way on foot with the help of compass, literally walking through Paris (with disastrous effects) towards Gare de Lyon from La Défense to board his next train towards Cannes. He misses his train when his tie gets stuck while trying to buy a sandwich from a vending machine. Discovering that a back-up train won't be leaving for another hour, he has time to try some French food at Le Train Bleu restaurant. Unable to communicate with the waiter in French and misunderstanding his suggestion, he accidentally orders oysters and langoustines, disgusting the taste of oysters. He pours the oysters into a nearby lady's handbag and eats a whole langoustine without removing the shell. He quickly escapes when the lady sees the oysters inside her bag.Back on the platform, Bean asks a man, who happens to be a Cannes Film Festival jury member and Russian movie critic Emil Dachevsky (Karel Roden), to use his camcorder to film his walking onto the train. By the time they are done, the TGV is about to leave. Although Bean manages to get onto the train, the doors close before Emil can get on. Emil told Bean to open the door but there is no button and then helplessly films Emil while running. Emil's son, Stepan Dachevsky (Max Baldry) is left on board by himself. Bean attempts to befriend Stepan, who gets off at the next stop to meet his father. While confronting a threatening stranger who approaches Stepan, Bean accidentally misses the train's departure, losing his bag aboard. The train that Stepan's father has boarded does not stop at the station, and he holds up a mobile number which reads 0608080797, but the last two digits are covered by his fingers. Bean and Stepan write down the possible numbers, but their first three attempts of calling Stepan's father prove fruitless. They end up calling a hairdresser, an undertaker, and a two-year-old kid. They board the next train, accidentally leaving Bean's ticket, passport and money behind which results in the duo being forced off the train at the next stop. They ask a lady for money to try and contact Stepan's father, but still, they are unable to reach him. Ironically, they end up contacting a maid who is cleaning Stepan's parents' hotel room. Then, a security camera takes a picture of Bean making a fake evil face. The station master sees Bean and Stepan trying to get money out of some public phones and chases them out of the station, suspecting them as vandals.Feeling hungry and low on money, Bean and Stepan decide to attempt at busking by miming to Puccini's O mio babbino caro (sung by Rita Streich) and other music and it proves successful. Afterwards, Bean buys two bus tickets to Cannes, and some food to eat on the way, but loses his ticket when it gets caught in the breeze and then snagged in the talon of a chicken, which is subsequently loaded into a farm pick-up. Bean steals a nearby bicycle and follows the pick-up, and passes a bicycle race in the process. When he reaches the farm, he finds a large chicken pen with thousands of chickens and realizes that he'll never find the ticket. As he leaves the farm, he finds the bicycle destroyed by a passing tank. Bean attempts to hitch a ride on a moped, but it wouldn't go since it couldn't hold two people. Ironically, a VW van with Stepan in it passes by when Bean accidentally locks himself in an old outhouse by the side of the road. After almost getting killed by a passing truck when he has managed to move the outhouse out on the road, Bean sets off for a place to settle for the night.Bean wakes up the next morning to see German World War II soldiers attacking a village he was sleeping in. Eventually he realizes that the village that he was in was used as a set for a commercial, which is being directed by Carson Clay (Willem Dafoe). Carson joins Bean as a soldier but it is fired when Carson sees Bean's camera attached on a rifle. When Bean's video camera battery dies, he decides to recharge it, but accidentally blows up the set afterwards, injuring Carson and losing his hat.Hitchhiking, Bean is picked up by actress Sabine (Emma de Caunes), whom Bean encountered at the commercial filming, driving the same type of car as Bean. She is on her way to the 59th Cannes Film Festival where Carson Clay's new film, in which she makes her debut, is going to be presented. When they stop at a petrol station, Bean finds Stepan in its café. Continuing to drive to Cannes, Bean finds Sabine's cell phone, which gives him an idea to try and contact Stepan's father, but yet again, they still are unable to reach him. They end up calling a man who accidentally drops his phone in a urinal, a man who commits suicide by jumping off a bridge (after he broke up with his lover) and even the waiter from the Le Train Bleu restaurant. When Sabine falls asleep behind the steering wheel that night, Bean takes over the driving but struggles to stay awake himself. The next morning they finally reach Cannes.When Sabine goes into a petrol station to change for the premiere, she watches TV news depicting Bean as Stepan's kidnapper and Sabine as an accomplice. The news anchor also informs that road blocks have been set up all over France, trying to catch them. There were even wanted posters with Bean on them. In order not to get caught before they reach the premiere venue, Stepan dresses up as Sabine's daughter, while Bean dresses up as Sabine's mother. They manage to get past the police and Sabine arrives at the premiere on time.The three sneak into the premiere of "Playback Time", a shameless vanity production written by, produced by, directed by, and starring Carson himself. From the first few moments, the audience is horribly bored. Sabine tells Bean that her big scene is coming up, but is disappointed to see that her role has been cut from the film. Seeing that Carson uses a similar video camera as him, and hoping to cheer up Sabine, Bean goes to the projection room and plugs his camera into the projector. The ensuing scenes, heavily featuring Sabine and Bean, fit Carson's narration. When Bean, chased by security guards, ends up on stage while his video is being played, Emil sees footage of his son, where the film ends, and claims that Bean has kidnapped him. But just as Bean is about to be arrested (Bean starts to run on the backs of the chairs as Roberto Benigni in the 71st Academy Awards when his film Life Is Beautiful won) Stepan also appears from behind the screen and is finally reunited with his father. The audience gives a standing ovation for what they believe to be part of Carson's movie. Carson's initial anger fades and he embraces Bean and takes credit for the film's success.After the screening, Bean picks up his camera, leaves the building and finally arrives at the beach, encountering many of the other characters including Sabine and Stepan. The film ends with Bean and the whole cast miming Charles Trenet's famous song "La Mer".In a post-credits scene, Bean writes "FIN" on the wet sand using his foot. He films it until the sea washes the words away and the screen cuts to black as his camera's battery dies again. | cult, cute, entertaining, stupid | train | imdb | They may not know Rowan's real name, but they know the character.The sad part about this film is that it's absolutely wonderful, and most people in America aren't going to see it because it's rated "PG".
What is so wrong with having a character like Bean, a performance like Atkinson's, that we can't find that part of us that wasn't soured on tasteless "humor" but just absorb and let out a barrel-chested sigh of satisfaction after a hearty laugh from a genuine, clever clean joke or visual gag?We'll go on, with our Jackasses and Scary Movie XII and we'll forget about them five minutes after we've left the theater, but darnit, it's high time a movie like Mr. Bean's Holiday came along.
And I for one would pay money to see this again, even if the American know-it-alls of Hollywood think it's better suited in a death slot in September, to be forgotten, sandwiched between sequel after sequel and the banality of teen slasher flicks acted by twenty-somethings whose genre should have died off years ago.If what Atkinson says is true, that this is the last time Bean will ever appear, then he's gone out on the highest note you could ever bestow on a character so beloved.
I'm not really a big Mr. Bean fan, but I really liked this movie anyway, and I know that most people will too, if they give it a chance.
I think the last time I saw him on screen was in 'Love Actually' (not so-great film but Atkinson was awesome).
Emma de Caunes as Sabine is charming and pretty and child actor Max Baldry as Stepan is impressive (unlike those annoying movie kids who 'beg' the audience to love them when getting on their nerve).
I don't wish to go on and on as Mr bean is a character whom each individual has their own views on, some love him and some hate him however this film, for most fans, is a welcome return to the 'classic' bean we knew in the TV series far less 'americanised' than in the ultimate disaster movie.
It seems that Rowan has taken bean to a new emotional level resembling classic silent artists such as Keaton and at times Chaplin, some scenes seem very reminiscent of "the kid" and help keep peoples attention to the story, not just Beans funny movements, though at times it drags slightly.
In an effort not to give any of the film away and there's little dialogue to quote all I can say is that I enjoyed the film and felt that this is the Bean i saw as a child and Rowans ability to emote with facial expression alone should place him amongst the greats in silent entertainment..
Mr. Bean's March to the Sea. This hasn't quite been the great year for movies that I had hoped for, but it has certainly been a very good year for comedies, and "Mr. Bean's Vacation" is the best so far.
This movie homage, and I can it can be argued that it is, to the great Tati films of "Mon Oncle" and "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" is Rowan Atkinson's triumphant farewell to the great character he created.
He plays with a real gusto and his gags are great.Any time he does a gig, that is really funny/ His trip to Cannes is a real gem of laughs - he separates the son of a Russian film maker, he forgets his passport, he loses his money and tickets, he only managed to keep his video camera and make his documentary.
Mr. Bean is not a serious masterpiece of cinema, but he is fresh, upbeat and this longer film is a great insight into a rural France, as well as bigger Paris and glamor Cannes..
Your mom said don't trust strangers but everyone who submitted a comment agrees with me, Mr Bean's holiday is an amazing comedy, a feel good movie, better than any movie so far released this year.
This movie is about the 7th Art and how humor was built within it along the years.Rowan Atkinson managed to express his deepest sympathy for Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Jacques Tati ( bien sûr...
With Mr. Bean, you either love him or you hate him, there is no middle ground, so you should know whether or not this movie will be worth your cash and your time.
I recommend it to anybody who's looking for a good hearted, funny movie and has enjoyed Mr Beans adventures before.
Mr. Bean's Holiday is also a very good movie.I have laugh a lot.
The Best Mr. Bean Movie Yet. I just came back from watching Mr. Bean's Holiday a second time and my face still hurts from laughing.
The scenes are hilarious, moving and just a lot of fun for everyone in the family, whether you're 8 or 80 years old.I personally thought they put a lot more fun in the character than in the previous movie when Mr. Bean visited the US.
Go watch the movie, you won't regret it.I was actually sad when I read that this was going to be the last outing of Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean.
I enjoyed a lot this movie...it made me lo-ugh for the first time in a long time...Rowan Atkinson does a wonderful performance playing Mr. Bean...The story of the movie is simple:Mr. Bean wins a trip to France...But in reaching France he passes through a lot of adventured, partly of his lack of knowledge of the language...I liked the idea of the movie, the lack of dialogs, made me like more this movie and especially enojy Mr. Bean's gags...Another thing that i liked is the fact that this film is fille with very interesting scenes,very funny and original...The "tie scene" and "doing everything not to fall asleep scene" are in my opinion very original...I awnt to add that the movie also had some sad parts, but this made me appreciate all the more this movie...I gave it a 7 cause it really impressed and changed my day..
I thought it was just terrific!I was looking forward to seeing it in theaters and after that I was stunned by how great and really hilarious it was.Mr.Bean has always been my favorite show ever since I was little and although the jokes in his first movie weren't as funny as the show, this sequel to the first was hilariously brilliant.The story with Mr.Bean's holiday in France,Paris was incredible.Every bit of the scenes with Mr.Bean and a french kid were really funny.I recommend this to fans of Mr.Bean and people who have a strange but great sense of humour with a twist of oddity and mild gross-out weird expressions!.
The film is brilliantly cast and his two principal co-stars are both headed for bigger things: Emma de Caunes is wholesomely sexy with one of the loveliest new faces to grace the screen in a long time, while Bean's foil, the boy on the train, is played to great effect by Preston Nyman, a young stand-up comic who is conspicuously at ease before the lens.
I think you can only take so much of Rowan Atkinson's "Mr. Bean." A newcomer to him (believe-it-or-not), I found him a lot of fun in the first half of the film but, boy, this guy is tough to take in longer dosages.
I wonder if others feel that way?It's weird; the film was entertaining.....but I found myself looking at my watch a lot during the last 20 minutes, hoping it would end.
Quite funny is the scene with Mr. Bean and him sitting on a bench while the kid mimics Mr. Bean's every move.From the TV series, Mr. Bean is a somewhat predictable and sometimes presented as a 2-D type character but pulls it off as a comedy, sometimes better than in other episodes.
Makes you want to be there.There's a couple of predictable scenes or so it seems, but with a twist that ends most unexpectedly; there is never a dull moment.Seems like this film has been given the thumbs down by some critics but maybe they're just negative people, made their minds up before seeing it, didn't actually see it or just plain hate Mr. Bean, regardless.Could it be because some of these critics are too much like Mr. Bean in their real lives?
After watching the new Mr.bean film with low expectations i can safely saw it really enjoyed it.
Over the years Rowan Atkinson has perfected Mr Bean and makes playing that role seem like a walk in the park.
This movie throws up many, many laugh out loud moments but does not stray far from the story and it keeps on track and moves along at a nice pace.Overall this movie is a warm hearted, feel good movie which is certainly worth a watch if you enjoyed any previous Mr Bean shows/movies.8/10.
I really like the movie, but I am a fan of the character Atkinson portrays so well and also of the original television series from Britain which ran sporadically in the late-1980s and early-1990s.
I just finished watching this on my computer and i have to tell you, I LOVED THIS MOVIE, who else could have a film with probably all of 15 lines of English in it and make it superb unlike other remakes they kept the character the same, (a goofy, silly man who gets into wacky blunders and always gets out of it.
If you liked the TV series and the first Bean movie, you will most definitely enjoy this one.
As a viewer who doesn't laugh at funny faces, cheap clichés and grimasse, the things Rowan Atkinson is know for in his cult Bean TV series.
You can watch the new Bean like a Jacques Tati movie, like Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Louis de Funes comedy.
It's more like a feel-good movie, with Bean getting himself into trouble and out of it, with consequences for others!
And all this humor concludes in a bizarre ending that signals Bean's farewell to the world (as this is his last performance as Bean ).The supporting cast actors are quite enjoyable; the child actor playing the missing boy is not annoying like most child actors nowadays, the female actress who brings along Bean and the boy to Cannes in her mini-cooper which is exactly identical to Bean's, minus the padlock, and Dafoe, which we will always remember as The Green Goblin in the first Spider-Man movie, plays an overzealous filmmaker, who plans to shock the audiences at the film festival with his latest project.
The TV series is good and funny but the film is a complete time pass, it's like your watching someone's home video when they were away on holiday.
For my opinion its just another average comedy, perhaps more suitable for children, not much laughs, just another average movie, I really expected much more from Rowan Atkinson.
If u r looking for a movie to see with your kids u might like it, but if you expect to see mister bean from the TV show don't bother to watch it cause u won't find him there..
I have great respect and empathy towards Rowan because I had heard that he had passed through several phases of depressions (I don't know whether it is true or not!) due to professional failures after "Mr.Bean" series got over.This second movie of Mr.Bean is about Mr.Bean winning a trip from London to Paris to Cannes and his journey to Cannes beach where he will spend his holiday.
It is difficult to create a good humor here, since all comedy is getting on the level of sign language.I think that the movie with similar plot - "Vacation" with Chevy Chase - was much funnier than "Mr. Bean's Holiday".I gave this movie 4 stars, just because of Mr. Bean's incredible mimics..
It's true that he took advantage of this a long time ago to create a character named Mr. Bean; it's also true that he was born to play this creature and that no other will ever be able to do it.My little cousin watches Atkinson's series about the same character, so he went to watch the film.
As Bean himself with his camera, the director's shots are disinterested and don't seem premeditated in a good way, which leaves the viewer a clear idea that the picture doesn't take itself too seriously and makes the experience much more enjoyable.There are a couple of moments which could have been spared and two or three times where the rhythm decays completely, but when it gets back on track the audience breaks into a constant laugh.
Robin Driscoll, Simon McBurney and Hamish McColl wrote the screenplay; but it would have been the same if they hadn't done anything, because there are not many spoken words in the movie.In fact, Atkinson, who is the main attraction, doesn't say more than thirty words in the whole film and frankly, that is just what makes "Mr. Bean's Holiday" a good movie and Mr. Atkinson's performance a great piece of work.
Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean first burst into mainstream TV prominence in this part of the world sometime in the early 90s, where half hour episodes containing skits of that famous character cut through all boundaries with its humour - by not having Mr Bean speak (or speak minimally, and when it doesn't matter), and set in simple, identifiable premises, he's able to reach out to all, regardless of language.It's been sometime since new material came out, and the TV episodes have been relegated help past time in waiting areas of clinics or government offices.
Compared to recent American Comedies that consist of an endless series of explosions and fart jokes (when they're not burping), this British Film is a delight.Although much of the film may be a bit slow for American tastes, the pace is well considered and the leisurely segments only make the manic episodes all the more enjoyable.Like the Disney Hit "Meet the Robinsons", much of the movie doesn't seem to make sense, until the ending when everything comes together in a brilliant, laugh-out-loud conclusion.A MUST SEE !!.
If anyone has seen the TV episodes of Mr Bean and not liked it please don't be worried, this film is on a completely different level and a million times
So, if your trying to decide a good family comedy watch Mr. Bean's holiday!
I think Bean is a polarising figure, and you're either going to like the films anyway or you won't even bother watching.
Mr bean is genius and i just love everything he does and all the silly expressions he makes it does depend on your humor but, i think the storyline is fun too and its just so silly that you have to laugh (or giggle at least) i hope another Mr bean movie comes out soon because it really is funnier than any of the other new comedies i've seen that just don't get it i suggest you watch this if you like Mr bean, because hes in it of course but also if you don't know the character that well it might not be the same everyone in the movie is great and its just a chirpy movie that is fun to watch i give it a 10/10 :).
Rowan Atkinson has cited Tati as a major influence for the Mr. Bean character and has even pointed out this film specifically as his masterpiece.
Knowing this going into Mr. Bean's Holiday, I assumed the film would entail Rowan Atkinson performing Jacques Tati beat by beat.
"Mr Bean's Holiday" is a very funny film, and one that is very clearly (and probably very self-awarely) in the tradition of much of what was produced by the great silent feature comedians such as Buster Keaton.
One of things things the movie does best is create a balance between the precarious and absurd plot that spins out from Bean's series of travelling predicaments and his eventual accidental abduction of a famous director's son, and some very nice comedy set pieces, which give Rowan Atkinson a chance really to display his character in its element -- Mr. Bean trapped in an outhouse, forced to wrangle with intimidated raw seafood in a fancy restaurant, or busking by pantomiming to a stolen speaker from a CD salesman.
A nice film to watch for admiring Jean Rochefort,Williem Dafoe,Emma de Caunes, Rowan "Mr.Bean" Atkinson and self made V.I.P pass.
not because it was more funny than some of the trashy, simple sex and toilet humor comedy we witness in today's theaters, it was because Mr. Atkinson, a comedy legend, was portraying the character the whole world knows and loves to see.Mr. bean enters a raffle and wins a trip to Cannes, France (topless beaches!
I really like Rowan Atkinson since I saw him in Johnny English and I always saw the previews for Mr. Bean and thought they were funny but this movie was just funny and a real delight.
Mr. Bean's Holiday is a great family movie.
This movie is worse than "The Ring Thing", which was of similar filming and acting quality, but had one big advantage: it did not take itself seriously.Especially in the second half, I laughed a lot in sheer disbelief: How could someone dare to release this crap?If you would like to watch a similar, but way better, comedy about shooting a film with no budget, and have the same low expectations in action, special effects, production values as necessary for "Mr. Bean's Holiday", I wholeheartedly recommend "Bowfinger"..
The jokes are funny, I laughed a lot of times during the film.
While some of the story is predictable, generic and again too thin for the running time, Mr Bean's Holiday is better than the first movie but like Bean it isn't a patch on the series. |
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